Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
Gabriel Torres, M. D.
Megace is the brand name of megestrol acetate, a synthetic substance derived from the female hormone, progesterone. The drug is marketed by Bristol-Myers Company for the treatment of breast cancer which has spread to other parts of the body. Another possible use of Megace is to stimulate appetite in order to produce we
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
Disappointing early data from human trials using L-697-661 led drug company Merck, Sharp & Dohme to halt federally-funded trials of the drug. L-697-661 is a reverse transcriptase inhibitor, a new class of anti-HIV drug which inhibits an important protein in HIV called reverse transcriptase (RT). The company reporte
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
As reported earlier, activists succeeded in pressuring Burroughs Wellcome to develop an expanded access program for 566C80, a promising treatment for PCP and toxoplasmosis. Burroughs submitted an application for the access program to the FDA , with hopes that approval would be granted in mid-October. The FDA has finall
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
Two antibiotics, clarithromycin and azithromycin, which ore promising prospects for the treatment of HIV-related MAC and toxoplasmosis, have at last been FDA-approved. Azithromycin (brand name Zithromax) made by Pfizer , is now licensed as treatment for certain respiratory and skin infections and for chlamydia.
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
Hoffmann-La Roche , manufacturer of ddC , reports seven cases of heart inflammation or failure in patients enrolled in the ddC Expanded Access Program. ddC is an antiretroviral drug which has been taken by about 8,000 persons in clinical trials or through the ddC expanded access program.
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
A preliminary report revealed the first trial results comparing newly-approved foscarnet (brand name Foscavir) to the standard therapy drug ganciclovir (Cytovene). Both drugs are used to treat initial cases af CMV retinitis, an eye disease which can lead to blindness. Recently trials comparing the two drugs were suspen
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
On Halloween, 1991, Hoffmann-LaRoche announced the completion of the New Drug Application filing process for ddC (trade name HIVID). The company is seeking approval for the treatment af HIV-infected persons who have failed or are intolerant to AZT
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
Mike Barr
A little over a year ago, Treatment Issues reported preliminary results from a five-patient pilot study of a treatment, called photopheresis, for HIV-positive people with ARC.[1] Photopheresis is a process by which a light-sensitive drug, called psoralen, is injected into the body. Blood is then removed from the body a
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
Anna Blume
Hypericin is a natural pigment found in stems and petals of plants in the genus hypericum. The compound hypericin has been of interest to scientists for many years, as a natural antiviral and antidepressant, and was first described as a plant extract in 1830. In August, 1991 a form of hypericin was successfully synthes
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1991
Gabriel Torres, M. D.
Didanosine (ddI) is now available by prescription, under the brand name Videx , as a treatment for adult and pediatric patients with advanced HIV infection.
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
Kevin Armington
Conventional wisdom indicates that the best approach for treating HIV infection is with a combination of antiviral drugs. In our coverage of the Seventh International Conference on AIDS in Florence, we have given special attention to clinical trials using antiviral combinations. In August, we covered three combinations
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
Anna Blume
Peptide T was invented as a potential AIDS therapy in 1986 by a group of scientists, including Dr. Candace Pert at the NIMH. The drug is a string of eight amino acids configured to prevent HIV from attaching to and thus infecting cells. Cells that have already been infected by HIV, prior to therapy with Peptide T, will
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
Anecdotal reports of an effective Swiss herbal extract continues to capture the attention of PWAs. The treatment is available only from Hungarian physician Dr. Roka. Several patients stopped conventional therapies for HIV, herpes and CMV in order to receive this unproven therapy. A sample of the extract is being tested
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
In a meeting with AIDS activists, FDA officials disclosed that they would inspect buyer s clubs, which sell unapproved AIDS treatments. The FDA claims the reason is to determine if the drugs are being sold for profit and if they are safe. However, some activists believe this crackdown was precipitated by the widesprea
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
Additional data were released on recombinant gp160, the vaccine that made a splash earlier this year. Initial reports from June showed that 19 of 30 HIV-positive, asymptomatic individuals in the trial developed an increased antibody and cellular immunity to HIV. Dr. Redfield, principal investigator of gp-160 trial, con
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
FDA approval of ddI is ground-breaking in many areas: ddI is the first drug to be approved solely on the basis of T4 counts; the first drug to be approved for both adults and children at the same time, and the first anti-HIV drug since AZT s approval in 1987.
