AIDS Daily Summary December 6, 1995 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Suspect in Needle Attack Had 2 Previous Escapes" "White House AIDS Forum to Be Attended by 250" "Lifeline: AIDS Benefit" "Prayer Power?" "Australia to Ban AIDS Sufferers from Military" "Catholic University Installs Condom Machines" "Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia in Zimbabwe" "Peptide T: Negative Trial Result" ************************************************************ "Suspect in Needle Attack Had 2 Previous Escapes" New York Times (12/06/95) P. B4; Sexton, Joe Angel Coro, the man charged with jabbing a six-year-old girl with a hypodermic needle on the New York City subway last week, escaped two times from the Rochester Psychiatric Center before he left for a third and last time two years ago. Rochester law enforcement officials say Coro disappeared from the state mental hospital in both July and August 1991, but each time was discovered by the police. Three weeks after he left the hospital in 1993, Coro--who has spent many of the past 25 years in mental facilities--the State Office of Mental Health listed him as discharged. Meanwhile, Colete Lopez underwent several tests on Tuesday to determine whether she was infected from Coro's attack, though it could be months before her HIV status is known. Dr. William Brokowsky of Bellevue Hospital Center's pediatric infectious disease unit noted, however, that even if the needle was contaminated, the risk of the girl becoming HIV-infected "is small," between 1 in 250 to 1 in 1,000 cases. Coro's appointed lawyer, Richard Siracusa, said that prosecutors have yet to request that his client be screened for HIV--a test which by law, Coro can refuse. Related Story: Chicago Tribune (12/05) P. 1-10 "White House AIDS Forum to Be Attended by 250" Baltimore Sun (12/06/95) P. 2A Some 250 AIDS activists, researchers, and local officials will come together today at the first White House conference on AIDS. The morning's program will feature "subgroup" meetings on issues including research, prevention, and care of people with AIDS. President Clinton will then hold a round-table forum with representatives from each group to discuss the AIDS epidemic in the United States, according to White House spokeswoman Cathy McKiernan. "Lifeline: AIDS Benefit" USA Today (12/06/95) P. 1D; Vigoda, Arlene In December 1996, opera singer Jessye Norman will perform in a benefit concert at New York's Riverside Church to help increase AIDS awareness among blacks. Proceeds from the event--which will also feature orchestras, choruses, dancers, and spirituals--will be donated to Balm in Gilead Inc., an AIDS awareness group. "Prayer Power?" Washington Times (12/06/95) P. A2 Harvard researcher Herbert Benson claims that saying prayers or repeating words or sounds can alleviate symptoms of AIDS, lower high blood pressure, and cure infertility. These repetitions, he says, allow "many people ... to trigger a specific set of physiological changes." Benson, a professor at Harvard Medical School, calls this method "the relaxation response" and contends that it can lower the rate of breathing and brainwave activity. Although he cites as evidence studies which showed that the relaxation response reduced visits to health maintenance organizations by more than one-third, Benson cautions that he recommends prayer only as part of a three-part approach to illness--the other two being medicine and surgery, when needed. "Australia to Ban AIDS Sufferers from Military" Reuters (12/05/95) Individuals with HIV, AIDS, or other chronic diseases will be prohibited from joining the Australian military. "The function of our defence force is to protect Australia and its citizens, and our servicemen and women must be fit to serve anywhere and at anytime as directed by the government," said acting Defence Minister Gary Punch on Tuesday. Punch added that proposed new measures which exclude the defense forces from anti-discrimination laws guaranteed that military personnel were of "the highest medical standard." Senior ministers approved the plan on Tuesday. Punch further explained that the Australian government was not discriminating against people with HIV and AIDS, noting that the prohibition also included such diseases as asthma, diabetes, gout, and recurrent migraines. "Catholic University Installs Condom Machines" Reuters (12/05/95) The University of Leuven, a 17th-century Catholic school in Belgium, has sparked controversy by installing condom machines on campus. Professor Dirk van Gerven, head of a student relations committee, explained that the vending machines were a responsible approach to AIDS. The action, however, could cause problems, because the Catholic Church prohibits the use of artificial birth control. "Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia in Zimbabwe" Lancet (11/11/95) Vol. 346, No. 8985, P. 1258; Malin, Adam S.; Gwanzura, Lovemore K.Z.; Klein, Susanne; et al. During the course of one year, report Malin and his colleagues, 64 HIV-positive Africans with acute diffuse pneumonia unresponsive to penicillin and sputum smear-negative for acid-fast bacilli had fibreoptic bronchoscopy performed. One third of those patients had Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), nearly 40 percent had tuberculosis (TB), and about 10 percent of these were co-infected with both PCP and TB. The strongest independent predictor of PCP was fine reticulonodular shadowing on the chest radiograph, and the best clinical predictor of the disease was a respiratory rate greater than 40/min. The average CD4 cell count for all PCP cases was 134, while the median for TB not in the presence of PCP was 206. According to the scientists, these factors should be incorporated into regionally applicable algorithms for diagnosis and treatment in nations with few available resources. "Peptide T: Negative Trial Result" AIDS Treatment News (11/03/95) No. 234, P. 8; James, John S. A federal study of more than 200 subjects with AIDS-related cognitive impairment found no evidence that peptide T was useful in the treatment of this disorder. During the trial, the participants received either peptide T or a placebo for six months, after which time each was given peptide T for an additional six months. The treatment group evidenced no statistically significant improvements over the placebo group. The researchers also observed no toxicity related to peptide T.