 Newsflash ~ May 2008
GLOBAL: "Call for Fresh Thinking as AIDS Pandemic Marks Quarter Century" [Agence France Presse, Richard Ingham, 5.19.08]
HIV was discovered 25 years ago this Monday. At a three-day meeting at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, AIDS experts reviewed medical progress and called for new ideas, young talent, as well as more funds to invigorate the war against AIDS.
Successes in the fight include the swift identification of the virus and the advent of the "triple cocktail" of drugs in the mid-1990s, which transformed AIDS treatment and patient survival.
Setbacks include the lack of an AIDS vaccine or an HIV-blocking vaginal gel to protect women. These failures show that basic questions remain to be answered about HIV's properties and how it invades immune cells, participants said.
"We still don't completely understand the various forms of the virus," said France's Luc Montagnier, who with Robert Gallo of the United States identified HIV as the cause of AIDS.
"We need to go back to the question of basic research, to have new ideas, new teams, to take a new look at cellular biology," said Jean-Francois Delfraissy, director of France's National Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS).
Alice Dautry, head of the Pasteur Institute, said the next phase of AIDS research needs a "multidisciplinary approach, for looking at the problem through different eyes." Gallo called for rethinking vaccine strategies. "Some fundamental biological questions are needed [to be addressed] before some vaccines go forward, or we tend to waste money, produce a depressing atmosphere in the field, and take money away from the basic science that is needed right now," he said.
Gallo also attacked a tendency for people to sideline AIDS as a manageable disease in the age of antiretroviral drugs. He pointed out that only a fraction of people living in Africa who need treatment actually receive it. POZ News Desk: Rallying Behind HIV Vaccine Research [5.19.08]
To commemorate National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on Sunday, May 18, AIDS groups and experts issued press releases and launched initiatives aimed at sparking a resurgence of interest and commitment to finding a safe and effective vaccine for HIV.
“Basic HIV vaccine research must remain one of the many prevention strategies being pursued at a national level,” writes Rebecca Haag, executive director of advocacy group AIDS Action, in a press release. “We will continue to advocate for HIV vaccine research here in Washington, DC, and raise awareness of and support for HIV vaccine research across the country.”
The 11th annual awareness day, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, came on the heels of dissension in the AIDS community surrounding the value of vaccine research.
This past March, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) called for more funding to be spent on strategies that have been proven effective, such as prevention, routine testing and treatment—instead of vaccine research. According to the AHF, the failures of recent vaccine trials—including a Merck trial that may have increased participants’ risk of contracting HIV—served as evidence of a rationale for shifting funding away from vaccine trials.
However, many vaccine supporters have spoken out against this argument, pointing to the importance of spending time and money on vaccine research.
“The failure of one vaccine candidate does not signify the failure of all HIV vaccine research. This setback, as have others, may be a stepping-stone to future success,” says Haag in her statement.
Other groups, including the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) and the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), released similar statements asking people not to give up on the idea that an effective HIV vaccine can be developed.
“An accessible preventive vaccine against AIDS could have a profound impact both on our efforts to prevent further spread as well as stigma associated with the disease and those living with it,” says NAPWA President and CEO, Frank J. Oldham Jr. in a statement.
NMAC is holding an HIV Vaccine Awareness poster contest, which invites artists to create posters encouraging people to join the fight against AIDS and learn more about HIV vaccines. Entries are due by June 30, 2008. (Click here to learn more.)
“Vaccines [have] often taken many years to develop, and must be tested in multiple trials with a diverse range of people to ensure that they work for the entire population,” said Paul A. Kawata, NMAC’s executive director, in a National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day statement. “If we want make this much-needed HIV prevention tool a reality faster, we all need to work together to raise awareness around, and participate in, vaccine research.” | Effectiveness of Antiretroviral Therapy Causing 'Complacency' Among High-Risk Groups, Opinion Piece Says [Kaiser HIV/AIDS Report, 5.16.08]
HIV/AIDS clinicians and scientists have been "witness to a transformation in disease management that is virtually unprecedented in the history of medicine," Mark Wainberg, director of McGill University's AIDS Centre at Jewish General Hospital, and Julio Montaner, director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, write in a National Post opinion piece. According to the authors, antiretroviral drugs "now enable HIV-[positive] individuals to survive indefinitely with good quality life." However, an "unintended consequence" of the development of antiretrovirals has been to "convince thousands of members of vulnerable populations that an [HIV-positive] status may not be harmful," they add.
According to Wainberg and Montaner, numbers of AIDS-related deaths have "drastically dropped" since the introduction of the first successful antiretroviral regimens in the mid-1990s. Yet it "now appears as though these successes may be responsible for growing numbers" of new HIV cases among injection drug users, men who have sex with men and other vulnerable groups, they note.
The authors write that HIV/AIDS experts should "confront the reality" that achievements in antiretroviral therapy have led to "complacency in regard to high-risk sexual behavior that, in turn, has resulted in steep rises in numbers of new cases." They add, "Clearly, we have to do a much better job in regard to public health, if we are to have any chance at limiting the spread of HIV."
In addition, some "physicians now often proclaim that HIV disease has been converted into a chronic manageable condition and that the use of [antiretrovirals] to prolong life is akin to the use of insulin by diabetics or anti-hypertension medications by people at risk of coronary disease or stroke," according to the authors.
According to Wainberg and Montaner, one way to address this issue is to "make sure that vulnerable individuals understand" that antiretrovirals might not "work as well as we would like them to." Although the drugs are effective at blocking replication of the virus, there is "growing evidence" that HIV-positive people are more susceptible to a number of cancers and other conditions that are "rare in the general population," they write.
