Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 09:52:13 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/26/95 AIDS Daily Summary September 26, 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 ************************************************************ "Boost for Combining AIDS Drugs" "Drug Lotteries Raise Questions" "Prosecutors: Ex-Head of AIDS Agency a Con Man" "Inside the Beltway: Needs a Body" "Small Biotech Firms Find Support on the Stock Market" "Wrong TB Drugs Shorten the Lives of AIDS Victims" "Where AIDS Has Come to Dwell" "At Christ Church, a Concert for Artists with HIV/AIDS" "'Sue and Be Sued' Clause in Red Cross Charter" "Stigma of AIDS and HIV" ************************************************************ "Boost for Combining AIDS Drugs" Financial Times (09/26/95) P. 7; Cookson, Clive New research indicates that AIDS drugs are more effective when used in combination, rather than on their own. In the international "Delta" trial, 3,000 HIV-infected persons were randomly assigned to receive either Glaxo Wellcome's AZT, AZT and Roche's ddC, or AZT and Bristol-Myers Squibb's ddI. The researchers discovered that patients who began treatment with only AZT had a higher death rate than those who took a combination of drugs. "Drug Lotteries Raise Questions" Washington Post--Health (09/26/95) P. 14; Naughton, Diane Recently, some highly-publicized lotteries have offered patients with AIDS or Lou Gehrig's disease the chance to obtain promising experimental drugs that have not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Although many patients' groups and pharmaceutical companies see lotteries as the fairest way to distribute limited resources, some experts believe the risks involved are too high. "The problem with a lottery," said David Orentlicher, former director of the American Medical Association's Division of Medical Ethics, "is that it seems like we're avoiding making decisions." The lotteries also come at a time of great debate over how society rations scarce medical resources, though lottery organizers note that they have attempted to spread the word to a wide variety of people. "Prosecutors: Ex-Head of AIDS Agency a Con Man" Philadelphia Inquirer (09/26/95) P. B2; Collins, Huntly On Monday, prosecutors attempted to portray Francis J. Stoffa Jr., the former head of Philadelphia's AIDS Task Force, as a con man who wrote thousands of dollars worth of checks to himself and who used an agency credit card to purchase a health club membership and other benefits. The preliminary hearing will determine whether Stoffa should stand trial on charges that he stole more than $200,000 from the Center City agency. Stoffa's lawyer said Monday that there was no evidence that his client had committed any wrongdoing. Instead, he noted that Stoffa went out of his way to ensure that services to AIDS patients were not interrupted when the city repeatedly delayed payments. Mickey Litt, an economic-crime investigator with the District Attorney's Office, testified that Stoffa wrote 173 checks totaling $89,383 to himself using agency funds and that there were no receipts to document the office supplies that were supposed to have been purchased with the money. In addition, auditor Craig Howe said that Stoffa submitted invoices to the city for more employees than worked for him. The city was overbilled by close to $80,000 for work that was never verified, Howe said. "Inside the Beltway: Needs a Body" Washington Times (09/26/95) P. A7; McCaslin, John The Senate Rules and Administration Committee claims it never approved AIDS activist Mary Fisher's "coffin" exhibit, which was scheduled to be on display this week at the Russell Senate Office Building. A spokeswoman for the committee had said previously that because the artwork was "educational," it met at least one of the committee's requirements. However, in a letter to Fisher, Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) said that the committee could not permit the coffin to be displayed. Warner further clarified the situation by saying that while "no member [of the committee] lodged any objection the AIDS theme or content of the balance" of the exhibit, as had been reported by some, the coffin itself was the point of contention. Warner said he had distributed pictures of the proposed exhibit to all committee members prior to making a decision, and it was then that objections were made. "Small Biotech Firms Find Support on the Stock Market" Wall Street Journal (09/26/95) P. B2; Gupta, Udayan Although small biotechnology firms have had problems for nearly three years, the Nasdaq index of biotech stocks has jumped 44 percent in the past year, and many companies are planning stock offerings to raise critically needed cash. Thus far, 11 biotech companies have gone public in 1995, raising close to $200 million, according to the market-research group Feinstein Partners of Cambridge, Mass. These companies include Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc., a La Jolla, Calif., firm which is developing an oral HIV drug; and Alkermes Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., drug-delivery technology business. Some analysts, however, consider the new fundraising trend an act of desperation. "Wrong TB Drugs Shorten the Lives of AIDS Victims" Boston Globe (09/25/95) P. 29 The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that hundreds of thousands of HIV-infected tuberculosis (TB) patients could gain "more than two years of healthy life" by correctly taking anti-TB medicines. The health agency estimated that incomplete and often dangerous TB treatments were reducing the lifespans of nearly one-third of all HIV patients. The WHO urged caretakers to administer a regimen known as "directly observed treatment, short-course," which involves a health worker literally watching patients take their medicine. "Where AIDS Has Come to Dwell" Washington Post (09/26/95) P. E1; Mullan, Fitzhugh In her book, "Strong Shadows: Scenes from an Inner City AIDS Clinic," Abigail Zuger describes "the steady drizzle of human loss [that] HIV has brought to the inner city." Zuger, an infectious diseases physician in New York, follows eight patients at a public hospital in the Bronx as they seek help for their progressing disease. An underlying theme in all of Zuger's patients is drug abuse. One man, for example, stopped using drugs when he learned he was HIV-positive, while two of the women contracted the virus from drug-using boyfriends. "Strong Shadows" also details the problems that face those caring for AIDS patients in public hospitals, including missing medical records, discontinuity of care, and reluctant consultants. "At Christ Church, a Concert for Artists with HIV/AIDS" Philadelphia Inquirer (09/26/95) P. B2 Christ Church in Old City will hold a memorial concert on Oct. 15 to raise money for the Working Fund for Philadelphia Area Artists Living with HIV/AIDS, a fund which offers financial support to artists whose work has been hindered or interrupted by the disease. The concert will follow an AIDS march scheduled for the same day. Concert performers will include Philadelphia Orchestra violinist Davyd Booth, the Philadelphia Opera Chorus, and soloists from the Christ Church choir. "'Sue and Be Sued' Clause in Red Cross Charter" American Medical News (09/11/95) Vol. 38, No. 34, P. 24 A federal trial court in West Virginia has ruled that the American Red Cross was not exempt from suit by an infant who supposedly became HIV-infected from blood the agency supplied. The infant received the contaminated blood via a transfusion during surgery. The Red Cross attempted to strike a demand for a jury trial and for punitive damages, claiming that it was immune from such actions because it was a governmental instrumentality. In denying the motion, the court noted that Congress had included a "sue and be sued" clause in the agency's charter and that it had no residual immunity to protect it from a jury trial and punitive damages. "Stigma of AIDS and HIV" Nikkei Weekly (09/04/95) Vol. 33, No. 1687, P. 19 A new study from the Japanese government indicates that more than half of the 10,000 respondents would not alter their relations with close friends who contracted HIV. Still, more than 41 percent said that discrimination against people who contract sexually transmitted diseases from prostitutes cannot be avoided--a view less likely to be held by younger people, according to the survey. Japan's Health and Welfare Ministry reported 435 new AIDS and HIV diagnoses in 1994, a figure which is second only to the 493 total recorded in 1992. In the first six months of 1995, there were 2,018 known cases of HIV and AIDS in Japan, or 3,821 if persons who were infected through blood transfusions are included.