Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0001175 (AIDS)
 120,706 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

To investigate whether human immunodeficiency virus type 1 pol gene mutations are selected during prolonged 2',3'-dideoxycytidine (ddC) therapy, we used the polymerase chain reaction to amplify a portion of the reverse transcriptase segment of the pol gene from the peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA of a patient with AIDS before and after an 80-week course of ddC therapy. The consensus sequence from the second sample contained a unique double mutation (ACT to GAT) in the codon for reverse transcriptase amino acid 69, causing substitution of aspartic acid (Asp) for the wild-type threonine (Thr). A mutation (ACA to ATA) also occurred in the codon for position 165, causing substitution of isoleucine (Ile) for Thr. The GAT (Asp) codon was introduced into the pol gene of a molecular clone of human immunodeficiency virus via site-directed mutagenesis. Following transfection, mutant and wild-type viruses were tested for susceptibility to ddC by a plaque reduction assay. The mutant virus was fivefold less susceptible to ddC than the wild type; cross-resistance to 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine or 2'3'-dideoxyinosine was not found. The Ile-165 mutation did not confer additional ddC resistance. The Asp-69 substitution may have contributed to the generation of resistant virus in this patient.
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PMID:Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 pol gene mutations which cause decreased susceptibility to 2',3'-dideoxycytidine. 131 43

A summary of events at the Second International Conference for Non-Governmental Organizations working on AIDS, held in Paris November 1-4, 1990 is presented with comments on the effectiveness of arrangement, planning and sessions. The meeting was fraught with obstacles, the worst of which was a change of venue from San Francisco to Paris at the last minute, with serious consequences to speakers whose U.S. travel funds had to be found elsewhere. The goal of the conference was to facilitate international networking among AIDS Service, national and regional organizations. To this end 44 sessions were held informally. Plenary sessions were marked by moving presentations of such items as an international memorial quilt, and topics such as how children and women are affected by HIV, and how human rights abuses are often unseen. The need for solidarity among NGOs was stressed by Dr. J. Mann, who noted that NGOs perform up to half the health care in some countries. The major substance of the conference was 5 Seminar tracks of 5.5 hours duration on the topics of services and care, education and prevention, drugs and treatment, human rights, and organizational development. Human rights recognized internationally were described, but in some places lack of resources makes them a privilege. Illegal drug programs, decriminalization and research on cultural obstacles were within the broad range of issues addressed under services and care. While traditional symptomatic treatments and older drugs such as gentian violet as a treatment for candidiasis are being developed in African countries, serious social problems arise when people sell their possessions for a few doses of AZT or Kemron there. In the seminars on organizational development useful exchanges between major donors and project organizers explored professional methods of applying for grants, as well as accounting for funds spent later. ICASO the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations was ratified and a meeting in Florence in June 1991 was authorized, with reservations of those who felt that regional cooperation is needed even more. Problems and incidents marked other aspects of the meeting, from lack of translators, photocopiers, accommodations, refreshments, and late starting to an ill-timed demonstration during the last Plenary session address of Dr. Mann by ACT-UP France. Larger problems of balance of interests and priorities, and whether there are too many AIDS conferences must also be approached.
AIDS Care 1991
PMID:Policies for solidarity. A personal view of the Second International Conference for non governmental organizations working on AIDS, Paris 1-4 November 1990. 167 73

Members of groups such as ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) risk arrest and criminal charges to protest laws and policies they view as unjust to persons with AIDS. Spiers, a founding member of ACT UP, discusses the rationale behind the tactics of civil disobedience employed by AIDS activists. He argues that civil disobedience is justified by American political and legal traditions, and by the federal government's lack of response to the needs of its citizens. Spiers warns that while AIDS protests have been nonviolent and characterized by conscientious planning and execution, violence cannot be ruled out as a "political act born of desperation."
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PMID:AIDS and civil disobedience. 260 59

The World Health Organization (WHO) was criticized at the 9th International Conference on AIDS in Berlin by an ACT UP spokesman for lacking a coordinated strategy against HIV and AIDS. ACT UP further called for the implementation of networks of effective treatment and care programs in lieu of continued pilot projects, and urged the World Bank to write off loans to nations most jeopardized by AIDS. Dr. Dean Jamison of the Bank discounted the viability of such loan forgiveness on the basis of equity. Funding should instead come from developing countries with the help of developed nations, the private sector, and international bodies. Declining age at first intercourse has led to half of all HIV infections worldwide occurring among individuals under age 25 years; HIV spread among the young is the main driving force behind the pandemic. Professor Peter Piot of WHO emphasized the importance of focusing efforts on women; paying attention to nongovernmental organizations as a group which receives 15% of WHO country funding; and taking issue with those who claim that no HIV/AIDS epidemic exists in Africa. Coordinated action taken to provide condoms, treat sexually transmitted diseases, and eradicate HIV could prevent up to 4 million infections in Africa, 4 million in Asia, and 1 million in Latin America. The director of the WHO's Global Program on AIDS, Dr. Michael Merson, asserted that half of all new HIV infections predicted for the developing world for the rest of the decade could be prevented if another $1.5-2.9 billion annually were invested in nations' HIV prevention strategies. These investments would save $90 billion in health costs and lost economic activity by the end of the century. Such an outlay is minuscule next to the $49 billion cost to Kuwait of the military Operation Desert Storm.
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PMID:Preventing AIDS in the developing world. 809 96

