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HICNet Medical News Digest      Sun, 19 Dec 1993        Volume 06 : Issue 57

Today's Topics:

  Information Desired on Carpenter's Syndrome
  Russian Company Desires Contact with Pharmaceutical Companies
  Internet Informational Resource on Dental Informatics
  AIDS Daily News Summary

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              !              Health Info-Com Network           !
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                         Editor: David Dodell, D.M.D.
    10250 North 92nd Street, Suite 210, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258-4599 USA
                          Telephone [phone]
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Compilation Copyright 1993 by David Dodell,  D.M.D.  All  rights  Reserved.
License  is  hereby  granted  to republish on electronic media for which no
fees are charged,  so long as the text of this copyright notice and license
are attached intact to any and all republished portion or portions.

The Health Info-Com Network Newsletter is  distributed  biweekly.  Articles
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 93 22:45:56 MST
From: mednews (HICNet Medical News)
To: hicnews
Subject: Information Desired on Carpenter's Syndrome
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Address your responses to:  [e-mail]

I am  writing on behalf of a family with a boy who has Carpenter's Syndrome.
This is a relatively rare disability, and they do not know much about it. They
are looking for other families with Carpenter's Syndrome children to
coorespond with, concerning how to deal with developmental problems and what
kinds of conflict they may encounter in future years.  This family lives in
rural Saskatchewan, Canada.

If you would like to coorespond with this family through regular
post(sorry,they don't have access to InterNet) or if you know where they can
get more information about their son's disability, Please e-mail your reply to
the following address (using Subject *Shannon*).




------------------------------

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 93 22:46:36 MST
From: mednews (HICNet Medical News)
To: hicnews
Subject: Russian Company Desires Contact with Pharmaceutical Companies
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

                                  Medico Center ltd
                                  118, Baikalskaya St.,
                                  Irkutsk City Hospital
                                  Tel.:[phone]
                                  Fax.:[phone]
                                  E-mail: [e-mail]

To whom it may concern

We are looking for connections with different Pharmaceutical companies
(Europian preferably) interested in Siberia and Russian Far East region. We
would like to make reliable contacts with pharmaceutical companies for
purchasing different kinds of drugs. Also we propose representative and
distributive service. Thank you in advance and hope for further cooperation.

     Sincerely yours,

      Director                   Mikhail V.Suturin





------------------------------

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 93 22:47:18 MST
From: mednews (HICNet Medical News)
To: hicnews
Subject: Internet Informational Resource on Dental Informatics
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

                    Announcement and Call for Contributions
            AN INTERNET INFORMATION RESOURCE ON DENTAL INFORMATICS

The Center for Biomedical Informatics of the State University of Campinas,
Brasil, has established this year a Laboratory of Dental Informatics, with the
aim of doing research and teaching on the subject.

One of our activities for 1994 will be the organization of information
resources on Dental Informatics, which will be comprised of a public domain
software repository and a comprehensive bibliographical survey on the
applications of computers to Dentistry, Oral Pathology and related subjects.
Both resources will be publicly available via the UNICAMP anonymous FTP
resource in the Internet, coordinated by Prof. Renato M.E. Sabbatini (node
CCSUN.UNICAMP.BR). Our target date for making this available is March 1st,
1994.

Thus, we would appreciate very much if you could send to us any information on
books, papers, technical reports, software, etc., which you and/or your group
have produced on Dental Informatics. Your contribution will be included in our
repository and duly acknowledged.

Thank you very much for your cooperation

Claudio R. Palombo, BDS

Head, Laboratory of Dental Informatics
Center for Biomedical Informatics
State University of Campinas, Brazil

[e-mail]




------------------------------

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 93 22:47:42 MST
From: mednews (HICNet Medical News)
To: hicnews
Subject: AIDS Daily News Summary
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

                              AIDS Daily Summary

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 1993, Information, Inc.,
Bethesda, MD

             "Health Officials Say Casual AIDS Transmission Rare"
                      Reuters (12/05/93)  (McCabe, Alec)

