                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      March 14, 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 Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction
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Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"Panel Offers Sharp Criticism of AIDS Research Programs"
"School Parents Call Halt to Use of Book on AIDS"
"Senate Ready to Repeal Law to Dismiss Soldiers with HIV"
"Book World: Infectious Pessimism"
"Toughing it Out"
"Specialists Help HIV Patients Live Longer"
"U.S. Firm to Sell More AIDS Drug to France"
"Neurological Manifestations of HIV Infection a Focus of Paris 
Conference"
"Merck Protease Inhibitor: More News from Retroviruses 
Conference"
"'Lost' Files Link HIV Infections to Health Ministry Decision"
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"Panel Offers Sharp Criticism of AIDS Research Programs"
New York Times (03/14/96) P. A1;  Altman, Lawrence K.
     U.S. government-sponsored AIDS research needs more scientific 
oversight and review by outside scientists and a speedier system 
to award research grant, a government-appointed panel said in a 
report released Wednesday.  However, the group of 114 scientists 
and representatives from academia, the drug industry, community 
organizations, and AIDS advocates rejected the idea for an 
institute especially for AIDS.  Arnold J. Levine of Princeton 
University, led the panel, which found "numerous incidents" when 
the government's process "unfortunately appears to have failed in
identification of the most promising research projects."  The 
panel said a better method was needed to track the money the 
government invests in AIDS research.  The panel said research 
should focus on drug and vaccine development, clinical trials, 
immunology, and basic research.  It also said the Office of AIDS 
Research, which commissioned the study, should be strengthened.  
Government officials were pleased with the study, but Larry 
Kramer of the Gay Men's Health Crisis and ACT UP, said it did not
offer much new information.  Related Stories: Baltimore Sun 
(03/14) P. 5A (03/14) P. A1; Philadelphia Inquirer (03/14) P. A9
      
"School Parents Call Halt to Use of Book on AIDS"
New York Times (03/14/96) P. B7
     A group of parents of students at Horace Greeley High School in 
Chappaqua, N.Y., have complained that Magic Johnson's book "What 
You Can Do to Avoid AIDS" is inappropriate for 14- and 
15-year-olds.  Last month the school district stopped using the 
book, which was a part of health classes for four years.  The 
parents took issue with the book's written depictions of oral and
anal sex.  On Tuesday, the school board ruled to establish a 
health advisory council to review all materials used in health 
classes and to let parents allow their children to "opt out" of 
any instruction they objected to.
      
"Senate Ready to Repeal Law to Dismiss Soldiers with HIV"
Baltimore Sun (03/14/96) P. 2A
     More than half of the Senate is in favor of repealing a law that 
would force the discharge of all HIV-positive military members.  
The repeal does not have the same level of support in the House, 
but has bipartisan support in the Senate as well as support from 
the Clinton administration.
      
"Book World: Infectious Pessimism"
Washington Post (03/14/96) P. C2;  Epstein, Steven
     In this book review of Peter Duesberg's "Inventing the AIDS 
Virus," in which Duesberg outlines his controversial theory of 
why AIDS is not caused by HIV, reviewer Steven Epstein calls the 
book readable, although some parts seem too lengthy and detailed.
Duesberg was the first scientist to disagree with the widely 
accepted conclusion that HIV causes AIDS, but more than his 
criticism of this theory, the book offers a broad revisionist 
history of virus hunting.  Duesberg contends that AIDS only the 
most recent example of virology's use of inconclusive links 
between viruses and illnesses.  He also criticizes the customs of
the modern, commercialized world of science, but is cautious and 
unconvincing when he responds to evidence and contradicting 
arguments.  Duesberg was shunned from the AIDS research 
community, and his research grant was not renewed.  According to 
reviewer Epstein, he advances a conspiracy theory in the book of 
the promotion of the HIV hypothesis and the suppression of 
dissent.
      
"Toughing it Out"
Richmond Times-Dispatch (03/13/96) P. D1;  Yost, Barbara
     Mary Fisher became an AIDS activist after she revealed that she 
was HIV-positive at the 1992 Republican convention.  Since then, 
the mother, artist, and former aide to President Ford has 
comforted and encouraged others fighting AIDS.  While President 
Clinton promised to make AIDS a top issue, little has changed.  
Fisher claims there is a lack of leadership, and that communities
and individuals need to become involved in fighting AIDS.  Fisher
continues her fight, both in public appearances and in her book, 
"My Name is Mary: A Memoir."
      
