Female Hormone To Prevent HIV in Men

A study published in PLoS ONE (plosone.org), an open-access, online scientific journal from the Public Library fo Science, suggests that the female hormone estrogen when applied to the penis boosts a defensive protein that acts as a "living condom" and could reduce a man's risk of contracting HIV.

This is after a group of researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia did an experiment where they applied the oestrogen cream oestriol, a substance used to treat prolapse in women, to the inner foreskin of the penis and found out that this increased the protein keratin in the skin by four-fold acting like a barrier against HIV. They described this keratin as a "natural condom" or a "biological membrane which HIV can't get through."

By using the keratin, the researchers is hoping that they can increase the body's natural defense against the virus so it can't physically inject itself to the body.

Though the treatment has worked in the laboratory, further tests are still needed, one of which will be a clinical trial in Africa.

Although the treatment did not protect against other sexually transmitted infections, it could be a simple, inexpensive and effective guard against HIV that could be applied once weekly or eventually have applications in condoms and lubricants. And if the trials become successful, treatment could significantly reduce HIV/AIDS caseloads over time.