home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The Arsenal Files 6
/
The Arsenal Files 6 (Arsenal Computer).ISO
/
health
/
ad960118.zip
/
AD960118.TXT
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-01-23
|
9KB
|
168 lines
AIDS Daily Summary
January 18, 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 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
************************************************************
"New Findings May Speed Trials of AIDS Drugs"
"AIDS Transfer Called "Very Rare" in Sperm"
"City Clinics Add HIV Test to Routine Prenatal Visits"
"Peace Corps Volunteer Sues Over Firing"
"When Victims Need to Know"
"Can Animal Organs Help Make Up for the Shortage of Human Donors?"
"Rural AIDS-HIV Increases"
"Health Research, Once Facing a Big Budget Cut, Gets a Raise"
"ACTG Clinical Trial Sites: Seven Cut, Two Added"
"Prostitutes Spread AIDS in China"
************************************************************
"New Findings May Speed Trials of AIDS Drugs"
Los Angeles Times-Washington Edition (01/18/96) P. A5; Cimons,
Marlene
A series of studies sponsored by Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc. has
found that declining levels of HIV in a person's blood is a good
indicator of improved health. The preliminary findings, from
studies of a new class of AIDS drugs, could make new drugs
available sooner by speeding up clinical trials. By looking at a
surrogate marker like viral load, rather than a clinical
endpoint, researchers will be able to conduct shorter trials.
Many patients in the study maintained a drop in the viral load of
at least 68 percent, and reduced their chances of rapid
progression to full-blown AIDS by half.
"AIDS Transfer Called "Very Rare" in Sperm"
Washington Times (01/18/96) P. A6; Paulson, Tom
The risk of getting HIV through donor sperm in artificial
insemination is virtually none, thanks to better screening and
blood tests. Only seven such cases are known in the United
States. Judith Billings, Washington State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, announced Tuesday that she had gotten HIV
through donor sperm in the early 1980s. Of the seven cases, only
one occurred after the blood test for the virus that causes AIDS
became available in 1985, according to the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Billings had undergone repeated
artificial insemination between 1979 and 1986. She learned she
was infected 10 months ago.
"City Clinics Add HIV Test to Routine Prenatal Visits"
Houston Chronicle (01/17/96) P. 13A; Zuniga, Jo Ann
The Houston Health and Human Services Department will start
voluntary testing of pregnant women for HIV as part of routine
prenatal care. The number of women with AIDS in Harris County is
rising, and the percentage of women and gay black men with HIV is
growing, while the proportion of infected gay white men is
decreasing. Currently, HIV testing of pregnant women is done
when requested, or during studies, when the results are not
revealed to the patient. Women with HIV have told AIDS service
workers in the region that they need more support groups for
themselves and their children.
"Peace Corps Volunteer Sues Over Firing"
Washington Times (01/18/96) P. A6
Dr. J. Ricker Polsdorfer, a family practice physician from
Averill Park, N.Y., is suing the Peace Corps after he was fired
when a supervisor complained that he advocated sexual abstinence
to fully protect against AIDS. Polsdorfer claims that his First
Amendment rights were violated, and he is seeking damages, back
pay, and reinstatement.
"When Victims Need to Know"
New York Times (01/18/96) P. A23; Bayer, Ronald
In a New York Times commentary, Ronald Bayer, a professor at
Columbia University's School of Public Health and author of
"Private Acts, Social Consequences: AIDS and the Public Health,"
advocates compromise on the issue of involuntary HIV testing of
people charged with certain crimes. Bayer claims that the
legislation proposed by New York Gov. George Pataki "seems to
broad, and creates many ethical and legal problems." He suggests
that there is "room for narrowly focused legislation that would
give victims the right to timely information, while at the same
time protecting the rights of the accused." Furthermore, Bayer
asserts that testing does help a crime victim's mental health,
and could be useful in deciding whether to administer AZT and for
how long. The author concludes that a court hearing should
decide if HIV testing is called for, and that results should be
available only to the victim and the accused.
"Can Animal Organs Help Make Up for the Shortage of Human Donors?"
Washington Post--Health (01/16/96) P. 10; Weiss, Rick
Hoping to alleviate the shortage of human organs for transplants,
researchers are rushing to develop better procedures for
transplanting animal organs into humans. Xenotransplantation, or
cross-species transplantation, has received public attention
recently with the transplant of baboon bone marrow into an AIDS
patient and the implantation of pig nerve cells into Parkinson's
patients. Animal organs may even be better than human organs for
some people. A patient whose liver has failed because of
hepatitis B infection, for instance, would be better off with a
baboon liver, which is resistant to the virus. In the past,
transplantation of entire animal organs has been very difficult,
but doctors may have more success with genetically altered farm
animals created to have organs more like humans. By injecting
human genes into pig embryos, researchers are hoping to create
pig organs that will not be rejected by the human immune system.
"Rural AIDS-HIV Increases"
Chicago Tribune (01/16/96) P. 7; Borg, Gary
The number of HIV and AIDS cases is rising in rural areas of
Indiana, reports the Rural Center for the Study and Promotion of
HIV/STD Prevention at Indiana University. In 1988, the number of
AIDS cases rose by 37 percent in rural areas and only 5 percent
in urban areas, according to the National Commission on AIDS.
The trend is attributed to inadequate health education and small
town pressures. Some rural doctors still do not report all HIV
cases, as a favor to family members.
"Health Research, Once Facing a Big Budget Cut, Gets a Raise"
New York Times (01/16/96) P. A13; Pear, Robert
Congress increased funding for the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) by 5.8 percent, to $11.94 billion for the current fiscal
year, an appropriation $175 million more than that requested by
President Clinton. The president signed the funding measure,
which received strong bipartisan support, on Jan. 6. In the
first half of 1995, Congress' budget plan for NIH called for
cutting spending significantly. Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.),
chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Rep. John
Edward Porter (R-Ill.), chair of the House Appropriations
subcommittee for the NIH, insisted on increased funding. Members
of the biotechnology and biomedicine community met with Speaker
Newt Gingrich in May to emphasize the importance of the industry
to the nation's economy.
"ACTG Clinical Trial Sites: Seven Cut, Two Added"
AIDS Treatment News (12/22/95) No.237, P. 4
AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), operated by the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is the largest
network of AIDS-treatment research centers. It has enrolled over
40,000 people in clinical trials across the country since it was
founded in 1987. "Recompetition" for funding, however, will end
clinical trials at seven of the 35 sites in the next year, though
two new sites will be added. More dramatic funding cuts were
discussed originally, and there is concern that other research
may be cut to pay for the centers that remain.
"Prostitutes Spread AIDS in China"
American Medical News (01/08/96) Vol.39, No.2, P. 24
Prostitutes in China are carrying HIV from the poverty-stricken
countrysides to the cities, health experts say. A 1993 survey of
267 female prostitutes held by police in Beijing, Dalian, Nanjing
and Xian revealed that half came from out of town. The survey
also showed that most of the women sold sex to increase their
small income, or to make money to survive if they were
unemployed. The women usually return home after making some
money in the cities. Two-thirds of the women thought the risk of
infection was nonexistent or slight. Almost half never used
condoms, although they are available, and only 30 percent use
them rarely or sometimes. The report, which was conducted by
Beijing Union Medical College student Tang Weihong, concluded
that "the great majority [of these prostitutes] see AIDS as a
foreigners' disease."