Announcements:

(1) ddC/ddI Comparison Study Recruiting

A major trial to compare antivirals ddC and ddI is now seeking 400 participants in cities throughout the United States. Volunteers must either be at least age 13, be unable to tolerate AZT or have failed treatment with that drug, and must have T- helper counts of 300 or less, or have an AIDS diagnosis.

The trial will take place at sites in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, New Haven, New Orleans, New York (sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Bronx), Newark, Portland, Richmond, San Francisco, Tucson, Washington DC, and Wilmington. The research is being conducted by the Community Based Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS (CPCRA), a community-based trials network in the U. S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Most of the trial sites should be open for enrollment now. For more information, call the AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service, 800/TRIALS-A.


(2) BRM (Biological Response Modifiers) Conference, March 22-24 in Quebec City

The First International Congress on Biological Response Modifiers will be held March 22-24, 1991 at the Hilton International Qubec, Qubec City, Canada. The conference is organized by the Inter-American Society for Chemotherapy.

The following description is from the conference brochure:

"The exciting and challenging field of BRM represents a revolutionary approach to the treatment of several pathological processes. BRM offers the potential for the development of breakthrough therapies against cancer and a wide range of infectious conditions, including AIDS.

"As the First International Conference on Biological Response Modifiers, this meeting is of immediate importance to physicians involved in both clinical practice and investigative research, as well as research scientists from academia, the pharmaceutical industry, and biotechnology organizations."

A list of scientific topics includes: BRM in AIDS, BRM in cancer, BRM in bacterial, parasitic, fungal and viral diseases, BRM as antiviral agents, BRM and the immune system, BRM and hematopoiesis, BRM and anti-HIV drugs, colony stimulating factors, other growth factors, interferons, interleukins, tumor necrosis factor, leukotrienes, and platelet activating factor.

[Note: the term "biological response modifiers" is not new, but the area is now receiving intense scientific interest. The phrase has sometimes been used interchangeably with "immune modulators," but "biological response modifiers" is more general, in that the same mechanisms which control the immune system also control growth and other functions of many cells.]

The conference will be held in English.

For more information, call Michel G. Bergeron, M. D., 418/654-2705, or 418/654-2715 (fax).

(3) HIV Entry Ban Will Be Removed

On January 23 the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services formally published a proposal to end the restrictions against travelers and immigrants with HIV entering the United States. Leprosy and several sexually transmitted diseases were also removed from the list, leaving tuberculosis as the only disease for which persons will be excluded. The new rule will not take effect until June 1.

The HIV visitor ban caused major problems for the International Conference on AIDS in San Francisco last June. Over 100 organizations, including the International League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the British Medical Association, and the European Parliament, boycotted the conference because the travel restrictions had no medical rationale and made it difficult for delegates to attend. Later, Harvard University said that it would withdraw its sponsorship of the 1992 Conference unless the restrictions were changed.

The Department's intent to remove the ban was widely reported in early January 1991.

(4) Orange County, California, AIDS Conference, March 5

A one-day conference, "HIV/AIDS on the Front Line; Resources and Strategies for Physicians and Allied Health Professionals" will be held March 5 in Garden Grove, California. It is sponsored by the Orange County Medical Society, the University of California Irvine Medical Center, and a number of other medical and AIDS organizations.

Topics include treatment and prevention of opportunistic infections, ethical issues, legal issues, occupational exposure, and a panel discussion on the future of the epidemic.

For a copy of the conference brochure or for other information, call Orange County AIDS Coordination, 714/834-8798.

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Statement of Purpose

AIDS TREATMENT NEWS reports on experimental and complementary treatments, especially those available now. It collects information from medical journals, and from interviews with scientists, physicians, and other health practitioners, and persons with AIDS or HIV.

Long-term survivors have usually tried many different treatments, and found combinations which work for them. AIDS TREATMENT NEWS does not recommend particular therapies, but seeks to increase the options available.

We also examine the ethical and public-policy issues around AIDS treatment research and treatment access.

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