Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 12:37:21 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 06/25/96 AIDS Daily Summary June 25, 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 ****************************************************** "Boehringer Viramune Drug Cleared as HIV Treatment" "Drugs Now on Trial Offer 'Real Hope' for AIDS Patients" "Latex Allergy" "Across the USA: New York" "Singapore Team Finds Herbal HIV Inhibitor" "HIV+ Patients With TB Less Infectious Than HIV- Patients With TB" "Vitamin B Supplements May Improve Survival in HIV-Positive Individuals" "FDA Advisory Panel Does Not Recommend Approval of Urine Test for HIV-1 Antibodies" "Obstretrical Factors and the Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 From Mother to Child" "Surgeon Pays $10,000 in HIV Test Lawsuit" ****************************************************** "Boehringer Viramune Drug Cleared as HIV Treatment" Wall Street Journal (06/25/96) P. B6 Viramune, a new HIV drug made by Boehringer Ingelheim, is the first reverse transcriptase inhibitor to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA cautioned that Viramune (nevirapine) should be combined with at least one other AIDS drug because HIV quickly becomes resistant to nevirapine when used alone. Studies showed that the drug was able to increase the efficacy of AZT in increasing CD4 cell counts. "Drugs Now on Trial Offer 'Real Hope' for AIDS Patients" Washington Times (06/25/96) P. A3; Taylor, Holly HIV-infected individuals are now able to live longer, better lives thanks to a combination of established AIDS drugs, like AZT, and new protease inhibitors. Daniel Stein and George Drusano report that for the first nine months of treatment, the survival rate of patients participating in clinical trials increased 50 percent. Stein called the success of the drugs "the first major development since we first demonstrated that we could treat the virus with antiviral drugs." In the continuing clinical trials at Albany Medical Center, the protease inhibitors were found to wipe out much of the virus in the patient's blood. The drugs work longer than AZT and are less toxic. "Latex Allergy" Washington Post--Health (06/25/96) P. 4; Burlington, D. Bruce In a letter appearing in the Washington Post's Health section, Dr. D. Bruce Burlington, an official at the Food and Drug Administration, objects to an earlier article on condom use to prevent HIV transmission. According to Burlington, the article suggested that people who are allergic to latex have the option of using either the female condom, made of polyurethane, or a lambskin condom underneath a latex condom. Burlington points out that Avanti, a newly available polyurethane condom, has been approved by the FDA especially for people that are allergic to latex. Two other polyurethane condoms have been approved, but are not yet available. Burlington notes that the condoms were found to be comparable to latex condoms as barriers for sperm and viruses and that other condoms made of new materials are also being considered by the agency. "Across the USA: New York" USA Today (06/25/96) P. 9A Geraldo Malave, an inmate in a Plattsburgh, N.Y., prison, was charged with attempted murder after he tried to infect guards with HIV by spitting on them. "Singapore Team Finds Herbal HIV Inhibitor" Reuters (06/25/96) A chemical compound isolated from traditional herbs has been found to slow the growth of an HIV enzyme, Singapore scientists report. Sim Keng Yeow of the National University of Singapore said that researchers there had found that the chemical could inhibit HIV-1 protease, an enzyme needed for HIV to mature. The researchers' findings were published in the British journal Phytotherapy Research, and in the Journal of Natural Products published by the American Chemical Society. "HIV+ Patients With TB Less Infectious Than HIV- Patients With TB" Reuters (06/24/96) People who are co-infected with both HIV and tuberculosis (TB) seem to be less infectious than people who have TB but do not have HIV, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. George M. Cauthen and colleagues published the results of their multi-center study of more than 2,000 TB patients in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. Of the 2,052 patients, 956 were also infected with HIV. Among the people who came into contact with the HIV-negative patients, 42 percent had positive tuberculin skin tests, compared to 29 percent of those who had contact with HIV-positive TB patients. "Vitamin B Supplements May Improve Survival in HIV-Positive Individuals" Reuters (06/24/96) High intakes of vitamin B supplements may be associated with improved survival of patients infected with HIV, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found. Led by Alice M. Tang, the scientists compared daily micronutrient intake with subsequent mortality over an eight-year period. Tang found that the patients with the highest intake of B-group vitamin survived an average of 1.3 years longer than those with lower intake levels. Vitamin B6 intake of more than twice the recommended allowance was especially associated with longer survival. Vitamin B1 and B2 intake of more than five times the recommended daily allowance was also associated with improved survival, while increased zinc intake was associated with poorer survival. "FDA Advisory Panel Does Not Recommend Approval of Urine Test for HIV-1 Antibodies" Reuters (06/22/96) A urine-based HIV-1 test was not recommended for approval Friday by an advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration. The test combines a screening assay, developed by Calypte Biomedical of Berkeley, Calif., with a confirmatory Western Blot. Reviewers were concerned that a urine test would not be as sensitive or specific for HIV-1 antibodies as a serum screening test. "Obstretrical Factors and the Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 From Mother to Child" New England Journal of Medicine (06/20/96) Vol. 334, No. 25; P. 1617; Landesman, Sheldon H.; Kalish, Leslie A.; Burns, David N.; et al. While obstetrical factors are thought to have an impact on the transmission of HIV from mother to child, their influence has not been well-studied. Researchers led by Dr. Sheldon H. Landesman of the State University of New York evaluated the relationship between obstetrical factors and perinatal transmission among 525 HIV-1 infected women involved in the multicenter Women and Infants Transmission Study. The researchers found that among mothers whose membranes broke more than four hours prior to delivery, the rate of transmission of HIV-1 to the infants was 25 percent, compared to 14 percent among mothers with membranes that broke within four hours of delivery. A multivariate analysis indicated that the risk of transmission was more than double for those women whose membranes were ruptured more than four hours before delivery, regardless of the method of delivery. Other factors associated with HIV transmission were illicit drug use during pregnancy, low antenatal CD4 cell count, and low birth weight. "Surgeon Pays $10,000 in HIV Test Lawsuit" American Medical News (06/17/96) Vol. 39, No. 23, P. 31 A plastic surgeon in Wellesley, Mass., agreed to pay $10,000 to a man who objected to the doctor taking blood from him for an HIV test without his consent. Jason Gavann of Boston claimed in the civil suit that Dr. Douglas Wooldridge drew blood while he was performing cosmetic eye surgery and had it tested for HIV without his permission. HIV testing without consent is illegal in Massachusetts. A lawyer for the surgeon said he ordered the test--which came back negative--because he had pricked himself during the operation, noting that he was only taking precautionary measures. Gavann's action charged the he was the victim of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and unfair and deceptive practices.