The Washington Blade; Friday, February 7, 1997
Lisa Keen
President Clinton's drug czar, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, said last month that the government would spend about $1 million to have the independent Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences investigate whether marijuana has medicinal benefit. In an interview with the New York Times Friday, National Institutes of Health Director Harold Varmus said he will convene a two-day meeting to discuss the public health questions raised by the issue.
The Clinton administration has been under fire lately for taking a hardball stand against making marijuana available to help alleviate some of the distresses felt by people with terminally ill diseases. Just last week, the New England Journal of Medicine ran an editorial endorsing the use of marijuana for certain medicinal purposes, and a report in the Jan. 17 issue of AIDS Treatment News triggered a flurry of reports that the federal government conducted a $2 million study on marijuana just two years ago that found an ingredient in marijuana, THC, appeared to reduce the number of tumors in mice.
The NIH meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for Feb. 19-20.
**Free viral load tests for financially needy
The Roche Diagnostic Systems is again offering free viral load tests, this time to people with HIV who demonstrate a financial need.
The company offered two free viral load tests to people with HIV infection last June, but ran into trouble within a few months when they developed a "significant backlog" in the processing of more than 80,000 specimens submitted. To remedy this, the company in late November offered free testing for any individual who "had not received their test results back by mid-October" and promised to hire additional lab services to ensure that all the backlogged specimens would be processed and reported to physicians by mid-December.
Patients interested in applying for the free viral load tests can call Roche's Patient Assistance Program at 1 (888) TEST-PCR. Those who qualify will receive a voucher which their doctor can submit with their blood sample for testing. Each patient can receive up to four free tests.
**Controversy over antiviral claims
A new antiviral which three scientists say kills the AIDS virus and repairs its damage to the immune system is becoming the subject of scrutiny and controversy this month. According to Associated Press, three scientists at the University of Pretoria in South Africa asked the South African government last month for almost $1 million dollars to continue their research on Virodene P058, an antiviral which they tested on a dozen people before first testing in laboratory and animal trials. According to the scientists, the drug works better and costs less than any other AIDS treatment currently available. But they did not submit their data for scientific peer scrutiny, and a number of other AIDS experts publicly criticized them for "highly irregular" procedures.
In brief...
VOLUNTEERS: People with HIV infection and CD4 cell counts of between 200 and 700 are needed for a study of a triple-drug combination of either Indinavir-AZT-3TC or Indinavir-d4T-ddI. The study will take place at George Washington University. For more information, call (202) 994-2417.
LEGAL HELP: The ACLU has published a thick new legal guide for people with HIV infection. Written by the ACLU's National Lesbian and Gay Rights Project former director William Rubenstein and two D.C. area legal activists -- Ruth Eisenberg and Lawrence Gostin -- the 384-page book, The Rights of People Who Are HIV Positive, answers questions about insurance, federal benefits, public accommodations, and employment-related concerns. The book costs $13.95. For more information, call the ACLU at (212) 869-9065.
BUDDIES: The AIDS buddy group of Annapolis, HAVEN, is holding a buddy training the weekend of Feb. 21-23. For more information, call (410) 224-2437.
NUTRITION: Nutrition Action Newsletter says taking the protease inhibitor saquinavir with grapefruit juice can enhance the drug's absorption by the body.
EYE CARE: The Better Vision Institute, a nonprofit group which educates the public about eye health issues, says patients with HIV who experience certain symptoms -- cloudy vision, multiple small "floaters," light flashes -- should consult an eye specialist immediately for diagnosis of possible cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis.
WEB SITES: The pharmaceutical SmithKline Beecham has launched an "interactive" Web site called "Boy Meets Boy" aimed at educating sexually active Gay men about hepatitis A and the company's vaccine Havrix. The site can be reached at http://www.boymeetsboy.com. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has launched a Web site to provide information to employers and employees about HIV and workplace issues. It can be reached at http://www.brta-Irta.org.
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