                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      December 7, 1994

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS
Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public
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Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"A Chance to Talk Openly"
"On the Fridge"
"Hunt in Forests of Borneo Aims to Track Down Natural Drugs"
"Dr. David E. Rogers, 68, a Leader in Medical Education and the 
Fight on AIDS, Dies"
"AIDS-Day Reports Dodged the Truth"
"Viagene Initiates World's First Efficacy Study of a Gene 
Transfer Product"
"Medarex Receives Approval to Begin AIDS Study in France"
"Phase I/II Trial Results of Immunogen's Oncolysin (R)B in AIDS 
Lymphoma Reported at Am. Society of Hematology--Subsequent Study 
Under Way"
"Randomised Trial of Thiacetazone and Rifampicin-Containing 
Regimens for Pulmonary Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Ugandans"
"Protease Inhibitors--Task Force Proposed"
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"A Chance to Talk Openly"
Washington Post (12/07/94) P. A1;  O'Harrow Jr., Robert
     Critics say that Virginia Gov. George Allen's proposal to make 
sex education an option for local school systems would give the 
state one of the most conservative sex education policies in the 
country.  There would also be a great difference in what school 
districts teach.  Many parents, students, and teachers are 
worried that the plan--to be considered by the General Assembly 
next year--will lead to an information gap among teenagers at a 
time when AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, and 
pregnancy are rampant.  In announcing his plan, Allen said he 
wanted to put more focus on core subjects and he wanted to give 
parents a hand in preventing children from being taught values 
that are different from their own.  The plan would not eliminate 
health classes, but critics are worried that without a state 
regulation, the most controversial topics would not be presented.
In defense of the current sex education program--which some say 
imposes too many questionable values on students--one father 
noted that many parents are not comfortable talking about topics 
such as AIDS or sex.  The children are often just as 
uncomfortable, he added.
      
"On the Fridge"
Washington Post (12/07/94) P. E3
     Quartermaine's in the Washington, D.C., area will donate all 
proceeds from the sale of its Jamaican eastern Blue Mountain 
coffee to two local charities: the D.C. Central Kitchen, which 
prepares food for the homeless, and Food & Friends, which 
provides free fresh meals to homebound people with HIV/AIDS.
      
"Hunt in Forests of Borneo Aims to Track Down Natural Drugs"
New York Times (12/06/94) P. C4;  Shenon, Philip
     Reports from the National Cancer Institute indicate that a 
substance found in a Malaysian tree called Calophyllum lanigerum 
destroys HIV in a test tube without killing healthy cells.  The 
material is now being tested on mice at the institute.  Extracts 
from a gum tree in the Borneo jungle, a vine found in West 
Africa, and a shrub native to western Australia are also being 
tested on animals for their potential as anti-HIV agents.  To 
date, the institutes natural-products program has identified two 
cancer agents, both from the sea.
      
"Dr. David E. Rogers, 68, a Leader in Medical Education and the 
Fight on AIDS, Dies"
New York Times (12/06/94) P. D23;  Altman, Lawrence K.
     Leading scientist, medical educator, and co-chairman of the 
National Commission on AIDS, Dr. David E. Rogers, died of colon 
cancer at age 68 on Monday.  Despite his illness, Rogers left the
hospital last Friday to receive an award from the Visiting Nurse 
Service of New York for his national leadership role in fighting 
AIDS and other infectious diseases and for the innovations in the
way foundations made health grants.  Rogers was a strong advocate
for protecting the confidentiality of AIDS patients.  As head of 
the $1.2 billion Robert Wood Johnson Foundation from 1972 until 
1987, he was credited with creating the most systematic 
evaluation of projects of any foundation and brought new 
standards of accountability and evaluation to the programs.  
Rogers is survived by his wife and three children.
      
"AIDS-Day Reports Dodged the Truth"
Toronto Globe and Mail (12/05/94) P. C2;  Coren, Michael
     While many stories on World AIDS Day spoke of how hard AIDS has 
hit the artists of the world, for an overwhelming majority, their
sexuality was neglected, writes Michael Coren in an editorial.  
Coren questions why this important aspect was omitted because the
media are not unaware of the fact; they do not assume that the 
readers already know of it; and it is not because they believe 
sexual inclination is irrelevant.  Although ad campaigns, health 
activists, and news organizations repeatedly state that AIDS is 
not confined to any one group, the reality in North America and 
Europe is that gay men are the one community that has been 
devastated.  There is a fear of stereotyping or marginalizing, 
but it is journalism's duty to report the truth.  It is doubtful 
that avoiding mentioning the homosexuality of the artists who 
have died of AIDS will spare the artist's memories, their 
relatives, and the public from grief.  The truth is fundamental, 
concludes Coren.
      
