AIDS Daily Summary July 27, 1994 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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. "Team Finds HIV Immune System Booster" United Press International (07/27/94) Japanese scientists announced that their collaborative HIV research with an Australian team may support a disease-fighting strategy that calls for the injection of patients with their own lymphocytes. The method is based on the premise that lymphocytes attack foreign invaders in the body--but that quantities of these key immune-system agents drop significantly in HIV patients. An Australian team, headed by John Dwyer, conducted the experiment, and the Japanese team, led by Takashi Kurimura, did the research. Dwyer's group extracted highly active and healthy lymphocytes, matching them to those of an HIV-positive young man, and transferred the lymphocytes to him. After the procedure, the virus decreased dramatically. The young man regained his immunity, and the treatment still proved to be effective six months later. "Gores to Participate in AIDS Fund-Raiser" Washington Times (07/27/94) P. C5 Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, will lead the parade of AIDS education and prevention advocates in the annual AIDSWALK, scheduled for Sept. 24. Washington, D.C., Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, and various members of Congress will also be in attendance. Organizers expect 40,000 people to participate, and hope to raise $1.7 million to benefit the Whitman-Walker Clinic. "Marketing Female Condom Is a Challenge" Wall Street Journal (07/27/94) P. B4; Goldman, Kevin Marketing the first female condom, due in American stores next month, will not be an easy task. Sales of over-the-counter female contraceptives, including spermicidal sponges, jellies, and foams, have been falling at a steady pace, according to Towne-Oller Associates. And, despite an aggressive advertising campaign by the federal government, male condom sales were flat in the first four months of 1994. Wisconsin Pharmacal, maker of the Reality female condom, admits the hurdle this presents. Fearing that women who buy the product without understanding it will become discouraged and never buy it again, the company says it will focus its first phase of advertising on educating the consumer, instead of pushing the product. Print ads--which will appear in fall editions of such magazines as Essence, Mademoiselle, and Cosmopolitan--inform women that "Reality female condoms were designed to protect you and your partner against sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS." "Safeskin Gloves Find Growing Market in Health Care Industry" Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (07/27/94) Engineer Neil Braverman started Safeskin--the first company to market hypoallergenic examination gloves--in response to the concerns of health-care professionals who were worried about contracting infectious diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis B. Although more doctors, nurses, and dentists were using latex gloves, supply was short and some gloves had defects that rendered them ineffective. In addition, some workers experienced adverse reactions to the gloves after long hours of use. Safeskin's hypoallergenic gloves cost about 15 percent more than conventional latex gloves, but that isn't stopping hospitals and other medical providers from stocking up on them. "When we looked at the market, we said 'Hey, all the other manufacturers are making as many gloves as cheap as they can to protect health-care workers from the AIDS patients,"' said Richard Jaffe, the company's co-chief executive and vice chairman. "We designed a glove to protect health-care workers from their gloves." "Freed of Life Sentence, Md. Man Heads Home" Washington Post (07/27/94) P. B1; Mooar, Brian Christopher Clugston, incarcerated for more than a decade for a murder he says he did not commit, was released from a Florida prison after the state governor granted him executive clemency amid increasing evidence of his innocence. Although he is now a free man, Clugston will remain a prisoner of the HIV infection he acquired during a gang rape in jail. By releasing him, Florida is no longer responsible for providing years of expensive treatment for Clugston's condition. "Japan Says It Has 71 More AIDS Victims, Carriers" Reuters (07/26/94) An official of the Japanese Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that the country confirmed 71 new HIV/AIDS patients--46 of whom were Japanese--in May and June. The figure excludes individuals who acquired the virus through blood transfusions. As of the end of June, Japan has a total of 764 AIDS patients and 3,075 HIV carriers, the official said. He added that 16 people had died as a result of AIDS in the past two months, increasing the death toll from the disease to 441. "Chicago Tribune On the Law Column: A Thank You" Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (07/26/94); Crawford, Bill; Greensburg, Jan Crawford Shawn Smith, who claims he was fired from his job at Dovenmuehle Mortgage Inc. in Schaumburg because he has AIDS, was one of the first to file suit against an employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case was settled out of court when Dovenmuehle agreed to pay Smith $160,000 in damages and back pay, reinstate him in his old job, and provide him with health insurance for the rest of his life. As a thank-you to those who helped him, Smith presented the AIDS Legal Council with a $10,000 check so the organization can help others battle discrimination. "British Insurers Change AIDS Question" United Press International (07/26/94) The Association of British Insurers suggests that companies simply ask applicants if they have ever had a positive HIV or AIDS test, instead of requiring information about negative HIV test results or previous AIDS counseling. "Immunomedics Awarded U.S. Patent on Imaging Agent for Pathogen-Specific Infectious Diseases" Business Wire (07/26/94) Immunomedics Inc. has been granted a U.S. patent covering imaging methods and kits for targeting diagnostic agents to various infections. The methods involve nuclear or magnetic resonance imaging. "We have invented agents and methods for disease-or-organism-specific imaging, which could be useful for better diagnosis and detection, as well as developing effective therapies," said Dr. David M. Goldenberg, Immunomedics inventor and chairman. "The targeting agents are polyspecific antibodies against these pathogens, which include such prevalent and threatening organisms as the HIV of AIDS and Hepatitis virus; Legionella, Streptococci, Tuberculosis and E. Coli bacteria; and Malaria, Toxoplasma, and other dangerous parasites."