     New York--Despite two new cases in which American children  contracted
the AIDS virus through a rarely documented form of  transmission, U.S. public
health officials say casual AIDS  transmission is rare and the risk minimal.
In one case, the  virus was transmitted through a razor shared by two
hemophiliac  teenage brothers, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The other case involved a five-year-old, whose infected blood  apparently
permeated a rash on the skin of a two-year-old who  lived at the same foster
home, reported researchers at Rutgers  University in New Jersey.  While the
two cases are rare, they are documentary proof that HIV can be transmitted by
vehicles other  than sexual contact or needle-sharing, the two primary means
of  transmission.  The infections probably never would have occurred  if CDC
precautions had been heeded, contend public health  officials.  Among the
recommendations, issued in 1985, are  refraining from using the toothbrushes
of HIV carriers and  avoiding unprotected contact with their wounds.  Dr.
Lawrence  Frankel of Rutgers University said that the cases are a warning  to
parents to adhere to strict precautions if they have one child who is HIV-
positive and another who is negative, although he  cautioned against using the
findings to segregate infected  children.  Related Story: New York Times
(12/04) P.33; USA Today  (12/06) P.10; Chicago Tribune (12/04) P. 20.

             "Finding May Greatly Improve Potential AIDS Therapy"
                     Reuters (12/02/93)  (Riordan, Teresa)

     Washington--Colleagues at the University of Colorado say they may have
discovered a way to improve the effectiveness of one  experimental AIDS
treatment.  Thomas Cech and Bruce Sullenger  think they have learned to make
an antiviral agent that acts as a guided missile, aiming at the exact location
within a cell that  harbors an RNA molecule encoding the AIDS virus.  The
agent  reaches its target, splitting it into two and making it harmless. A
decade ago, Cech helped make the revolutionary discovery that  RNA molecules
could perform important functions.  Viruses consist of strands of DNA or RNA,
which can cause an array of diseases  from the common cold to AIDS, by
entering normal cells and using  them to replicate the virus.  Since this
finding, scientists have been developing molecules called ribozymes that will
slice apart  disease-carrying RNA molecules.  But promising lab results have
not been repeated when the molecules are locked in a cell.  Cech  and
Sullenger, in their new report, suggest that this is because  a cell is much
like a large house with many locked doors.  Unless the ribozyme emits a
specific signal that acts as a password to  let it enter the room where the
AIDS-encoding molecule is living, it will be automatically ushered into
another room.  Cech and  Sullenger are developing a type of gene therapy in
which genes  that will encode HIV-seeking ribozymes are moved to bone marrow,
where blood cells are manufactured.  Newly made cells would  contain the anti-
HIV ribozyme and, ideally, work as a  "man-to-man" defense.

                              "AIDS in Children"
           Washington Post (Health) (12/07/93) P. 9  (Evans, Sandra)

     Despite two rare cases of HIV transmission between children that
surfaced last weekend, public health officials are reassuring  parents that
youngsters are at virtually no risk of contracting  AIDS from contact with
infected playmates at day-care centers or  schools.  This type of transmission
is "a chance of one in  hundreds of thousands or one in a million," calculates
Donald T.  Dubin, one of six New Jersey researchers who reported one of the
cases.  Another, Lawrence D. Frenkel, agrees.  "We do not think  there is any
reason to have increased concern from school  contacts in day-care settings
..." he says.  "There is no need to panic."  Still, health officials are
emphasizing the need for  institutions to follow recommended safety
guidelines, such as  wearing disposable rubber gloves when diapering children,
treating nosebleeds, or bandaging scraped skin and routinely  cleaning soiled
surfaces with disinfectants and disposable  towels.  Early in the AIDS
epidemic, there was debate over the  treatment of infected children.  Attempts
by parents and  officials to bar these youngsters from schools and day-care
facilities were often successful.  Health authorities argued that transmission
was difficult and risks could be controlled in  school settings.  The
Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990  dictates that AIDS-infected children
today cannot be kept out of  schools simply because they are infected.

                                "AIDS Therapy"
                  Associated Press (12/04/93)  (Recer, Paul)

     Bethesda, Md.--A panel of experts who advise the National  Institutes of
Health has approved an experiment using a vaccine  made from an altered mouse
virus to boost resistance to the AIDS  virus in human patients.  The
Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, which evaluates experimental human therapy
proposals that use  manipulated genes, gave the green light to test the
vaccine on 20 human subjects.  The experiment must now be approved by the
directors of NIH and the Food and Drug Administration before it  can be
conducted.  The lead researcher of the project, Dr.  Richard Haubrich of the
University of California at San Diego,  said the vaccine is the first to use
HIV genes to trigger action  by the body's T lymphocytes, the "killer" cells
of the immune  system.  The experimental vaccine is made from a non-infected
mouse virus that has been modified to include two harmless genes  from HIV.
The virus would be injected into patients, where it  would infect cells near
the injection site.  This delivers the  HIV genes to the cell interior, where
they command the cell to  manufacture a protein normally found on the surface
of HIV.  The  immune system will sense this process as a foreign invasion and
cause the T lymphocyte killer cells to seek out and destroy all  cells
containing HIV genes.  Haubrich expects the experiment to  get underway in the
spring.

