                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      August 17, 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


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"Early Use of AIDS Drug Is Termed Ineffective"
"India Seen as Ground Zero in Spread of AIDS to Asia"
"BioChem Shareholders Put Their Faith in 3TC"
"New Strategies Against Virus"
"Across the USA: Ohio"
"Marvin Kristal, Worker's Comp Lawyer and AIDS Activist"
"Alan Jackson Tops Country Music Nominees"
"Foreign Aid Cuts Threaten National and International Health, 
Experts Say"
"CPCRA to Use Viral Load as Markers for Treatment"
"The Effects of Vitamin A Supplementation on the Morbidity of 
Children Born to HIV-Infected Women"
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"Early Use of AIDS Drug Is Termed Ineffective"
New York Times (08/17/95) P. A15
     A new long-term study of more than 1,600 HIV-infected individuals
reveals that early treatment with AZT does not help prevent AIDS.
In The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Paul Volberding of 
San Francisco General Hospital and his team in the AIDS Clinical 
Trials Group report that there was essentially no difference in 
the death rate of asymptomatic patients who had more than 500 CD4
cells and received AZT, and in patients who received the drug 
only after their CD4 level fell below 500.  In addition, AZT did 
not retard the development of AIDS symptoms.  The researchers 
conclude that AZT "is not routinely indicated until the CD4 cell 
count declines below 500 per cubic millimeter," but warned that 
the results should not be applied to patients who have more than 
500 CD4 cells and symptoms of AIDS.  However, a second smaller 
study published in the medical journal found that HIV-infected 
patients who received AZT early on were less likely to develop 
some HIV-related illnesses.  Related Stories: Washington Post 
(08/17) P. A3; USA Today (08/17) P. 1D
      
"India Seen as Ground Zero in Spread of AIDS to Asia"
Washington Post (08/17/95) P. A20;  Anderson, John Ward
     India has more HIV carriers than any other country, according to 
some estimates.  "Many experts now believe that India will soon 
have the unfortunate distinction of being the AIDS capital of the
world," says Columbia University economist and AIDS specialist 
David Bloom.  The World Health Organization and the Indian 
government estimate that there are about 80,000 cases of AIDS in 
the country and 1.5 million people who are infected with HIV.  
Experts, however, predict that by the year 2000, 1 million will 
have AIDS and 5 million will be HIV-positive.  Although AIDS came
late to Asia compared to the rest of the world, it is now rushing
into an undeveloped region with an undereducated people, who 
represent more than half of the total world population.  The 
disease is spreading primarily through heterosexual contact, as 
well as injection drug use and professional blood donors.  
Truckers are especially important "because they are the link 
between the general population and the high-risk groups," such as
prostitutes, said Asha Rao of the Bhoruka Research Center for 
Hematology and Blood Transfusion.
      
"BioChem Shareholders Put Their Faith in 3TC"
Financial Times (08/17/95) P. 14;  Simon, Bernard
     Montreal-based BioChem Pharma and its shareholders are putting 
their faith in 3TC, which appears to block HIV with fewer 
dangerous side effects than other drugs, and in lamivudine, which
has been called a breakthrough hepatitis B therapy.  This year, 
the company's shares have skyrocketed from $12.25 to nearly $32 
on the Nasdaq over-the-counter market.  The company now has a 
$1.5 billion market value, despite sales of less than $73 million
in 1994 and losses in each of the last five years.  Yet Larry 
Woods of the Niagara Hedge Fund in southern Ontario has urged his
clients to sell their BioChem shares due to concerns ranging from
skimpy real-life clinical trials of 3TC to the risk that the 
market may be limited by using 3TC in combination instead of 
individually.
      
"New Strategies Against Virus"
USA Today (08/17/95) P. 1D
     A new understanding of how HIV functions is stimulating the 
search for a treatment.  Although scientists used to think that 
HIV slowly worked its way through the immune system, a recent 
study indicates that HIV attacks aggressively and does not let 
up.  Dr. David Ho of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in 
New York City says that administering potent antiviral drugs 
before HIV has an opportunity to reproduce many times over and 
develop drug-resistant strains may increase the immune system's 
ability to survive.
      
"Across the USA: Ohio"
USA Today (08/17/95) P. 9A
     The Supreme Court of Ohio has ruled that a woman who was 
mistakenly told she had HIV cannot sue despite the fact that she 
suffered emotionally.  The justices said that not every wrong is 
deserving of a legal solution.
      
