Date: Wed, 29 May 1996 15:24:02 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 05/28/96 AIDS Daily Summary May 28, 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 ************************************************************ "Viral Load Called Key in Tracking of AIDS" "SyStemix Stock Soars on News of Sandoz Offer" "Blood Officials Caught in No-Win Situation, Court Told" "Two Million Ugandans With HIV by Year 2000" "Canadian Researcher Finds Immune System's 'Off [Switch]'" "AIDS Seen Undermining S. African Employee Benefits" "Use of Oxandralone for AIDS Wasting Syndrome Questioned" "Zidovudine Use to Reduce Perinatal HIV Type 1 Transmission in an Urban Medical Center" "Observers Praise AIDS Report but Foresee Problems in Implementation" "Information-Access Battle Far From Over" ************************************************************ "Viral Load Called Key in Tracking of AIDS" Washington Post--Health (05/28/96) P. 18; Recer, Paul The level of HIV in the bloodstream is a more accurate measure of predicting how the disease will progress than the number of white blood cells, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center reported in last week's issue of Science. HIV targets CD4 T-cells, the white blood cells that bolster the body's immune system. T-cell count has been used as a marker for the progression to AIDS and to determine the best timing for antiviral therapy. Lawrence A. Kingsley and colleagues found that this measure, however, does not show changes in infection quickly and say it is not the best way to predict how soon AIDS will develop. Measuring the concentration of HIV RNA, they said, was more predictive. "SyStemix Stock Soars on News of Sandoz Offer" Wall Street Journal (05/28/96) P. A2; Hill, G. Christian Sandoz has offered SyStemix $17 a share for the 27 percent of SyStemix stock it does not already own. The price is 55 percent higher than SyStemix's closing price of $11 on Thursday, but the stock traded as high as $21.50 on Friday, indicating that some investors expect Sandoz to offer more. SyStemix is developing two new treatments, one that attempts to produce gene-modified blood cells resistant to HIV, and one that tries to produce blood cells capable of combating the effects of radiation treatment for bloodborne cancers and breast cancer, as well as replace cells damaged by autoimmune diseases. Investors have been disappointed with SyStemix's drug-development program in the past, but SyStemix CFO Wendy Hitchcock notes that "this is the big year" for testing the company's approach for isolated stem cells in several human clinical trials. "Blood Officials Caught in No-Win Situation, Court Told" Toronto Globe and Mail (05/24/96) P. A5; Picard, Andre Canadian Red Cross leaders and public health officials face either a criminal investigation, if findings of misconduct related to the tainted-blood tragedy are allowed, or social stigmatization. Earl Cherniak, lawyer for the Canadian Red Cross, said Thursday that the federal inquiry should not be able to make findings of misconduct which could be used for civil or criminal lawsuits, on the grounds that such findings are unconstitutional. The Red Cross, the federal government, provinces, and drug companies are suing the inquiry, which is led by Justice Horace Krever, to prevent it from issuing allegations of wrongdoing. Notices sent to the parties involved suggest that more than 300 charges of wrongdoing could be included in the inquiry's final report. The groups argue that the detailed allegations make the inquiry essentially a criminal trial. "Two Million Ugandans With HIV by Year 2000" Xinhua News Agency (05/25/96) Two million Ugandans are expected to be infected with HIV by the year 2000, up from the current prediction of 1.5 million. Infection is spreading rapidly in young people, especially females, as resources are decreasing and no drugs or vaccines are immediately available to fight it. Omwony Ojwok, the director general of the Uganda AIDS Commission, said that to keep the country's "window of hope" open, Uganda must try to prevent infection among children between the ages of five and 14. Poverty, women's lack of influence, and poor parenting are blamed for the epidemic. "Canadian Researcher Finds Immune System's 'Off [Switch]'" Xinhua News Agency (05/24/96) Canadian researchers have found a protein that inactivates T-cells, the white blood cells that kill viruses. The identification of the protein, known as SYP, will aid in the development of drugs to bolster the immune system to fight AIDS, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. The new research was led by Luc Marengere, of the Ontario Cancer Institute, who said that there may be other proteins with specific effects that impact specific immune responses. "AIDS Seen Undermining S. African Employee Benefits" Reuters (05/27/96) The spread of HIV into South Africa will force a