HIV Pills Before Sex Can Offer Protection from Infection for Gay Men

Taking specific HIV antiretroviral drugs before and after sex can reduce risk of infection by 86 percent in homosexual men, a new study found.

According to Reuters, the findings were made based on two studies. The first study done in England involved 545 men who were randomized into two groups to receive the drug Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis when they enrolled in the study or 12 months later.

In the second study done in France, 450 high-risk gay men involved were divided into two groups. One group received two tablets of tenofovir and emtricitabine before and after sex. The second group was given placebo.

The results of the first study showed an 86 percent risk reduction in the group which received immediate medication. The second study also showed an 86 percent risk reduction in the group that received medication.

"These results are extremely exciting and show PrEP is highly effective at preventing HIV infection in the real world. Concerns that PrEP would not work so well in the real world were unfounded. These results show there is a need for PrEP, and offer hope of reversing the epidemic among men who have sex with men in this country. The findings we've presented today are going to be invaluable in informing discussions about making PrEP available through the NHS," said Sheena McCormack, chief investigator of the first study, in a news release.

Nearly 35 million people in the world are said to be HIV infected, with the steep increase in numbers witnessed among homosexual men.