                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      August 15, 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


************************************************************
"In Italy, Rebels Without a Cure"
"Taking on TB"
"School Study: Condoms Don't Encourage Sex"
"FDA Oks Transplant of Baboon Bone Marrow"
"Americans, Europeans Are Ignorant of STDs"
"Research: Why Do HIV Mothers Give Birth to Non-Infected Babies?"
"Coming Out Day Co-Founder Dies"
"Psychiatry and HIV Hospice Care"
"ER Hath a Way with AIDS"
"FDA Announces Public Workshop and Advisory Subcommittee Meeting 
on Current Issues in AIDS Clinical Trials"
************************************************************

"In Italy, Rebels Without a Cure"
Washington Post (08/15/95) P. D1;  Williams, Daniel
     Since last week's press conference in which three Italian bank 
robbers with AIDS explained their plight, many have questioned 
the law which prohibits their arrest.  "Give me a job, a place to
live, and treatment...and I'll stop robbing," said one member of 
the "AIDS gang."  To change the 1993 law which forbids the 
continued jailing of anyone in the final stages of a terminal 
disease, officials have proposed changes under which a prisoner's
individual circumstances would be taken into account before a 
release was approved.  Therefore, a person with AIDS who is still
able-bodied would probably not be let go.  In addition, funds 
have been set aside to remedy the problem of treating the disease
in jails.  In 1993--when the release law was passed--another 
measure was passed to provide 4,600 hospital beds for AIDS 
patients.  Thus far, however, nothing has been built.
      
"Taking on TB"
Washington Post (Health) (08/15/95) P. 10;  Arnold, Paul
     Directly observed therapy, or DOT, is a relatively new 
tuberculosis (TB) strategy in which health care professionals 
literally watch active TB patients swallow their pills or 
actually give them injections themselves.  The monitored 
treatment is for patients who cannot or will not take their 
medication properly on their own.  Patients who consistently fail
to take their medicine, can develop drug-resistant strains of the
disease and, in turn, transmit potentially fatal strains of 
drug-resistant TB to others.  Nearly two-thirds of D.C. General 
Hospital's Chest Clinic patients are enrolled in the city's DOT 
program.  In other cities, the therapy has had significant 
results and is credited with the first substantial decline in New
York TB cases in 15 years.  "New York targeted unprecedented 
amounts of resources into TB control, largely for DOT.  It is a 
very labor-intensive therapy, but it clearly works," says TB 
expert Lee Reichman, a former president of the American Lung 
Association.  In Washington, D.C., cases of active TB have fallen
from a peak 163 in 1990 when the city began its DOT program, to 
83 this year.
      
"School Study: Condoms Don't Encourage Sex"
Philadelphia Inquirer (08/15/95) P. B1;  Bruch, Laura J.
     Condoms do not appear to make teenagers more promiscuous, said 
Philadelphia school officials on Monday.  Four years ago, 
controversy erupted when condoms were made available in the 
city's high schools.  As a result of the debate, AIDS activists 
threw condoms and the Catholic Church denounced the program, 
which was part of a comprehensive sex-education program to stop 
teenage pregnancy and the spread of HIV.  Officials said Monday, 
however, that random samplings of the teens showed no difference 
in sexual activity among young people at schools where condoms 
are available and at schools where they are not.  Currently, 
seven of Philadelphia's high schools have health resource centers
and two others have complete health clinics.  Students are not 
supposed to be given condoms until they have been counseled about
prophylactic use and responsible sexual behavior.
      
"FDA Oks Transplant of Baboon Bone Marrow"
Washington Times (08/15/95) P. A6
     The U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed on Monday that it
has approved an experiment to inject baboon bone marrow cells 
into an AIDS patient.  Dr. Steven Deeks of the University of 
California at San Francisco said that researchers are currently 
awaiting final safety clearance from a hospital, and intend to 
perform the operation this October.  The theory behind the 
operation is that baboon stem cells, which do not become 
HIV-infected, may help rebuild a human's ravaged immune system.
      
