                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       August 2, 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
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Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"Moscow Shelves HIV Plan"
"On to Beijing"
"Obituaries: Paul H. Douglas, 37, An AIDS Researcher"
"AIDS Virus Carriers in S. Korea on the Rise"
"Legalize Medicinal Marijuana"
"HemaCare Signs Agreements to Establish a Comprehensive Blood 
Center at USC Health Sciences Campus"
"Back to Primary School"
"Wasting Syndrome--Affordable Treatments"
"HIV Infection and Skin-Care Needs"
"FDA Announces Public Workshop and Advisory Subcommittee Meeting 
on Current Issues in AIDS Clinical Trials"
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"Moscow Shelves HIV Plan"
Financial Times (08/02/95) P. 2;  Thornhill, John
     The Russian government has delayed plans to require all long-term
visitors to be tested for HIV before entering the country, 
explaining that the requisite administrative arrangements have 
not yet been made.  However, foreign ministry official Mikhail 
Demurin confirmed on Tuesday that the law will be effective soon.
Although the measure requiring all foreign visitors planning to 
spend more than three months in Russia to obtain a certificate 
proving they are not HIV-positive was supposed to go into effect 
on Aug. 1, the health and foreign ministries do not seem to able 
to agree on a feasible mechanism for implementing the 
regulations.  Since 1987, more than 400 HIV-infected foreigners 
have been deported from the country.
      
"On to Beijing"
Washington Post (08/02/95) P. A25;  Pelosi, Nancy
     There is strong support from leaders in Congress for withdrawing 
the U.S. delegation from the United Nations Fourth World 
Conference on Women in Beijing, concedes Rep. Nancy Pelosi 
(D-Calif.) in a piece published in the Washington Post.  However,
even though democratic nations need to find ways to protest 
China's history of human rights violations, canceling U.S 
participation would be wrong, Pelosi contends.  Many of the most 
important human rights issues in the world will be addressed at 
this conference, such as women in war-torn areas who are raped 
and then become pregnant or infected with HIV.  AIDS, however, is
also a threat during times of peace.  There is a critical need to
educate and help women protect themselves and their families from
HIV.  In Africa, for example, the destruction of family and 
social life that comes as a result of the epidemic has affected 
entire regions, and numerous villages have been destroyed by the 
disease.  At the conference, a coalition of U.S. and 
international groups involved in HIV prevention will hold 
educational and outreach activities to help participants realize 
that HIV is a threat to all women, and that prevention efforts 
have to become a part of their efforts for women's rights.  In 
conclusion, Pelosi asks Congress for support in efforts to 
improve the lives of women and their families worldwide.
      
"Obituaries: Paul H. Douglas, 37, An AIDS Researcher"
New York Times (08/02/95) P. D20
     AIDS researcher Paul Harding Douglas died of AIDS last Friday at 
age 37.  Douglas, who worked at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical
Center, was a co-author of "The Essential AIDS Fact Book," a text
that was published in 1987 and reissued in 1992.  Douglas and 
co-author Laura Pinsky also wrote "The Essential H.I.V. 
Treatment Fact Book" with Craig Metroka.  Three years ago, 
Douglas was made a research associate at Cornell's AIDS clinical 
trials unit.  In 1994, he became executive director of the 
division's activities that are supported by the American 
Foundation for AIDS Research.  He is survived by his companion, 
Gary Ledet; his parents; two sisters; and a brother.
      
"AIDS Virus Carriers in S. Korea on the Rise"
Reuters (08/02/95)
     During the first seven months of 1995, 59 South Koreans tested 
HIV-positive, bringing the total number of infected citizens to 
472, a Health Ministry official announced on Tuesday.  In July 
alone, 10 people--including two foreigners--tested positive for 
the virus that causes AIDS.  "The number being reported is not 
really the case," the official said.  "We believe the number is 
about three to five times more."
      
"Legalize Medicinal Marijuana"
Philadelphia Inquirer (08/02/95) P. A17;  Caplan, Art
     The law that makes marijuana illegal to use for medical purposes 
should be changed, writes Art Caplan--director of the Center for 
Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania--in the Philadelphia 
Inquirer.  The case against the legal prescription of marijuana 
is based on arguments that legalization will undermine society's 
efforts to combat drug abuse, and that synthetic alternatives are
already available.  It is also argued that there is no reliable 
scientific proof that the drug can, as its supporters claim, 
relieve symptoms caused by chemotherapy for AIDS and cancer, or 
ease the pain of cramps or migraines.  These statements, however,
are not valid, Caplan contends, because if a person is dying, 
there are no risks and harms in taking marijuana.
      
"HemaCare Signs Agreements to Establish a Comprehensive Blood 
Center at USC Health Sciences Campus"
Business Wire (08/01/95)
     On Tuesday, HemaCare reported the finalization of agreements to 
build a comprehensive blood center at the University of Southern 
California (USC) Health Sciences Campus.  The Blood Center, which
is expected to open Nov. 1, will provide such blood products and 
services as single-donor plateletpheresis and peripheral stem 
cell collection to tertiary care hospitals that are affiliated 
with the USC School of Medicine.  In addition to providing 
hemapheresis-derived blood products and services, HemaCare also 
provides blood component products produced by using hemapheresis 
technology and comprehensive donor screening procedures which 
reduce the patient risk of contracting HIV, hepatitis, and other 
blood-borne diseases.
      
