                      AIDS Daily Summary 
                        July 15, 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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"In the AIDS Fight, Bells of Hope From Vancouver"
"View From Vancouver: Cautiously Celebrating New AIDS Treatment" 
"Heimlich Tries Using Malaria as Low-Cost HIV Treatment"
"In Fighting HIV, the Privileged Are a World Apart"
"AIDS Conference Serves Up Dizzying Menu of Information, But No 
Set Course of Action"
"AIDS Babies: Hope and Resistance"
"Top Researcher Lauds Cel-Sci's AIDS Vaccine" 
"BioChem Shares Rebound on AIDS Studies"
"HIV and the Mind"
"Success of Combination Therapy Drives the Push for Earlier 
Treatment"
"PROGRESS REPORT: Implementation of Advisory Council" 
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"In the AIDS Fight, Bells of Hope From Vancouver" 
New York Times (07/15/96) P. A7; Dunlap, David W.
     Reports from the international AIDS conference held in
Vancouver last week buoyed the hopes of AIDS patients around the 
country and represented a cultural shift in the AIDS epidemic. 
Studies released demonstrated that HIV can be suppressed in 
patients, suggesting that AIDS will be treated someday as a 
long-term disease.  While many people with HIV plan to live short 
lives--and may give up careers and relationships and cash in 
insurance policies as a result--this is changing as more and more 
patients survive longer.  However, the cost of the drugs is a 
concern, leading to criticism of the pharmaceutical industry.
     
"View From Vancouver: Cautiously Celebrating New AIDS Treatment" 
Wall Street Journal (07/15/96) P. B1; Chase, Marilyn
     While studies presented last week at the 11th International 
Conference on AIDS led to discussion of a cure for AIDS, some 
scientists say the tone is overly optimistic.  With three new 
protease inhibitors, patients are regaining health, but 
peer-reviewed studies have not been completed yet.  Furthermore, 
although there is hope that the drugs will allow patients to 
survive longer by keeping HIV under control, additional research 
is needed to determine which drugs are most effective.  Drawbacks 
to the new therapies include side effects, potential drug 
resistance, and the high cost of the drugs.
     
"Heimlich Tries Using Malaria as Low-Cost HIV Treatment" 
Washington Times (07/15/96) P. A12; Woods, Michael
     Dr. Henry Heimlich, the doctor credited with the Heimlich 
maneuver, has reported progress toward a cheap HIV therapy.  In 
developing countries, where 90 percent of people infected with 
HIV live, an inexpensive treatment is critical.  Heimlich's 
therapy is based on an old treatment for neurosyphilis, a brain 
infection that once killed thousands of people.  The treatment 
involves infecting a patient with an easily curable form of 
malaria and then curing the disease.  The malaria stimulates the 
immune system, and continues to fight off HIV after being cured. 
The therapy has been tested in eight patients, and a larger 
clinical trial is planned.
     
"In Fighting HIV, the Privileged Are a World Apart" 
USA Today (07/15/96) P. 4D; Painter, Kim
     The 11th International Conference on AIDS was marked by
optimism that new drug combinations could suppress HIV but 
tainted with pessimism that 90 percent of HIV-infected people 
would not have access to the drugs.  People in developing 
countries cannot afford the costly drugs, and prevention efforts 
are making only a small impact on the epidemic.  Poverty and 
indifference are primary barriers to treating HIV, said Martin 
Schechter, co-chair of the conference.  Treatment recommendations 
were offered at the meeting but will likely change soon as more 
information is released.
     
"AIDS Conference Serves Up Dizzying Menu of Information, But No 
Set Course of Action"
Washington Post (07/13/96) P. A3; Brown, David
     The 11th International Conference on AIDS gave doctors new 
information, recommendations, and warnings about treating 
patients with HIV, but how these new findings will be implemented 
is unpredictable.  The information will likely start a trend 
toward aggressive therapy.  No one combination is known to be the 
best, however, and new drugs will give doctors still more options 
before testing can determine their use.  Currently, with the nine 
anti-HIV medicines now available in the United States, doctors 
have more than 500 possible treatment options to choose from.
     
"AIDS Babies: Hope and Resistance"
Washington Post (07/13/96) P. A18
     An editorial in the Washington Post claims that, based on
new research on mother-to-child transmission of HIV, mandatory 
testing of pregnant women is even more important than was 
previously thought.  The argument that women's privacy should be 
protected is now less persuasive, the editors say, as new 
research shows that, if a woman is identified as HIV-positive, 
precautions during delivery can help protect her child from 
becoming infected.  While testing newborns is helpful, however, 
Congress has delayed a decision on mandatory newborn testing 
until the year 2000.  The authors criticize this decision and 
point out that the American Medical Association has endorsed 
mandatory HIV tests for all pregnant women.
     