            "Dermatologists See Rise in Cases of Latex Irritation"
                    Philadelphia Inquirer (10/08/93) P. A8

     Doctors attending the annual meeting of the American Academy of
Dermatology agree that there has been a sharp increase in the  number of
allergic reactions to natural rubber latex, the elastic material used to make
products such as condoms and surgical  gloves.  Dr. Ronald R. Brancaccio of
the New York University  Medical Center reported that, although no
comprehensive study has been conducted, he and other physicians have observed
widespread  cases of allergic reaction ranging in severity from mild
irritation to life-threatening shock.  Hives and other allergy  reactions are
being reported "more and more commonly,"  particularly among medical
employees, said Brancaccio.  According to one study, he said, 7 percent of
surgeons and 5 percent of  operating room nurses were allergic to the latex in
their  surgical gloves.  Surgical gloves are instrumental in preventing  HIV
transmission through exchange of blood and other body fluids, and condoms are
critical to curbing the spread of the virus  through sexual contact.

                "Texas Researchers Block HIV Infection in Cell"
                      Reuters (12/06/93)  (Gilardi, John)

     Houston--A drug made from an HIV protein segment that attaches to healthy
cells appears to effectively block the virus from  expanding in tests on
healthy cells outside of the body,  according to a study by researchers at the
University of Texas  M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.  The research focused on the
part of HIV known as the "V3 loop," which is thought to be key in binding to
cell surfaces.  The Anderson scientists synthetically  reproduced the protein
fragment and tested it on cultures of  human cells outside the body.  Six
different protein segments  have been developed, which lab tests suggest
should block most  HIV strains.  Researchers are not certain how the drug
actually  blocks HIV infection in healthy cells, but they speculate that it
occupies all of the slots on a cell surface that would otherwise  be used by
the AIDS virus to penetrate the cell.  It also  prevents HIV transmission by
halting the fusion process between  infected and non-infected cells.
Researchers say the study may  be indicative of an effective AIDS treatment.
"Our discovery may lead to a more effective therapy because it blocks HIV from
ever  entering the cell and prevents it from spreading," explains Dr.  Jagan
Sastry, an assistant professor at the cancer center, and  the head of the
study.  The full implications of the study,  however, will remain unknown
until human tests are conducted to  test the drug's effect on AIDS.

          "Natural Protein Is Found to Reignite Cells' Failing Immune
                               Response to HIV"
            Wall Street Journal (12/10/93) P. B5  (Chase, Marilyn)

     A natural blood protein is able to restore the declining immune  response
of cells taken from carriers of the AIDS virus, finds a  new laboratory study.
Most white blood cells of HIV patients  fail to launch a normal immune
response when exposed to invaders. But when the protein interleukin-12 (IL-12)
was added to cell  cultures, the immune system was enhanced, said researchers.
In a study of blood taken from 47 HIV-infected subjects, IL-12 was  found to
improve a number of immune reactions, including  significant increases in T-
lymphocyte and in the number of killer cells, as well as the release of a
flood of other immune-boosting agents like gamma interferon and interleukin 2.
The study's  findings support an emerging theory about how HIV cripples the
immune system, and how this effect might be delayed or reversed.  IL-12,
believe the researchers, may spark an effective type 1  response, which
involves vigorous and effective response by  immune cells.  "Our findings
imply that in HIV infection, a type  1 response can be restored [in the test
tube] by IL-12," said Dr. Gene M. Shearer of the Experimental Immunology
Branch of the  National Cancer Institute, who conducted the study along with
colleague Mario Clerici and others at the National Institutes of  Health and
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.  "Whether we'll be  able to bring patients
back to [type 1], or simply take people  [in the early stage] and hold them
there, will require human  trials."  IL-12 , manufactured by Boston-based
biotech firm  Genetics Institute Inc., is scheduled to begin human clinical
trials in the first half of next year. Related Story: New York  Times (12/10)
P. A22