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
The good news is that the FDA has approved foscarnet for treatment of cytomegalovirus ( CMV ) retinitis in PWA s. CMV retinitis is an eye infection which can lead to blindness. Standard therapy for this condition is gancyclovir; however, many patients are intolerant of the drug s toxicities
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
AIDS activists from ACT UP/Boston and New York have succeeded in pressuring Burroughs Wellcome, the manufacturer of the drug 566C80, to agree to a widespread expanded access program for those who have failed standard therapy for PCP or Toxoplasmosis. The announcement is expected to be made sometime in October. In the m
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
Abbott Laboratories recently reported that more than 500 people with MAC are taking clarithromycin through its expanded access program -- quite an accomplishment considering the program s enormous paperwork requirements. The company additionally agreed to test clarithromycin as a prophylaxis for MAC by the end of 199
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 8 - November 1991
Darren Britton
Mycobacterium avium complex, or MAC , is a disease made up of different strains of mycobacteria found in AIDS patients, which together form a complex. M. avium, the most common strain, and M. intracellulare, previously gave the disease its name, MAI (or Mycobacterium avium intracellulare). The new name, MAC, came about
AIDS treatment activists from GMHC, ACT UP/NY, and Project Inform met with executives from Merck & Co, Inc. on September 20, 1991 to discuss the company s plans for continued development of its reverse transcriptase compounds, the so called L drugs. L-679-661 is already in phase II trials at sites in Maryland and A
A Hungarian physician, Dr. Roka has attracted widespread attention among U.S. AIDS patients and their physicians with a new drug derived from 18 plants and herbs. The substance is extracted from medicinal plants, a procedure which removes the toxic components of the plants, leaving a compound which is said to have anti
The primary means of sexual transmission of the hepatitis A virus is by oral-fecal contact. Individuals are advised to practice safer sex by using a latex barrier between the mouth and the rectum when rimming, and to wash with soap and water after coming into contact with feces. (For more information see In Brief in Tr
Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (brand names, Bactrim or Septra) is a drug for preventing Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia ( PCP ) which has recently been deemed superior to the standard (and significantly more expensive) treatment, aerosolized pentamidine (AP). This news comes from the results of a federally-funded study
In just weeks, hundreds of thousands of individuals may be forced off of private insurance and on to Medicaid because Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, a major insurer of PWAs and HIV-positive people, is proposing drastic increases in its premiums. Blue Cross insurance companies in New York City, as well as the counties o
Dr. Michael Bach of Maine Medical Center, reported in Florence that six patients who had AZT-resistant strains of HIV were treated with ddI for 12-15 months. Four patients had dramatic responses to ddI with drops in p24 antigen levels. The virus, however, became increasingly resistant to ddI, and four patients eventual
For a long while the answer to this question was simply, Not much. Studies repeatedly showed that ribavirin failed to inhibit HIV, except at levels that proved to be too toxic. Additionally, it was discovered a few years ago that in the test tube ribavirin was antagonistic to AZT . How
The New York City Department of Health has issued a warning to inform health care providers and others that an increase in cases of Hepatitis A virus (HAV) has been reported in gay and bisexual men in Manhattan. HAV is the least serious of all the hepatitis illnesses, with a low mortality rate of 0.06%. It is spread th
A report from a group of investigators in Los Angeles claims success in preventing low red blood cell counts (anemia) and low white blood cell counts (neutropenia) related to AZT by using the combination of erythropoeiten (EPO) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). Twenty-two anemic and neutropenic patient
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported several outbreaks of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) among both patients with ANDS and HIV-positive health care workers (HCWs). The report was printed in the August 30th issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). In the first outbreak in a New York City
Since initial reports in September, 1989, that the drug n- acetylcysteine (NAC) exhibited strong anti-HIV properties in laboratory experiments, new information has come to light confirming and expanding these findings. To date, all published work in this are is from test tube studies. Human drug trials have only just b
THRUSH: Candida albicans is a fungus that causes thrush , a condition otherwise known as candidiasis . This condition can appear in a variety of places in the body. Oral thrush appears as creamy white or yellow patches in the mouth, red splotches on the roof of the mouth, or cracks at the corners of the mouth.
The primary prevention of fungal infections remains a controversial area of treatment in HIV disease. Many health professionals fear that the cost of treatment, potential side effects, and development of resistance may outweigh the potential benefits of prophylaxis in many patients. However, fungal infections are very
In 1990, the media reported an increased incidence of non- Hodgkin s Lymphoma (NHL) in people with AIDS. Lymphomas are cancerous tumors of the lymph nodes, which are usually solid and made up of abnormally fast-growing clusters of B-cells. Tumors may appear anywhere along the lymph system -- the series of vessels that
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 6 - August 30, 1991
Risa Denenberg, F.N.P.
In a shocking move, the French drug company Institute Merieux has summarily halted trials of their experimental drug Imuthiol. According to Dr. Jean Caraux, a Merieux representative, preliminary analysis of a large French trial underway since 1987 has raised serious questions about Imuthiol s efficacy. The double-blind
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 6 - August 30, 1991
Risa Denenberg, F.N.P.
