                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       June 25, 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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"Boehringer Viramune Drug Cleared as HIV Treatment" 
"Drugs Now on Trial Offer 'Real Hope' for AIDS Patients" 
"Latex Allergy"
"Across the USA: New York"
"Singapore Team Finds Herbal HIV Inhibitor"
"HIV+ Patients With TB Less Infectious Than HIV- Patients With 
TB"
"Vitamin B Supplements May Improve Survival in HIV-Positive 
Individuals"
"FDA Advisory Panel Does Not Recommend Approval of Urine Test for 
HIV-1 Antibodies"
"Obstretrical Factors and the Transmission of Human 
Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 From Mother to Child" 
"Surgeon Pays $10,000 in HIV Test Lawsuit" 
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"Boehringer Viramune Drug Cleared as HIV Treatment" 
Wall Street Journal (06/25/96) P. B6
     Viramune, a new HIV drug made by Boehringer Ingelheim, is
the first reverse transcriptase inhibitor to be approved by the 
Food and Drug Administration.  The FDA cautioned that Viramune 
(nevirapine) should be combined with at least one other AIDS drug 
because HIV quickly becomes resistant to nevirapine when used 
alone.  Studies showed that the drug was able to increase the 
efficacy of AZT in increasing CD4 cell counts.
     
"Drugs Now on Trial Offer 'Real Hope' for AIDS Patients" 
Washington Times (06/25/96) P. A3; Taylor, Holly
     HIV-infected individuals are now able to live longer, better
lives thanks to a combination of established AIDS drugs, like 
AZT, and new protease inhibitors.  Daniel Stein and George 
Drusano report that for the first nine months of treatment, the 
survival rate of patients participating in clinical trials 
increased 50 percent.  Stein called the success of the drugs "the 
first major development since we first demonstrated that we could 
treat the virus with antiviral drugs."  In the continuing 
clinical trials at Albany Medical Center, the protease inhibitors 
were found to wipe out much of the virus in the patient's blood. 
The drugs work longer than AZT and are less toxic.
     
"Latex Allergy"
Washington Post--Health (06/25/96) P. 4; Burlington, D. Bruce
     In a letter appearing in the Washington Post's Health
section, Dr. D. Bruce Burlington, an official at the Food and 
Drug Administration, objects to an earlier article on condom use 
to prevent HIV transmission.  According to Burlington, the 
article suggested that people who are allergic to latex have the 
option of using either the female condom, made of polyurethane, 
or a lambskin condom underneath a latex condom.  Burlington 
points out that Avanti, a newly available polyurethane condom, 
has been approved by the FDA especially for people that are 
allergic to latex.  Two other polyurethane condoms have been 
approved, but are not yet available.  Burlington notes that the 
condoms were found to be comparable to latex condoms as barriers 
for sperm and viruses and that other condoms made of new 
materials are also being considered by the agency.
     
"Across the USA: New York"
USA Today (06/25/96) P. 9A
     Geraldo Malave, an inmate in a Plattsburgh, N.Y., prison,
was charged with attempted murder after he tried to infect guards 
with HIV by spitting on them.
     
"Singapore Team Finds Herbal HIV Inhibitor" 
Reuters (06/25/96) 
     A chemical compound isolated from traditional herbs has been
found to slow the growth of an HIV enzyme, Singapore scientists 
report.  Sim Keng Yeow of the National University of Singapore 
said that researchers there had found that the chemical could 
inhibit HIV-1 protease, an enzyme needed for HIV to mature.  The 
researchers' findings were published in the British journal 
Phytotherapy Research, and in the Journal of Natural Products 
published by the American Chemical Society.
     
"HIV+ Patients With TB Less Infectious Than HIV- Patients With 
TB"
Reuters (06/24/96) 
     People who are co-infected with both HIV and tuberculosis
(TB) seem to be less infectious than people who have TB but do 
not have HIV, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention report.  George M. Cauthen and colleagues published 
the results of their multi-center study of more than 2,000 TB 
patients in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of 
Epidemiology.  Of the 2,052 patients, 956 were also infected with 
HIV.  Among the people who came into contact with the 
HIV-negative patients, 42 percent had positive tuberculin skin 
tests, compared to 29 percent of those who had contact with 
HIV-positive TB patients.
     
"Vitamin B Supplements May Improve Survival in HIV-Positive 
Individuals"
Reuters (06/24/96) 
     High intakes of vitamin B supplements may be associated with
improved survival of patients infected with HIV, researchers at 
Johns Hopkins University found.  Led by Alice M. Tang, the 
scientists compared daily micronutrient intake with subsequent 
mortality over an eight-year period.  Tang found that the 
patients with the highest intake of B-group vitamin survived an 
average of 1.3 years longer than those with lower intake levels. 
Vitamin B6 intake of more than twice the recommended allowance 
was especially associated with longer survival.  Vitamin B1 and 
B2 intake of more than five times the recommended daily allowance 
was also associated with improved survival, while increased zinc 
intake was associated with poorer survival.
     
"FDA Advisory Panel Does Not Recommend Approval of Urine Test for 
HIV-1 Antibodies"
Reuters (06/22/96) 
     A urine-based HIV-1 test was not recommended for approval
Friday by an advisory committee to the Food and Drug 
Administration.  The test combines a screening assay, developed 
by Calypte Biomedical of Berkeley, Calif., with a confirmatory 
Western Blot.  Reviewers were concerned that a urine test would 
not be as sensitive or specific for HIV-1 antibodies as a serum 
screening test.
     
"Obstretrical Factors and the Transmission of Human 
Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 From Mother to Child"
New England Journal of Medicine (06/20/96) Vol. 334, No. 25; P. 
1617; Landesman, Sheldon H.; Kalish, Leslie A.; Burns, David N.; 
et al.
     While obstetrical factors are thought to have an impact on
the transmission of HIV from mother to child, their influence has 
not been well-studied.  Researchers led by Dr. Sheldon H. 
Landesman of the State University of New York evaluated the 
relationship between obstetrical factors and perinatal 
transmission among 525 HIV-1 infected women involved in the 
multicenter Women and Infants Transmission Study.  The 
researchers found that among mothers whose membranes broke more 
than four hours prior to delivery, the rate of transmission of 
HIV-1 to the infants was 25 percent, compared to 14 percent among 
mothers with membranes that broke within four hours of delivery. 
A multivariate analysis indicated that the risk of transmission 
was more than double for those women whose membranes were 
ruptured more than four hours before delivery, regardless of the 
method of delivery.  Other factors associated with HIV 
transmission were illicit drug use during pregnancy, low 
antenatal CD4 cell count, and low birth weight.
     
"Surgeon Pays $10,000 in HIV Test Lawsuit"
American Medical News (06/17/96) Vol. 39, No. 23, P. 31
     A plastic surgeon in Wellesley, Mass., agreed to pay $10,000
to a man who objected to the doctor taking blood from him for an 
HIV test without his consent.  Jason Gavann of Boston claimed in 
the civil suit that Dr. Douglas Wooldridge drew blood while he 
was performing cosmetic eye surgery and had it tested for HIV 
without his permission.  HIV testing without consent is illegal 
in Massachusetts.  A lawyer for the surgeon said he ordered the 
test--which came back negative--because he had pricked himself 
during the operation, noting that he was only taking 
precautionary measures.  Gavann's action charged the he was the 
victim of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, 
and unfair and deceptive practices.
     
     
