                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      December 7, 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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"Proteins That May Slow Pace of AIDS Identified, Opening New 
Research Path"
"Clinton Pledges to Protect AIDS Funding"
"Clinton Slammed on AIDS Efforts"
"Bills Propose Tough Curbs for On-Line Obscenity"
"Abbott Labs Drug Is Found Promising in 2 AIDS Studies"
"Group Calls AIDS a 'Slow Plague' Ravaging Africa"
"Testing Is Ruled Out on Stabbing Needle"
"Parents Slam Schools for Condom Handouts"
"France Backs Off Promise to Boost UN AIDS Programme"
"AIDS Update: A Spitting Image of HIV"
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"Proteins That May Slow Pace of AIDS Identified, Opening New 
Research Path"
Wall Street Journal (12/07/95) P. B8;  Langreth, Robert
     Two separate groups of researchers report that they have 
identified four suppressor proteins that may slow AIDS 
progression.  The findings will likely ignite intense competition
among medical researchers to determine whether new treatments can
be created using the proteins.  "This is an important advance 
toward understanding how the body might protect itself against 
the spread of the AIDS virus," commented Anthony Fauci, head of 
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  "It 
definitely opens up new avenues of [drug] research."  The first 
team, led by the University of Maryland's Dr. Robert C. Gallo, 
identified three closely related proteins from human immune 
cells.  When combined in a test tube with HIV, the proteins 
worked together to stop the virus from duplicating.  Gallo said 
his team now has increased understanding as to how the suppressor
proteins may function and will initiate animal tests to determine
whether protein-based therapies are feasible.  Separately, 
Michael Baier and his colleagues at Germany's Paul Ehrlick 
Institute say they have isolated a fourth suppressor protein, one
which appears to be unrelated to Gallo's three and turns out to 
be a previously identified substance known as interleukin 16.  
The findings of Gallo's team will be reported in next week's 
issue of Science, and Baier's study will be published in this 
week's Nature.  Related Stories: New York Times (12/07) P. A1; 
Washington Post (12/07) P. A1; Philadelphia Inquirer (12/07) P. 
A1; Washington Times (12/07) P. A16; USA Today (12/07) P. 1D
      
"Clinton Pledges to Protect AIDS Funding"
Washington Post (12/07/95) P. A26;  Devroy, Ann
     During the first White House conference on AIDS on Wednesday, 
President Clinton vowed to safeguard funding and health care 
programs for AIDS patients.  An undertone of the conference and a
complaint of protestors outside was that although Clinton has 
done more than any other president to fight the disease, it has 
not been sufficient.  After making the opening remarks, Clinton 
joined a discussion about needle-sharing among drug users, 
mandatory HIV testing for pregnant women, and pediatric AIDS.  
The president announced that he had ordered the preparation of a 
government-wide AIDS research strategy, as well as a 
corresponding research budget, due within 90 days.  Clinton added
that he had requested that Vice President Gore hold a meeting of 
scientists and drug industry leaders to investigate methods of 
accelerating the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and other
methods of protecting people from HIV.  Clinton also used the 
conference to condemn Republican plans to reduce proposed 
Medicaid spending and to vow to fight those cutbacks.  Related 
Stories: New York Times (12/07) P. B18; Philadelphia Inquirer 
(12/07) P. A24
      
"Clinton Slammed on AIDS Efforts"
Washington Times (12/07/95) P. A4;  Bedard, Paul
     AIDS activists forced President Clinton to defend his AIDS 
policies on Wednesday, suggesting that his anti-AIDS effort is a 
"big con" to win back angry homosexuals and liberals.  "Where 
have you been," asked AIDS activist Bob Lederer, who repeatedly 
interrupted and challenged the president during the White House 
conference on AIDS.  Prior to leaving the conference, Clinton 
said, "I am very sorry that there is not a cure," and said he 
understood the participants' frustration.  The president had been
expected to introduce new AIDS initiatives during the conference,
yet instead he revealed only plans for a new spending report and 
a meeting of scientists.  As Clinton spoke at the conference, 
some 200 protesters gathered outside the White House, yelling, 
"What do we want?  A cure for AIDS.  What do we get?  A 
conference."
      
"Bills Propose Tough Curbs for On-Line Obscenity"
New York Times (12/07/95) P. A1;  Andrews, Edmund L.
     Members of a House-Senate conference committee agreed in 
principle on Wednesday to strict new measures against obscene and
"indecent" material on computer networks.  The committee stopped 
short on voting on the specific language of the bill, but House 
members voted in favor of a measure that would award fines of up 
to $100,000 and prison sentences to people who make such material
available to children.  The action was immediately criticized by 
many civil rights groups, who claimed the bill would infringe on 
citizens' constitutional rights to free speech and pledged to 
challenge it in court.  Furthermore, the committee's decision was
also a setback to the many commercial on-line services and 
information providers who are concerned about legal actions over 
obscene language and even for discussions about such issues as 
AIDS.  Related Story: Washington Post (12/07) P. A1
      
