Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 11/08/96

From: "Flynn Mclean" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 12:56:19 -0500

AIDS Daily Summary 
                      November 8, 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

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"One Man's AIDS Tale Shows How Quickly Epidemic Has Turned" 
"Blue Dye Is Found to Kill HIV"
"Abbott AIDS Drug Called Safe for Kids" 
"New Tests Measure HIV Level in Tonsils"
"Italian Study Finds HIV Does Not Increase Risk of Miscarriage" 
"Medical Marijuana Law in Legal Limbo"
"New Class of Drug Offers New Hope Against AIDS"
"AIDS Researchers Predict Shortage of Participants for Pediatric 
Trials"
"Opening an Electronic Pharmacy to the World" 
"Health Centers Vie for Gays"
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"One Man's AIDS Tale Shows How Quickly Epidemic Has Turned" 
Wall Street Journal (11/08/96) P. A1; Sanford, David
     In the Wall Street Journal, editor David Sanford recounts to
readers how he has lived with HIV for more than 10 years and how 
advances in treatment over the last year have given him new hope 
of surviving.  Sanford says he was probably infected at a 
Manhattan bath house in 1982.  At the time, the new infectious 
disease prevalent in the homosexual community was referred to as 
Gay Related Immune Deficiency, or GRID.  Sanford said he had 
symptoms of infection within weeks, but did not seek an HIV test 
until 1989, at which time he tested positive.  His doctor did not 
recommend treatment as the time due to his relatively high T-cell 
count.  After seeing a friend die of AIDS, however, Sanford 
started preparing for his own decline.  He was diagnosed with 
AIDS in 1991, and started taking AZT and Dapsone, a drug for 
leprosy.  Then, as his immunity started to fail, Sanford began 
taking the antiretroviral drug Videx (ddI).  Sanford told his 
employers, friends, and relatives he had AIDS in 1995.  A friend 
then referred him to Dr. Jerry Groopman, an AIDS practitioner in 
Boston, who prescribed the protease inhibitor Invirase, along 
with Bactrim, to fight off a bacterial infection; as well as 
Diflucan; AZT; and Epivir.  Sanford reports that he is now well 
and planning for the future.
     
"Blue Dye Is Found to Kill HIV"
Washington Times (11/08/96) P. A11; Klinka, Karen
     A patented new use for Methylene Blue could virtually
eliminate the threat of AIDS from blood transfusions, 
researchers at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation report.  
Biochemist Robert Floyd said that the drug, used to treat the 
bilrubin buildup that causes "blue baby" syndrome, can 
inactivate HIV in stored human blood and may eventually be used 
in patients.  The foundation received a patent on the procedure 
Tuesday and hopes to conduct clinical trials soon.
     
"Abbott AIDS Drug Called Safe for Kids"
Chicago Tribune (11/07/96) P. 3-1; Hutchcraft, Chuck
     New research suggests that a combination of AIDS drugs
including a protease inhibitor will soon be available for 
children with the disease.  "One of the issues with AIDS drugs in 
particular, and with drugs in general, is that new drugs come 
along and are ultimately approved for adults way in advance of 
children," says Dr. John Leonard, of Abbott Laboratories.  A 
recent study at the National Institutes of Health found that 
Abbott's protease inhibitor Norvir is safe for children.  The 
study, presented Wednesday at the Third International Congress on 
Drug Therapy for HIV Infection, was the first evaluation of a 
protease inhibitor in children.  Some children experienced the 
same side effects as adults, said researcher Dr. Brigitta U. 
Mueller, of the National Cancer Institute, but the same positive 
results were also reported.  The study may facilitate regulatory 
approval of protease inhibitors in children.
     
"New Tests Measure HIV Level in Tonsils" 
Reuters (11/07/96)
     A new testing method will improve the monitoring of HIV
levels in immune system cells in the tonsils, researchers said 
Thursday.  Ashley Haase of the University of Minnesota and 
colleagues report in the journal Science that they have developed 
a test to determine the level of HIV in the tonsils' lymphoid 
tissue, where HIV is known to hide.  Tests currently measure the 
level of HIV in the bloodstream, but the new method can evaluate 
the level of HIV in two types of cells, those on the surface of 
the cells that store the virus and inside the cells that make new 
virus particles.
     
