Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary Date: Wed Jan 8 11:23:26 PST 1997 (171 lines of text) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1997, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary January 8, 1997 The CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ****************************************************** "White House Funds Study on Effects, Potential Therapies from Marijuana" "To Make AIDS Vaccine, Respect Good Science" "U.S. Cracks Down on Hospices Treating Patients Who Aren't on Brink of Death" "Hopkins and D.C. General to Test AIDS Vaccines" "AIDS Hospice in Boston to Close" "One Man's Life and Lost Cause" "Country's Doctors Remain Divided Over Physician-Assisted Suicide" "HIV Cases Climb in Indonesia" "The Global Epidemic" "Prevention of HIV/AIDS and Other Blood-Borne Diseases Among Injection Drug Users" ****************************************************** "White House Funds Study on Effects, Potential Therapies from Marijuana" Washington Post (01/08/97) P. A16; Thomas, Pierre White House drug chief Barry R. McCaffrey has requested that the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine "provide a comprehensive assessment of the state of scientific knowledge and to identify gaps in the knowledge base about marijuana," the Clinton administration announced Tuesday. The $1 million study will evaluate research findings on topics such as the neurological effects of marijuana, as well as its benefit as a therapy for glaucoma, nausea, AIDS, and cancer. The administration has opposed state laws that allow the use of marijuana for certain medical conditions. "To Make AIDS Vaccine, Respect Good Science" New York Times (01/08/97) P. A14; Burton, Dennis R. In response to a New York Times commentary in which the authors criticized the U.S. government's efforts to produce an AIDS vaccine, Dennis R. Burton, an immunologist at Scripps Research Institute, says the attack disregarded certain scientific findings. Bruce G. Weniger and Max Essex found fault with the National Institutes of Health for stopping an AIDS vaccine trial in 1994. Burton points out, however, that some trials of the experimental vaccine were conducted and found no benefit. He also notes that laboratory research has indicated that the bioengineered vaccine would be ineffective, and that larger trials would be useless. "U.S. Cracks Down on Hospices Treating Patients Who Aren't on Brink of Death" Wall Street Journal (01/08/97) P. B8; Anders, George Federal officials are investigating thousands of cases in which hospices have sought Medicare payments for treating terminally ill patients who are not about to die. Government auditors are seeking millions of dollars in repayment for what they call improper Medicare payments. Hospice leaders say they will fight attempts to demand repayment. Mary Labyak, president of a hospice where 300 cases are in question, said that "there is overwhelming evidence that these people needed hospice care. We've reviewed every case, and we feel we would prevail in nearly all of them." Patients with terminal cancer have been the main users of hospices, but more recently, people with advanced heart disease, AIDS, and other serious illnesses have also turned to the facilities. Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for hospices if doctors expect their life expectancy to be six months or less. "Hopkins and D.C. General to Test AIDS Vaccines" Baltimore Sun (01/08/97) P. 5B Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University and Washington D.C.'s General Hospital will collaborate on clinical trials of AIDS vaccines, researchers announced Tuesday. D.C. General's HIV Center will be one of six U.S. sites to offer the experimental vaccines. Men and women from age 18 to 50 with varying degrees of exposure to HIV will be eligible for the studies. "AIDS Hospice in Boston to Close" Boston Globe (01/07/97) P. B4 Due to decreased demand for services, Boston's Hospice in Mission Hill, an AIDS center that opened in 1989, will close. The hospice has cared for 1,000 patients in the past seven years. "One Man's Life and Lost Cause" Baltimore Sun (01/08/97) P. 1E; Hiaasen, Rob The Center for Applied Life, a non-profit AIDS organization in Baltimore, was started in 1992 by Rodney Moore, an unlikely activist. "Rodney Moore," one alias of the man who was said to be a former drug addict with a drinking problem and a temper, became involved in the city's AIDS organizations and started the Center to help poor people with AIDS get the medical care and services they needed. Baltimore awarded the Center grants totaling $53,000 between 1993 and 1996. Moore and the Center gained recognition from the city and the AIDS community, but when Moore died of AIDS last year, the Center died with him. "Country's Doctors Remain Divided Over Physician-Assisted Suicide" Washington Post (01/08/97) P. A15; Okie, Susan While recent surveys show that as many as 60 percent of U.S. doctors support the legalization of physician-assisted suicide, many are shocked at the possibility that the Supreme Court could decide that it is a patient's constitutional right. Some doctors believe that helping a patient commit suicide can be part of good medical care, but others claim that the practice conflicts with a doctor's duty to do no harm. The American Medical Association and 45 other medical organizations have submitted their opposition to the Supreme Court, but other groups, including the American Medical Student Association, support the practice. "HIV Cases Climb in Indonesia" United Press International (01/08/97) The number of people reported to have HIV in Indonesia has reached 501, the health ministry reported. Among the 35 new cases, 18 were found in the northern Sumatran province. The health ministry expects that the actual number of cases is 100 times higher than the reported number. "The Global Epidemic" Time (12/30/96-01/06/97) Vol. 148, No. 29, P. 76; Purvis, Andrew For 90 percent of the world's HIV-infected population, promising new anti-HIV drugs offer little hope because of their extremely high cost. Leading experts agree that a vaccine is critical to ending the epidemic, especially in areas such as Africa, India, Thailand, and Central and Eastern Europe. Vaccine development is not as profitable for pharmaceutical companies as drug development, however, and some companies are even suggesting cutbacks in basic research funding. Peter Piot, head of the United Nations' AIDS effort, notes that "in most countries, vaccines are generally purchased by governments, not by individuals. Taxpayers are footing the bill, which keeps prices down." Sales of AIDS drugs, however, totaled $1.3 billion in 1995 alone. The National Institutes of Health recently announced a renewed commitment to vaccine research, which now receives less than 10 percent of NIH's AIDS budget. Public health experts are also pushing more strongly for a vaccine now, in light of new knowledge about HIV. Piot contends that a vaccine should not be approached as a remedy only for poor countries, but as a goal for everyone, since it is necessary to end the epidemic. "Prevention of HIV/AIDS and Other Blood-Borne Diseases Among Injection Drug Users" Journal of the American Medical Association (01/01/97) Vol. 277, No. 1, P. 53; Gostin, Lawrence O.; Lazzarini, Zita; Jones, T. Stephen; et al. Laws and regulations governing the sale and possession of needles and syringes in the United States stymie needle exchange programs, which propose to provide clean needles to drug addicts to prevent the transmission of HIV. Lawrence Gostin, of the Georgetown University Law Center, and colleagues report that a survey of such laws reveals that state or local laws in every state, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands restrict the sale, distribution, or possession of syringes. The authors present several strategies to improve the availability of clean syringes to prevent the transmission of disease among injection drug users. Their suggestions include altering drug paraphernalia laws to exempt syringes, repealing syringe prescription laws and pharmacy regulations that limit the sale of syringes, allowing local decision-making concerning needle exchange programs, and providing safe syringe disposal in the community. The authors also note that studies suggest that the repeal of syringe laws would reduce bloodborne disease among injection drug users, their sexual partners, and children without harming society.