Carraguard Receives Funding
In this article I wrote about research studying carrageenan-based products that have anti-HPV properties & possibly anti-HIV properties. I listed 5 specific products that were undergoing this HIV testing and had the most promise.
In this one I announced that one of the products, Carraguard had failed the anti-HIV testing, but it did not indicate a failure for anti-HPV properties. I worried that it would be abandoned entirely & left to the SCAM industry to take over. Fortunately, I was wrong.
I posted about further testing on Carraguard for its anti-HPV properties that showed a significant protection level against HPV.
Well, those studies have now resulted in Carraguard being granted $4 million in funding to test the efficacy of this microbicide.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 440 million males and females are infected with HPV worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control estimates at least 20 million Americans have HPV. ... While a recent phase 3 trial using [Carraguard] did not demonstrate effectiveness against HIV, it was shown to be safe. Recent laboratory tests indicate that carrageenan, the active ingredient in Carraguard®, is about 1000 times more effective against HPV than against HIV. ... Dr. Einstein's study will be a combined clinical trial and translational research project. Two hundred women will be assigned to use either Carraguard® or a placebo gel. At the end of one year, the participants will be examined to determine if Carraguard® was protective against acquiring HPV infections. In addition, assays will be done in the lab to assess the compound's activity and to develop a predictive test for efficacy.
In addition to this being Good News in general, it is particularly good news for Third World nations. An effective microbicide gives women control over the effects of sex, an activity they often do *not* have any control over. While we still need to work on the social aspects that allow, encourage, or ignore human rights abuses towards women, we can, in the meantime, try to protect them from some of the effects of these abuses, namely pregnancy and STDs. By giving women the ability to protect themselves when their partners are uncooperative, we take a step towards decreasing the imbalance of power and rights between the genders.
In this one I announced that one of the products, Carraguard had failed the anti-HIV testing, but it did not indicate a failure for anti-HPV properties. I worried that it would be abandoned entirely & left to the SCAM industry to take over. Fortunately, I was wrong.
I posted about further testing on Carraguard for its anti-HPV properties that showed a significant protection level against HPV.
Well, those studies have now resulted in Carraguard being granted $4 million in funding to test the efficacy of this microbicide.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 440 million males and females are infected with HPV worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control estimates at least 20 million Americans have HPV. ... While a recent phase 3 trial using [Carraguard] did not demonstrate effectiveness against HIV, it was shown to be safe. Recent laboratory tests indicate that carrageenan, the active ingredient in Carraguard®, is about 1000 times more effective against HPV than against HIV. ... Dr. Einstein's study will be a combined clinical trial and translational research project. Two hundred women will be assigned to use either Carraguard® or a placebo gel. At the end of one year, the participants will be examined to determine if Carraguard® was protective against acquiring HPV infections. In addition, assays will be done in the lab to assess the compound's activity and to develop a predictive test for efficacy.
In addition to this being Good News in general, it is particularly good news for Third World nations. An effective microbicide gives women control over the effects of sex, an activity they often do *not* have any control over. While we still need to work on the social aspects that allow, encourage, or ignore human rights abuses towards women, we can, in the meantime, try to protect them from some of the effects of these abuses, namely pregnancy and STDs. By giving women the ability to protect themselves when their partners are uncooperative, we take a step towards decreasing the imbalance of power and rights between the genders.