                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      February 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
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Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"Approval of DaunoXome Set by European Countries"
"Patients' Groups Jump Into the Battle Over Proposals to 
Restructure the FDA"
"Genentech to Spin Off AIDS Research Unit"
"FDA Chief Warns Against Some Parts of Overhaul Legislation"
"Culture, et Cetera: Excuse Me"
"Singapore HIV Infection Rises 29 Percent in 1995"
"Teens Flush with Cash in Toilet Giveaway"
"HIV Antiviral Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy"
"NIH Agrees to Temporary By-Pass of AIDS Office in Allocation of 
Grants"
"Continued Sexual Risk Behavior Among HIV Seropositive,
Drug-Using Men: Atlanta, Washington D.C., San Juan, Puerto Rico"
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"Approval of DaunoXome Set by European Countries"
Wall Street Journal (02/22/96) P. B4
     NeXstar Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced that 10 European 
Community countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany,
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal
will allow the marketing of DaunoXome, a new drug used to treat 
Kaposi's sarcoma in AIDS patients.  Sweden and the United Kingdom
had earlier approved the drug. Food and Drug Administration 
approval for DaunoXome is currently pending in the United States.
      
"Patients' Groups Jump Into the Battle Over Proposals to 
Restructure the FDA"
Wall Street Journal (02/22/96) P. B5;  McGinley, Laurie
     Patients' groups are now joining the debate on reforming the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) but are taking positions on both 
sides of the issue.  Defending the FDA is the Patients' 
Coalition, made up of more than 50 national nonprofit groups, 
including the American Cancer Society, the Arthritis Foundation, 
the National Hemophilia Foundation, AIDS Action Council, and Gay 
Men's Health Crisis.  While this group says reform proposals 
would weaken the agency and put consumers at risk, other patient 
groups are pushing for change.  Derek Link, a spokesman for the 
Patients' Coalition, objects to proposals that would place tight 
deadlines on drug approvals, which could require the FDA to use 
outside, private reviewers.  But Ellen Stovall, of the National 
Coalition for Cancer Survivors, said the legislation is needed to
require the agency to speed drug approvals and to allow companies
to publish information on alternative, unapproved uses of 
approved drugs.  The Patients' Coalition was formed after a 
number of nonprofit health groups disagreed with proposals that 
industry groups described as good for consumers.  However, some 
AIDS groups--including the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy 
Project--claim that the coalition is too cautious.
      
"Genentech to Spin Off AIDS Research Unit"
Journal of Commerce (02/22/96) P. 5B
     Genentech Inc. plans to create a new company, Genenvax Inc., to 
further develop a potential AIDS vaccine.  Genentech has already 
spent $100 million and 10 years on its gp120 vaccine.  Donald 
Francis, who supervised early AIDS research at the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, will head the new company.
      
"FDA Chief Warns Against Some Parts of Overhaul Legislation"
Washington Post (02/22/96) P. A23;  Schwartz, John
     FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler told members of the Senate 
Labor and Human Resources Committee on Wednesday that the agency 
was successfully reforming itself and that certain provisions of 
Sen. Nancy Kassebaum's (R-Kan.) reform bill could adversely 
affect public health.  Under consideration was a portion of the 
bill that would require the FDA to take action within four months
on applications for new drugs to treat life-threatening diseases 
or other conditions for which no treatment exists, and within six
months for all other products.  Kessler said that the agency is 
already approving new drugs for AIDS and other life-threatening 
illnesses in less time than the Kassebaum bill stipulates.  The 
session scheduled for Thursday will consider another portion of 
the bill that would permit drug manufactures to distribute to 
physicians peer-reviewed studies of unapproved uses of approved 
drugs.  Related Story: Washington Times (02/22) P. B6
      
"Culture, et Cetera: Excuse Me"
Washington Times (02/22/96) P. A2;  Barnicle, Mike
     In a letter to the editor, reprinted in the Washington Times from
the Boston Globe, columnist Mike Barnicle objects to President's 
Clinton's attempt to restore disability, retirement, and health 
benefits to HIV-infected military personnel who will be 
discharged under a new law.  Barnicle argues that Clinton wants 
the protections because, although he signed the bill, "he can't 
stand the thought of a single person not liking him."  
Furthermore, he writes that, in light of current AIDS education 
efforts, "if you get the disease today due to sexual behavior or 
drug use, then you are either a complete moron or a degenerate 
junkie," and that taxpayers should not have to pay for benefits 
for such individuals.
      
