Washington Blade - November 9, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gay and bisexual men in San Francisco don't find HIV as threatening as they once did, ads for AIDS drugs are seen as glamorizing life after infection, and there is increased acceptance of unprotected sex, a study by the University of California at San Francisco has shown, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The study was conducted last summer with 55 gay and bisexual men from San Francisco, divided into six focus groups. "The community norm has changed," Stephen Morin, director of UCSF AIDS Policy Research Center, told the newspaper. "Guys in the survey told us a friend may go on a date, or to a bathhouse, but the questions `Were you safe?' doesn't come up. That `Friends don't let friends drive drunk' kind of social support that came out loud and clear -- there's been a real deterioration in that. And it seems to be a major way people felt supported for staying negative." Men in the survey also expressed concern that ads for AIDS medications glamorize life after infection and need to be counterbalanced with images of men suffering from drug side effects. "We need to reinvigorate a community norm of taking care of oneself and making safer decisions," Steven Tierney, director of HIV prevention for San Francisco Department of Health, told the Chronicle.

Surgeon General Satcher will leave office in Feb. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Surgeon General David Satcher, a Clinton appointee who drew the anger of the Bush White House last summer with a medical report on sexuality, said he will leave the government in February. "My term ends on Feb. 13 and I don't plan to stay on," Satcher told the Associated Press in an interview. Asked if he would like to stay on, Satcher said, "That's not an issue for me." A former president of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., Satcher rankled the White House last summer when his office released a report that found there was no evidence showing that teaching sexual abstinence in schools was successful. Additionally, the report found that there was no evidence that a gay person could become heterosexual. The report drew a sharp retort from Bush spokesperson Ari Fleischer and demands from political conservatives for Satcher's resignation. Satcher became the 16th U.S. surgeon general in 1998 after confirmation opposition led in the Senate by then-Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.), who is now Bush's attorney general.

FDA requiring new warnings for lipodystrophy

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Food & Drug Administration is requiring all antiretroviral drug manufacturers to include information about fat redistribution in their package inserts, MedscapeWire reported. The warnings have appeared only in product information for protease inhibitors, but the FDA sent letters to pharmaceutical companies in late July requesting that "all approved antiretrovirals should include information on fat redistribution in their package and patient package inserts." The text supplied to manufacturers by the FDA describes the syndromes of fat redistribution, and notes that "the mechanism and long-term consequences of those events are currently unknown. A casual relationship has not been established." The move, which does not appear to have been publicly announced by the FDA, prompted a mixed response from experienced HIV physicians and experts on the lipodystrophy syndrome, according to the medical news wire.

GLMA adds psychologist, dentist referrals

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Gay & Lesbian Medical Association is expanding its referral program to include all licensed health professionals, including psychologists and dentists. The organization is also embarking on a campaign to enlist more members who could respond to referral requests. "More people are seeking LGBT-friendly physicians than ever before," GLMA's executive director, Maureen S. O'Leary, said in a news release. "Last year, we saw the number of inquiries on our Physician Referral Program jump from 140 or so a month to as many as 2,000 in the United States and Canada. There is a genuine need out there. It makes sense to expand this free public service to include all licensed health professionals." The referral system, which now allows people seeking a local gay-friendly health professional to access a member list at the GLMA Web site, began as a "physicians only" program at its inception in 1993. "Our physician members and now our allied professional members gain new patients and clients; and LGBT patients can now seek a full range of health care options from professionals who are able to provide friendly, appropriate, and non-judgmental care," Christopher E. Harris, GLMA president, said in the news release. Access to is available through GLMA's Web site at www.glma.org.

Cidofovir effective in treatment of HPV

LEUVEN, Belgium -- Genital warts caused by human papillomavirus is effectively treated by cidofovir topical gel, according to a study in the Sept. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Reuters reported. Dr. Robert Snoeck, from the Rega Institute for Medical Research in Leuven, Belgium, and colleagues tested the effectiveness of cidofovir gel against DNA viruses including HPV in 30 patients with genital warts. Nine of the 19 patients in the cidofovir group were cured after approximately 43 days, compared with none in the placebo group, the authors noted. Overall, the researchers stated 16 cidofovir patients had a complete or partial response, compared with only two patients in the placebo group. Two patients in the placebo group and one patient in the cidofovir group experienced severe adverse events, and labial ulcerations were the only effects thought to be associated with the use of cidofovir, Reuters reported.

-- From staff and wire reports

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