                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       March 22, 1996

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 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"TB Threat Grows Worldwide"
"Glendening Targets $1 Million to Help Some AIDS Patients"
"On Every Argentine Cellblock, Specter of AIDS"
"Mother Whose Home Was Torched Asks Aid for Hemophiliacs"
"Research Attacks Immune System Theory"
"A Menu of Rare Antibodies For Drug Firms"
"Morrison Says He Will Beat HIV, Fight Again"
"HIV Subtypes Raise Vaccine Anxieties"
"Outbreak of Primary and Secondary Syphilis--Baltimore City, 
Maryland, 1995"
"Rolipram: Antidepressant Used in Europe and Japan Might Have 
Promise Against TNF, HIV"
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"TB Threat Grows Worldwide"
USA Today (03/22/96) P. 1A;  Manning, Anita
     Tuberculosis (TB) killed more people worldwide than ever before 
in 1995, and at least 30 million will die in the next ten years 
if efforts are not made to stop the epidemic.  The Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention has announced that the number of 
TB cases in the United States in 1995 is expected to decline from
1994's 24,361 total; however, the World Health Organization (WHO) 
said 3 million would die from the disease worldwide in 1995.  The 
disease carries the threat of incurability because drug-resistant
strains thrive when medications are not taken correctly, but a 
new combination therapy holds great promise to eliminate the 
resistant strains.  Related Stories: Baltimore Sun (03/22) P. 
14A; Philadelphia Inquirer (03/22) P. A6
      
"Glendening Targets $1 Million to Help Some AIDS Patients"
Washington Post (03/22/96) P. D2
     Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening will allocate $1 million of 
the state's budget over the next two years to help inadequately 
insured individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid to afford 
new AIDS drugs.  The money will cover expected shortfalls in a 
federal program that helps people buy AIDS drugs, which are 
promising but expensive.  Congress is currently considering a 
request from the Clinton administration to provide an extra $52 
million for the program, but Glendening said he wanted to act now
to make the drugs available as soon as possible.  Related Story: 
Baltimore Sun (03/22) P. 2B
      
"On Every Argentine Cellblock, Specter of AIDS"
New York Times (03/22/96) P. A4;  Sims, Calvin
     In Argentina, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 
30 percent of the 5,800 inmates in the federal prison system are 
infected with HIV.  Prisoners, however, are often not found to 
have the virus until they develop AIDS symptoms.  The WHO study 
found that intravenous drug use and sexual activity between 
inmates and inmates and outsiders are common in the prison 
system.  The estimated incidence HIV infection is based on 
results of voluntary tests since the Argentine law does not allow
mandatory testing of inmates.  Health officials say the rate of 
HIV is probably as high in local prisons and in prisons in other 
Latin American countries.  They cite the high prevalence of drug 
use and prostitution before incarceration for reasons the prison 
population is especially at risk.  Argentina is the only country 
in the region with an AIDS treatment facility for federal 
prisoners, but inmates' advocates question whether care is 
actually available to every person who needs it.
      
"Mother Whose Home Was Torched Asks Aid for Hemophiliacs"
Philadelphia Inquirer (03/22/96) P. A5;  Shaw, Donna
     Louise Ray, a Florida woman whose home was torched when neighbors
found out her sons had AIDS, has asked Congress to approve a $1 
billion compensation package for HIV-infected hemophiliacs.  
Hundreds of supporters of the measure, named after Ray's son 
Ricky, who died of AIDS in 19922, rallied on the Capitol steps.  
Ricky was one of an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 U.S. hemophiliacs 
who were infected with HIV by tainted clotting factors.  The 
measure, which would pay each HIV-infected hemophiliac $125,000, 
was introduced last year, but has seen little action.
      
"Research Attacks Immune System Theory"
Wall Street Journal (03/22/96) P. B14;  Bishop, Jerry E.
     Three different research teams have reported evidence that 
substantiates a controversial theory about how the immune system 
defends the body against disease.  If proven, the theory would 
change the prevailing approach to immunology and dramatically 
alter the development of anti-AIDS drugs, vaccines, and drugs to 
prevent the rejection of transplants.  Immunologists have long 
believed that the immune system learns to recognize and tolerate 
"self" while attacking tissues recognized as "nonself," but Polly
C.E. Matzinger of the National Institute of Allergy and 
Infectious Diseases proposes an alternative theory--that the 
immune system waits for a signal that somewhere in the body 
tissues are dying unnatural deaths.  Her theory is not widely 
accepted among the immunology community, but is being tested 
nevertheless.
      
