                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      March 1, 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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"Abbott AIDS Drug Appears on Track for Fast Approval by FDA 
Officials"
"Virus Linked to a Cancer in AIDS Patients Is Identified"
"Why Heterosexual Sex May Spread Some HIV More Easily"
"'Important Finding' in AIDS Drug Study"
"Washington Wire: AIDS Funding"
"Nations Differ on HIV"
"HIV Protein Level Tied to Babies' AIDS Risk"
"Abbott Has No Plans to Step Up AIDS Drug Program"
"AIDS Researchers Hit U.S. Refusal on Needle Exchanges"
"Are Some People Immune?"
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"Abbott AIDS Drug Appears on Track for Fast Approval by FDA 
Officials"
Wall Street Journal (03/01/96) P. B2;  McGinley, Laurie
     U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials met with 
officials of Abbott Laboratories Thursday night to discuss 
approval of Abbott's protease inhibitor Norvir (ritonavir) for 
patients in the advanced stages of AIDS.  The drug, which has 
been recommended for approval by an FDA advisory panel, is more 
powerful than Hoffmann-La Roche's Invirase (saquinavir), the 
protease inhibitor which was granted approval in December.  
Norvir may be approved as early as today, and Merck's protease 
inhibitor Crixivan (indinavir) is expected to soon follow--an 
advisory panel recommendation for Crixivan may come today as 
well.  Analyst Hemant Shah estimates that sales of the two drugs 
could reach $100 million to $200 million annually, while other 
analysts predict that sales could be even higher.  Related Story:
Washington Post (03/01) P. A12; Baltimore Sun (03/01) P. 3A
      
"Virus Linked to a Cancer in AIDS Patients Is Identified"
New York Times (03/01/96) P. A18;  Altman, Lawrence K.
     A research team led by Don Ganem, a virologist at the University 
of California at San Francisco, reports in the March issue of the
journal Nature Medicine that they have succeeded in growing the 
virus believed to be responsible for Kaposi's sarcoma, the most 
common cancer affecting gay men with AIDS.  An official name for 
the virus has not been chosen, but it has been referred to as 
Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpes virus or human herpes virus 8.
Ganem's team of scientists is now working on a blood test to help
diagnose Kaposi's sarcoma and is also studying the effectiveness 
of three drugs--acyclovir, gancyclovir, and foscarnet--in 
combating the Kaposi's virus.  The identification of the virus 
may lead to more effective treatments for Kaposi's sarcoma, a 
clearer idea of how it is transmitted, and a better understanding
of how viruses cause cancers.
      
"Why Heterosexual Sex May Spread Some HIV More Easily"
USA Today (03/01/96) P. 7D;  Painter, Kim
     A strain of HIV in Thailand has been found to spread more easily 
by heterosexual sex than does a strain in the United States.  A 
new study, published in the journal Science, found that one kind 
of Thai HIV grew more efficiently when it infected mucous 
membrane cells called Langerhans cells, found in the vagina and 
mouth, but not in the rectum.  Type E viruses, more common in 
Asia and Africa, grow more rapidly than Type B viruses, common in
Europe and the United States.  Only a few non-B cases have been 
found in the United States, a fact Harvard researcher Max Essex 
attributes to luck.  If Type E ever takes hold here, "we could 
face a much more significant epidemic among heterosexuals," he 
said.  Harold Jaffe, of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, says that widespread prostitution and the prevalence 
of other sexual diseases has enhanced the Thai epidemic and that 
a new strain of HIV would not necessarily change the U.S. 
epidemic.
      
"'Important Finding' in AIDS Drug Study"
Houston Chronicle (02/29/96) P. 6A;  SoRelle, Ruth
     A single anti-viral drug called ddI is as effective as the 
combination of ddI and AZT in delaying serious symptoms or death 
in children with AIDS, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine 
reported Wednesday.  Upon hearing presentations about this 
finding as well as two studies in adults, a Food and Drug 
Administration advisory panel suggested that ddI be recommended 
as a first-line treatment for AIDS, either alone or in 
combination.  The drug, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. under 
the brand name VIDEX, was found to work better alone than AZT 
alone, and is easier and cheaper to administer than a two-drug 
regimen.   The Baylor study was the largest ever performed in 
pediatric AIDS, enrolling 839 children and 78 hospitals in 20 
states and Puerto Rico.
      
"Washington Wire: AIDS Funding"
Wall Street Journal (03/01/96) P. A1
     President Clinton is expected to request an additional $52 
million for under-funded state programs that provide AIDS drugs. 
Congress appears likely to agree with the proposal.  A coalition 
of AIDS activists and drug companies are calling for the funds, 
but say more is needed.
      
