HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jbone@manufing.dell.com (Jeff Bone)
Subject: Reverse seroconversion?
Summary: can anyone verify?
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Keywords: rumor pop press
Archive-Number: 5797
Organization: Dell Computer Co
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 15:26:55 GMT

I'll be brief.  I've seen reference to a handful of cases of reverse
seroconversion in articles in the popular press.  Can anyone verify
that there are documented instances of this?  Anyone care to comment
on the significance?

Thanks in advance,

jb

DISCLAIMER - My interest, my opinions only.

--
-- Jeff Bone ------------------------------------------------------------
      "Imagination is more important than knowledge."  - A. Einstein
------------------------------------------------------- jbone@dell.com --
                                                                       --
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: lfoard@Turing.ORG (Lawrence C. Foard)
Subject: Re: DNCB Article in Sentinel
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5814
Organization: The Turing Project, Charlottesville Virginia.
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 17:29:00 GMT

Why isn't any of the government research money going into this? Are drug
companies really the only ones funding research? 
How much does a real medical trial cost? Could the funds be raised by
private means? 
-- 
>>Unix/C Contract worker available 5 years C/unix work experience<<  ______
Available for Telecommuting/Travel and contracts on the T Line       \    /
in the Boston MA area. Send me e-mail for a copy of my Resume.        \  /
       -- VWIS 508-793-9568 (2400 baud), Linux support BBS.--          \/
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: HAPAUL@VM.CC.FAMU.EDU
Subject: Use of traditional medicine in the treatment of AIDS
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5803
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 16:29:50 EST

This would include any ethnomedical and/or ethnopharmacological data existing.
Please reply to hapaul @ vm.cc.famu.edu
Thank you in advance
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: u1715577@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (Christopher W. Hall)
Subject: Calculation of "risk"
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5790
Organization: University of Melbourne
Date: 27 Jul 92 13:41:02 +1000

I am attempting to develop a risk scale for a behavioural study of homeless
adolescents and their sexual behaviour.  In a previous study the following
strategy was used, of which now I have some reservations:

Bakground:
Respondents were asked whether they had ever engaged in the following sexual
actiities with a casual partner (defined as someone you have sex with once o
infrequently) and/or a regular partner (defined as someone with whom you have
an exclusive sexual relationship); withdrawal, oral, vaginal, and anal sex.

Responses ranged from "never", "once or rarely", to "regularly".  In addition
they were asked to indicate for each behaviour that they had engaged in,
whether they used condoms "always", "sometimes", or "never".

Level of risk was assessed by two measures, risk with a casual partner and
risk with a regular partner.

Scoring:

Never engaging in abehaviour and always using condoms.
- considered as NON-RISKY	-Scored as O

Oral sex, withdrawal, vaginal or anal sexwhen this activity was rare and a
condom was sometimes used.
- considered as SLIGHTLY RISKY	-Scored as 1

Withdrawal, vaginal or anal sex which was infrequent and condoms were never
used, or withdrawal, vaginal or anal sex when this was done regularly with
condoms.
- considred as MODERATELY RISKY	-Scored as 

Regular vaginal, anal sex and withdrawal with condoms never used.
- considered as HIGHEST RISK	-Scored as 3

Scores were summed over the behaviour listed with the maximum score for both
Casual Risk and Regular Risk being 10.

Concerns:

1.	Is the relative weighting of ris, given the summative nature of the 
	global measure, appropriate?

2.	Should seperate male and female measures be computed given the
	differential in infection risk?

3.	Is there published/available data on the relative risk of these
	behaviours?

4.	How have other researchers tackled this isu (bearing in mind that t
	the data has been gathered in this way)?

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

________________________________________________________________________________
Christophery W. Hall	        	Telephone +61 3 805 7432
Departmentt of Psychology		Facsimile +61 3 807 5339
The University of Melbourne		Telex      AA3518
PARKVILLE  VIC.  AUSTRALIA.  3052
________________________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: v136pds9@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu ( The Phantom)
Subject: immunex?
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5752
Organization: University at Buffalo
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 23:07:00 GMT

	Could some please post and/or send me more
information about  immunex (sp?) ?

