Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 14:52:48 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary April 19, 1995 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Closing of a Gay Theater, the Site of High-Risk Sex, Is Upheld" "Local Biotech Firms Test AIDS Vaccine" "Red Cross Going Broke on Blood" "Four New HIV Cases Reported" "Cuba Testing AIDS Vaccine 'Candidate' on Chimps" "Basketball--Magic Johnson Interested in Playing in 1996 Olympics" "Study Links HIV, STD Infection Risk with Rape for Poor, Urban Women" "Views of HIV Proteins for the Drug Designers" "Court Says Firm Illegally Fired HIV-Positive Worker" "MOM Fills Rx for HIV, AIDS Patients" ************************************************************ "Closing of a Gay Theater, the Site of High-Risk Sex, Is Upheld" New York Times (04/19/95) P. B3; Dunlap, David W. In a decision that could help New York City's efforts to reduce HIV transmission, a judge has ruled that the city did not violate free-speech rights when it closed a gay movie theater at which authorities said they found high-risk sexual activity. The decision could result in increased inspection and regulation of commercial sex outlets, including pornographic theaters and bookstores, which have relied on federal and state free-speech rights for protection. The New David Cinema, which was closed on March 31, is the third gay theater or club recently closed by authorities. The other two have reopened. A judge, however, has ruled that the New David will remain closed, noting that because city officials sent warning letters before moving to close the theater, they had properly tried to limit high-risk sexual activity without interrupting the exhibition of movies, which is protected under the state's "liberty of speech." A lawyer for the theater said the closing is unconstitutional because the city's warning did not specify what standards the theater must meet. "Local Biotech Firms Test AIDS Vaccine" Washington Times (04/19/95) P. B10; Gaulin, Jacqueline Cel-Sci Corp. of Alexandria, Va., and Alpha 1 Biomedicals Inc. of Bethesda, Md., have launched a clinical study of HGP-30, a potential AIDS vaccine. Fifteen healthy subjects, who took part in a safety study of HGP-30 three to four years ago, will participate in the new study, the two companies said. The vaccine has already been tested in two clinical trials with HIV-negative volunteers in California and Britain. Viral Technologies Inc., a joint venture of Cel-Sci and Alpha 1, owns the rights to HGP-30. "Red Cross Going Broke on Blood" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (04/18/95) P. 1A; Rose, Louis J. Pounded by rising expenses and the fear of AIDS, the American Red Cross is losing millions of dollars delivering blood. "We have nearly exhausted our reserves," says Steve Boyd, director of finance and administration for American Red Cross Blood Services, Missouri-Illinois Region. That region may be forced to reduce the amount of blood it supplies to 116 hospitals in eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois. The Missouri-Illinois regional blood services reflects difficulties across the country. The agency's 44 blood-service regions posted a $57.1 million operating deficit last year. The Red Cross' financial problems date back to 1983, when a blood-transfusion recipient became infected with HIV. Since then, costs have increased--primarily associated with blood-testing procedures. The AIDS epidemic has also deterred donors, even though the donating process is safe. The Red Cross has spent almost $100 million since 1991 to protect blood safety and consolidate operations. It intends to spend about $38 million more. "Four New HIV Cases Reported" Toronto Globe and Mail (04/18/95) P. A4 Four new cases of HIV have recently been diagnosed in the Yukon. The situation is frightening, said an official of the AIDS Yukon Alliance, because it appears that two or three of the cases were contracted in the territory. By the end of February, only 15 people in the Yukon had tested HIV-positive. "Cuba Testing AIDS Vaccine 'Candidate' on Chimps" Reuters (04/18/95) On Tuesday, the Communist Party newspaper Granma reported that Cuban scientists are testing a potential AIDS vaccine on chimpanzees. The paper quoted AIDS specialist Jorge Perez Avila as saying that the vaccine was considered a "candidate" because the "road is still long." Details of the tests will be given at an AIDS conference in Cuba next month. The country has documented 1,122 cases of HIV infection, and 229 related deaths, said Granma. "Basketball--Magic Johnson Interested in Playing in 1996 Olympics" Reuters (04/18/95) Basketball great Magic