Notes on the International AIDS Conference

At the AIDS Conference in Geneva, reports were presented on new drugs expected to improve treatment of HIV infection, to be useful in combination therapies, and to be less susceptible to viral resistance. Advances in understanding resistance to specific drugs and cross-resistance among drugs were reported. New information was provided for the following treatments: efavirenz (Sustiva), abacavir with AZT/3TC, Nevirapine (Viramune), Hydroxyurea in combination therapy, the use of double protease inhibitors in regimens, and ABT-378 and PNU-140690. Finally, reports showing that resistance testing may predict which drugs may or may not work for a person are discussed.     

AIDS and older persons: an international perspective

The impact of the worldwide AIDS epidemic on persons aged 50 years or older has received relatively little consideration except in the United States, where interest has focused almost exclusively on older persons living with AIDS or at risk for infection. The place of older persons in the epidemic deserves international attention because their lives are being significantly affected in a variety of ways. Because most of the epidemic occurs in the developing regions of the world, especially in Africa and Asia, efforts to understand and deal with the concerns of older persons in relation to AIDS in those settings need expansion. Although older persons represent a non-negligible minority of the reported global caseload, a far larger number of older persons are affected through the illness and death of their adult children and younger generation relatives who contract AIDS. From a global perspective, a broader concern encompassing those who are affected through the infection of others rather than a narrow concern with those who are at risk or infected themselves is called for if the needs of the large majority of older persons adversely affected by the epidemic are to be addressed.     

Blood and AIDS: an international political history

The politics of health was never tested more in the Western democracies than when the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) surfaced at the beginning of the 1980s. In those countries it became the most important medical event of the last half of the 20th century. The significance of AIDS was not only as a disease that took away lives, but also as a disease that had great effects on social and political life. The involvement of the blood community in their national problems when AIDS appeared in the industrialized countries persists to this day in unresolved questions in other parts of the world. An analysis is presented on those blood politics in the USA, France, Japan and Canada. Those events had different roots and effects depending on the various national blood programmes and policies, on donor and patient populations and, not incidentally, on decisions made and secrets kept. The events that related blood to AIDS in the industrialized nations in the 1980s and 1990s are still in progress in other parts of the world. The mistakes made in the West and the resultant effects on social and economic progress offer a modern history lesson for the rest of the world.     

HIV/AIDS pathogenesis and treatment: new twists and turns.

This review focuses on some new insights into human immunodeficiency virus pathogenesis, as it affects CD4 lymphocytes and other key cells in the immune system. It also critically reviews recent progress in anti-retroviral therapy.     

AIDS: a new frontier in epidemiology

HIV infection has become a pandemic. As such, it is the most recent inclusion to epidemiology studies. A review of past epidemics allows a different perspective on the current status of scientific knowledge regarding AIDS. HIV is a retrovirus, one of three groups identified. The other two groups are commonly referred to as HTLV I and II and do not cause AIDS. Two forms of HIV (HIV-1 and HIV-2) make up the third group, HTLV-III. As with any research, various theories are formed, tested, and often rejected. Some theories receive excessive publicity before testing, resulting in incorrect public beliefs that become myths. The cumulative number of cases of AIDS in the United States is 361,509, as of December 31, 1993. Healthcare workers experience multiple opportunities for exposure to the infection in the course of their duties. Based on data from the 1993 BMET/CE survey, several biohazard issues, as well as preventive measures, are discussed.     

Scleredema of Buschke: remission with factor XIII treatment

We describe the case of a 55-year-old man with scleredema of Buschke of the torso complicated by insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Due to (i) the patient's poor general health status, (ii) the similarity between scleroderma and scleredema of Buschke, and (iii) the well known efficacy of factor XIII infusions in scleroderma, we attempted an intravenous treatment with factor XIII. This therapy resulted in marked increase of movements and in softening of the skin, together with ultrasonographic and histopathological improvements. In conclusion, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case in which factor XIII has been successfully used for the treatment of scleredema of Buschke.     

Summaries from the Eleventh Annual Houston Conference on AIDS in America

A number of significant papers from the Eleventh Annual Houston Conference on AIDS in America are summarized. Topics include the current concepts in pathogenesis of HIV infection, the use of anti-HIV therapies, and drug interactions in HIV treatment. A session on HIV disease in children focused on the epidemiology and prevention of vertical transmission with Zidovudine, when to initiate therapy, and options for children who have failed current therapies. Studies using immune-based therapy have shown promise in treating HIV disease. New data from a study with sargramostim, an investigational agent for opportunistic infection prophylaxis, shows that the drug reduces viral loads and delays time to treatment failure. Pentafuside (T-20), the first of a new class of HIV drugs, fusion inhibitors, has been found to be safe and effective against HIV, although drug resistance may be associated with its use. Other sessions summarized progress in clearing HIV from viral reservoirs, the ethics of HIV research support from the drug industry and drug marketing, and a review of immune reconstitution studies among people on antiretroviral therapy. Sam Avrett of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) summarized in his session the characteristics of a successful HIV vaccine and the need to have more people involved in vaccine advocacy as a means to ending the epidemic. Contact information is provided.     

留学生病原生物学课程教学的总结与思考

随着国际交流与合作的频繁以及我国教育质量的提高,来华医学留学生教育已成为高校教育的重要组成部分。在留学生病原生物学教学过程中,不断提高教师的英语授课水平和自身素质是决定教学质量的关键;同时,运用多种教学方式激发学生的学习兴趣,加强实验课建设,完善师生间的沟通与了解也是提高教学质量的重要手段。本文就留学生的病原生物学教学进行了初步探讨,以期为留学生教育的深入开展提供思路。