Washington Blade - October 10, 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) | The Senate confirmed a former chief executive officer of Eli Lilly & Co. last week to be the White House's coordinator in the international battle against AIDS. Randall Tobias, former CEO of the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company, will coordinate international AIDS-HIV activities for all government departments and agencies as well as religion-affiliated community groups. Tobias, confirmed by the Senate on a voice vote, holds the rank of ambassador and will report to Secretary of State Colin Powell. The government promised this year to provide $15 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS, primarily in 14 African and Caribbean countries. Tobias is a contributor to the Republican Party who retired from Lilly in 1998. He also has served as vice chair of AT&T and chair of AT&T International.

AIDS vaccine trials now include humans

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) | An increasing number of AIDS vaccine experiments on humans, spurred by biotechnology breakthroughs, has added optimism to a research field noted more for its failures than its successes over the last two decades. In July, a University of North Carolina doctor used a genetically engineered Venezuela equine encephalitis bug laden with pieces of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to inoculate one patient. As nasty as that shot sounds, the biotechnology brew injected into the volunteer's body was not infectious - it was designed to save lives. In fact, Dr. Robert Johnston's research is just one of the latest AIDS vaccine experiments that are moving from the laboratory to human tests. "I'm certainly more optimistic than just a couple of years ago," said Dr. Robert Gallo, who 20 years ago co-discovered the virus that causes AIDS. "We can see the light at the end of tunnel." Gallo, who heads the Institute for Human Virology at the University of Maryland, expects to begin testing his own experimental vaccine on humans soon.

West Virginia Univ. wins AIDS prevention funding

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) | West Virginia University is getting a $450,000 federal grant to help treat low-income people who have HIV or AIDS and those at risk of contracting the virus. Officials with the Department of Health & Human Services will be at the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center on Friday to discuss the grant. It's one of 27 made nationwide, totaling more than $10.9 million. The money can be used for counseling, testing, medical evaluation and clinical care, as well as oral health care, nutritional counseling, outpatient mental health and substance abuse services. "This grant means that hundreds more people in the service area - which includes northern and eastern West Virginia - will get tested, find out their HIV status and learn how to protect themselves and others," Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said. The grant is through the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act.

Researchers test theory that smallpox vaccine might offer AIDS protection

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) | Could a smallpox shot protect you from the AIDS virus? It's a tantalizing idea that scientists at George Mason University are studying. Early findings are very preliminary and based on lab tests of a small number of blood samples. Other AIDS researchers caution against putting too much faith in such early tests, and the George Mason study has not been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal that is standard for major medical breakthroughs. But Ken Alibek, director of the university's National Center for Biodefense, said the early results are encouraging. "This could result in some very important work," said Alibek, a former top scientist in the Soviet biological weapons program who came to the United States in 1992. The research was based on a hypothesis that the spread of HIV in central Africa coincided with the decline of smallpox.

Colleges across the United States combat increase in youth suicides

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) | Faced with a growing number of student suicides, some universities are trying to combat the trend by offering depressed students the anonymity of the Internet to seek mental health counseling. More than 80 universities have signed up so far for Ulifeline.org, which provides students a link to school mental health centers for information, counseling or to schedule appointments. A Washington State Safe Schools Anti-Violence Documentation Project in a three-year study, and the 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Education with funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, reported that gay and bisexual youth are twice as likely to consider or attempt suicide than their straight counterparts. The free program gives universities the chance to help ailing students by using a favorite tool: the Internet, the AP reported. The suicide rate among 15- to 24-year-olds has tripled since the 1950s, and now stands at about 9.9 deaths per 100,000 people.

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