                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      September 8, 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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"Disability Claims May Be Roadblock for ADA Suits"
"Wind-Up Radio Puts Africans in the Know"
"The TV Column: For the Second Year in a Row"
"Doctors Revise Views on Anti-Tuberculosis Drug"
"Interferon Sciences Completes $14.4 Million Public Offering and 
Announces Clinical Status"
"U.S. Guidelines on Fungal Infections and HIV Infection"
"AZT and Cardiomyopathy"
"Risk and Depression in Black Women"
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"Disability Claims May Be Roadblock for ADA Suits"
Wall Street Journal (09/08/95) P. B2;  McMorris, Frances A.
     Some courts believe that dismissed employees who apply for 
disability benefits should be prohibited from suing their 
employers for discrimination under the Americans with 
Disabilities Act (ADA).  In the most recent decision, a federal 
judge rejected a lawsuit filed by Leonard McNemar--an assistant 
store manager in Cherry Hill, N.J., who has AIDS--because after 
being fired, he applied for Social Security disability benefits. 
Essentially, the court ruled that McNemar could not have it all. 
However, a judge ruled in a similar case last year that a 
loan-collections manager with AIDS who was fired by his mortgage 
firm and then received Social Security benefits was allowed to 
pursue his case.  The judge held that his claim was not 
inconsistent with his application for benefits.  Critics of the 
McNemar ruling say that if more courts adopt that kind of 
reasoning, employers could have a powerful way to fight 
discrimination claims.  Having a case dismissed before it even 
reaches a jury would defeat a key goal of the ADA, they claim.
      
"Wind-Up Radio Puts Africans in the Know"
Reuters (09/08/95);  Bosch, Marius
     A new wind-up radio, whose power is based on the principle used 
in the gramophone years ago, is bringing news and music to many 
powerless Africans.  The radio, powered by a wind-up spring which
activates an internal generator, is ideal for rural parts of the 
continent where there are no power lines or batteries are too 
expensive.  Aid organizations view the gadget as a useful way to 
spread health information, especially about AIDS and other 
diseases, to remote regions.  Inventor Trevor Baylis developed 
the idea for the radio while watching a documentary on AIDS in 
Africa, where poor communications have hampered prevention and 
education efforts.
      
"The TV Column: For the Second Year in a Row"
Washington Post (09/08/95) P. F6;  Carmody, John
     For the second consecutive year, Washington, D.C.'s local NBC 
affiliate Channel 4 has joined the Whitman-Walker Clinic in 
promoting AIDSWALK Washington, which will be held Sept. 23 on the
Mall.  The clinic hopes to increase the $1.3 million raised in 
1994's AIDSWALK to $1.7 million this year.  "We're especially 
needful this year," said spokeswoman Marcia Levy," since the 
District government is more than 45 days late with about $750,000
we'd been promised."  Levy estimated that the Whitman-Walker 
Clinic cares for about two out of three AIDS patients in the 
metropolitan region.  Channel 4 has provided more than $50,000 
worth of services, air time, and support, Levy said.
      
"Doctors Revise Views on Anti-Tuberculosis Drug"
Reuters (09/07/95)
     Thiacetazone, an important tuberculosis-fighting drug whose use 
has been limited by reports of extreme adverse reactions, may 
have fewer harmful effects than previously thought, physicians 
report.  According to the medical journal The Lancet, which 
published the research, the finding is particularly useful for 
developing countries because the drug is one of the most 
cost-effective available.  In a year-long study in Tanzania, the 
number of deaths caused by adverse skin reactions to thiacetazone
was much lower than earlier reported in Africa.  Hans Rieder, the
Swiss physician who led the research, said it was not likely that
under-reporting of harmful effects would account for the results.
      
      
"Interferon Sciences Completes $14.4 Million Public Offering and 
Announces Clinical Status"
Business Wire (09/07/95)
     Interferon Sciences, Inc. has completed the sale of 12 million 
shares of common stock for a total of $14.4 million, excluding 
fees and expenses.  The transactions followed a best efforts 
public offering of between 6.5 million and 12 million common 
stock shares at a public offering price of $1.20 per share.  The 
biopharmaceutical company is currently developing an injectable 
version of its Natural Alpha Interferon for potential use in such
disorders as HIV and hepatitis C.  One of the company's three 
Phase II, multi-center randomized trials is investigating the use
of injectable Natural Alpha Interferon for the treatment of 
AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma.
      
"U.S. Guidelines on Fungal Infections and HIV Infection"
Lancet (09/02/95) Vol. 346, No. 8975, P. 630;  McCarthy, Michael
     Although most HIV-infected individuals experience oral candidosis
at some point during infection, disseminated candidosis with 
candidaemia is unusual.  In its new guidelines on the diagnosis 
and treatment of fungal infections, the American Thoracic Society
explains that the reason for this may be that these individuals' 
relatively intact polymorphonuclear and humorally mediated 
immunity are able to stave off disseminated disease.  In 
addition, the society advises that orapharyngeal candidosis be 
treated with clotrimazole lozenges, ketoconazole or fluconazole, 
despite the fact that the benefit of oral systemic therapy over 
local therapy has not yet been proven.  Esophageal candidosis 
should be treated with systemic therapy, particularly 
fluconazole.  According to the report, amphotericin B (AMB) 
should be given to those patients not responding to fluconazole. 
For cryptococcosis, the most common systemic fungal disease in 
HIV-infected persons, aggressive antifungal therapy must be given
at the beginning to control the infection, and life-long 
suppressive treatment may be required to prevent relapse.  The 
report recommends AMB as the primary therapy for most patients.  
Fluconazole is an alternative, but the report cautions that this 
therapy does not sterilize the cerebrospinal fluid rapidly, and 
thus, AMB should be considered for those at high risk of death.
      
"AZT and Cardiomyopathy"
AIDS Clinical Care (09/95) Vol. 7, No. 9, P. 77
     To determine whether AZT corrupts cardiac mitochondria as it does
in mitochondria found in skeletal muscle, researchers from the 
National Cancer Institute studied the serial echocardiograms of 
more than 130 HIV-infected children.  Blinded observers reviewed 
the echocardiograms for left-ventricular (LV) dysfunction, and 
then calculated a shortening fraction or a qualitative impression
of LV function on 2D echo.  Fifty-two of the children, who ranged
from four months to seven years old, were initially receiving 
AZT, while 13 took ddI and another took both.  The use of AZT was
strongly associated with reduced LV function, though no such 
association was determined for ddI.  These results support the 
theory that AZT, not HIV or other factors of the disease, caused 
the cardiac dysfunction.  The scientists advise clinicians to be 
aware of LV impairment in children receiving AZT, and to stop 
treatment if any symptoms develop.
      
"Risk and Depression in Black Women"
Focus (08/95) Vol. 10, No. 9, P. 7
     An analysis of women's health centers in Baltimore shows that 
women with symptoms of depression were much more likely than 
women without these symptoms to engage in HIV-associated risk 
behaviors.  In the study, which was published in AIDS Education 
and Prevention, more than 170 primarily African-American women 
responded to a survey which determined risk factors and 
depressive symptoms.  The researchers used the Center for 
Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), which rates 
scores higher than 16 as indicative of significant depressive 
symptoms.  About half of the participants received scores of at 
least 16.  These women reported greater risk exposure through 
their sex partners than women who scored under 16.
      
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