Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0019693 (HIV)
 170,526 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Until recently, some behaviors were viewed as entailing a high risk of HIV infection, but HIV is now considered a great risk for the female population in general. The number of HIV infected women is increasing rapidly even in areas such as Mexico and South America where women form a minority of AIDS patients. Most women infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are sexually active and at risk of pregnancy. Some STDs, notably those producing genital ulcers, increase the risk of HIV infection. It is not yet known whether STDs not producing ulcers also increase the risk. There is controversy over the extent to which specific contraceptive methods increase or perhaps reduce the risk of HIV infection. Some unconfirmed assumptions are that the cervical ectopy produced by oral contraceptives (OCs) results in affected zones more vulnerable to trauma and thus perhaps to HIV infection, and that combined OCs by reducing menstrual bleeding also reduce risk of infection. OCs containing only progestins may increase the risk of transmission by inducing irregular bleeding, thickening the cervical mucus, and thinning the vaginal epithelium. Injectables may increase risk by increasing bleeding, thinning the vaginal epithelium, or through use of contaminated needles in application. IUDs may increase menstrual bleeding and are not advisable in any event for women at high risk of other STDS. Condoms and spermicides offer some protection against STDs, but are not highly effective contraceptives. The interrelations between risk of pregnancy and of disease are a great and largely unresolved problem in women's reproductive health. Few family planning services are able to address prevention of STDs and especially AIDS adequately. Methodological and logistical problems impede study of the interrelations between contraception and STDs, and resources are limited. Studies of commercial sex workers in different countries have offered a partial solution. Women's lack of power to negotiate successfully concerning sexual relations and their lack of access to a means of preventing STDs under their own control are factors in their vulnerability. Improved reproductive health of women will require development of new products to control disease, structural changes in health services, and continued research.
 ...
PMID:[Contraceptives, HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases]. 789 58

The current literature on the transmission of HIV and the use of oral contraceptives (OCs), injectables, IUDs, spermicides, and the female condom was reviewed. Some of the methodological difficulties involved study design (observational studies, cross-sectional, case control, and prospective studies) and confounding factors (age, marital status, sexual partners). The impact of OC use on HIV transmission is likely to be minor, but some factors contributing to transmission include cervical ectropion, which enhances HIV transmission. Nevertheless, in a 1990 Nairobi study of 4404 women no such association was detected. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have been risk factors in HIV transmission. OCs that decrease irregular bleeding may protect against HIV. Progestin-only pills could act on the risk of HIV transmission by thickening cervical mucus and thinning the vaginal epithelial layer. 21 epidemiological studies were identified on the use of OCs and transmission. Except for a 1990 Nairobi study among prostitutes none of them reported a significant association between OC use and HIV seropositivity. Injectables (Depo Provera) could theoretically increase HIV transmission, but no such conclusive evidence has surfaced. Increased risk of transmission or seropositivity has been reported with IUD use, but this needs confirmation by prospective studies. Among spermicides the nonoxynol-9 sponge slightly increased HIV seroconversion in 139 sex workers in Nairobi in a 1992 study. However, this trial was contradicted by other prospective studies conducted in Cameroon and Zambia. Nonoxynol-9 kills HIV but also damages the cervical and vaginal mucosa enhancing HIV transmission. In 1992 in vitro activity in 26 out of 131 other spermicides screened inhibited HIV. The female condom was tested in 104 women in a 1993 prospective study in the US and no recurrences of trichomonas occurred in 20 women who used it consistently over a 6-week period. More prospective epidemiological studies are needed, and the risk of HIV infection should be part of counseling on contraceptives.
 ...
PMID:Contraceptive methods and the transmission of HIV: implications for family planning. 820 68

