[VIDEO] Voices of Choice - Lucio from Rio de Janeiro Discusses Being in the iPrEx Open Label PrEP Trial

In the video below, Lucio from Rio discusses his participation in the iPrEx Open Label Study and taking Truvada as a way to prevent HIV infection.

The iPrEx trial was the first study to show that an antiretroviral drug (ARV) - normally used to treat people living with HIV - could also be used to prevent HIV among people who are HIV-negative.

In July of 2012, the FDA approved the ARV drug Truvada for the prevention of HIV.

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG GAY MEN IN THE U.S. 

Are you a young gay man living in the United States between the ages of 15 and 17? Are you interested in new methods of preventing HIV, like PrEP?

Project PrEPare is an innovative HIV prevention study designed to explore the safety, acceptability and feasibility of PrEP among young  gay men and other men who have sex with men who are at risk for HIV infection in the United States.

The study is taking place at clinical sites across the U.S. in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston and Denver. Click here to quickly check if you are eligible to participate.

More information about the study and city-specific contact information can be found on the Project PrEPare website.

Recruiting Young Gay Men in 6 U.S. Cities for Important PrEP Study

Condoms are not the only way you can have safer sex! Are you a young gay man between the ages of 15 and 17? Interested in new methods of preventing HIV, like PrEP?

Project PrEPare is an innovative HIV prevention study designed to explore the safety, acceptability and feasibility of PrEP among young gay men and other men who have sex with men who are at risk for HIV infection in the United States.

The study is taking place at clinical sites across the U.S. in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston and Denver. Click here to quickly check if you are eligible to participate.

“Considering that young men who have sex with men continue to be disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic in the United States, we are excited to gather youth-specific data on PrEP - the newest addition to the ‘toolbox’ of HIV prevention interventions,” said Dr Sybil. Hosek.

More information about the study and city-specific contact information can be found on the Project PrEPare website.

The New Revolution: Bob Grant Talks PrEP in Special Issue of Positively Aware

by Robert Grant, MD, MPH (via Positively Aware's recent "Let's Talk about PrEP" issue)  

"PrEP is a proven concept. A single tablet that contains two medications originally approved to treat HIV/AIDS, tenofovir and emtricitabine (brand name “Truvada” in the United States), was approved to prevent sexual transmission of HIV by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2012. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have issued guidelines for the use of PrEP. The medication is already available in generic form to people living in the poorest countries of the world."

 

Antiretroviral therapy has revolutionized care for people living with HIV/AIDS by prolonging life and restoring health, preventing transmission to uninfected partners, and preventing tuberculosis disease. These same medications can be taken by HIV-negative people with the goal of staying free of HIV. The combination of highly active antiretroviral interventions for both HIV prevention and treatment has led to unprecedented optimism about the prospect of ending AIDS.

The preventive use of anti-HIV medicines by HIV-negative people is called post-exposure prophylaxis (or PEP) if the medicines are started after sex or a needle stick that could lead to HIV transmission. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is when medicines are used before and after possible exposures to HIV infection.

Read the rest here.

[VIDEO] Voices of Choice - Garland from Chicago Talks About Being in the iPrEx Open Label PrEP Trial

In the video below, Garland from Chicago discusses his participation in the iPrEx Open Label Study and taking Truvada as a way to prevent HIV infection. The iPrEx trial was the first study to show that an antiretroviral drug (ARV) - normally used to treat people living with HIV - could also be used to prevent HIV among people who are HIV-negative.

In July of 2012, the FDA approved the ARV drug Truvada for the prevention of HIV.

Thanks to the iPrEx team, My PrEP Experience will be sharing a number of videos from iPrEx study participants over the coming days and weeks. Check back often, or like our partner Project RSP! on FB and follow along with all the new videos that way.

If YOU are taking Truvada as PrEP, we'd love to hear your story. You can share your experience in a video, or you can write something up. Whatever you want to do - we want to hear your experience - whether taking Truvada as PrEP was a good experience or a bad experience - or anywhere in between. Email myprepexperience@gmail.com and let us know!

Paying for PrEP - Helpful Info for People/Providers

by Enid Vazquez, via Positively Aware's recent (an excellent resource) "Let's Talk about PrEP" issue.  

And be sure to check out this new fact sheet on payment strategies for both PrEP and PEP published August 21 by NASTAD:  "Pharmaceutical Patient Assistance Programs and Co-Payment Assistance Programs for PrEP and PEP."

Asked if he’s had any problems getting insurance companies to pay for HIV PrEP, HIV specialist Tony Mills, MD, of Los Angeles, replied, “None so far.”

In Chicago, Michelle M. Agnoli, RN, with the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center (MATEC), said, “There’ve been no problems that I’m aware of. None.”

And Shannon Weber, MSW, of the Bay Area Perinatal HIV Center (BAPAC) out of San Francisco General Hospital, said, “I’ve only heard one report of it not being approved. Generally I’m hearing positive responses about access.”

But concern about how to pay for PrEP is the number one question Weber gets when she makes presentations about the new HIV prevention therapy. Doctors will tell her “it’s hard to get [insurance] coverage,” yet when she asks them if they have prescribed PrEP, none of them have.

Learn more about paying for PrEP here.