                     AIDS Daily Summary
                        May 16, 1994


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS
Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public
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Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


"Professor Honored for AIDS Research"
Baltimore Sun (05/16/94) P. 1B;  Selby, Holly
     The AIDS research conducted by Dr. Michael Summers has won the 
scientist a position as an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical 
Institute (HHMI), one of the largest philanthropic foundations in
the nation.  Summers, an associate professor of biochemistry at 
the University of Maryland--Baltimore County, was the first to 
describe a key component of HIV.  Under his guidance, a research 
team developed a model of the nucleocapsid protein found in 
HIV-infected cells.  Only three of the dozens of such proteins 
have been described as of yet.  The team demonstrated that, in 
test tubes, certain compounds eject zinc from the nucleocapsid 
protein, and inhibit HIV replication.  The finding could prove 
useful in the development of AIDS treatments.  Summers says that 
he and his graduate students are in "hot pursuit" of the fourth 
HIV protein.  Beginning next month, HHMI will underwrite Summers'
research, create a laboratory for him at UMBC, pay for a research
team, and provide funding of up to $800,000 for the next five 
years.  Then, if the institute is satisfied with Summers' work, 
the appointment may be renewed.
      
"Deadly Transfusions"
Associated Press (05/15/94);  Gordon, Marcy
     The American Red Cross and other blood banks in 1983 rejected a 
screening test, saying that--despite assertions by the Centers 
for Disease Control--there was no proof that AIDS could be 
transmitted through transfusions.  The groups also refused to 
adopt the hepatitis test--HIV tests were not yet 
developed--because it was too expensive.  Internal documents 
obtained by the Associated Press, however, show that Red Cross 
officials acknowledged that the disease could be transmitted 
through blood.  "The available evidence strongly suggests that 
AIDS is transmissible" through blood, wrote Red Cross planning 
and marketing manager Paul Cumming, in an internal memo.  "To the
extent the [blood] industry ... sticks together against CDC, it 
will appear to some segments of the public at least, that we have
a self-interest which is in conflict with the public interest, 
unless we can clearly demonstrate that CDC is wrong."  That memo 
and others are among pages of documents that were, at the request
of the Red Cross, placed under protective orders by judges in 
various court cases.  Although public disclosure of the contents 
are prohibited, AP acquired them through sources familiar with 
the issue.
      
"AIDS--Bloodworth-Thomason"
Associated Press (05/15/94);  Gordon, Marcy
     When Linda Bloodworth-Thomason's mother died from AIDS in 1986, 
the television producer wrote an episode of "Designing Women" 
about the disease, and sued the hospital that gave her mother the
infected blood transfusion.  She eventually received a 
settlement.  Although the hospital had its own blood bank not 
affiliated with the Red Cross,  Bloodworth- Thomason is angered 
by that agency's and other blood banks' rejection of a 
blood-screening test, available in 1983, that could have spared 
the lives of her mother, tennis star Arthur Ashe, and thousands 
of other Americans who got AIDS from transfusions received 
between March 1983 and March 1985.  "I think the Red Cross is the
most culpable organization in the deaths of all these people 
because they are supposed to be the leader in the blood-banking 
community," she said.  "The truth is every one of these people 
could have lived if the Red Cross had acted responsibly."  
Bloodworth-Thomason's litigation was one of about 500 other 
lawsuits that were filed against the Red Cross, other blood 
banks, and hospitals--nearly all of which were settled out of 
court.  The Red Cross is responsible for half of the nation's 
blood supply, and provides blood and components to some 3,000 
hospitals.
      
"Cannes Visitors Prepare for World AIDS Day"
United Press International (05/14/94)
     Celebrities attending the Cannes Film Festival in France set 
some time aside on Saturday to prepare for a day of AIDS public 
awareness.  The famous faces recorded messages that will be 
broadcast at the end of the year on World AIDS Day.  Superstars 
including actress Kathleen Turner and directors Quentin Tarantino
and John Waters are among those who have agreed to contribute.
      