"Back to Primary School"
Nature (07/13/95) Vol. 376, No. 6536, P. 115;  Moore, John P.
     There has been a powerful debate about whether using gp120 
subunit vaccines to produce neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1
would be effective, writes The Aaron Diamond AIDS Research 
Center's John P. Moore in the journal Nature.  In an article 
published in the Journal of Virology, Sullivan et al. report that
they measured the interactions of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) 
with the native, oligomeric forms of the HIV-1 envelope 
glycoproteins, and compared them with levels of virus 
neutralization.  These results could help explain why antibodies 
raised to current monomeric gp120 vaccines do not neutralize 
primary viruses.  The researchers confirmed that mAb interactions
with monomeric gp120 do not fully predict virus neutralization, 
and showed that mAb reactivity with oligomeric glycoprotein is a 
useful correlate of neutralization.  In addition, they found that
mAbs do not bind to oligomers from primary viruses as well as 
they do to oligomers from strains whose envelope glycoproteins 
have been altered.  The researchers also showed that soluble CD4 
has a dual effect on the fusogenicity of two strains of primary 
HIV-1, increasing levels at low concentrations, and inhibiting it
at greater concentrations.  Sullivan et al. illustrate just how 
formidable a challenge researchers face in developing an antibody
mediated, anti-HIV vaccine, Moore concludes.
      
"Wasting Syndrome--Affordable Treatments"
AIDS Treatment News (07/07/95) No. 226, P. 6;  James, John S.
     There are inexpensive treatments for AIDS wasting syndrome, which
is defined as the extreme loss of lean body mass not due to 
obvious causes such as nutritional deficiency or intestinal 
infection.  Early data indicates that most patients can be 
successfully treated using these approaches.  One affordable 
treatment for non-severe, AIDS-related weight loss is 
testosterone enanthate, when used in combination with an exercise
program.  The drug has not been proven in clinical trials, but 
according to Dr. Marcus Conant in San Francisco, it has offered 
good results.  Conant's team has found that people with true 
wasting respond very well to human growth hormone.  Fourteen of 
16 severely wasting patients gained weight with the hormone, 
after finding no success with the approved treatments Megace and 
Marinol.  Ketotifen is another possibility for treatment, though 
not much research has been done yet on using it for AIDS-related 
wasting.  It is believed to be very safe, and is used widely in 
Europe for asthma and allergies.  A third possibility is 
thalidomide, which is now available though an "underground 
compassionate access" program through the PWA Health Group in New
York or Healing Alternatives in San Francisco.  The two 
FDA-approved drugs for AIDS-related wasting are expensive, and 
their effectiveness for increasing lean body mass is 
controversial.
      
"HIV Infection and Skin-Care Needs"
Advocate (07/25/95) No. 686, P. 47;  Cohan, Gary R.
     Studies show that almost 100 percent of HIV-infected people will 
encounter at least two skin problems related to the disease at 
some point, writes Dr. Gary R. Cohan in the Advocate.  Some 
common, but rarely discussed examples of noncancerous HIV-related
skin conditions include generalized xerosis, photosensitivity, 
drug hypersensitivity reactions, and hyperpigmentation.  
Generalized xerosis, for example, is a condition seen in almost 
all HIV-infected individuals, characterized by extremely dry, 
itchy skin.  Recommended treatments include limiting the 
frequency of bathing, using less drying soaps, and avoiding harsh
scrubbing of the skin with washcloths or abrasive skin 
treatments.  Cohan recommends that any patient who is concerned 
about a new or unusual skin change have it examined.
      
"FDA Announces Public Workshop and Advisory Subcommittee Meeting 
on Current Issues in AIDS Clinical Trials"
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
     The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is holding a public 
workshop on current issues in HIV clinical trials on Sept. 6 and 
7, 1995.  At the workshop--to which registration is 
required--members of the industry and the public will be able to 
discuss issues regarding the design and conduct of clinical 
trials of drugs for the treatment of HIV, as well as propose 
strategies for overcoming known obstacles.  A major challenge to 
developers of HIV treatments is the successful design and conduct
of clinical confirmatory trials, which are needed to provide the 
data used to confirm the clinical benefit of drugs that have 
received accelerated approval.  The workshop will be followed by 
a joint meeting on Sept. 9 of subcommittees of the Antiviral 
Drugs Advisory Committee and the National Task Force on AIDS Drug
Development.  The subcommittees will hear summary presentations 
from the workshop,  and will discuss recommendations on the 
scientific design of future HIV clinical trials.  For more 
information, call the AIDS Clinical Trial Information Service at 
(800) 874-2572.*

* The number in the AIDS Daily Summary for August 1, 1995, was 
incorrect.  This is the correct number.
      
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