New Vaginal Ring Shown To Prevent HIV Infection In Teen Girls

PARIS, France—A report delivered at the ninth annual International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science claims that researchers have successfully tested a vaginal ring that protects against HIV infection, finding it to be "safe and acceptable" in a study of adolescent girls in the United States. The operative ingredient in the ring is the antiretroviral drug dapivirine, which the ring releases in measured doses over the course of a month. "The study enrolled 96 girls ages 15 to 17 at six U.S. sites and was conducted from July 2014 to July 2016," reported Sean Duffy of CourthouseNews.com. "Participants were randomly assigned to use either the dapivirine ring or a placebo ring that felt and looked the same. Seventy-three girls were in the dapivirine group and 23 were given the placebo. The researchers asked the girls to use their assigned rings for a month at a time for six months. ... 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." In another study, this time of lactating women, conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Microbicide Trials Network (MTN), researchers also found that very little of the drug found its way into women's breast milk. Two more studies, referred to as "Phase III trials," named ASPIRE and The Ring Study, found "that the ring was safe and helped protect against HIV among more than 4,500 women in sub-Saharan Africa." "If the ring is approved for women older than age 18, it's imperative that we have the data in hand to show that the ring is safe to use in younger women as well," explained Sharon Hillier, Ph.D., principal investigator of the MTN, and professor and vice chair of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "HIV doesn't distinguish between a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old. Access to safe and effective HIV prevention shouldn't either. Young women of all ages deserve to be protected." More studies have been planned, some beginning later this year, and it is not known at what point the dapivirine ring will be available for use by the general public.