Recent News

Circumcision for HIV Prevention - No.1 Medical Breakthrough of 2007
Dr. Godfrey Kigozi, a Rakai investigator on the MC trial, and colleagues published two paper based on data from the study.  The first reported Rakai findings that circumcision is not associated with adverse effects on sexual function, and that circumcised men in the trial reported comparable sexual satisfaction as did uncircumcised men in the control arm of the study (BJU Int. 2008 Jan;101(1):65-70).  The second paper compared the rate of surgical adverse events in HIV-negative men in the trial, to the rate of surgical complications in HIV+ men enrolled in a parallel trial of MC in infected men.  Findings showed that the rate of complications was low and comparable in HIV+ and HIV-negative men. (PLos Medicine in press).

2008 Conference on Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)
At CROI, the Rakai Health Sciences Program was honored to be invited to present the second annual N’Galy Mann Lecture.  Each year, CROI selects an individual or scientific collaboration to present a plenary session on the opening of the conference.  This named lecture focuses on issues of HIV research, prevention and/or care, in memory of Drs. N’Galy and Mann, pioneers in HIV science and care in Africa, who established the Project SIDA in Kinshasa, Congo (named Zaire at that time). Dr. Mann went on to head up Special Program on AIDS at the WHO.  The Rakai N’Galy Mann presentation was delivered by Drs. David Serwadda and Maria Wawer, on behalf of their two other co-authors (Drs. Nelson Sewankambo and Ron Gray), and of the entire Rakai Health Sciences Program team.  The lecture traced the history of HIV research and care in Rakai, bringing in parallel findings from other research studies, and showing how the Program has contributed to a better global understanding of the epidemic.  The fundamental role of the Rakai community cohort study in providing valuable epidemiological information upon which to design intervention research and with which to interpret basic science findings was also discussed.

Dr. Maria Wawer and colleagues presented their finding of “Randomized Trial of Male Circumcision, STD, HIV and Behavioral Effects in Men, Women and the Community, Rakai, Uganda” funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  The study found that male circumcision was safe and reduced genital ulcer disease (GUD) in HIV-positive men.  The study also concluded that male circumcision did not have direct HIV protective benefits to women, but potentially increased risk of HIV transmission from the HIV+ male partner to his spouse with early post-operative resumption of sex.  The authors suggest that this has programmatic implications because HIV-positive men might seek male circumcision as services roll out, necessitating appropriate education and follow-up.  For more information about our studies click here. In another presentation at CROI, the Rakai Team showed that circumcision reduced the risk of herpes acquisition in HIV-negative men, and reduced the risk of genital ulceration, trichomonas and bacterial vaginosis in HIV-uninfected female partners of men who had been circumcised (Tobian et al).