...from the News Brief vault...
Needle Exchange and HIV Prevention
Laboratory Medicine, April 1995
A needle-exchange program at the New Haven Department of Health in New Haven, Conn., has experienced a decline in the number of returned needles containing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
According to a study in the journal AIDS (1994;8:567-574), the rate of HIV-infected needles from intravenous drug use has decreased 33% since the beginning of the legal needle-exchange program in November 1990.
The study population included an average of 250 participants per month. A total of 49,405 needles were distributed and tracked for circulation patterns; 2,813 of these needles were tested for HIV.
The program tracks and exchanges used needles for new ones on a one-for-one basis per client, with a maximum of 10 needles per visit. Used needles are given to Yale researchers, who collect baseline data on participants and then test needles for HIV proviral DNA by polymerase chain reaction. A positive test indicates the needle was used by at least one HIV-infected user.
Edward H. Kaplan, PhD, principal investigator for the study at the Yale University Schools of Management and Medicine in New Haven, said the program has been effective because frequent exchange of needles decreases needle circulation time and thus decreases opportunities for "needles to share people." Needles therefore are less likely to become infected and spread HIV.
The study has been criticized as being too limited. David Vlahov, PhD, of the Johns Hopkins University Department of Epidemiology, has suggested that future studies follow up on the individual drug user as the unit of analysis, because the decline in rates of infection could have been caused by shifting demographics in New Haven.
Both researchers agree the study is important because it is the first documented information available on the impact of needle-exchange programs in the United States.
—by Benjamin Ortiz
Red Wine Linked with Antioxidant Activity
Laboratory Medicine, April 1995
Cardiovascular disease would drop 40% and $40 billion could be saved annually if every adult in North America drank just two glasses of wine every day, according to a study and its accompanying editorial published in Clinical Chemistry (1995;41:32-35).
Researchers from the University of Birmingham, UK, and British United Provident Association (BUPA) Research and Clinical Audit, London, UK, conducted the study, which linked red wine with increased antioxidant activity. Antioxidants have been implicated in the prevention of atherosclerosis by their ability to clean up and prevent deposition of cholesterol on artery walls. Specifically, antioxidant compounds known as flavenoids facilitate the absorption of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and relaxation of the smooth muscle, key in the defense against atherosclerosis.
Mean antioxidant activity increased by 18% in nine test subjects who consumed 300 mL of red wine. Comparison with consumption of white wine, fruit juices, and vitamin C showed the high antioxidant capacity of red wine.
Red wine has a high level of flavenoids, a 20-fold concentration over white wine. One antioxidant compound, resveratrol, is unique to red wine. According to Sharon Allaway, BUPA researcher, tentative evidence also shows that red wine more than other forms of alcohol promotes high-density lipoprotein (HDL), a protective factor against heart disease.
The findings may unlock the secrets of the "French paradox"—that the French consume foods high in fat yet have a lower rate of heart disease than the British or North Americans.
According to Allaway, the evidence helps explain why those who consume moderate amounts of red wine have lower mortality rates from heart disease. But, Allaway said, "It would be foolhardy on our part to jump from our studies to recommendations on dietary behavior."
—by Benjamin Ortiz
"Benjamin Ortiz rides with cycling's guerrilla gang"
NewCity, 11 May 1995
Last October, thirty cyclists riding under the name Critical Mass drove up Michigan Avenue from the Art Institute, blocking north-bound automobile traffic in order to promote human-powered transportation. On May 6, the group re-forms for its second run, meant to coincide with a downtown rally, against the "Contract on America."
The riders meet at Wrigley Field. A frantically waving white banner reads "Chicago Allied Messenger Union" below the people's power fist. Waving that flag, Carlos "Desperdicio" sports Guatemalan-design shorts over a black body suit with a bicycle helmet and headpiece covering nose and mouth. He tells me in excitedly halting bursts that the term "critical mass" refers to bicycle traffic in China. Specifically, when enough bicyclists take an intersection and make their own lane, with its own right of way.
