                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                        May 31, 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


"Volunteers for Vaccines Get HIV"
USA Today (05/31/94) P. 1D
     Several volunteers enrolled in the federal government's study to 
test experimental AIDS vaccines have become infected with HIV, 
raising concerns about the safety of such trials.  The vaccines, 
which are being tested in small trials at five universities, do 
not contain any of HIV's genetic material, and cannot cause 
infection.  Still, seven out of about 1,400 
participants--including two who were receiving only 
placebos--have tested positive for the virus.  All seven 
HIV-positive volunteers had been counseled about how to reduce 
the risk of HIV infection, but researchers have long worried that
trial participants might erroneously believe that they are 
protected and engage in high-risk behaviors.  Scientists say some
new HIV infections were to be expected, and that no potential 
vaccine was likely to be 100 percent effective.  There is 
concern, however, that recipients of AIDS vaccines may become 
more vulnerable to infection than they would have been otherwise,
as the vaccines not only stimulate the immune system, but burden 
it.  Related Stories: New York Times (05/30) P. 24; Washington 
Post (05/30) P. A7; Washington Times (05/30) P. A6.
      
"Lawsuit Claims Bias Against AIDS Patient"
USA Today (05/31/94) P. 4A;  Ritter, John
     Jury selection begins today in a Toledo federal court for what is
thought to be the first AIDS discrimination case to reach trial. 
Bruce Howe and the American Civil Liberties Union are suing 
Memorial Hospital in Fremont, Ohio, and Dr. Charles Hull, a 
physician who refused to admit Howe's former partner, Fred 
Charon, in April 1992.  When Charon experienced a severe reaction
to floxin, a prescription drug he had taken for the first time, 
during a road trip, Howe drove him to the emergency room of 
Memorial Hospital.  After examining Charon, who had a fever, 
diarrhea, and was vomiting, Dr. Mark Reardon said Charon should 
be admitted, and left to call Hull, the admitting physician.  He 
returned to say that Hull did not feel comfortable admitting an 
AIDS patient.  Much of the case rests on whether Hull and the 
hospital can prove they transferred Charon to the Toledo Medical 
College of Ohio because they thought he had a rare skin disease 
called toxic epidermal necrolysis, TEN, and would receive better 
treatment there.  The Toledo doctor says Reardon told him that 
Hull "didn't want to take care of an HIV-infected person," and 
that TEN was never mentioned.  Howe maintains that the alleged 
discrimination caused Charon emotional distress which hastened 
his death in March 1993.
      
"Genetic Attacks Readied on AIDS"
New York Times (05/31/94) P. C1;  Kolata, Gina
     In search of new ways to combat HIV/AIDS, some molecular 
biologists say AIDS should not be treated as if it were caused by
an ordinary virus.  Rather, it should be viewed as a disease of 
DNA.  Because HIV integrates itself into the DNA of chromosomes, 
they argue that methods of gene therapy and molecular biology 
should be used to attack the virus as it subverts the cell's 
genetic machinery.  This perspective on AIDS has spawned several 
new approaches--two of which are now ready to be tested on AIDS 
patients.  Dr. Gary Nabel and colleagues at the University of 
Michigan Medical Center are seeking to inhibit a small but 
critical protein made by an HIV gene called the rev.  Without the
rev protein, genetic messages needed to make new viruses are not 
transported.  And, at Thomas Jefferson University in 
Philadelphia, Dr. Roger A. Pomerantz is also targeting the rev 
gene.  His method is to inactivate it with a specially designed 
antibody.
      
"AIDS-Ed Quandary"
Washington Times (05/31/94) P. C4;  Koklanaris, Maria
     The Fairfax County School Board will vote in June for one of 
three AIDS presentations to be considered for the county's sex 
education curriculum.  Those in favor of the county's sex ed 
curriculum tend to prefer "Face to Face," the only presentation 
which is currently approved as an optional part of the HIV/AIDS 
curriculum.  In this program, young people with AIDS face the 
audience and candidly discuss their experiences--something 
proponents feel is more realistic than the other options.  
Critics of the current curriculum, however, favor "Facing Reality
in the Age of AIDS," which they say is the only presentation that
pushes an abstinence message.  But adolescents are not likely to 
identify with Norm and Ginny Cadarette, the middle-aged New 
England couple who present "Facing Reality," says Kenton Pattie, 
president of the Fairfax County Council of PTAs.  "I don't think 
they really represent the fear factor," he says.  "They don't 
really grab a student like the 'Face to Face' kids do."  As for 
"Secrets," a play about the dangers of AIDS, it raised the ire of
many a parent when shown in Montgomery County, but is nonetheless
favored over "Facing Reality."  The School Board is scheduled to 
vote on June 23.
      
"AIDS March Draws Thousands to Streets of Paris"
Reuters (05/29/94)
     More than 10,000 people trekked five miles along the Seine river 
in France to demonstrate their support for people with AIDS and 
to raise money to fight the epidemic.  The "March for Life" ended
at the Eiffel Tower.  France has the highest number of AIDS cases
in Europe.  An estimated 150,000 people there are infected with 
HIV.
      
"Sampras Donates Trophy to AIDS Foundation"
Reuters (05/28/94)
     World tennis top seed Pete Sampras says he will donate a trophy 
valued at nearly $1 million to the Arthur Ashe Foundation to help
people with AIDS.  Sampras is a three-time winner of the Lyon 
Open tournament, which qualifies him to receive the gold, bronze,
and diamond-encrusted trophy.  Instead, the tennis champ has 
instructed the jeweler to donate the trophy directly to the AIDS 
foundation, which was established by the late Wimbledon champion 
in 1992 to educate the public about the disease and raise money.
      
"Epidemiology of AIDS and Suicide"
Focus (04/94) Vol. 9, No. 5, P. 7;  Cole, T.R.;  Biggar, R.J.;  
Dannenberg, A.L.
     A large national study of death certificates from 1987 through 
1989 showed that AIDS patients have higher rates of suicide, 
although the rate may be on a decline.  Suicide occurred among 
AIDS patients of all ages, in most regions of the United States. 
Ninety-nine percent of the cases took place among men--a rate 
that was 7.4 times higher than that of the male population at 
large.  Whites accounted for 87 percent of AIDS suicides, blacks 
for 12 percent, and other races made up the remaining one 
percent.  AIDS patients most often used firearms, drug poisoning,
or suffocation to end their lives.  However, the rate of suicides
among people with AIDS appears to be decreasing.  The rate among 
AIDS patients dropped from 10.5 times that of the general 
population to 7.4 times in 1988, and to 6.0 times in 1989.  The 
reduced rate of AIDS suicides may reflect greater optimism in the
wake of medical advances, waning social stigma, and increased 
availability of pyschiatric support for people with AIDS.
      
"Transitions"
Advocate (05/17/94) No. 655, P. 22
     Robert Massa, a writer and editor, died on April 9, at age 36, of
AIDS-related causes.  Massa founded "The Body Positive," a 
publication about AIDS, and also wrote and edited for "The 
Village Voice."
      
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