CDC Summary 7/8/92
Billi Goldberg
July 8, 1992
The Centers for Disease Control (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
Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is
encouraged; however, copies may not be sold. Copyright 1992,
Information, Inc., Washington, DC
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"Different Paths to a Human Blood 'Substitute'" New York Times
(07/08/92), P. D5 (Fisher, Lawrence M.)
Due to the threat of AIDS and hepatitis in blood supplies, more
than a dozen pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have been
investigating possible blood substitutes to be used for accident victims
or surgery patients. In addition to benefitting public health, the
substitutes are also a potential market worth an estimated at $2 billion
to $12 billion a year. Researchers are investigating ways to duplicate
only the most important function of blood--the transport of oxygen from
the lungs to the body's many tissues. The transport of oxygen is
conducted by hemoglobin, a complex protein that is contained in red
blood cells and represents 97 percent of their volume. Three companies
have significantly different technologies to produce a substitute, each
of which will or has recently entered human clinical trials. One
company will use a chemical that is able to both absorb oxygen and to
release it. The other two are based on biotechnology. The first will
produce a genetically engineered human hemoglobin in bacteria, and the
other will transplant a human hemoglobin gene into pigs. The
substitutes all have the disadvantage of depleting quickly in the body,
which is why the substitutes will be used only in situations where there
is a severe need for blood, such as emergency surgery.
"Collingdale Board Elects to Test Police Applicants for HIV"
Philadelphia Inquirer (07/08/92), P. B6 (O'Neill, Robert F.)
The Collingdale Borough Council of Pennsylvania has decided to
require anyone on its eight-member police force who becomes the leading
candidate for the newly-created detective position to undergo HIV
testing. In opposition to AIDS advocacy groups and the Pennsylvania
Fraternal Order of Police, which contend that testing job applicants for
HIV is illegal, the council made the decision Monday night. Borough
Solicitor Henry B. Fitzpatrick said that the testing is essential to
reveal if an applicant has "a bodily defect, deformity, or diseases that
might incapacitate him for...the position desired." However, David
Webber, director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, said the plan
infringes upon the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the
Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the state's 1991 Confidentiality
of HIV-Related Information Act. Fizpatrick argued that the Disabilities
Act and the HRC Act allow "discrimination against persons with
disabilities if the disability is job-related." Gary M. Lightman, a
lawyer for the state FOP, disputed the borough's actions and warned
that the Pennsylvania State Lodge will take legal action if the borough
proceeds with its policy.
"Ad Urges Teens to Delay Sex, Stresses AIDS Threat" Baltimore Sun
(07/08/92), P. 1B (Atwood, Liz)
The Baltimore-area Campaign for Our Children has recently released
an advertisement citing AIDS as another reason teenagers should postpone
having sex. The public service ad funded with state and private money
portrays a man playing taps while the message on the side reads "AIDS
is the 6th leading cause of death among 15-24 year-olds." Chuck
Donofrio, executive vice president of the advertising agency which
produced the ad, Richardson, Myers & Donofrio Inc., said that although
previous ads stressed abstinence to prevent teen pregnancy, this one
stresses abstinence as a means of avoiding AIDS. He said, "What we
wanted to convey is that there is an incredible risk in having sex."
Earlier ads have included one with the spray-painted word "virgin,"
stating, "Teach your kids it's not a dirty word," and another depicting
a teenage boy who is surprised when his girlfriend won't have sex with
him. The boy asks, "What does that make me?" A rat is then displayed
after his question. Donofrio said the spots, aimed at children 9-14,
seem to be effective. In the last two years, the pregnancy rate among
state teenagers has declined more than 10 percent.
"Israel to Require AIDS Tests of Foreigners" United Press International
(07/07/92)
Jerusalem--It will soon be mandatory for any foreign applicant
applying for an Israeli work visa of three months or longer to be tested
for HIV before being admitted to the country. Those testing HIV-
positive will not necessarily have their application denied. Spokesman
Chagai Elias said, "It is just to be sure they do not donate blood and
so that we have a list to follow these people in case they come to a
hospital." Israel's work force is largely transient with many of its
workers coming from central Europe, Asia, and Africa. Most are
employed in construction, household help, and other physical labor. In
Israel, only two citizens have been diagnosed as HIV-positive this
year, compared with 12 in 1991. Since AIDS has become a worldwide
epidemic, at least 1,000 cases have been detected in Israel.
"State Pitching Celibacy to Teens" Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition
(07/08/92), P. B6 (Horovitz, Bruce)
The California Department of Health Services will spend $5.7
million in a media effort to encourage teenagers to abstain from sex.
For the next three years, the campaign will be targeted at 12- to 14-
year-olds, advising, "If you're not ready for sex, there are a lot of
ways to say it." Although the new campaign may be a contradiction to
the many television shows that display sex as a common an acceptable
practice, ad executives feel that running the ads during the shows that
teenagers watch will be the best means of reaching the intended
audience. Judith Pratt, chief of the health education section in the
health department's Office of Family Planning, said, "No one ever talks
to teens about how to resist the pressures. It's time we did." The
spots all involve teenagers and how they handle the peer pressure to
have sex. "Just what part of 'no' don't you understand?" a teenager
tells her boyfriend. Another teen says, "You don't have to have sex to
have a special relationship." Next week the state also will begin
airing TV ads that show how male teenagers deal with peer pressures. A
provocative print ad is also expected to be featured in newspapers next
week.
