The Washington Blade; Friday, March 7, 1997
Lisa Keen

The genetic mutation touted last year as a possible natural immunity against HIV infection may not provide protection after all. In a letter to Nature Medicine in its March edition, researchers in Australia report they found a man who has this mutation but also has HIV infection.

Researchers noticed in 1995 that a gene seemed to provide protection to a tiny group of people, and they learned last year that a specific mutation of that gene provides the natural immunity. The discoveries suggested researchers might defeat HIV by targeting not just the virus but also this specific gene.

The Australian researchers note that the man tested positive for HIV infection in 1992 and that his health is declining.

**Study begins soon on post-sex treatment

Researchers in San Francisco say they are "considering" designing a study to test the use of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against HIV infection for hospital workers on patients who have been infected very recently through sex.

The researchers, at San Francisco General Hospital, say they would expect to distribute a 30-day supply of antiviral drugs to healthy patients who have been recently exposed to HIV through one instance of "risky behavior."

Researchers reported at last year's AIDS conference that they have seen some success with this strategy in health care workers who have been accidentally stuck with needles. According to the reports, 75 percent of health care workers who suffered needlestick exposure to HIV and who immediately took 1,000 to 1,500 mg per day of AZT for two to four weeks had not become infected with HIV, at least not so far. Experts warned, however, that the success rate with this therapy might not be so easily translated for post-sex exposure. That's because the health care workers were generally in situations where they could obtain antiviral drugs within one to two hours of their exposure. Experts recommend that such therapy begin at least within 12 hours of exposure.

**Conflicting reports on glutathione deficiency

A researcher at Cornell Medical College told Associated Press this week that a large study using a drug to treat glutathione deficiency showed no benefit to people with HIV.

That contradicts reports last month from researchers at Stanford University who found that a similar drug did help people live longer.

The Stanford researchers said they found that patients with HIV who had normal levels of a molecule called gluthathione survive longer than those with lower levels. They said that daily doses of a drug called N-acetylcysteine (NAC), used to treat overdoses of acetaminophen drugs like Tylenol, could boost a patient's gluthathione levels to normal. They urged more studies to confirm their findings.

On Tuesday, Michael Giordana at Cornell agreed that more studies are needed, noting that another similar study to Stanford's found no benefit in correcting the glutathione deficiency.

In brief ...

DATING FORUM: "HIV, Dating, and Relationships" will be the topic of a free public forum Monday, March 10, on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. (Medical Center Metro station on the Red Line). The forum begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Lipsett Auditorium (Bldg. 10) and is sponsored by the H.O.P.E. Foundation. For more information, call HOPE at (202) 466-5783.

ANNAPOLIS NEEDS: The Annapolis AIDS service organization HAVEN is training buddies again, March 7-9. People interesting in helping can call Joe Staskiewicz at (410) 224-2437 for more information.

NEW DRUGS: They haven't been tested here, but according to a report in the March issue of Nature Medicine, a new class of drugs called Azodicarbonamides (ADA, for short) showed promise in attacking HIV in test tube trials at the National Cancer Institute. The drugs are in human trials in Europe.

MARIJUANA: The Clinton administration told the California Medical Association last week that it is OK for doctors to "talk with patients" about any potential "treatment, substance or device," including marijuana. According to the New York Times, the statement came in a letter from the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.

AVOID ECSTASY: AIDS Treatment News reported last month that a British Gay man taking ritonavir died from an overdose of the recreational drug known as Ecstasy. At the request of his partner, who felt certain the man would not have taken an overdose of Ecstasy, Abbott Laboratories, which produces ritonavir, examined the "theoretical" interactions of the two drugs. The lab issued a letter to the partner saying that the use of the two drugs together could, along with poor metabolism, result in dangerously high levels of Ecstasy. A fact sheet from the company indicated that dangerous interactions could also develop with the use of cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, and methadone.

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