AIDS experts revealed at a conference Wednesday that they do not know why a few HIV patients don't become ill and hope that studying these patients can help them develop vaccines or treatments. Approximately one in 300 HIV patients, termed "elite" patients, have healthy immune systems and never get sick.

Dr. Bruce Walker said during a news conference held at the 16th International Conference on AIDS, "What in the heck is going on in people that successfully control this virus? If we can figure out how people are doing it, we can try to replicate it

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves a once-daily pill called Duetact for the treatment of diabetes.

The drug combines diabetes drugs Actos and Amaryl into one pill.

Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Duetact's manufacturer, plans to make the prescription drug available later this year

London, England (AHN)-Richard Feachem, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, says research revealing the protective effect of circumcision against HIV is increasingly being seen as a lifesaving procedure which every parent would want for their sons.

According to the report, removing the foreskin is thought to harden the glans (head) of the penis, making it less permeable to viruses, with research conducted in 2005 showing the transmission of HIV from women to men during sex reduced by 60 percent if the men were circumcised

A major HIV-Aids campaign has been launched for rural India with the cooperation of village leaders and UNAids. An estimated 60% of HIV positive people are to be found in rural areas.

India claims a total of 5.7 million are people now infected with the HIV virus. Only South Africa could claim to have a problem of the same magnitude

Abbott Laboratories (a United States [U.S.] pharmaceutical company) and AstraZeneca (a British drug giant competitor) announced Wednesday their collaboration plans to create and market an all-in-one pill that will have a combined positive effect on all three blood lipids (i.e., LDLs, HDLs and triglycerides). The new pill will not only lower the LDLs (or "bad" cholesterol), but it will raise the HDLs (or "good" cholesterol), while also reducing triglycerides (fats that form in the bloodstream).

Abbott currently sells the cholesterol treatment, Tricor, and AstraZeneca currently sells the cholesterol-lowering drug, Crestor. The joint venture to develop the combination drug treatment will aid in lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is known as the number one killer of both men and women