1989

"Methadone Maintenance Programmes and AIDS": Lancet (12/30/89) Vol. 2, No. 8679, P. 1522; Serraino, Diego, and Franceschi, Silvia; The impact of methadone maintenance programs on the incidence of AIDS deserves further attention, write Italian epidemiologists Diego Serraino and Silvia Franceschi, who report on a study of the variations in numbers of AIDS cases among IV drug users in eight regions of northern Italy
"Nosocomial Epidemic of Active Tuberculosis Among HIV-Infected Patients": Lancet (12/30/89) Vol. 2, No. 8679, P. 1502; Di Perri, Giovanni, et al.; Giovanni Di Perri and colleagues of Verona, Italy report on a study of 18 HIV-infected patients who were exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in hospitals. Eight of the patients developed active tuberculosis. Active tuberculosis infection corr
"Methadone Maintenance Programmes and AIDS": Lancet (12/30/89) Vol. 2, No. 8679, P. 1522; Serraino, Diego, and Franceschi, Silvia; The impact of methadone maintenance programs on the incidence of AIDS deserves further attention, write Italian epidemiologists Diego Serraino and Silvia Franceschi, who report on a study of the variations in numbers of AIDS cases among IV drug users in eight regions of northern Italy
"Nosocomial Epidemic of Active Tuberculosis Among HIV-Infected Patients": Lancet (12/30/89) Vol. 2, No. 8679, P. 1502; Di Perri, Giovanni, et al.; Giovanni Di Perri and colleagues of Verona, Italy report on a study of 18 HIV-infected patients who were exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in hospitals. Eight of the patients developed active tuberculosis. Active tuberculosis infection corr
"Hank Cook: AIDS Activist": Washington Post (12/29/89), P. C4; The former president of the San Francisco AIDS Emergency Fund, Hank Cook, died of AIDS Dec. 27 at a hospice in San Francisco. Cook was 47 years old. Cook, who presided over the fund in 1987 and 1988, helped raise $1.5 million to pay bills, provide food, and give support to impoverished people withAIDS. Cook was als
"Health System Presents Stiff Choices for Dinkins": New York Times (12/29/89), P. B3; French, Howard W.; New York City Mayor-elect David N. Dinkins, who included improved medical care for people with AIDS among his campaign promises, now faces a need to make crucial cuts in the health budget as the city and state struggle to ease budget crises. There is no fat, says the city s Health and HospitalsCorp. s acting presid
"AIDS and Hispanic People: A Threat Ignored": New York Times (12/29/89), P. A1; Navarro, Mireya; The threat of AIDS among minority groups in inner cities has been apparent for years, but most Hispanics continue to ignore or deny the threat, health officials say. To reach Hispanic people with AIDS information, officials must overcome language barriers, the Roman Catholic Church s opposition to condoms and condemn
"Reporting the Results of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing": Journal of the American Medical Association (12/29/89) Vol. 262, No. 24, P. 3435; Benenson, Abram S., et al.; Researchers from San Diego State University report that actual laboratory results of HIV testing from different California labs were erroneous, incomplete, contained misleading and confusing information, or compromised the value of the testing process and might have led to improper treatment. Using blind proficiency
"Reporting the Results of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing": Journal of the American Medical Association (12/29/89) Vol. 262, No. 24, P. 3435; Benenson, Abram S., et al.; Researchers from San Diego State University report that actual laboratory results of HIV testing from different California labs were erroneous, incomplete, contained misleading and confusing information, or compromised the value of the testing process and might have led to improper treatment. Using blind proficiency
"State Creates 16 Centers for Anonymous AIDS Testing": Washington Post (Virginia Weekly) (12/28/89), P. 1; Evans,; The Virginia Department of Health has created 16 new anonymous AIDS testing sites throughout the state, following concern that new mandatory reporting requirements for AIDS might discourage some from getting AIDS tests. The Virginia General Assembly recently passed legislation requiring all physicians andhealth depar
"Epidemic Proportions": Washington Post (12/28/89), P. C4; Grant, Richard; Triangulation, by Jack Stephens, is a first novel about a thirtysomething AIDS researcher who lives in Baltimore, writes novelist Richard Grant. The title comes from the triangleNazis used to brand homosexuals, as well as from the method surveyors use to fix a position by referring to known reference points. The m
"Against the Odds, Paul Charlap Bets on an AIDS Drug Forsaken by": Wall Street Journal (12/28/89), P. B6; Koenig, Richard; Ampligen, a drug most AIDS researchers have dismissed, has new life thanks to a combative businessman. Paul A. Charlap,a 65-year-old semiretired former chairman of the office-copier firm Savin Corp., is now chief executive officer of HEM Research Inc., a closely-held Philadelpia company that holds certain rights to A
"Infants Tend to Die of AIDS More Quickly Than Adults": Washington Post (12/28/89), P. A8; A study of 172 children who developed AIDS shows that children who contract HIV infection while still in the womb succumb to AIDS far more quickly than adults who develop the disease. Gwendolyn Scott of the University of Miami School of Medicine heads the team of researchers, which reports on the study in the current
"Recovery of HIV at Autopsy": New England Journal of Medicine (12/28/89) Vol. 321, No. 26, P. 1833; Henry, Keith, et al.; Health care workers may be at risk of HIV exposure from a patient s bodily fluids even 18 hours after death, report Keith Henry and colleagues from St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center in St. Paul, Minn., and the University of Minnesota. The medical literature has yet to address the viability of the virus after death in a
"Survival in Children with Perinatally Acquired Human Immunodeficiency" Virus Type 1 Infection: New England Journal of Medicine (12/28/89) Vol. 321, No. 26, P.1791; Scott, Gwendolyn B., et al.; Children with perinatally acquired HIV-1 infection have a very poor prognosis, most becoming symptomatic before one year of age, according to researchers Gwendolyn Scott and colleagues of the University of Miami School of Medicine. The researchers report that in a study of 172 children with perinatally-acquired AIDS,
"East Berlin Risks Grows": Nature (12/28/89) Vol. 342, No. 6252, P. 847; Dickman, Steven; In an effort to keep East Germans from bringing HIV back from their visits to West Berlin, public health officials from both Germanies are joining to begin an information and condom-distribution program. Niels Sonnichsen, an official at the East German Ministry of Health, recently visited an AIDS self-help group in W
"Recovery of HIV at Autopsy": New England Journal of Medicine (12/28/89) Vol. 321, No. 26, P. 1833; Henry, Keith, et al.; Health care workers may be at risk of HIV exposure from a patient s bodily fluids even 18 hours after death, report Keith Henry and colleagues from St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center in St. Paul, Minn., and the University of Minnesota. The medical literature has yet to address the viability of the virus after death in a
"Survival in Children with Perinatally Acquired Human Immunodeficiency" Virus Type 1 Infection: New England Journal of Medicine (12/28/89) Vol. 321, No. 26, P.1791; Scott, Gwendolyn B., et al.; Children with perinatally acquired HIV-1 infection have a very poor prognosis, most becoming symptomatic before one year of age, according to researchers Gwendolyn Scott and colleagues of the University of Miami School of Medicine. The researchers report that in a study of 172 children with perinatally-acquired AIDS,
"East Berlin Risks Grows": Nature (12/28/89) Vol. 342, No. 6252, P. 847; Dickman, Steven; In an effort to keep East Germans from bringing HIV back from their visits to West Berlin, public health officials from both Germanies are joining to begin an information and condom-distribution program. Niels Sonnichsen, an official at the East German Ministry of Health, recently visited an AIDS self-help group in W
"Publishers Ordered to Pay Damages for Showing AIDS Victim": Associated Press (12/27/89); Tokyo--The Osaka District Court has ordered two large publishers to pay $22,400 in damages for defaming Japan s first woman with AIDS. The two firms, Kobunsha Co. and Shinchosha, published pictures of the woman in their magazines, Kobunsha s Focus and Shinchosha s Flash. The publishers defamed the woman, who died Ja
"AIDS Commission Holds Session in Minnesota": United Press International (12/27/89); St. Paul, Minn.--The National AIDS Commission will heartestimony from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and federal and state health officials when it holds a working group meeting in Minnesota Jan. 4-5. At the meeting, the group will t
"Court Halts Restoration of Family Planning Clinic Cuts": United Press International (12/27/89); Los Angeles--California s 2nd District Court of Appealshas temporarily suspended a San Luis Obispo judge s order to restore $24 million in state funding for family-planning clinics across the state. Republican Gov. George Deukmejian used his line-item veto power to drastically cut California s $36.2 million family-pl
"Lower Dose of AZT is Found Effective": New York Times (12/27/89), P. A19; Kolata, Gina; Data from two large federal studies have shown that lowdoses of AZT , the one approved drug for combating AIDS, are just as effective for many patients, and are less likely to cause the dangerous side effects higher doses may cause. But though
"Many HIV Babies Don't Get AIDS": Associated Press (12/26/89); Physicians have no way of telling which newborns of mothers with AIDS are actually infected with the HIV virus, and which are simply carrying their mothers antibodies, which begin to wear off about six months after birth, according to Dr. Ram Yogev, coordinator of the children s AIDS project at Children s Memorial Ho
"Prince George's County Syphilis Rate Epidemic": United Press International (12/26/89); Drugs, prostitution, bad personal hygiene, and a lack of knowledge are contributing to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in Prince Georges County, Md. I don t believe people really understand the significance of what can happen in the sexual encounters, as far as their own health, said Dr. Helen McAlliste
"AIDS Conference Planned": United Press International (12/26/89); Planners of an upcoming AIDS conference entitled Moving Forward: AIDS and the Church, Where Faith and Healing Meet, hope to dispell the idea promoted by some televalgelists and fundementalists that AIDS is a punishment from God. Rev. Howard Warren Jr., director of pastoral services at the Indianapolis-based Damien
"AIDS Program to Educate Health Professionals": United Press International (12/26/89); AIDS education is needed by everyone, including health professionals, and a major effort is underway in a 42-county areaof northeast Texas to provide AIDS information to doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors and other caregivers. The regional educational effort came about because AIDS is no longerjust an urban
"In Age of AIDS, Sex and Drugs Are Classroom Topics": New York Times (12/26/89), P. B1; Lee, Felicia R.; Since 1988, New York has been one of the 28 states thatrequire AIDS education for all students. In New York City, the nation s largest school system, the AIDS education program is nowgoing beyond the basic medical facts to try to get students to make some hard decisions about their lives: When will they have sex? Ho
"Fighting Prejudice Is Essential in AIDS War": Associated Press (12/25/89); Concern for patients rights is essential in the war against AIDS, says Dr. Jonathan Mann, director of the World Health Organization s AIDS program. Dr. Mann says that discriminatory laws which followed the initial panic of the early 1980s hindered efforts to to fight the disease, and have subsequently been repealed
"AIDS Activists Walk Out on Christmas Mass": United Press International (12/25/89); Hormell, Sharon; Eleven AIDS activists staged a silent protest during a Christmas midnight mass at a Roman Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles, walking out of the service as Archbishop Roger Mahoney delivered his sermon. Shortly after the midnight mass began, the11 demonstrators, protesting the church s rejection of the use ofcondoms t
"What's the Cure for Burnout?": Time (12/25/89) Vol. Vol. 134, No. 26, P. 68; Thompson, Dick; Budget and staff reductions, controversies over tests for drugs to combat AIDS, corrupt employees, and the Chilean grape incident have reduced the Federal Drug Administration s ( FDA ) effectiveness. Earlier in December, Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan said he and Pr
"In a Rage Over AIDS": Time (12/25/89) Vol. 134, No. 26, P. 33; Magnuson, Ed; A recent demonstration at St. Patrick s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in New York City in which police arrested 43 demonstrators is the latest and ugliest in an escalating series of skirmishes between the Roman Catholic Church and AIDS activists. Cardinal John O Connor, as an outspoken opponent of using condoms to preven
"A New Strain of Electronic Vandalism": Newsweek (12/25/89) Vol. 114, No. 26, P. 82; Last week, several thousand researchers, journalists, and AIDS activists who attended a conference in Sweden in 1988 were among the recipients of computer disks that allegedly carried health information...specially designed to help members of the public concerned about AIDS and me
