A temporary interruption in the supply of sulfadiazine, one of the most common drugs used to treat toxoplasmosis, occurred last week when Eli Lilly Co. discontinued manufacturing it. Physicians learned about the supply problem only after patients could not get their prescriptions filled. At least two other companie
Widespread news reports have warned that an AIDS Information Diskette mailed to thousands of computer users actually contains a malicious program to destroy other data in the computer. The disk is for IBM PC-compatible personal computers. The disk was mailed from PC Cyborg Corp., a company which may not exist. A Panam
Our issue number 90 (November 3, 1989) included an appeal to help San Francisco s Community Research Alliance finish its hypericin observational study. Readers contributed $3049.00 in response to this appeal. In addition, the Community Research Alliance received two other contributions of $5,000.00 each. The total is m
A major advocacy group for persons with Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) wants to contact AIDS activists and organizations to discuss coordination of our efforts to advance prevention, research, and patient care. CFIDS, like AIDS, is an infectious disease that causes serious immune-system malfunction
Lymphoma is a diagnosis facing at least 5% of people with AIDS. The term lymphoma refers to a number of malignancies in which various cells of the body s lymph system have proliferated out of control; those most commonly seen in the presence of HIV are of B-cell origin, and are classified as high and intermediate grade
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation has published the Fall, 1989 issue of BETA (Bulletin of Experimental Treatments for AIDS), a useful publication available free to San Francisco residents and by subscription to others. The current issue (dated November, 1989) includes articles on ddI, compound Q, parallel track and tre
The Quan Yin Healing Arts Center in San Francisco continues to sponsor HIV treatment and research studies for seropositive people, whether symptomatic or not, through its Chinese Herbal Treatment Program. The next deadline for enrollment is January 5, for a 12-week program beginning January 10. Participants can continu
Persons with oral thrush are needed to help test a new antifungal at San Francisco General Hospital. The study, conducted by Merle Sande, M. D., and others at the Department of Medicine, lasts only 10 days. The drug, from Schering Corp., is known as SCH 39304. Patients will randomly be assigned to one of three groups:
In our issues of December 1 and October 6, AIDS TREATMENT NEWS reported on indications that NAC (N-acetylcysteine), a drug widely used in Europe to treat bronchitis, might be useful in treating AIDS or HIV infection. Since publishing those articles we have talked with Barbara Starrett, M. D., who sees many AIDS patient
The clinical trials of ddI and ddC both illustrate what we believe is the worst bottleneck delaying AIDS treatment research. The problem, which affects any HIV treatment but is usually less severe with other diseases, is largely responsible for the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars have gone into AIDS trials an
1990 begins at a time of confusion about research and new- treatment issues. Much is happening, and the year ahead could develop in any of a number of different ways. Here is one area we believe will be important next year. From Access to Oversight? Last January we predicted that access would be the major treatment iss
If you have used AZT for a total of a year or more (any dose), you can help with this survey. Results will be reported in AIDS TREATMENT NEWS. Your response must be mailed by January 15 to guarantee that it can be included. Purpose: AZT is believed to become less effective after about a year or more of use.
An extract from mistletoe which has been used for more than sixty years in Europe to treat certain solid-tumor cancers has been studied in the U. S. recently for immunomodulatory and anti-viral activity against HIV. Viscum album, or European Mistletoe, is the species from which an aqueous extract is produced by the Ins
An important study of passive immunotherapy by Marcus Conant, M. D. in San Francisco may be halted by a patent dispute between two rival companies. Recently Medicorp, of Montreal, Quebec, obtained a broadly-worded patent for passive immunotherapy--a treatment consisting of plasma transfusions from selected donors with
New restrictions on access to the antiviral ddI, imposed under pressure from Federally-funded principal investigators (PIs) in the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) system, are leading to a bitter dispute over patients access to experimental treatments. The PIs say that allowing patients to use ddI outside of formal tri
On October 6, AIDS TREATMENT NEWS reported that a prescription drug commonly used in Europe to treat bronchitis (N-acetylcysteine, or NAC), might also be useful as an HIV treatment. New information continues to suggest that NAC might be valuable. While the drug is far from proven, the growing evidence in its favor--as
AZT provides limited benefits to persons with AIDS or HIV, and many people cannot use it at all. Many promising new antivirals have long been in the research and regulatory pipe- line: for example, DDI, AZDU (CS-87), D4T, DDC, hypericin, and trichosanthin (compound Q). None has become available since AZT was release
On March 10, AIDS TREATMENT NEWS reported that roxithromycin had been found effective in treating toxoplasmosis in mice, and had also been found to reach extremely high concentration in brain tissue when the drug was given to humans scheduled to undergo neurosurgery (so that the brain concentration could be measured).
