                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      October 21, 1994

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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"Lifeline: Cause Celeb"
"Deaths: Cleews Vellay"
"Poverty Increases Risk of Death from AIDS--Study"
"Massie a Hit at HIV Conference with Lessons of Being Positive"
"Agouron Begins Clinical Testing of Anti-HIV Drug"
"Trinity Biotech PLC Reports 6 Month Financial Results"
"Soap Summit to Discuss Development of Storylines Affecting U.S. 
Attitudes Toward Reproductive Behavior"
"Assisted Suicide Court Battles Intensify"
"Homosexuality"
"Gene Therapy Leaves the Lab, Faces Big Hurdles in the Clinic"
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"Lifeline: Cause Celeb"
USA Today (10/21/94) P. 1D;  Vigoda, Arlene
     On Dec. 21--World AIDS Day--20 country music stars will 
participate in a benefit concert for a Nashville AIDS 
organization.  Scheduled to perform at the event, being held at 
the Grand Ole Opry House, are Kathy Mattea, Billy Ray Cyrus, the 
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, David Ball, and others.  Tickets for the 
event will go on sale Oct. 29.
      
"Deaths: Cleews Vellay"
Washington Post (10/21/94) P. D5
     Cleews Vellay, a cofounder and former president of the French 
branch of ACT UP, died of AIDS on Oct. 18 in Paris.  Vellay 
lobbied to raise public awareness of AIDS-related problems that 
AIDS patients experience.  He also condemned the French 
government for laxity in developing AIDS prevention and education
programs.  Related Story: Philadelphia Inquirer (10/21) P. B7
      
"Poverty Increases Risk of Death from AIDS--Study"
Reuters (10/21/94)
     A Canadian study has found that poverty reduces the survival rate
of AIDS patients.  Professor Martin Schechter of the University 
of British Columbia in Vancouver led a research team that 
followed the lives of 364 gay men for 10 years beginning in 
November 1982.  "Men on low incomes had a 63 percent greater 
chance of death from AIDS by December 1993 (the end of the study)
than those on higher incomes," said the study.  Low income was 
defined as less than US$7,500 a year.  The study offered no 
conclusions as to why low-income patients may be more susceptible
to death, but suggested that nutrition may be partially 
responsible.
      
"Massie a Hit at HIV Conference with Lessons of Being Positive"
Boston Globe (10/20/94) P. 38;  Howe, Peter
     Robert K. Massie, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant 
governor of Massachusetts, discussed his struggle with hemophilia
and HIV on Wednesday at a meeting of the AIDS Action Committee.  
Massie received sustained applause and support when introduced as
the first HIV-positive person in the country to run for a 
statewide office.  "I step forward because I am proud of my life 
and all the help that I have received from others and what I have
become as a result...," said Massie.  He has frequently spoken 
during his campaign about the spiritual and practical lessons of 
HIV.  Robert Greenwald, director of public policy for the 
committee, said that one of the reasons that Massie is an 
inspiration to Massachusetts residents with HIV or AIDS is 
because of "the fact that he is a person with HIV is not central 
to his campaign."
      
"Agouron Begins Clinical Testing of Anti-HIV Drug"
PR Newswire (10/20/94)
     Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc. has started human clinical trials of
AG1343, its anti-HIV drug.  The safety and pharmocokinetic 
parameters of single and multiple oral doses of the drug will be 
assessed in phase I studies during the next 60 days.  AG1343 
demonstrated potent inhibition of HIV replication in vitro in 
preclinical trials.  "If AG1343 displays the same pharmacological
profile in humans that it has in test animals, this compound 
could ultimately play an important role in anti-HIV 
chemotherapy," said Peter Johnson, president and chief executive 
officer of Agouron.  AG1343 is a synthetic compound engineered to
inhibit HIV protease--a key enzyme in the replication of 
infectious HIV particles.
      
"Trinity Biotech PLC Reports 6 Month Financial Results"
PR Newswire (10/20/94)
     Trinity Biotech plc, an Ireland-based diagnostics company, has 
reported more than a 30-fold increase in both its second quarter 
and half-year revenues over the same periods in fiscal year 1993.
"Revenues continue to be derived chiefly from pregnancy sales, 
but HIV test sales are now coming on stream," said CEO, Ronan 
O'Caoimh.  The company is also involved in the development of a 
new single-step HIV test.
      
