articipants in the iPrEx study are being informed

articipants in the iPrEx study are being informed of the results and counseled on the need to continue safe sex practices. Individuals who acquired HIV infection during the study were referred to appropriate medical care. Investigators will conduct a follow-on study in which all HIV-negative iPrEx participants will be offered the combination drug for 18 months. That study, which will begin in 2011, is designed to provide additional information about the drug’s long-term effectiveness and safety as well as participant risk behavior and pill-taking practices.

The NIAID-sponsored VOICE study, which launched in Sept. 2009, is examining three different, once-daily HIV prevention strategies in women: a combination pill, a pill containing only tenofovir, and a tenofovir-based vaginal gel. The study is expected to enroll as many as 5,000 women in three African countries, and results are expected in 2013.

For additional information about the iPrEx study, see the Questions and Answers and and visit the iPrEx News Web site. Visit the NIAID HIV/AIDS portal for more information about NIAID’s HIV/AIDS research.

NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)—The Nation's Medical Research Agency—includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases.