Subject: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update Date: Tue Mar 3 07:31:03 PST 1998 (204 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1998, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update March 3, 1998 The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, press releases and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 1998, Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. HEADLINES --------- PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS "Do We Still Need a Cohort Study of Women With HIV Infection?" "Rapid Turnover of T Lymphocytes in SIV-Infected Rhesus Macaques" GENERAL MEDIA "Thai Condom Campaign Cuts HIV Infections" "With Prostitution Booming, Legalization Tempts Russia" "Saliva Protein as HIV Weapon" "Markers on the Road to Avoiding Illness" "Most Medical School Students Would Welcome HIV-Positive Patients" "Uganda to Help Make Condoms Safer" "Cyclophilin A Interaction With HIV-1 May Lead to New Therapies" *************************************************************** PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS *************************************************************** "Do We Still Need a Cohort Study of Women With HIV Infection?" Epidemiology (03/98) Vol. 9, No. 2, P. 111; Cotton, Deborah In an editorial appearing in Epidemiology, Harvard Medical School's Deborah Cotton comments on the need for HIV cohort studies involving and analyzing female reaction to the virus. She says that possible differences in HIV manifestation and progression between males and females have long been overlooked, and cites the success of two prospective studies: HIV Epidemiology Research Study (HERS), sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the independent Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). The WIHS--which boasts a full enrollment of more than 2,000 seropositive and 500 seronegative women--also offers key opportunities to study the gynecologic aspects of HIV infection, Cotton notes. Given the recent CDC data on the increasing incidence of AIDS in women, Cotton praises the creation of WIHS and asserts the need for large studies to detect and determine the unusual gynecologic manifestations of HIV. "Rapid Turnover of T Lymphocytes in SIV-Infected Rhesus Macaques" Science (02/20/98) Vol. 279, No. 5354, P. 1223; Mohri, Hiroshi; Bonhoeffer, Sebastian; Monard, Simon; et al. Researchers at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and Los Alamos National Laboratory report that SIV infection in rhesus macaques is associated with heightened lymphocyte turnover. Dr. Hiroshi Mohri and colleagues studied four uninfected and 12 SIV-infected rhesus macaques, using the nucleoside analog bromodeoxyuridine to mark and track proliferating lymphocytes. The study revealed a baseline for the normal proliferation of CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes in the uninfected monkeys. It also showed a substantial increase in the proliferation rates of the SIV-infected subjects. The researchers noted faster labeling and delabeling in memory and naive T lymphocyte cells, natural killer, and B cells in infected macaques. Mohri et al. conclude the finding "that the lymphocyte turnover is increased by SIV infection is consistent with numerous observations reported in HIV-1 infection." **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "Thai Condom Campaign Cuts HIV Infections" Washington Post--Health (03/03/98) P. 5; Okie, Susan The rates of infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases among Thai soldiers have dropped significantly due to an extensive government campaign that advocates condom use and deters visits to prostitutes. A joint project involving the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Thailand's Chiang Mai University, and the Royal Thai Army Medical Corps tracked sexual behavior and infection rates in more than 4,000 military recruits to determine the efficacy of the Thai government's "100 percent Condom Program," initiated in 1991. The study--published in the March 26 issue of the journal AIDS--compared a 1991 recruit group with a 1993 recruit group, testing the soldiers every 6 months over a 2-year period. The rate of HIV infection declined fivefold, while frequency of STDs dropped tenfold during the study. Moreover, 14 percent of 1991 recruits reported inconsistent condom use, compared to only 2.5 percent of the later recruits. The researchers suggested that other countries dealing with major AIDS epidemics follow the Thai program, noting that the decrease in high-risk behavior achieved in Thailand among the population of young adults is "unprecedented." "With Prostitution Booming, Legalization Tempts Russia" New York Times (03/03/98) P. A1; Stanely, Alessandra Rampant prostitution in Russia has led some officials to call for legalization. Amid organized crime and a huge increase in