Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 15:00:14 +0500
From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com
Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 12/19/95


                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      December 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


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"Blood Bank Setup Faulted in HIV-Tainted Transfusion"
"When Doctors and Patients Decide to Test the Far Limits of
Treatment"
"Defense Bill Includes Automatic Dismissal For Those With AIDS"
"AIDS Patients' Stories Still Need to Be Told"
"High Level of AIDS Needed to Infect Infants"
"Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Lysis Inhibited by Viable HIV Mutants"
"Trials of Marijuana's Medical Potential Languish as Government
Just Says No"
************************************************************

"Blood Bank Setup Faulted in HIV-Tainted Transfusion"
Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (12/19/95) P. B1;  Meyer,
Josh
     The Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles has
been named in a $1.5-million lawsuit alleging that the facility's
mismanagement resulted in the transfusion of HIV-positive blood
to Aleta J. Clemons.  Clemons had entered the county-run facility
for a routine hysterectomy.  The suit, which also names the
county, has been tentatively settled for $450,000.  The county's
acting director of health services, Mary Jung, called the
incident "isolated," adding, "As soon as we found out about it,
we took immediate action."  However, citations from the FDA, an
investigative report by the Department of Health Services, and
Civil Service Commission records indicate that the blood bank
suffered from inadequate staffing, employee training,
communication, and safety policies.  County investigators also
found that hospital officials had altered computer blood bank
records to protect the confidentiality of donors without
informing employees who needed to know the blood's HIV status.
FDA District Director Elaine C. Messa sent a warning letter to
King/Drew last January, citing the blood bank with several
violations.

"When Doctors and Patients Decide to Test the Far Limits of
Treatment"
New York Times (12/19/95) P. C3;  Altman, Lawrence K.
     As the fifteenth anniversary of the discovery of AIDS approaches,
doctors and patients are increasingly frustrated by the lack of
effective treatments for the disease.  As a result, they are
collaborating with their patients to test the limits of
experimental treatment.  One of the most dramatic recent examples
is that of AIDS activist and patient Jeff Getty, who has
volunteered to undergo a baboon marrow transplant in the hopes of
prolonging his life.  Getty himself worked with researchers from
the University of California at San Francisco and the University
of Pittsburgh in developing the treatment.  Karen Heit, executive
officer of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of
Sciences noted, "At times, AIDS activists have been in the
driver's seat, saying what was needed in the way of prevention."
Stephen Deeks, a principal investigator in the experiment, said
Getty would persist in his commitment to the project because
"clearly the AIDS community wants us not just to be trying new
types of AZT, but doing more innovative, bolder, riskier things."
However, critics contend that frustration does not justify the
risks involved and criticize Getty's doctors for proceeding to
human trials too quickly.

"Defense Bill Includes Automatic Dismissal For Those With AIDS"
Baltimore Sun (12/19/95) P. 2A
     A defense bill awaiting final Congressional action this week
would call for the automatic dismissal of service members who are
HIV-infected.  President Clinton has identified this provision as
one that could prompt him to veto the bill.  Senate negotiators
proposed removing the provision, but House members passed the
measure 267-149 last Friday.  The bill makes an exception for
service members within two years of retirement.  The discharge
papers would not mention AIDS.

"AIDS Patients' Stories Still Need to Be Told"
Houston Chronicle (12/19/95) P. 3D;  Ager, Susan
     In a Houston Chronicle editorial, Susan Ager writes that media
coverage of AIDS has changed considerably since the disease's
first appearance in this country.  She notes that schoolchildren
know all about the disease and that it is now referred to by name
in obituaries instead of by euphemism.  However, she is concerned
that "as a society, we shoved AIDS aside once we grew weary of
its poignancy," regarding it as "a tired, old story."  Ager
points to the example of an elderly woman who contracted AIDS
from a sexual partner even though she knew he was a drug user
because she believed AIDS was a "gay white man's disease."  Cases
such as this, explains Ager, is why AIDS must remain a focus of
media attention and education.

"High Level of AIDS Needed to Infect Infants"
Baltimore Sun (12/19/95) P. 2A
     Researchers from the New York State Department of Health report
that high levels of HIV in the bloodstream of pregnant women are
needed before the virus can be transmitted to the infants.  The
researchers, who studied 30 pregnant women, said that patients
with 50,000 viruses per milliliter of blood had a 75-percent
chance of transmitting the infection to their babies.  Results
will be published in Tuesday's issue of the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences.

"Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Lysis Inhibited by Viable HIV Mutants"
Science (11/24/95) Vol. 270, No. 5240, P. 1360;  Meier,
Ute-Christiane;  Klenerman, Paul;  Griffin, Philip
     Although it is not fully understood why the immune response fails
to destroy HIV in most patients, the mutation of viral antigens
may play a role.  Meier et al. report that they observed
significant inhibition of specific antiviral lysis when cytotoxic
T lymphocytes were engaged in CD4-positive cells that were
acutely infected with HIV carrying natural variant epitopes in
reverse transcriptase.  According to the researchers, mutant
viruses that can produce such transactive effects could favor the
persistence of several variants of HIV, despite the presence of
an active and specific immune response.

"Trials of Marijuana's Medical Potential Languish as Government
Just Says No"
Scientist (11/27/95) Vol. 9, No. 23, P. 1;  Gwynne, Peter
     Researchers say that at present, no trials involving the medical
use of marijuana are being conducted.  Supporters of such studies
attribute the lack of action to the federal government, charging
that the current administration, as well as its predecessors, is
unjustly concerned about being thought of as lenient toward drugs
if it approves research for the medical use of the drug.
Although government officials seem wary to discuss clinical
trials of marijuana on record, sources at the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA) reject the notion that they are obstructing medical
marijuana studies.  They say that they will approve and then
provide marijuana cigarettes for well-designed trials, but that
no one has yet submitted an acceptable plan.  Currently, NIDA has
only approved eight patients to receive the cigarettes--the rest
of the government's supply is reserved for laboratory animals and
smoking machines.  DEA administrator Thomas Constantine maintains
that his agency "will remain opposed to the rescheduling of
marijuana from" a class of drugs which has no proven medical use
to a class which while still addictive, has some medical
benefits, "because there are no proven applications for its use."
Furthermore, both supporters and detractors of the medical use of
marijuana agree that one potential danger of the drug is lung
damage.  However, the United States is not the only nation to
lack human studies of the possible medical uses of marijuana.
Other nations, including Canada, Britain, and Switzerland, have
also rejected such research.