Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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The San Francisco Examiner - Wednesday, Jan. 15, 1997
Lisa M. Krieger of the Examiner Staff
The budget will be presented Feb. 6, two days after Clinton's State of the Union address.
Treatment news
*Researchers this month will begin testing gene therapy using marrow transplantation in humans to fight AIDS.
Scientists at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Los Angeles County, will begin treating a selected number of HIV-infected patients with genetically modified stem cells using marrow transplantation to delay - or perhaps prevent - AIDS.
The treatment, designed to make the immune cells of HIV-infected patients resistant to the virus, focuses on stem cells, which originate in bone marrow and produce the cells that constitute the human immune system.
*ACT UP / Golden Gate, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and other patient advocacy groups are calling on drug maker Glaxo-Wellcome to quickly establish expanded access for its new drug "1592," which may offer hope for the thousands of patients who have already exhausted the benefits of the new powerful protease inhibitors. 1592 is a yet-unapproved anti-viral drug that seems unique in its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Children and HIV
*A drug company is offering children with HIV free doses of its new protease inhibitor Viracept, known chemically as nelfinavir.
It is the first time American children could get this type of medicine outside small doctor-run tests.
Agouron Pharmaceuticals is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval of the anti-viral drug. If approved, the drug could become the nation's fourth protease inhibitor. Yet none of these drugs is available in pediatric form, sparking protests from parents who say they're watching their children die.
Agouron is the first company to seek simultaneous FDA approval for adult and child forms of a protease inhibitor. While the FDA is evaluating the drug, it gave Agouron permission to run an "expanded access" program offering Viracept free to any HIV-infected child age 2 to 13.
The pediatric version is a powder that can be mixed into milk, formula or soft foods such as pudding.
*A study that found high doses of the AIDS drug AZT can cause cancer in the pups of pregnant mice prompted federal health officials to reevaluate the use of the drug among pregnant women who are infected with the virus.
But scientists concluded the findings do not justify changing treatment recommendations. Pregnant women who are infected with the AIDS virus should continue taking the drug, they agreed.
Babies born to women taking AZT are being medically monitored and none has been found to have developed cancer. But the children are no older than 4 and must be monitored for many more years to get definitive answers about the effects of AZT.
HIV-infected women reduce their risk of transmitting the virus to their unborn child by two-thirds if they take AZT.
News roundup
*The New York Native, a gay newspaper that has been criticized as a forum for controversial theories of HIV transmission, folded this week after 16 years of publication.
The Native alienated many over the years, including the activist group ACT UP, which boycotted the publication. Even as half its staff died of AIDS, the magazine denied the existence of the disease, then argued it was attributable to African Swine Fever Virus and linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
*Financial problems threaten the San Diego AIDS Foundation. The foundation has a $300,000 deficit and may have to close programs. Ten members of the foundation's 12-member board have resigned. Clients say the food bank has dwindled. Utilities have threatened to unplug services. And employees say credit cards have been canceled.
The agency's financial problems stem primarily from its 1994 purchase of a $1.2 million, 27,000-square-foot building near the UC-San Diego.
Events
* "Clinical Challenges in Protease Inhibitor Therapy," a presentation for physicians, will be Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Room 125 of the Mission Center Building, 1855 Folsom St. Call (415) 476-9554.
* "Moving Through Loss and Transition," a workshop addressing issues faced by care givers, will be Jan. 24-26. Call (415) 263-4822.
*Confused about the latest developments in the fight against HIV? Wondering what medications to use - or when to start? Santa Rosa-based AIDS agencies are hosting a forum on Feb. 7 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. with Dr. Scott Eberle, reviewing specifics cases and strategies. Individual case consultations offered. Call (707) 524-7405.
*A workshop on disability benefits will be Saturday, sponsored by the AIDS Health Project. Call (415) 476-6448 for time and location.
*A symposium called "The Psychosocial Consequences of Increased Hope" will be in The City on March 1. Call (415) 502-6058 for details.
The toll
Kenneth F. Dale, 46, a gas safety engineer for Heath Consultants who was responsible for safety surveys of underground utilities . . . Allen John Marco, 42, who served in the Navy and worked in landscaping in Sonoma County . . . Christopher M. Millard, 39, an employee of Community Rentals.
Date
reported / Cases / Deaths
S.F. 1/1 23,841 16,604
Calif. 1/1 97,690 63,063
U.S. 1/1 548,102 343,000
WHO(rprtd) 1/1 8,400,000 6,400,000
Figures are cumulative since June 1981.
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