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Greater Than AIDS Project Reveals New Awareness Campaign, “Deciding Moments” – Greater Than AIDS, a media project to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and reduce stigma, has revealed its new campaign “Deciding Moments” today. The project features profiles of individual efforts to prevent HIV, reduce stigma, or otherwise fight the disease. The campaign is targeted primarily at minority communities that are most affected by the virus, particularly African-Americans. Individuals are encouraged to submit their own stories to the campaign’s website. For more information, please see the Greater Than AIDS website or the Kaiser Family Foundation website.

Pharmaceutical Companies And Heinz Philanthropies Unite To Provide Low-Cost HIV Medications – Merck, Abbott Laboratories, Tibotec Therapeutics, Heinz Family Philanthropies, and Welvista, an organization that arranges healthcare for people who are uninsured, have come together to provide anti-HIV medications to patients who need financial assistance. The new program is open to patients who are on waiting lists for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) and who take anti-HIV medications from Merck, Abbott, or Tibotec. Patients who wish to participate can call their ADAP representative, who will then contact Welvista to arrange shipment of HIV medications at no cost. For more information, please see the Boston Herald website or the Welvista website.

Study Finds That One Quarter Of HIV Patients Have Brain Disease – According to a study conducted in Alberta, Canada, nearly one in four HIV patients has brain disease. A study of 1,651 HIV-positive adults found that 404 (24.5 percent) suffered from neurological disorders, which include seizures, dementia, nerve pain, memory loss, and migraines. The study also found that HIV patients with neurological disease face twice the risk of death than HIV patients without. For more information please see the Neurology website (abstract) or the news article at CBC News.

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NIH Commemorates National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – Monday, September 27, will mark the third annual National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NGMHAAD). Its purpose is to raise awareness of gay men’s fight against HIV and AIDS, and includes prevention and HIV testing efforts for gay men. In a statement commemorating the day, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, noted that HIV still has a significant impact on gay and bisexual men, particularly black men of 13 to 29 years of age who have sex with other men. He also recognized the roles gay and bisexual men have played in increasing awareness about the public health impact of AIDS, shaping AIDS research, and advocating for research funding. For more information, please see the National Institutes of Health website. To find NGMHAAD events or register your own event, please see AIDS.gov.

Arizona Considers Legalizing Medical Marijuana – Voters in Arizona will decide November 2 whether to legalize medical marijuana in the state. Proposition 203 would allow licensed physicians in Arizona to recommend the drug to patients with certain medical conditions, including HIV/AIDS. This is the fourth attempt to legalize medical marijuana in Arizona. Medical marijuana is not currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, but several states have legalized it to provide relief for patients with serious illnesses. For more information, please see the article on The Arizona Republic website.

Governor Paterson Vetoes Rent Relief For AIDS Patients In New York – Governor David Paterson vetoed a bill last week that proposed additional rent subsidies for approximately 11,000 New Yorkers with HIV/AIDS. Under the terms of the bill, people who receive housing assistance from New York’s HIV/AIDS Services Administration would have had to spend no more than 30 percent of their income on rent. Paterson vetoed the bill because he believes it would strain New York’s tight finances. Paterson stated that he will support the bill if the Legislature makes clear how the costs, estimated at $20 million, would be covered. For more information, please see the article on The New York Times website.

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AIDS Documentary Premieres Today In New York And Washington, D.C. – A documentary on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington, D.C. premieres today in New York City and Washington, D.C. The film, which is titled “The Other City,” follows several HIV-positive individuals and their struggles, as well as efforts by AIDS activists and organizations to fight the epidemic with limited financial resources. The film will also be screened September 21 in Chicago and September 24 in Los Angeles. For more information, please see The Other City’s website.

NIH Commemorates September 18 As National HIV/AIDS And Aging Awareness Day – Tomorrow will mark the third annual National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (NHAAAD). Its purpose is to raise awareness of the challenges faced by older patients living with HIV/AIDS, as well as promotion of HIV prevention in older populations. In addition, the National Institutes of Health announced that it is currently accepting proposals for research studying HIV and aging through its Medical Management of Older Patients with HIV/AIDS grant program. For more information, please see the National Institutes of Health website. To find NHAAAD events or register your own event, please see AIDS.gov.

Abbott Recalls Select HIV Tests – Abbott Laboratories has issued a recall on a select number of its Prism HIV O Plus HIV tests, lot number 87334M500. Abbott has received several customer complaints about calibration failures, which prevent the test from reporting results. Customers are being asked to discontinue use of this lot if an alternate lot is available. Those without an alternate supply are asked to continue using the current lot until replacements arrive. For more information, please see the FDA website.

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New Clinical Trial Recruits HIV-Discordant Couples For An Artificial Insemination Study – A new clinical trial at the Boston Medical Center is currently recruiting participants. The study will test the efficacy and safety of intrauterine insemination, a type of artificial insemination, in HIV-discordant couples (couples in which only one person is HIV positive). To be eligible, men must be HIV positive and on stable HAART with an undetectable viral load (amount of virus in the blood) and women must be HIV negative. Women will be tested for HIV status during and after pregnancy, and their babies will be tested at the age of 3 months. Researchers intend to enroll 50 participants in the pilot study. For more information, please visit the United States Clinical Trials registry.

Website Launched For 2010 National Latino AIDS Awareness Day – A new website has been launched for the 2010 National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD). The website contains information on community events, HIV testing, and care for Latino/Hispanic-Americans. Resources are available in both Spanish and English. NLAAD will occur this year on October 15. For more information, please see the NLAAD website.

Black AIDS Institute And Merck Create New Black HIV/AIDS Advocacy Network – The Black AIDS Institute and the pharmaceutical company Merck have announced the establishment of the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN). The goals of BTAN include improving HIV care and treatment for the African-American community, strengthening leadership and advocacy, and educating African-American communities about HIV and AIDS. The Network will sponsor regional training for advocates and will have an educational website. BTAN’s first action will be to set up pilot advocacy communities in Jackson, MS; Philadelphia; and Houston. For more information, please see the Black AIDS Institute and Merck websites.

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Almost half of all HIV-positive individuals in the United States are of African-American descent; this statistic sits at the core of the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) new HIV Awareness campaign, named “i know.”

The “i know” campaign is one component of a national program called “Act Against AIDS,” which aims to increase knowledge regarding HIV and AIDS in the African-American community.

Although African-Americans make up 12 percent of the nation’s population, they account for half of all new HIV diagnoses as well as half of all people living with…