Software Vault: The Sapphire Collection/Software Vault (Sapphire Collection) (Digital Impact).ISO/cdr16/ad941117.zip/AD941117.TXT

Text File | 1994-11-17 | 11KB | 187 lines

                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      November 17, 1994


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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD

"End of Co-Op Dispute Hailed As Victory for Gay Couples"
New York Times (11/17/94) P. B3;  Dunlap, David W.
     Five years after the death of his companion and one year after
his own death from AIDS, Harry Kirkpatrick has won the right to
inherit an apartment that he and his companion shared.  The
settlement grants a privilege customarily extended to married
couples--that a surviving partner can automatically inherit the
lease to an apartment and shares in a co-op without the board's
consent.  The settlement was reached between the New York City
Human Rights Commission--which handles discrimination cases--and
the board of 60 Sutton Place South.  Ownership of the apartment
will now transfer to Marc Tosca, Kirkpatrick's companion of
recent years.  Kirkpatrick was twice denied board approval when
he sought ownership of the apartment that had belonged to his
partner, who died of AIDS in 1989.  A member of the Human Rights
Commission said that the board's discretion became discrimination
because the board "couldn't articulate any clear reason for not
having him become part of the community there."  Bud G. Holman,
president of the board, said that the board members were afraid
that Kirkpatrick would use the apartment as a rental property
while he lived elsewhere.  "Domestic partners should have the
same rights.  There should be no discrimination because of AIDS
and homosexual relationships," said Mr. Tosca.

"Obituaries: Tom Villard"
Washington Post (11/17/94) P. C7
     Actor Tom Villard, who continued to work in movies and television
after publicizing his illness, has died of AIDS-related pneumonia
at age 40.  He is best known for his role in the 1980s NBC comedy
"We Got It Made," but has made several appearances on "Frasier,"
"Sisters," and "Star Trek: Deep Space 9."  He also appeared in
the movies "Heartbreak Ridge," "My Girl," and "The Trouble With
Dick," which won the Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Related Stories: New York Times (11/17) P. D23; St. Louis
Post-Dispatch (11/16) P. 14A

"AIDS Cases Transmitted by Mothers Up Sharply"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/16/94) P. 1A;  Signor, Roger
     The rate of maternal-infant transmission of HIV has sharply
increased in the St. Louis, Mo., area.  The AIDS clinic of St.
Louis Children's Hospital has 24 infected children and 16 others
at risk of developing HIV.  The clinic has seen 17 new cases this
year of children who are infected or at risk of developing HIV.
Another clinic at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital has 10
babies with AIDS and is monitoring five more who were prenatally
exposed to HIV.  Doctors say the problem will increase because
there are more women of childbearing age who are contracting HIV
through unsafe sex.  Dr. Gregory A. Storch, chief of the
infectious diseases unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital, said
that giving AZT to mothers early in their pregnancy is the best
way to prevent AIDS in babies.  The drug, he said, will keep 75
percent of the babies born to infected mothers from developing
the disease.

"Funds Sought for AIDS Vaccine Testing"
Boston Globe (11/16/94) P. 37;  Greenberger, Scott S.
     Massachusetts health officials, AIDS researchers, and activists
lobbied Tuesday for $5 million to increase an encouraging
therapeutic vaccine trial.  The group claimed that the federal
government has withheld research money slated for vaccines that
strengthen the immune system, thus, ignoring a hopeful path in
the fight against AIDS.  They also claimed that $20 million
appropriated by Congress in 1992 has been "redirected."  The
gp160 vaccine has been given to 139 HIV-infected Massachusetts
residents and has shown promising results, according to Assistant
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Alfred DeMaria.  The federal
funding would allow the study to include up to 2,400
participants.  David Scondras of the Massachusetts AIDS Fund
Advisory Board claimed that the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) has overlooked immune-based solutions to AIDS and has
targeted federal dollars on to eliminate the disease with a
"magic bullet."  He said such studies should continue, but
federal funds should also support other paths.  Others claimed
that NIH has failed to promote "community-based" research, such
as the gp160 study.  While not responding to any of the charges,
an NIH spokesman said that the government is increasing its
investigation into HIV and centralizing its efforts.