"AIDSWEEK: Care": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/24/89), P. A6; Hilton, Bruce; The San Francisco earthquake left all of the Bay Area s AIDS agencies severely short of money and volunteers. As a result of the quake, the need is greater, as are the number of groups requiring help. As donors consider holiday giving, agencies are encouraging people to consider gifts of time as well as money. As a
"AIDSWEEK: Research": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/24/89), P. A6; Hilton, Bruce; The results of HIV tests are often inaccurate and confusing, according to a team of San Diego State researchers. In the Journal of the American Medical Association , the researchers report that when they sent the same three blood samples to 12 labs, half of them called an HIV-pos
"AIDSWEEK: British to Boycott S.F. Meeting": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/24/89), P. A6; Hilton, Bruce; As several British groups announced their intention to boycott the international AIDS conference in San Francisco next June because of the U.S. government s restrictive immigration policy for HIV-infected travelers, the World Health Organization s AIDS director announced that many of the 35 countries that passed immig
"AIDSWEEK: Care": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/24/89), P. A6; Hilton, Bruce; The San Francisco earthquake left all of the Bay Area s AIDS agencies severely short of money and volunteers. As a result of the quake, the need is greater, as are the number of groups requiring help. As donors consider holiday giving, agencies are encouraging people to consider gifts of time as well as money. As a
"AIDSWEEK: Research": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/24/89), P. A6; Hilton, Bruce; The results of HIV tests are often inaccurate and confusing, according to a team of San Diego State researchers. In the Journal of the American Medical Association , the researchers report that when they sent the same three blood samples to 12 labs, half of them called an HIV-pos
"AIDSWEEK: British to Boycott S.F. Meeting": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/24/89), P. A6; Hilton, Bruce; As several British groups announced their intention to boycott the international AIDS conference in San Francisco next June because of the U.S. government s restrictive immigration policy for HIV-infected travelers, the World Health Organization s AIDS director announced that many of the 35 countries that passed immig
"Future Mayor Condemned for AIDS-Phobic Remark": Gay Community News (12/23/89) Vol. 17, No. 23, P. 2; Briggs,; The mayor-elect of Salem, Mass., Neil J. Harrington, drew the wrath of AIDS activists and health officials for his remarks during a city council meeting Dec. 4. During discussion on whether to fund a part-time clerk in the health department to staff a tuberculosis clinic, Harringt
"The Slow Erosion of NIH": Journal of Commerce (12/22/89), P. 8A; Greenberg, Daniel S.; The National Institutes of Health (NIH), while still a great institution, is eroding through financial neglect and political battles, writes Daniel S. Greenberg, editor and publisher of Science + Government Report. NIH is still eminent in many fields of research, including AIDS, but a low salary and the odious litmu
"Scientists Find Gene That Triggers Formation of Different": Wall Street Journal (12/22/89), P. B3; Stipp, David; A team of researchers led by Nobel Laureate David Baltimore report that they have identified a gene that triggers the immune system s formation of different antibodies. At the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, Baltimore and his colleagues say they have identified a single genetic master switch, called recom
"More Zaire AIDS Cases Show Less Underreporting": New York Times (12/22/89), P. A9; Noble, Kenneth B.; In Zaire , a one-month jump in reported AIDS cases from 335 to 4,636 represents not an exponential increase in the numberof people with the disease, but a new willingness to treat AIDS as any other public-health menace, American and European researchers say. For the two years prec
"Compromise on AIDS Budget Cuts": Bay Area Reporter (12/21/89), P. 17/1; O'Neil, Cliff; A compromise on proposed 1991 budget cuts for the nation s AIDS programs, the National Institutes of Health, and FDA has been reached by Louis Sullivan, secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Management and Budget. Following a heated dispute, AIDS programs were fun
"AIDS Commission Blasts Government's Inaction": Bay Area Reporter (12/21/89) Vol. 19, No. 51, P. 16/1; O'Neil,; A preliminary report was submitted to President Bush more than nine months early by the National Commission on AIDS, criticizing the government s failure to respond to the needs of Americans faced with HIV infection and the AIDS epidemic. The testimony we recently heard on health care and financing was so compelling
"Government Study Shows Failure of Bone Marrow Transplants in": Associated Press (12/21/89); Raeburn, Paul; New York--Bone marrow transplantation has thus far been a failure in treating people with AIDS, according to an unpublished government study of 16 people with the disease. On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that a research team from Johns Hopkins University found that a combination of bone marrow transplant and
"Grandma's House II Opening is Delayed": Washington Post (12/21/89), P. DC12; Mitchell, Maureen; In Washington, D.C., the opening of a second home for infants with HIV infection and AIDS will take place in a few months instead of December. A spokesman for the Temporary Emergency Residential Resource Institute for Families in Crisis, the nonprofit agency that runs Grandma s House, said more funds are needed to op
"ddI Trials Recruiting": Bay Area Reporter (12/21/89) Vol. 19, No. 51, P. 20; Hafs, Etienne; The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has begun recruiting volunteers for a study of dideoxyinosine (ddI), a member of a promising group of anti-HIV drugs called nucleoside analogues. DDI does not affect already-infected cells, but inhibits HIV replication and reduces the rate at which cel
"Absence of Effect of Zidovudine on Replication of Hepatitis B Virus in" Patients with Chronic HIV and HBV Infection: New England Journal of Medicine (12/21/89) Vol. 321, No. 25, P. 1758; Marcellin, Patrick, et al.; AZT used alone appears to have no therapeutic value in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B , write Patrick Marcellin and fellow researchers at Hopital Beaujon, Clichy,
"ddI Trials Recruiting": Bay Area Reporter (12/21/89) Vol. 19, No. 51, P. 20; Hafs, Etienne; The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has begun recruiting volunteers for a study of dideoxyinosine (ddI), a member of a promising group of anti-HIV drugs called nucleoside analogues. DDI does not affect already-infected cells, but inhibits HIV replication and reduces the rate at which cel
"Absence of Effect of Zidovudine on Replication of Hepatitis B Virus in" Patients with Chronic HIV and HBV Infection: New England Journal of Medicine (12/21/89) Vol. 321, No. 25, P. 1758; Marcellin, Patrick, et al.; AZT used alone appears to have no therapeutic value in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B , write Patrick Marcellin and fellow researchers at Hopital Beaujon, Clichy,
"Disclosure Ordered in AIDS Case": Associated Press (12/20/89); Carson City--A Reno blood bank must partially disclose information on a donor whose blood transmitted HIV to a Bishop, Calif., man, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. United Blood Services (UBS) had argued that disclosure could curtail blood donations and lead to further requests for information and lawsuits.
"British Charities Plan Boycott of U.S. AIDS Conference": United Press International (12/20/89); Hall, John; London--A consortium of British charities has announced it will boycott next June s international AIDS conference in San Francisco to protest American visa requirements that discriminate against people with HIV infection. The British Red Cross, the International Planned Parenthood Foundation, Oxfam, and Save the Chil
"Discrimination Goes On": New York Times (12/20/89), P. A26; Cohen, Robert H.; In supporting contact tracing for HIV ( Dr. Joseph and AIDS Testing, editorial, Nov. 16), the New York Times apparently believes that discrimination is no longer a problem, writes Robert H. Cohen of San Francisco, who says he knows people who have lost jobs and homes and been unable to obtain insurance and medical an
"Parallel Track": New York Times (12/20/89), P. A26; Braff, Jeffrey; A front-page New York Times story on clinical trials of DDI (Nov. 21) prematurely condemned to failure a new parallel-track testing procedure, writes Jeffrey Braff, executive director of the Gay Men s Health Crisis. It is too early to tell whether or not making the drug available to people outside of the trials as t
"Clinical Trials of AIDS Drug Remain Crucial": New York Times (12/20/89), P. A26; Valentine, Fred T.; A Nov. 21 article in the New York Times describing clinical trials of dideoxyinosine (DDI) erred in reporting that individuals in the trials had an equal chance of receiving AZT or DDI, writes Fred T. Valentine, director of the AIDS Clinical T
"Experts Skeptical of Claim About AIDS Treatment": Washington Post (12/20/89), P. A4; Okie, Susan; AIDS experts are reserving judgement on the implications of a research team s claim that it eliminated HIV from the body of an infected patient using high doses of AZT , radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and bone marrow transportation. National
"News In Brief: Utah": The Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 30; A Salt Lake City lawyer has asked the Utah state attorney general to investigate a secret state health department program that allegedly gave HIV antibody tests covertly to more than 24,000 newborn babies, abortion recipients, and hospital patients without authorization. Lawyer Carolyn Nichols said the secrecy of the
"Frontline Voices": The Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 62; Latzky, Eric; Eric Latzky, in a book review for The Advocate, calls Personal Dispatches: Writers Confront AIDS, edited by John Preston, valid and powerful . According to Latzkey, Preston makes a point that it is those who know most intimately what AIDSis about who are most qualified to talk about the epidemic. Personal Dispatche
"News in Brief: Idaho": The Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 29; A mistrial was declared in the trial of George Frank Lewis, the first person from Idaho to be charged with intentionally exposing someone to HIV. The judge in the trial cited intense media coverage of the case as grounds for the mistrial. Prosecutors will seek another trial, and a preliminarycourt date is set for Ja
"A Shake-Up for San Francisco Cops": The Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 22; Peterson, Robert W.; San Francisco Police Chief Frank Jordan has reassigned responsibility for crowd control from the department s tactical squad to its nine district administrators after admitting an inappropriate response by the tactical squad to an October AIDSde
"News in Brief: Iowa": Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 29; In Iowa, the state board of health has approved a new rule to allow doctors to notify the partners of HIV-positive individuals in some cases. The rule would allow a doctor to inform the partner of a patient who had tested antibody-positive only if the doctor believed the patient would not voluntarily notify unknowing
"Oklahoma Won't Try to Identify Secret Testees": Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 26; Peterson, Robert W.; In Oklahoma, health officials have decided not to use the state s Medicaid and AZT dispensation records to compile a list of all state residents who are HIV positive. Oklahoma Department of Health (ODH) officials sought the records to obtaint
"What's to be Done with the Church?": Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 36; Helquist, Michael; Despite some exemplary programs of patient care and pastoral concern about discrimination, the Roman Catholic Church undermines all its best efforts by fighting safe-sex education, writes the Advocate s Michael Helquist. The Church s mixed-up sense of good intentions, Helquist writes, is evident in recent events, inc
"The Fatal Flaw of Sex-Positive Messages": Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 35; Walter, Dave; The disturbing news that gonorrhea cases have quadrupled in Seattle this year follows an earlier report that more gay men in San Francisco are practicing riskier sexual behavior, writes the Advocate s Dave Walter. William Whittington, a specialist in sexually transmitted diseases at the Centers for Disease Control, t
"Somber Pageant Focuses on AIDS Sufferers": New York Times (12/19/89), P. A24; In Los Angeles last Friday, community activists drew attention to a current problem with the help of a venerable Mexican tradition. Cara a Cara, an organization that helps Hispanic AIDS patients and educates the Spanish-speaking community about the disease, used the posada, a candlelight procession portraying Joseph
"Physicians Rid a Man's Body of AIDS Virus in Experiment": New York Times (12/19/89), P. A1; Kolata, Gina; Doctors at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore reported yesterday that they eradicated HIV from the body of a man who later died of cancer. The doctors combined a bone marrow transplant with administration of AZT to actually rid
"News in Brief: Texas": Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 30; Curtis Weeks, an HIV-positive inmate who was serving a two-year sentence for bank robbery, was sentenced in November to life in prison for attempted murder after he was convicted for spitting in a prison guard s face. Weeks had been scheduled for release Dec. 19, before the spitting incident.
