Date: Thu, 7 Dec 1995 09:48:06 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 12/07/95 AIDS Daily Summary December 7, 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 ************************************************************ "Proteins That May Slow Pace of AIDS Identified, Opening New Research Path" "Clinton Pledges to Protect AIDS Funding" "Clinton Slammed on AIDS Efforts" "Bills Propose Tough Curbs for On-Line Obscenity" "Abbott Labs Drug Is Found Promising in 2 AIDS Studies" "Group Calls AIDS a 'Slow Plague' Ravaging Africa" "Testing Is Ruled Out on Stabbing Needle" "Parents Slam Schools for Condom Handouts" "France Backs Off Promise to Boost UN AIDS Programme" "AIDS Update: A Spitting Image of HIV" ************************************************************ "Proteins That May Slow Pace of AIDS Identified, Opening New Research Path" Wall Street Journal (12/07/95) P. B8; Langreth, Robert Two separate groups of researchers report that they have identified four suppressor proteins that may slow AIDS progression. The findings will likely ignite intense competition among medical researchers to determine whether new treatments can be created using the proteins. "This is an important advance toward understanding how the body might protect itself against the spread of the AIDS virus," commented Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "It definitely opens up new avenues of [drug] research." The first team, led by the University of Maryland's Dr. Robert C. Gallo, identified three closely related proteins from human immune cells. When combined in a test tube with HIV, the proteins worked together to stop the virus from duplicating. Gallo said his team now has increased understanding as to how the suppressor proteins may function and will initiate animal tests to determine whether protein-based therapies are feasible. Separately, Michael Baier and his colleagues at Germany's Paul Ehrlick Institute say they have isolated a fourth suppressor protein, one which appears to be unrelated to Gallo's three and turns out to be a previously identified substance known as interleukin 16. The findings of Gallo's team will be reported in next week's issue of Science, and Baier's study will be published in this week's Nature. Related Stories: New York Times (12/07) P. A1; Washington Post (12/07) P. A1; Philadelphia Inquirer (12/07) P. A1; Washington Times (12/07) P. A16; USA Today (12/07) P. 1D "Clinton Pledges to Protect AIDS Funding" Washington Post (12/07/95) P. A26; Devroy, Ann During the first White House conference on AIDS on Wednesday, President Clinton vowed to safeguard funding and health care programs for AIDS patients. An undertone of the conference and a complaint of protestors outside was that although Clinton has done more than any other president to fight the disease, it has not been sufficient. After making the opening remarks, Clinton joined a discussion about needle-sharing among drug users, mandatory HIV testing for pregnant women, and pediatric AIDS. The president announced that he had ordered the preparation of a government-wide AIDS research strategy, as well as a corresponding research budget, due within 90 days. Clinton added that he had requested that Vice President Gore hold a meeting of scientists and drug industry leaders to investigate methods of accelerating the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and other methods of protecting people from HIV. Clinton also used the conference to condemn Republican plans to reduce proposed Medicaid spending and to vow to fight those cutbacks. Related Stories: New York Times (12/07) P. B18; Philadelphia Inquirer (12/07) P. A24 "Clinton Slammed on AIDS Efforts" Washington Times (12/07/95) P. A4; Bedard, Paul AIDS activists forced President Clinton to defend his AIDS policies on Wednesday, suggesting that his anti-AIDS effort is a "big con" to win back angry homosexuals and liberals. "Where have you been," asked AIDS activist Bob Lederer, who repeatedly interrupted and challenged the president during the White House conference on AIDS. Prior to leaving the conference, Clinton said, "I am very sorry that there is not a cure," and said he understood the participants' frustration. The president had been expected to introduce new AIDS initiatives during the conference, yet instead he revealed only plans for a new spending report and a meeting of scientists. As Clinton spoke at the conference, some 200 protesters gathered outside the White House, yelling, "What do we want? A cure for AIDS. What do we get? A conference." "Bills Propose Tough Curbs for On-Line Obscenity" New York Times (12/07/95) P. A1; Andrews, Edmund L. Members of a House-Senate conference committee agreed in principle on Wednesday to strict new measures against obscene and "indecent" material on computer networks. The committee stopped short on voting on the specific language of the bill, but House members voted in favor of a measure that would award fines of up to $100,000 and prison sentences to people who make such material available to children. The action was immediately criticized by many civil rights groups, who claimed the bill would infringe on citizens' constitutional rights to free speech and pledged to challenge it in court. Furthermore, the committee's decision was also a setback to the many commercial on-line services and information providers who are concerned about legal actions over