"Soap Summit to Discuss Development of Storylines Affecting U.S. 
Attitudes Toward Reproductive Behavior"
PR Newswire (10/20/94)
     The first "Soap Summit," sponsored by Population Communications 
International, will feature discussion on how to incorporate 
American attitudes toward reproductive behavior into the plots of
soap operas.  More than 45 leading health experts, television 
executives, and top soap opera creative talents will attend the 
meeting.  Global and U.S. population issues will be addressed, as
well as the role of television soaps in influencing reproductive 
behavior.  Dr. Bradley Greenberg, professor of Telecommunications
and Communications at Michigan State University, will discuss 
whether and how five soaps that he studied deal with reproductive
issues--including safe sex and AIDS.  His findings will be 
compared to the results of a similar study conducted 10 years 
ago.
      
"Assisted Suicide Court Battles Intensify"
Reuters (10/19/94);  Appleson, Gail
     Lawyers in New York on Wednesday urged U.S. District Court Judge 
Thomas Griesa to overturn the state's ban on doctor-assisted 
suicide.  The suit--funded by Compassion in Dying--was filed on 
behalf of three people with AIDS, two of whom have already died. 
Compassion in Dying claims the ban is unconstitutional, and 
alleges that the law denies people "the liberty and privacy to 
decide what to do with their own bodies and forces them to endure
pain, anguish and loss of dignity."  The organization provides 
advice to people who wish to commit suicide; Instead of 
administering lethal drugs, however, they refer the individuals 
to doctors for prescriptions of drugs that can be fatal when 
taken in large doses.  Approximately 30 states have laws that 
prohibit assisted suicide.
      
"Homosexuality"
New England Journal of Medicine (10/06/94) Vol. 331, No. 14, P. 
923;  Friedman, Richard C.;  Downey, Jennifer I.
     Although the AIDS epidemic is not confined to homosexuals, it has
increased the stigmatization of gay men because they account for 
such a large number of AIDS cases in the United States.  The 
epidemic has also intensified stigma against lesbians --who 
actually are at no increased risk of AIDS, but are often assumed 
to be at high risk because they are homosexual.  Homosexuals that
have AIDS are often discriminated against by employers, social 
service agencies, insurance carriers, and health care providers. 
Fear of homophobia and stigmatization may lead a homosexual who 
is HIV-positive or being tested for HIV to internalize negative 
attitudes and isolate himself or herself from others.  While one 
showed an increased frequency in the rate of completed suicides 
among gay men with AIDS, studies of people with AIDS and those 
tested for HIV have not demonstrated an increase in suicidality. 
HIV-positive individuals often cope with the disease by remaining
involved in life's activities, keeping in touch with others, and 
maintaining hope.
      
"Gene Therapy Leaves the Lab, Faces Big Hurdles in the Clinic"
AIDS Alert (10/94) Vol. 9, No. 10, P. 140
     Researchers in gene therapy are initiating small trials in mice 
and humans that could yield a new approach to fighting HIV by 
boosting or possibly restoring the immune system.  Researchers at
the University of Washington have been encouraged by the 
reconstituted immune systems in patients given escalating doses 
of CD8 T cell clones and by the fact that none of the patients 
developed life-threatening cytomegalovirus.  A University of 
California at San Diego-developed and FDA-approved process for an
ex vivo Phase I clinical trial uses a ribosome molecule derived 
from the tobacco ringspot virus.  Designed to resemble antisense 
RNA, the ribosome has been shown in vitro to inactivate HIV 
expression in target cells, resulting in an antiviral effect.  
Finally, researchers at the University of California in Los 
Angeles have found a way to test the safety and validity of 
treatments by introducing genetically altered human cells into 
mice.  It was determined that mice infected with HIV showed a 
decline in human immune cells implanted into their system.  By 
using the animal model, tests of gene therapies can be performed 
in as little as three months and the mice may be used in gene 
therapy tests for other diseases.
      