"Transitions: Mike Richards": Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 31; Mike Richards, Dallas AIDS activist who became nationally known when he was named as a suspect in a 1988 Texas bank robbery, died Oct. 20 in Hawaii of AIDS-related complications. Police said Richards, 43, resembled a man who was videotaped robbing the bank, but Richards claimed he was in Hawaii with his parents at th
"News in Brief: Texas": Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 30; Curtis Weeks, an HIV-positive inmate who was serving a two-year sentence for bank robbery, was sentenced in November to life in prison for attempted murder after he was convicted for spitting in a prison guard s face. Weeks had been scheduled for release Dec. 19, before the spitting incident.
"Transitions: Mike Richards": Advocate (12/19/89) No. 540, P. 31; Mike Richards, Dallas AIDS activist who became nationally known when he was named as a suspect in a 1988 Texas bank robbery, died Oct. 20 in Hawaii of AIDS-related complications. Police said Richards, 43, resembled a man who was videotaped robbing the bank, but Richards claimed he was in Hawaii with his parents at th
"How Much is Too Much for Anti-AIDS Ads?": Associated Press (12/18/89); Geitner, Paul; New York--Public officials and advertising firms are having a difficult time developing public service messages that will reach groups at risk for AIDS without offending the public at large. One controversial ad, which has only aired on late-night cable TV in New York, ends with the message to rubber up for safety.
"Government OKs Marijuana Use for AIDS Patient": United Press International (12/18/89); Anderson, David E.; Washington--The Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) last Wednesday issued permission to a 33-year-old Texan with AIDS to use marijuana to ease the nausea, vomiting, and pain caused by the disease and the drugs used to treat it. The man, identified only as Steve, will receive prescript
"Mayors Give AIDS Grants": United Press International (12/18/89); Washington--The U.S. Conference of Mayors Monday announced grants totalling $975,000 for AIDS prevention organizations that work with hard-to-reach groups such as Native Americans and recent Indochinese immigrants. The grants were the eighth round of funds awarded by the conference through the Centers for Disease Con
"San Antonio to Open First Licensed Home for Children with AIDS": United Press International (12/18/89); Haines, Rebecca; San Antonio--Officials said Monday that San Antonio will open its first licensed foster care home for children with HIV/AIDS this spring. The Sisters of Divine Providence, a local order of Roman Catholic nuns, will operate the home, which is scheduled to open March 1. Pediatricians from the University of Texas Healt
"Americans Awaken to the AIDS Crisis, 1985": Wall Street Journal (12/18/89), P. B1; America considered AIDS the gay plague until 1985, when Rock Hudson s death made AIDS a household word, according to an entry in the Wall Street Journal s Centennial Journal, which recounts major events in the paper s 100-year history. In 1983, the head of the U.S. Public Health Service said AIDS was no threat to t
"AIDS and Ostriches: Business is Not Facing Up to the Scourge": Barron's (12/18/89) Vol. 69, No. 51, P. 16; Feldschuh, Joseph; The AIDS epidemic is a brewing financial disaster far bigger than Hurricane Hugo or the San Francisco earthquake, writes Joseph Feldschuh, president of Daxor Corp. and a practicing cardiologist, medical researcher and teacher. However, says Feldschuh, instead of developing a national business strategy, companies seem
"AIDS and Ostriches: Business is Not Facing Up to the Scourge": Barron's (12/18/89) Vol. 69, No. 51, P. 16; Feldschuh, Joseph; The AIDS epidemic is a brewing financial disaster far bigger than Hurricane Hugo or the San Francisco earthquake, writes Joseph Feldschuh, president of Daxor Corp. and a practicing cardiologist, medical researcher and teacher. However, says Feldschuh, instead of developing a national business strategy, companies seem
"The AIDS Research Backlash": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/17/89), P. A1; The backlash against AIDS is growing as the epidemic enters its second decade and advocates for patients with other diseases say it is taking funds away from diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses that kill more people. As the debate over equity rises, Congress, medical researchers, and health economists are al
"Student with AIDS Tells Classmates During Show-and-Tell": Associated Press (12/17/89); Atlanta--For show-and-tell, third-grader Brett Lykins told his Chattahoochee Elementary classmates he has AIDS. Parents and students knew a child at the school had AIDS, but Brett s identity had been kept secret from all but the school s principal and his teacher. I just went up and said I was the one, he said.
"Condom Jewelry Makes a Point for AIDS Alert": New York Times (12/17/89), P. 72; In Wellesley, Mass., AIDS Alert, a student organization dedicated to raising AIDS awareness, sells condom jewelry in the student center at Wellesley College. Stephanie Gertz, a senior from Boston and a psychology major, designed the jewelry and founded the organization. She fashions pins or earrings from condom pack
"Places for AIDS Patients Are Still Scarce": New York Times (12/17/89), P. E6; Lambert, Bruce; Nursing homes, hospices, group residences, apartments, home-care attendants, and adult day-care centers would cost less and be more comfortable for AIDS patients in between bouts of illness. However, efforts to free beds and shift AIDS patients to these types of care are encountering many obstacles and delays. Alter
"Antenatal Testing for Human Immunodeficiency Virus": The Lancet (12/16/89) Vol. II89, No. 8677, P. 1442; Davidson, C.; The results from the Royal College of Obstetricians andGynaecologists National Study of HIV Infection in Pregnancy indicate that selective antenatal testing should be established in areas where no testing is presently offered and that testing should possibly be offered to all pregnant women in high-prevalence areas.
"State Considers Autopsy AIDS Tests": Associated Press (12/16/89); Boston--In the wake of last week s decision by New York City health officials to test for HIV during autopsies, medical officials in Massachusetts are debating similar action. This is a serious disease, a lethal contagious diesease, and our hands are tied for investigation, reporting, and protecting those around us,
"Cuomo Sets AIDS Plan, Admitting it Falls Short": New York Times (12/16/89), P. B1; Lambert, Bruce; New York Gov. Mario Cuomo announced a five-year plan to fight AIDS yesterday. At the same time, however, he said the money is not available to fully fund the fight against the epidemic in the state. Cuomo said, I want to say as clearly as I can, I am not putting into this plan this year nearly enough money to meet
"Teaching the Teachers": Lancet (12/16/89) Vol. 2, No. 8677, P. 1467; Unmasking AIDS is a new video by the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) designed to overcome AIDS communication problems and make people change their sexual behavior. The video shows how group discussion, role play, drama, puppetry, and masks can overcome obstacles to change caused by difficulties wi
"Multiple Drug Reactions in a Patient with AIDS": Lancet (12/16/89) Vol. 2, No. 8677, P. 1455; Wignants, H., et al.; Writing in response to a report by Drs. Ong and Mandal (Lancet, Oct. 21), H. Wignants and colleagues from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium , discuss the case of a 40-year-old gay man with HIV infection and Kaposi s sarcoma who displayed a hypersensitivity to sev
"Acute Rhabdomyolysis Coincident With Primary HIV-1 Infection": Lancet (12/16/89) Vol. 2, No. 8677, P. 1454; Mahe, Antoine, et al.; Primary HIV-1 infection may have caused rhabdomyolysis in an 18-year-old patient from Mali , report Antoine Mahe and fellow researchers at the Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Poissy, Poissy, France . The researchers note that the man presented
"Teaching the Teachers": Lancet (12/16/89) Vol. 2, No. 8677, P. 1467; Unmasking AIDS is a new video by the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) designed to overcome AIDS communication problems and make people change their sexual behavior. The video shows how group discussion, role play, drama, puppetry, and masks can overcome obstacles to change caused by difficulties wi
"Multiple Drug Reactions in a Patient with AIDS": Lancet (12/16/89) Vol. 2, No. 8677, P. 1455; Wignants, H., et al.; Writing in response to a report by Drs. Ong and Mandal (Lancet, Oct. 21), H. Wignants and colleagues from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium , discuss the case of a 40-year-old gay man with HIV infection and Kaposi s sarcoma who displayed a hypersensitivity to sev
"Acute Rhabdomyolysis Coincident With Primary HIV-1 Infection": Lancet (12/16/89) Vol. 2, No. 8677, P. 1454; Mahe, Antoine, et al.; Primary HIV-1 infection may have caused rhabdomyolysis in an 18-year-old patient from Mali , report Antoine Mahe and fellow researchers at the Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Poissy, Poissy, France . The researchers note that the man presented
"Treatment IND for Pediatric Zidovudine": Journal of the American Medical Association (12/15/89) Vol. 262,; FDA has approved the distribution of zindovudine (also known as AZT ) strawberry-flavored syrup under a Treatment IND forchildren between the ages of 3 months and 13 years who have AIDS or are suffering from sy
"AIDS Antigen Test": JAMA (12/15/89) Vol. 262, No. 23, P. 3254; FDA has approved a new diagnostic kit to detect the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in serum and plasma. HIVAG-1 and HIVAG-1 Blocking Antibody, from Abbott Laboratories , differs from other enzyme-linked immunoassaytest
"Street-Wise Crack Research": Science (12/15/89) Vol. 246, No. 4936, P. 1376; Holden,; A new breed of ethnographer lives with crack families in crack-ridden neighborhoods to study the problems caused and aggravated by drugs. The discoveries these street ethnographers make can have direct implications for public policy, especially as it affects AIDS policy. Philippe Bourgois,who is on leave from the
"New York City Will Test for AIDS in Autopsies to Trace the": New York Times (12/15/89), P. A1; Lambert, Bruce; The New York City Medical Examiner will begin testing for HIV in all autopsies performed and will use the results in statistical research and contact tracing. The tests are expected to detect HIV in at least 1,000 of the 8,000 corpses examined yearly. Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch said the results will be ex
"Cytomegalovirus Retinitis": Journal of the American Medical Association (12/15/89) Vol. 262, No. 23, P. 3337; To, King, and Friedman, Alan H.; Cytomegalovirus ( CMV ) retinitis is the most common cause of blindness among people with HIV infections, according to King To of Lenox Hill Hospital and Alan H. Friedman of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. CMV retinitis clinically manifests itself in
"Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Correctional Institutions:" Recommendations, Advisory Committee for Elimination of Tuberculosis: Journal of the American Medical Association (12/15/89) Vol. 262, No. 23, P. 3258; HIV infection is among the factors heightening the need for correctional institutions to take precautions against outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB), according to the Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis. The rate of HIV infection in state/federal prisons is an estim
"Cytomegalovirus Retinitis": Journal of the American Medical Association (12/15/89) Vol. 262, No. 23, P. 3337; To, King, and Friedman, Alan H.; Cytomegalovirus ( CMV ) retinitis is the most common cause of blindness among people with HIV infections, according to King To of Lenox Hill Hospital and Alan H. Friedman of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. CMV retinitis clinically manifests itself in
"Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Correctional Institutions:" Recommendations, Advisory Committee for Elimination of Tuberculosis: Journal of the American Medical Association (12/15/89) Vol. 262, No. 23, P. 3258; HIV infection is among the factors heightening the need for correctional institutions to take precautions against outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB), according to the Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis. The rate of HIV infection in state/federal prisons is an estim
"Plasma Viremia in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection": The New England Journal of Medicine (12/14/89) Vol. 321, No. 24,; Coombs, Dr. Robert W.; To further their understanding of the patterns of viralreplication, the authors undertook a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of virologic markers in HIV-infected persons. In a study involving 213 HIV antibody positive persons and 71 HIV-negative persons, the authors compared the frequency of isolation of HIV fr
"Crisis...What Crisis?": Nature (12/14/89) Vol. 342, No. 6251, P. 728; McGourty,; Americans are developing a dangerous complacency about AIDS, according to the U.S. National Commission on AIDS, which issued its first report to President Bush earlier this month. Scheduled to issue its first report in August 1990, the commission decided the problems with the U.S. response to the epidemic were too
"Frequent Isolation of HIV-1 From the Blood of Patients Receiving": New England Journal of Medicine (12/14/89) Vol. 321, No. 24, P.; Burke, Donald, et al.; The results of a study of 70 blood samples from 45 HIV-positive persons who were taking AZT indicates that treatmentwith AZT seldom if ever eradicates HIV-1 from the blood, according to a letter from Donald S. Burke of the Walter Reed Army Ins
"Quantitation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 in the Blood": New England Journal of Medicine (12/14/89) Vol. 321, No. 24, P.; Ho, David D., et al.; The levels of HIV-1 in the plasma and peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of HIV-infected persons are much higher than previous estimates, according to David D. Ho and colleagues of the UCLA School of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The researchers report that in a study of 54 infected patients who were
