Announcements

** FLT : New Trial in New York, Baltimore, Chapel Hill

A 16-week trial of FLT (fluorothymidine), an antiviral in
the same class as AZT but which might have advantages as a
therapy, is beginning at the Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer
Center in New York City, Johns Hopkins University in Balitmore,
and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Volunteers
must have AIDS or ARC, a T-helper count under 300, and no history
of AZT intolerance.

The first human trial of FLT, in 14 volunteers, was
completed in September 1991. FLT has similar bone-marrow
toxicity as AZT, but it might have a larger range between
therapeutic and toxic doses. It might also differ from AZT in
viral resistance.

Three different oral doses will be tested in the new study:
0.125, 0.063, and 0.031 mg/kg per day. Volunteers will be
randomly assigned to one of these doses. Blood levels of FLT
will be measured and doses adjusted accordingly. Antiviral
activity will be measured by changes in T-helper count, free and
immune complexed p24 antigen, and quantitative HIV cultures.

All costs except transportation will be paid by Lederle
Laboratories, the sponsor of this study.

For more information or to volunteer for this trial, call
Mark Dickmeyer, R. N., Infectious Disease Service, Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 212/639-8404; the Clinical
Pharmacology Drug Development Unit at Johns Hopkins, 301/955-
3422; or Cherrie Robinson, R. N., University of North Carolina,
919/966-6712.

Note: AIDS TREATMENT NEWS published a brief article on FLT
over three years ago (issue #72, January 13, 1989); we listed the
drug as one of the most important new treatments to watch in
1989. We also published a brief update in issue #119, January
18, 1991.

** Pentoxifylline: AmFAR Supports CRIA Trial in New York

A pilot study at the Community Research Initiative on AIDS
(CRIA) will test pentoxifylline (brand name Trental), a
prescription drug usually used to treat a clotting disorder in
the elderly, as a potential treatment for HIV infection.
Volunteers must have a T-helper count under 300. They will be
randomly assigned to receive either pentoxifylline or placebo for
the 16-week trial. Volunteers will receive blood tests for TNF
levels, and for alpha interferon levels.

In early human studies, pentoxifylline reduced the level of
tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in the blood, with apparent clinical
benefit for persons with AIDS and with cancer. TNF levels are
often abnormally high in people with AIDS. High TNF levels can
cause wasting syndrome and anemia. In addition, in laboratory
tests TNF has been shown to increase HIV replication. And two
scientific teams have found anti-HIV activity of pentoxifylline
in test-tube studies.

Pentoxifylline is already in use as an HIV treatment by some
physicians. The purpose of the CRIA study is to quickly provide
safety and efficacy information to guide physicians in using this
drug in AIDS treatment. The study is being supported by a
$100,000 grant from the American Foundation for AIDS Research
(AmFAR). The principal investigator is Joseph Sonnabend, M. D.

For more information or to volunteer for this study, call
CRIA at 212/889-1958.

** Early Intervention Guidelines: Public Testimony Sought

by John S. James

An expert panel sponsored by the Federal Government is
developing guidelines for medical treatment of persons who are
HIV positive but asymptomatic. Physicians, community
representatives, and others who wish to comment on what these
guidelines should be can either mail written comments before
March 10 to the address below, or testify in person on March 10
at a public hearing in New York City.

The panel, of 21 AIDS experts (physicians and other medical
professionals, and community representatives) was set up by the
Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care,
which is part of the U. S. Agency for Health Care Policy and
Research (AHCPR). It held its West Coast hearing in San
Francisco on February 10, 1992, and will hold its East Coast
hearing on Tuesday, March 10, 1992, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1
p.m. to 5 p.m., at the St. Moritz on the Park Hotel, 50 Central
Park South, New York.

If you wish to speak at the meeting, you should register in
advance at the address below. (At the San Francisco meeting,
however, it was not necessary to register, as the event was not
heavily publicized and few people showed up. This writer spoke,
without having planned to do so, on the need for flexibility in
early intervention standards, in view of the movement toward
earlier treatment, and toward combination antiviral therapy.)

Send written comments, or a letter stating your plan to
testify at the March 10 meeting, to the panel's support
contractor at the following address:


Mikalix (M & C)
Attn: Carol Delaney
950 Winter Street, Suite 2450
Waltham, MA 02154
Phone: 617/290-0090; fax: 617/290-0180.