Page 10 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE June, 1989

Quality, Inc. holds

by Faith Klasek

Over 200 people gathered for an evening of food, dancing, and entertainment in late March to benefit organizations serving people with AIDS. The "Coming Out Affair" was organized by Quality Inc.

This event was the first of what is hoped to become the group's largest annual event, according to Linda Laborn, treasurer for the group.

Formed in December of 1988, Quality Inc. has a dual purpose. The group is made up of hard-working, mature women who are striving to provide quality entertainment for the gay and lesbian community, as well as lend a hand to those in need, explained Laborn.

Presently the group of eight women meets on a monthly basis at the homes of various members. Regular social activities have included card parties, dinners, raffles, and networking with other clubs in areas including Detroit, Baltimore, and St. Louis. In addition to providing social activities, Quality Inc. has made donations to AIDS organizations, the Lupus Foundation, and the Mental Health Foundation. The group intends to continue helping organizations that benefit the gay and lesbian community and their families.

The organization is one of four local clubs catering predominately to AfricanAmericans, explained President Toni Walker. All too often African-American

Photo by Drew Cari

members of our community are welcomed at local bars when accompanied by their white friends-often, after being asked for several pieces of identification

and various non-existent membership cards-but are otherwise turned away, Walker explained.

"The Quality Inc. group is made up of hard-working, mature women who are striving to provide quality entertainment for the gay & lesbian community as well as lend a hand to those in need.

New AIDS drug looks promising

by Jay Newquist

A new experimental AIDS drug, still untested in humans, appears to kill HIVinfected cells without affecting healthy cells, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco reported last week.

Dr. Michael McGrath, a UCSF scientist, developed the drug-called GLQ223, or Compound Q-from a highly purified form of the plant protein trichosanthin from the root of a plant in the Chinese cucumber family.

The UCSF-Genelabs team also showed for the first time that HIV-infected macrophages are a reservoir of infected cells in HIV patients. The drug appears to block HIV replication in infected T-cells and kills the body's scavenger cells in cell cultures.

"These results apply solely to laboratory studies," cautioned McGrath, a UCSF assistant professor of medicine and director of the AIDS-Immunobiology Research Laboratory at San Francisco General Hospital.

McGrath reported the team's findings in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and was co-authored by UCSF researchers; Genelabs Inc., a private biotechnology firm in Redwood City; and Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Tired of reading the same old classifieds??

"The drug has been tested in laboratory animals for toxicity, but not for its effectiveness with AIDS-related viruses," McGrath reported. "It has never been administered to humans, and extensive clinical studies will be required to determine its safety and effectiveness in AIDS patients."

The promise of Compound Q has created a sensation in the local gay community despite the standard cautions that not enough is known about the drug, notably if its potency will kill healthy cells as well as HIV-infected cells.

Still, there is a palpable optimism. "Things are changing rapidly," said Martin Delaney of Project Inform. "The mixed voices have expressed all the cautions, and it's all true. What's different is that this is the first time any drug has worked nearly this well in the laboratory. It could be a quantum leap forward. If it works, we can chop five years off the time which it would have taken to get a drug that works like that.

"All the data is from the lab, but it's very promising. It will take a long time to test the drug to get to a point where it can be of use."

Delaney said the drug was not available in the United States and he definitely did not encourage people to bring it into the country: "There's a potential for serious harm as the drug exists in China,

CALL

1-976-FIND

(3463)

FIND other gay men describing themselves in their personal message-their likes, their desires..

FIND out how you too can leave your personal message-for other gay men to respond to...

FIND yourself a new friend, or more...

1-976-FIND

the 976 way to FIND what you want

99 CENTS/MINUTE

although I would not want to close it off entirely forever."

Delaney reported that Project Inform was an object of the hysteria surrounding Compound Q last week. Readers of a local newspaper swamped his office with calls when they were led to believe he had the formula for the drug.

In the next phase of the drug's development, Genelabs has applied to the FDS for Investigational New Drug status (IND) to begin testing about 30 people at UCSF who have AIDS or HIV infection to determine whether the drug is toxic.

A determination will be made of the drug's safety for AIDS patients before it is given to HIV-infected people who exhibit no symptoms.

McGrath warned the HIV-infected about self-injection of uncharacterized and unpurified plant extracts. "It could be dangerous, even lethal,” he said.

The development of the drug is being conducted in collaboration with and from funding by Sandoz Ltd., a leading Swiss pharmaceutical company that will have exclusive worldwide rights to market the drug.

The results of test-tube studies show that two to seven percent of macrophages in the blood of AIDS patients are infected with HIV. In contrast, only one hundredth of one percent of T-cells are

•

infected.

Researchers said this finding is significant because, unlike T-cells that die after infection with HIV, infected macrophages can live a long time. Macrophages, which order the T-cells of the immune system to fight off infection, are susceptible to HIV infection and are difficult to kill.

A study of blood samples from eight participants infected with HIV found their macrophages showed no evidence of virus production five days after treatment by a single dose of Compound Q.

McGrath said the drug was selective in the test tube and killed only infected macrophages, giving rise to the hope it may not be as toxic as AZT.

The drug has been in use in China, in different extracts of the Chinese plant, to induce abortions. These extracts can cause blood to clot, and injection could cause heart attacks.

The first results of the testing of the drug are expected in the fall, and if they are promising, researchers may broaden tests of its effectiveness without traditional double-blind studies.

Reprinted with permission from the Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco.▼

A Metaphysics Study & Ritual Group

ehelatheh

A Circle Of Strength Affirming Our Truth As Lesbians & Gay Men

We Meet The Last Tuesday

Of The Month For Potluck & Meeting

Martha 321-1129, Mark 397-0583