"HIV Revealed: Toward a Natural History of the Infection": New England Journal of Medicine (12/14/89) Vol. 321, No. 24, P.; Baltimore, David, and Feinberg, Mark B.; Despite the enormous amount of information that has emerged about the genetic structure of HIV and how it operates in vitro, write David Baltimore and Mark B. Feinberg of the Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambrige, Mass., much is still unknown about how HIV initiates and maintains a natural infection. Only rec
"Man With AIDS Plans to Sue Blood Donor": Reuters (12/14/89); London--An man who received an HIV-contaminated transfusion in a Scottish hospital says he has AIDS-related symptoms and is seeking a court order for the donor s name to be revealed so he can sue the donor. The man, identified in court as AB, said he was transfused after a bone marrow transplant in 1986 and was lat
"AIDS Virus Can Hide for More Than Three Years": United Press International (12/14/89); Stein, Rob; Boston--A new study has found that HIV can hide in the body and evade easy detection for up to 3 1/2 years before the body produces antibodies that can be detected by standard tests, Northwestern University researchers reported Thursday. Most people begin producing antibodies to the virus within 12 weeks of infection
"When Research, Treatment Overlap": Washington Post (12/14/89), P. A33; Specter, Michael; Strong ethical guidelines that are standard throughout the world mandate consent of the subject of human experimentation, unlike in Nazi Germany where medical scientists and doctors experimented on people without restraint. However, recent highly-publicized human experiments--suc
"Free Morphine in Amsterdam": Wall Street Journal (12/14/89), P. A17; In Amsterdam, Dutch officials plan to offer heroin addicts free morphine injections to help reduce drug-related crime and limit the use of dirty needles that helps transmit HIV. About 200 of the city s estimated 8,000 addicts are expected to take part in the program, in which they will be given doses of morphine each
"Doctors Said to Ignore Part of the AIDS Law": New York Times (12/14/89), P. B8; Doctors routinely ignore a part of the AIDS confidentiality law that encourages them to notify sex and needle-sharing partners of HIV-infected people, said New York City Health Commissioner Stephen Joseph yesterday. At a state assembly hearing, Joseph urged that the law be amended to make contact tracing mandatory to
"An Insidious Test for AIDS": New York Times (12/14/89), P. A39; Gifford, William C., 3d; The private sector must accept full responsibility for the nation s health, or step aside, writes William Gifford 3d, editoral assistant with Legal Times. Gifford writes that when he recently applied for an individual health insurance policy, a private insurance agent came to his apartment to take blood and urine s
"Studies Give New Clues on Action of AIDS Virus": New York Times (12/14/89), P. B22; Altman, Lawrence K.; Two new reports show that levels of HIV in the blood of infected persons are hundreds of times higher than scientists thought and that there is no period of infection when the virus is dormant. The studies, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, provide insight into how the virus causes infection, mu
"HIV Watch: Closets Within Closets": Bay Area Reporter (12/14/89) Vol. 19, No. 50, P. 5; Botkin, Michael C.; Although many people living with HIV must conceal their condition, writes the Bay Area Reporter s Michael C. Botkin, it seems odd that so many people s condition remains concealed after death. Concealing HIV as a cause of death serves the interests not of the deceased, he writes, but of those who seek to bury the dec
"Activists Slam AIDS Database": Gay Community News (12/14/89) Vol. 19, No. 50, P. 16; AIDS activists fear a new database, the Evaluative Online Database on Unproven Remedies for AIDS, may be used to deny insurance coverage to people with AIDS. Grace Powers Monaco , the organizer of the new database, says that in her law practice,
"Segregation of HIV Inmates to End": Bay Area Reporter (12/14/89) Vol. 19, No. 50, P. 1; Botkin, Michael C.; The California Medical Facility at Vacaville, Calif., has agreed to phase out the segregation of people with AIDS after reaching a settlement with inmates represented by the ACLU, the Prison Law Office, and three private law firms. The arrangement will settle Gates vs. Deukemejian, a January 1988 class-action suit.
"Polymerase Chain Reaction for Seronegative Health Care Workers with" Parenteral Exposure to HIV-Infected Patients: New England Journal of Medicine (12/14/89) Vol. 321, No. 24, P. 1681; Wormser, Gary P. et al.; Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and other techniques to detect HIV infection are unlikely to reveal large numbers of undetected HIV-1 infection among health care workers, according to Gary P. Wormser and fellow researchers from the New York Medical College and Cetus Corp. PCR testing detects the virus itself rather t
"HIV Watch: Closets Within Closets": Bay Area Reporter (12/14/89) Vol. 19, No. 50, P. 5; Botkin, Michael C.; Although many people living with HIV must conceal their condition, writes the Bay Area Reporter s Michael C. Botkin, it seems odd that so many people s condition remains concealed after death. Concealing HIV as a cause of death serves the interests not of the deceased, he writes, but of those who seek to bury the dec
"Activists Slam AIDS Database": Gay Community News (12/14/89) Vol. 19, No. 50, P. 16; AIDS activists fear a new database, the Evaluative Online Database on Unproven Remedies for AIDS, may be used to deny insurance coverage to people with AIDS. Grace Powers Monaco , the organizer of the new database, says that in her law practice,
"Segregation of HIV Inmates to End": Bay Area Reporter (12/14/89) Vol. 19, No. 50, P. 1; Botkin, Michael C.; The California Medical Facility at Vacaville, Calif., has agreed to phase out the segregation of people with AIDS after reaching a settlement with inmates represented by the ACLU, the Prison Law Office, and three private law firms. The arrangement will settle Gates vs. Deukemejian, a January 1988 class-action suit.
"Polymerase Chain Reaction for Seronegative Health Care Workers with" Parenteral Exposure to HIV-Infected Patients: New England Journal of Medicine (12/14/89) Vol. 321, No. 24, P. 1681; Wormser, Gary P. et al.; Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and other techniques to detect HIV infection are unlikely to reveal large numbers of undetected HIV-1 infection among health care workers, according to Gary P. Wormser and fellow researchers from the New York Medical College and Cetus Corp. PCR testing detects the virus itself rather t
"Coye Proposes AIDS Testing of Pregnant Women": United Press International (12/13/89); Shearman, J. Craig; Trenton, N.J.--New Jersey state Health Commissioner Molly Coye said Wednesday that pregnant women should be routinely tested for HIV, but only on a voluntary basis and with their advance permission. Coye released statistics showing that New Jersey has the second-highest rate of HIV-infected newborn infants of eights
"Homosexual Rights Group Blasts Interpretation of AIDS Law": United Press International (12/13/89); Lowry, Bob; Austin, Texas--The Texas State Health Department s interpretation of a key portion of the omnibus AIDS bill could devastate AIDS services and education in the state, according to Glen Maxey, director of the Lesbian-Gay Rights Lobby of Texas. At issue is language that states: Grants may not be awarded to an entity or
"AIDS, Unknown a Decade Ago, at Crucial Stage Entering '90s": Reuters (12/13/89); Arieff, Irwin; Washington--The AIDS epidemic enters the 1990s at a crucial stage, as one of the most important threats to global public health. Health authorities say the disease could spin out of control if current prevention efforts prove inadequate. Although researchers have found many new therapies and hope to make AIDS a mana
"U.S. Is Pressed to End Screening of Those Who Have AIDS Virus": New York Times (12/13/89), P. B14; Hilts, Philip J.; The National Commission on AIDS, the Amerian Bar Association, and the international League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies yesterday called for an immediate end to the U.S. government s policy of barring HIV-infected people from entering the country unless they get a special waiver. The policy forces HIV-infe
"Computers Help AIDS Patients": Associated Press (12/12/89); Cleveland--A federally funded experiment has housebound AIDS patients caring for themselves by using a computer service. As part of the Case Western Reserve University program, patients were given computer terminals which allow them to retrieve treatment information and make informed decisions about their own care. T
"Computer Users Warned of Computer Sabotage Disk": Associated Press (12/12/89); London--Personal computer users in London were warned Tuesday night that the AIDS Information Introductory Diskette, a mailed disk purporting to give AIDS information, may actually be part of a sabotage plot. Alan Solomon, head of a British company specializing in computer viruses, said several thousand of the disks,
"Family Says 10 Babies Were Exposed to AIDS": United Press International (12/12/89); Gainesville, Fla.--A Central Florida couple has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Shands Hospital at the University of Florida, alleging their daughter was one of 10 premature babies given HIV-infected blood in 1983. The suit also says the hospital attempted to cover up the matter until June 1989. Blood tests have
"The Storming of St. Pat's": New York Times (12/12/89), P. A24; The demonstrators who stormed St. Patrick s Cathedral Sunday, rather than inspiring sympathy for the plight of homosexuals, people with AIDS, or those seeking abortion rights, brought discredit on themselves by demonstrating in a way that violated the rights of others to practice their religion, write the editors of t
"Cardinal Says He Won't Yield to Protests": New York Times (12/12/89), P. B3; Purdum, Todd S.; John Cardinal O Connor responded to Sunday s protests against his statements on AIDS, homosexuality, and abortion yesterday, saying his approach could be changed only over my dead body, and that demonstrations would not prevent him from preaching church doctrine. O Connor, Archbishop of New York, has frequently cal
"Should a Hospital Tell Patients if a Surgeon has AIDS?": New York Times (12/12/89), P. B1; Sullivan, Joseph F.; Before he died of AIDS in June, Dr. William H. Behringer filed a suit that has forced a court review of the rights of ill doctors to treat patients and perform surgery without informing patients of their condition. Behringer sued the Princeton Medical Center, where he was on the staff, saying that after he was diagno
"Doctors and Ethics": Washington Post (12/12/89), P. 8; Bloom, Mark; The American Medical Association s (AMA) House of Delegates, the association s decision-making arm, has encouraged health authorities to trace all contacts of patients testing positive for HIV and notify them that they are at risk of infection. In addition, the delegates voted to encourage the reporting of HIV-positi
"Tentative Accord Reportedly set on NIH, AIDS Budgets": Washington Post (12/12/89), P. A23; Rich, Spencer, and Schwartz,; The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have tentatively agreed to recommend $1.7 billion for AIDS research and other AIDS public health programs and just over $7 billion for the National Institutes of Health for fiscal 1991. The agreement represents a compromis
"Life and Death on Ward 5A": Washington Post (Health) (12/12/89), P. 12; Adams, Jane; More than a quarter of the 4,609 San Franciscan AIDS patients who have died were cared for by nurses on Ward 5A at San Francisco General Hospital, the oldest inpatient AIDS ward in the nation. These nurses have set a standard of care for AIDS wards across the nation. From the beginning, they decided to touch their p
"AIDS, Crack, and Homelessness Contribute to Rise in Foster Care": Associated Press (12/11/89); Mesce, Deborah; Washington--Homelessness, AIDS, and crack cocaine are overwhelming child welfare services nationwide and contributing to the growing number of children in foster care, while federal funding has not kept pace with the problem, according to a report by the Democratic Majority on the House Select Committee on Children, Y
"Cuomo Blasts Protesters for Disrupting Catholic Mass": United Press International (12/11/89); Albany, N.Y.--Despite his support for abortion rights and AIDS patients, New York Governor Mario Cuomo, a Catholic, criticized the AIDS and abortion-rights activists who disrupted mass at St. Patrick s Cathedral Sunday. Even the awful provocation emanating from these issues does not justify the outrage of desecrati
"AIDS Dominates the 1980s": United Press International (12/11/89); Stein, Rob; Boston--The 1980s saw the dawning of the Age of AIDS, in which an obscure disease that appeared to affect only homosexual men grew to epidemic proportions with issues touching all aspects of society around the world. Since 1981, 66,000 Americans have died of AIDS and an estimated 1.5 million have become HIV-infecte
"Tagamet Could Be Useful in Treatment of AIDS": United Press International (12/11/89); Philadelphia--The ulcer drug Tagamet could be used to treat AIDS, says the drug s manufacturer, SmithKline Beecham. The drug maker will participate in a study of the drug s use as an AIDS treatment, a spokesman for the company said Monday. A West German study showed Tagamet improved the condition of AIDS patients by
"School Officials Take a Dim View of Condom Sales": New York Times (12/11/89), P. 72; Douglas and Steven Kreuzer, brothers, engineering students and entrepreneurs, have been selling latex condoms with the words Get Lucky Bucky and the University of Wisconsin, Madison mascot, Bucky Badger, printed on them for over two years. The school s administration, however, recently sent a cease and desist let
"111 Arrested in Protest at St. Patrick's": New York Times (12/11/89), P. B3; De Parle, Jason; New York City police arrested 111 people yesterday when 4,500 people demonstrated outside St. Patrick s Cathedral and several dozen disrupted the mass of John Cardinal O Connor to protest the prelate s recent statements on abortion, homosexuality, and AIDS. O Connor opposes the use of condoms, safe sex, and needle
"AIDS Comfort": Newsweek (12/11/89) Vol. 114, No. 24, P. 63; Ellen Ahlgren, a retired schoolteacher from Northwood, N.H., decided to make quilts for babies with AIDS living in hospital and foster homes. She founded a national project called AIDS Baby Crib (ABC) Quilts to brighten the lives of more than 2,000 U.S. children with AIDS by giving each of them a cheerful comforter.