"Nations Differ on HIV"
USA Today (03/01/96) P. 2E;  Sloan, Gene
     Of the 50 countries that require HIV tests for international 
visitors, most exempt people who stay fewer than 30 days.  For 
those staying longer, a test done before arrival is usually 
accepted.  However, for individuals who have tested positive, 
traveling can become difficult.  Billy Kolber, editor of Out & 
About, a newsletter for gay travelers, says a regular problem is 
getting clear information on a country's policy.  Indonesia, for 
example, surprised international travel experts when it refused 
to allow basketball star Magic Johnson to enter the country in 
1994 because he was HIV-positive.
      
"HIV Protein Level Tied to Babies' AIDS Risk"
Boston Globe (02/29/96) P. 3
     A study of HIV-positive mothers and their infants has found that 
women with the highest levels of HIV RNA are more likely to 
infect their children with the virus.  Researchers at the 
University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center followed 42 
women and their 97 infants for five years.  Only 20 of the babies
were infected with HIV, and most of them were born to mothers 
with the highest levels of HIV RNA.  None of the children of 
mothers with the lowest RNA levels became HIV-infected.  The 
researchers concluded that this may be why giving AZT to 
pregnant, HIV-positive women helps reduce the risk of 
transmission.  A separate study in France suggests that babies 
born with liver and spleen enlargements or who test positive for 
HIV in the first week of life are at the greatest risk of 
developing severe AIDS-related diseases in their first year.
      
"Abbott Has No Plans to Step Up AIDS Drug Program"
Reuters (02/29/96);  Drawbaugh, Kevin
     Abbott Laboratories Inc. said Thursday that, despite a protest by
AIDS activists at a company plant in France, it does not intend 
to expand a special distribution program of the experimental AIDS
drug ritonavir.  About 40 AIDS activists, led by the group ACT 
UP, demonstrated Thursday at an Abbott plant in St. Remy, France,
demanding that the company increase European shipments of the 
drug, which will be marketed under the name Norvir.  The company 
said it will stick to its plan to provide enough of the drug, 
which was recommended for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration advisory panel on Thursday, for 2,000 of the 
sickest AIDS patients.  Thus far, the drug has only been 
available through clinical trials and a compassionate-use 
program.
      
"AIDS Researchers Hit U.S. Refusal on Needle Exchanges"
American Medical News (02/12/96) Vol.39, No.6, P. 8;  Hearn, 
Wayne
     A group of 32 AIDS researchers recently sent a letter to Donna 
Shalala, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), objecting to the government ban on needle exchange 
programs.  The letter was in response to her statement in 
December to the New York Times that a "controversy over research"
exists and that, until research conclusively proves the efficacy 
of needle exchanges, the government cannot fund such programs.  A
1988 ban on federal funding for needle exchanges is supposed to 
last until the programs were proved effective.  The group 
contends that at least six government-funded studies since 1991 
have shown that the programs are effective and do not encourage 
the use of illegal drugs.  A 1992 study at the Center for AIDS 
Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco
was based on 23 needle exchanges in 15 cities and found that the 
programs were successful.  Five similar studies also reached 
similar conclusions--that the criteria to lift the ban had been 
met.  An HHS spokesman says that the law sets a high burden of 
proof, and that "data that's strong but inconclusive does not 
pass the test."  HHS claims that the research is inconclusive, 
citing three unpublished reports that suggest that HIV or drug 
use rates increased during the exchange studies.
      
"Are Some People Immune?"
Time (02/12/96) Vol.147, No.7, P. 65;  Toufexis, Anastasia
     Some people with HIV do not develop AIDS for years, and a new 
study suggests that some may never get sick.  European 
researchers have found that some infants who got HIV from their 
mothers seem to lose the infection.  Other people appear to be 
immune to HIV even after being exposed to it repeatedly.  AIDS 
researchers are exploring these unusual cases, hoping they may 
offer a new direction for treatment or a cure.  Experts use the 
term "nonprogressors" to describe people who have HIV but have 
not demonstrated any lessened immunity in at least 10 years.  
Eight to 10 percent of those infected fall into this category.  
In Nairobi, 58 prostitutes were found to have no HIV in their 
blood, despite having unprotected sex with hundreds, possibly 
thousands, of HIV-positive men.  Scientists think they may have a
type of killer T cell that is able to wipe out the virus quickly.
Meanwhile, in Sydney, Australia, researchers have located seven 
people who have not developed AIDS despite being HIV-infected via
blood transfusions 15 years ago.  The researchers have theorized 
that these individuals were infected with a strain of HIV that is
missing key pieces of genetic information needed to replicate and
that protects them from infection from stronger strains.  However
experts are particularly puzzled by the six children who tested 
HIV positive and subsequently completely cleared the virus from 
their bodies.  The scientists speculate that the infants' bodies 
somehow eradicated the virus or that they became permanently 
tolerant to it.
      
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