Faculty Bibliography

Dr. S. Mitchell Harman of the National Institute on Aging said the findings were 'ambiguous' because of the study's design. Since the participants were interviewed only once, a problem of the study is the inability to determine how often impotence improved or worsened over time and how often it was permanent, Harman said. The study also indicated that impotence may herald serious disease of the heart and blood vessels. Low amounts of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, the good form of cholesterol, were also significantly correlated with impotence. Harman said this correlation deserved further study in search of a therapy. At the age of 40, 5 percent of men in the study reported complete impotence. By 70, the prevalence of complete impotence had tripled to 15 percent. Fifty-two percent of men aged from 40 to 70 had experienced varying degrees of impotence

In one series of studies directed against the cytomegalovirus eye infection, known as CMV retinitis, the oral form of the drug ganciclovir was found to be about as effective as when injected into a vein. The finding holds promise of improving the quality of life for many AIDS patients with CMV retinitis. These patients must now keep a tube in place in a vein, which carries a risk of infection. Fluconazole showed significant benefit in delaying two types of fungal infections, invasive and superficial. Superficial infections are those that involve the skin and mouth. Candida albicans is a common superficial fungal infection among people with AIDS. One invasive infection is cryptococcal meningitis, which is caused by a fungus that is often found in soil contaminated by pigeon droppings. No Sign of Extending Life

Researchers have reported that the oral form of the drug ganciclovir was found to be about as effective against cytomegalovirus retinitis as when injected into a vein. Another group found that the drug fluconazole was more effective than clotrimazole in delaying fungal infection in AIDS patients with under 200 CD-4 cells per cubic millimeter of blood

WASHINGTON - People infected with drug-resistant strains of the virus that causes AIDS are up to three times as likely to die in a given period than those with other strains, scientists said at a meeting yesterday. In recent years, scientists have detected the emergence of strains of the AIDS virus, HIV, that are resistant to AZT, the main drug used against the virus. The researchers found that 15 per cent of the strains were highly drug-resistant and an additional 24 per cent of the strains were moderately drug-resistant

People infected with drug-resistant strains of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are up to three times as likely to die in a given period than those with other strains, according to scientists meeting in Washington DC on Dec 16, 1993. A team headed by Clyde S. Crumpacker of the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston made the finding

Australian health officials reported on Dec 15, 1993 that the HIV virus was transmitted from one patient to four others in a surgeon's office in Australia because of a breakdown in infection-control practices. The cases are believed to be the first in which HIV was transmitted from patient to patient in a health care setting

The first national survey of HIV infection based on blood tests has generally confirmed previous government estimates of the number of people infected with the virus. The survey, The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, was conducted from 1988 to 1991 as part of a Federal survey to measure nutrition, blood pressure and the amount of cholesterol in the blood

A new study has found that simply attending the standard single training course for surgeons in laparoscopy may not be enough to become proficient in the procedure. The need for surgeons to have more experience with laparoscopy surgery before they begin operating is discussed

The randomized survey, conducted among 7,792 people in households, indicated that excluding many people from high-risk groups, 550,000 people in the United States were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, said the scientists from the National Center for Health Statistics who conducted the survey. Dr. [Geraldine McQuillan] said that because of limitations to the study, estimates of the number of HIV-infected people in the country had a wide range. She said that excluding the high-risk groups, the number of infected people ranged from 299,000 to 1.02 million. The new survey was based on HIV blood tests among 7,992 individuals from 18 to 59 years old randomly selected from 44 communities throughout the nation. Twenty-nine people were found to be infected by the virus for a prevalence of 0.39 percent. Because of the number of individuals who declined to give a blood sample, there was a range in infection rate from 0.21 to 0.72 percent

Dr. Gene M. Shearer, a researcher at the National Cancer Institute and an author of the report, said IL-12 had turned out to be 'the most powerful' regulator of immune response that his team had found in laboratory experiments with cells damaged by HIV. IL-12 belongs to a group of natural blood proteins known as interleukin (IL), or cytokines, that help regulate the growth of immune cells. Cells from many HIV-infected people fail to show normal immune reactions when exposed to an influenza virus or other antigens that normally stimulate the immune system. In the new study, Shearer's team added several antigens to cultures of white blood cells from 40 people infected with HIV and from nine who were not. Among the antigens used were an influenza virus and synthetic versions of proteins contained in the outer coat of HIV. When IL-12 was added to the cultures the cells displayed a normal response to antigens