Software Vault: The Diamond Collection/The Diamond Collection (Software Vault)(Digital Impact).ISO/cdr16/ad950119.zip/AD950119.TXT

Text File | 1995-01-19 | 11KB | 194 lines

                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      January 19, 1995

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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD

"AIDS Clinic Dedicated in Anacostia"
Washington Post (01/19/95) P. D.C.7;  Young, Vincent
     Last week, while dedicating a new location for the Whitman-Walker
Clinic's Max Robinson Center in the Anacostia neighborhood of
Washington, D.C., officials pledged to better reach out and
called for cooperation in fighting AIDS.  "We're seeing the
ravages of AIDS in our community.  It's time for [all] of us to
put our differences--politics, personal platforms, egos--aside
and work together.  People are dying and they need our help,"
said Whitman-Walker Executive Director Jim Graham, who said his
staff will work closely with community leaders in Wards 6, 7, and
8 in the city.  The majority of people using the center--which
offers free, anonymous testing for HIV, a food bank, counseling,
and medical and dental services--are intravenous drug users and
other substance abusers who are HIV-positive.  The center is
named for the first black network television anchor in the
country, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1988.

"With Spray Paint, Students Wage 'Safe Sex' War"
New York Times (01/19/95) P. A4;  Sims, Calvin
     Last year, scores of high school students in Buenos Aires went on
a graffiti-writing rampage to demonstrate their frustration with
the Argentine government's refusal to use the word condom in its
AIDS prevention campaign.  "AIDS: For Love, Use a Condom," is
scrawled across walls in almost every neighborhood of the city.
The government has been criticized by nongovernmental AIDS groups
and AIDS activists for what they call an anti-AIDS campaign from
the Middle Ages because it does not mention condoms.  Instead, it
notes the modes of transmission.  Critics say the federal
government has given in to pressure from the Catholic Church not
to openly promote condom use.  With 39 AIDS cases for every 1
million citizens, Argentina--population 33 million--has the
second highest number of AIDS cases in South America.  Government
health officials acknowledge the pressure of the Catholic Church
and call the control more covert than overt.  The Catholic
church, however, says the condom issue is blown out of proportion
to make the church a scapegoat for the government's failure to
adequately finance AIDS care and prevention programs.

"Ballet Double Bill to Benefit Youths, an AIDS Charity"
Philadelphia Inquirer (01/19/95) P. E1;  Seidel, Miriam
     One of two ballets being performed in Philadelphia this Saturday
night, "Shut Up and Dance" will benefit the grass-roots AIDS
organization MANNA.  The performance is the result of the
Pennsylvania Ballet dancers' decision to stop talking and do
something that would directly help the cause of people with AIDS.
MANNA (Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance)
distributes food to the homes of AIDS patients.

"European Commission to Help Indonesia Combat AIDS"
Reuters (01/18/95)
     On Wednesday, the European Commission (EC) initiated a two-year
project to help Indonesia fight the spread of AIDS.  The EC said
the $900,000 project focused on preventing the spread of HIV in
Indonesia's three largest cities--Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung.
"The government is determined to fight AIDS with all efforts and
funds so the conquering of AIDS becomes a part of our national
development plan," said Coordinating Minister for Welfare Azwar
Anas.  By the end of last year, 67 people were reported to have
AIDS and 208 were HIV-infected in Indonesia, which has a thriving
sex industry.  Health officials and aid workers, however, say the
HIV figure could be 200 times higher.

"Enzo Biochem Announces Antisense Research Collaboration with
Cornell University Aimed at Neutralizing HIV Virus"
Business Wire (01/18/95)
     Enzo Biochem Inc. has signed a collaborative research agreement
with Cornell University on behalf of its Medical College, to
evaluate the company's genetic antisense product for use in
managing the treatment of HIV.  The work at Cornell will be led
by the director of the Laboratory for AIDS Virus Research, Dr.
Jeffrey C. Laurence, a physician who is world renowned for his
work in AIDS research.  Enzo owns the patent to genetic
antisense.  The HIV-related applications of the product represent
the company's first effort to develop therapeutic products
utilizing such technology.  Enzo's genetic antisense technology
has the ability to turn off specific individual genes.  For HIV,
the technology would be applied to inhibiting the function of the
gene necessary for HIV to grow, without affecting other genes.
Once validated, the product will undergo a clinical study in
which certain cells would be removed from patients, altered ex
vivo, and inserted with a new gene that can make the anti-HIV
antisense.  The altered cells would be reinfused into the
patients, where they are expected to offer immune protection
against HIV.