The long acting depot levonorgestrel, Norplant, satisfies the needs of women whose needs include long term protection against pregnancy, ample birth spacing, avoiding significant side effects found with other contraceptives, and using a contraceptive which does not require self or partner participation and is independent of timing of intercourse. Hundreds of teenagers have used it, but no published information on its use in teenagers exists. In an outpatient clinic, physicians insert 6 flexible silastic capsules with levonorgestrel (Norplant) under the dermis of the underside of the upper arm. Norplant suppresses ovulation and makes cervical mucus impassable to sperm. Levonorgestrel has already been available to women in progestin-only and combined oral contraceptives, but the change in delivery method has made Norplant the most effective, reversible, long term contraceptive available. Since patient compliance is not needed, it prevents pregnancies for 5 years. Thus, Norplant may be the ideal contraceptive for teenagers, especially since they experience a significant number of unplanned pregnancies in the US. Despite the many advantages of Norplant, 80% of users suffer heavy, irregular bleeding. This side effect leads many women to discontinue Norplant use. A potential problem is reduced condom use with Norplant, resulting in an increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases, e.g., HIV and hepatitis B. There is concern about the possibility of parents or health care workers coercing teenagers to use Norplant. Another concern is the encouragement its use by targeted groups. Health care workers must ensure that coerciveness does not happen. Norplant should be added to the contraceptive menus for teenagers, but only they should choose their contraceptive.
 ...
PMID:Depot levonorgestrel (Norplant) use in teenagers. 843 76

The injectable contraceptive depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) dissolves slowly and is released over 3 months to suppress ovulation. It is more than 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. More than 30 million women in 90 countries have used DMPA and none have died from using it. A World Health Organization [WHO] study showed that DMPA did not significantly increase the risk of breast cancer or other cancers. One study points to a small reduction in bone density with DMPA use, but the reduction did not become larger with long-term use and may even be reversible. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) thoroughly reviewed these studies and the experiences of DMPA users. This review resulted in the FDA's approving DMPA as a contraceptive in October, 1992. Almost all DMPA users experience menstrual changes with irregular bleeding and spotting occurring during the 1st few months. After 12 months, at least 50% of DMPA users experience amenorrhea, which some women consider a benefit. Other possible but rare side effects are weight gain, headache, breast tenderness, loss of libido, depression, nervousness, and fatigue. It takes longer for past DMPA users to conceive after stopping DMPA use than users of other contraceptive methods, but by 18 months more than 90% of past DMPA users who wanted to become pregnant conceived. DMPA does not protect users from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or HIV/AIDS. They need to use latex condoms to prevent STD/HIV transmission. DMPA users must return to their health care provider every 3 months for another injection. DMPA is a viable contraceptive for women wanting a safe, reliable, long-term, reversible contraceptive. Any woman wanting to use DMPA should discuss it with her provider.
 ...
PMID:Facts about injectable contraception. 1228 37

Among 30-40 year old women, 40% of pregnancies are unplanned, which is indicative of the unreliability of the birth control methods they are using. The 1992 Ortho Birth Control Study interviewed almost 7000 women, of whom 8% listed withdrawal and 4% listed the rhythm method. These two methods have failure rates of 24% and 19%, respectively. Birth control methods often disappoint the users and increasingly they turn to sterilization. 48% of married women aged 15-44 had themselves been sterilized or had a sterilized partner in the Ortho survey. Although reversal of tubal ligation succeeds in 43-88% of cases, conception cannot be guaranteed. For women over the age of 30 who are healthy and do not smoke, low-estrogen or no-estrogen oral contraceptive pills are considered safe. Taking the pill also helps prevent ovarian and endometrial cancer. The failure rate is 6%. Barrier methods also offer protection from sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. Condoms are favored by 33% of unmarried women and 19% of married women. Sexually active 40-44 year old unmarried women run a 14-19% risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD) in a 12-month period. Diaphragms offer some protection against STDs, but their failure rate is 18%. IUDs are regaining popularity, but only 1% of women use them (ParaGard T380A or Progestasert). Pelvic inflammatory disease is the reason: a 1992 study showed that 0.97% of women developed it within 20 days of use. Norplant is a long-term implant containing levonorgestrel with a failure rate of 0.5%. A 1993 study followed 1253 implant users over 12 months and found a very low rate of pregnancy, but 75% experienced some side effects during the first year. About half of the women using Norplant removed it after 2.5 years because of irregular bleeding. Depo-Provera is an injectable administered every 3 months, but after removal it can take up to a year for ovulation to return. Side effects may include hair loss and weight gain; and links to breast cancer have also been suggested.
 ...
PMID:Birth control over 30. 1229 85

