                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                        May 11, 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


"Dispute Over AIDS Vaccine Settled"
Philadelphia Inquirer (05/11/94) P. C8;  Collins, Huntly
     A ruling issued by the American Arbitration Association yesterday
has removed obstacles to continued work on an experimental and 
controversial AIDS vaccine proposed by Dr. Jonas Salk.  The 
arbitrator ruled that Immune Response Corp. of Carlsbad, Calif., 
holds all contractual rights to control clinical testing of the 
vaccine and negotiations with federal regulatory bodies.  Should 
the vaccine prove effective, however, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer 
Inc.--Immune's corporate partner--retains marketing rights in the
United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.  Rhone-Poulenc had 
sought, but lost its bid for, joint control of the clinical 
trials and regulatory issues.  In addition, the arbitrator said 
that manufacturing of the vaccine would be controlled by 
Immunization Products Ltd., a joint venture established by both 
companies.  The vaccine is unusual because, while most vaccines 
aim to prevent initial infection or disease, Salk's vaccine is 
designed for those already infected with HIV.  Salk, who 
developed the first polio vaccine, insists that his AIDS vaccine 
can curb HIV reproduction in infected patients.  Researchers are 
awaiting federal approval to conduct large-scale testing to 
determine the vaccine's efficiency.
      
"2 Pharmaceutical Firms Join in HIV Research"
Journal of Commerce (05/11/94) P. 6B
     Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Tarrytown, N.J., and American 
Cyanamid Co. of Wayne, N.J., have signed a research agreement to 
develop a new class of therapeutic products for the treatment of 
HIV infection.  The agents being developed merge Progenic's HIV 
Universal Neutralizing Antibody (UNAb) technology with American 
Cyanamid's proprietary conjugation technology and drug 
technology.  Under the deal, American Cyanamid and Progenics will
examine several UNAb-drug conjugates that specifically kill 
HIV-infected cells in the body.
      
"AIDS Virus Infects Vietnam's Revived Sex Industry"
Washington Times (05/11/94) P. A14;  Strobel, Warren
     While prostitution is not new to Vietnam, the tremendous growth 
of the commercial sex industry combined with the current social 
transformation has fostered the deadly and quickly growing threat
of AIDS.  "Some people see Vietnam as one of the last places 
that's relatively free of AIDS," says Don Luce, president of 
International Voluntary Services, a nonprofit organization that 
seeks to help and educate Vietnamese prostitutes.  "That 
encourages, really, sex tourism."  In actuality, Vietnam has 
advanced from a single case of HIV infection in 1990 to more than
1,000 new cases reported last year alone.  The Vietnamese 
government's national plan for AIDS prevention predicts that 
570,000 people could be infected by 1998.  The December 1993 plan
calls for AIDS prevention and control through programs aimed at 
stamping out prostitution and drug use, thus enabling workers "to
reach more easily these groups and educate them about ways of 
preventing themselves and their sex partners from becoming 
infected."  The plan calls for promoting safe sex and greater 
availability of condoms, two strategies endorsed by American 
health authorities.
      
"Condom Firm Patiently Persists as Trust Gains Believers, Buyers"
Washington Times (05/11/94) P. A14;  Strobel, Warren
     DKT International, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that
specializes in AIDS prevention in 25 countries--including 
Vietnam, is on a mission.  According to DKT's Andy Pillar, a 
great percentage of populations in the Third World cannot access 
free health services provided by the government or afford 
commercial products.  So his organization seeks to make condoms 
widely available at a price most Vietnamese can afford, along 
with instructions on proper use.  Because Vietnam's condom 
factories could not meet DKT's standards, the group imports Trust
brand condoms from Malaysia and sells them for 1,000 Vietnamese 
dong, or about 10 cents, for a package of three.  Ads are 
broadcast on television and the radio, bartenders are urged to 
carry the product, and DKT offers to buy pharmacies new store 
signs if they will put the Trust logo on them.  So far, the 
campaign has been well-received, according to Pillar, who is 
known as Vietnam's "Mr. Condom."
      