"Singapore HIV Infection Rises 29 Percent in 1995"
Reuters (02/22/96)
     Singapore reported that 111 new cases of HIV were reported in 
1995, a 29 percent increase over 1994's figures.  According to 
the Ministry of Health, 419 cases of HIV have been reported in 
Singapore since 1985, the year that statistics were first 
gathered.  To date, 179 of these people have developed AIDS and 
124 have died.  All but one of the HIV-infections reported in 
1995 were transmitted through sexual contact, 76 percent of which
occurred through heterosexual transmission.  Males accounted for 
91 percent of the cases.
      
"Teens Flush with Cash in Toilet Giveaway"
Chicago Tribune (02/18/96) P. 16-5E;  Horowitz, Donna
     In Larkspur, Calif., teenage volunteers have raised $7,050 for 
the Marin AIDS Project by giving away water-conserving toilets.  
The AIDS group provides services to people with AIDS and offers 
AIDS prevention education.  To encourage people to conserve 
water, the Marin Municipal Water District underwrote the cost of 
the toilets, which reduce water bills and keep the costs down for
importing water, while the teens organized and advertised the 
giveaways and collected the old toilets, which will be crushed 
and used for road construction.  The teens received $15 for each 
new toilet they distributed.
      
"HIV Antiviral Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy"
Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (01/96-02/96) 
Vol.7, No.1, P. 43;  Reillo, Michelle R.;  Altieri, Raymond J.
     Researchers have theorized that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy 
inhibits HIV.  To test this theory, Reillo and Altieri conducted 
laboratory tests with HIV-infected plasma and peripheral blood 
mononuclear cells (PBMCs), comparing the viral load before and 
after treatment.  The viral load was lower after the treatment, 
and few viruses entered the uninfected PBMCs that were exposed to
HBO.  The therapy was also tested in patients and appeared to 
eliminate traceable HIV virus in their plasma.  The therapy was 
found to relieve the fatigue associated with HIV infection
without the toxic side effects brought on by antiviral drugs.  
The preliminary results offer evidence of HBO's potential to 
fight HIV in the laboratory and the body.  Additional research is
necessary to study the mechanism of the treatment.
      
"NIH Agrees to Temporary By-Pass of AIDS Office in Allocation of 
Grants"
Nature (02/08/96) Vol.379, No.6565, P. 475;  Wadman, Meredith
     In an effort to get AIDS research funding back on schedule after 
two government shutdowns, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
has made a preliminary decision to take away budget control held 
by the Office of AIDS Research (OAR).  If the decision is made 
final, AIDS funding would go directly to the individual 
institutes.  Officials from the Clinton Administration, which has
supported the OAR, note that the decision is not final.  A 
spokesman from the White House National AIDS Policy Office said 
the president is "absolutely and firmly" committed to keeping the
OAR's budgetary role.  AIDS activists claim that the decision 
would take away all the OAR's authority and would make the 
results of a forthcoming evaluation of the NIH's AIDS research 
efforts meaningless.  The House voted in August to remove the 
OAR's budgetary authority, but the Senate voted to keep it.  A 
temporary funding provision is unclear about the AIDS office's 
current role.  Officials at the Department of Health and Human 
Services, NIH's parent agency, say they are still trying to reach
a final decision.  A spokesman for Rep. John Porter (R-Ill.), who
chairs the appropriation subcommittee in charge of the NIH 
budget, says the committee thinks that "science, not politics, 
should make all judgments about scientific research."
      
"Continued Sexual Risk Behavior Among HIV Seropositive, Drug-
Using Men: Atlanta, Washington D.C., San Juan, Puerto Rico"
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (02/23/96) Vol. 45, No. 7; 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
     A new study looking at sexual practices of male drug-users
who are infected with HIV underscores the need for intensified
prevention efforts for this risk group.  Previous research
reveals that a number of infected men who use drugs continue to
practice high-risk sexual behaviors.  To look at factors that may
contribute to these behaviors, this report compares two groups of
HIV-positive, drug-using men--those who report unprotected sex
and those who abstain or practice safer sex.  The study found no
significant differences in demographic characteristics, health
status, or drug use behavior, but did identify an opportunity for
improved prevention.  Most of these men are linked to ongoing
community programs which provide drug treatment, mental services,
health care, and psychological support.  The challenge is to
ensure that these programs also address the critical need for
these individuals to reduce risky sexual behaviors.  This article
will be available tomorrow, February 23, from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention National AIDS Clearinghouse
World Wide Web page, http://cdcnac.aspensys.com:86, the CDC
National AIDS Clearinghouse listserv, and CDC NAC ONLINE.

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