New study - no evidence that PrEP increased risky behaviors.

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http://www.thebody.com/content/73034/for-gay-men-hiv-prep-and-sexual-risk-are-not-neces.html

http://www.natap.org/2013/HIV/083013_02.htm

Many in the gay community have concerns that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) may increase sexual risk-taking and actually lead to an increase in the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Some, however, are challenging that notion: A new study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes shows that the overall rates of sexual risk taking in a group of HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) on PrEP fell or remained stable during the 24 months of the study.

The study sought to evaluate any changes in the sexual behaviors of men who were put on a daily PrEP regimen consisting of the U.S. FDA-approved drug Truvada (tenofovir/FTC). In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 373 HIV-negative men reporting anal sex in the past 12 months were enrolled in San Francisco, Atlanta and Boston. At the end of the trial, researchers found no evidence that HIV-negative gay men who knew they had the protection of PrEP increased their risk behaviors.

In fact, recreational drug use -- not PrEP -- led to riskier behavior, according to the study. The researchers said:

We found that substance use (including poppers, amphetamines, and sexual performance-enhancing drugs) was associated with increased reported risk. Services to link substance using MSM into counseling and treatment should be considered in future PrEP programs.

This comes as no surprise to me. I had a hunch that the whole idea that PrEP was going to cause a lot of extra risky sexual activity was a farce. This also underscores the important of drug education. Drugs have long been a part of gay male life, but the community really needs to get it under control. PrEP can help avoid HIV, but long term addiction is just as much of a killer. I know more than a few people that are addicted to Crystal Meth. One is a former med student who this year was diagnosed with HIV and HCV because of his meth addiction.

I hope studies like this silence some of the Anti PrEP crowd. To me it seems like people think that because you are on PrEP, they assume you have tons of random sex, and just want to stay neg. Many people on PrEP are just like me, In normal dating and relations they make mistake sometimes, and want extra protection.