"The Good Father": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (Image Magazine); Fernandez, Elizabeth 12/10/89 Page 8; Bob Arpin, a 43-year-old Catholic priest, is gay and has AIDS. Arpin says he firmly believes in the power of truth and has found inspiration in what others might deem a death sentence. AIDS, he says, has given him a new public voice and a desire to bridge the gap between the church and the gay community. When he di
"AIDSWEEK: The Law": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/10/89), P. A8; As part of a settlement easing segregation of HIV-infected prisoners, Vacaville prison officials agreed to integrate 20 to 30 of the 130 inmates with HIV disease into prison activities, lawyers for the inmates announced. HIV-infected prisoners will still be housed separately....In the third consecutive ruling for Irw
"AIDSWEEK: The World": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/10/89), P. A8; Women are three times as vulnerable to HIV infection from a single sexual encounter as are men, according to British researchers. Studies in Britain and the United States have shown that if a woman has sex once a day with an HIV-infected man she has a statistical chance of being infec
"AIDSWEEK: Research": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/10/89), P. A8; James Mason, top federal health official, said people taking AZT for HIV-related conditions should not worry about recent reports that very high doses of the drug cause tumors in aging lab rats. Althought the findings are significant, he said
"AIDSWEEK: She Hopes for a Vaccine in Five Years": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (12/10/89), P. A8; Michael Murphey-Corb, whose Tulane University team developed the first promising vaccine against SIV, an AIDS-like disease in monkeys, said her personal goal is an HIV vaccine within five years. Murphey-Corb warned of many obstacles, however, including protecting against mutant viral strains and making sure the vacci
"Regional AIDS Centers to be Announced": United Press International (12/10/89); Shearman, J. Craig; Trenton, N.J.--The New Jersey state Health Department will announce today its choice of four hospitals to participate in a $1 million statewide system of early intervention centers for state residents infectedd with HIV who do not yet show symptoms. The four regional centers, combined with a center already open at th
"Mother-to-Infant Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus": Lancet (12/09/89) Vol. 2, No. 8676, P. 1351; Goedert, James J.,; In a prospective study of HIV-infected pregnant women in Brooklyn, research James J. Goedert of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues report, 60 percent of infants born at 37 weeks of gestation or earlier were infected with HIV, compared to 22 percent of infants born at 38 weeks of gestation or later. Of 55 ev
"AIDS in Teenagers": Lancet (12/09/89) Vol. 2, No. 8676, P. 1385; What hope have we for controlling the AIDS epidemic if the infection is not treated as a dangerous contagious disease? write the editors of the Lancet, who note that cases of syphilis are reported to public health authorities, contacts are traced and tested, and patients are treated and observed. AIDS meets all the
"The Cost of Medicines": Lancet (12/09/89) Vol. 2, No. 8676, P. 1384; Sibbison, J.B.; At a recent hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, witnesses testified on the exorbitant prices of many prescription drugs in the United States . Sen. David Pryor (D.-Ark.) who called the growing prices of drugs a national crisis, cited studies showing vastly lower prices f
"Syphilis Cases Increase in Seattle-Tacoma Area": United Press International (12/09/89); Seattle--The Seattle-King County Health Department has warned that syphilis cases are on the rise in the Seattle-Tacoma area. The syphilis trend has health officials concerned that fewer people are practicing safer sex, which would cause an increase in the incidence of HIV transmission in the area. Health officials
"Government ddI Trials on Trial": Science (12/08/89) Vol. 246, No. 4935, P. 1244; Palca, Joseph; Federal health officials are dealing with two troublingquestions as clinical tests of ddI begin: First, will the new parallel track program make it impossible to attract enough patients for clinical trials? And, second and perhaps more important, will a dearth of volunteers spell the end of the wide-scale distribution
"Incidence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Seroconversion in US": Journal of the American Medical Association (12/08/89) Vol. 262,; Garland, Frank C., et al.; The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps administered 1,956,631 enzyme-linked immunosorbent screening tests for HIV antibodies to 1,070,511 active-duty enlisted and officer personnel from 1986 to 1988, reports a team of researchers led byFrank C. Garland of the Naval Health Research Center. The tests identified 582 seroco
"Progress in Vaccines Against AIDS": Science (12/08/89) Vol. 246, No. 4935, P. 1233; Bolognesi, Dani; The pessimism shadowing the development of a vaccine for HIV infection shows some signs of receding, writes Dani P. Bolognesi of Duke University Medical Center. The efficacy of killed virus in animal tests, the identification of important immunological targets on the infected cell and the virus, and the fact that hum
"The Risk of Developing AIDS in Hemophiliac and Homosexual Men": Journal of the American Medical Association (12/08/89) Vol. 262,; Jason, Janine M.; In a response to a letter on an article of theirs discussing the risk of developing AIDS in hemophiliac men, Janine M. Jason and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control note that current data do not indicate that HIV-infected hemophiliacs have lower rates of AIDS or longer latency periods than do homosexual or
"A Formalin-Inactivated Whole SIV Vaccine Confers Protection in": Science (12/08/89) Vol. 246, No. 4935, P. 1293; Murphey-Corb,; A formalin-inactivated whole SIV vaccine protected eight of nine rhesus monkeys from SIV infection, reports Michael Murphey-Corb and colleagues from Tulane University. SIV, the simian model for HIV, provides effective evaluation of AIDS vaccine methodologies in rhesus macaques, taking advantage of the similarities in
"AIDS Mothers Who Pass Disease to Infants Lack Antibody--Study": Reuters (12/08/89); Arnst, Catherine; London--A research team working in Brooklyn, N.Y., has discovered that pregnant HIV-infected women are more likely to infect their children if they lack an antibody that is critical to the virus. In a report in the Lancet, Dr. James Goedert of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and his colleagues report on a study of
"New Method of Creating Antibodies Hailed as a Research Aid": New York Times (12/08/89), P. A32; Blakeslee, Sandra; A team of scientists led by Richard Lerner at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif., has developed a new method of creating monoclonal antibodies thousands of times faster, in greater quantity, and at lower cost than the current method. The technique, a major advance in biotechnology, will allow researchers to tap t
"Tests of a Vaccine on Monkeys Offer New Hope in AIDS Fight": New York Times (12/08/89), P. A1; Hilts, Philip J.; Researchers in Louisiana yesterday reported the most promising discovery yet in the fight to find a vaccine against HIV. Michael Murphy-Corb and colleagues at Delta Regional Primate Research Center at Tulane University used whole-killed virus, inactivated with formalin, and protected eight of nine monkeys against a s
"Thailand's Sex Industry: An Armed 'AIDS Time Bomb"": Bay Area Reporter (12/07/89), P. 17/1; Wockner, Rex; British writer Peter Tatchell says Thailand is sittingon an AIDS time bomb, following a visit to Bangkok this fall. It s the world s leading center for sex tourism, Tatchell says, and [it] also has a massive drug problem arising from the production of heroin in the Golden T
"Reporters Field Questions on Media Coverage of AIDS": Bay Area Reporter (12/07/89), P. 4; A panel of San Francisco area journalists representing print, TV, and radio answered questions about AIDS and HIV coverage at a forum hosted by Positives Being Positive, a peer support network sponsored by the AIDS Health Project. The panel answered questions on the reluctance of the media to address alternative ther
"Scientific Firsts May Fail in the Commercial World": Washington Technology (12/07/89) Vol. 4, No. 17, P. 20; When the World Health Organization asked the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University to design a single-use syringe to help curb the spread of HIV, the lab developed one. However, the researchers soon found that scientific breakthroughs have no guarantee of succes
"AMA Supports AIDS Notification; Attacks Tobacco": Associated Press (12/07/89); Honolulu--The American Medical Association Wednesday recommended that communities set up partner notification systems to protect unsuspecting sexual or needle-sharing partners of HIV-infected people. The delegates approved the policy by voice vote as part of a resolution to enco
"Kenya Reports Finding Most Promising Drug to Combat AIDS": Reuters (12/07/89); Nairobi, Kenya--Doctors at a Nairobi research facility announced they have discovered a drug they say halts the symptoms and effects of AIDS within days. We do not claim to have a cure for AIDS but we have given AIDS sufferers the best chance available and another chance to lead normal lives, Dr. Davy Koech, head o
"AIDS Activist Group Harasses and Provokes to Make Its Point": Wall Street Journal (12/07/89), P. A1; Crossem, Cynthia; Members of AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP), an AIDS advocacy group, have entered government, finance, and religious offices and conducted civil disobedience demonstrations. ACT-UP members have gained access to these places unchallenged by security personnel and employee because of their clean-cut, yuppie app
"With AIDS, Doctor Plans for a Trial, Not a Career": New York Times (12/07/89), P. B1; Navarro, Mireya; Veronica Prego was an extern, a medical-school graduate working toward an internship, when she pricked a finger with a needle seven years ago. She is now 32 and battling AIDS. Instead of preparing for a medical career, she is preparing for a negligence lawsuit against Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York Cit
"AIDS Panel Says U.S. Lags on Health Care Policy": New York Times (12/07/89), P. A26; Hilts, Philip J.; In its first report to the president--delivered eight months early--the National Commission on AIDS faulted the federal government for the lack of a national plan for dealing with the impact of AIDS and criticized the Bush administration s drug policy, which it said doesn t include or allocate resources for HIV infect
"AIDS Commission Reports Early to Bush": Washington Post (12/07/89), P. A11; The National Commission on AIDS sent its report to the White House eight months early to drive home the point that the nation s health-care system needs urgent repair to deal with the AIDS crisis. The commission said the response to the AIDS epidemic has been slow because the disease initially appeared in groups oft
"Officer Wants Prisoner's AIDS Test Results": United Press International (12/06/89); Indianapolis--The Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police has pledged to help Sgt. David Young financially and back legislation that would require high-risk suspects to undergo HIV antibody testing. Young, who was punctured by a hypodermic needle while searching a man believed to be a heroin addict, thinks he may have
"A Nurse Is Sentenced for Denying Treatment": New York Times (12/06/89), P. B8; Barbara Ford, a nursing supervisor in Queens, N.Y., was sentenced to 200 hours of community service treating AIDS patients for denying emergency-room treatment to an 81-year-old woman suffering from a rapid heartbeat and respiratory distress. This was the first successful criminal prosecution of a hospital employee i
