Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 10:17:51 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 08/12/96 AIDS Daily Summary August 12, 1996 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 National AIDS Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ****************************************************** "Patents: Mixers for 'Cocktails' Used to Delay AIDS" "Across the USA: Nevada" "Money Woes May Define Options for Dying People" "Gene Battles AIDS" "A Mother's Misery" "The Way to Fight TB" "HIV, AIDS Cases Increase in Malaysia" "'Burn-Out' of Lymphoid Compartment May be Possible in HIV-Infected Patients" "Think Fungus in HIV-Infection" "The Painful Political Truth About Medical Research" ****************************************************** "Patents: Mixers for 'Cocktails' Used to Delay AIDS" New York Times (08/12/96) P. D2; Chartrand, Sabra Emory University in Atlanta was recently granted a patent for 3TC, an anti-HIV drug which, like AZT, was designed to prevent HIV from infecting human cells. Other drugs used in combination with 3TC, called protease inhibitors, attack the virus after it has entered the cell. Emory is also experimenting with 3TC as a treatment for hepatitis B. In its first year, 3TC is expected to earn $300 million in sales, and has the potential to eventually earn $1 billion a year. "Across the USA: Nevada" USA Today (08/12/96) P. 12A The Nugget casino, located in Sparks, Nev., has been sued by the U.S. government for insurance discrimination against a casino worker who sought AIDS treatment. Lawyers for the casino, which is owned by John Ascuaga, were unavailable for comment. "Money Woes May Define Options for Dying People" USA Today (08/12/96) P. 6D People who are seriously ill and creating economic hardship for their families are more likely to seek comfort care rather than expensive treatments, said a study released Sunday. Researchers at Case Western University reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine that patients whose families were suffering hardship were 30 percent more likely to prefer comfort care than those whose families were financially stable. "Gene Battles AIDS" Toronto Globe and Mail (08/09/96) P. A8 As many as one in 100 whites may carry a gene that protects them from HIV infection, new research shows. Nathan R. Landau, of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City, and colleagues report that people born with two copies of a mutant gene appear to be highly resistant to HIV infection. The researchers are not sure that the protection is complete, and they say that 20 percent of whites have one copy of the gene--which may afford them some protection from infection or improved survival if infected. The part of the gene that is missing is needed by HIV to invade human cells. Scientists may be able to replicate the effects of the genetic protection and thus develop a drug that will prevent infection. "A Mother's Misery" Washington Post (08/10/96) P. B1; Gilliam, Dorothy Jackie Jackson, a Washington, D.C., resident and mother of three-year-old Theo, found out that both she and her son were HIV-positive when he was born. Since then, she has become depressed, her health has worsened, and she can no longer support herself. Theo, meanwhile, has been hospitalized almost continuously for the past year and is now taking more than 20 different drugs for full-blown AIDS. Jackson says she worries how she will pay for her son's funeral. Last year, Washington, D.C., had one of the nation's highest rates of HIV infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency noted that African Americans are six times as likely to contract the virus as whites. Jackson wants other women in her city to be aware of the importance of HIV testing, especially for those planning to become pregnant. "The Way to Fight TB" Washington Post (08/10/96) P. A18; Rabin, David L. A recent article in the Washington Post did not accurately portray the tuberculosis (TB) problem in Washington, D.C., and neighboring areas, contends David L. Rabin, a professor at Georgetown University's Department of Family Medicine. In a letter to the editor of the Post, Rabin says that, while the article implied that the 50 percent increase in reported TB cases in the city is alarming, the increase is due to improved detection and reporting, rather than steps toward controlling the disease. The author, however, points out that nearby areas are facing increases in TB cases, due to the immigration of infected residents from Southeast Asia, Central America, and South America. Increasing numbers of AIDS patients and substance abusers are also challenging the resources of area health departments, and thus, more aid is needed for federal and local TB control, Rabin concludes. "HIV, AIDS Cases Increase in Malaysia" Xinhua News Agency (08/11/96) In Malaysia, 300 new HIV cases are detected each month, and a total of 448 AIDS cases and 16,349 HIV cases were reported by June 30 this year. The government has approved the spending of $48 million for AIDS care between 1993 and 1995, but says that additional funding is needed. The estimated figures may not reflect the actual number of new cases because many are not reported. The majority of HIV-infected individuals in Malaysia--nearly 84 percent--are between the ages of 20 and 39, while some 4 percent of those infected are aged 13 to 19. "'Burn-Out' of Lymphoid Compartment May be Possible in HIV-Infected Patients" Reuters (08/09/96) The storage of latently infected cells in HIV-positive patients may be limited and could eventually be depleted, French researchers suggest in a new study. Led by Alain Lafeuillade of Hospital Chalucet in Toulon, they report in the August issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases that, after treatment with a combination of antiretroviral drugs, concentrations of HIV-1 RNA in the plasma and lymph nodes decreased significantly. Lafeuillade also indicated that, if viral replication can be completely stopped with drug therapy, the infected cells in the lymph nodes and tissues could eventually be replaced by uninfected cells. "Think Fungus in HIV-Infection" Lancet (07/27/96) Vol. 348, No. 9022, P. 257; Pini, Pia Roland Leung and colleagues at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong report the detection of what they are calling the first case of Penicillium marneffi in colonscopic biopsies from a Chinese AIDS patient. The researchers, therefore, advise that penicillium colitis be considered in the diagnosis of fever and diarrhea in HIV-infected patients, especially those in Asia. In the case they describe, a Chinese man with AIDS suffered a fever, night sweats, and general malaise. A caecal biopsy sample showed P. marneffei infection, which responded to amphotericin and itraconazole. While the infection is common in AIDS patients in northern Thailand and is endemic in southeast Asia and China, colonic involvement had only been documented once, then in a patient whose HIV status was unknown. The researchers caution that prompt treatment is important. "The Painful Political Truth About Medical Research" Business Week (07/29/96) No. 3486, P. 18; Becker, Gary S. In a commentary in Business Week magazine Nobel laureate Gary S. Becker, a professor at the University of Chicago, takes issue with the way federal funds are distributed for medical research. He says funding is disproportionate due to the political influence exerted by well-organized advocacy groups for particular diseases, like AIDS. Of the National Institutes of Health's $12 billion budget, $4,000 per death is spent on cancer research while a little more than $2,000 per death is spent on heart disease research. Heart disease, Becker points out, causes about 50 percent more deaths than cancer. Research on AIDS, which causes about the same number of deaths in the United States as cancer, receives four times the funding of breast cancer, more than 20 times that of prostate cancer, and almost 50 times the spending per death for heart disease research. Becker says that AIDS is worthy of liberal funding because it primarily afflicts young people, is relatively new, is contagious, and because recent advances have been made in treatment. However, he suggests that political influence plays too large a part in the allocation of funds for AIDS and all medical research.