Christian Century, Dec 26, 2006
THE CHOICE BETWEEN preventing AIDS by teaching abstinence or by distributing condoms is a false choice, Democratic senator Barack Obama of Illinois said to a mostly evangelical conference held at the southern California megachurch founded by pastor-author Rick Warren.
Both methods for dealing with HIV/AIDS should be used to their fullest extent, said Obama, a man increasingly touted by admirers as presidential material.
The high-profile conference with videotaped messages from rock star Bono and philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates coincided with World AIDS Day December 1. Held at Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, the meeting also, in the view of some religious right figures, presented a poor choice of speakers.
A group of pro-life activists and Christian conservatives criticized the pastor's inclusion of Obama, a liberal who favors abortion rights, as sending the wrong moral message. "This kind of conference is just going to lead people astray," contended pastor Wiley Drake of Buena Park, California, and second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
"If Senator Obama cannot defend the most helpless citizens in our country, he has nothing to say to the AIDS crisis," said a letter circulated by Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum. "We will never work with those who can support the murder of babies in the womb," said the letter, which was also signed by Tim Wildmon of the American
That protesting coalition was answered by 28 religious progressives, among them Baptist sociologist Tony Campolo; Steven Thurston, president of the National Baptist Convention of America; Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance; historian Randall Balmer and evangelical author Lauren Winner.
David Kuo, former special assistant to President Bush, asked on his Beliefnet blog: "Are they [the protesters] so blind and possessed with such a narrow definition of life that they can think of life only in utero?"
Warren, a Southern Baptist, also responded. He told reporters that he and his wife, Kay, would work with anyone committed to ending AIDS, no matter what their motivation or beliefs. Obama shared the Saddleback pulpit with Senator Sam Brownback (R., Kan.), a pro-life Catholic convert.
"Kay and I have built our entire ministry on being unifiers, not dividers," Warren said. "There will always be people who criticize us. If you can only work with people you agree with on everything, you've ruled out the world, because nobody agrees with you on everything."
Obama, who also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno while in California, said in his December 1 talk that churches can fill the need for religious dimensions to fighting AIDS. "Let me say this: I don't think we can deny that there is a moral and Spiritual component to prevention, that in too many places all over the world where AIDS is prevalent--including our own country, by the way--the relationship between men and women, between sexuality and spirituality, has broken down, and needs to be repaired."
When a husband hides infidelity from his wife, Obama said, it's not only a sin, it's a potential death sentence. That is a problem in many African countries where AIDS has spread unchecked. When trying to change attitudes about a man's prerogative for promiscuity and rape, he added, local churches like Saddleback provide a moral basis for better choices.
But faith-based morality alone won't stop AIDS, he warned. "I also believe that we cannot ignore that abstinence and fidelity may too often be the ideal and not the reality--that we are dealing with flesh-and-blood men and women and not abstractions--and that if condoms and potentially microbicides can prevent millions of deaths, they should be made more widely available."
A member of the United Church of Christ, Obama told the group that his faith reminds him that all people are sinners. He said that living according to the example set by Jesus is the most difficult kind of faith but the most rewarding as well.
"My Bible tells me that when God sent his only Son to earth, it was to heal the sick and comfort the weary; to feed the hungry and clothe the naked; to befriend the outcast and redeem those who strayed from righteousness," he said. "It is a way of life that can not only light our way as people of faith, but guide us to a new and better politics as Americans."
To the surprise of some, Obama praised the White House and Congress for spending billions on AIDS programs abroad. "I don't do that often," he said, drawing laughter. "This is an area where I think the Bush administration has not gotten enough credit."--ABP, other sources
27 Ağustos 2007 Pazartesi
Vatican studies condom use to fight AIDS
Christian Century, May 16, 2006
Welcoming news that the Vatican is considering approving condom use by those with HIV/AIDS, a South African Catholic bishop fighting the pandemic said April 25 that the church must look beyond its teaching on sexual conduct to regard condom use as an "ethical imperative."
