                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      January 10, 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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"Man Infects Stepdaughter, 7, with HIV in Rape"
"Few Needle Swaps Exist as HIV Spreads in L.A. County"
"VIMRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. Announces Results of NIH-Sponsored 
Clinical Trial (ACTG 150) on VIMRxyn in AIDS Patients"
"Conservative Radio Host Says He Has AIDS, and Boston Shows Its 
Heart"
"Haitian Refugees Could All Be Home Within a Week"
"Synentech Announces Reorganization, R&D Expansion"
"HIV Infection, Risk Behaviors, and Depressive Symptoms Among 
Puerto Rican Sex Workers"
"Avanti Overcomes Safety Concerns Raised by FDA"
"AMA's Science Reporters Conference Features Good and Bad Medical
ews"
"First Word"

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"Man Infects Stepdaughter, 7, with HIV in Rape"
Washington Times (01/10/95) P. A5
     On Jan. 15, 1994, just three hours after getting married, Frank 
Cisco Bridges--a crack addict with full-blown AIDS--raped his 
seven-year-old stepdaughter and infected her with HIV.  The 
child's mother was convicted of child endangerment and being an 
accessory after the fact to her daughter's rape and will be 
sentenced today.  The mother hung up the phone when her 
10-year-old son called 911 to report his sister's injury.  On the
morning of Jan. 15, 1994, the woman had bailed Bridges out of 
jail on a petty theft charge so they could be married at her 
home.  While at first Bridges blamed a nonexistent twin brother, 
he eventually broke down and admitted committing some of the 
offenses.  He plead guilty to five felony counts of child 
molestation and rape and was sentenced in July to 38 years in 
prison.  The girl, now 8 years old, is displaying diminished 
motor skills, an early sign of the fatal illness.
      
"Few Needle Swaps Exist as HIV Spreads in L.A. County"
Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (01/09/95) P. B1;  
Cheevers, Jack
     Injection drug users are the second largest group of HIV-infected
people in Los Angeles County.  They are also the principal route 
of HIV transmission to heterosexuals, their sex partners, and 
children.  It is estimated that 14,000 county residents are 
infected as a result of contaminated needles.  As needle-related 
infections have almost doubled in five years in the county, 
public health experts warn that the local government is not doing
enough to fight the virus among intravenous drug users.  Although
health experts say that supplying sterile equipment through 
needle exchanges is one of the best ways to attack the problem, 
city and county officials have provided little or no support for 
such programs.  There are concerns that the programs violate 
state law and encourage drug abuse.  Two private needle exchange 
groups try to fill the vacuum, but they have very small budgets 
and are able to reach only a fraction of those who need help.  
Studies show that needle exchanges are an inexpensive, effective 
way to reduce the spread of AIDS among users.  It has also been 
found that needle exchanges do not encourage existing addicts to 
use more drugs, or lure non-users into drug abuse.  Needle 
exchanges have sparked debate among residents--including those 
who want the exchanges off the streets, in medical clinics with 
trained professionals, not volunteers.
      
"VIMRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. Announces Results of NIH-Sponsored 
Clinical Trial (ACTG 150) on VIMRxyn in AIDS Patients"
Business Wire (01/09/95)
     VIMRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Monday announced the results of a 
Phase I clinical trial of its lead compound VIMRxyn, synthetic 
hypericin.  Called ACTG 150, the trial--which was sponsored by 
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the 
National Institutes of Health--enrolled 27 HIV-infected men and 
women with fewer than 300 CD4 cells.  The participants were 
intravenously treated with VIMRxyn two to three times weekly for 
up to 24 weeks in three different dosing groups.  "ACTG 150 
successfully fulfilled its major goals of determining the safety 
profile and Maximally Tolerated Dose of VIMRxyn given by 
intravenous administration to this patient group," said Dr. 
Howard Hochster, Medical Director for VIMRx.  Additional results 
of VIMRxyn's ability to affect markers of infection include a 
positive CD4 cell count response in some patients, and a trend to
a decrease in p24 levels and in viral cultures in peripheral 
blood mononuclear cells.
      
"Conservative Radio Host Says He Has AIDS, and Boston Shows Its 
Heart"
New York Times (01/08/95) P. 12;  Tierney, John
     Last week in Boston, right-wing talk-show host David Brudnoy 
addressed not welfare mothers or affirmative action, but his 
ordeal with AIDS.  Brudnoy discussed his homosexuality and his 
disease with his callers for the first time.  His announcement 
prompted a citywide show of affection, including one from Mayor 
Thomas M. Menino--who appeared at Brudnoy's apartment with a 
proclamation of David Brudnoy Appreciation Day--and one from Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy, who called the program to wish him well.  His 
regular callers jammed the switchboard offering prayers and tips 
for conquering AIDS, along with denunciations of liberals.  He 
has also received thousands of supportive letters.  Brudnoy, who 
had previously refused to discuss his sexuality because he 
considered it a personal matter, decided he could not keep it a 
secret after he collapsed on the air in October with AIDS-related
pneumonia.
      
"Haitian Refugees Could All Be Home Within a Week"
Reuters (01/09/95);  Zengerle, Patricia
     Five hundred more Haitian refugees were sent home on Monday.  
U.S. officials said that the nearly 3,000 remaining Haitians held
at Guantanamo Bay could be back in Haiti within a week.  While 
some Haitians refugees accepted an U.S. offer to voluntarily 
return to Haiti in exchange for a job and payment of $80, many 
are being interviewed by U.S. Immigration and Naturalization 
Service officials to determine if their fears of persecution in 
Haiti justify their staying at the base.  As of Monday, only 74 
out of more than 900 interviewed had been given permission to 
stay.  The only exception to U.S. policy are approximately 240 
Haitians, aged 17 and under, who are at the base without adult 
relatives; and 44 refugees, most of whom have tuberculosis or 
HIV, who were approved to enter the United States but have not 
yet received visas.  An additional 200 Haitians who have 
tuberculosis will return home after completing six months of drug
treatment.
      
