Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 09:54:58 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/17/96 AIDS Daily Summary September 17, 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 ****************************************************** "AIDS Drug From Glaxo Shows Promise" "Making Lives Better" "The Long Road Back to Fitness" "HIV Drug May Combat Chagas' Disease" "Drug Boosts Immune System in AIDS Cases--Study" "Combining Two Similar Drugs Reduces HIV Level in Blood" "Zimbabwean Women Petition for Cheaper Condoms" "Uncircumcised Men at Greater AIDS Risk" "HIV-Related Skin Diseases" "All-Natural AIDS Protection?" ****************************************************** "AIDS Drug From Glaxo Shows Promise" Wall Street Journal (09/17/96) P. B5; Waldholz, Michael Results of a preliminary human trial of a new protease inhibitor being developed by Glaxo Wellcome suggest that it may have the same potential as other drugs in the same class. Information from 40 of the 60 subjects who are testing the drug, known as 141W94, was reported by Dr. Robert Schooley of the University of Colorado Medical School at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy on Monday. Schooley said that the drug reduced the level of virus by about 99 percent in 10 of the test patients who took the drug for four weeks. Moreover, the drug reportedly caused few of the side effects that other protease inhibitors have. "Making Lives Better" Miami Herald (09/16/96) P. 1B; Lantigua, John A second housing facility for low-income AIDS patients in Miami's South Beach will be dedicated this week and will soon provide housing, assistance, and referral services for people with the disease. The building will have 24 units, bringing the total number of such units in Dade County to 337. The Department of Housing and Urban Development funded the project, as well as the renovation of 500 similar units nationwide. To be eligible for the facilities, patients must earn no more than $15,600 a year. Tenants must pay 30 percent of their income for rent and utilities. "The Long Road Back to Fitness" Washington Post--Health (09/17/96) P. 8; Newman, Lisa For former journalist Lisa Newman, the June 21 Philadelphia-to-Washington, D.C. AIDS Ride offered the opportunity to be part of a large AIDS fundraiser while regaining physical fitness. Newman began training for the 300-mile, 3-day ride in April. In nine weeks, she gained eight pounds of muscle and reduced her size from a 12 to an eight. Nationwide, the AIDS Rides are expected to raise more than $16 million for AIDS service organizations in 10 cities this year. "HIV Drug May Combat Chagas' Disease" Chicago Tribune (09/16/96) P. 1-7; Goering, Laurie An anti-fungal drug developed to control candidosis in AIDS patients has been shown to have potential for the treatment of Chagas' disease, a deadly parasitic infection. Researchers at the Venezuela Research Institute recently reported in the journal Science that D0870, or bistriazol, cured the disease in 70 percent to 90 percent of mice treated. Chagas, a disease which affects more than 16 million Latin Americans and kills more than 45,000 people a year, is transmitted to humans by a bite from the vinchuca bug and through blood transfusions from infected people. "Drug Boosts Immune System in AIDS Cases--Study" Reuters (09/16/96); Kenen, Joanne A cancer drug, interleukin-2 (IL-2), has been used in low doses to improve immunity in HIV-infected individuals without any apparent side effects. Kendall Smith and colleagues at the New York-Cornell Medical Center report their initial results from a six-month study of 16 patients in today's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Larger-scale studies are needed, as well as studies to test the combination of IL-2 with other AIDS drugs. The treatment may be used when people are initially infected with HIV, to help protect the immune system, and for people who are already sick. When used in large doses for chemotherapy against some cancers, IL-2 causes severe side effects; the patients in the trial received small daily doses of the drug, however. "Combining Two Similar Drugs Reduces HIV Level in Blood" Reuters (09/16/96) Combining two protease inhibitors has been shown to reduce the level of HIV in the blood by 99.9 percent, researchers state. Calvin J. Cohen, of Community Research Initiative of New England, reported that, in the second six weeks of tests, patients taking Norvir (ritonavir) and Invirase (saquinavir) showed continued improvement. A total of 136 patients were involved, divided into four different dose groups. "Zimbabwean Women Petition for Cheaper Condoms" Reuters (09/16/96) Zimbabwean women are asking the government to make female condoms more accessible and affordable to help curb the spread of HIV. The Zimbabwe Women and AIDS Support Network has initiated a petition, signed by at least 20,000 people. The female condoms cost about $2, a price too high for many women in the country. Male condoms are distributed free, but women say that men are reluctant to use them. "Uncircumcised Men at Greater AIDS Risk" United Press International (09/16/96); Susman, Ed A study of immigrants to Israel has found that uncircumcised men may have a greater risk of contracting HIV because an intact foreskin helps bacteria, including the agents of sexually transmitted diseases, survive. Michael Dan of E. Wolfson Hospital in Israel and colleagues compared the bacterial flora from 125 men who were circumcised when they immigrated with 46 already circumcised men. The researchers found sexually transmitted bacteria almost exclusively in the uncircumcised men. "HIV-Related Skin Diseases" Lancet (09/07/96) Vol. 348, No. 9028, P. 659; Tschachler, Erwin; Bergstresser, Paul R.; Stingl, Georg In many HIV-infected individuals, diseases of the skin or mucous membranes are the first signs of disease progression. More than 90 percent of HIV-positive patients develop such conditions--which can include Kaposi's sarcoma, viral and bacterial infections, and other disorders--at some point during their disease. In a review of these diseases, Dr. Erwin Tschachler of the University of Vienna and colleagues discuss the link between immunodeficiency and cutaneous disease pathogenesis. The infection of dendritic cells, Langerhans cells, and dermal dendritic cells in the skin contributes to immunodeficiency. When the skin immune system is impaired, infectious and non-infectious skin diseases occur even before the onset of full immunodeficiency. Up to 75 percent of patients that develop symptomatic infections as a result of HIV infection also develop skin lesions. Viral cofactors that may contribute to disease progression include herpes simplex virus (HSV), which manifests in painful, non-healing ulcers and is different from conventional recurrent HSV infection; varicella-zoster virus; molluscum contagiosum; and human papillomavirus. Bacterial cofactors include staphylococcus aureus, mycobacteria, and syphilis. "All-Natural AIDS Protection?" Technology Review (08/96-09/96) Vol. 99, No. 6, P. 18 Vaginal foams and creams to protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, may be developed using natural substances from animals. Magainin Pharmaceuticals, with aid from the National Institutes of Health, is studying the safety and efficacy of two animal-derived compounds for such purposes. Both NIH and the United Nations' World Health Organization have made the development of microbicides a leading priority as the AIDS rate in women continues to rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there were 14,000 new cases of AIDS among women in 1994, up from 3,700 five years earlier. Vaginal microbicides are targeted because they would give women greater control over their own protection.