"AIDS Drug Causes Cancer in Animals": New York Times (12/06/89), P. A20; Hilts, Philip J.; Burroughs Wellcome Company said yesterday that AZT has been found to cause cancer in mice and rats. However, doctors emphasized that for most patients, the drug s benefits far outweigh its risks. Doctors also said the findings do not ensure
"Not Waiting for Approval": Advocate (12/05/89) No. 539, P. 28; Zimmerman, Andy; As head of Project Inform and organizer of the controversial Compound Q study, Martin Delaney is squarely in the limelight these days. Since the establishment of Project Inform in 1985, Delaney has grown from a vocal outside critic of the way the government and drug manufacturers faced the AIDS crisis into an insider
"The Helquist Report: U.S. Immigration Problems Continue for": Advocate (12/05/89) No. 539, P. 27; Helquist, Michael; Issues of HIV status and foreign travelers have not been resolved in this country. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service will allow HIV-positive foreign nationals into the country if they are traveling on business and if they apply for a special visa. The visa requirement raises several issues, such as whe
"An Ugly "Spin" on AZT": Advocate (12/05/89) No. 539, P. 53; Byron, Stuart; Only willful intellectual dishonesty can account for Celia Farber s conclusions in her article, Sins of Omission: The AZT Scandal, in Spin magazine s November issue, writes the Advocate s Stuart Byron. Farber, writes Byron, barely goes beyo
"Study Finds Teens Hear AIDS Advice But Ignore It": Reuters (12/05/89); Chicago--A survey of 448 Oklahoma City area students showed that teens learn about AIDS prevention but do as they please when it comes to actual behavior. Researchers from the University of Oklahoma Helath Sciences Center and Texas Tech University conducted the survey of students aged 14 to 17 who had been exposed to
"Records Plan Draws Heat": Advocate (12/05/89) No. 539, P. 19; Peterson, Robert W.; Oklahoma Department of Health (ODH) officials are attempting to change the state s AIDS reporting system. Although Oklahoma hospitals, clinics, and private physicians are required to give ODH the names of patients who are HIV positive, state law allows six clinics to conduct anonymous testing. ODH officials want the
"Outlook for AIDS Research: The Worst Is Yet to Come": Washington Post (Health) (12/05/89), P. 5; Hines, William; What is the outlook for the second decade of the AIDS epidemic? June E. Osborn, chairman of the National Commission on AIDS, and Anthony S. Fauci, head of the Office of AIDS Research at the National Institutes of Health, say it is not good. On World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, Osborn and Fauci took issue with two public misim
"Pregnancy and AIDS: Questions About Treatment and Social": Washington Post (Health) (12/05/89), P. 11; Waxman, Sharon; More than 600 AIDS experts gathered in Paris last week for the first global conference to address the complex ethical and social dilemmas facing mothers and children with AIDS. The message of the roomful of ministers of health was that health systems around the world cannot cope with the hard questions posed by AIDS
"Religious Groups Exhorted to Press on AIDS": New York Times (12/05/89), P. A24; An interfaith group of religious leaders adopted a consensus statement yesterday calling for greater government involvement in AIDS prevention and care. The religious leaders, who gathered for a two-day conference in Atlanta at the Carter Presidential Center, said they face formidable problems in developing a united
"Employers Address Issue Head-On": Industry Week (12/04/89) Vol. 238, No. 23, P. 11; Benson, Tracy; How can a company deal with the issue of AIDS in the workplace? When one CEO member of The Executive Committee (TEC) was faced with an employee uprising over an HIV-infected worker, he invited an expert from the Centers for Disease Control to educate his staff about AIDS in the workplace, according to Bud Carter, Atl
"Program Targets Ex-Cons, Ex-Drug Abusers": Associated Press (12/04/89); Rosen, Barbara; New York--AIDS Risk Reduction and Eduction for Former Intravenous Drug Abusers Entering Society, more commonly known as ARRIVE, is a New York City program to help students with drug problems who have recently completed jail terms get back into society. The primary purpose of the program is to stop the transmission (
"Four Churches Vandalized Over Archbishop's Anti-Condom Stance": Associated Press (12/04/89); Los Angeles--A group of AIDS activists says it will continue to vandalize Roman Catholic churches until Archbishop Roger Mahoney changes his stance on the use of condoms to prevent AIDS. The group, Greater Religious Responsibility!, splashed red paint on the doors of four churches to retaliate against Mahoney for mak
"New Study Will Probe Problems Artists Have With Health Coverage": Journal of Commerce (12/04/89), P. 9A; McNiff, Tom Jr.; The National Endowment for the Arts has funded a study by the American Council on the Arts to determine the availability and affordability of health insurance for actors and other artists. Some arts groups argue that insurers may be hedging on insurance for artists due to a concern with AIDS. At this point, no solid
"A Guardian of U.S. Health Is Failing Under Pressures": New York Times (12/04/89), P. A1; Hilts, Philip J.; The Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) faces rising responsibilities, a staff shortage, poor morale, and a budget that has not changed in almost a decade. Yet the agency is responsible for insuring the safety of food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices. Industry officials complai
"AIDS Officials Reinstated in a Call for Healing": New York Times (12/03/89), P. 48; Lambert, Bruce; New York City Human Rights Commission Chairman John E. Brandon reversed himself Friday and reinstated Keith O Connor and Kathryn L. Taylor, the two top officials in the AIDS Discrimination Division, who were removed amid gay rights organization protests. Two weeks ago, Brandon reinstated O Connor, who had been demote
"At Last, a Place in Medicine for Interferon": New York Times (12/03/89), P. E6; Kolata, Gina; The drug interferon got a boost last Thursday when two groups of researchers reported that alpha interferon is the first known drug that can treat hepatitis C , the most common form of the sexually-transmitted disease that affects 3 to 7 percent o
"Let Me Just Stamp Your Passport": Lancet (12/02/89) Vol. 2, No. 8675, P. 1325; With its policy on HIV-infected people, the U.S. Immigration Service s (INS) has produced a Berlin Wall made of straw and then knocked holes in it, write the editors of the Lancet. The policy is remarkable mainly for its purposelessness and its ugliness, they write. In theory, says the Lancet, the INS could dema
"Systemic Glutathione Deficiency in Symptom-Free HIV-Seropositive": Lancet (12/02/89) Vol. 2, No. 8675, P. 1294; Crystal, Ronald G.,; Glutathione deficiency could be one of several factors responsible for immune deficiency in HIV infection, write Ronald Crystal and colleagues from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Glutathione plays an important role in the body s immune system, including activation of lymphocytes. Crystal and colleagu
"An AIDS-Associated Microbe Unmasked": Science News (12/02/89) Vol. 136, No. 23, P. 356; McKenzie, A.; A mysterious virus-like infectious agent (VLIA) isolated from a lesion of an AIDS patient with Kaposi s sarcoma has been identified as a mycoplasma, the smallest known organism capable of living without a host. Shyh-Ching Lo and researchers from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C. Lo and colle
"Women Twice as Likely to Continue Sharing Needles": Gay Community News (12/02/89) Vol. 17, No. 20, P. 2; Villalobos,; A recent survey by the Santa Clara County, Calif., drug abuse services bureau found that over 40 percent of female IV drug users continue to share needles even after learning the practice puts them at risk for HIV. The county s criminal justice services bureau interviewed and tested 263 men and 126 women arrested bet
"Book Reviews: AIDS": Journal of the American Medical Association (12/01/89) Vol. 262,; McHugh, Margaret; Understanding and Preventing AIDS: A Guide for Young People, by Warren Colman, is a well-written book about AIDS for younger adolescents, grades 5 through 9, writes Margaret McHugh of New York University-Bellevue. The guide provides a primer with appropriate vocabulary, clear definitions of biological terms, and gr
"Structure of Complex of Synthetic HIV-1 Protease with a": Science (12/01/89) Vol. 246, No. 4934, P. 1149; Miller, Maria,; Maria Miller and colleagues from the National Cancer Institute s Frederick Cancer Research Facility report on their study of the structure of a cloned HIV-1 protease. Mutation of the active site of HIV-1 protease (HIV-1 PR) results in the production of noninfective virions, so the researchers studied inhibitors of HI
"Multiple Mutations in HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Confer": Science (12/01/89) Vol. 246, No. 4934, P. 1155; Larder, Brendan; Researchers Brendan Larder and Sharon Kemp of the Wellcome Research Laboratories describe four mutations in HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) isolated from HIV-infected individuals with reduced sensitivity to AZT . Three amino acid substitutions
"Haitians Getting Bad Rap, Anthropologist Says": United Press International (12/01/89); Gainesville, Fla.-- Racism has given Haitians a bad press, said Robert Lawless, a University of Florida antrhopologist. Haitian boat people have been stereotyped as AIDS carriers and voodoo practitioners, resulting in job discrimination, according to Lawless. The professor contends Haitian job advancement has bee
"Swedes Call for Legalizing Homosexual Marriage to Combat AIDS": Associated Press (12/01/89); Faul, Michelle; As health experts and AIDS advocates commemorated World AIDS Day last Friday, Claes Ortendahl, director of Sweden s Social Welfare Board, called for the legalization of marriages between gays to reduce promiscuity and decrease the transmission of HIV. Countries throughout the world marked the AIDS awareness day with
"AIDS Activists Arrested in Pennsylvania Avenue Protest": Associated Press (12/01/89); Mesce, Deborah; Washington--Seventy-eight AIDS activists shouting Where is George? were arrested Friday after a protest and die-in in front of the White House. Many of those arrested were directors and top officials of AIDS advocacy groups from across the nation. The demonstrators met to protest the Bush administration s lack of
"Budget Office Proposes $8 Billion Medicare Cut": New York Times (12/01/89), P. A26; Tolchin, Martin; The health insurance program for the elderly and disabled would sustain the largest reduction of any domestic program under a White House budget office proposal to cut $8 billion in Medicare spending, officials said. Under the new budget plan, financing of AIDS research and treatment would be reduced by $7 million fr
"To the Swiss and Dutch, Tolerance is Anti-Drug": New York Times (12/01/89), P. A4; Bollag, Burton; Switzerland and the Netherlands take liberal approaches to their drug problems. In Zurich and Rotterdam, authorities do not arrest or harass small-time drug users and dealers, because they believe to do so would be counterproductive a
"Panel Proposes AIDS Program to Help Inmates": New York Times (12/01/89), P. B3; Lambert, Bruce; New York State s AIDS Advisory Council proposed major new programs to combat the rising epidemic of AIDS in prison, warning that prisons could become a charnel house of inmates consigned to a tragic and hastened death without a fast response. Health and prison officials endorsed the proposals as a strong plan for
"World AIDS Epidemic Draws New Warnings": New York Times (12/01/89), P. D19; Hilts, Philip J.; Officials of the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that the AIDS epidemic is gaining momentum worldwide and in some regions affects as many women as men. Jonathan Mann, director of the Global Program on AIDS, said the epidemic is still out of control. The disease has pr
"Study Sheds Light on AIDS-Lung Infection Link": Washington Post (12/01/89), P. A20; Okie, Susan; Researchers at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) have discovered abnormally low levels of glutathione in the blood and lung fluid of 14 men in early stages of HIV-infection, which may explain why the immune systems of people with HIV/AIDS break down and why they have so many lung infections. Gluta
