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1995-01-25
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AIDS Daily Summary
January 25, 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
************************************************************
"SEC Investigates Florida Firm that Buys Policies from Terminally
Ill"
"Children's Drug Labels Reconsidered"
"BioChem Shows Healthy Form"
"Thousands of Bangladeshi Children Exposed to AIDS"
"U.S. Bioscience Receives Additional European Clearances for
Ethyol and NeuTrexin"
"Pilot AIDS Study to Be Conducted in South Florida..."
"ONCONASE Enters Phase III for Pancreatic Cancer"
"Global Epidemiology of Tuberculosis"
"AIDS in India"
"Caregivers Have Hand in Intentional Overdoses"
************************************************************
"SEC Investigates Florida Firm that Buys Policies from Terminally
Ill"
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (01/25/95)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has gone to court to
force United Benefits Group, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to turn over
records of its investors, employees, financial results, tax
returns, and other information. United Benefits Group, a
viatical settlement broker which arranges the sale of AIDS
patients' life insurance policies to investors, is refusing to
tell regulators how it sells the policies and what becomes of the
money. The company's attorney claims that because the company is
not selling securities, it does not have to obey the SEC. The
SEC needs to review the documents to determine whether there have
been violations of securities law, argues SEC regional director
Chuck Senatore.
"Children's Drug Labels Reconsidered"
New York Times (01/25/95) P. C11; Stone, Elizabeth
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued
labeling regulations for prescription drugs for children. Eighty
percent of the more than 2,000 prescription drugs currently on
the market with FDA approval have never been tested for safety or
efficacy in children. The new regulations allow companies to
publish information about dosages for children without doing
full-scale testing if the disease runs the same course in adults
and children, as does strep throat. The regulations give the FDA
the power to deny approval or recall a drug, but the agency
cannot require a company to include children in its studies if
the company states that the drug is not for use by children.
Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Drugs
submitted a list of six drugs--three anesthetics plus Flagyl,
Tagamet, and albuterol--it most wanted approved for children.
While dosage information exists for Flagyl, Tagamet, and
albuterol, none is available for the three anesthetics. Flagyl,
which is approved for children with amoebic dysentery, is more
frequently used to treat anaerobic infections in HIV-positive
children. The new regulations would not include the pediatric
labeling of these medications.
"BioChem Shows Healthy Form"
Toronto Globe and Mail (01/24/95) P. B11; Bell, Andrew
Although Glaxo PLC's takeover bid for Wellcome PLC could be
construed as the reason for BioChem Pharma Inc.'s 50-cent per
share increase on Tuesday, analysts cite other factors. The
proposed merger could make it easier for BioChem to sell its AIDS
and hepatitis B drug, 3TC, which is licensed to Glaxo. Wellcome
is already familiar with marketing AIDS drugs as the manufacturer
of AZT. However, analysts point instead to a Jan. 20-Feb. 3
medical conference--at which trial results for AIDS patients and
prospects for 3TC use against hepatitis B will be announced.
"Thousands of Bangladeshi Children Exposed to AIDS"
Reuters (01/24/95); Shahid, Shahriar
Due to social discrimination and poverty, thousands of
Bangladeshi girls are becoming prostitutes in major cities and,
thus, are making themselves vulnerable to diseases--including
AIDS. The girls and young women, mostly between the ages of 12
and 18, know little about healthcare and frequently carry
infectious diseases they caught from their clients. "Though
Bangladesh is one of the lucky countries not to have an AIDS
epidemic, the situation is vulnerable here too as uncared-for
prostitutes can spread the diseases," according to AIDS
researcher Dr. Julia Ahmed. In Bangladesh, with a population of
110 million people, only 33 cases of HIV have been identified.
Of those 33, three developed AIDS and died, and the others are
under medical care. Although street prostitution is illegal in
Bangladesh, the girls and women usually pay bribes to the police.
A recent study found that most of the girls suffer from scabies,
syphilis, abdominal pains, and jaundice. Most of the prostitutes
know about contraceptives, but rarely use them.
"U.S. Bioscience Receives Additional European Clearances for
Ethyol and NeuTrexin"
Business Wire (01/24/95)
U.S. Bioscience announced on Tuesday that Ethyol (amifostine) and
NeuTrexin (trimetrexate glucuronate for injection) were granted
product licenses for marketing in additional European countries.
Ethyol is used for the reduction of neutrophenia-related
infection resulting from the use of the combination regimen of
cyclophosphamide and cisplatin--two anti-cancer agents--in
patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma. In addition to its
previous approval in the United Kingdom, ethyol received
marketing approval in Germany, Spain, and Luxembourg. NeuTrexin
was cleared for marketing in the United Kingdom, Spain, the
Netherlands, and Luxembourg. NeuTrexin is recommended with
concurrent leucovorin administration as an alternative treatment
of moderate-to-severe Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in AIDS
patients who are intolerant of or for whom standard therapy is
contraindicated. It received marketing clearance for the United
States and Canada in December 1993.