obscene language and even for discussions about such issues as AIDS. Related Story: Washington Post (12/07) P. A1 "Abbott Labs Drug Is Found Promising in 2 AIDS Studies" Wall Street Journal (12/07/95) P. B8; Burton, Thomas M. Two new studies published in the most recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine indicate that Abbott Laboratories' experimental AIDS drug ritonavir is effective in increasing patients' immune cells and decreasing levels of HIV in their bloodstreams. Ritonavir is currently in Phase III clinical trials, although these newly published studies were based on smaller Phase I/Phase II tests conducted earlier. According to Martin Markowitz of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, an investigator in one of the studies, initial results show ritonavir to be as effective as another experimental drug under development by Merck & Co. Some medical analysts, noting that HIV mutates, are skeptical about protease-inhibitor drugs, but Markowitz expresses optimism while admitting the new drugs may have to be used in combination with other therapies. "Group Calls AIDS a 'Slow Plague' Ravaging Africa" Philadelphia Inquirer (12/07/95) P. A25 The National Research Council said Wednesday that rapid action was required to stem the AIDS epidemic which is moving as a "slow plague" in some African nations. The federal government advisory group said the disease will lower average life expectancy in Zambia from 66 to 33 years by the year 2010. Similarly, life expectancy in Zimbabwe could drop from 70 to 40 years, from 68 to 40 years in Kenya, and from 59 to 31 years in Uganda, the group's report statistics suggest. "Perhaps the most immediate argument for immediate action ... is that in many parts of the region, the epidemic has not yet peaked," the report said. The council recommended increased research for programs that fight AIDS and prevent it by changing behavior patterns that researchers claim are the foundations of the epidemic. "Testing Is Ruled Out on Stabbing Needle" New York Times (12/07/95) P. B8 New York City law enforcement officials reported Wednesday that the needle used to stab a young girl on the subway last week cannot be tested for infectious diseases because no blood or bodily fluids were found on the syringe. Edward D. Fagan, the lawyer for six-year-old Colete Lopez's family, said that the Lopez family would be pleased that no evidence of serious disease had been identified. He noted, however, that conclusions about whether the child had been infected were "speculative," adding that there was no way to determine whether the needle contained anything prior to the subway attack and that four days had passed between the time of attack and the testing of the needle. "Parents Slam Schools for Condom Handouts" Washington Times (12/07/95) P. A12; Wetzstein, Cheryl On Wednesday, the House Economic and Educational Opportunities subcommittee on oversight and investigations heard suggestions on how "parents need to reclaim their roles as primary teachers of values to their children." The primary topic of discussion was the school's role in providing sex education, particularly that related to homosexuality. But testimony from Claire Connelly, president of the Gay and Lesbian Resources Center of Ventura County, Camarillo, Calif., led the panel in another direction. Connelly said that each year, $3 billion of government funds "trickle down" to 8,000 homosexual community-based groups. However instead of using these funds for HIV education or support services, Connelly asserted, the money "is used for salaries, expense accounts for gay activists, to infiltrate the public schools to espouse promiscuity and homosexuality, to establish meeting places for ... trysts, and to run a vast lobbying grid across the United States for gay militants." Connelly said that therefore "we now have sexually active gay men with AIDS who do not use condoms themselves providing sex education for children with federal funds." "France Backs Off Promise to Boost UN AIDS Programme" Nature (11/16/95) Vol. 378, No. 6554, P. 224; Butler, Declan The decision of the French government not to donate about $20 million to the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS has sparked widespread protest in that country and others. The revocation of the funding, which was promised at 1994's "AIDS Summit" in Paris, supports skeptics views that the meeting was primarily a political performance, and that support pledged at the meeting could become a "long list of good intentions" that may never be acted upon. Furthermore, UNAIDS Director Peter Piot termed the French decision "very worrying and profoundly disappointing." Piot added that as a result of the decision, a series of planned programs in developing countries will be canceled. The full impact, however, will not be established until the program's coordinating board convenes to discuss its planned budget for the next two years. "AIDS Update: A Spitting Image of HIV" Men's Health (12/95) Vol. 10, No. 10, P. 44 University of Florida veterinary neurologist Roger Clemmons has designed a saliva test for HIV that is being produced for home use in international markets. The dipstick-style test, called OraScreen HIV Rapid Test, generates results in less than 15 minutes. Beacon Diagnostics, Inc. intends to file for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the saliva test in the next two years.