"Top Researcher Lauds Cel-Sci's AIDS Vaccine" 
Washington Post (07/13/96) P. F1; Segal, David
     Cel-Sci, a small Alexandria, Va.-based biotechnology
company, was vaulted into the spotlight last week when a leading 
AIDS researcher reported that its experimental AIDS vaccine 
protected laboratory mice from HIV infection.  Analysts predict 
that Cel-Sci will be an important player in the race for an AIDS 
vaccine, a race with especially high earning potential.  James 
Kahn, director of independent studies of AIDS at San Francisco's 
General Hospital, reported at the International Conference on AIDS 
Thursday that 78 percent of the mice infected with HIV were 
protected by the vaccine.  In the last six months, Cel-Sci's stock 
price has increased 217 percent.
     
"BioChem Shares Rebound on AIDS Studies"
Toronto Globe and Mail (07/12/96) P. B10; Stinson, Marian
     BioChem Pharma shares turned around Thursday in response to 
studies about the effectiveness of new AIDS treatments.  A 
combination therapy that includes BioChem's 3TC was able to 
control the level of HIV in patients.  The stock closed at $41.50 
per share on the Montreal Stock Exchange Thursday, up $1.55 from 
early in the day.  On Wednesday, it dropped $6.25 due to concern 
that new drugs would compete with 3TC, sold by Glaxo-Wellcome.  
The stock was up $1.37 to $30.62 in New York.
     
"HIV and the Mind"
Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS 
Care (06/96) Vol. 2, No. 6, P. 18; Mascolini, Mark
     The seventh Neuroscience of HIV Infection conclave held in
Paris this spring was marked by a lack of new research on 
HIV-associated neurologic diseases.  Researchers heard the 
results of one trial of a new drug for AIDS dementia, anecdotal 
reports on a drug for intractable neuropathic pain, and a trial 
of a compound that may ease both wasting and myopathy.  One 
reason for the dearth of new projects may be that many scientists 
expected the disease to be treated adequately with 
antiretrovirals.  Defining and recognizing HIV-induced 
neurocognitive disorders are primary problems in managing the 
disease.  One study identified a condition called minor 
cognitive-motor disorder and found that its frequency increases 
as HIV disease progresses.  Also discussed were advances in 
diagnosing sensory neuropathy using skin and brain biopsies, and 
polymerase chain reaction assessment, though basic questions 
about how HIV enters the brain, how it triggers cytokines, and 
how they contribute to neurologic disease will require further 
research.  Treatment strategies for HIV-related neurologic 
disorders include attacking the virus, lessening inflammation, 
and protecting the neurons.
     
"Success of Combination Therapy Drives the Push for Earlier 
Treatment"
AIDS Alert (06/96) Vol. 11, No. 6, P. 61
     A small clinical trial testing a combination of ritonavir,
or Norvir, and nucleoside analogs in newly infected HIV patients, 
has shown that the therapy can lower the viral load to 
undetectable levels for up to two years.  The trial, led by Dr. 
Martin Markowitz of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, may 
result in a standard of starting treatment as early as diagnosis. 
Studies are underway comparing newly infected patients treated 
with two combinations--ritonavir, zidovudine (AZT), and 
lamivudine (3TC) versus indinavir (Crixivan), AZT, and 3TC.  The 
push to treat patients early increased in 1995 when Aaron Diamond 
researchers also discovered that HIV begins replicating rapidly 
from the onset of infection.  Moreover, as use of protease 
inhibitors gains steam, viral load testing will become an 
important tool for monitoring antiretroviral treatment and 
patient management.  Studies have suggested, but not proven, that 
survival can be predicted by viral load.  How viral load 
measurements will be used remains to be determined, but most 
researchers agree that they are useful when the burden is very 
high or very low.
     
"PROGRESS REPORT: Implementation of Advisory Council" 
Recommendations, Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS 
(7/8/96)  
     The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS released a 
PROGRESS REPORT: Implementation of Advisory Council 
Recommendations on July 8, 1996, in order to highlight the 
continuing interchange between President Clinton and his Advisory 
Council on HIV/AIDS.  The report includes the Council's 
recommendations to the Administration, the Administration's 
responses, and the Council's evaluation of these responses. The 
Council's purpose has been to advise the President on what his 
Administration can and should do to stop the spread of the 
epidemic, to find a cure and vaccine for HIV, to provide the best 
possible treatment and care to those who are infected, and to end 
HIV-related discrimination and intolerance.  The Council has 
developed recommendations in five subject areas: Presidential 
leadership, research, prevention, services, and discrimination. 
The report contains their first two sets of recommendations 
(issued in July and December of 1995), the Administration's 
action in response to each recommendation, their evaluation of 
this response, and their proposed follow up. It also includes 
their third set of recommendations, made in April 1996.  To order 
a copy of the report, call the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse at 
1-800-458-5231 or view it online on the CDC NAC web site at 
http://www.cdcnac.org.     
     
     