change of employee benefits, a Metropolitan Life official said Monday. Met Life Senior General Manager Peter Doyle said the national HIV infection rate was estimated at 10.4 percent at the end of 1995. He noted that 10,000 AIDS cases had been reported, though the true number is thought to be closer to 30,000. The number of AIDS cases in South Africa could reach 200,000 by 2000, he said. Furthermore, the epidemic could devastate the existing pension and employee benefit plans, which already show more claims based on illness than on death. "Use of Oxandralone for AIDS Wasting Syndrome Questioned" Reuters (05/23/96) Oxandralone, a new anabolic steroid for cachetic AIDS patients, is not recommended by some experts for individuals with AIDS-related wasting syndrome. The hormone replacement drug, which has been shown to have more anabolic activity and fewer masculinizing effects than other drugs, is made by Bio-Technology General in Iselin, N.J. Moreover, because oxandralone is not metabolized in the liver, it does not have the toxicity associated with other oral anabolic steroids. Adrian Dobs of Johns Hopkins claims that more studies are needed to determine the long-term effects of the drug. "Zidovudine Use to Reduce Perinatal HIV Type 1 Transmission in an Urban Medical Center" Journal of the American Medical Association (05/15/96) Vol. 275, No. 19, P. 1504; Wiznia, Andrew A.; Crane, Marilyn; Lambert, Genevieve; et al. HIV-1 is transmitted from mother to child between 15 percent and 40 percent of the time when no therapy is used. A study by the AIDS Clinical Trial Group found that treating the mother and infant with zidovudine cut the rate of transmission from 25.5 percent to 8.3 percent. Recommendations were published calling for voluntary HIV counseling and testing of all pregnant women, and treatment for those found to be HIV-positive. To implement these guidelines, however, HIV-infected women must be identified during pregnancy. Dr. Andrew A. Wiznia, of the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center in New York, and colleagues assessed the use of zidovudine by pregnant women in an urban medical center after the release of these guidelines. They found that only 49 of 125 HIV-positive women who gave birth at the research hospital were identified prenatally. Seventy-five percent of them chose to use zidovudine, and those who refused were more likely to report injection drug use. Of women who accepted the therapy, 24 of 36 received all components of the treatment. Cocaine use during pregnancy was associated with those who did not complete the therapy. The researchers concluded that zidovudine therapy may not be accepted in some cases, despite counseling and comprehensive care. "Observers Praise AIDS Report but Foresee Problems in Implementation" Scientist (05/13/96) Vol. 10, No. 10, P. 3; Benowitz, Steven AIDS activists and scientists applauded the findings of an in-depth review of the government's AIDS research program, but they question how the recommendations will be implemented. Individual panels are expected to release specific recommendations later this month. Scientists and representatives of academia, industry, community organizations, and AIDS advocacy groups participated in the National Institutes of Health's AIDS Research Program Evaluation Working Group. The report concluded that research has not been focused on the most promising areas and that some money allocated for AIDS was being used on irrelevant projects. It also recommended more support for projects initiated by scientists outside the government. Other major recommendations included a coordinated clinical trials system and stepped-up vaccine development. Implementing the recommendations will be a challenge, however, especially in the midst of the fight between NIH's Office of AIDS Research (OAR) and Congress over who should make decisions about AIDS research funding. The report was criticized for not being specific enough in its recommendations, and interpreting and implementing the suggestions will depend on the scientists and the community--potentially a very lengthy process. "Information-Access Battle Far From Over" Nikkei Weekly (05/13/96) Vol. 34, No. 1722, P. 4; Sato, Makoto In April, a Japanese government panel announced a new policy in which government information would be revealed to the public, but putting the new policy into practice will take time. The government's reluctance to disclose documents pertaining to the tainted-blood tragedy illustrates the general practice concerning government information. In this case, the public demanded that the Ministry of Health and Welfare release documents explaining why and how 2,000 hemophiliacs were infected with HIV-contaminated blood products. Under the new policy, most government organizations would have to disclose as much administrative information as possible, including documents that are unfinished.