Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 10:26:22 +0500 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 04/15/96 AIDS Daily Summary April 15, 1996 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 National AIDS Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Children's Crusade" "'Off-Label' Drugs Backed by State" "Turning the Page" "Preventing Muscle Wasting" "300 New HIV Cases Reported Monthly in Malaysia" "Abidjan to Host AIDS Research Center" "Replication of HIV-1 in Dendritic Cell-Derived Syncytia at the Mucosal Surface of the Adenoid" "Demographic Determinants of Hepatitis C Virus Seroprevalence Among Blood Donors" "AIDS Shakes Up Japan's Status Quo" ************************************************************ "Children's Crusade" Wall Street Journal (04/15/96) P. A18; Shlaes, Amity In a Wall Street Journal editorial, Amity Shlaes reports on the conflict between saving babies born to HIV-positive mothers and the rights of pregnant women not to be required to take an HIV test. Doctors have found that giving an HIV-positive woman AZT during pregnancy dramatically decreases the chance the child will be infected. AIDS activists and women's groups object to mandatory HIV testing of pregnant women, however. These objections have resulted in weak policies and inconsistent testing. Some doctors and nurses who treat pregnant women do not advocate mandatory testing, citing concerns about disclosure and discrimination. An HIV-positive mother who was not tested, and infected her daughter, says the stigma is not as bad as the disease. "'Off-Label' Drugs Backed by State" Boston Globe (04/12/96) P. 32; Foreman, Judy Massachusetts health insurers will be the first in the nation required to pay for "off-label" use of prescription drugs for HIV and AIDS. "Off-label" drugs are those that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for one condition but may be effective for others. The new policy, which will cover only benefit plans regulated by the state, was announced April 11. The mandate covers 12 AIDS drugs currently, but others could be added. "Turning the Page" Washington Post (04/13/96) P. B1; Kurtz, Howard Andrew Sullivan, editor of the New Republic, announced Friday that he is quitting his position and that he has decided to disclose that he is HIV-positive. Sullivan, who has known for the past three years that he has HIV, is still in good health. He said he is stepping down because his five-year stint as the magazine's editor was enough, not because he is sick. He expressed relief about his disclosure, which he announced at a staff meeting. Sullivan has written about his homosexuality, but told few people about having HIV. He did host AIDS fundraisers in his apartment, volunteered at the Whitman-Walker Clinic, and was at the bedside of a close friend who died of AIDS last year. He said he believes he will be among the first generation to survive HIV. "Preventing Muscle Wasting" United Press International (04/15/96); Wasowicz, Lidia Doctors reported today that they have been able to prevent muscle wasting in mice with human cachexia, an achievement that is important to people with AIDS, cancer, and arthritis. Human cachexia causes weight loss in patients with inflammatory diseases. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego report their findings in today's issue of the Journal of the European Molecular Biology Organization. They were able to decipher the cascade of biological events leading to muscle wasting in mice and developed a treatment that prevents weight loss. Weight loss causes added health problems for people with AIDS and cancer because it hinders their ability to tolerate treatments. "300 New HIV Cases Reported Monthly in Malaysia" Xinhua News Service (04/14/96) The Malaysian government announced Sunday that some 300 new HIV cases are reported each month, and there are already about 15,000 cases in the country. Minister of National Unity and Social Development Paduka Zaleha Ismail said the government is concerned about the rise in the number of people infected with HIV, and that the community must help to curb the increase. She said 680 people under the age of 19 have the virus and that parents, educators, and community organizations must play a role in educating the young about AIDS. A special cabinet committee is planning programs to decrease drug abuse and other negative behaviors. "Abidjan to Host AIDS Research Center" Africa News (04/12/96) Abidjan President Henri Konan Bedie will open the new Cote d'Ivoire Center for Bioclinical Research on AIDS on April 17. The center will conduct basic research on African HIV and treat outpatients who have not developed symptoms of AIDS. The World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention is creating the center as part of an international program to fight AIDS. The center will have a sterile, high-security laboratory, allowing researchers to perform cell cultures on location, rather than sending them to Europe or the United States. The center will also be involved in training African doctors and scientists to form a core of indigenous AIDS researchers. More than 70 percent of the world's AIDS patients are in sub-Saharan Africa. "Replication of HIV-1 in Dendritic Cell-Derived Syncytia at the Mucosal Surface of the Adenoid" Science (04/05/96) Vol. 272, No. 5258, P. 115; Frankel, Sarah S.; Wenig, Bruce M.; Burke, Allen P.; et al. Ralph Steinman of Rockefeller University in New York and colleagues examined samples of adenoidal lymphoid tissue from 13 people who had enlarged adenoids removed. The tissues were analyzed at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology because initial analysis did not reveal the expected infections or neoplasms. Many cells containing HIV-1 p24 antigen were found just under the mucosa of all 13 specimens. Of the 12 patients tested, all showed positive results for HIV-1 antibodies. Only 2 of the 13 had experienced AIDS symptoms, most denied high-risk behavior, and 11 did not know they were infected. The authors suggest that the adenoid mucosa promotes the interaction of T cells with dendritic cells, which supports HIV-1 replication. They propose that infants' lymphoid tissues may be infected by swallowing the virus from the mother during birth or breast feeding. Dendritic cells and T cells may also interact and promote viral replication in inflamed genital surfaces, the researchers conclude. "Demographic Determinants of Hepatitis C Virus Seroprevalence Among Blood Donors" Journal of the American Medical Association (04/03/96) Vol. 275, No. 13, P. 995; Murphy, Edward L.; Bryzman, Stephen; Williams, Alan E.; et al. Hepatitis C virus (HCV), the most common cause of post-transfusion hepatitis, is found in fewer than 1 percent of U.S. blood donors, but prevalence varies with demographic factors. The virus is known to be transmitted by blood transfusion, injection drug use, tattooing, health-related exposures, and possibly sexual contact. To estimate the seroprevalence of HCV and its demographic characteristics, Edward L. Murphy of the University of California at San Francisco and colleagues reviewed data from more than 862,000 blood donors who made donations in five urban areas between March 1992 and December 1993. The overall HCV prevalence was estimated to be 3.6 per 1,000 donors. Donors aged 30 to 39 with less than a high school diploma were at highest risk of HCV infection. Other risk factors included male sex, black race, Hispanic ethnicity, previous blood transfusion, and first time donor status. The authors suggest that their results could be used to select low-risk blood donors. "AIDS Shakes Up Japan's Status Quo" Lancet (04/06/96) Vol. 347, No. 9006, P. 961; Ross, Catrien Although the Japanese government and five pharmaceutical companies have settled lawsuits brought by hemophiliacs who were infected with HIV through blood products, the fallout from the scandal continues. Families of those who died of AIDS have filed murder charges against Takeshi Abe, the doctor who was in charge of the Heath Ministry's research team set up in 1983 and who recommended in March 1984 that non-heat-treated blood products continue to be sold in Japan. Renza Matsushita, a former head of the health ministry's Pharmaceutical Affairs Bureau, has also been charged with murder. After retiring from office, Matsushita became president of Green Cross Corp., which had about 50 percent market share of all blood products in the 1980s. During the investigation, the company revealed that it had not recalled all non-heat-treated blood products until more than two years after it told the ministry it had done so. The company may now have to pay penalties and suffer boycotts. Cases of non-hemophiliacs infected through contaminated blood products are also being investigated. Moreover, calls for more accountability in the drug industry and the health ministry are increasing, as is criticism of the close connection between the two.