The Washington Blade; Friday, December 12, 1997
Lisa Keen

In a Dec. 1 press release, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco added their voices to the growing chorus of experts who say they believe triple-drug therapy can have long-term effectiveness against HIV if treatment is begun in the very early weeks after infection.

James Kahn, a UCSF professor involved in the study, said the research would need to follow more patients for longer periods of time but added, "Our results to date suggest that there is some substance to the idea that starting antiretroviral treatment early in HIV disease may be an opportunity to get good long-term results."

Most recently, theories have suggested that very early treatment enables the body's immune system to sustain a sufficient number of a particular type of immune cell that it can call on later in infection to fight HIV. The UCSF group believes early treatment is more effective because the antiviral drugs "may be more successful" when the virus is more vulnerable, in the early phase of infection.

Another testimonial for protease inhibitors

Researchers in New York and New Haven reported last week that protease inhibitors are helpful in treating dementia in people with AIDS. According to a Dec. 2 United Press International report, researchers from the Weiler Hospital in New York and the Yale-New Haven Medical Center in Connecticut said 89 percent of a group of 16 patients with AIDS dementia who were taking protease inhibitors had their dementia either stabilized or reversed. In a similar group of patients not taking protease inhibitors, 86 percent had continued dementia progression.

In brief...

AIDS AND CANCER TIE: A recent national survey found that AIDS and cancer tied as the "most urgent health problem facing the nation today." The survey, conducted by Princeton Survey Research for the Kaiser Family Foundation, asked more than 1,200 people a number of questions about AIDS to gauge their feelings about certain policies and their knowledge about certain medical aspects of the disease. The results, released Dec. 4, also indicated that one in three people surveyed said they know someone with HIV infection; two in three said they would be comfortable working with someone who had HIV infection.

NEW NON-HODGKIN'S DRUG: The Food and Drug Administration said Nov. 26 that it has approved the "first biotechnology product to treat" people suffering from one type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer which frequently affects people with AIDS. The "product" is rituximab, a genetically engineered antibody that FDA says provides an effective treatment alternative for patients with "low-grade B-cell" non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who have not benefited from other therapies. It will be marketed by IDEC Pharmaceuticals under the trade name Rituxin.

EVERYBODY'S GUESSING: A poll of 10,000 sexually active adults in the United States and 13 other countries found that 49 percent have not changed their sexual behaviors to prevent contracting HIV. The poll, sponsored by the Durex condom manufacturer, noted that among the 900 adults surveyed in the United States, 44 percent have not changed their behavior -- yet 65 percent worry about becoming infected. Of the 56 percent who indicated they have adopted some behavioral change, most identified that change as that they now try to guess their potential partner's "likelihood" of being HIV infected. According to Reuters news service, only 13 percent of Americans indicated they use a condom every time they have sex.

VIRUS FIGHTING VIRUS: Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania reported last month that scientists may eventually be able to modify a harmless virus in a way that enables it to identify which immune cells are harboring the AIDS virus and kill the deadly virus where it lies. The scientists made their report in the Nov. 21 issue of the medical journal Science.

124 NEW DRUGS IN DEVELOPMENT: The Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America reported Nov. 21 that 124 new treatments for HIV and its related diseases are in clinical trials or under review by the Food and Drug Administration. Among those new treatments are 40 antivirals, such as protease inhibitors and nucleoside analogs; and 12 immune boosters.

NEW WEB SITE: The Ryan White Foundation for Medical Treatment announced Nov. 17 that it has set up a new Web site to provide current information about HIV treatment. The Web address is www.ryanwhite.com.

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