         "Rare HIV Antibody Response May Help Develop Vaccine--Study"
                   Reuters (12/09/93)  (Brothers, Caroline)

     London--A previously unknown antibody response to the AIDS virus  has
been discovered, and could be an important step toward  developing a vaccine,
announced U.S. researchers writing in the  medical journal the Lancet.  The
researchers said they found a  handful of patients who had HIV antibodies in
their urine, but  not in their blood.  They believe those patients have
developed a rare type of immunity to HIV infection.  Dr. Howard Urnovitz,
founder of the U.S.-based Calypte biomedical research firm,  worked with Dr.
Gene Shearer and Dr. Mario Clerici of the  National Cancer Institute to test
some 1,800 people for HIV.   They found seven who tested positive only in the
urine test.   "Our first major conclusion was that you can have antibodies in
urine and not in blood--one of the first examples of  compartmentalism of
immune response," he said.  Compartmentalism  is thought to occur when the
body evolves a localized response to infections specific to each tissue site.
"Because they showed  this unique immunity, the suggestion was made that
perhaps they  have a systemic immunity to the virus ... which happens
independently of antibody immunity," explained Urnovitz.  He  speculated that
the discovery of cell-mediated immunity to HIV in urine suggests that vaccine
development should concentrate on  cell-mediated immunity, rather than the
development of an  antibody.

          "Oral Contraceptive Use and Infectivity of HIV-Seropositive
                                    Women"
       Journal of the American Medical Association (11/17/93) Vol. 270,
        No. 19, P. 2298  (Morrison, Charles S. and Schwingl, Pamela J.)

     Clemetson et al. found a correlation between oral contraceptive  (OC) use
and detection of HIV DNA in cervical, but not vaginal,  secretions.  They
conclude that their data supports the theory  that OC use, as well as cervical
ectopy and pregnancy, increases  the infectivity of HIV-positive women.  While
recognizing the  importance of the study and its implications, Charles S.
Morrison and Pamela J. Schwingl, PhDs, of Family Health International in
Research Triangle Park, N.C., offer some adjustments that would  improve the
results of the study.  Clemetson and colleagues found HIV DNA in 33 percent of
cervical samples and 17 percent of  vaginal samples, then presented odds
ratios determined from a  multivariate analysis.  However, say Morrison and
Schwingl, the  odds ratio in a cross-sectional sampling design is valid
estimate of risk ratio only if the probability of disease is rare--less  than
.10.  Given the cross-sectional sampling of the study and  that the incidence
of disease is not rare (33 percent), Morrison  and Schwingl suggest that the
prevalence ratio would be a better  measure of the strength of association.
They calculate that the  estimated strength of the bivariate association
between OC use  and HIV DNA detection is only a third as strong when the
prevalence ratio is used.  In addition, the link between OC use  and HIV DNA
included only eight subjects.  Given the significance of the issue, Morrison
and Schwingl suggest that a re-analysis be conducted enrolling more OC users
and undertaking a prospective  study design.

                 "'Natural' Interferon Joins the AIDS Battle"
                     Wall Street Journal (12/14/93) P. B1

     Interferon, a substance produced by white blood cells as part of  the
body's immune defense against disease, once showed promise as an AIDS
treatment.  Although laboratory and human studies showed  that alpha
interferon was able to block HIV replication, the  substance was problematic
in that it caused debilitating flu-like symptoms and had to be administered
intravenously, a obstacle to  daily use.  For years, however, Interferon
Sciences in New Jersey has argued that its "natural" interferon manufactured
from  donated blood is more potent and less toxic than the alpha  interferon
sold by Schering-Plough and Roche Holding.  The  company says its Alferon
product is a cocktail of 14 alpha  interferon subtypes, while the other
products are a combination  of just two subtypes.  It also maintains that one
of the  subtypes, which is found in its "natural" interferon but not in  that
of the drug companies, is especially active against the AIDS virus.  According
to a new report, researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute claim that the
Alferon mixture is, in fact, 100 to 1,000 times more potent than other
versions.  A test of Alferon  in patients also demonstrated fewer side effects
than expected.