The V International Conference on AIDS , June 4-9 in Mont- real, was the major AIDS conference of 1989. We have found it difficult to cover this meeting. Why the difficulty? With over 5,000 papers on AIDS presented, we could easily have filled several issues with interesting facts and stories, each one safely documente
A so-called secret study of trichosanthin, the experimental AIDS treatment also called Compound Q, became a focus of national controversy after one of the patients died. All indications so far are that the drug did not contribute to the cause of death. But the controversy has furthered a much-needed national discussion
Cimetidine (Tagamet), commonly used to treat stomach ulcers and one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the U.S., has shown immune enhancing and antitumor activity in recent studies. In its original use, cimetidine worked by blocking the receptors on stomach cells which control digestive acid secretions. Cimetidine
AIDS TREATMENT NEWS has published several articles and updates on hypericin, an antiviral available in extracts of the St. John s wort plant (see AIDS TREATMENT NEWS numbers 79, 77, 75, 74, and 63). Almost all the reports we are hearing from users are good, a fact not always reflected in our articles, as we have felt o
San Francisco area community groups have begun two small, prospective monitoring studies to collect reliable information about potential AIDS/HIV treatments which have come into use by patients but are not being studied in formal clinical trials. Monitoring studies do not give treatment to anyone; they only collect dat
Fluconazole is a very good antifungal which is taken by mouth; it is effective for cryptococcal meningitis and many other fungal infections. It is approved in England, but not in the United States , apparently because of bureaucratic snafus. Some people have obtained personal supplies from England, but the drug is very
AIDS TREATMENT NEWS has heard credible rumors that a new drug used to kill parasites in animals might be effective for treating cryptosporidiosis, a serious opportunistic infection which causes severe diarrhea in persons with AIDS. The drug, diclazuril (trade name Clinacox), kills parasites and their cysts in chickens,
The early years of the epidemic made clear that people who are immunocompromised are susceptible to infections from various bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa which would ordinarily be harmless. Since these microorganisms take advantage of a disarmed immune system, they are described as opportunistic infections (OIs
Compulsory licensing, a concept used in the copyright law in the United States and many other countries, is also applied to patented pharmaceuticals in Canada . Under this part of Canadian patent law, a company can in certain circumstances market a drug patented by another company. It pays a royalty to the patent hold
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has set up a new toll-free hotline to provide information about all NIH clinical trials of experimental AIDS treatments. Persons considering volunteering for a trial can call 800/TRIALS-A between 9: 00 AM and 7: 00 PM Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Three health workers (inc
While we are continuing to hear many good reports on hyperi- cin, an antiviral available in St. John s wort extracts (see AIDS TREATMENT NEWS issues # 77, 75, 74, and 63), we have also heard of two more patients taken off the treatment by their physicians because of abnormally high values on liver-function tests. Both
An inexpensive prescription drug used orally to prevent blood clots in persons with certain heart conditions has been found to substantially increase the effectiveness of AZT in laboratory tests, without increasing its toxicity to bone marrow or other human cells. This finding, by a team of researchers at the U.
If you ask researchers the question, as I have several of them, If you did not need to deal with the FDA regulations, if you did not need to face all the questions of marketing and licensing, etc., and just get an answer, could you determine within six months whether a drug is going to be useful in the fight against A
Buyers clubs in New York and San Francisco recently began helping people import drugs with promise for AIDS/HIV and opportunistic infections, from countries where these drugs are approved. This is possible because a physician can legally prescribe any drug for her or his patient if it is approved for human use in the c
On May 1 an advisory committee of outside experts set up by the Food and Drug Administration recommended full new-drug approval for aerosol pentamidine, used for prevention of pneumocystis. The next day, the committee recommended similar approval for ganciclovir (DHPG) for treating CMV retinitis. Of
At a recent Washington, DC meeting of the American Federation for Clinical Research, Dr. Robert Yarchoan summarized results so far of the longest-running clinical trial of DDI (dideoxyinosine), being conducted by himself and others at the National Cancer Institute. DDI is a relative of
Compound Q, an experimental AIDS treatment extracted from the root tuber of a Chinese cucumber, has received wide publicity in the last month. On May 5 we heard the first report of a severe adverse reaction to a bogus compound Q , apparently homemade from the root which was obtained from a health-food store, and inject
Today the news is better than ever on AIDS treatment developments. But even the good news cannot dispel a widespread despair that no matter what comes out of the laboratory, the treatments will not be tested rapidly, and will not become available to physicians and patients in time to prevent massive, unnecessary deaths
Issue #76 of AIDS TREATMENT NEWS announced recruitment for a study of Megace (megestrol acetate) through the San Francisco County Community Consortium. The goal of the trial is to determine whether Megace, a prescription drug used to treat breast cancer, also has the potential to enhance appetite and weight gain in peo
