Date: Tue, 17 Dec 96 09:23:22 EST From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 12/17/96 AIDS Daily Summary December 17, 1996 The CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC. 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 ****************************************************** "Dr. Ho's Next Step in AIDS Research Is a Remarkable Gamble" "Gays' Cases Help to Explain Immigration Rights" "President's AIDS 'Strategy' Offers Call to Arms, Few New Weapons" "AIDS Fears Prompt 'Sex Strike' in Brazil" "Across the USA: Florida" "Dave and Faye Chitty" "Beyond the Birds and Bees" "Earth Week: Deep-Sea Cures" "Randomized Trial of MNrgp120 HIV-1 Vaccine in Symptomless HIV-1 Infection" "No Stones Unturned in Major Push to Develop Microbicides" ****************************************************** "Dr. Ho's Next Step in AIDS Research Is a Remarkable Gamble" Wall Street Journal (12/17/96) P. A1; Waldholz, Michael As part of a study to determine whether the new AIDS drugs can rid the body of HIV, 21 subjects in a study led by Dr. David Ho are being asked to stop taking the drugs that have helped them fight off disease. Critics say the move is an attempt by Ho to generate publicity for himself and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center which he heads. The experiment could also threaten the health of his patients and falsely raise hopes of others with HIV. Ho defends himself, noting, "We are asking critical questions that need to be asked, pushing the virus as hard as we can, probably harder than anyone else." Many of the patients involved in the trial have gone a whole year without detectable virus in their blood. None have agreed to go off the therapy yet, but the researchers will continue to ask them periodically. Ho argues that if the virus reappears the patients can resume drug therapy. "Gays' Cases Help to Explain Immigration Rights" Washington Post (12/17/96) P. A1; Branigin, William The expansion of asylum conditions to include homosexuality and HIV infection as grounds for approval has spurred controversy and debate. Since 1994, more than 60 foreigners have been given asylum based on persecution because of their homosexuality and at least two heterosexuals have also been granted asylum based on persecution because they were HIV-positive. Critics of the new conditions argue that they go against the original intent of the system, which was to give temporary refuge to people who were in the United States when it was too dangerous for them to return to their native country. A decision by the Clinton administration to consider HIV infection as a possible condition for asylum is especially controversial, because a 1993 law banned the immigration of anyone with HIV or AIDS. "We're telling HIV-positive people that you're not allowed to come to the United States, but if you manage to sneak in, we'll give you asylum based on the characteristic that would have made you excludable," commented Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies. "President's AIDS 'Strategy' Offers Call to Arms, Few New Weapons" Washington Post (12/17/96) P. A4; Weiss, Rick The first national strategy against AIDS will be released by President Clinton today, calling for continued research funding and better cooperation among anti-AIDS programs. Detractors say the plan is only a restating of old ideas, and lacks dramatic proposals for change. The report does not address the controversial ban of federal funding for needle-exchange programs, for example. However, the plan does call for stronger federal support of new drugs, an AIDS vaccine, prevention efforts, patient care, and protection against discrimination. "AIDS Fears Prompt 'Sex Strike' in Brazil" Washington Times (12/17/96) P. A14 The women of Palestina, a small town in Brazil, have begun a "sex strike" to combat the spread of HIV. The women promised to stop having sex with their husbands and boyfriends until their partners take an HIV test. The movement was sparked after a 30-year-old man with HIV was found to have had unprotected sex with at least two women in the town. "Across the USA: Florida" USA Today (12/17/96) P. 10A William Calvert, the public health worker in Florida who admitted using a government database of HIV-infected people for the purpose of screening his dates, will be allowed to resign. Calvert was fired in October, but appealed his firing. Health officials note, however, that the appeal process would have been expensive. "Dave and Faye Chitty" St. Louis Post-Dispatch--St. Charles Post (12/16/96) P. 1SC; Fenning, Esther Talbot Faye and Dave Chitty, of St. Charles, Miss., cared for Faye's brother Mike Sohn for the last three months of his life before he died of AIDS. Moved by his brother-in-law's illness and death, Dave Chitty has since become certified as a massage therapist and has so far provided free therapy to four AIDS patients. The Chittys have also become active in AIDS support groups and serve as co-sponsors of the AIDS Family Group, which serves families who have lost loved ones to the disease. "Beyond the Birds and Bees" New York Times (12/17/96) P. C21; O'Connor, John J. "Sex and Other Matters of Life and Death," a documentary to be aired tonight on PBS, traces a year in the life of a group of teen-age actors who visit schools and community groups to provide sex education in the form of drama. The program, called Star Theater, was founded by Dr. Cydelle Berlin and is part of the Adolescent AIDS Program at Mount Sinai Hospital. The program includes a session with the actors, who remain in character and answer questions from the audience. Some of the actors are HIV-positive themselves, including Berlin's daughter, who has AIDS. "Earth Week: Deep-Sea Cures" Houston Chronicle (12/16/96) P. 7C Researchers in search of new drug candidates to treat AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer's, and other disorders have begun exploring the oceans near the Bahamas. Using a high-tech submersible from Florida's Harbor Beach Oceanographic Institute, the scientists are collecting algae and other organisms that may produce unique chemical compounds. Previously, researchers isolated a group of compounds called topsentins from sea organisms that may be useful as a treatment for arthritis. "Randomized Trial of MNrgp120 HIV-1 Vaccine in Symptomless HIV-1 Infection" Lancet (12/07/96) Vol. 348, No. 9041, P. 1547; Eron, Joseph J., Jr.; Ashby, Mark A.; Giordano, Michael F.; et al. Disease progression varies among HIV-infected patients, possibly because of differences in immune response. Previous research has suggested that a vaccine based on the recombinant envelope glycoprotein 120 (rgp 120) may have the potential to elicit antibodies capable of neutralizing HIV-1. Dr. Joseph J. Eron, Jr., of the University of North Carolina's AIDS Clinical Trial Unit, and colleagues, tested an envelope subcomponent vaccine (MNrgp120) in asymptomatic HIV-positive patients to determine if the vaccine could slow disease progression. Among the 573 patients enrolled in the study, 89 percent had detectable HIV RNA at the start. After 15 months, no significant difference in CD4 decline or viral load was found between the vaccine recipients and placebo recipients. The incidence of HIV-related clinical events was also similar for the two groups. The researchers concluded that the vaccine did not affect disease progression in infected individuals. "No Stones Unturned in Major Push to Develop Microbicides" AIDS Alert (12/96) Vol. 11, No. 12, P. 133 The U.S. government has pledged to spend $100 million over the next four years on the development of anti-HIV microbicides, which will give women more options to protect themselves from the virus that causes AIDS. The female condom is the only such product now available, and, while new alternatives are in the research pipeline, they could take years to reach the market. New diaphragms and cervical caps are in development at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, but these methods are not expected to provide complete protection against viral infections. Chemical barriers are more attractive than physical barriers because they are easy to use and unobtrusive, and non-contraceptive types can protect women from disease while allowing them to become pregnant. As preliminary research, government scientists are studying whether spermicides, which have shown anti-HIV activity in laboratory tests, can protect women from the virus. Acid-buffering agents, which alter the pH level of the vagina, are also promising because HIV does not survive as long when pH levels are lowered. Daily vaginal suppositories, designed to lower pH by raising levels of natural vaginal microflora, are also under development.