Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary Date: Thu Mar 13 07:31:04 PST 1997 (185 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1997, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary March 13, 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 ****************************************************** "Students Say Board Fails in Teaching About AIDS" "Net Soars to $14.6 Million on 3TC Royalty Revenue" "Ex-Health Official in Japan Denies AIDS Negligence" "When a Healer Is Asked, 'Help Me Die'" "Physicians and Formulas Can't Determine Life Span for the Ill" "Bankrupt AIDS Foundation Investigated" "Ohio Repeals Medical Pot Exemption" "GAO Report on FDA Blood Oversight Supported By" "Update: Trends in AIDS Incidence, Deaths, and Prevalence--United States, 1996" "Psychoneuroimmunology: A Basis for HIV Treatment" ****************************************************** "Students Say Board Fails in Teaching About AIDS" New York Times (03/13/97) P. A31; Sengupta, Somini New York City high school students renewed the debate over sex and AIDS education on Wednesday, as they called for Chancellor Rudy Crew to reinstate condom demonstrations in the classroom. Students were joined by representatives of advocacy organizations, which distributed condoms outside more than 30 high schools. The students said that many schools are not following the Board of Education's health curriculum, which includes six classes a year on how to prevent HIV transmission. Superintendent Larry Edwards agreed to investigate the charges that some students have not been offered the required classes. "Net Soars to $14.6 Million on 3TC Royalty Revenue" Wall Street Journal (03/13/97) P. B4 Royalty revenue from BioChem Pharma's AIDS drug 3TC boosted the drug maker's fourth-quarter net income to $14.6 million, the Canadian biotechnology company reported. Revenue for the drug, which is marketed by Glaxo Wellcome, rose 25 percent from the previous year. "Ex-Health Official in Japan Denies AIDS Negligence" Richmond Times-Dispatch (03/13/97) P. A4 A former Japanese health official pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of professional negligence related to the sale of untreated blood products resulting in thousands of cases of HIV infection. Akihito Matsumura led the health ministry division that handled blood products from 1984 to 1986, when the distribution of unsafe blood products was reportedly allowed to continue even after the government was aware of the risks involved. Matsumura and other officials are charged with prohibiting the import of heat-treated blood products until 1985 to give Japanese firms the chance to develop their own methods. "When a Healer Is Asked, 'Help Me Die'" New York Times (03/13/97) P. A1; Rosenthal, Elisabeth As the national debate over physician-assisted suicide continues, many doctors face the issue on a more immediate level when dying patients request a lethal prescription. The practice is opposed by nearly every medical organization in the country, but recent surveys of practicing doctors suggest that they favor legalizing physician-assisted suicide. About one-third say they would help patients commit suicide if it were legal. However, the subject is taboo in public debate, and doctors who support the practice are hesitant to let their feelings be known. Those who do not support the practice say they do not think physicians should be making decisions about life and death, and that patients' suicide requests often indicate weaknesses in pain control, depression, or inadequate support for the dying. "Physicians and Formulas Can't Determine Life Span for the Ill" USA Today (03/13/97) P. 3D; Levy, Doug A new study reveals that neither doctors nor statisticians can reliably predict which terminally ill patients are approaching death. Researchers, led by Joanne Lynn of the George Washington University Center to Improve Care of the Dying, report that in a study in which doctors were asked to estimate patients' survival, more than half of the patients were given a 50 percent chance of living for two months only a week before they actually died. The findings, reported in the journal New Horizons, may impact Medicare and other programs that allow hospice benefits for people who are expected to survive only six months, since it suggests that determining this time frame is impossible, said Lynn. "Bankrupt AIDS Foundation Investigated" United Press International (03/12/97) The San Diego AIDS Foundation, which provided food, housing, and transportation to patients with HIV, is under investigation by the San Diego District Attorney's office following its recent declaration of bankruptcy and closing. County officials will review the foundation's records to determine how it accumulated nearly $1 million in debt. The county has spent $14,000 to hire an accounting firm, which audited the organization in January and failed to reveal the serious financial problems that forced the foundation to close. "Ohio Repeals Medical Pot Exemption" United Press International (03/12/97) An Ohio law allowing the medical use of marijuana is expected to be repealed. The state House has passed a bill, previously approved by the Senate, to reverse the law, and Gov. George Voinovich is expected to sign the measure. While lawmaker James Mason said he sympathized with the cancer and AIDS patients who testified in favor of medical marijuana, he said "the lawyer in me and the legislator in me looks at this issue and says we made a mistake." The judicial committee did not accept a proposal to restrict marijuana use to limited amounts for certain illnesses, like cancer, AIDS, or glaucoma. "GAO Report on FDA Blood Oversight Supported" U.S. Newswire (03/12/97) The conclusion by the General Accounting Office that the "blood supply is very safe" should put at ease the minds of millions of Americans who receive blood transfusions each year, said Byron Buhner, president of America's Blood Centers (ABC). The report recommends that unlicensed blood collection facilities report all errors and accidents to the Food and Drug Administration. Among the GAO recommendations already implemented by ABC members are donor referral and volunteer patient notification, as well as "lookback" for HIV, HTLV, and HBV. The report also suggested that the FDA publish agency guidelines that are critical to ensure a safe blood supply. "Update: Trends in AIDS Incidence, Deaths, and Prevalence--United States, 1996" Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (02/28/97) Vol. 46, No. 8, P. 165 In an update of AIDS statistics in the United States, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the number of AIDS-related deaths in the United States decreased for the first time in 1996. A total of 573,800 AIDS cases was reported from 1981 through 1996, including 68,473 last year. The proportion of AIDS cases among non-Hispanic African Americans, Hispanics, and women has been increasing since 1992. In 1996, non-Hispanic African Americans accounted for 41 percent of adults with AIDS, surpassing the proportion of non-Hispanic whites for the first time. The proportion of cases in women reached an all-time high of 20 percent. The estimated number of AIDS-related deaths rose steadily through 1994, increased slightly in 1995, and decreased 13 percent from the first six months of 1995 to the same period in 1996. While this trend was reported in all geographical regions and among all racial/ethnic groups, AIDS-related deaths increased 3 percent each among women and individuals infected through heterosexual contact. Overall AIDS prevalence has increased 10 percent since mid-1995, with the largest proportionate increase from June 1995 to June 1996 among those who contracted HIV through heterosexual contact. An editorial note accompanying the report adds that the increase in AIDS prevalence reflects the rate of new infections and the longer survival of patients. The authors, in conclusion, call for sustained services for people with HIV and prevention programs to curb infection rates. "Psychoneuroimmunology: A Basis for HIV Treatment" Focus (02/97) Vol. 12, No. 3, P. 1; Leiphart, Jeffrey M. Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), the study of the impact of psychological factors on immunological diseases, has been studied in relation to AIDS in a flurry of research over the past 10 years. PNI research has shown that some psychological states lead to AIDS progression, while others improve immunity and survival. Factors that affect these states include the degree of fatalism regarding HIV; the degree and duration of stress, grief, or depression; awareness of life purpose and goals; and self-assertive ability. Certain immune-suppressing factors--such as fear and panic regarding death--result from living during a public health crisis. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, report that fatalistic beliefs regarding HIV status are negatively associated with health outcome. Survival was shortest in study participants who were both fatalistic and recently bereaved. Further study found that fatalistic thinking and bereavement led to immune marker changes that are tied to AIDS progression. Researchers remain divided over whether PNI research findings should be applied to the treatment of HIV patients. HIV-related PNI programs have emerged in recent years at the University of Miami, the San Diego Lesbian and Gay Men's Community Center, and Harvard University.