"Pilot AIDS Study to Be Conducted in South Florida..."
Business Wire (01/24/95)
Advanced Viral Research Corp. announced on Tuesday that its
product Reticulose will be used in a pilot study conducted by a
physician in a South Florida hospital and AIDS research center.
One part of the study will measure the effects of Reticulose on
the viral load within the cells of HIV patients during treatment.
Reticulose, a non-toxic anti-viral peptide nucleic acid solution,
is believed to be safe and effective against a variety of viral
diseases.
"ONCONASE Enters Phase III for Pancreatic Cancer"
Business Wire (01/24/95)
Alfacell Corp. announced on Tuesday that it will commence Phase
III clinical trials for ONCONASE, which is being tested in
combination with tamoxifen to treat pancreatic cancer. The FDA
approved the company's Phase III protocol design--which calls for
a randomized, multi-center trial--on Jan. 23. ONCONASE has been
established as a novel enzyme in both structure and function, and
is now recognized as the smallest known member of the superfamily
of pancreatic ribonucleases. Alfacell is also working with the
National Institutes of Health to study promising anti-viral
activity exhibited by ONCONASE in in vitro tests against HIV-1.
A study recently published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences found that ONCONASE inhibited HIV in vitro by
99 percent.
"Global Epidemiology of Tuberculosis"
Journal of the American Medical Association (01/18/95) Vol. 273,
No. 3, P. 220; Raviglione, Mario C.; Snider, Dixie E.; Kochi,
Arata
Nearly 3.8 million cases of tuberculosis (TB) were reported in
the world in 1990, 49 percent of which were in Southeast Asia.
The highest prevalence of TB infection and estimated yearly risk
of infection are found in that region and in sub-Saharan Africa.
Notification rates increased in all World Health Organization
regions, except the American and European regions, from 1984-1986
to 1989-1991. Throughout the world, there were an estimated 7.5
million cases of TB and 2.5 million deaths in 1990. HIV is a
partial reason for the increase in TB cases, especially in
Africa. Increases are also expected in Southeast Asia. The
disease has not declined in many industrialized countries, and
cases and deaths are increasing in eastern Europe and the former
Soviet Union. Unless worldwide control of TB improves, 90
million new cases and 30 million deaths are expected during the
1990s.
"AIDS in India"
Village Voice (01/17/95) Vol. 40, No. 3, P. 31; Mehta, Suketu
India, with a population of 850 million, has approximately 1.62
million cases of HIV and 20,000 cases of full-blown AIDS,
according to the World Health Organization. A widespread
perception in India, however, is that AIDS is a "foreigners'
disease," or one that only affects the socially unacceptable. At
least one top government official has urged banning sex with
foreigners. The National AIDS Control Organization has no
shortage of resources to fight the disease, but a lack of
political backing has hampered the agency's attempts to implement
its action plans. The publicity about AIDS has scared people
away from donating blood; as a result, the available blood supply
has dropped by as much as 50 percent. Thus, the government must
rely on people like Jagdish Bhardwaje, who sells his blood for a
living. He might become infected through a contaminated needle
if he continues to donate blood, he says, but will definitely die
of hunger if he does not. Groups such as hemophiliacs,
prostitutes, and truck drivers have high rates of HIV-infection.
It is estimated that 50 percent of the prostitutes in Bombay and
10 percent of the approximately 5 million truck drivers in the
country are HIV-infected.
"Caregivers Have Hand in Intentional Overdoses"
AIDS Alert (01/95) Vol. 10, No. 1, P. 14
A University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study found that
more than one out of nine AIDS caregivers reported that drugs
were given to their ill partners to accelerate death, and that
the caregivers often initiated the discussion of assisted
suicide. Researchers followed 136 couples in the San Francisco
area for five years, focusing on caregiver behavior before and
after the death of a partner. In each couple, one partner was
well--either HIV-positive or HIV-negative--and the other had
AIDS. The caregivers of 66 of the 136 patients who died during
the study reported that their patients received an increase in
medication prior to death. In 17 cases, the intent was to hasten
death. The researchers also found that assisted suicide was a
stressful issue for many of the caregivers. In 80 percent of the
cases where assisted suicide was discussed with a physician, a
member of the couple initiated the discussion--not the doctor,
said Molly Cook, associate professor of clinical medicine and
director of clinical medicine at UCSF. The researchers concluded
that physicians should discuss the issue with their patients and
that the patients' caregivers should be involved in the
discussions.