home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The Arsenal Files 6
/
The Arsenal Files 6 (Arsenal Computer).ISO
/
health
/
ad960305.zip
/
AD960305.TXT
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-03-07
|
10KB
|
186 lines
AIDS Daily Summary
March 5, 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
************************************************************
"FDA Agrees to Review Test for AIDS Viral Levels"
"HIV-Positive Troops Lose Special Treatment"
"EU Sets Prophylactics Standard"
"Washington & World: Supreme Court"
"Blood Transfusions Speed Conversion to Full-Blown AIDS in
HIV-Infected Individuals"
"Many HIV-Positive STD Clinic Patients Practice Unsafe Sex"
"Viragen Inc. to Conduct HIV/AIDS Study with Natural Human
Interferon; Company Also Forms Alliance with Leading Healthcare
Provider"
"T-Cell Mediated Rejection of Gene-Modified HIV-Specific
Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes in HIV-Infected Patients"
"Tweaking T Cells with Altered Antigens"
"Agouron Starts Phase III Protease Inhibitor Studies"
************************************************************
"FDA Agrees to Review Test for AIDS Viral Levels"
Wall Street Journal (03/05/96) P. B6
Chiron Corp. announced that the Food and Drug Administration will
evaluate a blood test that measures viral levels in HIV-infected
patients. Studies show that determining a patient's viral level
can help predict the impact the virus will have on their future
health. With this knowledge, doctors can treat HIV-positive
individuals better and researchers can better judge experimental
therapies.
"HIV-Positive Troops Lose Special Treatment"
Washington Times (03/05/96) P. A3; Scarbough, Rowan
In the past, people serving in the military who had cancer,
diabetes, or other conditions that made them "permanent
non-deployables" could be forced to retire, while people with
HIV could not. A new law to force the discharge of all
HIV-positive military members has been widely criticized, but is
supported by people who say it will end the double standard that
has been favoring people with HIV. They say all personnel who
cannot be deployed should be discharged with medical and
financial benefits. Currently, HIV-infected service members are
taken from active duty and assigned to desk jobs. When they
develop AIDS, they are retired from service with benefits.
However, service members who are classified as non-deployable for
other medical reasons, may be discharged depending on their
individual service's standards and how many non-deployables can
be retained. Rep. Robert Dornan (R-Calif.) sponsored the new
policy, arguing that keeping service members who cannot be
deployed weakens the military's readiness.
"EU Sets Prophylactics Standard"
Journal of Commerce (03/05/96) P. 8A
Condoms sold in the 15 European Union countries as well as
Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland will have to comply with new
standards for strength, length, width, and quality. The European
Committee for Standardization (CEN) announced the specifications
for "Eurocondoms," saying it wanted to reconcile differing
national standards. The CEN pointed out that condoms
significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission and are also a
good and inexpensive contraceptive. The new standards, which
must be implemented by June 1998, can be met by manufacturers by
following CEN guidelines.
"Washington & World: Supreme Court"
Investor's Business Daily (03/05/96) P. A1
The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of two former
Massachusetts high school students and their parents, who had
objected to an "indecent" program on sex education and AIDS.
"Blood Transfusions Speed Conversion to Full-Blown AIDS in
HIV-Infected Individuals"
Reuters (03/04/96)
Blood transfusions seem to speed the conversion from
HIV-infection to full-blown AIDS, Dr. Ronald Sacher of Georgetown
University has found. The amount of blood a patient receives,
the disorder being treated, the particular blood component being
given, and the age and gender of the patients all affect the
amount of risk involved. Sacher said that increased morbidity is
associated with transfusions in general, but that illness and
death are particular concerns of HIV patients. Sixty percent of
HIV patients die within two years of a transfusion, and Sacher
says that the transfusions themselves pose problems, independent
of HIV infection.
"Many HIV-Positive STD Clinic Patients Practice Unsafe Sex"
Reuters (03/04/96)
A significant number of homosexual or bisexual men continue to
practice unsafe sex even though they know they are infected with
HIV, according to a survey of men attending genitourinary clinics
in England and Wales. Forty-seven percent of the homosexual or
bisexual patients studied had a recently-detected sexually
transmitted disease (STD) and knew that they had HIV. Having
both HIV and a recent STD showed that the men were continuing
unsafe sexual behaviors, M.A. Catchpole, the study's leader,
concluded. He said the results raise questions about the
effectiveness of counseling after HIV tests.
