                     AIDS Daily Summary
                       August 22, 1994

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
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Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD

"Biochemistry: Nutrient May Control HIV"
Washington Post (08/22/94) P. A2
     According to findings published last week in the Journal of 
Medicinal Chemistry by researchers from the University of 
Georgia, the HIV virus depletes the body of the trace mineral 
selenium because it depends upon selenium to trigger its growth. 
These findings suggest that "nutritional status may be a factor 
in some HIV-positive long-term survivors," said Will Taylor, head
of the research team.  He also said that, "If this is true, then 
selenium biochemistry may be the key to understanding the control
of the life cycle of HIV and perhaps some of the pathology of 
AIDS."  Related Story: USA Today (08/22) P. 1D
      
"Positive Tattoos Bare HIV Status By Design"
USA Today (08/22/94) P. 1D;  Snead, Elizabeth
     HIV tattoos are the latest method HIV-positive people have been 
using to disclose their condition to friends, family, and the 
general public.  According to Richard Perez-Feria, editor of Poz 
magazine, the tattoos are "very empowering."  "They are pushing 
people out of that last closet," he says.    Health experts say 
tattooing presents no dangers, provided that proper hygiene is 
observed.
      
"Federal Agency Brings AIDS Discrimination Suit Based on Disabilities Act"
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (08/20/94)
     The Houston district office of the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission has filed an AIDS discrimination lawsuit under the 
Americans With Disabilities Act.  The suit alleges that Joe Puga,
former head of purchasing for Chemtech International Corp., was 
fired because he has HIV.  The plaintiff is seeking 
reinstatement, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.  
According to Harriet Joan Ehrlich, district director for the 
EEOC, the case is one of 25-AIDS related discrimination 
complaints brought to the office since the ADA took effect two 
years ago.  The ADA defines those who have HIV, as well as those 
with full-blown AIDS, as being disabled.
      
"New Jersey Drops Health Workers AIDS Notification Plan"
Reuters (08/19/94)
     New Jersey has abandoned a proposal requiring that health care 
workers undergo AIDS testing and inform patients if they test 
positive.  Health Commissioner Leonard Fishman told reporters 
that out of 31 states surveyed by the department, only 
two--Maryland and Arkansas--made testing of health care workers 
obligatory.  "I asked myself whether my family would be safer in 
a state where health care workers had to disclose their HIV 
status," Fishman said.
      
"Calif. Lawmakers OK Marijuana Bill"
Boston Globe (08/20/94) P. 16
     The California state Assembly has approved the nation's first 
bill calling for doctors to be allowed to prescribe marijuana to 
chronically ill patients, according to Chad Randolph, an aide to 
state Sen. Milton Marks--the San Francisco Democrat who authored 
the bill.  The legislation had already passed the state Senate 
and now goes to Gov. Pete Wilson.  Even if Wilson signs the 
legislation, however, the law cannot take effect without a change
in federal law, which bans the medicinal use of marijuana.  Some 
seriously ill patients have said the weed eases the pain of 
cancer and AIDS.
      
"Sheffield Medical Technologies Files Investigational New Drug Application for Human Clinical Trials on Its RBC-CD4 Project for HIV"
Business Wire (08/19/94)
     Medical development company Sheffield Medical Technologies Inc. 
has filed an Investigational New Drug application with the Food 
and Drug Administration seeking permission to begin a Phase I/II 
human clinical trial of its red blood cell CD4 electroinsertion 
technology (RBC-CD4) for use as a therapeutic against HIV.  The 
application is for an 18-patient study to test for safety and 
activity at therapeutic doses.
      
"Reverse Logic: Smart Drugs Target HIV and a Herpes Virus"
Science News (08/06/94) Vol. 146, No. 6, P. 88;  Fackelmann, 
Kathy A.
     A new category of drugs, called antisense drugs, may be able to 
target a specific disease without causing significant side 
effects, but neither the efficacy nor the safety of such drugs 
has yet been proven.  An antisense drug is made from a sequence 
of nucleotides that mirrors that of a target nucleic acid, such 
as RNA, causing the two to stick together and cancel out the 
protein.  Hybridon has developed an antisense AIDS treatment 
called Gem 91, which is supposed to resist degradation so that it
will maintain effectiveness even after it gets inside an 
HIV-infected cell.  Test-tube studies of Gem 91 showed that it 
shut down replication of the virus for more than 80 days in 
HIV-infected human cells, as reported by Sudhir Agrawal, chief 
scientific officer at Hybridon, in the May 1, 1993 Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.  Agrawal's results give hope 
that antisense drugs can provide a virtual cure for HIV if they 
can halt the virus's ability to duplicate until the immune system
can contain the disease.  Isis Pharmaceuticals has developed 
another antisense compound to fight CMV, which often causes a 
blinding eye infection in AIDS patients.  Antisense compounds 
could be very profitable for drug companies, enabling them to 
switch from one antisense compound to another to treat a 
different condition without changing their core chemistry group.
      
"From the Food and Drug Administration: Combination Tuberculosis Drug Approved"
Journal of the American Medical Association (08/03/94) Vol. 272, 
No. 5, P. 344
     The Food and Drug Administration has granted approval to a 
cocktail of rifampin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide for the 
treatment of tuberculosis.  Health experts expect the triple 
therapy to reduce the number of patients who do not adhere to the
standard long-term multidrug regimen for treating TB--a problem 
that has been a public health concern for years.  The combination
drug is also expected to guard against unintentional overdosing 
or underdosing of any component drug, and protect against 
selective discontinuation of one or more of the component drugs. 
All of these factors should decrease the chance for emerging 
drug-resistant TB.
      
"AIDS at Work"
Nation's Business (08/94) Vol. 82, No. 8, P. 12
     Firms seeking assistance in dealing with AIDS in the workplace 
can look to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which
has--in conjunction with the business sector--developed a 
manager's kit for that express purpose.  It offers information on
policy development, employee education, legal issues, insurance, 
and management training including confidentiality, job 
accommodation, and discrimination.
      
