Astroglide kills HIV

January 16, 2002 6:44 PM

Astroglide kills HIV ...in the lab, at least, according to a study performed at University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and published in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed medical journal. So do two other widely-available lubricants.
posted by blissbat (18 comments total)

It's obviously not a condom replacement, and it's too early to know if the lubricants would be effective in preventing transmission during sex, but the next few months of follow-up research will certainly be worth watching.
posted by blissbat at 6:46 PM on January 16, 2002

"...but the next few months of follow-up research will certainly be worth watching."

I'm in! Where do we get to watch?
posted by phatboy at 6:50 PM on January 16, 2002

This post degenerated quickly. I personally would not trust anything that didn't kill the virus quickly. 24 hours is too long. Sounds like it would work well with condoms. Maybe the condom manufacturers could add this lubricant to there condoms.
posted by MaddCutty at 6:54 PM on January 16, 2002

The larger danger here is the only part of the message that will be heard by those who already look for any reason not to adhere to safer-sex guidelines may be "Astroglide kills HIV."
posted by sillygit at 7:09 PM on January 16, 2002

MaddCutty, that was pretty much my reaction.

In addition to what was asked, I would have also asked the questions:

• How quickly does the HIV-killing action occur?
• What is efficacy of the compound at one hour after infection?
• Would this compound work clinically, or is this solely an in vitro result?

Bottom line: don't get your safe sex advice from Salon.
posted by me3dia at 7:13 PM on January 16, 2002

me3dia: I would assume that the difference between "safe sex advice" and reports on intriguing but preliminary research would be fairly apparent. As far as I can tell, Salon isn't recommending that men everywhere doff their condoms, lube up, and bonk away. Quite the opposite, if you actually read the article.

I would also assume that details about the study would be available in the research paper mentioned in the article, which had not been published at the time of the interview.

Bleh.
posted by blissbat at 7:28 PM on January 16, 2002

wow. It somehow seems really insane that it took 20 years to notice this. I mean, wouldn't testing substances that might kill HIV be an obvious thing to try, an equivalent to spermicides? And that it happens to be one of the most popular lubricants sold...

Though yes, the 24 hour thing seems a bit silly - won't be any use at that rate.
posted by mdn at 8:12 PM on January 16, 2002

mdn: Studies have already been done in this area, but most have proved to be a panacea of sorts. Nonoxynol-9 was thought to decrease the risk of infection, but alas, it did the opposite.
posted by sillygit at 8:46 PM on January 16, 2002

BUT DOES IT KILL CRABS?! NO!!! THESE SUCKERS ITCH!!!

note: i just thought writing that would be funny. i'm not sure it was, but i'm proud of it. thank you.
posted by adrober at 9:54 PM on January 16, 2002

BUT DOES IT KILL CRABS?! NO!!! THESE SUCKERS ITCH!!!

note: i just thought writing that would be funny. i'm not sure it was, but i'm proud of it. thank you.
posted by adrober at 9:56 PM on January 16, 2002

I agree sillygit. Headlines like this lead to pregnancy and HIV prevention urban legends (as in a previous thread which I am too lazy to search for. All I remember is that Coke kills sperm according to several teenagers).

On a similar note, I just heard that eating sushi daily MIGHT cure cancer.

Complete misinformation and bullshit.
posted by ttrendel at 10:58 PM on January 16, 2002

All I remember is that Coke kills sperm according to several teenagers

Interesting...thats diet coke in the UK...maybe thats where we are going wrong...

On the original post - Astroglide? Anyone know if this is available in the UK...I've never heard of it here?
posted by mattr at 11:39 PM on January 16, 2002

This has been news since about last January and we're still wating for them to get that paper published. In the meantime, spit seems to kill HIV sometimes, too.

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to which company helped fund this research?

My last beef is the coy way they say "We've just submitted a scientific paper that names them. Until that paper is published, I am not at liberty to say. But I will say this: The two compounds are common, widely used, and inexpensive...." This sounds to me like the news teasers "something in your kitchen may be deadly, tune in later to find out what....!!!" If you really have something that's safe and available that might save lives, letting people know what it is [and not its brand name] might be a good idea. I understand the scientific rigor involved in fact-checking and peer review, but doing teaser interviews with Salon is just lame.

And mattr, Astroglide appeas to be a US only brand, though I've heard Probe is a pretty good sustitute in the UK. Does it stop HIV? Who knows? Maybe they couldn't afford to bankroll their own study.
posted by jessamyn at 12:24 AM on January 17, 2002

Astroglide? Anyone know if this is available in the UK...I've never heard of it here?

I guess humour isn't the only dry think in the UK...
posted by phalkin at 3:53 AM on January 17, 2002

I guess humour isn't the only dry think in the UK...

Or maybe its just not required in the UK as much?

Oh dear...one of my early tentative posts descends into innuendo...
posted by mattr at 4:46 AM on January 17, 2002

I've always had a particular fondness for "The 'Glide". My favorite. Matt: check here.
posted by adampsyche at 5:27 AM on January 17, 2002

Still, if you had your choice of lube that affects the hiv virus, verses lube that does not, wouldn't you rather take the one that might have the advantage?

I say any advances in this field are welcome.
posted by dreamling at 6:52 AM on January 17, 2002

Another thing that bothers me about this is the claim of 99.9 percent. That sounds like a lot, but if anything HIV is the ultimate proof of evolution. Killing off 99.9 percent of HIV just means that you just selected for the 0.1 percent that is resistant to this treatment. (This does not just apply to HIV, it is also one of the reasons why influenza vaccines are only good for one season and many of our common antibiotics are rapidly becoming useless.)
posted by KirkJobSluder at 8:09 AM on January 17, 2002