Date: Wed, 27 Dec 1995 09:50:21 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 12/26/95 AIDS Daily Summary December 26, 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 ************************************************************ "Newfound Foes of AIDS Virus Can Be Culprits in Other Diseases" "After Causing Worry in the East, a Germ Has Surfaced in the West" "Medeva PLC: Johnson & Johnson's Unit Signs Pact on New Vaccine" "Edgar Wary of Granting Clemency to Inmates Dying of AIDS" "Patient with Baboon Bone Marrow Feeling Discomfort" "AIDS Baboon Experiment Is Bad Science" "For Exporters, Deadbeat Dads, Government Still Shut" "NeXstar Pharmaceuticals and Boehringer Mannheim..." "AIDS Survey Traces Shifting Attitudes" "HIV Progression in Women" ************************************************************ "Newfound Foes of AIDS Virus Can Be Culprits in Other Diseases" New York Times (12/26/95) P. C1; Kolata, Gina AIDS researchers' recent discovery of a new natural defense against HIV was contradictory. They found substances secreted by white blood cells that appeared to stop HIV, yet these chemokines are also closely associated with many serious immune system-related disorders, either in causing the disease or in reacting to it. Dr. Charles McKay, director of immunology at the biotechnology firm Leukosite notes, "Almost every major pharmaceutical company has a program looking at the function of chemokines and trying to block them." Immunologists say they are sure what would happen if HIV infections were treated with chemokines. Dr. Jerome Groopman, an AIDS and blood researcher at Deaconess Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, believes that the experiment would be unsuccessful because chemokines are supposed to function locally in the body. If they fought HIV, they would do so only in area of an infection. "It's probably a matter of a measured dose of poison," he said. Some immunologists also think it may be possible to spur white blood cells to increase their local production of chemokines to fight HIV instead of flooding the body with injections of the substances. However, the concept is so new that no one knows what would happen if chemokines were used as a treatment for AIDS. "After Causing Worry in the East, a Germ Has Surfaced in the West" New York Times (12/26/95) P. C3 Incidence of infection from vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE), a bacterium that killed several people in East Coast hospitals, is increasing in California. Santa Clara County hospitals, for example, have reported nearly 140 cases of VRE infection this year. The antibiotic-resistant germ is found in virtually every human's gastrointestinal system and is harmless in healthy individuals. If, however, VRE enters the blood stream, it can cause life-threatening illnesses in people with weakened immune systems, such as AIDS patients. Overuse of antibiotics has caused some organisms to become immune to what were considered wonder drugs--a situation that has led some researchers to call VRE "the pathogen of the 1990s." "Medeva PLC: Johnson & Johnson's Unit Signs Pact on New Vaccine" Wall Street Journal (12/26/95) P. B4 Medeva PLC and Janssen Pharmaceutica, a division of Johnson & Johnson, have agreed to co-develop and market Medeva's hepatitis B vaccine in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan. The vaccine, which is currently in Phase III trials, could potentially immunize the 10 to 15 percent of the population who do not build up resistance from available vaccines. "Edgar Wary of Granting Clemency to Inmates Dying of AIDS" Chicago Tribune (12/22/95) P. 1-1; Dell'Angela, Tracy Illinois Governor Jim Edgar is hesitant to release inmates who are dying of AIDS. Not one prisoner with AIDS has been granted clemency since 1991, when a prostitute with AIDS was released and then arrested four months later. Corrections Department records show that six AIDS patients were released between 1987 and 1991. Julie Justicz, a lawyer with the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, believes "the governor isn't going to release anyone because he's worried about it backfiring like [prostitute Tracy] Eichman did." But Edgar spokesman Daniel Egler rejected this claim, saying that the two factors involved in granting clemency are the inmate's prognosis and whether he or she will receive any community support, because they suggest whether the prisoner would commit another crime. "Patient with Baboon Bone Marrow Feeling Discomfort" Reuters (12/22/95) Doctors said that Jeff Getty, the AIDS patient who was injected with baboon bone marrow more than a week ago, was feeling some radiation-related discomfort on Friday. "This is all expected," said Steven Deeks, assistant professor at the University of California at San Francisco. Deeks added that the nausea and stomach discomfort should end soon. "AIDS Baboon Experiment Is Bad Science" New York Times (12/25/95) P. 38; Cohen, Murry J. The recent transplant of baboon bone marrow to an AIDS patient was conducted for the "advancement of science", notes Murry J. Cohen, co-chairman of the Medical Research Modernization Committee, in a letter to the editor of the New York Times. Cohen questions what potential the experiment actually has for humankind and calls the concept of building a monkey-derived immune system parallel to a human's "science fiction." He also notes the significant danger of exposing humans to deadly nonhuman viruses during the surgery. In conclusion, Cohen claims that it is "pitiful" that patient Jeff Getty participated in the transplant "for science" and that it is mistaken to use animals for "spare parts." "For Exporters, Deadbeat Dads, Government Still Shut" Reuters (12/23/95); Kenen, Joanne The shutdown of the federal government has affected many areas besides national parks, monuments, and museums. Although clinical trials, an AIDS hotline, and critical research are continuing at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), people who call looking for information may encounter problems. "If they get me, I try to help. It's happening--but very, very slowly," said one NIH officer. "NeXstar Pharmaceuticals and Boehringer Mannheim..." Business Wire (12/22/95) NeXstar Pharmaceuticals announced Friday that it has licensed all rights to develop and sell anti-HIV nucleoside-lipid conjugates based on its lipid conjugate technology to Boehringer Mannheim Therapeutics. Boehringer Mannheim currently has an anti-HIV nucleoside-lipid conjugate in Phase I studies. Furthermore, the two companies have signed a letter of intent to co-develop a lipid conjugate of antiviral drug foscarnet. NeXstar will run human clinical trials for human cytomegalovirus, while Boehringer Mannheim will conduct all other trials. "AIDS Survey Traces Shifting Attitudes" Nature (12/07/95) Vol. 378, No. 6557, P. 530; Tastemain, Catherine A new random survey on attitudes to AIDS shows that French people are becoming ever more aware of the risk of HIV and are therefore altering their sexual behavior. The survey documents the fact that contraceptive use continues to grow, especially among those who are under 30 and who are single. Still, more than 25 percent of individuals who reported having sex with multiple partners said they sometimes had unprotected sex. Further evidence of France's increasing awareness of HIV is reports of screening tests by respondents and their partners, care over the selection of partners, and a reduction in the number of casual sexual partners. Meanwhile, the survey also indicated an ambiguous attitude toward infected individuals. Some 80 percent of the respondents said they would work, eat, and go on vacation with someone who is HIV-positive, yet virtually the same amount also said they favor the creation of specialized medical facilities to take responsibility for infected persons. "HIV Progression in Women" Focus (11/95) Vol. 10, No. 12, P. 8 A new study of more than 80 ethnically-diverse women in clinical care shows that their most frequent AIDS-defining conditions are Candida esophagitis and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). The most commonly-observed initial HIV-related symptoms were related to Candida infections, including oral, esophageal, and recurrent vaginal. Some 50 percent of the women had a form of candidiasis at follow-up. Meanwhile, the average time to progression to an AIDS-defining condition was 57 months, and the average survival after AIDS diagnosis was 27 months. These survival findings are similar to those found in a 1990-1991 cohort study of PCP among men. One new discovery in this study is that the women who participated in a clinical trial had significantly improved survival times--more than 59 months compared to 39 months for nonparticipants.