"Marvin Kristal, Worker's Comp Lawyer and AIDS Activist"
Miami Herald (08/16/95) P. 4B;  Franco, Debra
     AIDS activist Marvin Jon Kristal died of AIDS on Saturday at age 
46.  A partner in the Miami law firm Druckman, Kristal, and 
Breslow since 1976, Kristal provided free legal help to poor AIDS
patients, helping them navigate the web of bureaucracy to obtain 
benefits.  "He was beneficial in getting word to the community 
that services are available," according to Sandra Druckman, wife 
of  Kristal's partner, Ira Druckman.  "He recognized this disease
was a scourge on all of society, not just the gay community."  In
addition, Kristal served as the first chairman for ANTRA--a 
fundraising branch of the University of Miami's School of 
Medicine--and was a member of the board for Action to Aids, 
offering pro bono legal services.  Kristal is survived by his 
parents and his sister.
      
"Alan Jackson Tops Country Music Nominees"
Miami Herald (08/16/95) P. 10A;  Cohen, Howard
     Traditionalist Alan Jackson led the pack on Tuesday with six 
nominations for the 29th Annual Country Music Association Awards.
Host Vince Gill is competing for Entertainer of the Year against 
multiple-nominee Reba McEntire and her poignant AIDS awareness 
song "She Thinks His Name Was John."
      
"Foreign Aid Cuts Threaten National and International Health, 
Experts Say"
Nation's Health (08/95) Vol. 25, No. 7, P. 5
     Some public health experts claim that U.S. budget cuts to several
international health programs could perpetuate countries' 
differences in health care and access.  In July, the House passed
the Foreign Aid appropriations bill which would eliminate $230 
million, or nearly 40 percent, from current international health 
programs.  The only programs to remain untouched are AIDS and 
Child Survival.  Analysts say that the others would be cut by as 
much as 95 percent.  Such budget cuts could seriously hinder the 
recommendations made by the National Science and Technology's 
Committee on International Science in its recent report, 
"Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases."  In the report, 
experts detailed the continuing danger of infectious diseases and
the importance of surveillance and research in fighting them.
      
"CPCRA to Use Viral Load as Markers for Treatment"
AIDS Alert (08/95) Vol. 10, No. 8, P. 105
     The Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS (CPCRA) has 
designed a protocol that will for the first time use viral load 
measurements in making treatment determinations.  "Other studies 
have looked at the role of viral burden, but this would be the 
first to make treatment changes based on viral burden," said the 
director of the AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta and 
chairperson of the CPCRA study, Melanie Thompson, of the two-year
trial that is scheduled to begin this month.  Viral load testing 
has not been approved for commercial use and its benefits have 
not been confirmed, but some doctors and their patients are using
a diagnostic tool for "research" purposes.  Ultimately, 
viral-load testing could increase the ability to predict the 
clinical outcome of drugs.  For now, however, viral load's 
connection to clinical outcome is mostly speculative.  "There is 
a glimmer that maybe reducing viral load improves clinical 
outcomes," said the National Institute of Allergies and 
Infectious Diseases' Lawrence Deyton, who feels that Thompson's 
trial may provide some of the answers needed to reach a 
conclusion.
      
"The Effects of Vitamin A Supplementation on the Morbidity of 
Children Born to HIV-Infected Women"
American Journal of Public Health (08/95) Vol. 85, No. 8, P. 
1076;  Coutsoudis, Anna;  Bobat, Raziya A.;  Coovadia, Hoosen M. 
et al.
     To determine the effects of vitamin A supplementation on the 
morbidity of children born to HIV-infected women, Coutsoudis et 
al. conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled study of 118 
infants in Durban, South Africa.  Among all the children, the 
vitamin A supplemented group had a reduced average morbidity.  
The rates of morbidity for those receiving supplementation were 
lower for almost every condition when assessed individually.  
Also in the supplemented group, all diarrhea was reduced by 29 
percent, diarrhea lasting more than 7 days was reduced by 38 
percent, and hospital admissions for diarrhea declined by 77 
percent.  Among the 85 children whose HIV status was known, 
diarrhea-related morbidity was almost reduced by half in the 
supplemented HIV-infected group.  Vitamin A, however, had no 
effect on diarrheal morbidity in the uninfected children.  The 
researchers concluded that, in a population where vitamin A 
deficiency is not endemic, vitamin A supplementation for the 
children of HIV-infected women appeared to be beneficial and to 
reduce morbidity.  This benefit was particularly diarrheal 
morbidity among HIV-infected children.
      
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