A study conducted by Pittsburgh researchers found that a gel might protect rectal tissue from the virus that causes AIDS, Time reports.
For the new study, researchers from the Microbicide Trials Network, University of Pittsburgh and Magee-Womens Research Institute recruited 18 sexually abstinent HIV-negative men and women to participate. The volunteers were first asked either to apply the anti-HIV gel to the rectum once or to take an oral tenofovir pill once. Then, the patients followed up by applying either tenofovir gel or placebo gel every day for six days at home; a final, seventh dose was applied in the lab.
Researchers biopsied rectal tissue after the initial dose and again after the week of gel or placebo applications, allowing them to compare several different experimental conditions. In the lab, HIV was introduced to the biopsied cells. Researchers found that the tissue cultures from patients who used the tenofovir gel daily for a week withstood HIV infection significantly better than those from patients who used placebo or the anti-HIV gel only once. The single tenofovir pill had no impact on HIV prevention.
Original source: TimeRead the full story here.