"Viragen Inc. to Conduct HIV/AIDS Study with Natural Human
Interferon; Company Also Forms Alliance with Leading Healthcare
Provider"
Business Wire (03/04/96)
Viragen Inc. announced Monday that it will conduct a study of its
natural human alpha interferon product Alpha Leukoferon for the
treatment of hemophiliacs with HIV and AIDS. The company has
also allied with Quantum Health Resources Inc., which is
providing financial support for the study. Of the 90 patients to
participate in the study, 60 will receive Alpha Leukoferon for a
minimum of six months in combination with a comprehensive HIV
treatment program, while the remaining 30 make up the control
group. The study will be led by Dr. R.H. Keller, medical
director of Biodoron and chief executive officer of Immune
Balance Technologies Inc.
"T-Cell Mediated Rejection of Gene-Modified HIV-Specific
Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes in HIV-Infected Patients"
Nature Medicine (02/96) Vol.2, No.2, P. 216; Riddell, Stanley R.;
Elliott, Mark; Lewinsohn, Deborah A.; et al.
Introducing genes into cells has been advanced as a method to
correct genetic deficiencies and bolster immunity. An immune
response to new protein products made by the introduced genes can
eliminate the gene-modified cells, however. In Nature Medicine,
Riddell et al. report the results of a trial in which patients
with HIV were given CD8 HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes
(CTLs) that were genetically modified to express a gene for
positive and negative selection. The transferred CTLs persisted
for four weeks, but then quickly disappeared in five of the six
patients. This decline was attributed to the development of
lymphocyte responses specific to the protein made by the modified
cells. The researchers suggest that gene-modified cells will
have to be made less susceptible to the host immune system if
gene therapy is to be successful. An unexpected insight from the
study, the authors say, is that HIV-infected patients have the
ability to induce a strong primary T-cell immune response to
foreign antigens expressed by transferred CTLs. This finding
could provide clues to improving immune responses to
opportunistic pathogens and developing a vaccine for HIV.
"Tweaking T Cells with Altered Antigens"
Lancet (02/17/96) Vol.347, No.8999, P. 460; McCarthy, Michael
Until the 1980s, researchers thought that a T cell either became
fully activated as a result of a strong bond with a
major-histocompatibility complex or that it did nothing.
Scientists now know that some T-cells--ones exposed to a
13-aminoacid ligand with one aminoacid substitution--can become
partly activated, producing interleukin-4, providing B-cell help
functions, but not proliferating. Paul Allen, of Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. found that the
altered peptide ligands--the recognition sites on immunogenic
peptides--can cause varying degrees of T-cell activation in CD4
helper T cells and CD8 cytotoxic T cells. Hepatitis B and C and
HIV can take advantage of altered peptides. Rodney Phillips at
John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford has found four strains of HIV
with a mutated antigenic peptide derived from the virus. In
culture, genetically-engineered strains of the virus could stop
attacks from cytotoxic T cells on the altered virus and the
wild-type virus. Phillips has therefore concluded that altered
peptide ligand mutations may be an important tool used by HIV to
elude the immune system and that they might also help the virus
counter vaccines now being developed.
"Agouron Starts Phase III Protease Inhibitor Studies"
AIDS Treatment News (02/09/96) No.240, P. 4
Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is launching two large studies of
its protease inhibitor VIRACEPT (nelfinavir mesylate) in
combination with other HIV drugs and one smaller study of
nelfinavir alone. One trial, which will include 240 patients,
will evaluate two doses of nelfinavir combined with stavudine,
compared to stavudine alone. Three quarters of the participants
will be patients who have received AZT for at least six months.
None of the participants will have used any protease inhibitor
previously. In another trial, enrolling 210 patients, the same
two doses of nelfinavir will be studied in combination with AZT
and 3TC, compared to AZT plus 3TC alone. To participate,
patients must not have received any anti-HIV drugs, other than a
lifetime total of less than one month's worth of AZT.