Date: Mon, 16 May 1994 09:13:48 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary May 16, 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 "Professor Honored for AIDS Research" Baltimore Sun (05/16/94) P. 1B; Selby, Holly The AIDS research conducted by Dr. Michael Summers has won the scientist a position as an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the nation. Summers, an associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Maryland--Baltimore County, was the first to describe a key component of HIV. Under his guidance, a research team developed a model of the nucleocapsid protein found in HIV-infected cells. Only three of the dozens of such proteins have been described as of yet. The team demonstrated that, in test tubes, certain compounds eject zinc from the nucleocapsid protein, and inhibit HIV replication. The finding could prove useful in the development of AIDS treatments. Summers says that he and his graduate students are in "hot pursuit" of the fourth HIV protein. Beginning next month, HHMI will underwrite Summers' research, create a laboratory for him at UMBC, pay for a research team, and provide funding of up to $800,000 for the next five years. Then, if the institute is satisfied with Summers' work, the appointment may be renewed. "Deadly Transfusions" Associated Press (05/15/94); Gordon, Marcy The American Red Cross and other blood banks in 1983 rejected a screening test, saying that--despite assertions by the Centers for Disease Control--there was no proof that AIDS could be transmitted through transfusions. The groups also refused to adopt the hepatitis test--HIV tests were not yet developed--because it was too expensive. Internal documents obtained by the Associated Press, however, show that Red Cross officials acknowledged that the disease could be transmitted through blood. "The available evidence strongly suggests that AIDS is transmissible" through blood, wrote Red Cross planning and marketing manager Paul Cumming, in an internal memo. "To the extent the [blood] industry ... sticks together against CDC, it will appear to some segments of the public at least, that we have a self-interest which is in conflict with the public interest, unless we can clearly demonstrate that CDC is wrong." That memo and others are among pages of documents that were, at the request of the Red Cross, placed under protective orders by judges in various court cases. Although public disclosure of the contents are prohibited, AP acquired them through sources familiar with the issue. "AIDS--Bloodworth-Thomason" Associated Press (05/15/94); Gordon, Marcy When Linda Bloodworth-Thomason's mother died from AIDS in 1986, the television producer wrote an episode of "Designing Women" about the disease, and sued the hospital that gave her mother the infected blood transfusion. She eventually received a settlement. Although the hospital had its own blood bank not affiliated with the Red Cross, Bloodworth- Thomason is angered by that agency's and other blood banks' rejection of a blood-screening test, available in 1983, that could have spared the lives of her mother, tennis star Arthur Ashe, and thousands of other Americans who got AIDS from transfusions received between March 1983 and March 1985. "I think the Red Cross is the most culpable organization in the deaths of all these people because they are supposed to be the leader in the blood-banking community," she said. "The truth is every one of these people could have lived if the Red Cross had acted responsibly." Bloodworth-Thomason's litigation was one of about 500 other lawsuits that were filed against the Red Cross, other blood banks, and hospitals--nearly all of which were settled out of court. The Red Cross is responsible for half of the nation's blood supply, and provides blood and components to some 3,000 hospitals. "Cannes Visitors Prepare for World AIDS Day" United Press International (05/14/94) Celebrities attending the Cannes Film Festival in France set some time aside on Saturday to prepare for a day of AIDS public awareness. The famous faces recorded messages that will be broadcast at the end of the year on World AIDS Day. Superstars including actress Kathleen Turner and directors Quentin Tarantino and John Waters are among those who have agreed to contribute. "Off AZT" Associated Press (05/16/94); Baenen, Laura Since Lindsey Nagel's adoptive parents took her off AZT in the fall of 1992, the three-and-a-half-year-old appears healthy, and no longer experiences the upset stomach, appetite loss, and severe leg cramps associated with the antiviral drug. "I wasn't going to put that kid through a bunch of misery so she could live another six months," says Cheryl Nagel, Lindsey's mother. "I would rather have her live two good months than to have her live six bad months." AZT, also known as zidovudine, is the first and most commonly used antiviral drug approved for the treatment of HIV. Mounting evidence concerning the side effects of AZT, however, seems to support the decision of the Nagels and others who have sworn off the drug. Studies last year showed that AZT does not help those who are not already ill to live longer, and a study published this March suggested that drug's side effects cancel out any benefit. In general, physicians have been more inclined to prescribe AZT for asymptomatic children rather than asymptomatic adults, because the disease usually progresses more rapidly in children, according to AIDS researcher Paul Volberding. He explained that doctors try to strike a balance between benefits and side effects when deciding whether to prescribe AZT. "Choosing to Die" Newsweek (05/16/94) Vol. 123, No. 20, P. 42; Katel, Peter Luis Enrique Delgado was tired of the rules and regulations of Cuban society, so he had a friend at an AIDS sanitarium extract some blood with a syringe, then had another patient inject the contaminated blood into his own veins. Delgado is one of a group of young people known as frikis--"freaks" or "rockers"--who claim that they intentionally became infected with HIV by injecting themselves with tainted blood. Various sources have named more than 30 young people from Pinar del Rio who say they injected HIV, and 55 more who have already died. According to the accounts, the self-injections occurred in 1989-91. A former Cuban AIDS health worker says that while it is possible that some of the frikis could have contracted HIV from drug injections, the rapid onset of full-blown AIDS among the group indicates that their explanation is a truthful one. "There is no other explanation for someone dying in two years but a direct blood-to-blood injection," he says. Cuba's policy at the time was to quarantine anyone testing HIV-positive. For the frikis, life in an AIDS sanitarium meant three square meals daily, air conditioning, an absence of police--luxuries the average Cuban did not enjoy. "CD8 Antiviral Factor Found" Advocate (05/03/94) No. 654, P. 34 Control of HIV pathogenesis usually occurs through the antiviral-suppressing activity of CD8 cells. A presentation at the Novel Therapies for AIDS conference held in Palm Springs in early March suggests that there may be a cellular antiviral factor (CAF) associated with CD8 cells. CAF inhibits the ability of the virus to replicate at the genetic level. Dr. Jay Levy, of the University of California at San Francisco, encouraged the use of therapies designed to maintain a strong CD8-cell response, including the administration of certain chemical messengers between cells, selected CD8-cell populations, or CAF. "Anti-AIDS Effort Draws Criticism" Advertising Age (05/02/94) Vol. 65, No. 19, P. 40; Cuneo, Alice Z. In response to criticism from some homosexual and minority groups who say that the federal government's first AIDS prevention public service announcements are too anonymous, the next spots could become more explicit with a more regionalized approach. The groups' main complaint is that the ads shield the gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation of the characters. David Ford, media relations manager for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, says the problem is that the broad-stroke campaign does not address the needs of specific communities. For example, the campaign's failure to mention young gays is one concern. "This confirms, or underscores, their invisibility and adds to shame" about their homosexuality, says Ford. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention responded to this and other concerns by saying that it will consider funding PSAs more in tune with community standards. The CDC is "looking at a whole lot of options" for future AIDS awareness ads, according to Melissa Shepherd, chief of social marketing and media for the agency. She could not say, however, when the next round of spots would be developed, whom they might target, or what messages they will attempt to deliver.