Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 09:50:49 +0500 From: "Vaux, Lenore" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary AIDS Daily Summary January 11, 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 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 ************************************************************ "Three Black Members Quit the Board of AIDS Agency" "New Firm Plans to Design Vaccine for Tuberculosis" "Weak Earnings Outlook Contributes to Dow's 67-Point Loss" "AIDS and Advertising" "Two-Drug Therapy Works in AIDS-Related Eye Ailment" "Chiron Corp.: Herpes Agent Clinical Trial Proves to Be Disappointing" "Estimated Risk of Transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus by Screened Blood in the United States" "Major Protease Inhibitor Triple Combination Trial Begins Soon: CD4 Under 200, AZT Experienced, 3TC Naive" "HIV Levels May Predict Mother-to-Child" ************************************************************ "Three Black Members Quit the Board of AIDS Agency" New York Times (01/11/96) P. B1; Dunlap, David W. Three black board members of the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), a private Manhattan AIDS organization, have quit, saying that the group was not attentive to the needs of minority community members. Across the country, poorer black, Hispanic, and Asian people with AIDS are questioning how their communities are being served. The Gay Men's Health Crisis was founded by six white men in 1982 and offers financial, legal and practical help to 7,300 people with AIDS. More than half of the clients are black, Hispanic or Asian. The board now has four black, two Hispanic and one Asian member. Dr. Billy E. Jones, executive director of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center in Brooklyn, was the most well-known black board member who quit. Jones noted, "Much work needs to be done at GMHC to make it truly inclusive and welcoming of diversity." "New Firm Plans to Design Vaccine for Tuberculosis" Wall Street Journal (01/11/96) P. B3 A group of 16 scientists and biotechnology executives have created a new company, called VacTex Corp., which will design vaccines for deadly, infectious diseases. The first project they will work on is a vaccine for tuberculosis. Research at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston will be the basis for the company's work. Procept Inc., a publicly held biotechnology firm in Cambridge, Mass., holds a minority interest in VacTex and has the option to buy it within two years. "Weak Earnings Outlook Contributes to Dow's 67-Point Loss" New York Times (01/10/96) P. D8; Sloane, Leonard Shares of Agouron Pharmaceuticals increased 1.5 to 38.5 on Tuesday, following an announcement of positive test results from a drug to treat HIV infection. "AIDS and Advertising" New York Times (01/10/96) P. A14; Morse, Richard M. In a letter to the editor of the New York Times, Richard Morse cites a Times editorial about condom ads that said that three major television networks still do not use paid advertising for condoms. Morse points out that eight years ago, a person with AIDS told Newsweek that condoms should be advertised on television. "Two-Drug Therapy Works in AIDS-Related Eye Ailment" Reuters (01/09/96) Results of a new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology suggest that cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, a chronic eye infection that often strikes late-stage AIDS patients, is best treated with a combination of foscarnet and ganciclovir. The researchers found that patients who took daily, intravenous doses of both drugs were able to control the infection for an average of four months, while patients who took either drug alone experienced a recurrence of CMV in just one to two months. According to Carl Kupfer, director of the National Eye Institute, "this finding advances the treatment of a chronic, destructive eye infection that causes blindness if it is not controlled." Problems with the combination therapy include more side effects, higher costs, and a longer course of treatment since both drugs must be administered separately. "Chiron Corp.: Herpes Agent Clinical Trial Proves to Be Disappointing" Wall Street Journal (01/09/96) P. B4 Chiron Corp. has expressed disappointment with interim results from a clinical trial of a potential genital herpes treatment. The company said its immunotherapeutic agent has "a statistically significant benefit on several disease indicators," but apparently does not reduce the recurrence of genital lesions. "Estimated Risk of Transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus by Screened Blood in the United States" The New England Journal of Medicine (12/28/95) Vol.333, No.26, P. 1721; Lackritz, Eve M.; Satten, Glen A.; Aberle-Grasse, John; et. al. Transmission of HIV by blood transfusion occurs in the United States almost only during a period when a recently infected blood donor is infectious and HIV antibodies are not yet detectable. Lackritz et al. propose an updated, smaller estimated risk of HIV transmission from a transfusion based on this "window period," which they say is now smaller because current tests are more sensitive to the HIV antibodies. The researchers also say that the blood supply is safer because the donor pool is cleaner. The authors analyzed 4.1 million blood donations and HIV tests of 4.9 million donations. They now estimate that, of the 12 million donations collected nationwide each year, 18 to 27 infectious donations are available for transfusion. This new estimated risk is almost half that found in previous studies. "Major Protease Inhibitor Triple Combination Trial Begins Soon: CD4 Under 200, AZT Experienced, 3TC Naive" AIDS Treatment News (12/22/95) No.237, P. 3; James, John S. A large trial is being planned to compare triple combination therapy of the Merck protease inhibitor Crixivan plus AZT and 3TC against the double combination therapy of AZT and 3TC. The trial, which will be held in cities across the nation, may start in January and will last about one year. The ACTG 320 trial will be supported by Merck. "HIV Levels May Predict Mother-to-Child" Lancet (01/06/96) Vol.347, No.8993, P. 49; McCarthy, Michael A pregnant woman's plasma HIV-1 concentration may help determine the risk of her transmitting HIV to her infant. Researchers at the State of New York's Department of Health's Wadsworth Center in Albany measured the HIV-1 levels in 30 pregnant HIV-infected women at the time of delivery and followed their infants for at least six months--a time when all infections should be detectable. The 10 women with the highest plasma levels of HIV-1 RNA were found to be more likely to transmit the virus to their infants, while none of the 20 women with lower concentrations transmitted the virus. The researchers estimate that, if a woman's plasma has a viral RNA level of more than 100,000 copies per milliliter, she has a 75-percent probability of transmitting the virus to her child, versus a 3-percent risk for mothers with viral levels below that level. The authors also report that the viral load did not seem to change significantly in women who did not start or alter antiviral therapy during pregnancy. They suggest that early pregnancy measurements may predict viral load at delivery.