Washington Blade - June 27, 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food & Drug Administration approved the first once-a-day protease inhibitor to treat AIDS on June 20. Reyataz requires just a once-daily dose of two pills, taken with food, unlike the other six protease inhibitor's already on the market, which require several pills to be taken at once. Protease inhibitors are a powerful type of drug that revolutionized HIV care in the mid-1990s. Protease inhibitors taken together with older AIDS medicines suppress HIV enough to allow many patients to stay far healthier for years longer. Reyataz manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb said the drug, known chemically as atazanavir, would hit pharmacy shelves in the U.S. next month. The company refused to reveal the price, saying only that it would be competitive with other protease inhibitors. Reyataz appears to work as well as other protease inhibitors.

Women reluctant to discuss sexually transmitted diseases with doctors

NEW YORK - Many women are not talking about their sexually transmitted diseases with either their health care providers or their partners, according to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and published in SELF magazine. About half of the women surveyed between 18 and 49 said they have never discussed HIV or other STDs with their doctor, far fewer than those who have talked about other issues, like breast cancer or heart disease. The same number said they have not discussed HIV testing with their partners and 60 percent said they have not discussed getting tested for any STDs with their partners. The main reasons the women gave for not discussing these issues were embarrassment or concern about being judged; not knowing what to ask or how to bring it up; and a belief that their doctor or partner did not need to know. Most of the women in the survey said when these conversations do take place, they usually are the ones to initiate it.

New surgery treats facial wasting caused by HIV treatment

NEW YORK - Researchers announced last week they developed a new treatment for facial wasting, a condition that makes some HIV-positive patients look gaunt even though they feel healthy, Gay.com reported. Dr. Berish Strauch, a New York City dermatologic surgeon, pumped up the faces of HIV-positive patients by taking the inner layers of skin from elsewhere on the body and grafting it into their sunken cheeks. "All of the patients have been very happy with it. They look younger, they feel better about themselves," Strauch said. Strauch introduced his new therapy at the Association of Plastic Surgeons annual meeting in Baltimore earlier this month. Experts say they believe facial wasting is caused by the drugs people with HIV take, which causes them to lose the fat in their faces and leaves a cadaverous look.

Alabama AIDS agency in jeopardy of closing

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - East Alabama AIDS Outreach is scheduled to close when operating funds run out this month, leaving some 146 HIV-positive people without assistance, said Marilyn Swyers, the center's executive director. "It's going to take $20,000 to keep the doors open this month, and we have to find a steady means of income to run our infrastructure,'' she said, calling it the worst crisis for the agency in six years. EAAO has federal and state funds to cover medicine distribution, transportation and HIV testing, but it lacks the cash for daily expenses, including rent, insurance and payroll. These services run $4,800 a month and must come from local government and private contributors. Serving four rural counties, the center has experienced a lack of support from the communities it serves while HIV cases continue to rise.

Syphilis rise in S.F. fed through liasons made online

SAN FRANCISCO - The Internet has made it easier for gay men to find quick sexual encounters, and that is leading to an increase in some sexually transmitted diseases, according to Jeffrey Klausner, director of sexual disease prevention at San Francisco's Department of Public Health. Some 38 percent of recent syphilis cases are among men who met online, he told Reuters. That is up nearly 25 percent from two years ago. Klausner said the ease of meeting someone in an Internet chat room draws men who are at more risk than others. "It is just a lot easier for people to meet partners online, so they are more likely to meet more partners," he said. "It brings together what we call high-risk core groups who are particularly interested in having a lot of new partners. It is these high-risk core groups that are the first groups to get new infections." Many large cities, including Washington, D.C., San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Miami have also seen increases in the number of new syphilis cases.

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