Date: Thu, 11 Aug 1994 10:28:31 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary August 11, 1994 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 Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "H.I.V. Settlement Is Rejected" "Growth Drug Prevents AIDS Wasting" "New Drugs Said to Show Promise in Fight Against the AIDS Virus" "Summit to Call for End to HIV Travel Restrictions" "Rapid Rise of AIDS in Asia Aggravating Risk of Tuberculosis" "AIDS-Related Diagnostic Tools Start to Help in Understanding the Disease" "A Call for Needle Exchange Funding" "Washington & World" "Community to Have Say on AIDS Center" ************************************************************ "H.I.V. Settlement Is Rejected" New York Times (08/11/94) P. D15 Two groups representing hemophiliacs who acquired HIV through contaminated blood products have declined a proposed $160 million settlement with Baxter International Inc. and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc. Under that pact, the two companies would pay about $30,000 to each of the 5,000 to 6,000 individual who contracted the virus through the use of their products. But Jonathan Wadleigh, chairman of the hemophilia plaintiffs' advisory group and head of the Committee of Ten Thousand hemophilia advocacy group, says, "the number of dollars being offered is totally inadequate." Related Story: Boston Globe (08/10) P. 47 "Growth Drug Prevents AIDS Wasting" United Press International (08/11/94); Kelly, Janis Researchers announced in Yokohama, Japan, on Thursday that a growth hormone manufactured by Serono Laboratories could be effective in fighting the drastic weight loss common among AIDS patients. The drug, which has been submitted to the FDA for approval as an investigational new drug, has been shown to convert fatty tissue to muscle, an important factor in the patients' endurance level, according to Dr. Morris Schambelan. "New Drugs Said to Show Promise in Fight Against the AIDS Virus" New York Times (08/11/94) P. A16; Pollack, Andrew A new class of drugs called protease inhibitors could be the newest weapon in the war against AIDS, scientists said in Yokohama, Japan, on Wednesday, but the usefulness of these drugs is questionable. There are now about six versions of protease inhibitors being tested on patients and about 20 others in early development, but these drugs are not a cure for AIDS. At most, they can prolong a patient's life or delay the onset of AIDS after HIV infection, although even this effect is short-lived because the virus develops a resistance to protease inhibitors after a few months. Many researchers hope that a combination of protease inhibitors with other drugs will make it more difficult for the virus to develop such a resistance. "Summit to Call for End to HIV Travel Restrictions" Reuters (08/11/94) Although French Health Minister Simone Veil hopes that an AIDS summit scheduled in Paris this December will push for an end to travel restrictions for HIV patients, she admits that some countries may refuse to lift existing bans. "We know that this will not be implemented all over the world," she concedes. "What we want is maximum implementation, especially by democratic countries." Many nations, including the United States and most Arab countries, deny entry to people who have HIV or AIDS. "Rapid Rise of AIDS in Asia Aggravating Risk of Tuberculosis" New York Times (08/11/94) P. A16 The rapid spread of AIDS in Asia promises to unleash an even larger tuberculosis epidemic on the world's most populous continent, warns the World Health Organization. Speaking at a news conference at the 10th International Conference on AIDS, WHO's Dr. Arata Kochi said the collision of the two diseases would create "a co-epidemic that will surpass what is now taking place in Africa and other parts of the world." According to the global health agency, as many as 70 percent of AIDS patients in some parts of Asia also have tuberculosis. WHO predicts that the percentage of TB deaths attributable to HIV infection could jump from 1.7 percent in 1990 to 10.3 percent by the end of the decade. "AIDS-Related Diagnostic Tools Start to Help in Understanding the Disease" Wall Street Journal (08/11/94) P. B6; Hamilton, David P. New AIDS-related diagnostic tools, known as direct-viral assays, are providing an unprecedented peek at how the disease invades and destroys the human body. Researchers have previously assessed the progression of HIV infection primarily through observance of cells and proteins in a patient's immune system--a method that has not proven useful to researchers seeking the best time to initiate treatment with antiviral drugs that interfere with HIV replication. Direct-viral assays, however, measure the quantity of HIV in the blood by counting RNA molecules produced by the virus during replication. This approach may be helpful in monitoring the efficacy of drugs that directly attack HIV, and also may alert clinicians when a therapy begins to lose potency. The one big problem with the new diagnostic tools is that it has not yet been clearly shown that the level of HIV is directly correlated to the symptoms of disease. "A Call for Needle Exchange Funding" USA Today (08/11/94) P. 1D; Levy, Doug The United States must implement needle exchanges or similar programs to reduce the rate of AIDS transmission among intravenous drug users, insist experts attending the 10th International Conference on AIDS in Yokohama, Japan. Current law prohibits federal funding for needle exchange programs unless the government declares that they prevent the spread of HIV without encouraging illicit drug use. "It's reasonable to have that concern," concedes Dr. Peter Lurie of the University of California--San Francisco's Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. "But the data show no evidence to support that drug abuse increases with needle exchange programs." Lurie's analysis of 23 programs in the United States and abroad found that needle exchanges lowered the risk of AIDS, hepatitis, and other blood-borne diseases. But Victor Zonana of Health and Human Services says that while the department has been listening to the arguments for needle exchange programs, Lurie's report does not prove the efficacy of such programs and federal funding for them is not likely any time soon. "Washington & World" Investor's Business Daily (08/11/94) P. A1 The youngest HIV-infected patients will be among the first to receive the latest and most dramatic treatment, say researchers at the 10th International Conference on AIDS. The new approach is a form of genetic manipulation that arms blood cells with a protein that kills viruses. "Community to Have Say on AIDS Center" Washington Post (08/11/94) P. D.C.5; Young, Vincent Officials from the Whitman-Walker Clinic and community leaders in Ward 8 of the District of Columbia have decided to resolve their differences and cooperate in the selection of a location for a new AIDS facility. The two sides squared off when the clinic failed to consult that community about its plans to construct a new Max Robinson Center in its midst. Members of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C accused clinic officials of being insensitive to their concerns and threatened to block construction of the 4,500-square-foot center, which will include a food bank, rooms for medical treatment, a client lounge, courtyard, and parking lot. Whitman-Walker admitted its mistake. According to clinic board member Riley Temple, two sites suggested by Ward 8 leaders are being considered for the new facility and clinic officials will participate in a community forum later this month to air views on the center.