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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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081489
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08148900.004
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1990-09-17
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MEDICINE , Page 56New HopeAZT slows the onset of AIDS
Many doctors have long suspected that the drug AZT could
benefit the estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Americans who are infected
with the AIDS virus but who have not yet developed full-blown
symptoms. Last week a federal study showed that they were right.
"This is the first clear proof that early intervention makes a
difference," says Jerome Groopman, a physician with New England
Deaconess Hospital in Boston. "It's exciting, and it's a finding
of real importance."
The research, conducted by a division of the National
Institutes of Health, shows that azidothymidine, or AZT,
dramatically slows the multiplication of the AIDS virus in people
with mild symptoms of the disease, such as diarrhea, thrush (a
fungal infection of the mouth), or a chronic rash. Until now, AZT
was thought to be effective only in patients with more advanced
cases of AIDS. Currently, the drug is the only medication licensed
by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for the disease.
Doctors and advocates for AIDS victims were elated at the
breakthrough. Many hoped that the news would motivate people who
are at high risk for infection -- homosexual men and intravenous
drug users -- to get tested for the disease and seek counseling.
But the high cost of AZT -- $7,000 to $8,000 a year -- will
make it difficult for any but the wealthy or the well insured to
receive the drug. Some state Medicaid programs pay for AIDS
treatment only when the disease is far advanced. People who take
AZT to stall the onset of AIDS may not be covered. Burroughs
Wellcome Co., which manufactures AZT, is now seeking FDA clearance
to use the medication in pre-AIDS patients. If the Federal
Government permits the number of consumers to go up, presumably the
price will come down.