	If it was hidden in one of those CDC reports or
something like that then please refresh my memory.

JOHN

Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: DTH Effector Cell: the Macrophage
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5801
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 20:36:18 PDT

This is the first post on the effector cell of DTH Type IV: the 
Macrophage.  Antigen presenting cells of DTH Type IV have been 
previously discussed.

The following is from Chapter 28 titled "Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity 
and the Induction of Activated, Cytotoxic Macrophages" from Fundamental
Immunology, Second Edition, edited by William E. Paul, Raven Press Ltd., 
New York 1989.  I strongly recommend reading this chapter.

Page 767-8

"Acquisition of the macrophage microbicidal activities necessary to 
resist infection with the pathogens listed in Table 2 requires adaptive 
change above that induced by inflammation alone.  Such changes are 
mediated by lymphokines released from the antigen-driven, sensitized 
lymphocytes at the site of an immune response.  Lymphokines provide the 
link between the specific T-cell-mediated reactions of DTH and the 
nonspecific effector functions of activated macrophages.  Inflammation, 
however, still plays a dominant role in the induction of activated 
macrophages: T cells best able to activate macrophages for cytotoxic 
effector function and macrophage populations best able to respond to the 
T-cell-derived activation factors preferentially accumulate at 
inflammatory foci.  Antigen-reactive T cells, sensitized in lymph nodes 
that drain antigen depots, have a rapid turnover and short circulating 
life spans.  These sensitized T cells selectively but nonspecifically 
accumulate at inflammatory sites, that is, inflammatory exudates 
elicited by such sterile irritants as thioglycollate of mineral oil.  
This preferential cell traffic to inflammatory reactions greatly 
increases the probability of T cell encounter with sensitizing 
antigens."

TABLE 2. Intracellular parasites of the mononuclear phagocyte 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

VIRUSES: adenoviruses, herpesviruses (herpes simplex virus, 
  cytomegalovirus), poxviruses (vaccinia), retroviruses (human 
  immunodeficiency virus), togaviruses (Dengue virus), bunyaviruses,
  paramyxoviruses.

BACTERIA: Brucella abortus, Chlamydia spp. (C. trachomatis, C. 
  psittaci), Corynebacterium spp., Franciscella tularensis, Legionella 
  pneumophila, Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacteria spp. (M.
  tuberculosis, M. leprae, M. intracellulare), Rickettsia spp. (R.
  akari, R. prowazekii, R. tsutsugamushi), Salmonella spp. (S.
  typhimurium)

FUNGI: Aspergillus fumigatus, Blastomyces dermatitidis, Candida spp., 
  Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum

PROTOZOA: Leishmania spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Trypanosome cruzi

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: buckmr@rpi.edu (Ron Buckmire)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: HIV+ Woman Requests To Speak At REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
Date: 30 Jul 92 04:53:37 GMT
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5806


    Mary D. Fisher, a member of a socially prominent Republican
    family, has asked to speak about AIDS at the Republican
    National Convention next month in Houston.  Ms. Fisher, who
    has tested positive for the HIV virus, would follow the
    precedent set by Bob Hattoy and Elizabeth Glaser, who spoke
    at the Democratic National Convention last week about having
    AIDS.
    
    "There have been discussions held since Mary gave testimony
    at the Republican platform hearings," in Salt Lake City in
    May, said A. James Heynen, a spokesman for Ms. Fisher.  "These
    have been informal conversations back and forth with people
    at the [Republican National] Committee or with people who have
    specific responsibilities for the convention."
    
    Ms. Fisher, an artist and a mother of two, could not be reached
    for comment.  As part of her testimony in May, she said, "Today
    I am asking you to help us, as Republicans and as Americans, to
    lift our shroud of silence and speak with the voice of
    compassion."
    
    Ms. Fisher's father, Max Fisher, is the honorary chairman of the
    Bush-Quayle '92 National Finance Committee.  In July 1991, she
    learned she had contracted the HIV virus, a condition she made
    public in February.  She is a consultant to the National
    Commission on AIDS and has lobbied Republican lawmakers about
    the disease.
    
