Date: Mon, 30 Jan 1995 11:01:59 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary January 30, 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 ************************************************************ "AIDS Data Missing, Family Suits Likely" "Body Has Mechanisms to Contain HIV--Researchers" "Mother with AIDS Determined to See Children Grow Up" "Cleveland Launches Drug Needle Exchange to Fight AIDS" "Boston Clinic Slated to Take Part in Tests of an AIDS Vaccine" "AIDS Activists Call Needle-Exchange Program Ineffective" "Brief Report: Absence of Intact nef Sequences in a Long-Term Survivor with Nonprogressive HIV-1 Infection" "Clinical Aspects of Psychoneuroimmunology" "Some Vitamins Associated with Decreased Risk of AIDS and Death" "Does New York Have a Drinking Problem?" ************************************************************ "AIDS Data Missing, Family Suits Likely" New York Times (01/30/95) P. A11 An appeals court has ruled that a family can sue a hospital for not telling them a relative was HIV-positive. Herbert Lemon Sr.'s family claims that the Liberty Medical Center in Baltimore knew that Lemon was infected when he was admitted in July 1991. "Upon his discharge from the hospital, Lemon was not only HIV-positive but suffering from AIDS," the Court of Special Appeals said on Friday. According to court papers, however, neither the hospital nor the doctor told Lemon or his family. Related Stories: Philadelphia Inquirer (01/30) P. B4; Baltimore Sun (01/30) P. 16B "Body Has Mechanisms to Contain HIV--Researchers" Reuters (01/30/95) Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have found that the body has potent mechanisms for containing HIV that may be more effective than any current drug treatment. CD8 T cells appear to play a critical part in suppressing HIV replication, an effect which is noticeable in the weeks following HIV infection. "Recent studies of...HIV-infected individuals who show no sign of decline in immune function for many years, demonstrate that certain immune responses can be very effective at containing the replication and spread of HIV," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the institute. The NIAID researchers treated a small number of patients with intravenous infusions of interleukin-2 (IL-2), a signalling molecule in the immune system which acts as a potent inducer of the CD8 T cell suppressor phenomenon. HIV-infected patients received IL-2 for five consecutive days every two months over a period of two to three years, in addition to antiretroviral therapy, and the preliminary results have been encouraging. "Mother with AIDS Determined to See Children Grow Up" Washington Post (01/30/95) P. B3; Gaines, Patrice Theresa Lofswold is determined to see each of her children reach age 18. Since Lofswold's life with AIDS and preparations for death were chronicled in a Washington Post story almost four years ago, she has dealt with hepatitis and other illnesses, and has tried to find guardians for her five children. The publicity about her life has led Lofswold, who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion, to speak to groups about living with AIDS. "I've talked to companies about AIDS in the workplace, to public schools and colleges. I destroy their idea of what AIDS looks like, and it's exhilarating for me to help them," she says. "Cleveland Launches Drug Needle Exchange to Fight AIDS" Reuters (01/29/95) In response to what he called an alarming increase in HIV infection among drug users, Cleveland Mayor Michael White has declared a health emergency. He has offered drug users the opportunity to exchange their needles in hopes of stemming the spread of HIV. "The gravity of this emergency compels us to take extreme action in the face of the AIDS epidemic," said White on Saturday. He announced city grants totaling $100,000 to a local AIDS task force and five clinics and service organizations to fund HIV/AIDS prevention, education, and services. White also urged employers to adopt a workplace HIV/AIDS policy similar to Cleveland's, which prohibits discrimination and provides education programs. Of the 1,597 AIDS patients in greater Cleveland, 391 identified themselves as injection drug users--almost three times the number in 1990. "Boston Clinic Slated to Take Part in Tests of an AIDS Vaccine" Boston Globe (01/27/95) P. 26; Kong, Dolores In preparation for the widespread testing of a preventive AIDS vaccine, the Fenway Community Health Center in Boston, Mass., has been selected by the U.S. government as one of eight sites to enroll people at high risk of HIV-infection for such a study. A total of 300 uninfected gay and bisexual men in Boston and 200 uninfected women in Rhode Island will be given the chance to participate in the study. Although a large clinical trial of a potential AIDS prevention vaccine is at least a year away, officials say the preparatory enrollment will expedite the process. The Fenway health center, which will work with Memorial and Miriam hospitals in Rhode Island, is the only New England site selected for the four-year federal contract, which is worth $5 million this first year. If none of the potential preventive vaccines are ready for a large scale trial, the preparatory enrollment of 4,000 uninfected but high risk people at Fenway and across the country will not be a wasted effort, according to Dr. Kenneth Mayer, Fenway's medical director, and Michael Gross, senior scientist for Abt Associates Inc. and project director for the eventual nationwide study. Instead, the government may study new behavioral prevention approaches to get high-risk individuals to reduce their chances of becoming infected. "AIDS Activists Call Needle-Exchange Program Ineffective" Boston Globe (01/27/95) P. 26; Walker, Adrian