A body of scientific evidence has shown that men who are circumcised are less likely to contract HIV than men who are uncircumcised. Research published in 2014 concludes that the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone selectively impact HIV transmission. Pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis "Pre-exposure prophylaxis" refers to the practice of taking some drugs before being exposed to HIV infection, and having a decreased chance of contracting HIV as a result of taking that drug. Post-exposure prophylaxis refers to taking some drugs quickly after being exposed to HIV, while the virus is in a person's body but before the virus has established itself. In both cases, the drugs would be the same as those used to treat persons with HIV, and the intent of taking the drugs would be to eradicate the virus before the person becomes irreversibly infected. Post-exposure prophylaxis is recommended in anticipated cases of HIV exposure, such as if a nurse somehow has blood-to-blood contact with a patient in the course of work, or if someone without HIV requests the drugs immediately after having unprotected sex with a person who might have HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis is sometimes an option for HIV-negative persons who feel that they are at increased risk of HIV infection, such as an HIV-negative person in a serodiscordant relationship with an HIV-positive partner. Current research in these agents include drug development, efficacy testing, and practice recommendations for using drugs for HIV prevention.
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Index of HIV/AIDS-related articles