NEWS BRIEFS

APRIL 16, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9

fected with HIV. Studies also have shown that the action of the new drug in stopping HIV is different from the AIDS drugs now licensed.

Currently there are three anti-viral drugs licensed to combat HIV: zidovudine, or AZT; didanosine, or ddI, and zalcitabine, or ddC. Each of these drugs combat HIV by blocking the action of an enzyme, reverse transcriptase, that the virus uses to reproduce.

The new drug, U-90,152, also works against reverse transcriptase, but it attacks the enzyme molecule at a different site. The drug is in a class of compounds called bisheteroarylpiperazines, or BHAPS.

Officials said there is a possibility that using U-90,152 in combination with one of the other drugs would be more effective against HIV than any of the drugs alone. The combination could overcame drug resistance caused by HIV's ability to mutate, said Dr. H. Clifford Lane of the institute staff.

Steinem joins fight to end ban

New York (AP)--Feminist leader Gloria Steinem and gay activists joined a nationwide campaign March 27 to end the ban on gays in the military, calling it the "foremost civil rights measure of our time."

An audience of about 175 that included Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger turned out for a New York "town hall meeting" led by Steinem and a panel of gay rights advocates.

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Steinem urged the audience to become "part of a national network of caring about the foremost civil rights measure of our time. Together we can make a difference.' "Operation Lift the Ban" held the meeting at the a Manhattan community college to discuss both sides of the issue, but all of the panelists and virtually all of the audience members were clearly opposed to the ban. National polls show Americans are divided on the issue.

Steinem and other speakers sought to tie the ban to a broader civil rights agenda, comparing the treatment of gays to racism, sexism, and sexual harassment. Steinem said the past 10,000 years of human history was a period of "patriarchy, racism, and homophobia" that must be overcome.

A Jewish St. Patrick's debate?

New York (AP)--Organizers of the largest celebration of the state of Israel outside that country are deciding if they have room for a group of gay and lesbian marchers. A gay and lesbian synagogue said Tuesday that it has asked to be included in the 29th annual Salute to Israel Parade, to be held in May on Fifth Avenue. The request, from the Congregation Beth Simchat Torah of Manhattan, is being reviewed, said Don Adelman, a spokesman for the American Zionist Youth Foundation, the parade's sponsor. Adelman said parade sponsors hope to avoid the controversy that has embroiled the St. Patrick's Day Parade since 1990.

"Its the largest single celebration of the state of Israel, outside the state of Israel, anywhere in the world," Adelman said. About 33,000 people march in the four-hour parade up Fifth Avenue from 59th Street

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum said her congregation is waiting to hear from the parade committee if it will be allowed to march in the Israel parade. She said the members won't pursue the matter in court if their application is rejected.

Congregation Beth Simchat Torah was founded in 1973 and has over 1,200 members, Kleinbaum said. Membership includes Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jews, she said.

Study raises doubt on early AZT efficacy

London (AP)--Patients infected with HIV, but with no symptoms, who received the drug AZT are just as likely to succumb as quickly to AIDS as those who took a placebo, according to preliminary results of a three-country study.

The findings raise questions about whether the anti-AIDS drug is effective in slowing the onset of symptoms.

Four previous U.S. studies indicated the drug helped maintain the level of CD4 cells, the white blood cells the virus destroys. This latest study of 1,749 volun'teers--conducted from 1988-91 in England, Ireland and France--was reported in the April 3 issue of The Lancet.

The parent organization of Burroughs Wellcome Co., makers of AZT, disputed the conclusions of the study, in part because AZT was the only drug used.

Nick Partridge, director of the Terrence Higgins Trust, a British patient advocacy charity based in London, described the results as "very depressing" for infected people who are still healthy.

"It rocks the foundation of the small house of believers for using early intervention and shows how far away we are for adequate treatment of HIV," Partridge said.

Previous data from the National Institutes of Health suggested AZT helps patients with the AIDS virus who have fewer than 500 CD4 cells.

In the study, half the participants got one gram of AZT daily and the others got a placebo until symptoms appeared, then received AZT.

After three years, 18 percent of patients in each group got symptoms of the disease or died. Scientists said 8 percent of those who got the drug immediately died compared to 7 percent who waited until they had symptoms.

But those who got AZT right away had significantly higher CD4 counts, about 30 more cells, compared to patients whose treatment was delayed.

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