"Life Review and the Threat of Death": Focus: A Guide to AIDS Research and Counseling (12/89) Vol. 5, No. 1, P. 3; Krupnick, Janice, and Shill, John; As knowledge about HIV infection has grown, the way in which patients are treated has changed as well, write Janice Krupnick of Georgetown and George Washington Universities, and John Shill of Georgetown University. The goal of medical treatment in people with AIDS, they write, now leans toward maintaining the health
"Public Afraid of Contracting HIV in Physicians' Offices": AIDS Alert (12/89) Vol. 4, No. 12, P. 201; A survey conducted by researchers at the University of California in San Francisco shows that patients are frightened about contracting HIV in their physicians offices. Out of 2,000 respondents from the general population, 45 percent believed that if a physician is infected with HIV, he/she should not be allowed to
"Surgeons' Association Recommends Voluntary Testing of Patients": AIDS Alert (12/89) Vol. 4, No. 12, P. 1981; The AIDS task force for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) has recently recommended voluntary HIVantibody testing of all patients. The task force believes that testing would give an accurate assessment of a patient s HIV status, important in choosing a mode of treatment, and it could further minimize
"AZT: The Tarnished Star": Eurobusiness (12/89) Vol. 2, No. 3, P. 17; Bebbington, Clare; Wellcome, the manufacturer of zidovudine ( AZT ) under the name of Retrovir, has achieved tremendous financial success with the drug, yet despite this success, the company is constantly enveloped in a heated public controversy the like of which
"AIDS and the Meaning of Natural Disaster": Focus: A Guide to AIDS Research and Counseling (12/89) Vol. 5,; Berube, Allan; Whether people treat the AIDS epidemic and suffering asa medical learning experience or as a source of inspiration, theyare doing the sufferers and survivors a great diservice, writes Allan Berube, a historian and author of the book Coming Out UnderFire. While difinitive answers may comfort people who seek absolute a
"Early Research Shows Aerosol Transmission Might be Possible": AIDS Alert (12/89) Vol. 4, No. 12, P. 196; Scientists at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) say unpublished, preliminary reseach shows that microscopic floating blood particles commonly generated during surgical procedures may be capable of infecting health care workers with HIV and other blood-transmitted diseases. Dr. Don Jewett of UCSF sa
"Dentists Have Important Role in Early Detection of HIV": AIDS Alert (12/89) Vol. 4, No. 12, P. 203; As early intervention becomes increasingly important, dentists can play an important role in the early detection of HIV, says Michael Glick, director of the Temple University School of Dentistry s infectious disease center. Glick points out that oral manifestations make up approximately 40 percent of the initial mani
"AZT: The Tarnished Star": Eurobusiness (12/89) Vol. 2, No. 3, P. 17; Bebbington, Clare; Few drug companies have ever faced the public controversy Wellcome has become embroiled in over AZT . As one of the few companies to continue anti-viral research in the 1970s, Wellcome was well placed to begin work on anti-AIDS drugs when the
"AIDS: Facts and Fallacies": MGF (12/89) Vol. 5, No. 10, P. 31; Whitty, Stephen; What you don t know about AIDS can kill you. In New York City, it s the number one killer of men aged 25 to 44, and one out of every five Americans now has a friend or relative who has AIDS or has died from it. AIDS is not a gay disease--you aren t safe if you re straight. AIDS is passed through exchange of bodily
"T4 Cell Counts Vary Among Labs; Precautions Should Be Taken": AIDS Alert (12/89) Vol. 4, No. 12, P. 200; T4 cell counts reported by commercial laboratories can vary by as much as 300 points, according to Colorado physician Charles Steinberg, who says the findings suggest guidelines for T4 cell counts need restructuring and that physicians should be much more careful about treatment decisions based on T4 counts. Steinber
"T4 Cell Counts Vary Among Labs; Precautions Should Be Taken": AIDS Alert (12/89) Vol. 4, No. 12, P. 200; T4 cell counts reported by commercial laboratories can vary by as much as 300 points, according to Colorado physician Charles Steinberg, who says the findings suggest guidelines for T4 cell counts need restructuring and that physicians should be much more careful about treatment decisions based on T4 counts. Steinber
"HIV Testing": Nature (11/30/89) Vol. 342, No. 6249, P. 466; Britain s government refuses to admit liablility for any of the 1,200 hemophiliacs in the country who contracted HIV through contaminated blood products. However, the government has announced a 19 million pound donation to the Macfarlane Trust to compensate the infected hemophiliacs. The government gave the same tru
"HIV Testing: UK Blood Screening Begins": Nature (11/30/89) Vol. 342, No. 6249, P. 466; Newmark, Peter; The United Kingdom will begin large-scale testing of blood samples for HIV infection in January, using blood drawn for other purposes, the Department of Health says. The samples will be anonymised, according to the department, but because information about the testing will be made a
"More About Oral": Bay Area Reporter (11/30/89) Vol. 19, No. 48, P. 7; Lifson, Alan; Unprotected receptive or insertive anal intercourse has been the primary risk factor associated with new HIV infections, although there are reports that two men seroconverted after multiple episodes of receptive oral intercourse with ejaculation, write Alan Lifson and Paul O Malley of the Clinic Study, who write to cl
"COBRA Benefits Extended for Disabled": Bay Area Reporter (11/30/89) Vol. 19, No. 48, P. 22; Botkin,; The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA) continuation bill would extend COBRA benefits to disabled people, significantly benefitting people with AIDS and HIV infection. The bill passed Congress and is expected to take effect Jan. 1 with President Bush s approval. The extension will fill the
"Priority on HIV": Nature (11/30/89) Vol. 342, No. 6249, P. 462; Whether Robert Gallo of the U.S. National Cancer Institute or Luc Montagnier of the Institut Pasteur in Paris discovered HIV was a battle settled by then U.S. President Ronald Reagan and then French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, who agreed that AIDS was too important to fight over, write the editors of Nature. Howev
"Perinatal Pharmacokinetics of Zidovudine": New England Journal of Medicine (11/30/89) Vol. 321, No. 22, P.; Chavanet, Pascal, et al.; Both mothers and infants appear to tolerate zidovudine ( AZT ) during pregnancy, report Pascal Chavanet and fellow researchers from hospitals in France . They describe a study of a 30-year-old HIV-positive wo
"Prophylaxis of Infections in AIDS": New England Journal of Medicine (11/30/89) Vol. 321, No. 22, P.; Bach, Michael C.; Should doctors, in light of the efficacy of primary prophylaxis against pneumocystis, consider prophylaxis for other agents known to cause infection in patients with HIV disease? asks Michael Bach of Maine Medical Center in Portland. Bach writes that the concept of primary prophylaxis against severe immunodeficiency
"Doctor Admits AIDS Test Extortion": United Press International (11/30/89); Trenton, N.J.--Monir Dawoud, a Jersey City doctor, admitted Thursday that he extorted more than $3,000 from two illegal aliens who tested positive for HIV. Dawoud, who was authorized by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to examine foreign nationals seeking permanent residence, told two immigrants they would
"Key to AZT Resistance Found": United Press International (11/30/89); Kolberg, Rebecca; Washington--Researchers from England s Wellcome Research Laboratories reported Thursday in the journal Science that they have pinpointed common genetic mutations in the DNA of AZT-resistant strains of HIV. The research may lead to quick tests to determine if patients are resistant to AZT. Brendan Larder and Sharon K
"Hepatitis B Four Times as Common Among Blacks": Associated Press (11/30/89); Byrd, Robert; Atlanta--African-Americans have four times the incidence of hepatitis B as whites, according to the first nationwide scientific survey of the infectious liver disease. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported Thursday that in a five-year s
"AIDS Activists: Bush Fails": Associated Press (11/30/89); Washington--On the eve of World AIDS Day, AIDS activists say George Bush s report card shows failing grades for his AIDS efforts. Rene Durazzo, spokesman for several AIDS groups, said Bush has yet to provide a national strategy and has not made a push for more funding for prevention, care, research, and treatment.
"Seven East Germans Die of AIDS": Reuters (11/30/89); East Berlin--The chief AIDS adviser to the health ministry in East Germany said Thursday that only seven people have died of AIDS in that country. Niels Sinnichsen, the leading AIDS expert in East Germany, told a weekly newspaper, the Morgenpost, that the country has no drug addi
"Black, Male, Gay and Angry: He Had a Right": Washington Post (11/30/89), P. DC1; Milloy, Courtland; Lawrence A. Washington died Nov. 21 of AIDS, writes the Washington Post s Courtland Milloy, who says he listened to friends eulogize Washington last Monday. Milloy recalls how Washington had been angry with Milloy for writing that, unlike the District s white homosexual community...black gays [had] failed to deal wi
"Canadian Company Claims Foolproof Test for AIDS Virus": Reuters (11/29/89); Parry, Antony; Toronto--Cangene Corp. President James Rae said Wednesday that his biotechnology company has developed a test for HIV that detects the virus directly without having to wait several weeks for antibodies to develop. The test, Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification (NASBA), checks for a predetermined nucleic acid spe
"AIDS Mothers and Children Will Haunt Society, Experts Say": Reuters (11/29/89); Peirce, Andrea; Paris-- Knowing you transmitted death to your child causes enormous rage and despair, said Anita Septimus, an AIDS specialist attending the first international conference on the effects of AIDS on mothers and children. Experts at the conference said the trauma, guilt, depression, and physical health problems suffere
"AIDS Cases in Women Could Rival Homosexual Cases by Mid-1990s": United Press International (11/29/89); Sugar, Ken; Atlanta-- Unless we do something to stop [HIV s] spread, unless we do something about drugs, we are going to have a situation in Georgia like New York City or Newark, N.J., where the problem is not gay men, but heterosexual men and women involved either directly or peripherally with IV drugs and other kinds of drug ab
"Bill Lifting Some AIDS Confidentiality Requirements Clears": United Press International (11/28/89); Lansing, Mich.--Michigan currently has strict statutes protecting the confidentiality of children with AIDS. Information may be released only with signed parental permission or through a court order. However, those requirements would be lifted and information could be released to the director of a foster care agency
"AIDS Activist Chris Brownlie Dead at 39": United Press International (11/28/89); Los Angeles--AIDS-care activist Chris Brownlie died at his home Tuesday at age 39. The first county-supported hospice, where he had been a patient until he went home Monday, is named for him. He lobbied extensively for the $2 million, 25-bed county Chris Brownlie Hospice for AIDS patient care, the first and largest
"Homeless AIDS Patients Increase As Housing Becomes Scarce": United Press International (11/28/89); Kilkelly, Ned; New York--An advocate for the homeless said Tuesday that the number of homeless AIDS sufferers in New York is rapidly increasing while housing is dwindling. Peter Smith, president of the Partnership for the Homeless, testified at a city council hearing that one of three homeless persons has AIDS or is HIV-positive.
