Seaweed Derivative Could Prevent HIV Infection: Researcher

Dr. Peter Kilmarx of the CDC is coordinating early trials of a microbicide called Carraguard that is derived from the seaweed Chrondrus crispus. "This seaweed is used already in foods and cosmetics and has been shown in animal studies to have no significant problems of irritation," Kilmarx said. Studies showing that women are at risk of HIV because of their husband's extramarital sexual activities indicate the urgent need for female-controlled prevention, he said.

According to US clinical researcher Professor Ken Mayer, about 50 different chemical cocktails are being studied worldwide for their potential ability to kill sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, but only four are ready for human trials. "The likelihood is that at least in the next few decades, even if we have a vaccine or a safe microbicide, neither is going to be 100 percent effective, so I think you probably want to have both on board, given how serious HIV is," Mayer said. "Women's empowerment is a very important aspect because if you had a product that a woman could use without her partner knowing it, it would be a way to slow down the progress of this epidemic globally," said Mayer, a professor at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

Yet despite the urgent need for a topical gel or cream to fight HIV and STDs, the impetus to develop them comes from small biotech companies, private foundations and public research facilities, with little interest from multinational pharmaceutical companies, Mayer said. Megan Gottemoeller of the Global Campaign for Microbicides said that in the United States, microbicide research received only 1 percent of the overall public AIDS research budget. However, a bill recently introduced in Congress provides for the establishment of new microbicide research programs at the CDC and the National Institutes of Health.

The microbicide movement was dealt a setback when poor trial outcomes resulted in the abandonment of the compound N-9. But four other compounds appear promising, including a gel that keeps the acidity of the vagina so low it is toxic to HIV, and a family of compounds that work by inhibiting HIV from binding to cells.

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