Wainberg and Montaner add that the "most likely explanation" for this evidence is that the virus causes "irreparable damage to the immune system, weakening natural surveillance systems that defend against cancer." They conclude, "Perhaps it is fear of cancer and not HIV itself that will encourage people at risk to desist from high-risk sexual behavior and lead over time to reductions in numbers of new cases of HIV transmission" (Wainberg/Montaner, National Post, 5/15). Dr. Bernie Branson Spoke on Recommendations To Expand HIV Infection Screening [5.13.08] Honolulu -- Associate Director for Lab Diagnostics for HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Bernie Branson, spoke at the Diamond Head Health Center yesterday on recommendations aimed to expand screening of  HIV infection. The recommendations aim to expand screening to improve early diagnosis of HIV infection. They encourage possible changes in state laws, regulations or policies in the areas of written informed consent, opt-out testing, and pre-test counseling in health care settings. These recommendations were the subject of several bills that were introduced in the recent Hawaii legislative session and may be reintroduced again next year. The recommendations have also been discussed by the Hawaii HIV Community Planning Group (CPG), by local health care providers and professional organizations and within the STD/AIDS Prevention Branch. Dr. Branson is the nation's leading authority on this issue and spearheaded the development and publication of the recommendations in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. He speaks at many national and regional meetings on the many issues related to HIV testing and how more people can know their HIV status. Dr. Branson has been to Hawaii previously to provide technical assistance to expand our HIV testing system from the Department of Health out into the community through community-based partner agencies. He has also shared his expertise to support the introduction of rapid HIV testing in Hawaii. The recommendations and related Information are available at www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/testing/healthcare/ . information isn't released, the agency said. | Washington, D.C., Council Member Recommends Eliminating HIV, Syphilis Test Requirements for Marriage Licenses [Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5.29.08]
Washington, D.C., council member Phil Mendelson (D), head of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, recently recommended eliminating a provision from a marriage bill that would require couples applying for marriage licenses to be tested for HIV/AIDS and syphilis, the Washington Post reports. The Safe Marriage Amendment Act -- proposed in December 2007 by council members Yvette Alexander (D), Marion Barry (D) and Harry Thomas (D) -- would add a test for HIV/AIDS to the already required syphilis test, the Post reports.
The bill also encourages couples to receive premarital counseling. Those who receive the counseling would pay $35 for a marriage license rather than $65. According to the Post, "nearly every state" in the U.S. has rescinded similar laws. However, there are some states that encourage premarital education and two states that screen for bloodborne diseases: Mississippi for syphilis and Montana for rubella.
Mendelson -- who along with council member Tommy Wells (D) originally co-sponsored the bill -- is now proposing to eliminate the HIV/AIDS and syphilis requirements in the measure because of issues related to "privacy and liberty," the Post reports. Mendelson also introduced an amendment to the current law to repeal a section that prohibits the "marriage of an idiot or of a person adjudged to be a lunatic." On Tuesday, the Committee of the Whole accepted a report by the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary with Mendelson's recommendations.
Alexander said she stands behind the original bill, adding, "Accepting the report is not necessarily accepting [Mendelson's] amendments." An HIV/AIDS test could save lives, Alexander said. She added, "You may still marry that person. I think it is for both of you to take. ... Especially with the [HIV/AIDS] epidemic in the district, we would set a precedent" (Stewart/Davis, Washington Post, 5/29). Exercise Benefits Mind and Body [5.13.08, www.poz.com]
Exercise can provide both physical and mental benefits for people living with HIV, The Sacramento Bee reports (sacbee.com, 5/13).
According to the article, many HIV-positive people begin exercise regimens or endurance training in order to boost their immune systems and help fight off illness.
Studies have also shown that exercise can help manage symptoms of metabolic syndrome, which increases a person’s risk for heart disease and diabetes. It can also lead to improved circulation and nervous-system function in people living with HIV.
The article also reports on the psychological benefits of exercise.
“For me, the effects are more psychological than biochemical,” Bob Katz, a member of an HIV-positive cycling club in California, told The Sacramento Bee. “Having a sense of self-worth, feeling comfortable in your body, is something exercising will do.” Award-Winning Hepatitis Treatment Campaign Featured on Honolulu Buses (5.1.08)
Honolulu--County buses will feature a unique poster encouraging hepatitis testing and treatment beginning May 1, 2008. The award-winning “Bruises Hepatitis” campaign was used in the bus posters and represents the collaborative efforts of The Hepatitis Support Network of Hawaii; The Hawaiian National Communications Corporation; Street Beat; The Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Center; Aloha United Way’s 211; Roche Laboratories; Hawaii Department of Health; Dr. Alan Tice at Access Care Today; and Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training (AANCART).
One in twelve people are infected with hepatitis worldwide. Therefore, in an effort to educate our community about risk factors and testing availability, this special four-month bus poster campaign will start at the beginning of May which is National Hepatitis Awareness Month.
Hawaii has the high rate of liver cancer in the USA due to the silent epidemics of hepatitis B & C. Most people will not feel ill until it may be too late to be treated successfully. Earlier screening and Hepatitis B vaccinations can help stop the spread of disease and help prevent liver cancer.
Reginald Ho, MD, Oncologist at Straub Clinic & Hospital and Principal Investigator of AANCART (Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training) says "Liver cancer is one of the five leading causes of cancer deaths in Hawaii's Asian and Pacific Islander populations and it is mainly caused by hepatitis infection. If you are first generation from an Asian country or from a Pacific Island, you are especially vulnerable, and you should be tested and possibly vaccinated."
One hundred twenty extra posters have been printed for organizations, businesses, health clinics, churches and schools in Hawaii that would like to help promote this health awareness campaign by posting one of these posters in May. |