From server@aspensys.com Fri Nov 8 16:28:23 1996 Received: from casti.com (vector.casti.com [199.181.80.100]) by qrd.rdrop.com (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id QAA11528 for ; Fri, 8 Nov 1996 16:28:21 -0800 Received: from matrix.casti.com by casti.com (8.6.9/NX3.0M) id TAA03523; Fri, 8 Nov 1996 19:24:25 -0500 Received: from aspen3.aspensys.com (ns.aspensys.com [198.77.70.84]) by matrix.casti.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id MAA01340 for ; Fri, 8 Nov 1996 12:58:53 -0500 Received: by aspen3.aspensys.com (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id MAA28979; Fri, 8 Nov 1996 12:56:19 -0500 Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 12:56:19 -0500 Message-Id: <9610088474.AA847483762@smtpinet.aspensys.com> Errors-To: shelly_olim_at_aspenpo@smtpinet.aspensys.com Reply-To: aidsnews@cdcnac.aspensys.com Originator: aidsnews@cdcnac.aspensys.com Sender: aidsnews@cdcnac.aspensys.com Precedence: bulk From: "Flynn Mclean" To: qrd@vector.casti.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 11/08/96 X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Comment: CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse 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. 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Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ****************************************************** "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" ****************************************************** "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.