"Synentech Announces Reorganization, R&D Expansion"
PR Newswire (01/09/95)
     Synentech, Inc. on Monday announced a corporate reorganization, 
which will allow an expansion of its research and development 
(R&D) effort into proprietary product discovery.  Synentech 
President and CEO Paul C. Ahrens will resign from those positions
to establish a new R&D effort researching new applications of 
novel amino acids and peptides.  The R&D entity will be 
independent, but Synentech will own all rights to discoveries of 
new applications, and will reimburse Ahrens for certain expenses 
associated with the research effort.  Synentech's peptide 
building blocks are being used by drug companies to make a wide 
range of peptide-based drugs currently being developed for 
treatment of AIDS, cancer, and other diseases.
      
"HIV Infection, Risk Behaviors, and Depressive Symptoms Among 
Puerto Rican Sex Workers"
American Journal of Public Health (12/94) Vol. 84, No. 12, P. 
2000;  Alegria, Margarita;  Vera, Mildred;  Freeman Jr., Daniel 
H. et al
     Puerto Rico ranks third in annual AIDS incidence rates among U.S.
states and territories.  To determine the relationship between 
sex workers' psychological status and their HIV serostatus and 
risk behaviors, Alegria et al collected information through 
structured interviews and blood specimens tested for HIV from 127
sex workers on the island.  Seventy percent of the prostitutes 
matched the high depressive category, according to the Center for
Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.  Of the women who were 
HIV seropositive, 91.4 percent were highly depressed.  High 
depressive symptomatology, however, was also reported among 58 
percent of the women who were seronegative.  A logistic 
regression analysis indicated that the use of injected drugs and 
engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse with clients were 
strongly associated with a high level of depressive symptoms.
      
"Avanti Overcomes Safety Concerns Raised by FDA"
AIDS Alert (01/95) Vol. 10, No. 1, P. 4
     With the marketing of the Avanti condom in November, London 
International U.S. Holdings Inc. became the first of several 
condom manufacturers working to provide people with the first 
viable alternative to the latex condom.  "This has not been an 
easy development," said John Blumenthal, vice president of 
marketing for London International, which also makes Ramses and 
Sheik condoms.  Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
has determined the safety of the Avanti condom, it has closely 
watched changes London International made to the condom after it 
was first approved in 1989.  The safety of the type of 
polyurethane used in the Meme breast implant and the Today 
contraceptive sponge was in doubt around the same time.  The FDA 
questioned the stability and toxicity of the Avanti polyurethane,
as well as the safety and reliability of the retention 
ring--which prevents the condom from slipping.  FDA spokeswoman 
Sharon Schneider said that polyurethane is a relatively benign 
material, and that the FDA has no reason to believe the 
polyurethane condom could cause cancer or any other adverse 
reactions.  Unlike latex, polyurethane is not susceptible to the 
effects of ozone and oxidation.  Although its actual shelf life 
in not known, durability tests have shown that it remains stable 
for up to five years.
      
"AMA's Science Reporters Conference Features Good and Bad Medical
News"
Journal of the American Medical Association (01/04/95) Vol. 273, 
No. 1, P. 5
     The safety of the United States' blood supply and the decline of 
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were among the good news 
received by journalists attending the American Medical 
Association's 13th Annual Science Reporters Conference.  The risk
for HIV is roughly one infection per 225,000 units of blood 
transfused.  Dr. Harvey G. Klein, chief of the Department of 
Transfusion Medicine at the National Institutes of Health 
estimates that, from the approximately 14 million blood 
components transfused each year, from 50 to 100 patients are 
likely to become HIV-infected.  Recent estimates from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that the risk may be 
as low as one case in every 340,000 to 420,000 units transfused. 
In terms of STDs, the overall incidence of gonorrhea and syphilis
have declined, which is probably due to a combination of sexual 
behavior changes in some parts of the population, public 
education, and disease control efforts, according to Dr. H. 
Hunter Handsfield, professor of medicine at the University of 
Washington School of Medicine.  Gonorrhea and chlamydia, however,
remain epidemic among teenagers and people of color.  A decline 
in STD rates may slow the spread of HIV, which research has shown
is more easily transmitted through skin or mucous membrane skin 
lesions caused by other STDs.
      
"First Word"
Omni (01/95) Vol. 17, No. 4, P. 6;  Taylor, Elizabeth
     A victory in the war against AIDS, writes actress and AIDS 
activist Elizabeth Taylor, requires courage and boldness in 
educating the public.  It is everyone's responsibility to protect
themselves and others from HIV infection, she declares.  The 
American public is slowly becoming more supportive and 
understanding of people who are HIV-positive or have AIDS.  More 
people are becoming involved because they have been touched by 
the illness of friends and loved ones.  But, says Taylor, the 
stigma associated with AIDS continues to be the greatest barrier 
in the fight against the disease.  It is encouraging, however, to
see films such as "Philadelphia" and plays such as "Angels in 
America" receiving high praise, she notes.  Although some of the 
media continue to promote old stereotypes and sensationalize the 
issue, Taylor points to others who have presented sensitive and 
touching portraits of the realities of living with HIV or AIDS.  
The media is a valuable tool in the campaign against AIDS, Taylor
contends.  People must not cease activism or appeals for more 
resources, but most importantly, she concludes, people must never
stop caring and giving all the support they can to those with HIV
or AIDS.
      
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