Date: Wed, 7 Feb 1996 10:27:49 +0500 From: gharaghs{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/gharaghs}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 2/7/96 AIDS Daily Summary February 7, 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 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 ************************************************************ "Delco Councilman Votes Against AIDS Grant" "City Working to Curb Rise in Syphilis" "Military Misfire" "Judge Bans Naming of Dentist in HIV Trial" "Race Played No Role in Closing AIDS Trials" "Chiron Viagene and Virus Research Institute Collaborate on Intracellular Gene Therapy" "Clarithromycin of Benefit to AIDS Patients with Disseminated Mycobacterium Avium Complex" "Nontraditional Treatments Offer No Benefit to AIDS Patients" "AIDS in America: Getting Younger" "Private Group of AIDS Experts Work to Update Clinical Guides" ************************************************************ "Delco Councilman Votes Against AIDS Grant" Philadelphia Inquirer (02/07/96) P. B6; Paik, Angela Delaware County Councilman Wallace Nunn has voted against an authorization of $188,000 in federal housing aid for county agencies that help AIDS patients. The vote was a formality only, since the county does not have a say in how the federal funds are used. Nunn said AIDS is a "behavioral disease" and that the money should go to cancer patients or others in need of aid "through no fault of their own." Another member of the council who voted for the measure though she was against it said that she hopes the county will get more say in how to spend federal funds. "City Working to Curb Rise in Syphilis" Baltimore Sun (02/06/96) P. 1B; Sugg, Diana K. Health officials in Baltimore, Md., are alerting doctors and health care workers about a syphilis outbreak that they think could be followed by a rise in AIDS cases. The number of syphilis cases in the city has increased by 83 percent in the last year, an increase that is linked to growing use of crack cocaine. People with syphilitic lesions are at a greater risk of contracting HIV or transmitting it to their sexual partners. Public health experts are starting to view the syphilis outbreaks as a warning of increased AIDS cases. The syphilis increase seems to be limited to parts of Baltimore and has not been seen to affect surrounding areas. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have studied the situation in Baltimore and said they were not able to prove that a decrease in the city health department staff played a role in the outbreak. "Military Misfire" Philadelphia Inquirer (02/07/96) P. A12 In an editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the editors object to the proposed policy change that would force the discharge of all HIV-positive military members. The authors note that 6,500 people in the military have a chronic illness and cannot serve overseas in combat, and that the 1,049 people with HIV should not be singled out. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), who has criticized allowing gays in the military, says the proposal is illogical because skilled personnel would have to be replaced. President Clinton should veto the bill, the editors say, although he is expected to sign it. Defense Department officials oppose the measure, saying that it will harm families of infected service members by removing their health coverage. "Judge Bans Naming of Dentist in HIV Trial" Boston Globe (02/06/96) P. 17; Ferdinand, Pamela; Langer, Paul The Massachusetts Superior Court judge presiding over a case against a dentist accused of infecting a patient with HIV has ruled that the media cannot disclose the dentist's name. Media executives and legal experts claim the ruling limits First Amendment rights of free speech. James Sharpe, who now has full-blown AIDS, said he was infected in 1989 when he had three teeth extracted. Hampshire County Judge William Welch ruled that anyone involved in the case, including reporters, may not publish the dentist's name until Sharpe proves his allegations. Several news outlets are expected to appeal the ruling on grounds of prior restraint. "Race Played No Role in Closing AIDS Trials" New York Times (02/07/96) P. A18; Gulick, Roy M. In this letter to the editor, Dr. Roy Gulick, a co-investigator at the New York University (NYU)-Bellevue Hospital, claims that a recent letter to the editor inaccurately said that racism was a factor in the closing of some AIDS clinical trial sites. The trials continue at NYU-Bellevue Hospital, Gulick says, where more than half the participants are minority members. "Chiron Viagene and Virus Research Institute Collaborate on Intracellular Gene Therapy" Business Wire (02/06/96) Chiron Viagene and the Virus Research Institute announced on Tuesday that they will coordinate research and development efforts for an intracellular immunizing agent of infectious diseases, including HIV. Intracellular immunization uses gene therapy along with a new class of genetically modified molecules, called intracellular antibodies or "intrabodies." These molecules are able to inhibit viral functions, including disrupting the viral assembly process. This strategy could protect healthy immune cells and inhibit viral release from infected cells. Officials at the two companies say the strategy offers new hope for combating HIV and other infectious diseases. "Clarithromycin of Benefit to AIDS Patients with Disseminated Mycobacterium Avium Complex" Reuters (02/06/96) A trial of advanced AIDS patients has found that clarithromycin may be an effective prophylactic treatment for disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). When combined with other drugs, clarithromycin appears to reduce the rate of MAC and has few side effects. The trial, which was conducted at the Community Research Initiative on AIDS in New York City, included 39 late-stage AIDS patients. During the study period, none of the patients developed any signs of disseminated MAC infection. "Nontraditional Treatments Offer No Benefit to AIDS Patients" Reuters (02/06/96) A retrospective study of 56 men with HIV at a VA hospital in Pittsburgh found that nontraditional therapies offer no benefit for the infection. The therapies, including acupuncture, megavitamin therapy, herbal preparations and visualization, did not show any positive effect on disease progression, CD4 cell count or mortality, the study found. Dr. Nina Singh, who led the study, said that the patients who used nontraditional therapies tended to be more assertive and tried to be more in control of the outcome of their disease. "AIDS in America: Getting Younger" Economist (01/20/96) Vol.338, No.7949, P. 29 The number of new cases of AIDS in America has stopped growing, yet some 47,000 new cases are still reported each year. New segments of the population are being affected, including women and young black and Hispanic men, according to data published by Philip Rosenberg of the National Cancer Institute in Science magazine. Many people over 30 started having sex before AIDS was identified, so infection among them could date to pre-AIDS or early-AIDS times. But people who grew up knowing about AIDS, however, seem just as vulnerable. In addition, injection drug use and unprotected sex are still common in youth, despite warnings about the disease. Also, Americans, especially blacks, are having sex earlier than ever. Starting to have sex earlier equates to more partners and a greater risk of AIDS. Furthermore, as heterosexual men get older they are less likely to use condoms, which accounts for the greater incidence of heterosexual transmission and the increased incidence of infection in women. A large number of people with the virus do not know they have it until they develop AIDS, increasing the risk of transmission to others. "Private Group of AIDS Experts Work to Update Clinical Guides" American Medical News (01/22/96-01/29/96) Vol.39, No.4, P. 3; Morain, Claudia Leading AIDS experts met in San Francisco on Jan. 11 to draft new clinical guidelines for antiretroviral therapy in HIV care. They said the 1993 federal guidelines were outdated and no longer helpful to clinicians working with AIDS patients. Drug therapy, for instance, has advanced so much since 1993 that the earlier recommendations may no longer be appropriate. The private group's guidelines will be presented at the Third Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, to be held in Washington D.C. from January 28 to February 1. Dr. Paul Volberding, director of the AIDS Program at San Francisco General Hospital, said he organized the meeting because the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases--the federal agency that issued the 1993 guidelines--"can take quite a while to get organized." He said the group's recommendations would cover combination therapy and would address prophylaxis for health care workers exposed to HIV, maternal-fetal transmission, and early and late stages of infection. Some AIDS specialists say the consensus-panel approach used by the NIAID to draft its recommendations is not effective for AIDS because there is limited research available and an urgent need for access to any possible treatments.