CHICAGO – Studies to be presented this week at the annual scientific meeting of the American Urological Association will present a strong case that circumcision helps reduce a man’s risk of both contracting the AIDS virus and suffering a penile injury.

“Austrian researchers analyzing biopsies from 20 circumcised and uncircumcised men found that the inner foreskin of the penis contains a higher concentration of Langerhans cells — a prime target of the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV — than any other part of the male foreskin,” Forbes reported. “Because this would make the inner foreskin more susceptible to HIV, removing it through circumcision would help lower a man’s risk of contracting HIV, they concluded.

In a second study found that nearly 3,000 Kenyan men who were recently circumcised were less likely to suffer coital injuries, such as scratches, cuts, scrapes or soreness, than those who had their foreskin intact. A team comprised of researchers from the United States, Canada and Africa determined that sexual function was similar between the circumcised and uncircumcised groups.

“These are important reports which support the concepts that circumcision does not interfere with sexual function and that circumcision is an important element of HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa,” American Urological Association spokesman Dr. Ira D. Sharlip said, in a news release issued by the organization.

“At the same time, it should be emphasized that circumcision must be combined with other techniques of HIV prevention, such as safe sex and voluntary testing,” he said. “It is not sufficient to rely on circumcision alone to prevent HIV transmission.”