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1981 : Rare cancer detected in 41 homosexuals 

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1981 : Rare cancer detected in 41 homosexuals 

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Outbreak occurs among men in New YOrk and California - 8 died inside 2 years. Mystery illness reported.

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Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is created

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1984 : HIV discovered as the cause of AIDS 

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1984 : HIV discovered as the cause of AIDS 

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Francois Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier win Nobel Prize for their work.

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Screening of blood donations developed through chimpanzee research

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Public Information Film - Aids 1986

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Princess Diana dispelling the myths surrounding AIDS/HIV transmission.

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AZT, also called Zidovudine (ZVD) and Retrovir, was the first approved HIV/AIDS drug. It is a reverse transcriptase inhibitor. This type of medicine stops the reproduction of DNA and reduces the amount of the virus in the blood (the viral load).

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The association of HIV/AIDS with gay and bisexual men worsened their stigmatisation, and this association correlated with higher levels of sexual prejudice, such as homophobic and biphobic attitudes. Rising negative sentiments towards homosexuality peaked in 1987, the year before Section 28 was enacted.

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1990 : 8 million people are now known to have HIV 

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1990 : 8 million people are now known to have HIV 

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1994 : Infant HIV infections begin to fall thanks to AZT

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1994 : Infant HIV infections begin to fall thanks to AZT

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However  AZT is also used to reduce the transmission from mother to child during pregnancy and labour. The pro side says it reduces transmission; the con side says it may cause birth defects. Another issue is whether it makes symptoms worse. The medicine can prolong life but it might also kill healthy cells.
AZT: an old drug with new perspectives - PubMed (nih.gov)

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Abstract

The science of antiviral research was well advanced when HIV/AIDS appeared as a major new virus disease in the early 1980s. The first effective antiviral compound (AZT, azidothymidine, zidovudine) was already among the library of compounds screened and was promptly reported to be a specific inhibitor of retroviruses, including HIV. Due to the pivotal role of AZT in HIV treatment, this review summarizes the most known effects -some of which are toxic side effects- induced by AZT a drug which is still used in the combined therapy of HIV-infected patients. Among the toxic side effects, a severe bone marrow toxicity manifested as anemia, neutropenia and siderosis, and caused by inhibition of heme and globin synthesis together with a general derangement of iron supply, have been reported. In this regard, we proved that while AZT and its monophosphorylated derivative AZTMP were unable to chelate iron, the triphosphate form AZTTP displayed a significant capacity to remove iron from transferrin. Moreover, we have previously demonstrated that AZT-exposed K562 cells showed an increase of transferrin receptors located on the cell membrane without affecting their biosynthesis, but slowing down their endocytotic pathway. Interestingly, literature data report the impairement of glycosylation reactions by AZT. Indeed, we have shown that AZT-treated K562 cells exhibited a reduced sialylation of proteins and lipids, and a strong inhibition of alpha,(2-->8) sialyltransferase activity while beta,(1-->4)galactosyltransferase and beta-galactosidase activities were significantly increased. These latter observations could be of clinical relevance since alterations of intracellular and cell surface carbohydrate expression and composition, often are associated with several diseases. However, contrarily to previous reports by other authors on AZT as an inhibitor of plant and bacterial toxins activity, we have demonstrated that AZT not only did not inhibit saporin toxicity, but even increased the cytotoxic activity of this plant toxin on K562 cells. Furthermore, the review enlightens the potential utilization of AZT as a tool in proteomics since in the recent years several genes responding to this drug have been identified in different cell lines. We have shown, for the first time, an over-expression of two proteins (PDI-A3 and sthatmin), and a full repression of two others (HSP-60 and SOD1) in AZT-exposed K562 cells. At present, we are investigating if the above reported alterations are a general feature of AZT-treatment of cultured cells, or they represent a peculiar characteristic of a specific cell line. Finally, the paper reviews a number of novel methodologies aimed at enhancing the AZT plasma levels and its bioavailability in all human organs in order to improve its therapeutic efficacy against HIV infection. These new possibilities, namely the AZT prodrug strategy, the AZT transdermal delivery and the targeted brain delivery, are yet not in use for humans but they are under experimental studies.

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national center for biotechnology information

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AZT: an old drug with new perspectives - PubMed

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The science of antiviral research was well advanced when HIV/AIDS appeared as a major new virus disease in the early 1980s. The first effective antiviral compound (AZT, azidothymidine, zidovudine) was already among the library of compounds screened and was promptly reported to be a specific inhibito ...

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1996 : Combination treatment of antivirals developed 

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1996 : Combination treatment of antivirals developed 

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In Vancouver, the 11th International AIDS Conference highlights the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), creating a period of optimism.

UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS)  estimates that 30 million adults and children worldwide have HIV, and that, each day, 16,000 people are newly infected with the virus.
As a greater number of people begin taking protease inhibitors, resistance to the drugs becomes more common, and drug resistance emerges as an area of grave concern within the AIDS community.

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1997 : Aids related deaths start to decline in developing countries 

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1997 : Aids related deaths start to decline in developing countries 

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Combination therapies are now being used.

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2001 : Newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, reaffirms the U.S. statement that HIV/AIDS is a national security threat.

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2001 : Newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, reaffirms the U.S. statement that HIV/AIDS is a national security threat.

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2010 : Truvada developed and shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection

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2010 : Truvada developed and shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection

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FDA approves the use of Truvada® for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Adults who do not have HIV, but who are at risk for infection, can now take this medication to reduce their risk of getting the virus through sexual activity.
Also Prep post exposure following a sexual encounter can prevent people who have had unprotected sex if taken within 72hrs.

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2011 : Antiviral medications are shown to reduce the risk of transmission by 96%

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2011 : Antiviral medications are shown to reduce the risk of transmission by 96%

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PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. PrEP is taken by HIV negative people before having sex (pre exposure), to prevent infection (prophylaxis). PrEP contains two drugs: tenofovir disoproxil and emtricitabine. These are widely used medicines to treat HIV and have been used for over ten years. Both drugs are combined in a single tablet. PrEP is one of several ways to reduce sexual transmission of HIV. Other ways include condoms and changes in sexual behaviour.

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2021 : The World marks 40 years since the first cases of HIV/Aids were detected. 

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2021 : The World marks 40 years since the first cases of HIV/Aids were detected. 

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The Food and Drug Administration approves Cabenuva (cabotegravir and rilpivirine, injectable formulation) the first injectable, extended release, complete HIV treatment regimen that is administered once a month, offering the first alternative to a daily oral treatment regimen.

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A Timeline of HIV and AIDS | HIV.gov

prep-in-scotland-2nd-ed-final.pdf (steveretsonproject.scot)

Fast-Track Cities - Ending the HIV Epidemic by 2030.

What was Section 28? History of the reviled anti-LGBT law (pinknews.co.uk)

National AIDS Trust |

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A lot has changed about HIV/AIDS in the last 30+ years. Learn about the history of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.