Subject: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update Date: Fri Mar 6 07:31:04 PST 1998 (217 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1998, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update March 6, 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 "CCR2 Polymorphism and HIV Disease" "Beta-Chemokines Are Released From HIV-1-Specific Cytolytic T-Cell Granules Complexed to Proteoglycans" GENERAL MEDIA "AIDS Levels Off Among Native Americans" "Search Targets Those at Risk for Hepatitis C" "AIDS Drug Cost to Be Cut for Poor Women" "AID to Use Windfall to Fight Diseases" "Merck Gets FDA Approval for HIV Protease Inhibitor" "Cocaine Use By Women Linked to HIV Transmission Risk" "Sperm Donor Screening Lapse Causes HIV" "Thai 'AIDS Colony' Scheme Draws Fire" *************************************************************** PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS *************************************************************** "CCR2 Polymorphism and HIV Disease" Nature Medicine (03/98) Vol. 4, No. 3, P. 252; Rizzardi, G. Paolo; Morawetz, Renate A.; Vicenzi, Elisa; et al. Researchers for the Swiss HIV Cohort report that a valine to isoleucine switch at position 64 in the transmembrane domain of the CCR2B gene is associated with a delay in disease progression in a group of 293 HIV-infected subjects. Within the cohort, 61.5 percent of long-term nonprogessor patients carried a CCR5/(delta)ccr5 gene and/or the CCR2 allele, twice the prevalence found in progressors. The authors explain that "the protective role of the CCR2-+/64I genotype against disease progression seems to be predominantly limited to the early stages of HIV disease." They also note that patients carrying both polymorphisms had CD4 T cell counts greater than 500 cell/ml. The authors conclude that these findings "further support the crucial role played by host factors in the pathogenesis of HIV infection and in determining the rate of disease infection." "Beta-Chemokines Are Released From HIV-1-Specific Cytolytic T-Cell Granules Complexed to Proteoglycans" Science (02/26/98) Vol. 391, No. 6670, P. 908; Wagner, Ludwig; Yang Otto O.; Garcia-Zepeda, Eduardo; et al. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School report that beta-chemokines are released from CD8 T cell lymphocytes, inhibiting HIV-1 replication through both cytolytic and non-cytolytic pathways. The team found that two viral inhibition mediators, cytolytic granule proteins and HIV-1 inhibitory proteins, are both located in the cytolytic granules of HIV-1 specific CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). The mediators are secreted together following antigen-specific activation, aiding lysis of virion producing cells and acting in free virus inhibition. The researchers also found that the viral inhibitory proteins RANTES and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1-alpha and MIP-1-beta are secreted by CTL as a macromolecular complex containing sulphated proteoglycans, indicating functional significance. **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "AIDS Levels Off Among Native Americans" Reuters (03/06/98) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that AIDS incidence has leveled off among Native Americans and the indigenous people of Alaska. The CDC has recorded 1,783 AIDS cases among Native Americans and Native Alaskans since the beginning of the epidemic, with a higher percentage of the cases occurring among people in their 20s and people living in rural areas when compared to the general U.S. population. The total number of cases accounts for 0.3 percent of the 614,086 AIDS cases nationwide reported to the CDC through 1997. Native Americans and Alaskans comprise less than 1 percent of the U.S. population, according to the 1990 census. "Search Targets Those at Risk for Hepatitis C" USA Today (03/06/98) P. 6A; Manning, Anita Surgeon General David Satcher has announced that tens of thousands of Americans may have been infected with hepatitis C through blood transfusions. Approximately 300,000 people are suspected to have a 40 percent to 70 percent chance of having been infected with the virus. On Thursday, Satcher described to Congress a plan to track down people at high risk of having been infected through tainted blood, particularly people who received blood transfusions after June 1992--when new tests for the virus were instituted--from donors who later tested HCV positive. Although the test is 95 percent accurate, it may not have detected infections in individuals who donated blood during a 12-week window period before their bodies reacted to HCV. Officials also plan to contact thousands of transfusion recipients who received blood before 1992 from donors who later tested positive for hepatitis C. An estimated 4 million