The U.S. version of Critical Mass can be traced more recently to "Berkland," the Berkeley-Oakland axis of Northern California. After he read about similar rides in the alternative press, Carlos says, he sent out the call to arms in Chicago. His mission: "We want to light a fire under the ass of commuters and municipal government, to recognize bicycle riding as a form of transportation to be reckoned with, so that motorists will start sharing the road with us and maybe even ditch their cars."
By 11am, the tribe is fidgeting to hit the road, festooned in everything from sportswear to Halloween gear, including propeller beanies, Zorro shades, and a particularly spooky Richard M. Nixon mask. Carlos passes out whistles and announces, "Welcome to the second not-annual-but-more-frequent-than-annual Critical Mass!" Cheers and bicycle horn honking. "We're going to go down Clark Street, hook up with messengers at Federal Plaza, then end up at Michigan and Monroe with the rally." Twenty of us hit the south-bound lane. Chants rise up: "Two wheels good...four wheels bad," "No more fossil fuels," and the eloquently direct "CARS SUCK!" Our bicycles amble in a cluster spread out on Clark, effectively blocking traffic. Reaction from the drivers blends dumbfounded amusement with impatience, from those trying to nudge us from behind. A few cars even honk encouragement. Two errant cyclists sheepishly join the fold along the way.
But right around the Gold Coast things get a little more icy. Two cop cars follow up the rear, and one of them asks Nixon, "Who's leading this thing?" Nixon pleads the fifth. The spacious Million Dollar Mile thins us out, but the mass remains critical enough to block south-bound traffic. Hostile BMW's are trying to break up the flock from all sides. One miffed visitor to the Magnificent Mile seems displeased with our intrusion on his Chicago Experience. Da guy screams, "Get the fuck outta the road you moron!" More riders slow, to ease the guy's hurry.
Having crossed the Chicago River, Critical Mass turns down Monroe to find the isolated political gathering at a clearing on Columbus Drive. But there's too much energy in the bike masses to kick back just yet, not with the thousand or so passively sedate lefties who are straining under various banners and legends, craning to make out slogans hissing from a bad PA system. We turn back for another spin around the Loop. And then we wait, the agitators growing agitated with the proceedings. Finally, the call to march is made. I'm ready to take to the streets again, but from behind I hear a grating PA command, "Stay on the sidewalks!" Zooming by, a female Masser chuckles, "Fuck that. Riding on the sidewalks is illegal!"
—by Benjamin Ortiz
In the past 25 years, laboratories have encountered a wide range of diseases and infectious agents. Some have been conquered; others remain formidable challenges. These diseases and progress in the fight against them are highlighted...
HANTAVIRUS PULMONARY SYNDROME
In mid-1993, an unusual respiratory illness was recognized in people living in New Mexico. Healthy young adults were stricken with flu-like symptoms, after which their capillaries leaked fluid into their lungs, leading to death. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is caused by a hantavirus carried primarily by deer mice. Initial cases were identified in the Four Corners region, the area in which New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona share borders. The virus kills about 55% of those infected. As of Aug. 31, 1994, 91 cases of HPS had been confirmed in 20 states. There have been 48 fatalities.
—by Benjamin Ortiz
Laboratory Medicine [the re-design issue], January 1995
[NOTE: The "Trends in Disease" series comes from my first job out of grad school, when I embarked on an odyssey of research to cover the great maladies and plagues of the day.]
In the past 25 years, laboratories have encountered a wide range of diseases and infectious agents. Some have been conquered; others remain formidable challenges. These diseases and progress in the fight against them are highlighted...
TUBERCULOSIS
A communicable disease caused by the tubercle bacillus and rarely by related mycobacteria, tuberculosis (TB) is marked by toxic and allergic symptoms, usually in the lungs. Roughly 8 million new cases of TB occur each year worldwide. From 1975 to 1985, the incidence of TB in the United States decreased, but the number of cases has increased every year since then. About 10 to 15 million people in the United States are infected with TB. Recent outbreaks of nosocomial multidrug-resistant TB have made the fight against it more difficult.
—by Benjamin Ortiz
Laboratory Medicine [the re-design issue], January 1995
[NOTE: The "Trends in Disease" series comes from my first job out of grad school, when I embarked on an odyssey of research to cover the great maladies and plagues of the day.]