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Egan finds short-term PrEP use protects at-risk men on vacation

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MEDICAL XPRESS - Men at particular risk for HIV are very likely to consistently take prevention medication during vacations when their odds of contracting the virus are higher, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, The Fenway Institute and Harvard University.

The findings indicate that short-term use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication could be a highly successful way to prevent the spread of HIV in men who have sex with men and have difficulty with long-term PrEP use. It may also work to transition men to long-term PrEP use, which has been shown to be highly effective in reducing HIV transmission.

"We started this as a feasibility study to see if we could identify barriers to short-term PrEP use and make adjustments. But we were excited when we got the results and discovered that almost all the participants were adherent to the point of protection against HIV," said James Egan (BCHS '14), assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences. "This gives us a promising strategy to pursue in engaging at-risk men in HIV prevention efforts that work for them."

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or read the research  paper "Feasibility of Short-Term PrEP Uptake for Men Who Have Sex With Men With Episodic Periods of Increased HIV Risk" in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.



8/13/2020
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