Show obrOw I° "Anemia is one of the adverse side effects" admits Kathy Bartlett of Burroughs Wellcome "Other side effects include a reduced white blood cell count headaches nausea and vomiting" The company believes that these side effects will be reduced with lower dosages and early use Indeed the drug is now prescribed in lower dosages as a preventive measure in cases in which a person has an HIV infection but shows no symptoms A new antiviral drug dideoxyinosine (ddl) made Squibb is now being tested on 900 by Bristol-Myer- s persons with AIDS An additional 1700 participants are being sought The drug also is being offered to at least 9000 people many of whom can't tolerate zidovudine in an "expanded-acces- s program" Like zido for 75853 known AIDS cases as of March 1990 The second-large- st group of AIDS cases—a group which is expected to increase alarmingly—is made up of intravenous (IV) drug users people who inject heroin or cocaine or some other substance The danger is in sharing needles a quick route for passing the infection Drug users in turn may convey the disease to sex partners in a chain of infection that ends in babies born with AIDS There have been 35594 known cases in this group The remainder of AIDS cases are heterosexl tals (6231) and those infected through blood transfusions (3263 cases of AIDS among an estimated 12000 who have been infected) What is the best way to treat AIDS? AIDS begins with an HIV infection which assaults the immune system making it vulnerable to attack from opportunistic diseases such as Kaposi's sarcoma and other cancers pneumonia and nervous-systedisorders which can cause death Today people with AIDS are faced with a controversial array of treatment choices "Every single treatment every single method has its champions and its detractors" says Phil Zwickler of the People With AIDS Coalition (PWAC) a nonprofit center in New York "We do advocate that people with AIDS make an informed decision based on all available information" Some of the PARADE survivors sought to bolster their drug regimens with alternatives: acupuncture macrobiotics Chinese herbs meditation hyperoxygenation and so on Almost all of them significantly changed their lifestyles They stopped smoking drinking and doing drugs Zidovudine formerly known as AZT is a prime example of the continuing controversy It is an antiviral drug—the only one approved for AIDS by the Food and Drug Administration Burroughs Wellcome Co which makes the drug reported that 73 percent of a trial group of 4805 persons had survived for 44 weeks after the start of therapy The drug subsequently went into widespread use in March 1987 But it fell into disfavor among most of the survivors in the PARADE report because of its toxic effects "It's incredible isn't it that the drug designed to save you can also kill you" says Mike Leonard a survivor "It can make you anemic and you end up having to get blood transfusions" full-blo- 1 m ' ' '- ' 111111 I ' I z i - a full-blo- ''" q iP ' r:-1- JUNE 10 1990 PAGES 01 I )TAN11' 4 N ' - - -‘'-s-1 - k : n I i 1 11:' Big Travis 26 '1 Mike Leonard a floral designer who was diagnosed as having AIDS-Relate- d Complex (ARC) in August 1985 says: "I have no time to die continued — i C) t i 'I' z cz r"' A f k' ' J1 rt I ' A cz 111Ilf - '' - N -- t il 7 t- 114 ' A alr:ig ) - 4 fo rz Ut PARADE MAGAZINE 0 I George Melton 37 Massatm 35 1 -- 4 ! r vudine ddl is praised by some condemned by others One treatment supported by the Health Education AIDS Liaison (HEAL) in New York—a group that advocates nontoxic medicine—is aerosol pentamidine to ward off pneumocystis carinii pneumonia a respiAIDS ratory disease associated with How is anyone to decide what course to take? It's as much a problem for doctors as for patients "Out of desperation some individuals may turn to unproven therapies" says Dr Raymond Scalettar a board member of the American Medical Association and professor of medicine at George Washington Uni '"Ilkungams I S I ) a Louie something from me" 4-et- gle nothing else to expect that perhaps life was expecting tit - 1- '1" well-bein- Webeck diagnosed in 19859 rp24- - HIV-positi- from life" says Ron wetotwial 41aroostincutzir ct z 4 if:'s 011110k A versity Medical Center in Washington DC "I think AZT remains the most effective regimen" Dr Richard Elion a New York physician has treated hundreds of and AIDS patients "I've found that some do very well in combinations of approaches" he says "They may be getting All' or and at the same time use alpha interferon or Bac-triChinese herbs or visualization Having options and choices tends to promote Who has the best chance—the one who devoutly follows doctor's orders faithfully taking medicines or the one who takes up meditation healthful foods ozone therapy and mindbody exercises? There is no clear answer But one study of the effectiveness of zidovudine showed that 172 persons taking the drug had a median survival period of 213 months while 461 persons who took no antivirals had a median survival period of 139 months Dr George Lemp of the San Francisco Health Department who conducted the study cautions: "The study was confined to focusing upon those who took zidovudine and those who didn't It was no measure of different therapies" The American Foundation for AIDS Research (AnnFAR) promotes different types of treatments programs and regimens A positive attitude can help Most of the PARADE survivors chose courses in harmony with the views expressed in a published interview with Dr Luc Montagnier of the Pasteur Institute in Paris one of the discoverers of the AIDS virus: "AIDS does not inevitably lead to death especially if you suppress the that support the disease It's very important to tell this to people who are infected Psychological factors are critical in supporting immune function If you suppress this psychological support by telling someone he's condemned to die your words alone will have condemned him It simply isn't true that the virus is 100 percent fatal" Dr Scalettar agrees saying "There is much we do not know in medicine but there is little question that a positive outlook is extraordinarily helpful" Clearly it has been a factor in the following stories: realized that there was 11 0 - "I 4 Gary Brown 42 0 I ) l' Wayne Joy 31 s' t '' ' — i' - - ' |