"Sacked French Bishop Open to Mediation with Rome"
Reuters (01/18/95)
     Jacques Gaillot--the bishop of Evreux, France, who was dismissed
by the Vatican last week because of his unorthodox views--was
quoted Wednesday as saying he was willing to accept mediation
with Rome.  Germany's Roman Catholic community has added its
voice to the criticism of Gaillot's removal, saying the decision
was wrong, although Gaillot was also to blame.  "The whole thing
is an example of a failure by the Vatican and a bishop to
communicate," said Rita Waschbuesch, president of the Central
Council of German Catholics.  A senior French clergyman, Jean
Vilnet, called for a special episcopal conference to discuss the
issue and warned that a failure to air differences could cause a
division in the church.  Gaillot said he would accept mediation
through Belgium's Cardinal Godfried Danneels or another prelate
if Rome suggested it.  Last year, Danneels spoke out against the
Vatican, on the issue of giving communion to divorcees.  The
Vatican said that Gaillot had been repeatedly warned for going
against church doctrine by advocating the use of condoms to
prevent AIDS, speaking in favor of allowing priests to marry, and
calling for greater tolerance of homosexuality.

"Hybridon, Inc. and Pharmacia Biotech to Develop Large-Scale
Oligonucleotide Synthesis System"
PR Newswire (01/17/95)
     Hybridon Inc. announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a
collaborative agreement with Pharmacia Biotech AB to develop an
oligonucleotide synthesis system for the commercial production of
GEM 91, Hybridon's potential treatment for HIV infection and
AIDS.  GEM 91 is currently undergoing Phase II clinical trials in
the United States and Paris.  The system, OligoProcess, will
produce antisense oligonucleotide compounds in quantities up to
100 times greater than those produced by currently available
systems.  Hybridon's chairman and chief executive, E. Andrews
Grinstead, III, said, "We believe the successful relationship
that we have established with Pharmacia Biotech will quickly lead
to the next generation in oligonucleotide manufacturing."

"Cellular Immunity to HIV"
Nature (01/05/95) Vol. 373, No. 6509, P. 87
     A study of the immune status of a group of prostitutes from The
Gambia in West Africa may explain the apparent immunity of some
to HIV-infection.  The prostitutes' blood contains cytotoxic
lymphcytes (CTLs) specifically active against identified
immunologically active peptides from the HIV proteins.  The
discovery may suggest better routes to the design of HIV vaccines
than the ones currently being pursued.  The study, published in
Nature Medicine, involved 20 women--six of whom were apparently
free of infection from HIV-1 or HIV-2.  CTLs specific for HIV
peptides are naturally found in an infected person's blood.
Their presence without overt infection, however, has no natural
explanation except for previous infection.  CTLs specifically
active against HIV were evoked in only three of the six HIV-free
women.  The authors suggest that the women were exposed to
low-level infection at one point, but the infected cells were
eliminated by CTLs before the infection took hold.  There is no
explanation for the apparent immunity of the other three
high-risk women.

"Therapy with Gay Men"
Focus (12/94) Vol. 10, No. 1, P. 1;  Silven, David
     In "Therapists on the Front Line: Psychotherapy with Gay Men in
the Age of AIDS," experienced clinicians summarize their
knowledge over the first 10 years of the AIDS epidemic.  Topics
covered include general issues pertaining to HIV-related
psychotherapy with gay men, as well as therapeutic modalities
such as individual, group, couples, and family therapy, and
special treatment populations.  The editors focus on only two
minority populations--African-Americans and Latinos.  The final
chapters of the book address the sensitive issues that arise for
the HIV-infected therapist with respect to disclosure of
serostatus to clients and the timing of closing one's clinical
practice.  Although there are topics that are not covered in any
depth--such as the epidemiological and medical aspects of HIV,
and political and psychosocial issues--the book successfully
treats issues sensitively and thoughtfully.

"Bangkok's Prostitutes Strike a Harrowing Bargain"
Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly (01/09/95) Vol. 17, No. 2, P.
11;  Schroeder, Robert
     "Patpong Sisters: An American Woman's View of the Bangkok Sex
World" is author Cleo Odzer's journalistic memoir on the sex
trade and her own life in Thailand.  The majority of her field
work was conducted in Patpong, an area of Bangkok filled with
bars and clubs.  Instead of the targeting the macroeconomy of
sex, the book focuses on the lives of the women and men Odzer
befriends.  About halfway through "Patpong Sisters," Odzer tells
of the arrival of an American sailing fleet in Pattaya, a coastal
city southeast of Bangkok.  A Thai group called Friends of Women
protested the servicemen's arrival.  The sailors were accused of
carrying AIDS and infecting young Thai prostitutes.  In their
counterprotest, however, some of the prostitutes' signs read
"Better AIDS than Starvation."  Odzer concludes that for the
women of the Bangkok sex world, sex equals money, which equals
power.