Johnson is interested in competing in the 1996 Olympics, a representative announced on Tuesday. Johnson, a three-time National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player, retired in 1991 after contracting HIV. He played in the 1992 All-Star Game and was named Most Valuable Player. During the summer of 1992, Johnson played with the original "Dream Team," which won a gold medal in Barcelona. "Study Links HIV, STD Infection Risk with Rape for Poor, Urban Women" Nation's Health (04/95) Vol. 25, No. 4, P. 11 One in seven women from poor, urban neighborhoods reported having been raped in the previous year, found a study reported in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. These women were more likely to be infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases than women who had not been raped. Dr. Kathleen L. Irwin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and researchers from New York City, San Francisco, and Miami studied more than 1,000 women in these three cities. Rape was strongly associated with factors linked to HIV infection, including the fact that urban rape survivors were more likely to be prostitutes, to smoke crack cocaine, to have had sex with high-risk men, and to be homeless. Almost 25 percent of the rape victims were HIV-positive. More than one-third of the survivors, however, believed they were at little or no risk of HIV infection. "Views of HIV Proteins for the Drug Designers" Nature (04/06/95) Vol. 374, No. 6522, P. 578 Two articles in the April issue of Nature Structural Biology address the problem of mobility in the HIV-1 protease. The active site of HIV-1 protease is protected by two flaps which must open to allow entry to substrates and drugs designed to inhibit the protein. Until now, the details of the flap-opening were unclear and prior studies could not imitate the process. Collins et al., however, forced the structure from an inhibitor-bound to an unliganded form, which was enough to stimulate flap-opening. The team then identified conformational changes in four amino acids at the base of the flaps which were responsible for the movement. Nicholson et al. used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to examine HIV-1 protease. The researchers found that the flaps undergo large-scale motions very quickly and that the tips of the flaps undergo a conformational change on a slower scale. The two studies illustrate how some drug-resistant mutants avoid inhibition by changing the dynamics of the flaps. "Court Says Firm Illegally Fired HIV-Positive Worker" Nikkei Weekly (04/03/95) Vol. 33, No. 1665, P. 14 In the first ever case in Japan of the wrongful dismissal of an HIV-infected employee, the Tokyo District Court recently ruled that a Tokyo computer software company illegally fired an employee in 1992 for having HIV. The company must pay the worker 6 million yen (US$66,667) in compensation and 9 million yen in unpaid salary. The software company insisted that it fired the employee because he failed to obtain a visa to work at a Southeast Asian company were he was assigned, and because he was very reluctant to accept the overseas position. The judge, however, said that the man's HIV status was the true reason for his dismissal, and that the firing was illegal. In February, the Labor Ministry issued a guideline on AIDS issues and counseled businesses to follow them. The guideline states that being HIV-positive does not constitute cause for dismissal, and that management should not conduct HIV tests for potential workers. "MOM Fills Rx for HIV, AIDS Patients" DM News (04/10/95) Vol. 17, No. 14, P. 4; Negus, Beth A new mail order pharmacy, called Mail Order Meds Inc. (MOM), is targeting the growing market of HIV and AIDS patients. MOM began filling prescriptions and selling supplementary items such as vitamins, educational materials, and alternative treatments via an 800 number in January. It will launch MOM's House, a companion online service in May. A significant benefit of such services for patients is that the pharmacies deal with all the insurance paperwork and offer overnight delivery of prescriptions. The unavailability of mailing lists, however, means that direct mail prospecting opportunities are limited. "Confidentiality is such a major issue, so it's hard to maintain a list of HIV and AIDS patients," notes Karen Jacobi, marketing supervisor for Stadtlanders Pharmacy, another mail order service. MOM is also trying to build a customer database, and plans to send out cards to customers in honor of special events, such as birthdays and holidays. Since opening, approximately 500 people have ordered from MOM on a regular basis.