sexually transmitted diseases, the governor of Saratov has introduced legislation for the legalization of the illicit trade. Many other Russian cities are dealing with similar problems, but Dmitri Ayatskov is the first regional governor in the country to call for the change. Venereal disease, tuberculosis, and AIDS are all increasing in incidence in the region, while syphilis rates have quadrupled in the past three years. Still, Aleksander Lando, chair of the regional human rights commission, said that it is important "to be realistic. The most we can expect is to get some measure of control over the spread of AIDS and venereal disease and, maybe, collect some tax money." "Saliva Protein as HIV Weapon" Boston Globe (03/02/98) P. D3; Reucroft, Stephen; Swain, John Cornell Medical Center researchers report finding a saliva protein that reduces the infectiousness of HIV. The protein, glycoprotein thrombospondin 1, attaches to a surface protein on HIV and inhibits the virus' ability to enter white blood cells. The research was published in the February 17 issue of New Scientist. "Markers on the Road to Avoiding Illness" Financial Times (03/03/98) P. 14; Cookson, Clive DNA gene chips may provide a method for diagnosing tumors, infections, and other diseases. The chips contain an array of synthetic gene fragments which reveal any corresponding genes in tissue or blood samples. A chip in development by Affymetrix GeneChip distinguishes mutations in the main enzymes of HIV. Glaxo Wellcome is working with the company to correlate these variations with treatment response in patients, enabling doctors to prescribe drug combinations that work most effectively against individual HIV strains. "Most Medical School Students Would Welcome HIV-Positive Patients" Reuters Health Information Services (03/03/98) A survey published in the current issue of the Journal of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association indicates that 92 percent of first-year medical students would accept HIV-positive patients in their medical practices. Drs. Darren Carter of Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York and Laura Weiss Roberts of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque surveyed 169 students at the University of Chicago and the University of New Mexico; they found that 20 percent of the respondents claimed that HIV infection was one of the reasons why they decided to attend medical school and that one-third of the subjects knew an HIV-positive individual. The researchers suggested that educational intervention--including assessment of ethical issues pertaining to HIV, universal precautions, and multicultural skills programs involving the gay and lesbian community--could further increase the willingness of students to treat HIV-positive patients. Dr. Carter noted that medical students should be prepared to care for any person they encounter, including HIV-positive patients. "Uganda to Help Make Condoms Safer" Africa News Service (03/03/98); Wendo, Charles Uganda will participate in a study to determine the efficacy of an antiviral substance that, when applied to condoms, could help stem the spread of HIV. The substance, called JSD solution, kills HIV but is not safe for internal use. Roderick Roy, managing director of Biotec Laboratories Ltd., announced the decision in Kampala last week, citing regional HIV/AIDS research, HIV prevalence, and the strong presence of his company as motivating factors for the decision to utilize Ugandan research facilities. "Cyclophilin A Interaction With HIV-1 May Lead to New Therapies" Reuters Health Information Services (03/02/98) In the February 17 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Dr. Barbara Sherry of the Picower Institute of Medical Research in Manhasset, NY, and colleagues report that host-derived cyclophilin A (CyPA) plays a role in early HIV infection. Host-derived CyPA is incorporated into HIV-1 virions as an essential step for viral infectivity. The findings show that HIV-1-associated CyPA interacts with a cellular receptor to mediate early viral infection. The researchers suggest that inhibition of HIV-1 infection may be achieved through CyPA-targeting agents. ***************************************************************** The AIDSNews Mailing List is maintained by the CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention. Regular postings include the CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update, conference announcements, clinical trials information, current funding opportunities, and selected MMWR articles. To SUBSCRIBE, send the command "subscribe aidsnews firstname lastname" to the address listproc@aspensys.com. To UNSUBSCRIBE, send the command "unsubscribe aidsnews" to the address listproc@aspensys.com. If you need assistance, please contact aidsinfo@cdcnac.org. *****************************************************************