Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International; Thursday June 25 6:20 PM EDT
Ed Susman, UPI Science News
The theme of the XIIth World AIDS Conference, "Bridging the Gap," also will explore the widening abyss between those who can afford treatment and the vast majority of the 30 million people living with HIV who do not have access to medication.
Robin Gorna, executive director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organization and the community planning committee chairman of the conference, says, "Gaps in prevention, research and human rights will be addressed in all major sessions, as will urgent social and political issues such as access to treatment for people living with HIV in the developing world."
Even though costs of some drugs are decreasing, Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS in Geneva, says the costs are still prohibitive for people in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where 80 percent of the people with HIV infection live.
Dr. Bernard Hirschel of Geneva, chairman of the biannual conference, says highlights of the meeting, which opens Sunday and continues until July 3 will be:
_New information on side effects of protease inhibitors. The drugs which are credited with the ability to lower bloodstream virus to undetectable levels also
_ in a few patients _ create unsightly "buffalo" humps on the back or protruding bellies. The disfiguring changes in fat distribution in the body have caused some patients to stop taking the drugs.
_Studies that show that treating patients with minimal doses of protease inhibitors also work to impressively reduce the vial load in the body.
_The latest studies on new drugs which are most likely to be approved for use within the next year.
_Development of new treatment regimens that can significantly reduce the number of pills a patient has to take each day. In some AIDS regimens, 20 or more tablets are taken each day. Some have to be eaten with meals, others are taken on empty stomachs. The regimens can be difficult to follow and lead patients to not comply with treatment _ and that allows the disease to rebound.
The conference, last held two years ago in Vancouver, Canada, will study scientific reports submitted from 136 countries.
In developing countries, the news of the epidemic remains grim with rising prevalence rates among adults, young men and women and among children. Doctors in a few Third World nations _ Uganda and Thailand in particular _ will discuss how strong government action has reduced infection rates.
Piot says that while prevention works in some countries, it fails in others due to education, communication and cultural problems. He says a vaccine for AIDS is the key to controlling the epidemic in developing nations.
Even though AIDS vaccine trials have begun in the United States, Piot says he expects it will be at least 10 years before a successful vaccine is ready for use in mass populations.
Piot says the gap between the raging epidemic in Asia and Africa will be seen in reports showing that the epidemic is slowing or is in decline in industrialized parts of the world where there is easy access to information and medication.
Although the international conferences were once noted for protests by AIDS patients, activists outbursts were infrequent and relatively informative in nature in Vancouver. Officials say they expect any activism at Geneva to be low key as well.
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