Genital herpes caused by a reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is generally treated as a lesion in one specific area of the genital region. A new study, however, finds that the virus can frequently reactivate throughout the genital tract, an important new concept that could help guide both HSV-2 treatment and prevention.

With the help of effective drug therapies, HIV patients are living longer, healthier lives. Now, researchers want to improve these drug therapies and develop alternative preventative strategies, such as vaginal gels and creams that contain the same or related compounds used in treatments for people infected with HIV. A new compound being developed is more potent and longer-lasting than current HIV therapies.

New research in the UK casts doubt on whether men can be trusted to take the male contraceptive pill, which is currently undergoing trials. The findings show that while men said they would welcome it, women thought their partners could not be trusted to take the contraceptive pill regularly, leading to unplanned pregnancy.

A new study finds that women with higher blood levels of PBDEs, a common type of flame retardant, took longer to get pregnant. The flame retardants are used in foam furniture, electronics, fabrics, carpets, plastics and other common items in the home.

Young women and teenage girls often face efforts by male partners to sabotage birth control or coerce pregnancy -- including damaging condoms and destroying contraceptives -- and these efforts, defined as "reproductive coercion," frequently are associated with physical or sexual violence, a study has found.

A viral infection is like an uninvited, tenacious houseguest in the cell, using a range of tricks to prevent its eviction. Researchers have identified one of the key proteins allowing herpes simplex virus DNA to fly under the radar of their hosts' involuntary hospitality.

Systemic pre-exposure administration of antiretroviral drugs provides protection against intravenous and rectal transmission of HIV in mice with human immune systems, according to a new study.

Drugs that stimulate a woman's ovaries to speed the maturity and multiply the production of eggs accounts for four times more live births than assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization. These drugs are responsible for 20 percent of multiple births. Multiple birth is a risk factor for preterm birth and infants born too soon face lifelong health problems such as breathing problems, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, vision and hearing loss, and even death.

HIV infection or the treatments used to control it are prematurely aging the brain, researchers have found. Blood flow in the brains of HIV patients is reduced to levels normally seen in uninfected patients 15 to 20 years older.

The final step in the multidisciplinary approach of gender reassignment therapy in female-to-male transsexuals consists of the construction of a neophallus to allow the patient to void while standing and to have sexual experience after he is accustomed to his new voiding abilities. A new retrospective study evaluates the outcome in 129 female-to-male transsexuals after implantation of a hydraulic erectile prosthesis.