"Viagene Initiates World's First Efficacy Study of a Gene 
Transfer Product"
PR Newswire (12/05/94)
     Viagene, Inc. has initiated the world's first phase II study of a
gene transfer product, HIV-IT (V), which is used to treat HIV 
infection.  "This is the largest and the most clinically advanced
gene transfer study ever to be initiated and should clearly 
signal that gene therapy is today's, rather than tomorrow's, 
technology," said Robert T. Abbott, president and CEO of Viagene.
The placebo-controlled triple-blinded study of approximately 190 
HIV-infected participants will use a random dose of HIV-IT (V), 
which will be randomly assigned within three treatment levels 
based on CD4 cell counts.  Expected to lead to a cytotoxic 
T-lymphocyte response, HIV-IT (V) is a non-replicating murine 
retrovector designed to deliver the env and the rev genes of 
HIV-1 to healthy non-HIV-infected cells.  Thus far, the product 
has been used in four phase I studies without any adverse 
product-related effects.
      
"Medarex Receives Approval to Begin AIDS Study in France"
Business Wire (12/05/94)
     Medarex Inc. announced on Monday that France's Agence du 
Medicament has given it permission to commence Phase I/II studies
of its AIDS Bispecific MDX-240 in France.  The French studies, 
under the direction of Jean-Louis Pasquali, will join ongoing 
studies in Brussels.  Pasquali is a professor of clinical 
immunology at Hopital Universitaire in Strasbourg.  Pre-clinical 
studies have shown that MDX-240 triggers the killing function of 
immune cells, causing the destruction of HIV and infected cells.
      
"Phase I/II Trial Results of Immunogen's Oncolysin (R)B in AIDS 
Lymphoma Reported at Am. Society of Hematology--Subsequent Study 
Under Way"
PR Newswire (12/05/94)
     Results of Phase I/II studies of ImmunoGen Inc.'s Oncolysin B 
were reported on Monday at a meeting of the American Society of 
Hematology.  The data showed that Oncolysin B was well tolerated 
as an adjunct to conventional chemotherapy in patients with 
AIDS-related lymphoma.  The principal investigator in the Phase 
I/II studies was David T. Scadden of Deaconess Hospital, Harvard 
Medical School.  ImmunoGen has now launched a pilot study to 
further examine the drug in this application and other studies 
are currently underway to test the drug against lymphoma and 
leukemia.
      
"Randomised Trial of Thiacetazone and Rifampicin-Containing 
Regimens for Pulmonary Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Ugandans"
Lancet (11/12/94) Vol. 344, No. 8933, P. 1323;  Okwera, A.;  
Whalen, C.;  Byekwaso, F. et al
     In a randomized clinical trial of HIV-infected patients with 
active pulmonary tuberculosis, researchers studied the safety and
short-term efficacy of thiacetazone and rifampicin-containing 
regimens.  Thiacetazone has been associated with cutaneous 
hypersensitivity and recurrent tuberculosis among HIV-positive 
patients receiving treatment for active tuberculosis.  A total of
191 HIV-positive adult Ugandan participants with acid-fast 
bacilli sputum smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis received 
isoniazid, rifampicin, and pyrazinamide for two months followed 
by isoniazid and rifampicin for seven months (a regimen known as 
RHZ) or streptomycin, thiacetazone, and isoniazid for two months 
followed by thiacetazone and isoniazid for 10 months (a regimen 
called STH).  The overall one-year rate of survival for the two 
regimens was similar but the relative risk of death for STH 
compared to RHZ--when controlled for baseline differences in 
Mantoux reaction size and absolute lymphocyte count--was 1.57.  A
greater percentage of RHZ patients compared to STH patients had 
sterilized their sputum within two months.  The researchers 
recommend that rifampicin-containing regimens be given to 
HIV-infected patients in developing countries to reduce drug 
toxicity and to extend survival.
      
"Protease Inhibitors--Task Force Proposed"
AIDS Treatment News (11/04/94) No. 210, P. 1
     While attending October's meeting of the National Task Force on 
AIDS Drug Development, New York AIDS activist Jules Levin 
proposed the establishment of a high-level task force on protease
inhibitors.  Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner 
David A. Kessler and Philip R. Lee, Assistant Secretary for 
Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, both 
strongly supported the suggestion.  Dr. Kessler proposed a 
special meeting of the National Task Force in early 1995 devoted 
solely to protease inhibitors and said that their development is 
the most important work the National Task Force can do now.  Some
of the issues that Levin suggested for the Protease Task Force 
include potential drug interactions between the protease 
inhibitors and other medications used by AIDS patients, what 
markers of safety and efficacy will be used in trials, and the 
need for expanded access for those with more advanced HIV.
      
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