    Joseph Fleming, a spokesman for the GOP convention, said the
    selection of speakers was not finalized.  "Everyone who was there
    in Salt Lake City was quite impressed with her testimony," he
    said.
-------------------------end of article-----------------------------------
-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
rod williams -=- pacific bell -=- san francisco -=- rjwill6@pacbell.com
---
RON BUCKMIRE
Fundraising Committee for the Procurement of a mesh tank-top for LL Cool J
54 Colvin Circle, Troy, NY 12180-3735
uunet!rpi.edu!buckmr||buckmr@rpitsmts.bitnet||buckmr@rpi.edu||+1 518 276 8919
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: tedr@athena.cs.uga.edu (Ted Kalivoda)
Subject: Re: AIDS: What the Gov't Isn't Telling You
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5817
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 23:40:04 GMT

In article <1992Jul30.155957.14019@cs.ucla.edu> etjue@lbl.gov (Eric T. Jue) writes:
>I heard an interesting talk show on 7/27/92 concerning a new book titled
>"What the Government Isn't Telling You About AIDS."  The author of the
>book, Dr. Lorraine Day of UC San Francisco, offered her findings on the
>air and fielded questions from listeners.  According to her, research has
>shown that the AIDS virus is not a fragile virus and that it may survive
>up to 7 days in a dry environment and up to 14 days in a moist one.  She
>claims that AIDS may be transmitted through all types of bodily fluids,
>including sweat, and not just through blood.  She mentions other
>interesting findings on AIDS which she says the government is
>intentionally hiding from the public.  Her findings are all based on
>clinincal research documentation done around the world.  Her book may be
>ordered by phone at (800) 537-2437.  I hope people who have heard
>anything about Dr. Day or her book will post their thoughts to this
>newsgroup.  Thank you very much.

Let us hear what other scientists have concluded in this area.  Are there
any duplicative experiments?  I have my strong doubts, especially since AIDS
is not an "epidemic" in the general population in the U.S.  Please no
emotional eruptions over the epidemic matter, just bear in mind that for a
virus to have epidemic proportions there must be much higher increases (in
the area under consideration) than what we have seen over the last 12 years.  

And that's one reason why I would have difficulty with Lorraine's
hypothesis. 

T. Kalivoda
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: julien@skcla.monsanto.com
Subject: Safe Sex Question
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Keywords: Safe Sex-Condoms
Archive-Number: 5792
Organization: Searle, Skokie, IL
Date: 27 Jul 92 14:44:11 GMT

About six months ago, I read in the news an article on a female condom. Is
this available in the U.S.A.? If so, I have not seen them. Would this item be
considered effective for safe sex(i.e. against HIV transmission)?

Also, I've heard not all condoms are effective for possible HIV transmission.
If this is the case, what do I need to know to select one that is safe ?

J.J.

Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: portal!cup.portal.com!Arthur_T_Hu@uunet.UU.NET
Subject: Religion and AIDS
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5794
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 22:57:03 PDT

Speaking of groups with low AIDS rates, are there ANY studies of AIDS
incidence by religion? It's perfectly obvious that the Amish and 
fundamentalist Christians are practically immune to AIDS except thru
blood transfusion or hemophilia, but is there a conspiracy to withold
any funding or effort to demonstrate that this is true? If no one on
this net can cite a single study, is this evidence of such a conspiracy,
or is it just plain idiocy or political correctness?

I've already seen one article that states that homosexuality and drug use
is unknown among the Amish, (though our friends maintain that 10% of them
are gay)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: rpetsche@mrg.tmc.edu (Rolfe G. Petschek)
Subject: Re: common sense?
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Reply-To: rpetsche@mrg.PHYS.CWRU.Edu (Rolfe G. Petschek)
Archive-Number: 5761
Organization: CWRU Physics Department
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 19:48:37 GMT

In article <1992Jul22.035025.2737@cs.ucla.edu> v136pds9@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu ( The Phantom) writes:
>In post <9:13 am  Jul  9, 1992 by dyer@spdcc.com in cdp:sci.med.aids>
>Steve writes:
>
>>All he's saying is that it takes a long time to find a "cure"
>>for a viral disease, and only after a lot of information (some
>>ultimately relevant, some not) has been learned about the virus
>>and its mechanism of action.  That's not prescient, it's just
>>common sense. 
>
>	Not true.  I believe that the mechanism of a retro virus
>was well understood.  It was I that took some time to learn
>how the littler bugger does it's damage.  Now that I seem
>to have a better understanding I realize that all of the
>reseach/money (and I would like to emphasize money), is
>wasted on ucleoside analoges.  These nuc drugs do not realy
>help PWAs but more they help other trying to get money.

