Date: Mon, 19 Jun 1995 10:02:44 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary June 19, 1995 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Clinton Letter Apologizes for Insult to Gay Visitors" "Caremark Paid Physicians to Obtain Patients, Government Documents Say" "Gay Pride Celebration Week Begins" "AIDS on Decline in Europe, Expert Tells Newspaper" "Rain Forests--Nature's Medicine Chest" "Bill Oils the AIDS Squeaky Wheel" "Chronicle: A Bash at the Loeb Boathouse Will Benefit AIDS Research" "Panel Is Named on AIDS Drugs" "Transmission of HIV in Dialysis Centre" "Chinese Medicine: Where Does It Work Best in HIV/AIDS?" ************************************************************ "Clinton Letter Apologizes for Insult to Gay Visitors" Washington Post (06/19/95) P. A5 In a letter to gay elected officials who attended a White House conference last week, President Clinton apologized for "the inappropriate and insensitive treatment" they received from uniformed Secret Service officers who wore rubber gloves when admitting them. The president "is taking steps to ensure that it will not happen again and is already redoubling his efforts on training and education," according to Secret Service Director Eljay B. Bowron, who also expressed regret for the episode--which apparently occurred out of concern of being infected by HIV. Homosexual officials were outraged by the incident, and claimed it was an indication of the continuing discrimination against gays and ignorance about HIV transmission. On Sunday, protesters--who were apparently part of a Gay Pride Day paraded--covered the iron fence of the White House with at least 75 rubber gloves, while chanting "shame, shame," according to a report by the Associated Press. Related Story: New York Times (06/19) P. A9 "Caremark Paid Physicians to Obtain Patients, Government Documents Say" Wall Street Journal (06/19/95) P. B4; Burton, Thomas M. According to government documents, Caremark International Inc.--which last week agreed to pay $159 million to settle a four-year criminal probe--signed contracts with physicians that were sometimes a "subterfuge" to hide payments made to the doctors simply to obtain patients. In addition to agreeing to the civil damages and criminal fines, the health-care company consented to pay an additional $2 million to a federal grant program for AIDS patients. Officials said that although the investigation of the company has ended, the government continues to investigate doctors in several cities, as well as past and present Caremark employees. Among the inconsistencies found was the fact that Caremark made payments to Columbus, Ohio, osteopath Elliot Neufeld to obtain almost $2 million in revenue over five years for the treatment of AIDS patients. Clinical employees at the therapy center, however, had proof that Neufeld "seldom went to the facility" and that "they were unaware of Dr. Neufeld providing any significant services as medical director." Caremark Chairman C.A. Lance Piccolo said the company "apologizes and takes full responsibility for the wrongdoing" of "certain employees." "Gay Pride Celebration Week Begins" New York Times (06/19/95) P. B3; Dunlap, David W. Sunday marked the beginning of a week of celebrations for gays and lesbian New Yorkers. Hundreds of people filled Union Square Park for what was advertised as a rally, but in reality was more like a huge family picnic. The most sobering note, however, was from Dennis deLeon--president of the Latino Commission on AIDS--who said that while cases of AIDS in gay white men had declined during the last five years, they had increased nearly 80 percent among gay black men and more than 60 percent among gay Hispanic men. The week-long celebration--to be filled with parties, performances, movie screenings, readings, speeches, and shows--will culminate next Sunday in a march down Fifth Avenue. "AIDS on Decline in Europe, Expert Tells Newspaper" Reuters (06/18/95) Luc Montagnier, president of the World Foundation of AIDS Research, said on Sunday there has been no AIDS "explosion" in Europe and that efforts to control the disease should focus on Asia and Africa. In a published interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Montagnier--the Pasteur Institute researcher who first identified HIV--said that it was wrong to frighten people into fearing they were at high risk for HIV because there would be a backlash when the expected epidemic did not occur. A British AIDS group, however, criticized the researcher's comments. "We cannot let people run away with the idea that AIDS in the U.K. is not having a significant impact," said Nick Partridge of the Terrence Higgins Trust. "Rain Forests--Nature's Medicine Chest" Journal of Commerce (Forest Products Special Report) (06/19/95) P. 4A; Thurston, Charles W. The abundance of plants and microorganisms found in deciduous and tropical forests may yield new drugs for many enterprising U.S. pharmaceutical companies. Shaman Pharmaceuticals Inc. President