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1996-01-15
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AIDS Daily Summary
January 11, 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
************************************************************
"Three Black Members Quit the Board of AIDS Agency"
"New Firm Plans to Design Vaccine for Tuberculosis"
"Weak Earnings Outlook Contributes to Dow's 67-Point Loss"
"AIDS and Advertising"
"Two-Drug Therapy Works in AIDS-Related Eye Ailment"
"Chiron Corp.: Herpes Agent Clinical Trial Proves to Be
Disappointing"
"Estimated Risk of Transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus by Screened Blood in the United States"
"Major Protease Inhibitor Triple Combination Trial Begins Soon:
CD4 Under 200, AZT Experienced, 3TC Naive"
"HIV Levels May Predict Mother-to-Child"
************************************************************
"Three Black Members Quit the Board of AIDS Agency"
New York Times (01/11/96) P. B1; Dunlap, David W.
Three black board members of the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC),
a private Manhattan AIDS organization, have quit, saying that the
group was not attentive to the needs of minority community
members. Across the country, poorer black, Hispanic, and Asian
people with AIDS are questioning how their communities are being
served. The Gay Men's Health Crisis was founded by six white men
in 1982 and offers financial, legal and practical help to 7,300
people with AIDS. More than half of the clients are black,
Hispanic or Asian. The board now has four black, two Hispanic
and one Asian member. Dr. Billy E. Jones, executive director of
the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center in Brooklyn, was the most
well-known black board member who quit. Jones noted, "Much work
needs to be done at GMHC to make it truly inclusive and welcoming
of diversity."
"New Firm Plans to Design Vaccine for Tuberculosis"
Wall Street Journal (01/11/96) P. B3
A group of 16 scientists and biotechnology executives have
created a new company, called VacTex Corp., which will design
vaccines for deadly, infectious diseases. The first project they
will work on is a vaccine for tuberculosis. Research at Brigham
& Women's Hospital in Boston will be the basis for the company's
work. Procept Inc., a publicly held biotechnology firm in
Cambridge, Mass., holds a minority interest in VacTex and has the
option to buy it within two years.
"Weak Earnings Outlook Contributes to Dow's 67-Point Loss"
New York Times (01/10/96) P. D8; Sloane, Leonard
Shares of Agouron Pharmaceuticals increased 1.5 to 38.5 on
Tuesday, following an announcement of positive test results from
a drug to treat HIV infection.
"AIDS and Advertising"
New York Times (01/10/96) P. A14; Morse, Richard M.
In a letter to the editor of the New York Times, Richard Morse
cites a Times editorial about condom ads that said that three
major television networks still do not use paid advertising for
condoms. Morse points out that eight years ago, a person with
AIDS told Newsweek that condoms should be advertised on
television.
"Two-Drug Therapy Works in AIDS-Related Eye Ailment"
Reuters (01/09/96)
Results of a new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology
suggest that cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, a chronic eye
infection that often strikes late-stage AIDS patients, is best
treated with a combination of foscarnet and ganciclovir. The
researchers found that patients who took daily, intravenous doses
of both drugs were able to control the infection for an average
of four months, while patients who took either drug alone
experienced a recurrence of CMV in just one to two months.
According to Carl Kupfer, director of the National Eye Institute,
"this finding advances the treatment of a chronic, destructive
eye infection that causes blindness if it is not controlled."
Problems with the combination therapy include more side effects,
higher costs, and a longer course of treatment since both drugs
must be administered separately.
"Chiron Corp.: Herpes Agent Clinical Trial Proves to Be
Disappointing"
Wall Street Journal (01/09/96) P. B4
Chiron Corp. has expressed disappointment with interim results
from a clinical trial of a potential genital herpes treatment.
The company said its immunotherapeutic agent has "a statistically
significant benefit on several disease indicators," but
apparently does not reduce the recurrence of genital lesions.
"Estimated Risk of Transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus by Screened Blood in the United States"
The New England Journal of Medicine (12/28/95) Vol.333, No.26, P.
1721; Lackritz, Eve M.; Satten, Glen A.; Aberle-Grasse, John;
et. al.
Transmission of HIV by blood transfusion occurs in the United
States almost only during a period when a recently infected blood
donor is infectious and HIV antibodies are not yet detectable.
Lackritz et al. propose an updated, smaller estimated risk of HIV
transmission from a transfusion based on this "window period,"
which they say is now smaller because current tests are more
sensitive to the HIV antibodies. The researchers also say that
the blood supply is safer because the donor pool is cleaner. The
authors analyzed 4.1 million blood donations and HIV tests of 4.9
million donations. They now estimate that, of the 12 million
donations collected nationwide each year, 18 to 27 infectious
donations are available for transfusion. This new estimated risk
is almost half that found in previous studies.
"Major Protease Inhibitor Triple Combination Trial Begins Soon:
CD4 Under 200, AZT Experienced, 3TC Naive"
AIDS Treatment News (12/22/95) No.237, P. 3; James, John S.
A large trial is being planned to compare triple combination
therapy of the Merck protease inhibitor Crixivan plus AZT and 3TC
against the double combination therapy of AZT and 3TC. The
trial, which will be held in cities across the nation, may start
in January and will last about one year. The ACTG 320 trial will
be supported by Merck.
"HIV Levels May Predict Mother-to-Child"
Lancet (01/06/96) Vol.347, No.8993, P. 49; McCarthy, Michael
A pregnant woman's plasma HIV-1 concentration may help determine
the risk of her transmitting HIV to her infant. Researchers at
the State of New York's Department of Health's Wadsworth Center
in Albany measured the HIV-1 levels in 30 pregnant HIV-infected
women at the time of delivery and followed their infants for at
least six months--a time when all infections should be
detectable. The 10 women with the highest plasma levels of HIV-1
RNA were found to be more likely to transmit the virus to their
infants, while none of the 20 women with lower concentrations
transmitted the virus. The researchers estimate that, if a
woman's plasma has a viral RNA level of more than 100,000 copies
per milliliter, she has a 75-percent probability of transmitting
the virus to her child, versus a 3-percent risk for mothers with
viral levels below that level. The authors also report that the
viral load did not seem to change significantly in women who did
not start or alter antiviral therapy during pregnancy. They
suggest that early pregnancy measurements may predict viral load
at delivery.