Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary Date: Fri Mar 7 09:41:02 PST 1997 (183 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1997, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary March 7, 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 ****************************************************** "When It's Ethical to Withhold AIDS Drugs" "Disability Act Protects HIV-Positive People, Court Rules" "Across the USA: Indiana, Washington" "AIDS-Related Deaths in Phila. Drop 23.5 Percent" "Men Plead Not Guilty in AIDS Data Leak" "Dignified Death or Murder?" "Philanthropy's Diamonds: Getting the Most From Builder's Wealth in War on AIDS" "Health Notes: Key Molecule in Surviving HIV" "Infectious Human Herpesvirus 8 in a Healthy North American Blood Donor" "Danger: Possibly Fatal Interactions Between Ritonavir and 'Ecstasy,' Some Other Psychoactive Drugs" ****************************************************** "When It's Ethical to Withhold AIDS Drugs" New York Times (03/07/97) P. A30; Kliger, Craig Doctors are not obliged to prescribe drugs to patients if they feel the treatment will be futile or risky, contends Dr. Craig H. Kliger in the New York Times, arguing that this rule should also apply to doctors who question the reliability of patients with HIV. At issue is the refusal of some doctors to prescribe powerful new AIDS drugs to patients who they feel can not be relied on to comply with the drugs' strict regimen. Kliger claims that because the drugs pose a risk if they are not taken properly, doctors can ethically withhold the medication. He notes, however, that patients have the right to be informed about the denied treatments so they can respond accordingly. "Disability Act Protects HIV-Positive People, Court Rules" Washington Times (03/07/97) P. A3; Murray, Frank J. People who are HIV-positive but have no AIDS symptoms are protected from discrimination under the Americans With Disabilities Act, a federal appeals court has ruled. The ruling came in the case of Sidney Abbott, who was refused dental care because she is infected with HIV. The dentist, Randon Bragdon of Bangor, ME, said he feared the "direct threat" of transmission, which he claimed was supported by recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to use increased precautions such as eye shields and double gloves. A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thursday that "HIV-positive status ... whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, comprises a physical impairment under the ADA." "Across the USA: Indiana, Washington" USA Today (03/07/97) P. 7A In response to increasing rates of HIV infection among Gary, IN, teens, a private group has teamed with school officials to prepare an AIDS education program for the city's students. The number of reported cases among people aged 13 to 19 increased from five in 1994 to nine in 1995. Meanwhile, in the state of Washington, AIDS activists praised Gov. Locke for proposing that the state fund a $1.3 million prescription drug program for HIV-infected patients. "AIDS-Related Deaths in Phila. Drop 23.5 Percent" Philadelphia Inquirer (03/07/97) P. B1; Collins, Huntly The number of deaths in Philadelphia attributed to AIDS decreased for the first time last year, falling 23.5 percent, health officials reported Thursday. Records show that 574 people in the city died of AIDS-related illnesses in 1996, down from 750 in 1995. The decline reflects a nationwide trend reported last month, which showed that AIDS-related deaths in the United States decreased an average of 13 percent during the first six months of 1996 compared with the same period in 1995. The decline in Philadelphia was attributed to better and wider use of treatments and improved tests to monitor the impact of new drug therapies. However, James McAnaney of the city Health Department warned that the new figures do not show that the AIDS epidemic is slowing down, only that AIDS patients are living longer. The number of new AIDS cases actually increased in the city last year, although they decreased in the suburbs. "Men Plead Not Guilty in AIDS Data Leak" Washington Times (03/07/97) P. A6 Two St. Petersburg, FL, men accused of disclosing a list of the names of 4,000 AIDS patients are awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to the charges. William Calvert III is accused of using the classified list for personal matters, while his former roommate and business partner Greg Wentz is believed to have mailed a computer disk containing the list to two newspapers. "Dignified Death or Murder?" Richmond Times-Dispatch (03/07/97) P. A1; Hardin, Peter On Thursday, leaders of a House committee holding a hearing on physician-assisted suicide announced support for a proposed ban on federal funding for the