Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press; 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 - Wednesday, October 15, 1997; 5:46 a.m. EDT
Dr. David Ho and Dr. Catherine M. Wilfert, the journal's chief advisers on AIDS, quit the board because they say the journal did not consult them before publishing an editorial that compared the AIDS studies to the notorious Tuskegee experiment, in which poor black men with syphilis were left untreated.
"The reason you have an editorial board to help with policy is to get some input when you have major issues like this one, and that clearly did not take place," Ho told the newspaper.
The studies criticized by the Journal are designed to find an inexpensive drug regimen to prevent women with the AIDS virus from passing it to their infants. The studies involve 12,000 infected pregnant women in several African nations, as well as Thailand and the Dominican Republic.
Some of the women receive AZT, a drug that has had some success preventing transmission of the virus to infants in the United States, while others receive a placebo. In many developing countries, AZT is unavailable to pregnant women with HIV because of its expense.
Ho, a virologist at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York, and Wilfert, a pediatrician at Duke University, told the Times the Tuskegee comparison is unfair because participants in the AZT studies are told that some will get dummy pills.
In the Tuskegee study, the men did not know that an effective treatment, penicillin, had become available while the study was underway.
Wilfert said the Journal should have presented both sides of the issue, and called the editorial "a grievous misuse of the journal's power."
Jerome Kassirer, the journal's chief editor, said the board is not routinely consulted for editorials.
Copyright 1997/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
971015
AP971004
Copyright © 1997 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1997. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1997. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .