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The Arsenal Files Collection #8 (Arsenal Computer) (1996).ISO
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ad961119.txt
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1996-12-01
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AIDS Daily Summary
Tuesday, November 19, 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 National AIDS
Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this
text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC
National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this
information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
******************************************************
"Md. AIDS Institute Opens With Great Fanfare, Expectations"
"Water Filters Available for D.C. AIDS Patients"
"Plan to Test Drug's Effectiveness in Bureaucratic Limbo"
"Condoms Available"
"Alexandria Mulls Gay 'Marriages'"
"Team in Search of the Ebola Virus"
"Windfall Prophets"
"Home Access Express HIV-1 Test System Available at Walgreens"
"Experts Say AIDS Pain 'Dramatically Undertreated'"
"Blackt Up!"
******************************************************
"Md. AIDS Institute Opens With Great Fanfare, Expectations"
Washington Post (11/19/96) P. B3; Goldstein, Amy
At the opening of the Institute of Human Virology in
Baltimore on Monday, politicians and academics heralded the
center's promise of combining the scientific study of AIDS and
other viral diseases with clinical treatment. Maryland Gov.
Parris N. Glendening said, "The work that is going on here is ...
of the most noble measure--saving lives and restoring hope." The
center's director, renowned AIDS researcher Robert C. Gallo, left
a 30-year career at the National Institutes of Health to create
his own institute. Plans are also in the works for a related
biotechnology company that will translate research results into
commercial products.
"Water Filters Available for D.C. AIDS Patients"
Washington Post (11/19/96) P. B5
AIDS patients in Washington, D.C. are being supplied with
water filters to protect them from the excessive levels of
bacteria found in the city's water supply. Made available by
federal and city funding, the carbon water filters will be
provided to as many as 600 city residents with AIDS. The
nonprofit AIDS group Food & Friends is distributing most of the
filters, which were recommended by U.S. and city health officials
for AIDS patients. City officials are also trying to obtain
approval to use Medicaid funds to purchase filters for qualified
AIDS patients.
"Plan to Test Drug's Effectiveness in Bureaucratic Limbo"
Washington Post--Health (11/19/96) P. 7; Okie, Susan
One prominent AIDS researcher has failed to obtain federal
approval to conduct a study on the benefits and risks associated
with the medical use of marijuana, despite the fact that experts
say such research is needed to resolve the issue. Donald I.
Abrams, of the University of California San Francisco School of
Medicine, received approval by his state's government and the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration to study the use of marijuana
as a treatment for weight-loss in HIV-infected patients. His
study was rejected by the Drug Enforcement Administration,
however, which would have had to issue a license for the study.
Abrams has been unable to obtain a legal source of the drug.
Abrams designed a study to compare the use of a drug containing
marijuana's active ingredient with smoked marijuana for treating
AIDS-related weight loss. Reviewers at the National Institutes
of Health questioned the study of a toxic substance, and voiced
concerns that the participants would increase their cholesterol
levels. "It's been frustrating," Abrams said. "People are
saying there's no scientific evidence that marijuana has any
benefit. In the meantime, we're not being allowed to do a
study."
"Condoms Available"
Washington Times (11/18/96) P. A14
Although food, water, and medicine may not be available to
the refugees in eastern Zaire, condoms and reproductive health
kits will be provided. "This is the first time that
reproductive-health services have been planned at the beginning
of a crisis," said Hirofumi Ando, deputy executive director of
the United Nations Food Program Association. The agency noted
that women are being raped, and said that refugees should have
the same access to health care that other women have.
"Alexandria Mulls Gay 'Marriages'"
Washington Times--Metropolitan Times (11/19/96) P. C5; Cain,
Andrew
Lonnie C. Rich (D), a member of Alexandria, Va.'s City
Council, is advocating that the state consider legalizing same
sex marriages. Rich would like to see his proposal included in
the city's wish list to state legislators, although he said he
would be "shocked" if it passed. He explained that the measure
might "promote stable families," reduce promiscuity, and possibly
slow the spread of HIV.
