UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
|
| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
|
AIDS Daily Summary
March 4, 1997
The CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention makes
available the following information as a public service only.
Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the
CDC. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may
not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse should be
cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996,
Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
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"Unit Gets FDA Approval for Genital-Warts Therapy"
"Researchers Say Drug Helps AIDS Patients Live Longer"
"Facing the Questions of Medical Marijuana"
"A Trek Across U.S. to Help AIDS Children"
"'Morning After' Pill for AIDS"
"Revocation of Needle-Exchange Ban in U.S. Called Urgent Public
Health Priority"
"Marijuana Advocates Say San Jose, Calif. Club Will Still Open"
"Hodgkin's Disease May Be an AIDS-Defining Illness"
"AIDS and the British Healthcare System"
"Taking Control"
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"Unit Gets FDA Approval for Genital-Warts Therapy"
Wall Street Journal (03/04/97) P. B4
A division of Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing has been
given clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market a
treatment for genital warts, a sexually transmitted disease. The
company said that Aldara (imiquimod) offers some advantages over
most current treatments, although no cure for the condition is
available. Genital warts often go into remission and reappear
years later. Approximately 750,000 new cases of the highly
contagious viral disease occur in the United States each year.
"Researchers Say Drug Helps AIDS Patients Live Longer"
Baltimore Sun (03/04/97) P. 2A
A drug used to treat overdoses of the pain reliever
acetaminophen may help AIDS patients live longer, Stanford
University researchers report in the Journal of the National
Academy of Sciences. The researchers found that patients treated
with N-acetylcysteine, or NAC, survived longer than those who did
not receive the drug.
"Facing the Questions of Medical Marijuana"
Miami Herald (03/03/97) P. 1A; Smith, Stephen
As the national debate over the medical use of marijuana
continues, eight people across the country are receiving 300
joints a month as part of a federal program. Cancer patient Irvin
Rosenfeld of Boca Raton, FL, is one of the eight and says he feels
that "without the marijuana, I would be dead. And I'm still a
good and productive member of society." The federal government
has opposed state initiatives to legalize marijuana for medical
use--a policy that has been criticized by the New England Journal
of Medicine, which called federal prohibitions "misguided,
heavy-handed, and inhumane." A synthetic form of THC, the major
active ingredient in marijuana, has been found to be beneficial
for patients with AIDS and cancer. Although THC is available as
the medicine Marinol, advocates of medical marijuana say that
smoked marijuana is more effective.
"A Trek Across U.S. to Help AIDS Children"
Houston Chronicle (03/03/97) P. 13A; Milling, T.J.
Louie Rochon, 43, is undertaking a cross-country walk to
benefit the Children with AIDS Project, a charity he chose after
hearing several stories of children who were discriminated
against because they were HIV-positive. "Every kid, even if
they're going to die, deserves a loving home," he said. Rochon,
who started the walk in Miami on Sept. 16, is now 1,200 miles
into the 5,200-mile trek, which will end in Seattle. Rochon said
he decided to make the journey "because I was asking myself,
'What's the meaning of life? Can one man make a difference?'"
"'Morning After' Pill for AIDS"
United Press International (03/03/97); Wasowicz, Lidia
A study to test the efficacy of "morning-after" drug therapy
for people who are accidentally exposed to HIV is slated to begin
soon in San Francisco. As part of the trial, researchers at the
San Francisco General Hospital will recruit individuals exposed
to HIV as the result of one incident of risky behavior. The
study participants will receive a 30-day supply of AZT and 3TC,
with the hope that the treatment may prevent the virus from
taking hold. HIV prevention advocates warn that the therapy
could reverse the trend toward safe behaviors, but researchers
say the strategy is worthwhile. Studies of similar preventive
therapy for health care workers who are accidentally exposed to
HIV on the job have shown that the drugs dramatically reduce the
risk of infection.
"Revocation of Needle-Exchange Ban in U.S. Called Urgent Public
Health Priority"
Reuters (03/03/97)
Nearly 10,000 HIV infections in the United States could have
been prevented between 1987 and 1995 if needle exchange programs
had been established, report Drs. Peter Lurie and Ernest Drucker
in this week's issue of the Lancet. Lurie, of the University of
California at San Francisco, and Drucker, of Montefiore in the
Bronx, estimate that between 4,394 and 9,666 preventable HIV
infections occurred during this time period and that 88 percent
of these infections were tied to injection drug users. The
researchers also estimated that the U.S. health care system would
spend between $244 million and $538 million on the infected
individuals. They say that if the ban on the use of federal
funds for needle exchanges is not lifted by 2000, the number of
new preventable HIV infections will reach between 5,150 and
11,329.