"Abbott Labs Drug Is Found Promising in 2 AIDS Studies"
Wall Street Journal (12/07/95) P. B8;  Burton, Thomas M.
     Two new studies published in the most recent edition of the New 
England Journal of Medicine indicate that Abbott Laboratories' 
experimental AIDS drug ritonavir is effective in increasing 
patients' immune cells and decreasing levels of HIV in their 
bloodstreams.  Ritonavir is currently in Phase III clinical 
trials, although these newly published studies were based on 
smaller Phase I/Phase II tests conducted earlier.  According to 
Martin Markowitz of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, an 
investigator in one of the studies, initial results show 
ritonavir to be as effective as another experimental drug under 
development by Merck & Co.  Some medical analysts, noting that 
HIV mutates, are skeptical about protease-inhibitor drugs, but 
Markowitz expresses optimism while admitting the new drugs may 
have to be used in combination with other therapies.
      
"Group Calls AIDS a 'Slow Plague' Ravaging Africa"
Philadelphia Inquirer (12/07/95) P. A25
     The National Research Council said Wednesday that rapid action was
required to stem the AIDS epidemic which is moving as a "slow 
plague" in some African nations.  The federal government advisory
group said the disease will lower average life expectancy in 
Zambia from 66 to 33 years by the year 2010.  Similarly, life 
expectancy in Zimbabwe could drop from 70 to 40 years, from 68 to
40 years in Kenya, and from 59 to 31 years in Uganda, the group's
report statistics suggest.  "Perhaps the most immediate argument 
for immediate action ... is that in many parts of the region, the
epidemic has not yet peaked," the report said.  The council 
recommended increased research for programs that fight AIDS and 
prevent it by changing behavior patterns that researchers claim 
are the foundations of the epidemic.
      
"Testing Is Ruled Out on Stabbing Needle"
New York Times (12/07/95) P. B8
     New York City law enforcement officials reported Wednesday that 
the needle used to stab a young girl on the subway last week 
cannot be tested for infectious diseases because no blood or 
bodily fluids were found on the syringe.  Edward D. Fagan, the 
lawyer for six-year-old Colete Lopez's family, said that the 
Lopez family would be pleased that no evidence of serious disease
had been identified.  He noted, however, that conclusions about 
whether the child had been infected were "speculative," adding 
that there was no way to determine whether the needle contained 
anything prior to the subway attack and that four days had passed
between the time of attack and the testing of the needle.
      
"Parents Slam Schools for Condom Handouts"
Washington Times (12/07/95) P. A12;  Wetzstein, Cheryl
     On Wednesday, the House Economic and Educational Opportunities 
subcommittee on oversight and investigations heard suggestions on
how "parents need to reclaim their roles as primary teachers of 
values to their children."  The primary topic of discussion was 
the school's role in providing sex education, particularly that 
related to homosexuality.  But testimony from Claire Connelly, 
president of the Gay and Lesbian Resources Center of Ventura 
County, Camarillo, Calif., led the panel in another direction.  
Connelly said that each year, $3 billion of government funds 
"trickle down" to 8,000 homosexual community-based groups.  
However instead of using these funds for HIV education or support
services, Connelly asserted, the money "is used for salaries, 
expense accounts for gay activists, to infiltrate the public 
schools to espouse promiscuity and homosexuality, to establish 
meeting places for ... trysts, and to run a vast lobbying grid 
across the United States for gay militants."  Connelly said that 
therefore "we now have sexually active gay men with AIDS who do 
not use condoms themselves providing sex education for children 
with federal funds."
      
"France Backs Off Promise to Boost UN AIDS Programme"
Nature (11/16/95) Vol. 378, No. 6554, P. 224;  Butler, Declan
     The decision of the French government not to donate about $20 
million to the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS has 
sparked widespread protest in that country and others.  The 
revocation of the funding, which was promised at 1994's "AIDS 
Summit" in Paris, supports skeptics views that the meeting was 
primarily a political performance, and that support pledged at 
the meeting could become a "long list of good intentions" that 
may never be acted upon.  Furthermore, UNAIDS Director Peter Piot
termed the French decision "very worrying and profoundly 
disappointing."  Piot added that as a result of the decision, a 
series of planned programs in developing countries will be 
canceled.  The full impact, however, will not be established 
until the program's coordinating board convenes to discuss its 
planned budget for the next two years.
      
"AIDS Update: A Spitting Image of HIV"
Men's Health (12/95) Vol. 10, No. 10, P. 44
     University of Florida veterinary neurologist Roger Clemmons has 
designed a saliva test for HIV that is being produced for home 
use in international markets.  The dipstick-style test, called 
OraScreen HIV Rapid Test, generates results in less than 15 
minutes.  Beacon Diagnostics, Inc. intends to file for approval 
from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the saliva 
test in the next two years.
      
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