Speaking in a conference call from an AIDS prevention meeting in Washington, Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa, said he hopes the study will ultimately relax the Vatican's 1968 ban on condoms rather than reinforce it.
"It would in fact be an ethical imperative to use condoms in order to preserve and protect life. That's what I hope will come out," Dowling said.
The bishop's comments came days after a Vatican cardinal announced that his office is preparing a document on condom use and Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a prominent liberal prelate, asserted that condom use could be acceptable as a "lesser evil" in preventing the spread of AIDS.
In an interview with Vatican Radio on April 25, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, who heads the Vatican's health department, appeared to revise his estimate that a document would be released "soon," saying the issue is being closely examined by various Vatican departments. "We are conducting a very profound scientific, technical and moral study," he said.
In recent years the Vatican has argued that abstinence is the only effective measure for preventing the spread of AIDS.
Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo of Colombia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, has argued that the HIV virus that causes AIDS is small enough to pass through a latex condom. Bishop Dowling dismissed Cardinal Trujillo's assertion as "plainly scientifically untrue," saying that the cardinal's statement "undermined the credibility of the church."
Welcoming news that the Vatican is considering approving condom use by those with HIV/AIDS, a South African Catholic bishop fighting the pandemic said April 25 that the church must look beyond its teaching on sexual conduct to regard condom use as an "ethical imperative."
Speaking in a conference call from an AIDS prevention meeting in Washington, Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa, said he hopes the study will ultimately relax the Vatican's 1968 ban on condoms rather than reinforce it.
"It would in fact be an ethical imperative to use condoms in order to preserve and protect life. That's what I hope will come out," Dowling said.
The bishop's comments came days after a Vatican cardinal announced that his office is preparing a document on condom use and Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a prominent liberal prelate, asserted that condom use could be acceptable as a "lesser evil" in preventing the spread of AIDS.
In an interview with Vatican Radio on April 25, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, who heads the Vatican's health department, appeared to revise his estimate that a document would be released "soon," saying the issue is being closely examined by various Vatican departments. "We are conducting a very profound scientific, technical and moral study," he said.
In recent years the Vatican has argued that abstinence is the only effective measure for preventing the spread of AIDS.
Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo of Colombia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, has argued that the HIV virus that causes AIDS is small enough to pass through a latex condom. Bishop Dowling dismissed Cardinal Trujillo's assertion as "plainly scientifically untrue," saying that the cardinal's statement "undermined the credibility of the church."
Circumcision and AIDS Ebony, Nov, 2005
Q I am a 35-year-old first-time mother-to-be, and I'm so excited about the motherhood. However, I know the child will be a boy, and I have a question concerning circumcision, especially as it relates to AIDS. Does the fact that a man has been circumcised lessen the possibility of him being infected by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS?
O.B., Charleston, S.C.
A For years there has been ongoing and heated discussion about the value, or non-value, of babies being circumcised. In one recent study, French and South African researchers apparently found evidence that male circumcision reduces by about 70 percent the possibility that men will become HIV-positive through intercourse with infected women.
The finding represents a potential major breakthrough in the fight against AIDS, a rampaging disease that's represented by an estimated 5 million new infections each year. Researchers are cautiously optimistic about the circumcision findings until they receive and interpret the data from the uncircumcised control group.
To this point, practically nothing--other than abstinence--has been proved to reduce the sexual spread of HIV.
O.B., Charleston, S.C.
A For years there has been ongoing and heated discussion about the value, or non-value, of babies being circumcised. In one recent study, French and South African researchers apparently found evidence that male circumcision reduces by about 70 percent the possibility that men will become HIV-positive through intercourse with infected women.
The finding represents a potential major breakthrough in the fight against AIDS, a rampaging disease that's represented by an estimated 5 million new infections each year. Researchers are cautiously optimistic about the circumcision findings until they receive and interpret the data from the uncircumcised control group.
