Nation IN BRIEF : NATIONWIDE : U.S. to Research Hormone, AIDS Risk

Federal officials are moving swiftly to start new human research to see if a synthetic hormone used in popular injectable contraceptives increases the risk of AIDS virus infection. A study at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City demonstrated that monkeys injected with progesterone were seven times more likely to become infected when exposed vaginally to simian immune deficiency virus, or SIV. Progesterone is a natural hormone, but a close synthetic chemical relative, progestin, is used in two injectable contraceptives that are widely sold in the United States.