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A device that administers STD-blocking microbicides has been proven successful at stopping HIV-positive female monkeys from causing other animals to screen positive when undergoing STD testing for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Scientists from the Population Council administered vaginal rings to the animals in the experiment either two weeks or a day before giving them a hybrid of HIV and SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus). Overall, only two out of the total group of 17 creatures that had been given vaginal rings contracted HIV, while well-over half of the control group of monkeys became infected.

"This proof-of-concept study confirms that the investment in vaginal rings as a delivery system for HIV prevention is paying off. Our findings show that rings can deliver an anti-HIV drug to prevent infection," said Naomi Rutenberg, vice president and director of the Population Council's HIV and AIDS program.

Sexually active people are advised by many agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to regularly undergo STD testing for medical conditions that they can get through intercourse. Factors the CDC says increase the chances of catching HIV include having sex with an HIV-positive person without a condom, unprotected sex with multiple partners and sharing syringes for drug use.

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that young people account for more than half of positive STD tests in the U.S., cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes and syphilis in the elderly have doubled in the past 10 years.

In an article from the Texas-based news outlet the Eagle, it is speculated that this trend has been the result of relatively new technological advances such as erectile dysfunction treatments and online dating.

Meanwhile, a study published earlier this year in the Student British Medical Journal said that 80 percent of individuals as old as 90 have not abandoned their sex lives.

"You never have to retire from sex, but you should always behave as the 20-to-30 year-olds do. You need to be cautious about it. They [seniors] just don't think it can happen to them. STDs really started making news in the '80s and '90s. The fears and the warnings didn't hit their generation," said clinical psychologist Judy Kuriansky, quoted by CNN.

The Mayo Clinic says individuals should contact a medical professional to determine which STD tests are right for them.

New research available in the journal of the American Gastroenterological Association shows that individuals who took an STD diagnosis test that detected the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and later developed acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have a higher than normal likelihood of receiving a blood test detecting cancer tumors in the stomach and esophagus.

"People diagnosed with AIDS are living longer due to improved therapies," said lead author E. Christina Persson. "However, they remain at increased risk of developing a number of different cancers. An elevated risk of esophageal and stomach cancers had been observed before, but we were able to look at risk for subtypes of these malignancies."

Analysts from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) culled information from the HIV/AIDS Cancer Match Study, which contains data on almost 600,000 individuals coping with AIDS. They found that AIDS patients were nearly 70 percent more likely to develop esophageal cancer, and more than 40 percent more susceptible to stomach cancer than the rest of the population.

The NCI also stated that an STD diagnosis test indicating HIV makes an individual's cancer biomarkers blood test more likely to detect tumor cells in the lungs, mouth and cervix.