Trending News Today: No Significant Difference Found in HIV Risk Based on Contraceptive Used

A new study showed no significant differences in the risk of acquiring HIV based on which form of contraception a woman uses, The American Journal of Managed Care reported. According to the article, the phase 3 trial included 7800 women across Africa and was designed to detect a 50% increase in HIV incidence for each of the contraceptive methods compared with each other. Overall, the researchers concluded that intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate did not significantly increase the risk of acquiring HIV compared with a copper intrauterine device and a levonorgestrel implant, the article reported.

Recent data from an early-stage study of Pfizer’s gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy have raised safety concerns about the drug, Reuters reported. According to the article, the 6-patient study tested 2 different dosages of the gene therapy in boys ages 6 to 12, with 2 of the patients in the trial being hospitalized due to adverse effects. Pfizer said it had paused enrollment in the study to modify the protocol in order to mitigate future risks of similar safety events, the article reported.

Weight loss interventions can be beneficial for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), MD Magazine reported. According to the article, a recent analysis of more than 20 clinical trials systematically reviewed and quantified the implications of biomarker improvements caused by weight loss in patients with NAFLD and obesity. Overall, the researchers concluded that weight loss interventions were significantly associated with improvements in biomarkers including alanine aminotransferase.