                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       June 17, 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 National AIDS 
Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this 
text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC 
National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this 
information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
     
     
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"Firm Nears Agreement on AIDS Care Facility" 
"'Eradication' of HIV Seen as Possible"
"Across the USA: Tennessee"
"Cause Celebre Conflict"
"On Fringes of Health Care, Untested Therapies Thrive" 
"Anti-HIV IgA Test: High False-Positive Rate" 
"Endocrine Problems Found in AIDS Patients"
"Youngest AIDS Patients Hospitalized Most Frequently"
"AIDS Researchers, Activists Wary of Newspaper Article's Message" 
"Florida Doctors Slow on HIV Testing for Pregnant Women" 
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"Firm Nears Agreement on AIDS Care Facility" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (06/17/96) P. B1; Collins, Huntly
     Mercy Health is set to take over Betak, Philadelphia's only 
nursing home for AIDS patients, on July 1.  The deal would save 
the struggling facility, on which low-income AIDS patients rely, 
by converting it into a personal-care boarding home for patients 
who cannot care for themselves but do not need skilled nursing 
care.  Those who do need the nursing care would be admitted to 
St. Joseph's Hospital, where North Philadelphia Health Systems 
would provide 29 skilled nursing beds for AIDS patients. The 
state would pay Betak a fee for each patient, marking the first 
time the state would provide money for a personal care home for 
AIDS patients.  AIDS patient advocates said the plan would 
provide a much-needed safety net for the city's most desperate 
AIDS patients.
     
"'Eradication' of HIV Seen as Possible" 
Washington Post (06/16/96) P. A12
     AIDS experts reported last week that it may be possible,
using combinations of HIV drugs, to "eradicate" HIV from an 
infected person's body.  The promising news was reported last 
week from a meeting convened by the medical journal Antiviral 
Therapy and the University of Amsterdam.  AIDS experts reviewed 
unpublished data from trials taking place in the United States, 
Europe, Canada, and Australia which tested various drug 
combinations, and showed that, in some patients, the amount of 
HIV can be reduced to undetectable levels for up to two years. 
Thus far, no patients have taken the drug combinations for more 
than two years, so researchers say more time is needed to 
determine how effective the therapies are.  Researchers also 
noted that getting treatment soon after infection was important 
in reducing the viral level.
     
"Across the USA: Tennessee"
USA Today (06/17/96) P. 12
     Inmates of Tennessee state prisons are seven times more
likely than the general population to contract the virus that 
causes AIDS, officials report.  Of the 13,494 prisoners there, 
120 are infected with HIV.
     
"Cause Celebre Conflict"
Washington Post (06/15/96) P. A1; Weiss, Rick
     In a twist on World Animal Awareness Week, a five-day event
to take place in Washington, D.C., this week, AIDS activists, 
scientists, and other patient advocates will be confronting 
animal rights supporters with a choice between animal rights and 
finding a cure for AIDS.  Thousands of animal rights supporters 
will participate in the event, at which AIDS advocates will argue 
that opposing the use of animals in medical research threatens 
progress toward curing AIDS and other diseases.  Animal rights 
supporters who also support AIDS research, including Hollywood 
celebrities who will participate in the event, are a particular 
target of the AIDS groups.  Each World Awareness Week event will 
be countered by demonstrations and messages from AIDS groups, 
including ACT-UP, the AIDS Action Council, and the National 
Association of People With AIDS.  Some Awareness Week 
participants said they would not be distracted from their goal to 
protect animals, arguing that animal research is not necessary to 
advance medicine.
     
"On Fringes of Health Care, Untested Therapies Thrive" 
New York Times (06/17/96) P. A1; Kolata, Gina
     Alternative medical treatments--including naturopathy, 
acupuncture, and the use of vitamins or dietary supplements to cure 
disease--have been gaining in popularity and are even covered by 
some insurance policies, but many physicians, scientists, and 
government officials are critical.  According to Richard A. 
Friedman, director of psychopharmacology at New York 
Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, untested treatments "range from 
harmless placebos to deadly poisons, and the consumer has no way of 
knowing which is which."  People who use untested alternative 
therapies may not pursue standard therapies that have been proven 
to be effective.  Moreover, patients may suffer actual harm from 
the supplements they consume, despite a widely held belief that 
so-called "natural" remedies are free from side-effects.
     