AIDS TREATMENT NEWS reported about hypericin, a chemical in the St. John s wort plant which has shown antiretroviral activity in laboratory and animal tests, in issues number 75, 74, and 63. In the last two months, a number of people have started using commercially- available St. John s wort extracts which have been te
In the last few weeks a potential AIDS treatment, so far tested only in the laboratory, has generated enormous public and scientific interest. We have followed compound Q (also called GLQ223) and do agree that it is important (we listed it as one of eight treatments to watch in 1989, in our January 13 issue). But we ar
During the past year dextran sulfate has become one of the most widely used underground HIV treatments -- based on laboratory tests showing that the drug stopped HIV in the test tube, plus the fact that oral dextran sulfate has been used for other purposes for 20 years in Japan , where it is available without a prescri
Many persons with serious illnesses lose insurance and medical benefits to which they are entitled, because of the complex rules governing these programs. We asked benefits counselors what are the most important traps to avoid, the most important things people may need to know as first aid to preserve their access to b
A major struggle continues over access to ganciclovir (DHPG) and foscarnet, the only accepted treatments for CMV retinitis, which can cause blindness in persons with AIDS -- or with serious immune defi- ciencies from other causes, such as medications given to organ- transplant recipients. (For more information, see AID
In January AIDS Treatment News (#73), reported on conventional treatments for Kaposi s sarcoma which have been adapted to HIV-related KS. Those included the careful use of radiation therapy, and chemotherapy administered intravenously or intralesionally. Recently, at least three more treatments have entered the field:
Six months ago AIDS Treatment News interviewed Keith Barton, M.D., a physician trained in acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatment as well as Western medicine. Dr. Barton had prepared a combination of six herbs traditionally used as anti- infection treatments in Chinese medicine, and which also had shown anti-HIV activ
The last issue of AIDS Treatment News (#74, February 24, 1989) included a major report on human experience with hypericin, an experimental antiviral readily available in certain extracts of the St. John s wort plant. The following updates are based on information we received after the article was published. Dose Calcul
Roxithromycin is an antibiotic approved as a prescription drug in France ; azithromycin, a similar drug, has been approved in Yugoslavia. They might be useful in treating toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidiosis, isospora (an infection which, like cryptosporidiosis, causes severe diarrhea), and possibly MAI. Despite the ne
Mobilization Against AIDS (MAA) is working to get legislation drafted to correct problems with health insurance reimbursement--either private insurance or Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California). The immediate focus of interest is California. MAA needs the help of anyone who has recently been denied treatment because of insu
A new rule proposed by the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) would effectively sabotage the treatment IND (the program used to make aerosol pentamidine available) by forbidding Medicare to pay for any drug approved under that system. (Medicare itself pays for few AIDS expenses, but Medicaid (Medi-Cal) an
On February 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave tentative approval to use of aerosol pentamidine for prevention of pneumocystis, under the treatment IND rules for providing early access to new treatments for life- threatening conditions. The approval was based on data from a San Francisco study started by the
Issue # 63 of AIDS TREATMENT NEWS (August 26, 1988) published a report on hypericin, a chemical found in St. John s wort (Hypericum perforatum) and related plant species--plants which are common around the world and have long been used as medicinal herbs. A team of researchers at New York University found that hyperici
Kaposi s sarcoma occurs in about 35% of all AIDS patients. The lesions of Kaposi s usually appear on the skin and must be biopsied to confirm a diagnosis. Recently, the frequency of new KS cases has decreased. More new treatments have become available, and older standard therapies for pre-epidemic KS have been adapted
A task force of top AIDS physicians and dietitians has published recommendations for patients and for physicians on nutritional support for persons with AIDS or any HIV infection. Anyone can obtain free copies of a brochure for patients, and an article written for physicians; the article was also published in Nutrition
This new-year issue provides an occasion to answer the frequent questions about AIDS TREATMENT NEWS. How do we get our information? How do we decide what treatments to cover? Where oes the money come from? How did the newsletter begin? Who is involved? History AIDS TREATMENT NEWS began in May 1986 as a biweekly column
Here are the potential AIDS therapies which we believe are most likely to become important in 1989. This particular list only includes treatments for AIDS/HIV itself; therefore it omits other important new developments; for example, better antibiotics for opportunistic infections or treatments for anemia. All the AIDS
What do we see happening with AIDS treatments in the coming year? While no cure is yet in sight, some very promising new treatment possibilities are now in view. Any one of them might lead to major improvement in AIDS therapy this year, even for those seriously ill. While more research is needed to make sure that these
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.