"Gen-Probe Inc. to Work on HIV Treatment"
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (05/10/94);  Rose, Craig D.
     Gen-Probe Inc. announced that it has identified several candidate
HIV drugs, and hopes to begin testing one of the drugs in humans 
by early next year.  The company will use profits from its 
medical-test business to develop treatments for HIV and other 
diseases, according to Nanibhushan Dattagupta, senior director of
therapeutics research for Gen-Probe.  While the company 
previously focused on diagnostics, the same technology it used 
for diagnostics is directly applicable to therapeutics, he said. 
To develop drugs, Gen-Probe will use antisense technology, an 
approach that aims to inhibit disease by deactivating certain 
proteins encoded by human genes.
      
"Number of Indonesia AIDS Cases on Rise"
United Press International (05/09/94)
     The number of HIV-infected people in Indonesia could be much 
greater than the official number cited by the government, 
according to a senior Cabinet minister.  Azwar Anas, Coordinating
Minister for People's Welfare, said his figure is much lower than
that of the World Health Organization.  By that agency's 
standards, he said, there could be as many as 21,300 cases of HIV
infection in Indonesia.  Anas said there is an urgent need to 
step up AIDS education to prevent its spread.  "Our main concern 
is that most of those who were infected by the virus are aged 
between 20 years and 29 years," Anas remarked.  "So those people 
infected with HIV are in their productive ages."  He said he 
would increase AIDS education through coordination with various 
ministries.  In the meantime, a presidential decree is soon to be
issued to make the Indonesian public more aware of the risks of 
HIV/AIDS, and to prevent its spread to unaffected areas and 
people.  According to a high-ranking health ministry official, 
the government has agreed to disperse more than $2 million for 
programs designed to halt the spread of the disease.
      
"AIDSLine: Should My Doctor Know I'm HIV-Positive?"
Advocate (05/03/94) No. 654, P. 33;  Cohan, Gary R.
     HIV-related dental problems often receive less attention than 
other complications, for many people do not know that painful 
gingivitis and periodontitis are common and major health threats 
to HIV-positive patients.  A San Francisco study found 
HIV-associated gingivitis present in 50 percent of the patients. 
Investigators noted that, since 1983, local dentists have 
observed increasing numbers of "unusually severe and aggressive" 
cases of gingivitis and periodontitis among HIV-infected gay men,
whereas the severity of gum disease previously had been seen only
in extremely malnourished and debilitated persons.  Dr. Michael 
Glick, chairman of the newly established Dental Alliance for 
HIV/AIDS Care, reviewed 1,500 dental procedures performed on 
HIV-infected patients with T-cell counts below 200.  Glick 
concluded that most AIDS patients can be safely treated in a 
general dental-practice environment.  Still, HIV-positive 
patients should discuss HIV status with the dentist.  Although 
all health care providers should know the symptoms of HIV-related
dental problems, some conditions are so common that if the 
dentist isn't aware of the patient's HIV status, the problem may 
not be treated as quickly and aggressively as necessary.  Just as
the patient has the responsibility to inform the dentist of HIV 
status, so the dentist has the legal and moral obligation to 
treat the patient.
      
"HIV and Cancer"
Lancet (04/23/94) Vol. 343, No. 8904, P. 1032;  McCarthy, Michael
     New evidence suggests that HIV can contribute directly to 
lymphomagenesis and that retroviruses can cause cancer in humans,
report researchers at the University of California at San 
Francisco.  They identified four cases of AIDS-related lymphomas 
in which the HIV provirus is inserted near a known oncogene.  In 
each case, HIV integration occurred in the same region of the 
cellular genome, in what is known as the fur gene.  Dr. Bruce 
Shiramizu, lead author of the study, said he found it unlikely 
that the insertions were random events.  Rather, he believes that
the HIV-infected cells should be considered a new class of 
lymphomas.  Most AIDS-related lymphomas are B-cell lymphomas.  
Since HIV is not present in B-cells, it is thought that lymphomas
found in them are caused by altered immunoregulation.  Over the 
past few years, however, a growing number of AIDS patients in San
Francisco General Hospital have been diagnosed with non-B-cell 
lymphomas, according to Shiramizu.  He said the study's findings 
raise questions about whether other viruses may have a role in 
cancers to which a cure has not yet been found--such as Hodgkin's
disease and Kaposi's sarcoma--in non-infected patients as well as
those with AIDS.
      
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