THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996 TAG: 9611020286
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 65 lines
Just six months ago, Dr. R. Scott Hitt would not have been talking about the theory that new drugs for HIV infection could eventually banish the virus that causes AIDS from the body.
Now, Hitt is talking about the so-called ``eradication hypothesis,'' although he's mentioning it cautiously.
``That's the theory,'' he said. ``We will test that very soon.''
Hitt, chairman of President Clinton's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, was in Norfolk Friday to speak to AIDS activists and case workers. Hitt addressed the lunchtime gathering at the Waterside Marriott as a warm-up for the Walk for Life, to be held in Norfolk and Hampton Sunday afternoon.
There's been a lot of good news about AIDS lately, he said. Just a year ago, the media still talked of AIDS as a death sentence.
``Today, anybody who says that should be laughed off the stage,'' Hitt said. ``Let me tell you, that's a pretty big shift in a year.''
Many patients are seeing sharp improvements, thanks to drug ``cocktails'' that include medications approved by the FDA over the last year.
This new class of drugs, protease inhibitors, cripples an enzyme vital to the late stages of HIV's reproduction, while older AIDS medicines attack the virus before it infiltrates a cell's DNA.
In some cases, doctors say, these cocktails appear to fight the virus to a draw, raising the hope that AIDS can be converted to a chronic illness.
And, in theory, if this medicine suppresses the virus long enough, up to about three years, ``all the cells that had any virus left in them should have died and gone away,'' Hitt said.
In theory. There are still many unanswered questions, Hitt added. Doctors don't know yet how long the drug cocktails work. It's possible that the virus lurks in other parts of the body and will return. And doctors still haven't pinpointed the best possible combination of drug types and brands.
``Those are things we won't know for a few years, but at least we're moving closer,'' he said.
Hitt complained about the ``roller coaster'' of reporting on AIDS. The media trumpets the good news so much that the public expects miracles, until a new study comes out that shows a setback.
``The headline in The New York Times . . . in six months is going to be: `Protease inhibitors failed.' ''
AIDS remains the leading cause of death for Americans between 25 and 44. ``It is not time to declare victory on the virus . . . there are a lot of barriers to the cure,'' he said.
During the question-and-answer period and after the speech, some listeners pointed out that the new drug combinations are out of the reach of some people because of cost. The combination Hitt discussed in depth - AZT, 3TC, and Crixivan - costs at least $1,000 a month, said AIDS workers.
A state fund to help AIDS patients has a waiting list for people who want to start therapy with Crixivan, said Joseph Riddick of the Eastern Regional AIDS Resource Center at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Nick Siano, a Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce case manager, said he's had trouble getting disability coverage for clients who need it. Commercial insurers sometimes balk at the cost, said Mary Ann Moore, director of the AIDS center at EVMS.
Moore also said Virginia AIDS workers worry that the movement of poor patients into Medicaid managed care plans, which emphasize cost-cutting, will make funds even harder to come by. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Dr. R. Scott Hitt is mentioning an ``eradication hypothesis.''
KEYWORDS: AIDS RESEARCH by CNB