Date: Thu, 30 Mar 1995 10:08:40 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary March 30, 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 ************************************************************ "Boy's Recovery From AIDS Virus Is Documented" "Classes on AIDS Under Fire" "Japan Court Rules HIV Patient Was Unlawfully Fired" "Living Off AIDS" "Catholic Church Making Strides on AIDS Attitude, Priest Says" "German Fund to Help Victims of HIV-Tainted Blood" "Home Testing Kits for HIV Apt to Get FDA Approval" "Apoptosis in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Disease" "A Randomized Trial Comparing Fluconazole with Clotrimazole Troches for the Prevention of Fungal Infections in Patients with Advanced Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection" ************************************************************ "Boy's Recovery From AIDS Virus Is Documented" Washington Post (03/30/95) P. A12 A Los Angeles child who was HIV-positive at birth appears to be free of the virus at age 5. Yvonne J. Bryson of the medical school at the University of California at Los Angeles said she thought this was the first carefully documented case of someone conquering infection. The findings were reported in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Bryson said she and her colleagues are studying the child's immune system, hoping to find a way to stop infection in others. Related Stories: New York Times (03/30) P. A18; Wall Street Journal (03/30) P. B8 "Classes on AIDS Under Fire" Washington Times (03/30/95) P. A1; Scarborough, Rowan At least two congressional panels plan to investigate the Clinton administration's mandatory AIDS education for federal employees after hearing reports that the curriculum promotes the homosexual lifestyle. Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Calif.), chairman of the House National Security subcommittee on personnel, says he will hold hearings later this spring, and the House Government Reform and Oversight subcommittee on civil service has already begun a preliminary inquiry, according to a staffer. House Speaker Newt Gingrich may look into the program after the conclusion of his "Contract with America," according to his spokesman, Tony Blankley. The White House defended the program, which was directed to reach 2 million federal employees and is scheduled to end in the coming days. Richard Sorian, spokesman for the White House National AIDS Policy office, says that while he could not defend the conduct of every trainer, he believes the education will prove effective in preventing AIDS. Conservative groups are labeling the initiative as being "pro-gay." Some federal workers complained of being subjected to graphic talk about sex practices. Concerned Women for America, a 600,000-member national organization, is urging Congress to investigate the program. Grace Paranzino, a nurse with the U.S. Public Health Service who has conducted federal AIDS training sessions in Pennsylvania, admits some trainers do devote too much time to the discussion of homosexual practices, but pointed out that "when we talk about HIV and AIDS, it is a sexually transmitted disease, and therefore you cannot ignore it is sexually transmitted." "Japan Court Rules HIV Patient Was Unlawfully Fired" Reuters (03/30/95) The plaintiff in Japan's first court case challenging the dismissal of an employee who was fired for carrying HIV has been awarded more than $165,000 in damages by a Tokyo District Court. The plaintiff was fired in October 1992 by his employer, a Tokyo-based software company, after company officials administered an HIV test without the plaintiff's knowledge. The company then disclosed the results of the test to other employees in the office and to an affiliated firm. In addition to ruling in favor of the plaintiff on the charges of wrongful dismissal, the court also ruled that the company had violated the man's privacy by releasing the test results and administering the test with his knowledge. Japanese AIDS activists praised the decision, but warned that discriminatory practices against HIV patients remains a serious problem. "Living Off AIDS" Philadelphia Inquirer (03/30/95) P. A18 The editors of the Philadelphia Inquirer say that people residing in Philadelphia's AIDS-advocacy community are incensed over officials who take money earmarked to help those afflicted with the disease. The editors say that the latest scandal of this kind revolves around Francis Stoffa, Jr., the former head of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force, who has been charged by a grand jury with stealing more than $200,000 from the agency. Although Stoffa denies doing anything wrong, the editors say his arrest "represents the worst sort of betrayal since he was described as a "hero and star" of the hard-hit gay community." The editors point out that more troubling than the Stoffa scandal is "the fact that the whole system of distributing upwards of $20 million in this region needs an overhaul," and blame mismanagement, political influence, and infighting as contributing to the system's problems. Stoffa's arrest could be "a defining moment," the editors write," one in which [Philadelphia's] Rendell administration, AIDS-service providers, and advocates can foster change." Two questions that should be raised, the editors believe, revolve around why the Philadelphia AIDS Consortium only has 75 members, and why AIDS-service agencies don't keep some distance from funding decisions involving their organizations. The editors think that Health Commissioner Richman is the ideal person to raise these issues "and to ensure the vigilant monitoring of AIDS agency contracts." They conclude, "There isn't the luxury of a long learning curve." "Catholic Church Making Strides on AIDS Attitude, Priest Says" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (03/29/95) P. 13A; Volland, Victor The Catholic Church once denied the existence of AIDS and was even prejudiced against the condition, but the church has since made an impressive effort to overcome its initial attitude, observed Rev. Rodney J. DeMartini, the executive director