Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 11:54:01 PST (162 lines of text) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary November 2, 1995 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "A Workout for the Body and Spirit" "New AIDS Drug Said to Work Differently from Others" "Across the USA: Ohio, Rhode Island" "Chronicle: Ricki Lake" "Jungle Joy: Mural Comforts Youngsters Exposed to Drugs and HIV" "French AIDS Pioneer Urges More Research in Africa" "Stockholders Approve Pharmacia-Upjohn Merger" "Threatened by Reform?" "AIDS Claims Rise Is Slowest in Nine Years" ************************************************************ "A Workout for the Body and Spirit" Washington Post--District Weekly (11/02/95) P. D.C.1; Young, Vincent A free aerobics class in Washington, D.C.'s Woodley Park neighborhood offers people with HIV and AIDS an opportunity to better their health in a supportive environment. Class members openly discuss how they live and cope with AIDS, sharing such survival skills as understanding health care benefits and the side effects of medications. One participant says that the class has helped her to gain more control over her life since she first learned she was infected six years ago. "I needed an outlet--a way to release the pain, the anger, the depression--because I didn't want dying to become an option," explains Adorn Smith. The exercise studio, called Work It!, was founded last year by District residents Zoe Bennington and Rachel Posell. The three-part fitness program consists of aerobics, relaxation and stress management, and a massage therapy called Reiki that is thought to revitalize the immune system and lower stress. "New AIDS Drug Said to Work Differently from Others" Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (11/02/95) Aronex Pharmaceuticals reported Wednesday that its anti-AIDS drug AR-177 uses a different mode of action than any other existing or candidate therapies. "We knew it has activity, but weren't exactly sure what the mechanism of the action was," said Aronex head James Chubb. According to a study reported in the November issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, AR-177 appears to inhibit the viral activity of HIV integrase, which HIV uses to insert copies of its genetic material into chromosomes of the infected individual. Chubb said that the difference between his company's drug and those of others, which either inhibit HIV's ability to replicate or form a protective coating of protein, suggests that AR-177 may be effective in combination with a drug such as AZT because the two would be complementary. "Across the USA: Ohio, Rhode Island" USA Today (11/02/95) P. 8A A proposed bill in Ohio would require couples wishing to marry to get a pre-marital blood test for HIV and syphilis. Meanwhile, in Cumberland, R.I., the Rhode Island Housing & Mortgage Finance Co. has rescued a home for AIDS patients from foreclosure with a $60,000 "forgivable loan." The loan need not be repaid as long as House of Compassion offers shelter to people with AIDS for 18 years. "Chronicle: Ricki Lake" New York Times (11/02/95) P. D24; Brozan, Nadine A New York City judge has sentenced talk show host Ricki Lake to four days of community service and fined her $45 for her part in an anti-fur protest at the offices of designer Karl Lagerfeld. Lake will perform her community service at God's Love We Deliver, a food service for people with AIDS. Related Story: Washington Post (11/2) P. C4 "Jungle Joy: Mural Comforts Youngsters Exposed to Drugs and HIV" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/01/95) P. 1B; Hubert, Kristin Volunteer Peter Engelsmann is donating his time and artistic talents to create a four-wall jungle mural for St. Louis' Our Little Haven, a home for children exposed to drugs and HIV. "They can come in and see animals and trees and things, and it expands the room beyond just a home in the city," commented Engelsmann, 23, a recent graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio. Our Little Haven currently provides shelter to 12 children, but ongoing renovations will provide space for twice that number. "French AIDS Pioneer Urges More Research in Africa" Reuters (11/01/95) More AIDS research should be conducted in Africa, according to Luc Montagnier, the French researcher who first identified HIV. At a meeting in Brazzaville, Congo, Montagnier said, "The center of gravity for AIDS is in Africa and southeast Asia but the center of gravity for research is in the northern countries, and we are keen to develop research in Africa." The meeting was held to prepare for the launch of a special African research fund, which will be sponsored by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. The fund was the idea of Congolese President Pascal Lissouba, with the backing of the leaders of Senegal, France, Morocco, and Uganda. "Stockholders Approve Pharmacia-Upjohn Merger" Reuters (11/01/95) Stockholders owning 96 percent of the shares and votes of Pharmacia AB have sanctioned the company's merger with Upjohn Co., the company announced on Wednesday. Trading in the new company, which will have annual revenue of $6.8 billion, will begin on Friday in New York and on Monday in Stockholm, Sweden. The company's primary foci will include developing drugs for infectious diseases, critical care, cancer, central nervous system disorders, and metabolic diseases. "We're going to be launching products for AIDS, cancer, Parkinson's disease, pneumonia, depression," said John Zabriskie, Upjohn chair and proposed CEO of the new venture. "Threatened by Reform?" American Medical News (10/23/95-10/30/95) Vol. 38, No. 40, P. 1; Kent, Christina AIDS experts are scrambling to understand all the implications of the GOP Medicaid reforms now going through Congress. Although many claim the proposals will harm the most unprotected members of society, a few note that there are also some benefits. Medicaid's future is extremely important to AIDS experts because the program is the largest source of public funding for HIV/AIDS medical services, supplying 70 percent of the funds spent last year. Some 40 percent of AIDS patients receive Medicaid benefits, including 92 percent of the children with AIDS. Compared to the Ryan White CARE Act, which provided about $600 million in the 1994 fiscal year, Medicaid spent approximately $2.6 billion on AIDS in the same period. The House and Senate have voted or soon will vote on proposals that would shift the program into block programs to the states, with no automatic entitlement to aid for targeted groups. The states would receive increased freedom in exchange for reduced federal funds; however, many AIDS experts say that some states will then try to stretch these funds by pushing the chronically ill into possibly low-quality health maintenance organizations. Other states, says Mark Barnes, executive director of AIDS Action Council, will just limit eligibility and benefits, which will result in "disease and death." But Mark Smith, executive vice president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, argues that the GOP reforms will finally offer states the chance to "deliver on the theoretical promises of managed care." "AIDS Claims Rise Is Slowest in Nine Years" Human Resource Executive (10/95) Vol. 9, No. 11, P. 18; Baran, Frank U.S. life and health insurance companies are paying AIDS-related claims at the slowest rate since trade groups began to calculate the claims nine years ago. According to data reported jointly by the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) and the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA), AIDS-related claims totaled $1.6 billion in 1994, an increase of only 4.5 percent from the previous year. The proportion of group accident and health policies involving AIDS fell by nearly 8 percent. The HIAA said an increasing number of people with AIDS contracted HIV through intravenous drug use or sexual contact with an IV drug user; people in this risk group are less likely to have group or individual health insurance.