As of March, 1991, 18,181 women have been diagnosed with AIDS in the United States . Women are the population currently being diagnosed at the fastest rate, even though the Center for Disease Control (CDC) definition for AIDS by many accounts does not adequately reflect the way the disease manifests itself in women. On
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 6 - August 30, 1991
David Barr
In July, ddI was recommended for approval by the FDA s AntiViral Advisory Committee for symptomatic HIV-infected individuals who are resistant or intolerant to AZT . The recommendation for approval was based solely on data that shows that ddI is effective in raising T4 cell counts of individuals who are already taking
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 6 - August 30, 1991
Gabriel Torres, M.D.
Significant advances in vaccine development were reported by European and American researchers at the seventh International Conference on AIDS in Florence, Italy . Vaccine research over the past few years has focused on the prevention of HIV infection in animals and the testing of potential vaccines for safety and tole
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 6 - August 30, 1991
Kevin Armington
Predictably, no new antiviral dethroned AZT as the most effective AIDS drug at the Seventh International Conference on AIDS in Florence, Italy . AZT -- with all its well-known limitations -- is still outperforming other experimental antivirals. Countless studies have led to strategies that minimize the dru
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
David Barr
We reported in our last issue that further studies of the TAT gene inhibitor trial, which were scheduled at Johns Hopkins University were put on hold due to financial considerations of the sponsoring drug company, Hoffmann-La Roche . TAT is one of the most powerful genes on HIV, which aids in the reproduction of new vi
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
David Barr
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has found that monthly administration of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) results in fewer hospitalizations for children with symptomatic HIV infection. IVIG, a solution of concentrated antibodies, which kills bacteria and various other infections, i
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
David Barr
On June 12, the Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA recommended that the agency grant marketing approval for foscarnet (brand name Foscavir). This drug has been in clinical trials as a treatment for cytomegalovirus ( CMV ) for a number of years.
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
David Barr
Mt. Sinai continues to recruit patients for its two studies with oral alpha interferon (a drug similar to Kemron). The first study is for patients with ARC, who have T4 cell counts between 100-350. The study has places for ten more patients. For the first ten weeks, patients will be randomized to drug or placebo. For t
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
David Barr
Dronabinol is a pill containing cannabis and sesame oil made by Roxane Laboratories , and marketed under the name Marinol. Marinol is FDA-approved to control nausea and vomiting in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. A study from San Francisco General Hospital found that the drug increased
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
David Barr
A review of the advanced program for the VII International Conference on AIDS in Florence, shows a strong bias for presentations on basic research. This means that the majority of the medical presentations will have little or no practical clinical value for people with symptomatic HIV infection. A distressingly small n
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
David Barr
Preliminary data from a European trial comparing AZT at doses of 1200 mg versus 600 mg in 76 persons with AIDS or ARC were reported in an early May edition of Lancet. These data underscore U. S. findings, which now recommend 600 mg of AZT daily. The European study found that 46% of patients in the full-dose group and i
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
David Barr
Most AIDS clinical research is conducted through the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG), a network of about 50 medical centers, where studies about potential treatments for HIV and its complications take place. The ACTG is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is an agency
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
Don Shewey
Peripheral neuropathy is usually characterized by a sensation of pins and needles, burning, stiffness, or numbness in the feet and toes. It is a common, sometimes painful, condition in HIV-positive patients, affecting up to 30% of people with AIDS. It is perhaps most common in people with a history of multiple opportun
Gay Men's Health Crisis Treatment Issues, Vol. 5, No. 5 - June 20, 1991
Gabriel Torres, M. D.
Dideoxycytidine ( ddC ), an alternative antiviral drug to AZT , has now been used by thousands of patients for several months. People who are intolerant to or failing AZT have started taking ddC through clinical trials or through an expanded access program.
Gay Men's Health Crisis: Treatment Issues - Volume 5 no. 4, May 15, 1991
Gabriel Torres, M.D.
Hepatitis B is a virus which can cause serious disease, leading to liver failure, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The usual symptoms of hepatitis B , include a flu-like illness, fatigue, a lightening of the stool, occasional yellowing of the skin or eyes, and a darkening of urine color (jaundice). However, many persons who
Gay Men's Health Crisis: Treatment Issues - Volume 5 no. 4, May 15, 1991
Kevin Armington
Dr. David Ho is the director of the recently unveiled Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center located on the east side of Manhattan. He was wooed to New York from UCLA where his lab generated intriguing data about the body s initial reaction to HIV infection and about new drug development. Treatment Issues had a chance to t
Gay Men's Health Crisis: Treatment Issues - Volume 5 no. 4, May 15, 1991
Priscilla Scherer, R.N.
