Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Tue, Jun 23 1992 Date: Tue, 23 Jun 92 05:14:12 EDT Message-ID: 06-23 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update June 23, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network FDA APPROVES NEW AIDS DRUG: A new AIDS drug has been approved in record time under a novel program that speeds availability of drugs for life-threatening diseases. The drug, ddC, is the third approved so far by the the Food and Drug Administration for fighting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. It was given approval in less than eight months, compared with two years for a typical new drug application. (For more, see special AIDS package below.) AMA PROPOSES POSTING FEES: Doctors would be required to post their fees in waiting rooms under a American Medical Association proposal. The proposal would not be binding on the AMA's 292,000 members but would carry the weight of the nation's largest organization of doctors. It will be considered by the AMA's 434-member House of Delegates during this week's policy-making meeting in Chicago. AIDS PROJECTS SUCCEED: AIDS prevention projects in 13 countries have slowed the spread of HIV, says a World Health Organization survey released Monday. Among the projects are condom-use promotions in Zaire, which increased sales to 18 million from 100,000 in four years, and a "100% condom use" rule in Thailand's brothels. STRESS DISORDERS RISE: More and more workers suffering from cumulative stress disorders are trying to collect millions of dollars in damages from manufacturers of keyboards and supermarket checkout scanners. A case gathering momentum in New York is "far and away the largest of its kind" says Steven Phillips of Levy, Phillips & Konigsberg, who is representing about 65 plaintiffs in federal court. SUITS TARGET MACHINE MAKERS: The clerk's office at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York says new cumulative stress disorder suits are being filed at a steady clip. The total number of plaintiffs is over 100. Defendants most frequently named in the suits are International Business Machines, Apple, Wang Laboratories, Eastman Kodak and its subsidiary Atex, Inc., and NCR Corp. FDA APPROVES FINASTERIDE: The Food and Drug Administration Monday announced the approval of finasteride to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. The condition, caused by an enlarged prostate gland and common in older men, has previously required surgery. Drugmaker Merck and Co. Inc. will market Finasteride under the name Proscar. FIRM OFFERS MEMBERSHIP IN GROUP: Drugmaker SmithKline Beecham announced Monday that it will offer 100,000 one-year, first-time memberships in the Arthritis Foundation, an organization providing information and programs to arthritis sufferers. For more information, people should contact their physicians. TRAFFIC DEATHS DECLINE: Alcohol-related traffic deaths in 1991 dropped 9.9% from 1990, according to new traffic statistics released by the National Highway Safety Administration. Of the 41,462 total traffic deaths in 1991, 48% involved alcohol. The figures represent a 28.9% decrease since 1980, according to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. ROBODOC WINS AWARD: Integrated Surgical Systems' computerized surgical system has been awarded the Computerworld Smithsonian International Award for Information Technology in the Arts and Sciences. ROBODOC uses advanced imaging software and a robotic arm to prepare bones for hip replacement surgery. It is now under review by the Food and Drug Administration for use in human total hip replacements. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON AIDS: APPROVAL BASED ON TWO STUDIES: FDA Commissioner David Kessler said Monday that the approval of the drug ddC for fighting HIV was based on two small studies involving fewer than 100 patients. Normally, extensive studies must prove a drug's safety and efficacy. But under a new program, the FDA will allow conditional approval for a life-threatening disease if a drug appears to improve symptoms. EARLY APPROVAL IS RISKY: The FDA is taking risk by approving ddC, but it can't wait for all the evidence with a disease like AIDS, said Kessler. Early studies suggest it should be used in combination with the first approved AIDS drug, AZT, and that it is effective in people whose number of infection-fighting CD-4 blood cells have dropped below 300 (normal levels: about 1,000), added Kessler. MORE STUDIES ARE ONGOING: The FDA's Dr. Steven Gitterman said experts must still learn the best dose of ddC, how long it can be taken and at what stage of disease it works best. If two major ongoing studies of ddC fail to confirm its safety or effectiveness, Kessler said the drug's approval could be quickly canceled. Hoffman-La Roche will market the drug under the name HIVID. (End of package.) Health Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM