Sydney - Australian researchers say they have used the female hormone oestrogen to create a "living condom" in men to shield them from the HIV virus that leads to AIDS, news reports said Wednesday. Melbourne University's Andrew Pask and Roger Short said that applying oestrogen to the foreskin boosts the body's natural defences against HIV.
The oestrogen cream, Oestriol, works by quadrupling the thin layer of the defensive protein keratin in the skin, Pask told Australia's AAP news agency.
"By using keratin we can increase the body's natural defence ... and then the virus can't physically inject itself through that barrier to infect the cells underneath," Pask said.
"It's not a contraception, but it's a living condom and a perfect protection against HIV," Short said.
Their study, which is published in the medical journal PLoS ONE, will be followed up by clinical trials in Africa, the epicentre of the AIDS epidemic.
The oestrogen cream is applied once a week and would suit cultures where circumcision was uncommon.
