Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 09:56:39 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" To: qrd@vector.casti.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 10/24/96 AIDS Daily Summary October 24, 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 ****************************************************** "A Pregnancy Hormone Is Found to Reduce an AIDS Cancer" "Study Questions Ending Anonymous HIV Testing" "AIDS Victims' Housing" "Scaring the Public About AIDS, HIV and Immigration for no Reason" "Controversial Art Back on Display" "Science & Health Bulletin: AIDS Chemical Condoms" "Japan Tobacco Says US Partner to Seek FDA's HIV Drug Approval" "UPI Science News: [Blood Substitute May Reduce Risk of Viral Transmission]" "HIV Incidence Among Injecting Drug Users in New York City Syringe-Exchange Programs" "Zidovudine Alone or in Combination With Didanosine or Zalcitabine in HIV-Infected Patients With the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Fewer Than 200 CD4 Cells per Cubic Millimeter" ****************************************************** "A Pregnancy Hormone Is Found to Reduce an AIDS Cancer" New York Times (10/24/96) P. A24; Altman, Lawrence K. Injections of a hormone produced during pregnancy can shrink the skin tumors of Kaposi's sarcoma, the most frequent form of cancer among AIDS patients, researchers report today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Parkash S. Gill of the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles and colleagues found that, after receiving thrice-weekly injections of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) for two weeks, many small tumors shrank, and some disappeared. The larger the amount of hCG injected, the greater the effect it had on the tumors. However, some of the patients' tumors returned two to three months after the treatment had cleared them. The finding could lead to an effective treatment for Kaposi's sarcoma, but the role of hCG itself is questionable, because it is expensive and because the number and size of such tumors varies widely. "Study Questions Ending Anonymous HIV Testing" Washington Times (10/24/96) P. A10 Ending anonymous HIV testing in North Carolina could result in fewer people getting tested, a study in today's issue of the American Journal of Public Health suggests. The study found that more people sought tests in counties where names were not reported to state health officials. North Carolina health officials argue, however, that people infected with HIV get better health care if the state can identify them. Reporting the names of HIV-infected people is required in 26 states. North Carolina's health department is trying to end all anonymous testing, and a lawsuit to block that effort is pending in the state's Supreme Court. "AIDS Victims' Housing" Houston Chronicle (10/23/96) P. 18A Ground-breaking ceremonies were held Monday for a 50-unit apartment complex in Houston for AIDS patients and their families. The project is being funded with $1.3 million from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department and $1.5 million from the city of Houston. The complex is expected to be finished next year. "Scaring the Public About AIDS, HIV and Immigration for No Reason" Washington Times (10/24/96) P. A18; Meissner, Doris M. In a letter to the editor of the Washington Times, Doris Meissner, commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), objects to a Times article that made the issue of asylum for people with HIV appear controversial. She claims that the issue is not controversial, and that the INS considers all claims by HIV-infected people on a case-by-case basis, consistent with immigration law. Meissner also notes that the article wrongly stated that recommendations by the President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS resulted in a new law or lower statutory requirements for asylum eligibility. "Controversial Art Back on Display" Chicago Tribune (10/23/96) P. 1-4 Photographs depicting male couples will remain on display at Boston's International Place, after a ban on certain works was lifted on Tuesday. The works are among 325 to be auctioned Saturday in the lobby of the building as part of an AIDS benefit. "Science & Health Bulletin: AIDS Chemical Condoms" PANA Wire Service (10/23/96); Kayaya, Musengwa Chemical condoms, or vaginal microbicides, are currently being tested in Cote d'Ivoire, Benin, and Thailand, in studies supported by the United Nations Program on AIDS (UNAIDS). In addition, the organization is funding clinical trials in South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda to discover ways to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child. UNAIDS is also negotiating with a U.S. company, Female Health Company, to lower the price of the female condom from $3 to $0.30. "Japan Tobacco Says US Partner to Seek FDA's HIV Drug Approval" Reuters (10/24/96) Japan Tobacco announced that its partner, Agouron Pharmaceuticals, will apply for FDA clearance of Viracept by the first quarter of 1997. The drug, a jointly developed anti-AIDS therapy, has been going through three-stage clinical trials since February, Agouron noted. "UPI Science News: [Blood Substitute May Reduce Risk of Viral Transmission]" United Press International (10/23/96); Wasowicz, Lidia A blood substitute made from human red blood cells could provide a safe alternative to blood transfusions for critically ill patients, researchers said Wednesday. Dr. Eric Bloomfield of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation told participants at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists that diaspirin cross-linked hemoglobin, or DCLHb, could eliminate the risk of transmitting viruses like HIV and hepatitis. The compound was tested in five surgery patients, who experienced a temporary increase in blood pressure but no adverse effects. "HIV Incidence Among Injecting Drug Users in New York City Syringe-Exchange Programs" Lancet (10/12/96) Vol. 348, No. 9033, P. 987; Des Jarlais, Don C.; Marmor, Michael; Paone, Denise; et al. Although previous studies have shown that syringe-exchange programs reduce the rates of HIV risk behavior among injection-drug users, and do not increase illegal drug use, no evidence has been found that participating in an exchange program lowers an individual drug user's HIV risk. Researchers, led by Don C. Des Jarlais of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, compared the rates of HIV infection among injection drug users participating in exchange programs in New York City with the rates of non-participants. Data from three previous studies of New York City syringe exchanges were used. The researchers found that not participating in such a program was associated with a hazard ratio of 3.35 for HIV infection. They concluded that the programs do offer an individual-level protective effect against HIV infection, adding that exchange programs should be allowed to legally distribute sterile injection equipment to reduce the risk of HIV infection among injection drug users. "Zidovudine Alone or in Combination With Didanosine or Zalcitabine in HIV-Infected Patients With the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Fewer Than 200 CD4 Cells per Cubic Millimeter" New England Journal of Medicine (10/10/96) Vol. 335, No. 15, P. 1199; Saravolatz, Louis D.; Winslow, Dean L. Research has shown that a combination of zidovudine with either didanosine or zalcitabine is more effective against HIV than zidovudine alone. To determine if the combination is also more effective at delaying HIV progression, researchers compared the outcome of the therapies in 1,102 patients with AIDS or severe immune depression. After 35 months of treatment, disease progression or death was reported for 62 percent of the patients taking zidovudine and didanosine, compared to 63 percent of the patients taking zidovudine and zalcitabine, and 66 percent of those taking only zidovudine. Compared to zidovudine alone, more side effects were associated with the use of combination therapy. The authors conclude that, for patients with advanced HIV infection, combination therapy with zidovudine and either didanosine or zalcitabine is not generally more beneficial than zidovudine alone. However, they also found that the combination therapy did offer some benefit to patients who had previously taken zidovudine for less than 12 months.