Vaginal Rings Can Protect Women From HIV In Future

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Vaginal Rings Can Protect Women From HIV In Future

HIV is one of the biggest concerns for many of us today. HIV can affect women on a severe level and can be a life-changing disease. Women may face many challenges, and they are seriously concerned about safety by avoiding getting affected by it. A womb can be affected due to HIV if it is not diagnosed correctly during pregnancy. Though HIV is declining in recent years, there were nearly 7000 cases of HIV in women in the USA in the year 2018. There was no solution on which the women can rely entirely, but now we may handle the situation.

Vaginal Rings Can Protect Women From HIV In Future

A recent trial shows that a vaginal ring that releases an antiviral can slowly save women from getting affected by HIV. The ring’s effect can last for up to 3 months. The trial was conducted in The U.S. National Institute Of Health-funded Microbicide Trials Network (MTN), with two formulations. The first one released the antiretroviral dapivirine (100mg) in the vagina for up to 90 days, and the other one had 200mg of dapivirine. The trial was conducted on 49 healthy women. The women who volunteered had to be HIV negative.

The subjects were divided into three groups. The first group used the 100 mg dapivirine ring for around three months. The second group used the 200 mg ring for about three months. Finally, the third group used the ring, which was replaced every 30 days for around three months. All the subjects responded well to all the rings, and no subject showed any concerns regarding their safety or side effects. The subjects who were using the 90-day rings showed 1.3 to 1.9 times more levels of dapivirine in the blood plasma and 1.5 to 2.9 times higher level of presence of the drug in the vaginal fluid and cervical tissue compared with the subjects who used the 30-day rings.

The results presented on Tuesday in a virtual meeting suggest using the 90-days ring that gives adequate protection against HIV and has a long-lasting period to the other ones. This isn’t the researcher’s conclusion and will stay into consideration until it gets published in any peer-reviewed journal. International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) has received permission from the medicine agencies to use the one-month ring last year.

A monthly ring was also added to the list of prequalified medicines prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO). It even recommends using a ring for women aged 18 or above who have a high risk of getting affected by HIV. IPM is also trying to get approvals of the monthly rings in Eastern and Southern Africa. The decisions could be made by mid-year. IPM is also in contact with the U.S. Food and Drug regulation to get its approval. The ring’s regulatory approval could be boon for many women at a higher risk of getting HIV. The three-month ring could be another option that would be available in the market soon. The usage of rings worldwide can tackle HIV and reduce the no. of people affected by it.