"Americans, Europeans Are Ignorant of STDs"
Washington Post (Health) (08/15/95) P. 5;  Rovner, Sandy
     A survey conducted in France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the United 
Kingdom, and the United States reveals that people in the five 
Western European countries do not know anymore about sexually 
transmitted diseases (STDs) than American adults.  Overall, 30 
percent of the participants said they knew someone with an STD, 
but 33 percent could not name a disease besides HIV/AIDS, 
according to the Gallup Organization poll.  Peggy Clarke, 
president of the American Social Health Association--which 
sponsored the survey--said that "given the global epidemic of 
STDs, there is an alarming lack of knowledge about these 
infections across all the countries surveyed."  More than 40 
percent of the respondents said they learned about STDs from 
television, while books and magazines accounted for 30 percent, 
and just eight percent said they got their information about STDs
from their health care providers.
      
"Research: Why Do HIV Mothers Give Birth to Non-Infected Babies?"
Miami Herald (08/14/95) P. 5B;  Wheat, Jack
     The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has 
awarded researchers at the University of Florida $1.1 million for
their research into why some infants born to HIV-infected mothers
are born with the virus, while others are not.  Lead investigator
Maureen Goodenow, an associate professor of pathology and 
pediatrics, said that several factors--including how advanced the
mother's disease is, and HIV ability to rapidly mutate--explain 
why in 70 percent of the cases, infants born to HIV-positive 
mothers are not infected.  Among their research efforts, Goodenow
and John Sleasman, a professor of immunology and allergy, will 
attempt to determine what the anti-HIV drug AZT does to reduce 
maternal-fetal HIV transmission.
      
"Coming Out Day Co-Founder Dies"
Richmond Times-Dispatch (08/14/95) P. B2
     Psychologist Robert H. Eichberg, who co-founded National Coming 
Out Day in 1988, has died of AIDS-related complications at age 
50.  Eichberg also wrote a book called, "Coming Out: an Act of 
Love," which describes how people reveal their homosexuality.  
"His whole life's work was about bridging the gap between gay and
nongay communities, allowing people to discover who they are, and
really encouraging them to go out and do something with that 
knowledge," said Lynn Shepodd, president of the Santa Fe Lesbian,
Gay, and Bi Pride Committee.  Eichberg's activism began 20 years 
ago when he established a political action committee for 
homosexual and women's rights in Los Angeles.  National Coming 
Out Day is celebrated each year on Oct. 11.
     
"Psychiatry and HIV Hospice Care"
Focus (07/95) Vol. 10, No. 8, P. 5;  Fryer, John E.
     Hospices in the United States and the United Kingdom have been 
well developed, but in many ways overlook the psychiatric needs 
of their patients, writes professor John E. Fryer of Temple 
University.  Fryer visited several U.S. and U.K. HIV hospices, 
and found that a well-trained psychiatrist, experienced in HIV 
and palliative care, could vastly increase the quality of life 
for a person dying of AIDS.  All too frequently, for example, a 
condition was simply described "AIDS dementia," when a 
psychiatrist's more in-depth analysis might have shown several 
causes that go deeper than the original diagnosis.  According to 
Fryer, the U.S. hospices were less professionally focused and 
used fewer psychiatrists than the United Kingdom.  One hospice 
professional suggested this may be based on a desire not to 
"pathologize" residents' problems.  Psychiatrists, however, offer
the perspective of a doctor who is trained to evaluate a patient 
both physically and mentally, which allows a more specific 
understanding of the effects of such issues as grief, 
opportunistic infections, and the effects of HIV treatment, Fryer
concludes.
      
"ER Hath a Way with AIDS"
POZ (08/95-09/95) No. 9, P. 35;  Meers, Erik Ashok
     NBC's new medical drama, ER, has received record-breaking ratings
and has exposed millions of viewers to AIDS storylines and 
characters dealing with HIV-related issues.  Eight of last 
season's 25 episodes featured AIDS.  "We try to deal with HIV in 
a number of ways," says Neal Baer, a fourth year Harvard medical 
student on leave to write for the show.  During one program, for 
example, a man enters the emergency room with his fiancee and a 
bad case of hiccups.  After conducting tests, the doctor asks to 
speak to privately with the man, who declares he has no secrets 
from his bride-to-be.  The two then learn that the hiccups were 
caused by AIDS-related abscesses on the man's liver.  This 
episode, based on several cases that Baer has seen, explores the 
medical and ethical demands of AIDS on both patient and doctor.  
Fans of the popular show can expect to see continued coverage of 
AIDS in the coming season.  "HIV is a big fact of life and I 
expect it will continue to be a big part of the show," says Baer.
      
"FDA Announces Public Workshop and Advisory Subcommittee Meeting 
on Current Issues in AIDS Clinical Trials"
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (08/01/95)
     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) 874-4572.
      