practice. "There's strong support up here to make sure that practice is not paid for [with federal dollars]," said Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Currently, federal payment for doctor-assisted suicide is prohibited. Rep. Thomas J. Bliley (R-Va.), chairman of the House Commerce Committee, and subcommittee chairman Michael Bilirakis (R-Fla.), called the hearing. Last week, a federal appellate court in Oregon affirmed the state law allowing doctor-assisted suicide, but a stay of enforcement in the state's statute is in effect. Witnesses at the House Committee hearing who advocate doctor-assisted suicide included A. Cornelius Baker of the National Association of People with AIDS. "Philanthropy's Diamonds: Getting the Most From Builder's Wealth in War on AIDS" Investor's Business Daily (03/07/97) P. A1; Achstatter, Gerard A. Real estate mogul Aaron Diamond laid the groundwork for the Aaron Diamond Foundation and Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, but died just before his charitable plans would become a reality. His wife, Irene, now 86, has operated the foundation according to his wishes. The couple had agreed that the foundation should spend its entire $200 million allotment in 10 years to make the greatest impact possible. "I don't think you can get results without putting a lot of money into one thing," Irene Diamond said. Most foundations contribute only the interest on the initial investment. However, Irene Diamond's influence extends beyond the financial aspects of the foundation. She also selected Dr. David Ho, who was named Time magazine's Man of the Year for his work on new AIDS drugs, to lead the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center. "I took a lot of flak over choosing him," Irene said. "People though David was too young and that I should have a more well-known person leading the center. I didn't want that. I was very insistent on having David." "Health Notes: Key Molecule in Surviving HIV" United Press International (03/07/97); Wasowica, Lidia HIV patients with adequate levels of the molecule glutathione are likely to survive longer than patients with low glutathione levels, Stanford University researchers report. A molecule normally found in the body, glutathione is used in activities ranging from cell division to clearing oxidants and other toxic molecules. The researchers say the finding could help in the treatment of AIDS, possibly through preventing the loss of glutathione or by increasing its levels in some patients. "Infectious Human Herpesvirus 8 in a Healthy North American Blood Donor" Lancet (03/01/97) Vol. 349, No. 9052, P. 609; Blackburn, David J.; Ambroziak, John; Lennette, Evelyne; et al. Studies of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) have linked the virus to Kaposi's sarcoma and have also suggested that the virus can be found in healthy individuals. Dr. Jay A. Levy, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues, have reported the first detection of HHV-8 in a healthy American blood donor in the Lancet. The blood donor, a 37-year-old man, is married, has had no sexual contact with other men, has no symptoms of venereal disease, has never had a blood transfusion, and has not had Kaposi's sarcoma. The virus detected was found to be infectious, suggesting that HHV-8 could be transmitted via blood transfusion, the authors said. "Danger: Possibly Fatal Interactions Between Ritonavir and 'Ecstasy,' Some Other Psychoactive Drugs" AIDS Treatment News (02/21/97) No. 265, P. 5; Mirken, Bruce Following the death of a British AIDS patient who was taking the protease inhibitor ritonavir when he died from an overdose of MDMA, or "ecstasy," ritonavir maker Abbott Laboratories has acknowledged potentially dangerous interactions between the two drugs. The coroner said that Phillip Kay died from an MDMA overdose, with a blood level "nearly 10 times that at which we would expect to see serious toxic effects." Kay's partner, Jim Lumb, suspected a drug interaction was the cause because he was sure that Kay would not have taken such an excessive dose. Abbott's Dr. P. Kon wrote to Lumb that "Abbott has not conducted, and does not plan on conducting any drug-drug interaction studies between ritonavir and any illegal substances, including ecstasy." However, he noted that the lab's researchers had studied the theoretical interactions between the two drugs. They found, according to Kon, that using the two drugs together could result in "a two to three fold increase" in MDMA levels and, that, in 3 percent to 10 percent of the population, MDMA levels could increase "as high as 5 to 10 fold." Abbott refused to issue a warning, as Lumb had requested, but the company has made a fact sheet available to British doctors who request the information.