Americans carry HCV, although some 25 percent of them not aware of their infection. "AIDS Drug Cost to Be Cut for Poor Women" New York Times (03/06/98) P. A7 Glaxo Wellcome announced Thursday that it would reduce the price of the AIDS drug AZT for HIV-infected pregnant women in developing nations in an attempt to stem the spread of mother-to-child transmission of the virus. The company made the agreement with United Nations health officials following the report of new data that showed that short-term doses of AZT, also known as Retrovir, can significantly reduce the rate of perinatal transmission. Although Glaxo would not comment on what the cost of AZT will be in developing nations, sources say it could range from $50 to $150; similar treatment in the United States could cost $1,000. Glaxo Wellcome also announced that it would consider reducing the price of 3TC (Epivir), another anti-HIV drug, if the medication proves similarly effective. "AID to Use Windfall to Fight Diseases" Washington Post (03/06/98) P. A23 The U.S. Agency for International Development plans to use the majority of its $50 million budget windfall to combat tuberculosis, drug-resistant "superbugs," and other diseases. Nils Daulaire, senior health executive at AID, said that surveillance networks would be established to control epidemics of diseases like ebola and measles. Daulaire said he expects the strategy "will reduce infectious disease deaths around the world, excluding HIV/AIDS, by 10 percent over the next 10 years." "Merck Gets FDA Approval for HIV Protease Inhibitor" Investor's Business Daily (03/06/98) P. A1 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given final approval to Merck's HIV therapy Crixivan, which received marketing clearance via an accelerated approval process two years ago. The drug--the most widely prescribed protease inhibitor in the country, according to Merck--was approved based on research that showed it averted death and AIDS-related symptoms when used in combination with antiretroviral medications. "Cocaine Use By Women Linked to HIV Transmission Risk" Reuters Health Information Services (03/05/98) According to Dr. Sheldon Landesman and co-researchers at the State University of New York Science Center, women who use crack cocaine have an increased risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The study, reported in the February issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, also indicated that HIV serostatus is not associated with STD incidence and that more HIV-positive women reported consistent condom usage as compared to HIV-negative women. However, some 65 percent of HIV-positive women did not use the prophylactics regularly. The team estimated the incidence of STDs in 232 HIV-1 positive women and 445 HIV-1 negative women. The researchers note that, while studies correlating high-risk behavior and crack cocaine use have been done already, not much attention has been paid to this group and more intervention and services focused on the women are needed. "Sperm Donor Screening Lapse Causes HIV" United Press International Science News (03/06/98); Dawely, Heidi A 35-year-old German woman contracted HIV after artificial insemination with infected sperm, according to a research letter appearing in this week's issue of the Lancet. Professor Bertfried Matz of the University of Bonn reports that tests on the strain of virus carried by the woman identified the infected sperm as the source of the woman's infection. Documented infection through contaminated sperm is rare, with the majority of cases occurring during the early 1980s when tests were not as accurate. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise that sperm donors should be tested initially when donating the sperm and re-tested 3 to 6 months later to confirm the tests; the sperm should be frozen until both tests are completed. "Thai 'AIDS Colony' Scheme Draws Fire" United Press International (03/06/98) HIV activists have denounced Thailand's plan to construct the world's first "AIDS colony." The Thai Agricultural and Cooperatives Ministry and a Buddhist temple are reportedly attempting to construct such a facility 75 miles north of Bangkok. The "community rehabilitation center"--as it is referred to by the abbot of Lop Buri's Bat Namphu temple--will shelter approximately 10,000 AIDS patients. The colony will help to provide a secure environment for patients and will help to contain the disease, according to the abbot, Phra Alongkot Tikapanyo. Critics contend that the plan will serve to ostracize AIDS patients and that it will project the image that AIDS patients are difficult to care for. ***************************************************************** 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. 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