"Anti-HIV IgA Test: High False-Positive Rate" 
Reuters (06/14/96) 
     The anti-HIV-directed IgA antibody test is being tested for
the early detection of vertically transmitted HIV infection.  The 
test's efficacy has been variable, but now researchers at the 
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases report that 
it has moderate sensitivity and high specificity for detecting 
HIV infection at 6 months of age in children of infected mothers. 
Kenneth McIntosh et al. based their results on anti-HIV Iga tests 
of 156 infants of HIV-infected mothers, compared to blood tests 
of the infants.  When peripheral or cord blood samples were 
tested at birth, the test had a high false-positive rate.  The 
research was published in the Archives of Pediatric and 
Adolescent Medicine.
     
"Endocrine Problems Found in AIDS Patients"
United Press International (06/14/96); Wanchek, Natasha
     Curable endocrine problems occur with more frequency in 
HIV-infected people than in the general population, Georgetown 
University scientists said Friday.  At the International Congress 
of Endocrinology in San Francisco, Terry Taylor and colleagues 
presented results which showed that HIV-positive patients were 
much more likely to develop adrenal insufficiency, hypogonadism, 
and thyroid dysfunction.  These conditions often are undiagnosed 
in HIV patients because the symptoms--including nausea, fatigue, 
dizziness, and abdominal complaints--are common.  Taylor said, 
however, that doctors should be able to identify the endocrine 
disorders when symptoms occur in the context of other signs, like 
a low blood-glucose level.
     
"Youngest AIDS Patients Hospitalized Most Frequently" 
Reuters (06/14/96) 
     Infants with AIDS are hospitalized more frequently than
older children or adults, researchers at the Jefferson Medical 
College in Philadelphia report in the Archives of Pediatric and 
Adolescent Medicine.  The study found that infants and children 
with AIDS who receive specialty care have a 40 percent lower risk 
of death following an AIDS diagnosis.  Older children were found 
to rely on emergency care more than adults and had longer overall 
survival rates following an AIDS diagnosis.
     
"AIDS Researchers, Activists Wary of Newspaper Article's Message" 
Scientist (06/10/96) Vol. 10, No. 12; P. 1; Benowitz, Steven
     An article appearing in the Wall Street Journal on May 1, 
titled "AIDS Fight Is Skewed by Federal Campaign Exaggerating 
Risks," has stirred concerns among AIDS activists and scientists. 
The article presented the case that a campaign launched by the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1987 gave the 
public the alarming misperception that anyone was at risk for 
HIV.  While the article acknowledged that the message was 
technically correct, it held that the campaign ignored the higher 
risk of certain groups, including gay men and intravenous drug 
users.  Most scientists and activists dispute the article's 
claims that the CDC exaggerated risks or misdirected prevention 
efforts to secure federal funds.  They also say combined 
prevention and awareness efforts are needed for both those at 
especially high risk for AIDS and the general population.   
Ronald O. Valdiserri, deputy director of CDC's National Center 
for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention in Atlanta, says the article 
"embodied a simplistic view of HIV prevention."  Many scientists 
say the CDC's campaign was fair in light of the lack of HIV/AIDS 
information available at the time.  But, they add, now that more 
is known about the virus and the disease, the government's AIDS 
budget needs to be reallocated to target specific groups.
     
"Florida Doctors Slow on HIV Testing for Pregnant Women" 
American Medical News (06/10/96) Vol. 39, No. 22; P. 27
     Some private doctors in Florida are not complying with 
recommendations to treat pregnant HIV-positive women with AZT, 
even though doing so can cut the risk of perinatal transmission 
by two-thirds.  Florida health officials advised doctors in 1994 
to offer pregnant women HIV testing and counseling, and the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a similar 
recommendation in 1995.  The Florida Medical Association notes 
that while public health clinics are doing well at counseling 
women about AZT and offering HIV testing and treatment, many 
private doctors are not.  The University of Florida's Dr. Joseph 
W. Shands suggests that private doctors in upscale practices are 
uncomfortable talking about HIV testing with their patients.  Of 
the 1,114 cases of HIV in children in Florida reported through 
1995, 95 percent were caused by perinatal transmission.  Gov. 
Lawton Chiles is considering a bill that would require doctors to 
offer pregnant women HIV counseling.
     
     