"Bringing AIDS Into the Open": Wall Street Journal (11/28/89), P. A12; Sokolov, Raymond; In his first novel, The Irreversible Decline of Eddie Sockett, John Weir highlights the need for serious, informed debate about the AIDS plague, the need for open discussion and for an end to pretending the disease isn t there, writes Raymond Sokolov of the Wall Street Journal. Weir depicts the urban gay world an
"Clerics Advised on AIDS Preaching": New York Times (11/28/89), P. B3; Goldman, Ari L.; In an existential sense, we all have AIDS, and the question is how we want to be treated as dying men and women, said the Rev. James A. Forbes Jr. of the Riverside Church in Manhattan as he sounded an eloquent call for compassion in advising other ministers how to preach on AIDS. Forbes, speaking at the Jewish The
"Needles That Cannot Be Shared or Reused": Washington Post (Health) (11/28/89), P. 5; Colburn, Don; Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore haved designed a nonreusable syringe that could help slow the spread of AIDS, hepatitis B , and other blood-borne diseases. The syringe automatically seals itself off within a few minutes of de
"Many AIDS Cases Go Unreported": New York Times (11/28/89), P. C15; A study in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that AIDS cases in South Carolina have been grossly underreported, especially among blacks. The study found that 62, or 40 percent, of 153 AIDS cases were not reported to the South Carolina
"Federal Official Faults Public Cholesterol Tests": New York Times (11/28/89), P. C8; Leary, Warren E.; Richard P. Kusserow, inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said Monday that inexpensive mobile health services that test for blood cholesterol levels may be unsafe and inaccurate. Kusserow said public cholesterol screenings should be discouraged without tighter regulation. A study
"AIDS Patient Files Suit": Business Insurance (11/27/89) Vol. 23, No. 48, P. 2; Bradford,; John McGann, an AIDS patient who works for H + H Music Co. in Houston, Texas, is suing his employer and General American Life Insurance, charging that they conspired to deny him $1 million in potential medical benefits. H + H Music cut McGann s benefits by switching all employees to a self-insured plan administered b
"Drama Teaches Children About AIDS Along with Their ABC's": Reuters (11/27/89); Ben-Itzak, Paul; San Francisco--A play by playwright Doug Holscaw, Into the Future, may help elementary school children become more familiar with AIDS. Holscaw wrote the play in collaboration with a number of school-age children for 9- to 12-year-olds to help deal with fear and ignorance about AIDS. The play was funded by $57,000
"Conference on How AIDS Affects Mothers, Children, Opens": Reuters (11/27/89); Peirce, Andrea; Paris--The first international conference on how AIDS affects mothers and children behan Monday with more than 600 sicentists, government officials, and health experts in attendance. Conference delegates debated ethical questions such as whethere pregnant women with AIDS should be forced to abort, and how to care for
"Butterworth: Test Accused Sex Offenders for AIDS": United Press International (11/27/89); Moline, Michael; Tallahassee, Fla.--Under legislation proposed Monday by Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth, accused sex offenders would face mandatory HIV antibody tests and victims would be entitled to know the results. Butterworth s proposal would affect people accused of rape against adults or children when bodily fluids ar
"AIDS Patient Who Won Landmark School Case Dies": Associated Press (11/27/89); Martinez, James; Tampa, Fla.--Eliana Martinez, an 8 year-old with AIDS, died Monday at home. Eliana s adoptive mother, Rosa Martinez, won a landmark two and a half year court battle to enable the girl to attend public school. She attended class for the first time last April. Rosa Martinez had battled the Hillsborough County School
"Museums in Mourning": Washington Post (11/27/89), P. B7; On Friday Dec. 1, more than 500 cultural institutions across the country will respond to World AIDS Day with A Day Without Art: A National Day of Action and Mourning, a series of events planned to recognize people with AIDS. Thomas Sokolowski, committee member of Visual Aids, a group of New York arts professionals
"New York Health Chief Goes Wrong on AIDS": New York Times (11/27/89), P. A18; Sweeney, Timothy J.; History will judge the misplaced priorities of Dr. Stephen Joseph, New York City Health Commissioner, writes Timothy Sweeney, deputy executive director of the Gay Men s Health Crisis in New York. Joseph should spend his final days in office making progress on programs for new drug therapy distribution, new HIV counse
"Panel Warns of Failings in Efforts to Halt AIDS": New York Times (11/27/89), P. B3; Freitag, Michael; The Citizens Commission on AIDS has concluded that many myths and misunderstandings about HIV disease continue despite increased public knowledge about the illness. The commission s findings will be released today in a report that also recommends that AIDS education messages be reframed. The report warns that publi
"AIDSWEEK: The Law": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (11/26/89), P. A12; A Miami judge sent Leonardo Gomez, 43, a federal prison inmate with AIDS, to a private hospital after ruling that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons lacks adequate facilities to treat the condition. Lawyers for Gomez said they will file a class-action suit on behalf of all federal prisoners with AIDS....A joint conference c
"AIDSWEEK: Research": San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle (11/26/89), P. A12; The American Heart Association has announced that HIV can infect heart tissues. In addition, heart disease may be one of the most important manifestations of HIV infection in children. Some AIDS patients may have no lung problems or central nervous system problems because those are being taken care of by drugs, sa
"AIDS Hospice Closed After Battle to Open": Washington Post (11/26/89), P. A19; A home for people with AIDS in Belleville, Ill., has closed after less than two and a half months because of financial problems and public ill will, according to its chairman, Keith Thomas. Our Place was allowed to open only after a federal court battle with the city. The home s board voted unanimously Nov. 18 to cl
"Key West Is Coping With High Rate of AIDS": Washington Post (11/26/89), P. A23; Key West, Fla., famed for a relaxed and relatively carefree lifestyle, is coping with one of the nation s highest AIDS caseloads. Longtime residents of the city say that despite the heavy toll on health-service providers, the Key West community has a compassionate attitude that bigger, richer cities could learn from.
"Diabetes Mellitus, AIDS, and Night Sweats": Lancet (11/25/89) Vol. 2, No. 8674, P. 1285; Silbert, Peter L.; A physician s failure to reduce a diabetic patient s insulin dose when the patient suffered night sweats, a common symptom of nocturnal hypoglcaemia, caused the patient to fear the symptoms indicated HIV infection, writes Peter L. Silbert of Royal Perth Hospital in Australia . W
"Apartheid and AIDS": Lancet (11/25/89) Vol. 2, No. 8674, P. 1280; Viljoen, A.T.; Sanctions against South Africa have slowed the economy, resulting in increased poverty, hunger, and joblessness, writes A.T. Viljoen of the AIDS Advisory Group at Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education in South Africa. With rising unemployment, prostitution has
"AIDS in Africa": Economist (11/25/89) Vol. 313, No. 7630, P. 16; The AIDS epidemic threatens to blow the World Bank s strategy for African economic recovery apart in east and central Africa, where AIDS researchers predict the disease could cause a decline in population growth. Population issues lie at the heart of the World Bank s strategy, which calls for population control and b
"Nestle Accused of False AIDS Claim": Lancet (11/25/89) Vol. 2, No. 8674, P. 1289; A spokesman for the Nestle Company has been accused by the activist group Baby Milk Action of directly contradicting World Health Organization policy and misleading 200 schoolchildren by saying that in some African countries up to 50 percent of people are HIV-positive and that HIV-infe
"Reporting of AIDS: Tracking HIV Morbidity and Mortality": Journal of the American Medical Association (11/24/89) Vol. 262,; Buehler, James W., et al.; Because we rely so much on AIDS surveillance data to gauge the AIDS epidemic and plan for its future, we must discover how completely the data reflects the actual morbidity of HIV infection, write James W. Buehler and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The two important questions to ask, they write,
"Underreporting of AIDS Cases in South Carolina, 1986 and 1987": Journal of the American Medical Association (11/24/89) Vol. 262,; Conway, George A., et al.; Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control report on their review of 596,585 hospital discharge billing records to evaluate the completeness and accuracy of AIDS reporting in South Carolina from Jan.1, 1986 to June 30, 1987. George Conway and colleagues from the CDC report finding that of 153 reportable cases o
"AMA Insights: Current Data Regarding Sexual Practices": Journal of the American Medical Association (11/24/89) Vol. 262,; The American Medical Association (AMA) sent a letter to all members of the Senate Appropriations Committee pushing for funding for the U.S. Public Health Service national survey of health and sexual behavior. The letter stressed that current data regarding sexual practices are e
"HIV Watch: Dead Meat Special": Bay Area Reporter (11/23/89) Vol. 19, No. 47, P. 5; Botkin,; Richard Craig, who has been living with AIDS for two years, applied for an Independent Living program sponsored by the Department of Rehabilitation so he could invest his Social Security money in a program to make him self-sufficient. The program, geared toward the disabled, would allow him to take a 500-hour massage
"HIV Watch: Drug ddI: No Free Lunch": Bay Area Reporter (11/23/89) Vol. 19, No. 47, P. 5; Botkin,; The experimental drug ddI is now being used as an HIV treatment, but it s no miracle drug, writes Michael Botkin. Many people have trouble tolerating the drug when they start it, says Botkin, who notes that AZT s limitations did not become known until it had been in use a few years, indicating that there s no guarant
"Bone Marrow Toxicity of Dideoxyinosine": New England Journal of Medicine (11/23/89) Vol. 321, No. 21, P.; Molina, Jean-Michel; Jean-Michel Molina and Jerome E. Groopman of New England Deaconess Hospital report on their study of the effects in vitro of dideoxyinosine (ddI) on bone marrow progenitor cells of normal subjects. They report that only very high doses of ddI caused bone marrow toxicity (inhibited growth of bone marrow progenitors).
"Unusual Modes of HIV Transmission": New England Journal of Medicine (11/23/89) Vol. 321, No. 21, P.; Vittecoq, D., et al.; The authors of a New England Journal of Medicine article about the transmission of HIV via acupuncture needles, D. Vittecoq and fellow researchers write that their patient may have exposed himself to HIV through sexual intercourse or by using drugs. However, they write, he was carefully questioned by physicians exper
"When to Prophylax?": Bay Area Reporter (11/23/89) Vol. 19, No. 47, P. 17; Gross,; Physicians of the County Community Consortium in San Francisco have seen Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia ( PCP ) in a significant number of patients with T-helper cell counts in the 200-300 range and suggest possible changes in the Centers for Disease Control guidelines. They recomm
"Unusual Modes of HIV Transmission": New England Journal of Medicine (11/23/89) Vol. 321, No. 21, P.; Weiss, Stanley H.; Molecular analysis ( fingerprinting ) of viral isolates represents a crucial step in the confirmation of unusual histories, writes Stanley Weiss of the New Jersey Medical School. The report in the New England Journal of Medicine (Jan. 26) of possible HIV-1 transmission by oral sex falls far short of the necessary min
"Unusual Modes of HIV Transmission": New England Journal of Medicine (11/23/89) Vol. 321, No. 21, P.; Chamberland, Mary E., et al.; Letters in the Jan. 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine describe two cases of unusual modes of HIV transmission, via female-to-male oral-genital contact and through acupuncture, according to Mary E. Chamberland and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control, who write that additional detailed informat
"A Cluster of HIV Infection Among Heterosexual People Without": New England Journal of Medicine (11/23/89) Vol. 321, No. 21, P.; Clumeck, Nathan, et al.; Belgian researcher Nathan Clumeck and his colleagues report the case of a high disseminator, a male patient who transmitted HIV to 11 of 18 female patients without apparent risk factors. The patient s sexual contacts were mostly middle-class Europeans, eight of whom were married. Clumeck and his colleagues suggest
"Red Cross Body Pulls Out of AIDS Talks, Cites U.S. Visa Rules": Reuters (11/22/89); Geneva, Switzerland--The League of Red Cross Societies said Wednesday it will not attend next year s AIDS conference in San Francisco because of discriminatory U.S. policies that prohibit granting visas to people with HIV/AIDS. A statement from the league s Geneva headquarters said the policies conflict with Red Cros
"Some AIDS Carriers Super Contagious, Doctors Say": United Press International (11/22/89); Stein, Rob; Boston--Belgian doctors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that an unusually contagious HIV carrier infected half of his recent female partners, underscoring the risk of a single sexual encounter. The man, a Central African civil engineer, infected at least 11 of the 18 women he had sex with in the three
"UF Task Force Urges Condom Machines": United Press International (11/21/89); Gainesville, Fla.--A survey released by the University of Florida s AIDS advisory task force showed that although 85 percent of UF students are sexually experienced, only 20 percent consistently use condoms during intercourse. The panel has again advised the installation of condom machines in dormitories to help pr
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