"Prenatal AZT Cuts Babies' AIDS"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/16/94) P. 14A;  Signor, Roger
     Doctors in St. Louis hospitals are creating one-stop clinics to
increase treatment and testing among pregnant mothers and
children.   Doctors at the Washington University Medical Center
want to increase the chances that a pregnant mother with HIV
receives AZT before she is four-and-a-half months pregnant.  AZT
reduces the rate of AIDS in babies by almost 70 percent.  "To
find enough time to get children treated at clinics, women
frequently defer getting tests or check-ups for themselves," says
Dr. Victoria Fraser, an infectious disease expert at Barnes
Hospital, which received a federal grant to set up its center
where children and women with AIDS can be tested and treated.

"Isis Pharmaceuticals Announces Agreement with Zeneca Ltd. for Manufacture of Novel Anti-HIV Compound"
PR Newswire (11/16/94)
     Through its Cambridge Research Biochemicals (CRB) unit, Isis
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has signed an agreements with Zeneca Ltd.
for the manufacture of Isis' anti-HIV compound, ISIS 5320.
Zeneca-CRB will employ solution phase chemical synthesis to make
enough ISIS 5320 to enable Isis to complete preclinical studies
and to begin clinical trials.  According to Isis, this will be
the first time solution phase chemical synthesis will be used to
create an oligonucleotide for clinical trials.  ISIS 5320
inhibits HIV-1 infection in vitro by preventing virus-to-cell
infection  and cell-to-cell infection.

"Hyperthermia Treatment Shows Positive Results on AIDS Patients"
PR Newswire (11/16/94)
     Biocontrol Technology, Inc. has received test results of its
whole-body extracorporeal hyperthermia procedure.  IDT, Inc.--a
subsidiary of Biocontrol--and Hemocleanse, Inc. sponsored the
clinical Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved study that
was conducted on AIDS patients in an Indiana hospital.
Biocontrol's treatment involves heating the blood to
approximately 144.8 degrees Fahrenheit.  "Clinically, the
patients appear to be doing better now than they were
pre-treatment.  Indeed, some of them are greatly hoping that they
can undergo a double treatment which was in the original FDA
protocol," stated Dr. Corklin Steinhart, a member of IDT's
medical advisory team.  IDT has applied to the FDA for a second
study and is optimistic that it will be approved in the near
future.

"No Enforcement Seen of Paris AIDS Summit Accord"
Reuters (11/16/94);  Arieff, Irwin
     While organizers of the Dec. 1 Paris AIDS Summit say that the
global action plan will help bring about needed reforms in how
world leaders deal with the disease, the accord will have no
enforcement mechanism which, they say will make it largely a
symbolic move.  The accord will advocate condom use and sterile
syringe distribution and will call for an end to travel
restrictions on infected persons.  There will not be, however,
sanctions on those who refuse to implement it.  The intent of the
plan was to show that the political will exists to fight AIDS
effectively, the officials said.

"Ethical Challenges Posed by Zidovudine Treatment to Reduce Vertical Transmission of HIV"
New England Journal of Medicine (11/03/94) Vol. 331, No. 18, P.
1223;  Bayer, Ronald
     Despite the prospect of great benefits from the study showing
that the use of zidovudine (AZT) can help reduce maternal-infant
transmission of HIV, many ethical questions remain unanswered.
The most important issue is whether AZT will put at risk the 70
to 80 percent of children who, though born to infected women,
would not have been infected themselves.  Many clinicians argue
that the case for testing pregnant women for HIV is now stronger
than ever, but many AIDS and women's rights advocates are
skeptical about the claims on behalf of AZT treatment during
pregnancy.  The underlying fear is that the new findings would be
used to undermine the privacy rights of pregnant women at risk
for HIV--the majority of whom are poor, black, or Hispanic women.
Mandatory screening of children could be justifiable if
therapeutic interventions could significantly extend the lives of
infected children because treatment would be necessary, despite
parental objections.  Mandatory screening of pregnant women,
however, is problematic because mandatory treatment of competent
adults is rarely acceptable.  Also, no recommendation for HIV
testing would be ethical if access to the necessary therapy and
counseling were not guaranteed.  The daily five-dose AZT regimen
would be too difficult and too expensive to enforce.

"In the Works:Lenscrafters Hit with Suit"
Advocate (11/01/94) No. 667, P. 34
     Timothy Hale--a reputed sales superstar at Lenscrafters, has
filed a $50 million AIDS discrimination suit against the store.
Hale claims that his manager brought in the health department to
post warning signs about transmission of AIDS.  The Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, however, does not consider this
kind of workplace a risk.  Hale also claims that he was made to
tell all management-level employees that he had AIDS.  Hale's
partner says he initially had asked only that the manager be
transferred, but when Lenscrafters tried to "buy him out"
instead, he filed the suit.