LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Julia Roberts will star as a paraplegic physician treating patients early in the AIDS epidemic in the stage-to-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning drama "The Normal Heart," U.S. cable television network HBO said on Friday.

"The Normal Heart," set to air on HBO in 2014, tells the story of the dawning of the epidemic in 1980s New York.

Oscar-winner Roberts plays Dr. Emma Brookner, who treats several early patients infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Co-star Mark Ruffalo plays Ned Weeks, an eyewitness to how the disease ravaged the city's gay community.

The film will be directed by "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy and was adapted by the play's author, Larry Kramer, an early advocate for AIDS prevention and care.

"Ryan has assembled an extraordinary cast to bring Larry Kramer's landmark theatrical achievement to the screen for the first time, and we couldn't be more thrilled to bring this important film to HBO," Michael Lombardo, HBO's president of programming, said in a statement.

"The Normal Heart" debuted on stage in 1985 in New York and was revived on Broadway in 2011, winning the Tony Award for best revival.

The movie version was originally envisioned as big screen release before HBO took it up as a television film.

More on Kramer's play:

    In 1981, writer Larry Kramer hosted a gathering of six gay men and their friends to discuss the "gay cancer," and to talk about fundraising for research. This informal meeting in Kramer's home would lead to the formation of Gay Men's Health Crisis, one of the first advocacy groups for HIV prevention and care.

     Kramer's play debuted at New York Public Theatre in 1985 and was revived in Los Angeles and London and off-Broadway. The 2011 Broadway revival garnered five Tony nominations, winning for Best Revival, Best Featured Actor and Best Featured Actress.

Source:

http://movies.yahoo.com/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/

A group of researchers from Spain, France and the United States has found a way to offer some protection against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): with inactivated HIV.

The study, led by Dr. Felipe Garcia of the University of Barcelona, showed that patients vaccinated with heat-inactivated HIV may not need to take medication for a few weeks or months.

Science News reported that disabled HIV "can awaken immune protection in some patients."

The study, published Jan. 2 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, said, "Inducing HIV-1–specific immune responses with a therapeutic immunization has been proposed to control viral replication after discontinuation of Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) as an alternative to "cART for life."

Combination antiretroviral therapy entails taking two or more drugs to prevent the replication of retroviruses like HIV.

In the study, scientists and medical researchers took blood samples from 36 patients. They extracted each person's HIV and took samples of dendritic cells—immune system cells.

The researchers blasted the HIV from 22 randomly selected patients with heat to inactivate it. Later on, the patients received a vaccine from their own dendritic cells and inactivated HIV.

Within 12 weeks, virus levels went down by at least 90 percent in 12 of the 22 patients, Science News reported.

But most of the treated patients lost their immunity to HIV over time and their virus levels rose once more.

Science News also reported that after 11 months, only three of the recipients of the vaccine maintained the 90 percent drop in virus levels.

The volunteers of the study have been taking standard antiretroviral therapy before the trials started.

"It is likely that the person’s immune system is already damaged, and so they cannot mount a sufficiently efficient functional antiviral response [to a vaccine]," Science News quoted Statens Serm Institute in Copenhagen physician Anders Fomsgaard as saying.

"It may be more optimal to vaccinate during antiretroviral therapy," he also said.

Fomsgaard recognizes the potential for development of the new study.

Meanwhile, Garcia said that even if their study failed in knocking down HIV  completely, it "would still be beneficial if it proves to be long-lasting."

A related study, published in 2010, showed that the "elite controllers"—one percent of the HIV-positive population who do not develop AIDS symptoms—could be the key to eradicating HIV.

Source:

Shaira Panela/BM, GMA News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/289657/scitech/science/inactive-hiv-may-provide-hiv-patients-with-immune-protection-study

Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in the Philippines

In November 2012, there were 284 new HIV Ab sero-positive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL) and reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry. This was 34% higher compared to the same period last year.

Most of the cases (97%) were males. The median age was 28 years (age range: 17-59 years). The 20-29 years (52%) age-group had the most number of cases. Forty-seven percent (134) of the reported cases were from the National Capital Region (NCR).

Reported mode of transmission were sexual contact (282) and needle sharing among injecting drug users (2). Males having sex with other males (82%) were the predominant type of sexual transmission. Most (92%) of the cases were still asymptomatic at the time of reporting.

AIDS Cases

Of the 284 HIV positive cases, twenty-four were reported as AIDS cases, all were males. The median age is 29 years (age range: 20-45 years). Ninety-six percent (23) acquired the infection through sexual contact (15 homosexual, 4 heterosexual, and 14 bisexual) and 1 acquired through needle sharing among injecting drug users. There was no reported death for this month.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)

Thirty-five of the 284 (12%) reported cases were OFWs. There were 32 males and 3 females. The median age was 32 years (age range: 21-52 years). All acquired the infection through sexual contact (12 heterosexual, 16 homosexual, and 7 bisexual).

Bazzo Asian Bar and Resto presents singer RJ Cruz in Back to Life, a birthday party show for a cause. The show is for the benefit of The Love Fund, a project that provides medical assistance to the indigent PLHIVs (People Living with HIV).

The show will be on January 10, 2013 at Bazzo Bar, Bluewave, Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City. First show starts at 8:30 pm, and the second show starts at 11:30 pm.

For tickets and sponsorship, please contact Mr. Johnray Manansala at 09278111504.