To this point, practically nothing--other than abstinence--has been proved to reduce the sexual spread of HIV.
AIDS initiative signs first lease at bioscience center
Real Estate Weekly, July 11, 2007
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has entered into a lease for space with New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and partnered with the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center to become the first tenant at BioBAT, a new 486,000 s/f bioscience center to be housed at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn.
BioBAT is a collaboration between NYCEDC and SUNY Downstate through the SUNY Research Foundation. IAVI plans to develop a world class laboratory focused exclusively on accelerating the development of AIDS vaccines.
Under the terms of the 15-year lease with NYCEDC, the agency that manages BAT on behalf of the City of New York, IAVI will occupy 36,000 s/ f of space and move its AIDS Vaccine Development Laboratory into the new facility in the first quarter of 2008 from a temporary location at the SUNY Downstate campus. The City and the State are providing $54.5 million for the creation of BioBAT, and the City will provide $12.5 million of its portion for the construction of IAVI's space. "IAVI's decision to become a tenant at BioBAT reinforces our commitment to establishing a bioscience center at the Brooklyn Army Terminal," said NYCEDC president Robert C. Lieber.
"BioBAT will provide the bioscience companies at SUNY Downstate space to grow when they have outgrown their incubator space."
"We hope that IAVI's decision to establish its AIDS Vaccine Development Laboratory in Brooklyn will inspire additional bioscience companies to follow suit," said John C. LaRosa, M.D., president of SUNY Downstate.
"Downstate and IAVI have worked "together for the past two years, and today's formal announcement is an acknowledgement of our successful partnership."
Collaborating with a network of laboratories and research partners across the globe, the IAVI Lab aims to populate the vaccine pipeline with new concepts, which elicit multiple, targeted immune responses that demonstrate a measurable improvement over the candidates currently undergoing clinical testing, and therefore hold the potential to provide greater protection from HIV infection.
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has entered into a lease for space with New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and partnered with the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center to become the first tenant at BioBAT, a new 486,000 s/f bioscience center to be housed at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn.
BioBAT is a collaboration between NYCEDC and SUNY Downstate through the SUNY Research Foundation. IAVI plans to develop a world class laboratory focused exclusively on accelerating the development of AIDS vaccines.
Under the terms of the 15-year lease with NYCEDC, the agency that manages BAT on behalf of the City of New York, IAVI will occupy 36,000 s/ f of space and move its AIDS Vaccine Development Laboratory into the new facility in the first quarter of 2008 from a temporary location at the SUNY Downstate campus. The City and the State are providing $54.5 million for the creation of BioBAT, and the City will provide $12.5 million of its portion for the construction of IAVI's space. "IAVI's decision to become a tenant at BioBAT reinforces our commitment to establishing a bioscience center at the Brooklyn Army Terminal," said NYCEDC president Robert C. Lieber.
"BioBAT will provide the bioscience companies at SUNY Downstate space to grow when they have outgrown their incubator space."
"We hope that IAVI's decision to establish its AIDS Vaccine Development Laboratory in Brooklyn will inspire additional bioscience companies to follow suit," said John C. LaRosa, M.D., president of SUNY Downstate.
"Downstate and IAVI have worked "together for the past two years, and today's formal announcement is an acknowledgement of our successful partnership."
Collaborating with a network of laboratories and research partners across the globe, the IAVI Lab aims to populate the vaccine pipeline with new concepts, which elicit multiple, targeted immune responses that demonstrate a measurable improvement over the candidates currently undergoing clinical testing, and therefore hold the potential to provide greater protection from HIV infection.