                     "AIDS Researchers Changing Direction"
           Philadelphia Inquirer (12/15/93) P. A2  (Collins, Huntly)

     Unable to find a "magic bullet" to eradicate AIDS, scientists are
shifting research focus from antiviral tactics to strategies that draw on the
body's own immune system.  Various strategies,  ranging from gene therapy to
the transfer of healthy cells into  infected patients, were presented
yesterday at a meeting of 1,200 AIDS researchers.  So far, the new approaches-
-some of which have been tested in labs and on animals--are highly
experimental.  The interest in immune-based research has been heightened
during a  period in which the three licensed anti-HIV drugs have  demonstrated
only limited effectiveness.  AZT, ddI, and ddC delay the progression of HIV
infection, but are unable to conquer it.   The virus eventually becomes
resistant to the drug and destroys  the body's white blood cells, which fight
infection.  "It's clear with antiviral drugs, we are having an impact on the
disease, but not the major impact we would like," concurred Dr. Joseph A.
Kovacs, an investigator at the National Institutes of Health.   Even if a new
drug is developed that would effectively fight HIV  itself, scientists believe
that immune-based therapies would  still be necessary to restore immune
function in patients who may have lost many of their CD4 cells during the
course of infection.

        "4 People Infected With H.I.V. in Doctor's Office in Australia"
            New York Times (12/16/93) P. B14  (Altman, Lawrence K.)

     In what is believed to be the first instance of  patient-to-patient
transmission of HIV in a health-care setting,  the AIDS virus has been passed
from one patient to four others at an Australian surgeon's office, Australian
health officials  reported.  According to an investigation, the unidentified
doctor, who has not become infected, failed to sterilize all of  his equipment
after performing surgeries to remove skin lesions  on five patients on the
same day in November 1989.  The source of the infection was a homosexual man,
who has since died of AIDS,  officials at the New South Wales Health
Department disclosed.   The virus was transmitted to four women who, they say,
had no  known risk factors for infection.  Australian health officials
believe the surgeon operated on the gay man first, but have no  proof because
appointment records were not kept.  Officials say  there is compelling
evidence, though, that the transmission did  indeed occur in the doctor's
office.  "The possibility that five  people with HIV, four of them women, two
in their 80's, would by  chance all attend a doctor on a particular day in
1989 is five in a trillion," declared one Australian health official.  "In
other  words, impossible."  Dr. Harold Jaffe of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention said that the transmission was "almost  certainly a
breach in infection control."  Health officials say  the surgeon discarded
most items after use, but failed to  sterilize all of the equipment.  He has
not changed his infection control precautions since 1989.  Related Story: USA
Today (12/16) P. 1D

                                 "AIDS--Blood"
                          Associated Press (12/16/93)

     Washington--French researchers report that passive  immunotherapy--
swapping blood plasma rich in antibodies between  AIDS patients--appears to
significantly slow progression of the  disease.  Those giving blood did not
appear to suffer, and those  receiving it seemed to benefit.  The approach
dramatically  reduced the number of new AIDS symptoms in patients who had
already developed advanced disease, the researchers said.   However promising,
the approach does have one major obstacle: the limited blood supply.  The
availability of blood plasma from AIDS donors "is the main limiting factor" of
the approach, confirms  Dr. Jean-Jacques Lefrere, a co-author of the study.
Regular  donations from 150 people were needed to conduct the study of 86
patients.  In the study, doctors removed blood plasma from people with AIDS
and gave it to study participants.  Half received  antibody-rich plasma, while
the other half received plasma from  uninfected donors.  Doctors tracked the
number of new AIDS  symptoms that surfaced over the course of the study,
finding 18  new symptoms in 16 patients in the AIDS-antibody group and 50 new
symptoms in 27 patients in the comparison group.  Overall, those  in the
comparison group were three times more likely than  antibody patients to
develop new AIDS symptoms.

                   "AIDS Vaccine Could Embolden HIV Viruses"
                              Reuters (12/14/93)

     San Francisco--Some experimental vaccines designed to prevent and combat
the AIDS virus may, in fact, make it easier for certain  viruses to infect a
person, say researchers.  Vaccines under  current development focus on the
outside envelope coat of HIV, to which an immunized person responds by
producing immune system  antibodies that bond to HIV and deactivate it.
Studies at the  University of California at San Francisco suggests that some
of  these antibodies, instead of deactivating immunodeficiency  viruses,
either neutralize them, enhance them, or have no effect  whatsoever.  This can
occur because of the ability of HIV to  mutate--or undergo genetic changes--
which result in the creation  of new strains, some of which resist the body's
immune response,  said Jay Levy, head of the research team.  The studies show
that  genetically different strains of HIV responded differently to a  single
species of antibody, suggesting that it is possible for a  vaccine to
stimulate production of antibodies that neutralize one strain while making it
easier for other strains to cause  infection.

