Vaginal ring in women that can prevent HIV is risk-free, says study

According to the US researchers, a vaginal ring which can be used to protects against HIV infection was found to be risk-free and admissible. The report presented at the Ninth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV science in France, the report features information on the treatment's safety and tolerability, which the researchers say could help get the dapivirine ring approved for girls and women.

It is a first study that evaluates the ring, which releases the antiretroviral drug dapivirine daily for a month at a time, in girls younger than 18.

In a study, 96 girls aged between 15 to 17 at six US sites from July 2014 to July 2016 were taken.Enrollers were randomly assigned to use either the dapivirine ring or a placebo ring that felt and looked the same.

73 girls were in the dapivirine group and 23 were in the placebo. The researchers asked the girls to use their assigned rings for a month at a time for six months.

According to Katherine Bunge, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine and protocol co-chair for the study, No differences in the safety were found between the dapivirine and placebo rings.

Ring usage was consistent among the girls: a point of focus for the researchers. 42 per cent of participants said they removed the ring only to replace it monthly. About 87 per cent of plasma samples from the dapivirine group had detectable levels of the drug, which suggests that the ring had been used the previous day.Around 95 per cent of the rings showed drug levels that suggested consistent using during the previous month.

The participants found the ring highly acceptable, with 95 percent of the girls saying it was easy to use and 74 percent saying they were not aware of it during daily activities. While some worried that their partner would feel the ring during sex, 93 percent said they liked the ring overall.

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“Adolescents and young people represent a growing share of people living with HIV worldwide,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony S. Fauci said in a statement. “Science has demonstrated that the HIV prevention needs of adolescents may be different than those of adults, which is why these new study findings are so important.”

Microbicide Trials Network will launch another trial this year, which will collect which data from young women and adolescent girls in Africa, who are particularly vulnerable to acquiring HIV. About 300 girls and women 16 to 21 will be enrolled at sites in Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa and Kenya. The study will also assess the safety of Truvada, a daily oral tablet that also contains anti-HIV drugs.

“HIV doesn’t distinguish between a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old. Access to safe and effective HIV prevention shouldn’t either,” Hillier said. “Young women of all ages deserve to be protected.”