Vitamins in the treatment of AIDS
Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, June, 2006 by Melvyn R. Werbach
Vitamin A Deficiency
With HIV infection, serum vitamin A concentration is lowered. (1) Moreover, depletion increases with the progression of the infection leading to AIDS. (1) Normalization of vitamin A nutriture is associated, among other things, with higher T-cell counts. (2) An overly high intake of vitamin A may, however, increase the risk of progression to AIDS in HIV-positive patients. (3)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Vitamin B Complex Deficiencies
The concentration of reduced homocysteine, a toxic amino acid, may be elevated, suggesting possible deficiencies of vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid. Increased homocysteine can promote the formation of reactive oxygen species and accelerated immunologic deterioration as well as increased HIV replication. (4)
Indeed, there is evidence of deficiency for all three of these B vitamins. Vitamin B6 may be deficient despite adequate intake which, in turn, is associated with decreased immune function. (5) Supplementation of the vitamin may substantially reduce the risk of progression to AIDS. (6) It may also help reduce the effects of psychological stress (7) and increase T-lymphocyte levels in HIV-positive patients. (8)
Decreases in vitamin B12 status in HIV-infected patients have been associated with peripheral neuropathy and myelopathy, (9) as well as with increasing immune dysfunction. (2) Supplementation of vitamin B12 in deficient patients has improved memory, (10) reduced dementia, (11) decreased peripheral neuropathy, (9) and increased depressed T-helper cell counts. (2)
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Finally, folic acid may be reduced, (12) sometimes severely enough to cause neurological degeneration, (13) although zidovudine (AZT) treatment may increase red cell folate levels. (14) The hematological toxicity of zidovudine (AZT) has been a problem. There is reason to be believe that adequate folic acid and/or vitamin B12 repletion may reduce the risk, although controlled clinical trials remain to be done. (15)
Nutriture of other members of the vitamin B complex may also be reduced. Niacin, riboflavin, and thiamine intakes may be inversely related to the risk of AIDS in HIV-positive patients, and one study found that the highest quartile of intake of each was independently associated with improved survival over an eight-year follow-up period. (6) Moreover, neuropathological changes characteristic of Wernicke's encephalopathy (which results from thiamine deficiency) have been described post-mortem in non-alcoholic AIDS patients. (16)
Vitamin C
Plasma levels of vitamin C may be reduced in ARC, AIDS, and asymptomatic HIV-positive patients. (17) Furthermore, intake may be inversely related to the risk of AIDS in HIV-positive patients. (3) In vitro, ascorbate diminishes HIV viral protein production in infected cells and reverse transcriptase stability in extracellular virions (complete viral particles). (18) In clinical settings, ingestion of vitamin C until diarrhea is induced (often referred to as the "ascorbate flush") has been found to improve symptomatology and slow the decline of--or even improve--killer T-cell activity and T-helper/T-suppressor ratios. (19-21) Similarly, the application of a vitamin C paste up to four times daily, while simultaneously prescribing massive oral doses of ascorbate, has been reported to successfully treat early lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma. (19)
Vitamin D Deficiency
The count of CD+ cells may be the most important marker of immunodeficiency in HIV-infected patients and can be used to predict survival and progression to AIDS. Serum vitamin D levels have been found to be directly associated with this count, (22) suggesting that supplementation to restore normal serum levels may be an effective treatment.
Vitamin E Deficiency
Both plasma or serum levels of vitamin E have been shown to be reduced in HIV-infected patients. (23) There is evidence that supplementation with the vitamin may enhance immunocompetence (24) and boost plasma glutathione levels. (25) Moreover, animal studies suggest that supplementation may increase the therapeutic efficacy of AZT while reducing its toxicity. (26-27)
Multivitamin Supplementation
The New England Journal of Medicine recently published the results of a randomized trial of multivitamins for HIV-infected pregnant women in Tanzania. Multivitamins (vitamins B, C, and E) were compared to vitamin A (preformed vitamin A and beta carotene) and both in regard to the progressive of HIV disease. While the effects of vitamin A were not impressive, the multivitamins successfully delayed the progression of the disease. (28)
Melvyn R. Werbach, MD
4751 Viviana Drive
Tarzana, California 91356 USA
818-996-0076; Fax 818-774-1575
References
1. Kafwembe EM et al. Vitamin A levels in HIV/AIDS. East Afr Med J. 2001;78(9):451-3.
2. Baum MK et al. Micronutrients and HIV-1 disease progression. AIDS. 1995;9:1051-6.
3. Tang AM et al. Dietary micronutrient intake and the risk of progression to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) infected homosexual men. Am J Epidemiol. 1993;138:937-51.
