Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 16:55:01 +0500 From: awilson@smtpinet.aspensys.com (Wilson, Anne) AIDS Daily Summary December 23, 1994 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Head of Cancer Institute Says He Will Quit Post in April" "Health Department Cited for Deficiencies in Managing $1.5 Million AIDS Grant" "Across the USA: Pennsylvania/California" "Scientists Advance in Understanding AIDS Enzymes" "The Condoms Aren't the Draw, Study Finds" "New Zealand Court Jails Kenyan Musician on AIDS Charges" "AIDS Research Centre Opens in Ethiopia" "FDA's Oncology Drug Advisory Committee to Review Liposome Technology's DOX-SL at February 1995 Meeting" "Management of Suicidal Patients with HIV Disease" "The Next Step Toward a Global AIDS Vaccine" ************************************************************ "Head of Cancer Institute Says He Will Quit Post in April" New York Times (12/23/94) P. A24; Hilts, Philip J. Dr. Samuel Broder, director of the National Cancer Institute, announced on Wednesday that he would leave the institute in April. Broder, who was among the first government scientists to work on treating AIDS, will join Ivax Corp., one of the nation's largest generic drug producers and a leading manufacturer of intravenous drug delivery devices. In 1985, he led a laboratory team that discovered the therapeutic effects of the anti-AIDS drug AZT. Broder explained his leaving by saying that he had served his time in government and "I think if I have one more career in me, and if I want to do that, I must leave now." Related Story: Washington Post (12/22) P. A4 "Health Department Cited for Deficiencies in Managing $1.5 Million AIDS Grant" Baltimore Sun (12/23/94) P. 10B; Selby, Holly Federal officials have cited the Baltimore City Health Department for deficiencies in its administration of a $1.5 million grant for the care of AIDS patients, and are considering disbursing the money through a community-based AIDS clinic. Part of the Ryan White CARE Act, the grant funds early intervention services for people infected with HIV. Five programs receive money from the grant. The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has asked Baltimore's Chase-Brexton Clinic, which receives about $135,000 a year from the grant, to step in and act as the "emergency interim grantee." Although the grant is administered by the health department, it is awarded to a consortium of local AIDS care providers including the adult HIV services program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Moore [AIDS] Clinic at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. HRSA noted the high volume of AIDS patients served by the five programs as a compelling reason to find an alternative grant manager and to continue medical services without interruption. Reasons for the switch include inadequate patient demographic information, lack of documentation of funding and performance of programs, and general inconsistency of the grant application. "Across the USA: Pennsylvania/California" USA Today (12/23/94) P. 19A In Philadelphia, the AIDS Law Project has reached a settlement with Rite Aid Corp. for disclosing HIV prescription information to an individual's employer. Although the terms of the settlement were not disclosed, AIDS Law officials say that Rite Aid will no longer release HIV prescription information to state employers. In other news around the nation, services were pending in San Diego for Martin Caprow, the lawyer whose suit claiming he was fired because he had AIDS inspired the movie "Philadelphia." Caprow died on Wednesday at age 38. "Scientists Advance in Understanding AIDS Enzymes" Reuters (12/22/94) Researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases announced on Thursday the discovery of the three-dimensional structure of one of the three key enzymes that HIV needs to reproduce. The finding fills in a large gap in the knowledge of researchers trying to develop a treatment or cure for AIDS. Knowing the structure of the enzyme may help in the development of a drug that could block it. Researchers are trying to develop drugs that target the three HIV enzymes, but HIV has a tremendous ability to mutate and evade treatments. Scientists hope to develop several drugs that can be used in a multi-drug "cocktail" to target the enzymes "The Condoms Aren't the Draw, Study Finds" Boston Globe (12/22/94) P. 3; Kong, Dolores A new study has concluded that giving condoms to teenagers as part of an AIDS prevention program does not promote sex. The study compared the sexual activity of inner-city Latinos aged 15 to 19 in Boston, where a prevention program was instituted, and in Hartford, where there was no such program. Of the males who were not sexually active before the program, 14 percent fewer became sexually active in Boston than in Hartford. Compared to 15 percent in Hartford, only 5 percent of the Boston women who were sexually active by the end of the program had had two or more sex partners during the last six months. The AIDS prevention program did not effect how frequently sexually active teenagers had intercourse, when young women began having sex, or how many partners sexually active young men had. The program included in-home discussions with both teenagers and parents and door-to-door condom distribution. "New Zealand Court Jails Kenyan Musician on AIDS Charges" Reuters (12/22/94) A New Zealand court has sentenced Peter Mwai to seven years in prison for having unprotected sex when he knew he was HIV-infected. Mwai, a drummer in a touring African band, was recently found guilty of six charges--one of causing grievous bodily harm and five of criminal nuisance after he had unprotected sex with five women. Two of the five women have since tested HIV-positive. Judge James Robertson told Mwai he committed a gross breach of trust when he did not inform the women he was infected. "AIDS Research Centre Opens in Ethiopia" Reuters (12/22/94) An AIDS research center to study Africa's HIV strain compared to its counterparts in Europe and the United States was opened in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Thursday. The $8.1 million center, financed by the Dutch government, will focus on the African virus because its epidemiology and virus strains were different from those in Europe and the United States. Africa has the highest rate of HIV and AIDS cases in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that 10 million adults in sub-Saharan Africa are HIV-infected. "FDA's Oncology Drug Advisory Committee to Review Liposome Technology's DOX-SL at February 1995 Meeting" Business Wire (12/21/94) Liposome Technology Inc. (LTI) has announced that DOX-SL, its proprietary formulation of the anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride, is scheduled for review at the Oncology Drug Advisory Committee meeting on Feb. 14. LTI filed a New Drug Application for the use of DOX-SL as single agent therapy for Kaposi's Sarcoma in AIDS patients who cannot tolerate or who do not respond to other therapy. The company also filed Marketing Authorization Applications in December. "Management of Suicidal Patients with HIV Disease" Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (11/94-12/94) Vol. 5, No. 6, P. 19; Valente, Sharon M.; Saunders, Judith M. There are higher numbers of suicidal acts among patients with HIV than among the general population. Stress related to HIV diagnosis, treatment, and medications can lead to depression--which increases suicide risk. "A lot of AIDS patients don't want to hang around 'til the end--they don't see a cure on the horizon and have no hope for recovery...Quality of life becomes the issue. People define it themselves," said one AIDS patient. Depressed people require a high quality of care based on sound scientific knowledge of evaluation of suicide. Early detection and evaluation are critical for a depressed person. Safety precautions include hospitalization and removal of the method of suicide. A nurse's responsibility is to help patients consider options that improve the quality of life, reduce patients' distress and suffering, and help patients thoroughly consider alternatives to suicide. "The Next Step Toward a Global AIDS Vaccine" Science (11/25/94) Vol. 266, No. 5189, P. 1335; Koff, Wayne C. There are four important areas where increased public sector efforts to facilitate private sector product development initiatives could significantly advance the timetable for the development of a safe and globally effective AIDS vaccine. First, incentives must be provided for expanded biopharmaceutical investment in AIDS vaccine development. Second, an international regulatory consensus of criteria for licensure of an effective AIDS vaccine must be established. Third, international capabilities of evaluating the efficacy of the best potential AIDS vaccines need to be expanded. Finally, mechanisms to facilitate information flow to vaccine manufacturers should be improved. These efforts, as well as an effective financing plan to maximize worldwide vaccine delivery and minimize lag periods between vaccine development and widespread distribution, would significantly accelerate the potential for development of a successful AIDS vaccine.