"Cupid With a Cause" Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (07/08/92),
P. B2 (Kelleher, Kathleen)
A Los Angeles-based condom delivery service that became
operational three months ago was established with the intention of
alleviating the fears and embarrassment of going to the store and
buying condoms. Cupid, a one-man condom delivery service operated by
entrepreneur Tony Maza, delivers FDA-approved prophylactics.
Deliveries have been made to street corners, parking lots, gas
stations, and restaurants--all areas especially popular with individuals
who are afraid to buy condoms in stores. Included with the condoms is a
complementary ornamental condom key chain and several pamphlets on
safer sex, HIV-infection, and AIDS. Prices range from $8.99 for three
condoms to $14.99 for a dozen. Recent research indicates that there is
a need for this type of service. In a 1990 study conducted by David
Kanouse, senior behavioral scientist at RAND, 14 percent of the
respondents in Los Angeles county said they did not use condoms because
they were too embarrassed to purchase them, and 17 percent said they did
not use them because they were not readily available when needed. Maza
started his business three months ago after he researched prophylactics
and purchased a variety of imported and domestic condoms. Maza says he
has about 300 customers--most of whom are women--and averages 50 to 60
deliveries a week.
"Tat Drug Development Current Status" AIDS Treatment News (06/19/92) No.
153, P. 1 (James, John S.)
One of the most promising AIDS treatment research areas is the
development of drugs designed to thwart the HIV regulatory protein
called tat, without which HIV can't reproduce. Drugs specifically for
inhibiting tat are unique because they are more likely to be effective
in chronically infected cells. Moreover, viral resistance is less
likely to occur with tat inhibitors than with currently-used anti-HIV
drugs. Hoffmann-La Roche has developed a benzodiazepine that is the
first tat inhibitor in human testing. The first study of RO-24-7429
showed that the drug inhibited HIV at least 90 percent in laboratory
tests, with the target level easily reached and maintained for at least
four hours with an oral dose of 200 mg. The next trial of RO-24-7429,
to be conducted at Johns Hopkins University, will be pharmacokinetic
studies on 14-day safety and tolerance levels of the drug, which builds
up in the body. Researchers want to examine the drug over a longer
period than has previously been tested, so as to accurately administer
it to humans. The study is under evaluation by institutional review
board for approval and recruiting could start this month.
"Trial to Stop Mother-to-Baby Transmission Set to Begin" AIDS Treatment
News (06/19/92) No. 153, P. 5 (Solomon, Nancy)
A clinical trial is expected to begin soon which would determine
whether HIV Hyperimmune Globulin (HIVIG)--a blood product containing
antibodies to HIV--can inhibit transmission of the virus from pregnant
women to their newborn infants. The study by the AIDS Clinical Trials
Group was postponed from its original date in April because Abbott
Laboratories refused to sign a contract holding it responsible for any
health problems that may develop in the patients or their babies or for
cost overruns. After being challenged by ACT-UP and the National
Institutes of Health, Abbot agreed in June to sign the contract. The
phase III trial is expected to involve 400 HIV-positive pregnant women
at 12 undisclosed sites who will be given AZT. Half will also receive
HIVIG and the other half will receive Intravenous Immune Globulin--
similar to HIVIG but without any HIV antibodies. To qualify for the
study, women must have a CD4 cell count of less than 500 or experience
a symptom of AIDS that would have warranted treatment with AZT. Since
researchers believe that HIV may be transmitted from mother to baby
during labor, the women, while giving birth, will receive a "loading
dose" of the combination therapy by infusion.
"Announcements: Lymph-Node Viral Burden Study Begins: Baltimore,
Chicago, Durham, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Stonybrook" AIDS Treatment
News (06/19/92) No. 153, P. 7
Lymph tissue research may be effective in elucidating how
effective antivirals treat HIV infection, say top researchers.
However, lymph tissue testing is more difficult because it requires a
lymph-node biopsy. A new trial will determine how viral burden in
lymph tissue alters as an effect of treatment with AZT, ddI, and the
combination of those drugs; viral measurements (by quantitative viral
culture and quantitative PCR) will also be correlated with changes in T-
cell counts. The intention is to learn more about the pathogenesis of
AIDS, and to discover how well T-cell counts correlate with effects of
antitretroviral drugs on viral levels. The findings will help develop
future trials. The study is sponsored by DATRI (Division of AIDS
Treatment Research Initiative), a new program by the National
Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to operate faster trials
which are more significant for enhancing our scientific understanding
of AIDS. Persons who qualify for the study must have either never used
AZT or other antiretrovirals and have a T-cell count of more than 350,
or be on a stable AZT regimen and have a T-cell count of more than 250.
Participants must make seven visits, during a nine-week period; two of
these visits will include a lymph-node biopsy.
"Leroy's Takes the Business Nobody Wants" Drug Store News (06/22/92)
Vol. 2, No. 6, P. 51
The New York-based Leroy pharmacy chain has a reputation for
caring about the communities in which it operates. Leroy Pharmacy,
which had $35 million in sales last year, $8 million of which is
represented by durable medical equipment and infusion therapies,
attempts to accommodate AIDS patients as much as necessary. Kathleen
Kelly, clinical director of Accuhealth, Inc., Leroy's home health care
division, said "two thirds of our patients have AIDS. Many patients
start with insurance, then lose it. If patients don't have insurance,
we provide care to them at a reduced rate. We will never refuse a
patient care." Leroy Pharmacy works closely with insurance companies
on containing costs while delivering quality care and ensuring the
continued flow of a patient's coverage. "We were on the forefront of
the AIDS crisis when we sold pharmaceutical products to patients at
cost. We are known in the AIDS community as the chain that cares,"
said Kelly.