Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary for Date: Tue May 9 07:01:01 PDT 2000 (189 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 2000, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update Tuesday, May 9, 2000 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 HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles. HEADLINES PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS "Immune Responses Induced by BCG Recombinant for Human Papillomavirus L1 and E7 Proteins" "NIH, Under Pressure, Boosts Minority Health Research" GENERAL MEDIA "HIV Risk Factors Cluster in Young Injection Drug Users" "Cyanovirin-N Shows Potential to Block HIV Transmission" "New Program Helps AIDS Sufferers With Drug Abuse" "AIDS Is Eroding African Healthcare Systems" "The Pill Turns 40" "Interest Renewed in Unorthodox AIDS Theory" "Stores Find Niche in Specialty Drugs" *************************************************************** PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS *************************************************************** "Immune Responses Induced by BCG Recombinant for Human Papillomavirus L1 and E7 Proteins" Vaccine Online (www.elsevier.com:80/inca/publications/store/3/0/5/2/1) (05/01/00) Vol. 18, No. 22, P. 2444; Jabbar, Ibtissam A.; Fernando, Germain J.P.; Saunders, Nick; et al. A team of U.S. and Australian researchers studied recombinant bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccines that expressed the L1 late protein of the human papillomavirus (HPV) 6b or the E7 early protein of the HPV 16. Compared to a conventional protein/adjuvant system using E7 or L1 and Quil-A adjuvant, the magnitude of the observed responses was lower with the recombinant BCG vaccines. The researchers conclude, therefore, that "as recombinant BCG vaccines expressing HPV6bL1 or HPV16E7 persist at low levels in the unimmunized host, they may be beneficial to prime or retain memory responses to antigens, but [they] are unlikely to be useful as a single component vaccine." "NIH, Under Pressure, Boosts Minority Health Research" Science (www.sciencemag.org) (04/28/00) Vol. 288, No. 5466, P. 596; Helmuth, Laura The National Institutes of Health has hosted members of the minority community to help address the need to end health disparities. Some problems cited were the NIH's lack of minority members on grant review boards and distrust among African Americans after the Tuskegee syphilis project. The NIH's Office of Research on Minority Health (ORMH), formed in 1990, has had success with the Jackson Heart Study, which hopes to enroll 6,500 African-Americans regarding heart disease and stroke factors. The NIH is now working on a plan to decrease health disparities, and is focused on six areas, including cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and mental health. A shortage of minority subjects in clinical trials can be fixed, according to Anthony Fauci, but trust must be regained among African-Americans. The NIAID has a grant scoring process that takes into account how accurately a project will reflect the actual population afflicted with HIV. **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "HIV Risk Factors Cluster in Young Injection Drug Users" Reuters Health Information Services (05/08/00) A report in an April issue of AIDS explains that young, short-term injection drug users have risk factors for HIV stemming from injecting and from risky sexual behaviors. Dr. David Vlahov of Johns Hopkins University and colleagues studied 229 young injection drug users, most African American and half of them female. Four factors were independently linked to infection: having anal sex for money or drugs, injecting cocaine, smoking crack every day, or having two or more trainers before self-injecting. Dr. Vlahov's group also found gender differences, as men were more likely to contract HIV from needle sharing, and women from having anal sex. "Cyanovirin-N Shows Potential to Block HIV Transmission" Reuters Health Information Services (05/08/00) A research team led by Dr. Edward Berger of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has found that the protein cyanovirin-N (CV-N) blocks steps when HIV interacts with specific target cell receptors. The findings, published in the Journal of Virology, were based on the antiviral protein because it can inactivate strains of HIV-1. Berger stated that CV-N could be used to prevent HIV during sex. The protein could also be used to fight other pathogens. "New Program Helps AIDS Sufferers With Drug Abuse" Cincinnati Enquirer Online (www.enquirer.com) (05/09/00); Bonfield, Tim David White abused drugs for 14 years, learning that he had HIV in 1986. Today he is recovering, and is one of the first residents of the Caracole Recovery Community in Cincinnati. The program has funding from a $600,000 federal grant and $36,000 in city funds. White has never become sick from AIDS, and his problem became drug addiction, common among HIV/AIDS patients. Depression also sets in for many who abuse substances like cocaine or alcohol. Patients with drug problems usually cannot maintain a strict AIDS treatment program. Caracole helps clients with abuse problems, requiring them to beat their addiction or leave. The program now has a halfway house for addicts with HIV, hoping to keep them off the streets and from infecting others. Those who have drug addictions tend to develop risky sexual behavior. An anonymous man was no different. He has started to rebuild his life without drugs or alcohol with a regular schedule at Caracole. Clients are allowed to stay at Caracole for two years at the most. "AIDS Is Eroding African Healthcare Systems" Reuters Health Information Services (05/08/00) Africa's healthcare systems are being destroyed by HIV infections and need to be strengthened, according to Dr. Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS. Piot spoke at the meeting of Ministers of Health of the Organization of African Unity on HIV/AIDS, calling for immediate action. The cost of one year of basic healthcare for an AIDS patient costs two to three times the average gross domestic product of many countries in Africa. The number of patients and the rise of tuberculosis are straining the health systems. "The Pill Turns 40" USA Today (www.usatoday.com) (05/09/00) P. 9D; Rubin, Rita Today is the 40th anniversary of the approval of the nation's first oral contraceptive, the birth control pill. The pill is now being re-evaluated, as scientists find new ways to deliver hormones to act as contraceptives. The major fault of the pill is that it does not prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), like AIDS. Over 100 million women use the pill, which does have benefits like reducing the risk of ovarian cancer. However, the ease of the pill and the fact it is usually out of sight may prevent couples from discussing STDs and using condoms regularly. Women must remember to take the pill every day, a drawback that Depo-Provera or Norplant do not have. Scientists are also working on a pill that would be taken for 84 days in a row. "Interest Renewed in Unorthodox AIDS Theory" CBC News Online (www.cbc.ca.com) (05/08/00) Many Canadian doctors are afraid that South Africa's willingness to discuss an unorthodox theory about AIDS will lead to more deaths. Scientists gathered in Pretoria to discuss the idea that HIV does not cause AIDS, a theory President Thabo Mbeki believes should be explored. Mbeki has been researching on the Internet, and has already deemed the drug AZT too dangerous for pregnant women. Dr. William Fong, AIDS specialist at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital, explained there is no evidence to suggest AIDS is not caused by HIV. Researchers hope that Mbeki's opinion will not influence other African leaders to reach the same conclusion. "Stores Find Niche in Specialty Drugs" Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (05/09/00) P. E1; Brubaker, Bill CVS, the largest drugstore chain nationwide, has responded to complaints that its stores do not stock specialty drugs nor give the patients the time needed to discuss their medications by launching small pharmacies that sell HIV/AIDS, organ-transplant, cancer, fertility, hepatitis, and other specialty drugs that are too expensive and too rarely requested to be sold at all of its stores. The specialty medication marketed jumped from $4.5 billion in 1995 to $13.4 billion in 1999 according to IMS Health, and is expected to soar by at least 20 percent in 2000, as a result of an aging baby-boom generation, the introduction of new drugs to treat diseases once viewed as untreatable, and insurance companies viewing drugs as cost-effective alternatives to hospital stays. The HIV/AIDS market represents a particularly lucrative market, as drug sales have risen sharply from $245 million four years ago to $2.5 million in 1999. Many of the new specialty products, including Serostim, a human growth hormone that treats AIDS wasting syndrome, and AZT are costly, as the drugs are still protected by patents. ****************************************************************