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted bacterium worldwide. In Western Europe, the prevalence of gonorrhoea has decreased by more than 95% since the 1970ies; "tripper" and syphilis are essentially confined to high-risk groups while genital chlamydial infections affect people of all social classes, but information about chlamydia is still scarce in many European countries. Clinically genital chlamydial infections resemble gonorrhoea (dysuria, discharge, irregular bleeding, dyspareunia, perihepatitis) and may be mistaken for appendicitis. However, Chlamydia trachomatis persists longer and more often asymptomatic than Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the urogenital tract of men and women. About 20% of all chlamydia infected women suffer from partial or complete tubal occlusion. Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of female infertility, but most of these women never experienced any clinical sign of pelvic inflammatory disease. Since particle concentrations are often very low in urine and cervical secretions only DNA-amplification tests, e.g. PCR or LCR, exhibit sufficient sensitivity for direct detection Chlamydia trachomatis. While Neisseria gonorrhoeae is eradicated by single-shot treatment with commonly used antibiotics like penicillins or cephalosporins Chlamydia trachomatis affords treatment for at least 10 days with doxycyline or macrolides. Partner treatment is essential to avoid reinfections. Condoms not only protect against HIV, but also against chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis.
 ...
PMID:[Chlamydia and other sexually transmitted bacterial infections]. 1236 49

(1) Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are placed in the uterine cavity with the objective of providing long-term contraception, mainly by preventing fertilisation. The best-known IUDs contain copper, but there is also an IUD delivering levonorgestrel, a progestin; (2) How effective are these devices, and what are their adverse effects? To answer these questions, we analysed the literature using the standard Prescrire methodology; (3) T-shaped copper IUDs, with a copper surface area of 380 mm2 on 3 arms, and the levonorgestrel-releasing device, have similar contraceptive efficacy as combined oral contraceptives that are used correctly. In contrast, IUDs are more effective than oral contraception used incorrectly; (4) Among IUD users, there are on average about 6 pregnancies per 1000 woman-years. There is less experience with the levonorgestrel IUD which seems to be at least as effective as copper IUDs; (5) The rare intrauterine pregnancies that occur in women using an IUD generally end in miscarriage. About 25% of these pregnancies end in a live birth if the device is left in place, compared to about 90% if the device is removed; (6) Ectopic pregnancies are rarer in IUD users than in women who do not use contraception. However, about one in 20 pregnancies that occur in women using an IUD is ectopic; (7) The IUD is expelled in about 5% to 10% of cases within 5 years, and expulsion recurs in about 30% of these women; (8) Problems such as difficult insertion, pain, bleeding and syncope are reported in less than 1.5% of cases overall; (9) Uterine perforation during insertion is rare, occurring in 0.6 to 16 cases per 1000 insertions, regardless of the type of IUD. The risk of perforation is higher when the IUD is inserted less than 4 to 6 weeks after delivery or elective abortion; (10) During the first 3 months after insertion, the risk of pelvic infection is slightly higher than in the general population, especially in women with pre-existing asymptomatic Chlamydia trachomatis infection. There are about 6 pelvic infections per 1000 woman-years of IUD use. Routine antibiotic prophylaxis is unnecessary. The interview and physical examination may lead to diagnosis of C. trachomatis infection or other sexually transmitted infections. In these cases, treatment may be needed before IUD insertion. Women must be warned that IUDs do not protect them from sexually transmitted diseases; (11) Menstrual bleeding is often heavier in women with cooper IUDs than in women who do not use IUDs, and may be associated with menstrual pain; (12) The levonorgestrel IUD is associated with a marked reduction in menstrual blood loss and irregular bleeding; amenorrhoea occurs in 35% of women after 2 years of use. The levonorgestrel IUD also has hormonal adverse effects such as headache, acne, breast tension and functional ovarian cysts; (13) IUDs can safely be used in breastfeeding women, immediately after a pregnancy, in cases of diabetes or HIV infection, during nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug therapy, and after an ectopic pregnancy. The only problems occurring in women who have never had children are pain during insertion and more frequent expulsions; (14) A copper IUD is a first-line contraceptive method for women with a history of deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or coronary events; (15) It is better to postpone IUD insertion when the woman has a genital tract infection or unexplained vaginal bleeding; (16) IUD insertion is an effective alternative to "morning-after" hormonal contraception.
 ...
PMID:Intrauterine devices: an effective alternative to oral hormonal contraception. 1963 36