"Team in Search of the Ebola Virus"
Houston Chronicle (11/18/96) P. 8D; Susman, Tina
In the Tai Forest of Cote d'Ivoire, a small group of
researchers are working to track the source of the Ebola virus.
They catch and test rodents, searching for signs of Ebola or
other diseases. "The diseases emerging today in Cote d'Ivoire
may be the diseases emerging tomorrow in China or Colombia," said
Pierre Formenty, the leader of the project, sponsored by the
World Health Organization. The threat of new or re-emerging
diseases has been brought into focus by the spread of AIDS and
the re-emergence of tuberculosis, yellow fever, and malaria.
"Windfall Prophets"
Washington Post Magazine (11/17/96) P. 17
Due to a life insurance promotion by the federal government
in 1993, employees of the federal government and the District of
Columbia were able to buy large life insurance policies for
relatively little money. Many employees with preexisting medical
conditions, even the terminally ill, were able to take advantage
of the sale and later sell their policies at considerable
profits. One HIV-positive federal employee, identified only as
John, bought a $620,000 policy during the promotion and, after
paying about $2,000 in premiums over three years, sold the policy
for $340,000. Although John's doctor had estimated that he would
live less than five years, his health has since improved with new
antiviral drugs. "The feeling of freedom I get from all this
money is really something," John said, adding that "none of this
is coming at the taxpayers' expense. I retired without even
taking disability."
"Home Access Express HIV-1 Test System Available at Walgreens"
HealthWire (11/18/96)
Walgreens, the country's largest retail drug store chain, is
now selling the Home Access Express HIV-1 Test System, made by
Home Access Health. The test instructs users to collect a blood
sample, send it to a lab for testing, and receive results in
three business days. Walgreens has nearly 2,200 stores in 34
states.
"Experts Say AIDS Pain 'Dramatically Undertreated'"
Journal of the American Medical Association (11/06/96) Vol. 276,
No. 17, P. 1369; Stephenson, Joan
Although AIDS and cancer patients experience comparable
levels of pain, pain is "dramatically undertreated" in AIDS
patients, according to Dr. William Breitbart of the Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The problem may be partly
attributed to the rise in managed care, since many primary care
physicians have little training or experience treating chronic
pain. In addition, doctors treating AIDS patients--as well as
the patients themselves--may be more focused on other problems,
like opportunistic infections. AIDS-related pain is much more
common and often more severe than doctors realize, affecting even
patients in the early stages of disease. Many doctors do not
prescribe effective remedies for HIV-related pain, and
Breitbart's study found that only 15 percent of patients with
AIDS-related pain receive adequate analgesia. Pain experts say
this may be due to fears that strong pain medications could be
addictive. Moreover, neuropathic pain syndromes, often caused by
antiretroviral drugs, are responsible for the pain and must be
treated with more sophisticated strategies than other pain.
Current guidelines for treating AIDS-related pain are published
in the "Clinical Practice Guidelines: Management of Cancer Pain"
and a booklet called "Pain in HIV/AIDS."
"Blackt Up!"
Village Voice (11/05/96) Vol. 41, No. 45, P. 45; Schoofs, Mark
At a recent meeting of African-American leaders convened to
address the growing threat of AIDS in the black community, the
absence of many leaders was noted. No members of the
Congressional Black Caucus attended, for example, and the leaders
of the NAACP and the National Urban League were also absent. If
HIV continues to infect African Americans at the current rate, in
2001, more than half of all Americans with AIDS will be African
American. Norm Nickens, chair of the National Minority AIDS
Council, said the community tends to pay more attention to
immediate threats, like violence, even though AIDS now kills
twice as many young African American men as homicide.
Intravenous drug use is the leading mode of HIV transmission
among African Americans, followed by sex between men. Moreover,
within the African American community, prejudice against both
drug users and homosexuals makes the fight against AIDS more
difficult. African American churches have been especially
reluctant to address the AIDS threat, but many are becoming more
accepting and active. Most AIDS agencies led by African
Americans across the country are relatively young, have
difficulty raising money, and are not supported by the mainstream
African American community.