Effect of heterosexual intercourse on mucosal alloimmunisation and resistance to HIV-1 infection

Why circumcision is a biomedical imperative for the 21stcentury

“…(11) In addition, mucosal alloimmunization has been suggested as a protective factor against HIV. (20) Virtually all of the 40, mostly observational, studies conducted worldwide since the 1980s have shown that circumcision provides a 2-to 8-fold protection against HIV infection.…”

“…A recent representative study by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found the rate is 88% in whites, 73% in blacks, 42% in Mexican-Americans and 50% in others (79% overall). (7) For Australian-born men, the rate is 69%, although is only 32% in those aged [16][17][18][19][20]. (8) In the Middle East 100,000…”

Mucosal Immune Regulation: Does it Help Thwart HIV?

“…TGF-b contributes to the early inflammatory response but also to the induction of the Treg population involved in tolerance to paternally derived antigens [117]. In addition, exposure to semen during unprotected sexual intercourse results in peripheral T cell proliferation in response to the partner's cells [118,119]. Nonetheless, this alloimmune response to a partner's semen appears to be subject to important inter-individual variations.…”

Immature psychological defense mechanisms and the misrepresentations of some sex researchers

“…In fact, there is evidence that condom use is more common among persons involved in relationships with decreased intimacy and feeling less love for their partners (Aalsma, Fortenberry, Sayegh, & Orr, 2006;Civic, 1999). Moreover, condom use or reduced frequency of PVI without condoms have been associated with more use of immature defense mechanisms , depression (Gallup, Burch, & Platek, 2002;Morrill, Ickovics, Golubchikov, Beren, & Rodin, 1996;Smit et al, 2006), poorer immune function (Peters et al, 2004) and higher body mass index (Akers et al, 2009). A series of studies have shown a relationship of history of condom use or coitus interruptus with greater risk of breast cancer (Gjorgov, 1978(Gjorgov, , 1998Le et al, 1989;Vessey et al, 1983).…”

“…mechanisms are not only beneficial effects of vaginal absorption of semen (Gallup et al, 2002;Gjorgov, 1978Gjorgov, , 1998Peters et al, 2004), but also the reduced satisfaction of PVI by condoms impacting negatively on well-being, especially if chronic , 2010a. In addition, there are personality issues: condom users might have psychological inhibitions regarding intimacy, reflecting difficulties in emotional regulation (Brody & Costa, 2009a;, 2010a.…”