Wrong.  AZT, DDI and DDC established by good, clear, well-designed peer
reviewed studies to decrease the rate at which people with significantly
progressed disease die.  I believe that they are the only such drugs with
immediate impact on HIV, as opposed to opportunistic infections.

>)>I haven't got the time to wait for a cure; either do the people who are
>)>HIV+.
>)
>)Er, so?

>	Er, so? Is the same response that allowed and is still
>allowing many people to die of AIDS (and will probably continue).
>If you realy don't care than why bother reading sci.med.aids.
>If you do care, than why the "Er, so (what)?"

I have never ceased to be ammazed at the rate at which science is
supposed to progress.  Ever since I learned of AIDS I was convinced that
many, many people would die thereof before an effective vaccine, to say
nothing of a cure (or effective long term treatment) was found.
Had I known it was a retrovirus at the time I would have been yet more
convinced of this.  The scientific community is doing the very best it
can to find drugs, cures and vaccines for HIV.  Significant progress has
been made.  The fact that people continue to die of the disease in the
meantime does not imply that anyone is particularly hard-hearted -
rather it reflects the difficulty of finding a cure for this (or, indeed
any) disease.  

I do not expect that even first world persons currently infected
with HIV virus will have, as a median, their lives extended by more than
a decade by medical treatment.  If this seems uncaring I can only say
that it is intended to be realistic and I hope very much I am wrong.
--
Rolfe G. Petschek			Petschek@cwru.bitnet
Associate Professor of Physics		rgp@po.cwru.edu
Case Western Reserve University		(216)368-4035 
Cleveland Oh 44106-7079
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: Re: AZT and the Immune System: Revisite
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5789
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 92 20:49:41 PDT

More info concerning my silly theory about AZT acting as an immunogen.

Drug molecules such as AZT are generally too small to act as complete 
antigens and can only act as haptens.  (Haptens can bind to antibodies 
as they are antigenic, but usually will not provoke an antibody response 
as they are not immunogenic.)  Therefore, they must combine with a 
macromolecule, or possibly be polymerized thus forming a conjugate 
consisting of a hapten and a protein.  There are two possibilities: (1) 
AZT can be directly absorbed/adsorbed by macrophages and then anabolized 
to form a conjugate with cellular peptides; or (2) An immune complex can 
be formed consisting of AZT and an antibody which can be 
absorbed/adsorbed by macrophages and then catabolized.  Both of those 
processes could result in an appropriate immunogen (hapten plus peptide) 
which can be presented by macrophages.  

************************************************************************

Arner ES; Valentin A; Eriksson S.                              
     Thymidine and 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine metabolism in human 
peripheral blood lymphocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages. A study 
of both anabolic and catabolic pathways. Journal of Biological 
Chemistry, 1992 Jun 5, 267(16):10968-75.
                                                                  
Abstract: 3'-Azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) is HIV-inhibitory in human
macrophages, which is surprising in view of the low AZT phosphorylation 
reported in macrophage extracts. To elucidate the mechanism of AZT
activation, we studied AZT anabolism as well as catabolism in human
lymphocytes and macrophages, and compared it to that of thymidine.
Thymidine kinase (TK)-specific activity in mitogen-stimulated 
lymphocytes was 15 times higher than in macrophages. However, the TK 
activity per cell was only 1.3 times higher, because of the large 
macrophage cell volume.  Total cellular TK activity, but not specific 
activity, matched the level of intracellular AZT anabolism. The 
substrate specificity of TK in macrophages strongly suggests that 
mitochondrial TK2 was the enzyme phosphorylating thymidine and AZT in 
these cells, whereas it was cytosolic TK1 in stimulated lymphocytes. In 
vivo thymidine catabolism was extensive, forming thymine and 
dihydrothymine. In macrophages more than 95% of the added thymidine (0.5 
microM) was degraded within 60 min. AZT, in contrast, was not 
catabolized, which explains the high AZT nucleotide accumulation,  
process opposed only by AZTMP excretion. The lack of catabolism together
with phosphorylation by TK2 clarifies how AZT can inhibit human 
immunodeficiency virus in macrophages. The fact that TK2 and not TK1
phosphorylates AZT in macrophages should have important implications for
combination chemotherapy.