"Italian Study Finds HIV Does Not Increase Risk of Miscarriage" 
Reuters (11/07/96)
     New research indicates that, contrary to previous findings,
HIV infection does not heighten the risk of miscarriage.  Dr. 
Augusto E. Semprini of the University of Milan and colleagues 
studied the miscarriage rate in HIV-infected women compared to 
HIV-negative women, and concluded that "HIV does not 
significantly influence the course of early gestation."  There 
was also no significant difference in the miscarriage rate 
between women taking AZT and those not taking the drug.
     
"Medical Marijuana Law in Legal Limbo" 
United Press International (11/07/96)
     The new California law legalizing the use of marijuana for 
medical purposes has left prosecutors in the need of guidelines 
for enforcement.  "The priority is to delineate what the 
responsibilities are of the federal authorities versus the local 
authorities," said Larry Brown of the California District 
Attorneys Association.  Other issues to be considered include the 
illegal purchase of marijuana seeds to grow plants for medicinal 
use, and the need to clarify which illnesses and how much of the 
drug will be allowed under the new law.
     
"New Class of Drug Offers New Hope Against AIDS" 
Reuters (11/06/96); Fox, Maggie
     Researchers at the Third International Congress on Drug
Therapy in HIV Infection presented evidence that a new class of 
drugs, known as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors 
(NNRTIs), work as well as protease inhibitors and offer new 
choices to AIDS patients.  Mark Wainburg and colleagues at 
Montreal's McGill University AIDS Center found that a combination 
of AZT, Bristol-Myers Squibb's ddI, and Boehringer Ingelheim's 
NNRTI nevirapine "led to non-detectable levels of virus in plasma 
in over 75 percent of patients who were previously drug-naive."  
Another group of researchers, led by Joep Lange of Amsterdam's 
Academic Medical Center, found similar results, concluding that 
"nevirapine provides new opportunities for combination 
treatment."  The NNRTIs and the protease inhibitors interfere 
with one another, however, making it necessary for pharmaceutical 
firms to work to overcome this, notes David Ho of the Aaron 
Diamond AIDS Research Center at New York's Rockefeller 
University.
     
"AIDS Researchers Predict Shortage of Participants for Pediatric 
Trials"
Reuters (11/06/96)
     Studies by the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group (PACTG)
may be hindered by a lack of participants, said Dr. Deborah 
Cotton of the Harvard Medical School last week in a report to the 
Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council.  One of the group's 
objectives is to reduce the rate of HIV perinatal infection by 2 
percent.  Cotton was responding to a report by PACTG Director Dr. 
Stephen Spector, who noted that while the rate of perinatal 
transmission is declining, the rate of HIV-positive women 
becoming pregnant is also increasing.
     
"Opening an Electronic Pharmacy to the World"
Nature Medicine (10/96) Vol. 2, No. 10, P. 1064; Steele, Fintan 
R.
     In an effort to make powerful new AIDS drugs more widely 
available around the world, a group of pharmacists in Raleigh, 
N.C., has founded a company that sells the drugs globally via the 
World Wide Web.  The company, AIDSRx, was created to give 
physicians around the world access to AIDS drugs at a 5 percent 
discount off the average price charged by U.S. pharmacies.  
Founded in July, the company has had some difficulty exporting 
the drugs to many countries due to their strict trade 
restrictions, but the business is growing nonetheless.  The 
company also has plans to offer the drugs at a discount to U.S. 
patients who are uninsured.  AIDSRx is a for-profit venture, but 
its founders note that it is not intended as a money-making 
opportunity.  Moreover, 10 percent of the profit from each order 
will be invested in AIDS education efforts in the country from 
which the order was received.
     
"Health Centers Vie for Gays"
Crain's New York Business (10/28/96) Vol. 12, No. 44, P. 6
     Two new health centers targeting gays are set to open in New
York City next year.  One clinic, being built by Community Health 
Project, is expected to open in November 1997 and handle about 
60,000 visits a year from predominantly gay clients.  The Gay Men's 
Health Crisis is also planning to open a primary care clinic next 
year, but it expects to serve only HIV-positive patients.  Various 
other AIDS service organizations serve New York's gay community, 
including Village Center for Care/Rivington House and AIDS Day 
Services Association of New York State.
     
     The AIDS Daily Summary will not publish on Monday, November
11, 1996, in observance of Veterans Day.  Publication will resume 
on Tuesday, November 12.