"A Menu of Rare Antibodies For Drug Firms"
Investor's Business Daily (03/22/96) P. A4;  Benko, Laura B.
     Finding rare antibodies needed to make certain drugs can be 
difficult, but Serologicals Corp. of Atlanta, Ga. has been 
stockpiling elusive proteins by increasing its donor network, and
is in some cases, cloning antibodies it collects.  The 
company--which collects antibodies for hepatitis, rabies, HIV and
other diseases--has 39 donor centers, 22 of which are licensed by
the Food and Drug Administration to collect at least one type of 
rare antibody.  Serological's largest product is intravenous 
immune globulin, or IVIG, antibodies that boost the body's 
defense against HIV, Lupus, and anemia.  The firm also clones 49 
commercial antibodies, using cultures to copy single antibodies 
in a laboratory.
      
"Morrison Says He Will Beat HIV, Fight Again"
Reuters (03/21/96)
     Former heavyweight boxer Tommy Morrison says he will beat HIV and
fight again, possibly later this year.  Morrison predicted in an 
interview of ESPNET SportsZone Wednesday that his HIV infection 
would disappear and he would return to boxing.  He said he 
believes he knows how he got the virus and how to make it 
disappear--by magic.  Morrison said at the time of his retirement
that he would spend time educating children about HIV and AIDS.
      
"HIV Subtypes Raise Vaccine Anxieties"
Lancet (03/02/96) Vol. 347, No. 9001, P. 603;  Rowe, Paul M.
     The biology of different strains of HIV may be related to the 
different ways the virus is transmitted around the globe.  Max 
Essex of the Harvard AIDS Institute has reported that in 
purified epithelial Langerhans cells (LC), subtype E virus grows 
better than subtype B.  LCs are found in epidermis, oral and 
genital mucosal epithelium, but not in rectal mucosa.  Most HIV-1
in the United States and Europe is subtype B, and in Asia and 
Africa different strains predominate.  In Thailand, both E and B 
subtypes are found, but E is more common, especially in those who
contract HIV via vaginal intercourse.  Beatrice Hahn of the 
University of Alabama at Birmingham has reported finding hybrid 
HIV-1 strains in high-risk individuals in Asia and Africa.  She 
believes the mixing of previously-separate subtypes is a result 
of the epidemic's growth.  Most vaccines now being developed 
contain subtype B antigens, although non-B viruses predominate in
Africa and Asia, where the first trials will likely be conducted.
Non-B vaccines may have a better chance of inducing vaginal 
mucosal immunity, however, because non-B viruses target LCs as 
well as lymphocytes and monocytes.
      
"Outbreak of Primary and Secondary Syphilis--Baltimore City, 
Maryland, 1995"
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (03/01/96) Vol. 45, No. 8 ,
P. 166
     The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the 
Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) and the Maryland 
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, studied data on syphilis
cases in Baltimore City between 1992 and 1995 to determine what 
trends were responsible for the outbreak there.  BCHD attempts to
notify partners and provide treatment for patients, but decreases
in personnel during the time period may have attributed to the 
outbreak.  A significant increase in cocaine use in the community
is also implicated.  During the study period, the number of 
self-referred patients that visited the two public sexually 
transmitted disease (STD) clinics declined 12 percent, and the 
number of cocaine-related deaths in Baltimore City increased 737 
percent from 1990 to 1994.  An editorial note accompanying the 
study suggests that the use of crack cocaine and the exchange of 
sex for drugs were major factors in the syphilis epidemic in 
Baltimore, as in other urban areas.  Furthermore, the authors 
warn, HIV infection may be increasing as another result of the 
increase in crack cocaine use and the syphilis outbreak.  The 
BCHD is alerting the medical community about the outbreak, 
filling STD program vacancies, and expanding surveillance 
activities.
      
"Rolipram: Antidepressant Used in Europe and Japan Might Have 
Promise Against TNF, HIV"
AIDS Treatment News (03/01/96) No. 242, P. 3;  Smith, Denny
     The antidepressant drug Rolipram has been found to be an active 
inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a chemical messenger 
overproduced by the immune system in some diseases, including HIV
infection.  Many AIDS symptoms--including fatigue, fever, and 
dementia--that are not caused by an opportunistic infection are 
associated with too much TNF.  Researchers have also suspected an
HIV/TNF feedback loop, in which TNF enhances HIV replication 
while HIV progression increases TNF production.  Of the few TNF 
inhibitors studied, only thalidomide--which causes side effects 
in HIV-infected individuals--has been found to be clinically 
valuable.  New TNF inhibitors are being developed by Celgene, but
could take years to test.  Rolipram is considered an essentially 
safe drug, but laboratory tests show that the amount of the drug 
necessary to inhibit TNF may not be tolerable in practice.  
Clinical studies are needed to determine if the drug could be 
used to treat HIV infection.
      
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