Vitamin A Deficiency
With HIV infection, serum vitamin A concentration is lowered. (1) Moreover, depletion increases with the progression of the infection leading to AIDS. (1) Normalization of vitamin A nutriture is associated, among other things, with higher T-cell counts. (2) An overly high intake of vitamin A may, however, increase the risk of progression to AIDS in HIV-positive patients. (3)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Vitamin B Complex Deficiencies
The concentration of reduced homocysteine, a toxic amino acid, may be elevated, suggesting possible deficiencies of vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid. Increased homocysteine can promote the formation of reactive oxygen species and accelerated immunologic deterioration as well as increased HIV replication. (4)
Indeed, there is evidence of deficiency for all three of these B vitamins. Vitamin B6 may be deficient despite adequate intake which, in turn, is associated with decreased immune function. (5) Supplementation of the vitamin may substantially reduce the risk of progression to AIDS. (6) It may also help reduce the effects of psychological stress (7) and increase T-lymphocyte levels in HIV-positive patients. (8)
Decreases in vitamin B12 status in HIV-infected patients have been associated with peripheral neuropathy and myelopathy, (9) as well as with increasing immune dysfunction. (2) Supplementation of vitamin B12 in deficient patients has improved memory, (10) reduced dementia, (11) decreased peripheral neuropathy, (9) and increased depressed T-helper cell counts. (2)
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Finally, folic acid may be reduced, (12) sometimes severely enough to cause neurological degeneration, (13) although zidovudine (AZT) treatment may increase red cell folate levels. (14) The hematological toxicity of zidovudine (AZT) has been a problem. There is reason to be believe that adequate folic acid and/or vitamin B12 repletion may reduce the risk, although controlled clinical trials remain to be done. (15)
Nutriture of other members of the vitamin B complex may also be reduced. Niacin, riboflavin, and thiamine intakes may be inversely related to the risk of AIDS in HIV-positive patients, and one study found that the highest quartile of intake of each was independently associated with improved survival over an eight-year follow-up period. (6) Moreover, neuropathological changes characteristic of Wernicke's encephalopathy (which results from thiamine deficiency) have been described post-mortem in non-alcoholic AIDS patients. (16)
Vitamin C
Plasma levels of vitamin C may be reduced in ARC, AIDS, and asymptomatic HIV-positive patients. (17) Furthermore, intake may be inversely related to the risk of AIDS in HIV-positive patients. (3) In vitro, ascorbate diminishes HIV viral protein production in infected cells and reverse transcriptase stability in extracellular virions (complete viral particles). (18) In clinical settings, ingestion of vitamin C until diarrhea is induced (often referred to as the "ascorbate flush") has been found to improve symptomatology and slow the decline of--or even improve--killer T-cell activity and T-helper/T-suppressor ratios. (19-21) Similarly, the application of a vitamin C paste up to four times daily, while simultaneously prescribing massive oral doses of ascorbate, has been reported to successfully treat early lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma. (19)
Vitamin D Deficiency
The count of CD+ cells may be the most important marker of immunodeficiency in HIV-infected patients and can be used to predict survival and progression to AIDS. Serum vitamin D levels have been found to be directly associated with this count, (22) suggesting that supplementation to restore normal serum levels may be an effective treatment.
