                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      August 14, 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
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Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"Senate Gets Bill to Assist Hemophiliacs with AIDS"
"Possibly Tainted Blood Products Face FDA Recall"
"The Middle Class Rediscovers Heroin"
"Lifeline: AIDS Ride"
"Glaxo May Bid for BioChem Biotech Firm--Paper"
"Youths Infected or Affected by HIV Seal Bond at Camp"
"Megace May Cause Adrenal-Pituitary Suppression"
"Preventing AIDS: Have We Lost Our Way?"
"Oral Manifestations of HIV Infection"
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"Senate Gets Bill to Assist Hemophiliacs with AIDS"
Philadelphia Inquirer (08/12/95) P. A2;  Shaw, Donna
     A measure that would create a $1 billion fund for hemophiliacs 
who became infected with HIV from tainted blood-clotting 
medicines was introduced to the U.S. Senate on Friday.  The Ricky
Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act, which is named for a Florida 
teenager who died of AIDS in 1992 after using a contaminated 
blood-clotting product, would award $125,000 to each of the 
approximately 10,000 U.S. hemophiliacs who were infected with HIV
in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  A similar version of the bill
was introduced to the House in February, and has thus far, gained
the bipartisan support of at least 110 members, sources say.  
According to the bill, the U.S. government "failed to fulfill its
responsibility to properly regulate the blood-products industry" 
by not sooner requiring the use of available technology to purify
the blood-clotting drugs.
      
"Possibly Tainted Blood Products Face FDA Recall"
Philadelphia Inquirer (08/12/95) P. A2;  Shaw, Donna
     The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising the 
recall of any blood products that may be tainted with the rare 
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).  There is no test for CJD, an 
incurable, neurodegenerative disease that leads to dementia and 
death.  Although the blood-products industry had cautioned that 
such recalls could lead to shortages of plasma-based medicines, 
the FDA said that if shortages occur, the products could be 
released with warning labels.  In addition, the federal agency 
overruled its Blood Products Advisory Committee on the issue of 
whether a new HIV test should be used by blood and plasma 
collection centers once it receives government approval.  The new
test is expected to reduce the 22-day "window"--the period 
between infection with HIV and the time it takes to be 
identified--by about six days.  The committee had decided that 
the test would be too costly to justify the five or 10 lives it 
might save each year.  The announcements are the latest in a 
series of changes made by the FDA, which was chastised last month
in a report by the Institute of Medicine for being too dependent 
on the blood industry.
      
"The Middle Class Rediscovers Heroin"
New York Times (08/14/95) P. B3;  Alvarez, Lizette
     Many doctors and drug counselors in New York City report treating
an increasing number of professionals and college students for 
heroin addiction.  One reason that heroin has become so popular 
among college-educated drug users is that it now can be snorted, 
instead of injected intravenously.  This method has eliminated 
many users' fears of contracting HIV from dirty needles and the 
image of drug addicts with track marks running down their arms.  
"We're coming off a generation where it was O.K. to snort 
cocaine," says Dr. David M. Ockert of the Parallax Center, an 
outpatient chemical dependency treatment center.  "Now you have 
this white powder and no HIV fears...this has allowed a lot of 
people--the very broad middle class--access to it without the 
stigma."  Heroin is less expensive than cocaine, and the high can
last more than six hours.  The drug, however, has also become 
more hazardous for new users because of its high potency 
increases the risk of overdose, and because buyers do not always 
know what has been mixed in it.
      
"Lifeline: AIDS Ride"
USA Today (08/14/95) P. 1D;  DeRosa, Robin
     Tanqueray's Boston/New York AIDS Ride departs from Boston on 
Sept. 15.  Each participant in the three-day bicycle ride must 
collect at least $1,200 in donations for the event which,  
overall, is expected to raise more than $3 million.  The funds 
will benefit AIDS-related services at New York's Lesbian and Gay 
Community Services Center and Community Health Project and 
Boston's Fenway Community Health Center.
      
"Glaxo May Bid for BioChem Biotech Firm--Paper"
Reuters (08/13/95)
     Glaxo Wellcome Plc is considering a potential takeover bid of 
approximately $2 billion for BioChem Pharma Inc.  Robin Gilbert, 
a pharmaceutical analyst with Panmure Gordon in London, says, "a 
takeover would make a lot of sense."  In addition, Glaxo and 
BioChem are currently developing two drugs, 3TC, an AIDS 
treatment, and lamivudine, a treatment for hepatitis B.
      