Acupuncture is an ancient technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which stimulates or disperses the natural flow of energy within the body. It is used both to prevent disease and to maintain health by restoring and/or sustaining the body s optimal balance. The therapy involves the insertion of thin needles into
Gay Men's Health Crisis: Treatment Issues - Volume 5 no. 4, May 15, 1991
Garance Franke-Ruta
Most of us have had our fill with AZT-related stories. For a long time AZT, ddI, and ddC research data were all that was available for the headlines, since anti-HIV strategies have historically been focused on such drugs. But recently, HIV research has offered more understanding of how the virus works, and a number of
TREATMENT ISSUES -- The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies; Volume 5 Number 3 -- March 28, 1991
Douglas G. Brust, Ph.D.
Most drug research aimed at developing effective treatments for HIV infection have focused on antiviral drugs like AZT and ddI. The goal of this approach is to destroy HIV without simultaneously killing healthy cells. As of yet, however, researchers have been unable to achieve this goal. Combining antiviral drugs with
TREATMENT ISSUES -- The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies; Volume 5 Number 3 -- March 28, 1991
Kevin Armington
Between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies, well over one billion dollars has been spent in pursuit of a treatment for HIV infection. Some might say squandered, since, ten years into the epidemic, a single antiviral with significant limitations - - AZT - -has been approved. It is
TREATMENT ISSUES -- The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies; Volume 5 Number 3 -- March 28, 1991
Richard Dunne*, Carole Lemens
Alpha Interferon is a synthetic version of a protein, which occurs naturally in the body and plays an important role in the functioning of the immune system. In the test tube, it inhibits HIV by interrupting the last stage of viral reproduction. Alpha interferon also produces anti-tumor effects and has been used in the
TREATMENT ISSUES -- The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies; Volume 5 Number 3 -- March 28, 1991
Gabriel Torres, M. D.
Recently, four new agents have shown excellent anti-toxoplasma activity in mice and are now being tested in humans. New therapies for toxoplasmosis are urgently needed for both acute and maintenance treatment, as well as for prevention. This article will describe some of the recent progress in the development of these
TREATMENT ISSUES -- The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies, Vol 5, No. 2, - Feb 25, 1991
Kevin Armington
A recently completed study on the benefits of early-use AZT has been extensively, and often inaccurately, covered in the lay media. This study, conducted at several Veteran s Administration hospitals (VAs) throughout the country, evaluated 338 participants -- half started AZT when their T4 counts fell below 500, and th
TREATMENT ISSUES -- The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies, Vol 5, No. 2, - Feb 25, 1991
Arthur Lubell
There is no doubt that owning a pet can result in much enjoyment and emotional support. But many HIV-infected people have worried over the risks of contracting disease from their animals. Of course, there is no known evidence that HIV can be acquired or transmitted by cats, dogs or any other non-primates. But some zoon
TREATMENT ISSUES -- The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies, Vol 5, No. 2, - Feb 25, 1991
Victoria Nott
Perhaps one of the greatest advances in the management of HIV illness has been the development of preventive treatments for pneumocystis carinii pneumonia ( PCP ) such as Bactrim, Dapsone and aerosolized pentamidine. In 1987, PCP made up 66% of the AIDS defining opportunistic infections (OIs) reported to the Centers fo
TREATMENT ISSUES -- The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies, Vol 5, No. 2, - Feb 25, 1991
Gabriel Torres, M. D.
Since ddI and ddC (two drugs similar to AZT ) have become available on expanded access programs, it is increasingly difficult for patients and physicians to choose which drug to take. This article summarizes the most recent data on ddC, since updates on ddI and
TREATMENT ISSUES--The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies - Vol. 5, No. 1 - January 10, 1991
Gabriel Torres, M.D.
Ampligen is a synthetic form of RNA being studied in patients with cancers that manifest as solid tumors, chronic fatigue syndrome, and HIV infection. Since most RNA is single-stranded, except in certain viruses like HIV, Ampligen may be thought of as an agent which produces a positive immune response in the body, rath
TREATMENT ISSUES--The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies - Vol. 5, No. 1 - January 10, 1991
David Gold
In the past two years, AIDS activists have successfully negotiated with the manufacturers of two experimental antiviral drugs, ddI and ddC , to develop expanded access programs. These programs allow for access to the drugs before they become fully licensed, and are for people who do not qualify for clinical trials.
TREATMENT ISSUES--The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies - Vol. 5, No. 1 - January 10, 1991
Mary Beth Caschetta
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that worldwide more than one-third of persons infected with HIV are women. In merely a decade from now, the annual number of AIDS cases in women will probably equal that in men, making women, both nationally and internationally, the population currently being infected with
TREATMENT ISSUES--The GMHC Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies - Vol. 5, No. 1 - January 10, 1991
Wayne Kawadler
We hear more about the controversies surrounding the clinical trials, patent disputes and availability of Peptide T than the actual efficacy of the drug. Since Treatment Issues last checked in with Peptide T, which has had a rather rocky history, access problems have developed. After the phase I trials in Provincetown
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.