It’s already a potent weapon against HIV, but Truvada, a combination of two antiviral medications, is now the first drug-based way to prevent infection against the virus among healthy people. After groundbreaking trials showed that uninfected individuals using the medication could lower their risk of acquiring HIV, the Food and Drug Administration expanded Truvada’s approval to include healthy people at high risk of becoming infected with HIV. Studies showed that high-risk gay men as well as the uninfected partner of an HIV-positive patient lowered their chances of becoming positive by anywhere from 42% to 75%. While critics are concerned that the treatment may lead to higher-risk behavior, like unprotected sex, public health experts welcome the new way of fighting AIDS: preventing infections from occurring in the first place.
Health & Family
Thanks for liking TIME’s Top 10 Everything of 2012 List. Like TIME on Facebook now for more breaking news and current events from around the globe.
3. Do-It-All HIV Drug
Full List
Top 10 Diet Discoveries
Top 10 Fitness Fads
Top 10 Marriage Stories
Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
Top 10 Ridiculously Obvious Study Findings
- 10. Use of Common Pesticide Linked to Bee Colony Collapse
- 9. Want to Limit Aggression? Practice Self-Control!
- 8. Moderate Doses of Alcohol Increase Social Bonding in Groups
- 7. Blood Pressure Drugs Don’t Protect Against Colorectal Cancer
- 6. To “Think Outside the Box,” Think Outside the Box
- 5. Web Offers Poor and Often Inaccurate Info on Designer Vagina Procedures
- 4. Monogamy Reduces Major Social Problems of Polygamist Cultures
- 3. Monitoring Spinal Cord During Surgery May Help Prevent Paralysis
- 2. Why Older People Struggle to Read Fine Print—New Study
- 1. Dogs Learn to Associate Words With Objects Differently Than Humans Do
Top 10 Parenting Trends