Approximately 50 activists, many of them HIV-positive, on Thursday denounced Boston's needle-exchange program as ineffective. Members of the National AIDS Brigade said they do not believe city estimates that 1,200 hypodermic needles had been distributed by the city during the past year as part of a state-funded pilot program. They asked for Mayor Menino's "blessing" in distributing needles to drug addicts themselves. Although possession or distribution of needles is illegal in Massachusetts except within a legally approved program, the brigade and other groups distribute needles and the police do not arrest them for it, said city officials. Activists criticized Menino, who has often pledged his support for needle-exchange programs, insisting that they could do a better job themselves. Gary Sandison, the mayor's AIDS advisor, acknowledged that the city did not know how many needles had been distributed, but insisted the program has been effective. He also said that members of the AIDS Brigade would be subject to arrest if the group attempts to run its own exchange program. "Brief Report: Absence of Intact nef Sequences in a Long-Term Survivor with Nonprogressive HIV-1 Infection" New England Journal of Medicine (01/26/95) Vol. 332, No. 4, P. 228; Kirchhoff, Frank; Greenough, Thomas C.; Brettler, Doreen B. et al. Studying persons with long-term nonprogressive HIV-1 infection may help researchers to understand the mechanisms by which HIV-1 can be controlled. Kirchhoff et al. focused their initial studies on nef, the HIV-1 auxiliary gene which is not required for cell replication in cell culture but is needed in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) for the development of AIDS in rhesus monkeys. They amplified HIV-1 nef sequences from five patients with long-term nonprogressive HIV-1 infection. In one patient, all 34 positive reactions from blood samples obtained over 10 years produced only defective forms of nef. The patient's clinical and virologic characteristics of HIV-1 infection were extremely similar to the infection characteristics in rhesus monkeys with a strain of SIV missing nef. The findings suggest that in some individuals, infection with attenuated forms of HIV-1 contributes to the absence of disease progression. The results also provide additional justification for considering the use of HIV-1 mutants with deletions as live attenuated vaccines "Clinical Aspects of Psychoneuroimmunology" Lancet (01/21/95) Vol. 345, No. 8943, P. 183; Goodkin, Karl; Fletcher, Mary Ann; Cohen, Nicholas In November, the first session of the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society centered on discussions of how the neural, behavioral, and immune systems interact. A workshop on methodological issues in psychoneuroimmune studies of HIV-1 infection provided the basis for behavioral intervention strategies, such as bereavement support groups. Areas identified for further study include the relations between psychoneuroimmune changes, HIV-1 viral load, and clinical outcomes; putative stressor-associated neuroendocrine mechanisms; and immunological mediating mechanisms. "Some Vitamins Associated with Decreased Risk of AIDS and Death" AIDS Treatment News (01/06/95) No. 214, P. 3; James, John S. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University studied 5,000 HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay men, and found that the dietary intake of certain vitamins was associated with a substantially reduced risk of AIDS progression. Micronutrient data was obtained through a food questionnaire asking the men which supplements they used. The data for each nutrient was analyzed by dividing the volunteers into four equal groups based on their total intake of the nutrient--from both foods and supplements. For example, the men in the middle two quartiles for vitamin A--with intake between 9,062 international units (IU) and 20,268 IU--had only 55 percent of the risk of AIDS progression, compared to those in the lower quartile. The risk of progression for the upper quartile was about equal to the lower one, making those in the two middle groups the most successful. The third quartile of intake of beta carotene was associated with increased survival, while increasing amounts of zinc were linked with poorer survival. To definitively prove that the supplements are causing the changes in AIDS progression, clinical trials are needed. "Does New York Have a Drinking Problem?" New York (01/16/95) Vol. 28, No. 3, P. 24; Bai, Matt; Baker, David; Borgman, Anna et al New York City's tap water could be dangerous to thousands of New Yorkers, says microbiologist Walter Faber Jr. The danger, he says, is because the city has few barriers to keep cryptosporidium from entering the water supply. Cryptosporidium is the microscopic organism found in animal feces that killed more than 100 AIDS and cancer patients and others with weakened immune systems when it appeared in Milwaukee's water supply in 1993. The microbe is not killed by chlorine and New York does not filter its water--in Milwaukee's case, however, filters did not keep the organisms out. Faber argues that the New York Department of Environmental Protection should warn people with weakened immune systems, such as AIDS patients and the elderly, to boil their water before drinking it. The water, plagued by lesser-known pathogens and stray bacteria, is also contaminated in some places by dangerously high levels of lead. The issue of filtration has sparked great debate in New York. New York is intensely opposed to filtration because while it may protect residents' health, it is also very expensive. The filtration system for the Croton water supply, for example, only provides 10 percent of the city's total and will cost $600 million. THE END.