[sci.med.aids] HICN 327 News -- excerpts.

dmcanzi@watserv1.waterloo.edu (David Canzi) (08/01/90)

                  Medical News for Week Ending July 22, 1990
        Copyright 1990: USA TODAY/Gannett National Information Network
                          Reproduced with Permission

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                                 July 16, 1990
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                           FDA LICENSES HIV-2 TEST:

   The  Food  and  Drug  Administration  has  licensed the first test kit that
detects antibody to human  immunodeficiency  virus  type  2  (HIV-2).  Genetic
Systems  Corp.  of  Seattle  created  Genetic  Systems HIV-2 EIA to aid in the
diagnosis of potential HIV-2 infection.  Some specimens  that  yield  negative
results when tested for HIV-1 may test positive for HIV-2.

                         RIGHTS FOR DISABLED APPROVED:

   The House approved 377-28 landmark legislation guaranteeing a full range of
civil  rights  for  disabled  Americans.  The vote came after House and Senate
negotiators agreed to remove an amendment from the bill that  would  have  let
employers keep AIDS-infected workers away from food-handling duties.

                           AIDS CASES NOT REPORTED:

   Some AIDS cases are  not  being  reported  to  local  health  agencies  -as
required  by  law  -  according  to  a  review  of Duval County,  Fla.,  death
certificates. Seventy-two cases went unreported since 1983 -bringing the total
to 550 AIDS deaths in the county, officials say.

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                                  Dental News
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

           STUDY CORRELATES PRESENCE OF HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS
             IN GINGIVAL FLUID TO SEVERITY OF PERIODONTAL LESIONS

                           For Further Information:

                       Princeton Dental Resource Center
                           707 State Road, Suite 203
                              Princeton, NJ 08540
                                (609) 921-8622

Princeton,  NJ -- A recent study has determined that the  detection  of  Human
Immunodeficiency  Virus  (HIV)  in  gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) frequently
corresponds to its detection in blood and its identification is correlated  to
the  degree  of  periodontal  inflammation.  The  results from this study also
suggested that the presence of HIV in saliva may be due  to  contamination  by
GCF  from  severely  diseased  sites.  As  a  foundation  for this study,  the
researchers considered their previous investigations  that  demonstrated  that
GCF from individuals infected with HIV frequently contains HIV.

In  the  study,  paper  point  sample8  were taken from three sites in 45 HIV-
positive men and 57 HIV-negative men.  The samples were processed with an  HIV
DNA probe.

The sensitivity of the DNA probe assay for the presence of HIV in GCF was 99.8
percent  in  severely  inflamed  sites with a gingival index (GI) greater than
two,  91.4 percent for sites with a GI greater than one and only 85.2  percent
when  the  GI  was less than one.  Specificity for HIV in these sites was 91.6
percent.

It was demonstrated that the chance of detecting HIV in both gingival  exudate
and  blood  is  approximately  equal  and  is also correlated to the degree of
periodontal inflammation.  Considering these results,  the researchers believe
that  HIV  found  in  saliva  may be due to contamination by GCF from severely
diseased sites.

Dr.  James R.  Winkler of  the  University  of  California  at  San  Francisco
hypothesizes  that  if  inflamed  sites are always more infected with HIV than
healthy sites in HIV-positive patients,  transmission of the virus may be less
likely with a healthy mouth.  According to Dr.  Winkler, since the findings of
this study have revealed that HIV may be present in  saliva  as  a  result  of
contamination  by  GCF from severely diseased sites,  the maintenance of clean
teeth and healthy gums to minimize GCF levels may  prove  to  be  of  critical
importance for HIV infected patients.

                                     # # #

This press release was prepared by the Princeton Dental Resource Center (PDRC)
in  cooperation  with the International Association for Dental Research (IADR)
and is based on material presented at the 67th Annual Session of the  IADR  in
Dublin, Ireland from June 28th through July lSt, 1989.  This is a summary of a
presentation entitled "Correlation of HIV in Crevicular Fluid with Severity of
Periodontal Lesions" by J.R.  Winkler,  C.K.  French,  J.A.  Lippke  and  P.A.
Murray,   University  of  California,   San  Francisco,  CA,  and  BioTechnica
Diagnostic Inc., Cambridge, MA.

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Volume  3, Number 27                                            July 25, 1990

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-- 
David Canzi