Date: Wed, 06 Jul 1994 09:33:10 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary July 06, 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 ************************************************************ "Social Security Agrees to Review Claims of 3,000 With AIDS Virus" "Gebbie Ready?" "Data Illustrates RMP-7 Could Be a Useful Adjunct in the Treatment of CMV Retinitis" "AIDS Caregivers Need Stress-Reducing Strategies" "Living Proof: A Portrait of Courageous People" "Like a Neo-Virgin" "In Recovery" "Developing and Implementing Guidelines to Promote Appropriate Use of Fluconazole Therapy in an AIDS Clinic" ************************************************************ "Social Security Agrees to Review Claims of 3,000 With AIDS Virus" Washington Post (07/06/94) P. A12 Nearly 3,000 HIV patients who were denied federal disability benefits will have their claims reconsidered under a legal settlement filed today in U.S. District Court. Community Legal Services Inc., a Philadelphia legal aid group, had filed a class-action suit against the Social Security Administration contending that the agency used improper criteria that excluded intravenous drug users, poor people, minorities, women, and children from qualifying for benefits. The settlement will allow people in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and the U.S. Virgin Islands who were denied benefits for HIV or AIDS-related disabilities between March 22, 1991, and July 2, 1993, to obtain a re-evaluation of their claims. Related Stories: Philadelphia Inquirer (07/06) P. A1; USA Today (07/06) P. 3A "Gebbie Ready?" Washington Times (07/06/94) P. A7 The Clinton administration is making its first move in replacing White House AIDS Policy Coordinator Kristine Gebbie by compiling a brief list of candidates to succeed her, according to Newsday. No official announcement concerning Gebbie's fate will be made, however, until internal disputes are settled. Sources say there is tension over whether the new AIDS czar should be a charismatic person who can better sell the program to the public, or someone better able to work with Congress on policy. There is even talk of abandoning the position altogether in favor of a special staff position at the Department of Health and Human Services. "Data Illustrates RMP-7 Could Be a Useful Adjunct in the Treatment of CMV Retinitis" Business Wire (07/05/94) Preclinical experiments indicate that RMP-7, a proprietary drug-delivery agent of Alkermes, Inc., allowed a greater concentration of ganciclovir to enter the eye. The findings have major implications for AIDS patients who have cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMV), which can cause blindness. "AIDS Caregivers Need Stress-Reducing Strategies" AIDS Alert (06/94) Vol. 9, No. 6, P. 90 Providing health care for AIDS patients is more stressful than caring for other patients, but it is also rewarding, according to a study of hospice workers conducted by the George Washington University Center The authors' explanation was that the resistant strains were deleted from the patients' immune systems by natural selection during or just after transmission. "Living Proof: A Portrait of Courageous People" Washington Blade (07/01/94) Vol. 25, No. 27, P. 54; Graham, Trey The personalities in "Living Proof"--a drag queen, drug addict, gay police officer, heterosexual mother, safe-sex educator, little girl, Eagle Scout, and middle-aged cabinetmaker--are all nameless, except for Ross, the swimmer. As they meet in a Manhattan loft during the summer to pose for portraits for a book project, they speak with passion, regret, and humor about HIV, the thread that connects them all. Most testify that HIV has made them more aware of their surroundings, and more determined to do the things they have always wanted to do. Thus, the film becomes an essay in courage, optimism, a commitment to life, and the pursuit of happiness. "Like a Neo-Virgin" Advocate (06/28/94) No. 658, P. 14 The New York State Board of Education will introduce the concept of "secondary virginity" to eighth graders as part of their state-mandated AIDS program. Council member Dr. Liliana Trivelli called the new curriculum "a nice way of saying that even if you have been sleeping around for years, you can be clean again." "In Recovery" Advocate (06/28/94) No. 658, P. 106; Pela, Robert L. In "Recovering From the Loss of a Loved One to AIDS," recovery expert and author Katherine Fair Donnelly offers plenty of first-person accounts, but very little advice or solutions to those in mourning. Donnelly knows her audience, so the majority of the stories refer to gay male relationships. It is, however, nothing more than a source for people who have lost someone to the epidemic and is seeking solace in the stories of others who have felt the same way. "Developing and Implementing Guidelines to Promote Appropriate Use of Fluconazole Therapy in an AIDS Clinic" Hospital Pharmacy (06/94) Vol. 29, No. 6, P. 576; Anassi, Enock O.; Egbunike, Ifeanyi G.; Akpaffiong, MacCauley J.; et. al. For eight weeks, Enock O. Anassi's group scanned 88 patient charts during a drug use review for fluconazole in an AIDS clinic. Additionally, the researchers analyzed 72 patients in a five-week period. The study revealed an absence of fluconazole use in 43 patients out of 54 in retrospective analysis and in 31 patients of 39 prior to pharmacist intervention. The cost savings with pharmacist intervention for the five-week evaluation totaled $5,460.