           "Study Says Drugs May Inhibit Replication of AIDS Virus"
                              Reuters (12/14/93)

     Boston--Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reported  their
discovery of a new combination of drugs that could  potentially inhibit HIV
replication.  The test-tube study, say  the researchers, revives hopes for the
anti-AIDS drugs called tat inhibitors.  This class of drug attacks HIV by
targeting a  protein produced by the tat gene, necessary for the reproduction
of HIV.  The new compound was made of Hoffman-LaRoche's Ro24-7429 and
pentoxifylline, which is manufactured by several companies.   The drugs were
tested in human T lymphocytes into which the tat  gene was inserted.  "In this
experimental system, the drugs  proved 100 times more effective at inhibiting
tat expression than either drug did by itself," said the researchers.  The
team also  expressed hopes that the compound could achieve antiviral effects
without excessive toxicity, a factor that plagued previous  studies.  The next
step, say the researchers, is to test the  compound in infected human T cells.
"If the drugs prevent the  virus from making copies of itself, they could
become candidates  for testing in AIDS patients," they speculated.

         "Drug-Resistant Strains of H.I.V. Linked to Tripling of AIDS
                                    Deaths"
            New York Times (12/17/93) P. A28  (Altman, Lawrence K.)

     A study of 170 strains of the AIDS virus showed that 15 percent  of the
strains were highly drug-resistant, and that patients  infected with these
strains were three times more likely to die  in a given period than those with
other strains.  Scientists were aware of the presence of HIV strains that
demonstrated resistance to AZT--the disease's main treatment--but had no proof
of  clinical ramifications.  "Now we know it is clinically  important," said
Dr. Clyde S. Crumpacker of Beth Israel Hospital  in Boston, head of the
research team that made the discovery.  He added that the team viewed
resistant strains as an indicator not  of death, but rather of disease
progression.  When AZT-resistant  strains are detected in an AIDS patient,
doctors could possibly  replace AZT with another drug, or simply add another
drug to the  treatment regimen.  Researchers now hope to develop a test for
this purpose that can be used in everyday medical practice.  A  "pressing
problem" is the need to develop a quicker and easier  version of the existing
test that can be done by commercial  laboratories, so that physicians can use
it in their care of  HIV-infected patients, said Crumpacker.

                    "CDC: AIDS Guidelines Won't Be Changed"
                     United Press International (12/16/93)

     Atlanta--Despite two recent, separate accounts of a child and an
adolescent who transmitted the AIDS virus to other members of  their
households, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  has announced that
it will not make any revisions to its 1985  guidelines concerning school
attendance, foster care, or day  care.  Transmissions in such settings and in
homes are "extremely rare," and can be avoided by precautions to prevent
exposure to  blood, the federal agency said.  "In 17 studies involving over
1,100 persons who lived in the same households with HIV-infected  persons,
none became infected," reassured health officials.

        "Gilead Sciences' GS 393 Associated With Evidence of Antiviral
       Activity; Initial Phase I/II Results Presented at First National
           Conference on Human Retroviruses and Related Infections"
                             HealthWire (12/15/93)

     Preliminary findings from the Phase I/II clinical trials of an  HIV
therapy indicate that administration of the drug is linked to decreased p24
antigens and increased CD4 counts.  The purpose of  the studies of GS 393, or
PMEA, is to determine evidence of  dose-limiting toxicity, antiviral activity,
and pharmacokinetics  of the drug.  Among the 28 HIV-positive patients
enrolled in the  study, the GS 393 was generally well-tolerated, although some
dose-limiting side effects were observed.  In response to these  results,
Gilead Science--the manufacturer of GS 393--will pursue  additional studies,
including different routes of administration, lower doses, and compatibility
with AZT.  The preliminary results of the trials were presented at the
University of Washington  during the First National Conference on Human
Retroviruses and  Related Infections.




------------------------------

End of HICNet Medical News Digest V06 Issue #57
***********************************************


---
Editor, HICNet Medical Newsletter
Internet: [e-mail]                 FAX: [phone]
Bitnet  : ATW1H@ASUACAD



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