************************************************************************

Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
From: wet!egret@well.sf.ca.us (thomas helke)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: What is DNCB?
Date: 24 Jul 92 07:50:38 GMT
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5772

I would like to know more about DNCB. Can anyone explain simply
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Subject: Re: Elocon Ointment
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 23:41:35 GMT

In article <7794.2A62E511@stjhmc.fidonet.org> Don.Kulha@f7.n125.z1.fidonet.org (Don Kulha) writes:
>    I would appreciate some info on a medication my grandmother gets. It is 
>labeled ELOCON, a brand of Mometasone Furoate, Ointment 0.1 
>    I'd like to know what it does, the active ingredient, etc. My Grandmother 
>is in a care home and this ointment is supposed to get applied to her ankles. 
>She scratches at them, though I don't know if a skin condition prompts the 
>reaction or the scratching brings about the condition. I suspect the former.
>    The stuff does the job well. No complaint. The lady can afford the stuff 
>if used properly but there's the rub. She's in a care home and if the folks 
>there apply it they use 10X too much...at $27 per 2g tube it can be 
>outrageously expensive. The person who cared for her recently passed away and 
>I'm trying to keep a close eye on Granny. She used to apply it for her. I was 
>wondering if there isn't other packaging of the same basic product or if there 
>is something commercial likey to do the job that I can ask her doctor about. 
>I'd like the idea of using an OTC product in a less powerful formulation for 
>preventive application and having the ELOCON around in case there's a flare 
>up. 

You might consider asking your grandmother's doctor if s/he thinks
that 1% hydrocortisone cream or ointment (which is available without
a prescription) might work as well.  It really depends on the skin
condition and its severity.

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
From: DGS4@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Indoctrinating Interns
Date: 31 Jul 92 15:07:34 GMT
 <4049@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP>
Organization: Penn State University

In article <4049@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP>, doyle+@pitt.edu (Howard R Doyle) says:

Long interesting section on why training doctors is different than training
persons in other professions.

>Those of us who train physicians are as interested in teaching medicine as
>we are in indoctrination. And believe me, we are not subtle about the
>indoctrination part. By the time we finish our training we need to have
>acquired a couple of things. First is a truckload of factual information,
>which will allow us to be competent at what we do. The second is a mental
>attitude, one that makes our patient come first, even at the expense of
>our personal life. This is what allows us to be good, not merely competent,

There are a number of doctors, including several in this group, who have
argued that the physicians comin out of medical school today DO NOT
exhibit this concern for patients that you desire.  Instead, they are,
according to these doctors, more concerned with making money.  If that's
so (and feel free to voice your own thoughts about the merit of that claim)
then the indoctrination is not working.

>at what we do. And it is this second aspect of our training that is the
>hardest to achieve. And it is done through indoctrination. And I don't feel
>we need to apologize for doing it. Especially in this group where we catch
>so much shit every time someone runs into a doctor who is either not very
>competent or not very caring.





Dennis G. Shea, Penn State
<<DISCLAIMER>>
Ain't nobody's bizness but my own. I'll be happy to accept all
the credit for anything I've written.  It's funny, however, how
employers only acknowledge the profitable ideas.
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: ebarrios@us.oracle.com (Emy Barrios)
Subject: Re: Six toes
Organization: Oracle Corporation, Redwood Shores CA
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 06:41:58 GMT
X-Disclaimer: This message was written by an unauthenticated user
              at Oracle Corporation.  The opinions expressed are those
              of the user and not necessarily those of Oracle.

I read in National geographic some years back about a town in Greenland
where most of the citizens had six fingers and toes in each hand/foot.

They also developed a local way of arithmetic using a base 12.

Newsgroups: sci.med