Data from lab experiments published online by the journal Cell Host and Microbes last week show that the gel form of the antiretroviral tenofovir, which is being investigated as an HIV prevention method, works to inhibit the reproduction of herpes virus in tonsil and cervical tissue, the New York Times reports.

The study was conducted to help confirm findings from a Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) clinical trial released last year at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna that showed the gel reduced the risk of HIV infection among women who used it by 39 percent and the risk of contracting herpes by 51 percent, according to the newspaper. The latest study was performed by researchers from NIH, Gilead Sciences Inc. and universities in Belgium and Italy, the Times notes (McNeil, 10/20).