of the National Catholic AIDS Network in San Francisco. DeMartini was among about 75 other lay and religious ministers who recently attended a meeting concerning AIDS. "We're building bridges rather than walls--within and outside the church," said DeMartini. He added that society's denial of AIDS and its categorization of AIDS as a disease afflicting only homosexuals and drug addicts have delayed the actions needed to combat the disease. Archbishop Justin Rigali, who attended one of the meeting's daily sessions, said that stereotypes of AIDS should be abandoned. He noted that women, the young, and the poor are most at risk and recommended that all available resources be used to combat AIDS. "German Fund to Help Victims of HIV-Tainted Blood" Reuters (03/29/95) Germany's Health Minister, Horst Seehofer, said on Wednesday that his country will make monthly payments to thousands of people who contracted HIV in Germany's largest AIDS scandal. The federal and state governments, the German Red Cross, and pharmaceutical companies plan to create a fund to help people made ill by tainted blood or blood products during the 1980s. Seehofer told the German parliament's health committee that the federal government would contribute 100 million marks (US$72 million) to the fund, while the German Red Cross and pharmaceutical companies together would contribute another 100 million marks. Regional states will pay 50 million marks (US$36 million) into the fund, which will make monthly payments for 15 years to people infected before 1988 with HIV-contaminated blood. Victims who contracted HIV will receive 1,500 marks (US$1,100), while people who develop full-blown AIDS will receive twice that amount from the fund that still must be created. Victims and opposition parties immediately attacked the 250 million mark (US$180 million) fund, saying it was miserly. The German Hemophiliac Association and the Hemophiliacs' Interest Group said the plan fell short of what they expected or what was fair given the city of Bonn's admission that most cases could have been prevented with proper blood screening. Victims were either hemophiliacs whose long-term treatment was based on a blood product to prevent bleeding, or hospital patients given a similar medicine during operations. "Home Testing Kits for HIV Apt to Get FDA Approval" Journal of the American Medical Association (03/22/95-03/29/95) Vol. 273, No. 12, P. 908; Marwick, Charles The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it would approve home testing kits for detecting the presence of HIV as long as those who test positive are referred for counseling, and postmarketing studies are established to assess the public health impact. The FDA's change in position renews the debate of the value of home test kits for detecting HIV. Some of the issues include whether the federal government can continue to keep people from using the new kits; whether it can require counseling and enforce the gathering of data on the results of using the tests; and whether it can ensure anonymity, while at the same time making sure that counseling is provided for those who test HIV-positive. At a Washington, D.C., forum to discuss the issues, some speakers expressed concern that when the home tests are approved, current testing systems would be seen as redundant. A. Cornelius Baker, of the National Association of People with AIDS, noted that the test kits would be useful to people in isolated areas. Baker was skeptical, however, about the value of the kit as a weapon against AIDS. The HIV home test kits have the support of the American Medical Association, as long as terms similar to the FDA's proposal are adopted. "Apoptosis in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Disease" Science (03/10/95) Vol. 267, No. 5203, P. 1456; Thompson, Craig B. Although a great deal is known about the control of cell proliferation, much less is known about the control of cell death. Physiologic cell death occurs principally through a form of cell suicide called apoptosis. A variety of regulatory stimuli cause a cell to undergo apoptosis. Disorders associated with increased cell survival include cancer, autoimmune diseases, and certain viral disorders. Excessive cell death can result from acquired or genetic conditions that increase the accumulation of signals that induce apoptosis or that decrease the threshold at which such events cause apoptosis. AIDS may be the most dramatic example of virus-associated cell depletion. Treatments created to specifically alter the apoptotic threshold may be able to change the natural progression of some of diseases. "A Randomized Trial Comparing Fluconazole with Clotrimazole Troches for the Prevention of Fungal Infections in Patients with Advanced Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection" New England Journal of Medicine (03/16/95) Vol. 332, No. 11, P. 700; Powderly, William G.; Finkelstein, Dianne M.; Feinberg, Judith et al. Common complications in HIV-infected patients include cryptococcal meningitis and other serious fungal infections. Powderly et al. conducted a randomized trial comparing fluconazole, a drug effective for the long-term suppression of several fungal infections, with clotrimazole troches in patients who were also participating in a trial for the primary prevention of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. After about 35 months of follow-up, 4.1 percent of the patients in the fluconazole group and 10.9 percent of those in the clotrimazole group had developed invasive fungal infections. Seventeen of the 32 invasive fungal infections were cryptococcosis. Fluconazole was more effective in the patients with 50 or fewer CD4 cells than for the patients with higher counts. The drug was also effective in preventing esophageal candidiasis, and confirmed and presumed orapharyngeal candidiasis. The researchers concluded that fluconazole taken prophylactically reduces the frequency of crytococcosis, esophageal candidiasis, and superficial fungal infections in patients infected with HIV, particularly those with 50 or fewer CD4 cells. The drug, however, does not reduce overall mortality.