Needle exchange in the United States is a part of the AIDS direct action movement. Activists around the country, refusing to wait for health officials to create AIDS interventions for drug users, have taken the task upon themselves. Prevention Point in San Francisco, the National AIDS Brigade in Boston, and ACT UP/New York all run illegal programs in their locales, and member of all three groups have been arrested for their work. Tacoma, Seattle, and New Haven now have authorized programs, but only after Dave Purchase in Tacoma, ACT UP Seattle, and the National AIDS Brigade and ACES in New Haven demonstrated that needle exchange was a viable and necessary public health intervention. Health/PAC here presents some of the stories from this citizen's health action movement.
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PMID:A thousand points ... needle exchange around the country. 1017 Jun 18

Though at times tumultuous, the 6th International Conference on AIDS, hosted by in San Francisco, avoided the polarization of previous conferences and achieved a political success. Conference participants vehemently objected to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's policy of barring homosexuals and HIV carriers from entering the country, a practice that remained unchanged for the conference. Over 80 organizations boycotted the conference. Displeasure with US government policies was also evident when AIDS activists drowned out the speech by Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan. While paper presentations by notable researchers appeared to be mostly a formality, since most of the information had already been published, useful exchanges did occur when scientists were, for a day, allowed to display abstracts on their latest research. But perhaps the most popular printed item on the conference was ACT UP's Research Agenda, a handout prepared by the AIDS activist group listing a series of drugs that should be tested and treatments that should be tried. Participants heard the disturbing news of the spread of the epidemic, of how 3.5 million Africans are infected, and of how Brazilian teenagers are at great risk of infection. Furthermore, participants discussed the high cost of AIDS care in the US (estimated at $85,000/patient) and the reluctance of insurance companies to cover AIDS-stricken patients. Aside from the exchange of information, the conference's real success came in the political arena, establishing itself as policymaker and champion of the affected.
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PMID:AIDS at the beginning of the second decade. 1018 28

AIDS in Africa is killing more people than all of Africa's armed conflicts during this century--this is what delegates heard at the 11th International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Lusaka, Zambia, September 12-16, 1999. The epidemic has been contained in the rich Northern Hemisphere. But why the difference? Delegates considered many reasons, such as war, crumbling health infrastructure, increasing unemployment, and poverty. The conference concentrated on the impact of HIV/AIDS on communities, and on socioeconomic, ethical, political, and legal factors. Only one of the five sessions was devoted to basic science and clinical care. There was realism concerning the limited role of antiretroviral therapy and excitement concerning improved prevention of parent-to-child transmission, especially if single-dose nevirapine proves effective. Delegates emphasized the need for more research and development of vaccines, the female condom, and vaginal virucides, all of which are commercially unattractive to drug companies. Callisto Medavo, World Bank vice-president, launched ACT-Africa, which promises extra resources, enhanced treatment, and more technical support. Together these should assist African leaders and mobilize civil society and the private sector to intensify action against HIV/AIDS. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, also emphasized the vital importance of sustained political involvement at the highest level to contain the pandemic and prevent this regional crisis from becoming a global catastrophe.
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PMID:African AIDS conference offers hope for the future. 1050 13

The 10th International Conference on AIDS was the first to be held in Asia. Many street activists boycotted it because of Japan's relatively small incidence of AIDS, because Japan was too expensive and excludes immigration and travel of HIV-infected individuals, and because the conference should have been held in the Southern Hemisphere. However, Japan has the money and power needed to target the coming epidemic in the less economically well-endowed parts of Asia, and has the conference facilities and the desire to host the conference. ACT UP/New York officially sent only one delegate, but many treatment activists and a diverse community of PWAs attended. Japan's response to the coming epidemic has been quick and certain. At the opening ceremonies, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Murayama spoke movingly of Japan's commitment to persons with AIDS and to applying national resources to this global problem.
Crit Path AIDS Proj
PMID:Yokohama report: an activist's journal. 1136 53

SmithKline's drug, albendazole, is used in treating a range of parasitic worms. Several studies have shown that albendazole is effective in treating extreme diarrhea caused by two intestinal protozoan species. SmithKline has an on-going, 66-person study of albendazole in AIDS-related microsporidiosis, but enrollment has been meager. The company also operates a compassionate release program for albendazole as an alternative to the trial. Doctors can obtain more information by calling SmithKline at (800)877-7074, ext.3909. ACT UP/New York would like to hear from people who are having trouble obtaining albendazole through this program by calling James Learned at (718)399-0042. Another option for obtaining the drug is through AIDS buyers' clubs, which obtain it from Europe and Mexico.
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PMID:Albendazole. 1136 64

With the hundreds of possible antiretroviral drugs and combinations available, it is imperative that a process of rapid screening in vivo be developed so that life-extending and life-saving combinations can be made available to those who need them. Bill Bahlman, an activist with the Treatment and Data Committee of ACT UP/New York, who is trying to get members of the Inter-Company Collaboration for AIDS Drug Development (ICC) to sponsor trials, has developed a proposal to test only one open label combination at a time. New open label combination screening studies would be started at a minimum of one per month. Each trial would involve thirty patients for a length of six weeks, and no longer than ten weeks. Each study would test three, four, or more drugs in combination. Any number of approved and/or unapproved drugs can be used in combination together. Endpoints would include CD4 and CD8 numbers and percentages, and drug safety and toxicity. Drug combinations providing a great viral suppression and a great improvement in lymphocyte count and percentage would rapidly be put into a controlled phase III study with other such combinations. Volunteers should be given continued access to the study regimen, open label, regardless of the study results. The controversy of the design is that it proposes an uncontrolled trial, since there is no randomly assigned control group to compare the test regimen against.
AIDS Treat News 1995 Apr 21
PMID:Proposal: small trials for screening antiviral combinations. 1136 3


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