The Washington Blade; Friday, January 10, 1997
Lisa Keen

The National Association for People With AIDS last week sent out an "alert" advising people with HIV to use "extreme caution" in deciding to have a blood transfusion to treat anemia.

Anemia is a somewhat common symptom among people with HIV -- sometimes caused by drug therapy, sometimes by opportunistic infections, and sometimes by HIV disease progression itself.

The NAPWA alert notes that recent studies have found that many people with AIDS experience a sudden rise in their viral load levels and accelerated disease progression after receiving a blood transfusion. No one has determined yet why this occurs, but NAPWA says that those findings, plus earlier studies that have associated blood transfusions with higher rates of CMV disease, wasting, and death among people with HIV are reason to worry.

NAPWA suggests people with HIV have their doctors keep close watch on their red blood counts (hemoglobin) and initiate early treatment with other therapies, such as erythropoietin. The normal hemoglobin count for men is between 14 and 18; for women between 12 and 16, says NAPWA.

**New discovery in Kaposi's sarcoma

A report in the Jan. 16 New England Journal of Medicine says scientists have identified a "replicating virus" that appears to be strongly associated with the development of Kaposi's sarcoma. The scientists, from the University of Michigan and Loyola University, stop short of calling the virus the "cause" of the cancerous skin lesions which affect about 20 percent of people with AIDS. But they say the identification of this virus -- which they call a Kaposi's herpesvirus -- is an important first step in finding effective treatments against the disease.

In brief ...

--A nonprofit group formed to help African Americans with AIDS in northern Virginia is accepting applications for board positions. Call (703) 979-0060 or submit a letter to HIV Inc., 927 S. Walter Reed Drive, Suite 9, Arlington, VA 22204.

--A monthly cable television program on medical, social, and political issues surrounding HIV is looking for volunteers to work on its crew. The program, HIV-TV, is slated to begin airing in April on local cable Channel 10 in Fairfax County, and producer Michael Claypoole says he hopes to eventually get enough funding to put it onto all local cable channels. Claypoole said he has about a dozen people working on the production now and needs about a dozen more volunteers to both perform camera work, directing, and editing, and to do off-camera work such as help with publicity. Volunteers need not have previous experience in working on television crews. People interested in helping with the show should call the HIV-TV voice mailbox at (202) 298-0961.

--An AIDS vaccine study by Johns Hopkins University and D.C. General Hospital is still recruiting volunteers -- both male and female -- who do not have HIV infection. The study will test the so-called "canary vaccine" version. The study has already enrolled more than 2,000 people but still needs volunteers who are Gay men who have either a sexual partner who has HIV infection or who have multiple sexual partners. People interested in participating should call collect: (410) 955-7283.

--A free public seminar on "Cooking for the HIV-positive: What's Different" will be in Bethesda, Md., on Monday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. The seminar is one in a series of free lectures sponsored by the HOPE Foundation at the National Institutes of Health Lipsett Auditorium. For more information, call (202) 466-5783.

--The Maryland health department is holding meetings throughout the state next month to discuss prevention efforts and applications for federal funding for such efforts for the next three years. Topics will include testing, case management, minority programs, and community-level intervention. The first meeting, open to the public, will be at the Prince George's County Largo Government Center (9201 Basil Court in Largo) on Thursday, Feb. 6, from noon until 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (410) 767-5334.

--Direct Access Diagnostics reported this month that 98 percent of the people who use its home HIV antibody test kit call in for their results within 15 days. The company says 99 percent of the people who use the test provide a sufficient quantity of blood to accomplish the test. Of the first 30,000 to use the Confide test, available at drugstores for about $40, and mail in their blood samples, only one percent have tested positive, said the company. The test gained Food and Drug Administration approval for marketing last May. Direct Access is a company of Johnson & Johnson.

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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.

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