Author Archives: Health

Antibiotics to prevent STIs – for or against?

There is ongoing scientific debate regarding how best to prevent, manage and reduce rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A possible future option is STI prophylaxis – taking medications either prior to (pre-), or shortly after (post-), exposure to an STI in order to prevent infection. However, this raises concerns regarding the development of antibiotic… Read More »

African studies explore reasons to start, stick with or stop PrEP

This year’s HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) virtual conference featured a large number of sessions examining PrEP usage and discontinuation rates among a variety of users, especially in Africa. Many of the presentations looked at factors that worked as incentives to keep taking PrEP. There is interest in this because, despite higher initiation rates in a… Read More »

Weekly Health Quiz: COVID-19, Vaccination and Forbes

1 The primary mechanism of action behind hydroxychloroquine’s ability to prevent and treat COVID-19 is its: Ability to shuttle zinc into cells HCQ is a zinc ionophore, meaning it shuttles zinc into the cell, and there’s compelling evidence to suggest the primary benefit of the HCQ protocol actually comes from the zinc, which effectively inhibits… Read More »