"Marijuana Advocates Say San Jose, Calif., Club Will Still Open"
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (03/03/97); Mercado, Tony
A proposed cannabis buyers' club will open in San Jose,
CA, and has received a $5,000 donation from a member of the San
Francisco club, according to activists Peter Baez and Jesse
Garcia. The money will be used to purchase a computer and photo
identification camera to keep clients on file. The donor
reportedly has AIDS and has had to travel to Santa Cruz to get
marijuana. Baez and Garcia discounted recent reports that the
owner of the building where the club is to be located has
withdrawn his offer to have marijuana legally sold out of his
residence.
"Hodgkin's Disease May Be an AIDS-Defining Illness"
Reuters (03/03/97)
Italian researchers have reported findings that support U.S.
studies suggesting that an excess incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma
and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas is found in HIV patients. The
Italian study also revealed that HIV-positive patients have a
higher incidence of Hodgkin's disease compared with the general
population. Dr. Diego Serraino of Aviano and colleagues reported
that Hodgkin's disease was 38 times more frequent in HIV
patients. As a result, Serraino said that the "question [of
whether the disease should at least be considered for the list of
AIDS-defining illnesses] deserves serious attention."
"AIDS and the British Healthcare System"
Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS
Care (02/97) Vol. 3, No. 2, P. 34; Youle, Mike
A variety of competing health-related pressures in the
United Kingdom indicate that the country's response to the AIDS
epidemic appears threatened and may not be adequate to implement
new advances in treatment, according to Mike Youle, associate
specialist and clinical trials coordinator in HIV medicine at the
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. The UK budget for
AIDS treatment in 1997-1998 has been increased by 7.7 percent,
after being cut by 8 percent in 1996. The UK has one of Europe's
least serious AIDS epidemics, possibly due to the success of
early prevention efforts in the gay community and the
introduction of needle exchange programs in 1987. The British
National Health Service is also credited with establishing a
network of clinics and specialist services for gay men, which
developed into HIV clinics. These centers bridge the gap between
primary and secondary HIV prevention, and focus on sexually
transmitted disease prevention and treatment for HIV patients.
However, these centers have also led to the localization of
funding and treatment standards, which may contribute to the low
level of antiretroviral use. Moreover, UK hospitals are
increasingly being faced with HIV-infected Africans and Asians,
challenging facilities that have largely treated gay men in the
past. Because of the ease with which EU nationals can obtain
treatment in the country, people diagnosed in Great Britain are
significantly less likely to go back to their home countries for
care. Other potential problems, Youle notes, are the lack of
widespread HIV testing in the United Kingdom, as compared to the
United States and Australia, and what some claim to be a culture
of dependency created by the British health and welfare system.
"Taking Control"
Emerge (03/97) Vol. 8, No. 5, P. 57; Norris, Michele L.
Rae Lewis-Thornton, an African American spokeswoman for HIV
prevention, says she decided to talk publicly about her disease,
after living with HIV for 10 years, because she wanted to help
eliminate the shame and stigma surrounding AIDS. Lewis-Thornton
has relied on success throughout her life to deal with pain--the
abuse she suffered at home, the rape she suffered in college, and
now, the effects of AIDS. Despite setbacks, she went on to earn
a college degree and was hired to work for Jesse Jackson's 1984
and 1988 presidential campaigns and for Carol Moseley-Braun's
senatorial campaign. However, bouts of pneumonia for which she
has been hospitalized have forced her to face the pain of AIDS.
Her husband of two years, Kenny Thornton, has helped her remain
active as much as possible, quitting his job to care for
Lewis-Thornton and manage her speaking schedule. When speaking
to audiences, Lewis-Thornton uses her polished good looks to
capture her audience's attention, then exposes them to the darker
images of AIDS--the herpes, hemorrhoids, depression, and fatigue.
"People need to hear the crudeness of AIDS," she says, "I don't
want people to become deceived ... I want people walking away
saying, 'I don't ever want to get AIDS.'"