"Specialists Help HIV Patients Live Longer"
Reuters (03/13/96)
     AIDS patients who are treated by physicians highly experienced in
the disease tend to live significantly longer, a new study has 
found.  The study, conducted by Mari Kitahata of the University 
of Washington, followed 403 AIDS patients and found that the 
death rate was 43 percent lower among those patients treated by 
doctors with the most AIDS-related experience.  The most 
experienced doctors in the study had treated at least six AIDS 
patients, or a minimum of two patients and had been in a hospital
residency training program with a high volume of AIDS cases.  
Paul Volberding of the University of California said that doctors
who care for only occasional AIDS patients have more difficulty 
staying well-informed on the rapidly changing standards of good 
care.
      
"U.S. Firm to Sell More AIDS Drug to France"
Reuters (03/13/96)
     Abbott Laboratories has promised to immediately provide the 
experimental protease inhibitor ritonavir for several thousand 
French AIDS patients, Prime Minister Alain Juppe said Wednesday. 
Last month the government said the drug would initially only be 
available in small quantities, enough to treat about 100 of the 
country's 18,000 AIDS patients.  AIDS activists had protested the
proposal for a lottery to allocate the drug and demanded that the
company supply a larger quantity.
      
"Neurological Manifestations of HIV Infection a Focus of Paris 
Conference"
Reuters (03/13/96)
     The neurological manifestations of HIV infection were a focus of 
the 7th Neuroscience Conference on HIV Infection in Paris last 
week.  Dr. Gerard Said of Hospital de Bicetre in Paris said that 
most patients do not experience clinical neurological effects 
during the early stages of HIV infection into the nervous system.
He said that while symptomatic involvement of the central nervous
system is not realized until the onset of immunosuppression, 
peripheral neuropathy may also play a role in the alteration of 
the central nervous system.  Opportunistic infections and 
lymphoma can cause neurological manifestations, but can be 
decreased with prophylaxis.
      
"Merck Protease Inhibitor: More News from Retroviruses 
Conference"
AIDS Treatment News (02/16/96) No. 241, P. 1;  James, John S.
     Promising results with Abbott's protease inhibitor Norvir 
(ritonavir) and Merck's protease inhibitor Crixivan (indinavir) 
were featured at the 3rd Conference on Retroviruses and 
Opportunistic Infections.  However, the limitations of the 
indinavir results must also be considered.  The two combination 
trials--one lasting six months, one lasting one year--each have 
78 participants, but results on the clinical outcome of the 
treatment are not yet available.  The most promising result 
presented at the conference was from the ongoing trial of the 
combination of indinavir, AZT and 3TC.  The study focused on the 
percentage of volunteers whose viral load dropped to an 
undetectable level.  At 16 weeks, 24 of 26 volunteers using the 
triple combination had undetectable viral levels.  In another 
study, which combined indinavir, AZT, and ddI, 59 percent of the 
participants had an undetectable viral load at 20 weeks.  Early 
studies of indinavir alone found that resistance developed 
rapidly and that the virus usually returned to its initial level 
within 24 weeks.  Still, the drug might have some benefit even 
after resistance develops, because the studies also showed that 
CD4 level increases of a median 80 to 100 were sustained for at 
least one year.
      
"'Lost' Files Link HIV Infections to Health Ministry Decision"
Nikkei Weekly (02/26/96) Vol. 34, No. 1711, P. 1;  Fulford, 
Benjamin
     Documents released by the Japanese government show that the 
Health Ministry rejected recommendations made in 1983 to use only
blood products that had been heated to kill HIV.  Heat-treated 
products were not used until July 1985.  No one knows why the 
recommendations were rejected and why the ministry repeatedly 
denied knowing of the AIDS threat to hemophiliacs.  However, 
Takeshi Abe--who headed the ministry task force that received the
heat-treating advice--said in 1988 that he wanted to give Green 
Cross Corp., a medical supplies company,  a chance to catch up 
with the new recommendations.  Abe was one of six high-level 
ministry officials given jobs in the blood industry after 
retiring.  The newly-found documents show that the ministry was 
concerned about the effect the ban would have on domestic drug 
companies.  More than 200 of the hemophiliacs who contracted HIV 
from the tainted products are suing the government and five drug 
companies, and court decisions have suggested that the plaintiffs
will receive compensation.  The companies have not agreed on the 
settlement, in which they would pay each plaintiff $428,571, or 
60 percent of the total compensation.
      
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