Vitamin E Deficiency
Both plasma or serum levels of vitamin E have been shown to be reduced in HIV-infected patients. (23) There is evidence that supplementation with the vitamin may enhance immunocompetence (24) and boost plasma glutathione levels. (25) Moreover, animal studies suggest that supplementation may increase the therapeutic efficacy of AZT while reducing its toxicity. (26-27)
Multivitamin Supplementation
The New England Journal of Medicine recently published the results of a randomized trial of multivitamins for HIV-infected pregnant women in Tanzania. Multivitamins (vitamins B, C, and E) were compared to vitamin A (preformed vitamin A and beta carotene) and both in regard to the progressive of HIV disease. While the effects of vitamin A were not impressive, the multivitamins successfully delayed the progression of the disease. (28)
Melvyn R. Werbach, MD
4751 Viviana Drive
Tarzana, California 91356 USA
818-996-0076; Fax 818-774-1575
References
1. Kafwembe EM et al. Vitamin A levels in HIV/AIDS. East Afr Med J. 2001;78(9):451-3.
2. Baum MK et al. Micronutrients and HIV-1 disease progression. AIDS. 1995;9:1051-6.
3. Tang AM et al. Dietary micronutrient intake and the risk of progression to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) infected homosexual men. Am J Epidemiol. 1993;138:937-51.
Tonnage Monitor aids in press protection and QC
Product News Network, Jan 9, 2006
Dust-proof, 4-channel PWi PressWatch Production Monitor features 100 job storage capacity, reverse tonnage display, as well as top stop and e-stop relays. User interface consists of 6 tactile switches and backlit LCD graphic display, which provides menu system and relays tonnage deviation, alarm data, settings, and time-based tonnage signatures for PressNet and TTGraph. Included 7-segment LED displays tonnage of each channel as well as total tonnage.
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Compact 4 Channel Tonnage Monitor
HOLLAND, OHIO - January 3, 2006 - Toledo Integrated Systems introduces the PWi PressWatch Production Monitor, which is a full-featured tonnage monitor for press protection and quality control.
Dust-proof, 4-channel PWi PressWatch Production Monitor features 100 job storage capacity, reverse tonnage display, as well as top stop and e-stop relays. User interface consists of 6 tactile switches and backlit LCD graphic display, which provides menu system and relays tonnage deviation, alarm data, settings, and time-based tonnage signatures for PressNet and TTGraph. Included 7-segment LED displays tonnage of each channel as well as total tonnage.
********************
Compact 4 Channel Tonnage Monitor
HOLLAND, OHIO - January 3, 2006 - Toledo Integrated Systems introduces the PWi PressWatch Production Monitor, which is a full-featured tonnage monitor for press protection and quality control.
Uganda promises education and protection for HIV/AIDS orphans - Brief Article
KAMPALA -- The Ugandan government, which has led Africa in controlling the rise of HIV/AIDS infections, stated that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS will receive an education. President Yoweri Museveni presented this information at a meeting with visiting U.N. Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis and Graca Machel, a children's rights activist, wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela and a former education minister in Mozambique.
The government understands that orphaned children need to be educated so they are not disadvantaged twice, Museveni said. Machel said that orphaned girls especially must be protected from abuse.
The announcement came just a few days after the publication of a Population Reference Bureau-sponsored study, which shows that Uganda's population will reach 82 million by 2050, making it the world's 20th largest country.
The study credits the country's success in stemming HIV/AIDS for the projected population growth. Museveni said that the government's early focus on raising awareness about the disease helped control the epidemic in Uganda.
The government understands that orphaned children need to be educated so they are not disadvantaged twice, Museveni said. Machel said that orphaned girls especially must be protected from abuse.
The announcement came just a few days after the publication of a Population Reference Bureau-sponsored study, which shows that Uganda's population will reach 82 million by 2050, making it the world's 20th largest country.
The study credits the country's success in stemming HIV/AIDS for the projected population growth. Museveni said that the government's early focus on raising awareness about the disease helped control the epidemic in Uganda.
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