"Off AZT"
Associated Press (05/16/94);  Baenen, Laura
     Since Lindsey Nagel's adoptive parents took her off AZT in the 
fall of 1992, the three-and-a-half-year-old appears healthy, and 
no longer experiences the upset stomach, appetite loss, and 
severe leg cramps associated with the antiviral drug.  "I wasn't 
going to put that kid through a bunch of misery so she could live
another six months," says Cheryl Nagel, Lindsey's mother.  "I 
would rather have her live two good months than to have her live 
six bad months."  AZT, also known as zidovudine, is the first and
most commonly used antiviral drug approved for the treatment of 
HIV.  Mounting evidence concerning the side effects of AZT, 
however, seems to support the decision of the Nagels and others 
who have sworn off the drug.  Studies last year showed that AZT 
does not help those who are not already ill to live longer, and a
study published this March suggested that drug's side effects 
cancel out any benefit.  In general, physicians have been more 
inclined to prescribe AZT for asymptomatic children rather than 
asymptomatic adults, because the disease usually progresses more 
rapidly in children, according to AIDS researcher Paul 
Volberding.  He explained that doctors try to strike a balance 
between benefits and side effects when deciding whether to 
prescribe AZT.
      
"Choosing to Die"
Newsweek (05/16/94) Vol. 123, No. 20, P. 42;  Katel, Peter
     Luis Enrique Delgado was tired of the rules and regulations of 
Cuban society, so he had a friend at an AIDS sanitarium extract 
some blood with a syringe, then had another patient inject the 
contaminated blood into his own veins.  Delgado is one of a group
of young people known as frikis--"freaks" or "rockers"--who claim
that they intentionally became infected with HIV by injecting 
themselves with tainted blood.  Various sources have named more 
than 30 young people from Pinar del Rio who say they injected 
HIV, and 55 more who have already died.  According to the 
accounts, the self-injections occurred in 1989-91.  A former 
Cuban AIDS health worker says that while it is possible that some
of the frikis could have contracted HIV from drug injections, the
rapid onset of full-blown AIDS among the group indicates that 
their explanation is a truthful one.  "There is no other 
explanation for someone dying in two years but a direct 
blood-to-blood injection," he says.  Cuba's policy at the time 
was to quarantine anyone testing HIV-positive.  For the frikis, 
life in an AIDS sanitarium meant three square meals daily, air 
conditioning, an absence of police--luxuries the average Cuban 
did not enjoy.
      
"CD8 Antiviral Factor Found"
Advocate (05/03/94) No. 654, P. 34
     Control of HIV pathogenesis usually occurs through the 
antiviral-suppressing activity of CD8 cells.  A presentation at 
the Novel Therapies for AIDS conference held in Palm Springs in 
early March suggests that there may be a cellular antiviral 
factor (CAF) associated with CD8 cells.  CAF inhibits the ability
of the virus to replicate at the genetic level.  Dr. Jay Levy, of
the University of California at San Francisco, encouraged the use
of therapies designed to maintain a strong CD8-cell response, 
including the administration of certain chemical messengers 
between cells, selected CD8-cell populations, or CAF.
      
"Anti-AIDS Effort Draws Criticism"
Advertising Age (05/02/94) Vol. 65, No. 19, P. 40;  Cuneo, Alice 
Z.
     In response to criticism from some homosexual and minority groups
who say that the federal government's first AIDS prevention 
public service announcements are too anonymous, the next spots 
could become more explicit with a more regionalized approach.  
The groups' main complaint is that the ads shield the gender, 
ethnicity, and sexual orientation of the characters.  David Ford,
media relations manager for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, 
says the problem is that the broad-stroke campaign does not 
address the needs of specific communities.  For example, the 
campaign's failure to mention young gays is one concern.  "This 
confirms, or underscores, their invisibility and adds to shame" 
about their homosexuality, says Ford.  The Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention responded to this and other concerns by 
saying that it will consider funding PSAs more in tune with 
community standards.  The CDC is "looking at a whole lot of 
options" for future AIDS awareness ads, according to Melissa 
Shepherd, chief of social marketing and media for the agency.  
She could not say, however, when the next round of spots would be
developed, whom they might target, or what messages they will 
attempt to deliver.
      