"Youths Infected or Affected by HIV Seal Bond at Camp"
Chicago Tribune (08/11/95) P. 1-7;  Church, Barb
     Camp Heartland is a two-year-old, non-profit program to provide 
special summer camps for children who have somehow been affected 
by HIV.  "Many are grieving over the loss of a loved one, some 
have a parent or a sibling who suffers from the disease and those
kids have a lot of emotions to deal with," explains founder Neil 
Willenson.  Willenson started the free one-week camp because he 
wanted to provide a young neighbor with AIDS and other children 
with the same summer camp-type experiences as other children.  
Camp Heartland offers a time where there are no secrets, and 
where a supportive community understands what each guest has been
through or will go through in the future.  Most importantly, 
however, the camp is meant to be fun.  It offers such activities 
as archery, sailing, swimming, drama, and computer classes.  "By 
providing the kids with enough happiness and acceptance, some 
kids can find the strength to live another whole year to come 
back," says Willenson.
      
"Megace May Cause Adrenal-Pituitary Suppression"
AIDS Clinical Care (08/95) Vol. 7, No. 8, P. 69
     Researchers at Albany Medical College present a case of adrenal 
insufficiency in an AIDS patient that appeared to be caused by 
megestrol acetate (megace).  After taking the drug for four 
years, the patient abruptly discontinued its use--two weeks 
before experiencing weight loss, vomiting, extreme fatigue, and 
orthostatic hypotension.  His levels of basal cortisol and ACTH 
were abnormally low, but replacement hydrocortisone significantly
eased his symptoms.  In addition, four other patients with 
cachexia were studied.  After one month, they had impressive 
weight gains, but cortisol and ACTH levels had decreased 
dramatically.  A letter to the editor published in the Annals of 
Internal Medicine also reports a case of adrenal insufficiency 
which developed after six weeks of megace therapy.  These reports
indicate that patients taking the appetite and weight increasing 
drug may need monitoring for adrenal-pituitary suppression and 
supervision when ending long-term treatment.
      
"Preventing AIDS: Have We Lost Our Way?"
Lancet (07/29/95) Vol. 346, No. 8970, P. 262;  Lifson, Alan R.
     Although the best way to curb AIDS is by preventing the 
transmission of HIV, millions of people already test positive for
the virus, notes Alan R. Lifson in the British medical journal 
The Lancet.  Prospective studies have demonstrated that years can
pass between HIV infection and the emergence of related 
infections and disorders.  Two findings, however, now challenge 
the theory that HIV resides for years in a quiescent phase.  The 
first is that active viral replication occurs in the lymphoid 
system well before significant replication is evident in the 
peripheral circulation.  The second finding is that HIV 
replication occurs continuously in vivo at high rates, which 
results in the rapid turnover of CD4 cells.  These findings, 
along with others, suggest that AIDS should not be considered a 
separate entity from HIV infection, that current reliance on 
reverse transcriptase inhibitors needs to be re-evaluated, and 
that HIV-related opportunistic infections need to be prevented.  
As more becomes known about HIV, Lifson concludes, it is 
important to refrain from concentrating on one strategy to the 
exclusion of others, and that whatever preventative strategies 
are developed are useful to the millions of infected persons as 
well.
      
"Oral Manifestations of HIV Infection"
New England Journal of Medicine (08/03/95) Vol. 333, No. 5, P. 
328;  Seldin, Edward B.
     "Oral Manifestations of HIV Infection," edited by John S. 
Greenspan and Deborah Greenspan, is a service to both the medical
and dental fields, in part because it marks an interdisciplinary 
effort to identify often-ignored medical and dental aspects of 
HIV and AIDS.  The chapters--which were contributed by 
participants in the Second International Workshop on the Oral 
Manifestations of HIV Infection--include descriptions of 
specialized dental facilities that have been built for the 
treatment of AIDS patients, as well as formal reports from 
research laboratories.  The majority of the chapters are grouped 
according to the clinical manifestations of HIV or AIDS in the 
oral cavity, such as candidiasis, salivary-gland disease, and 
Epstein-Barr virus.  One particularly interesting section 
contains six chapters on periodontal disease in the context of 
HIV or AIDS.  Overall, the book clearly conveys a sense of 
urgency in regards to HIV and its path of destruction.
      
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