Lisa Conte estimates that of the 500,000 known plant species in the rain forests, "less than 1 percent of these plants have been thoroughly researched for medicinal activity." Shaman's strong relationships with medicine men in primitive rain forest tribes have brought Provir, a treatment for respiratory syncytial virus, and Virend, a treatment for herpes simplex virus, to the clinical trial stage. Aside from the private sector, the National Cancer Institute has reported the discovery of five "promising" AIDS agents from compounds extracted from plants in Australia, Cameroon, Malysia, and Samoa. "Bill Oils the AIDS Squeaky Wheel" Washington Times (06/19/95) P. A19; Fumento, Michael With its 58 co-sponsors, Senate reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act is virtually guaranteed, writes Michael Fumento in a commentary in the Washington Times. The measure, which was enacted in 1990--theoretically to care for AIDS patients like Ryan White--was a sham from the beginning, Fumento adds. White was a hemophiliac who died of AIDS at age 18. However, only 2 percent of AIDS patients in 1990 were hemophiliacs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The current figure is 1 percent. The bill was also supposed to help fight the disease in rural America. Both then and now, cases from non-metropolitan areas amounted to just 5 percent of those reported. Predictably, says Fumento, most of the funding went to those places that had the most AIDS cases--such as New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The greatest difference with the reauthorization is that the estimated cost of the Act will increase from just over $2 billion to $3.6 billion, despite the fact that the AIDS epidemic is declining. The bill is also exclusionary because people with other diseases cannot partake of its benefits, nor are there similar acts that provide such funds for them, concludes Fumento. "Chronicle: A Bash at the Loeb Boathouse Will Benefit AIDS Research" New York Times (06/19/95) P. B10 The fourth annual "Rock the Boathouse" benefit for the American Foundation for AIDS Research will be hosted by actress Sarah Jessica Parker, model Bridget Hall, and "Melrose Place" actor Jack Wagner. Tonight's event will include dining and dancing at the Loeb Boathouse in New York City's Central Park. Wagner, who noted that he has lost several friends to AIDS, said he had long wanted to do a charity event in New York. "When it finally affects you, you're ready to have the opportunity to do something about it and show that you care," he said. "Panel Is Named on AIDS Drugs" Boston Globe (06/16/95) P. 42 Insurance and public health officials in Massachusetts announced on Thursday the appointment of an 11-member advisory committee to identify outpatient drugs, already approved for other purposes, for the treatment of HIV and AIDS. All health insurers that cover prescriptions would have to pay for any drugs identified by the panel. "Transmission of HIV in Dialysis Centre" Lancet (06/03/95) Vol. 345, No. 8962, P. 1417; Velandia, Martha; Fridkin, Scott K.; Cardenas, Victor et al. Between January 1992 and December 1993, Velandia et al. conducted a cohort study to determine the risk factors for HIV seroconversion at a dialysis center in Colombia, South America. The investigation was prompted by the discovery of 13 HIV-infected patients at the center in August 1993. Of the 23 patients studied, 12 tested positive for the HIV antibody during the epidemic period. The rate of seroconversion was higher among patients dialysed at the center while a new HIV seropositive patient received treatment there, or when the center reprocessed access needles, dialysers, and bloodlines. Only two of the nine HIV seroconverters had HIV risk factors--both having had sex with prostitutes. The researchers verified that HIV transmission took place at the dialysis center. The probable method of transmission, they said, was improperly reprocessed patient-care equipment, most likely access needles. They cautioned that because this outbreak was discovered accidentally, similar transmission could be occurring in many other countries where low-level disinfectants are used to sterilize critical patient-care equipment. "Chinese Medicine: Where Does It Work Best in HIV/AIDS?" AIDS Treatment News (06/02/94) No. 224, P. 8 For three years, Chinese medical treatment in San Francisco has been funded by the Ryan White CARE Act, and the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine there has treated more than 300 symptomatic HIV-positive individuals in long-term care. The conditions which appear to be the most responsive to Chinese medicine are weight loss, diarrhea/loose stools, abdominal pain, nausea, headaches, enlarged lymph nodes, and neuropathy. Many insurers and other third-party payers are now covering "alternative" methods, such as traditional Chinese medicine. Alternative care usually costs much less than Western medicine, and companies can save money by paying for it.