Bill Weintraub

New HIV drug causes fatal bleeding; toxicity among other HIV drugs a major concern

7-2-2006

Two news articles from Yahoo:

New label on HIV drug to warn of bleeding

Fri Jun 30, 2006

WASHINGTON - The strict "black-box" warning on the label of an HIV drug approved just last year is being updated to warn of sometimes fatal bleeding within the brain or skull tissue, health officials said Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration said it has received 14 reports of intracranial hemorrhaging in patients treated in clinical trials with the drug, Aptivus, in combination with the older HIV drug ritonavir.

Eight of those patients died, among the 6,840 enrolled in trials of the drug combination.

Many of the hemorrhage patients had other medical conditions or were taking other drugs that could have contributed to the bleeding, the FDA said. Further investigations seek to assess the drug's role.

The new warnings recommend doctors use caution in prescribing Aptivus, also known as tipranavir, to patients at risk for increased bleeding. Examples include people who have suffered trauma or undergone surgery, or who are taking anticoagulants.

The FDA approved Aptivus in June 2005; it approved ritonavir, sold as Norvir, in 1996.

Aptivus' black-box warning, the strictest a prescription drug can bear, previously warned only of the risk of severe liver disease when used with ritonavir. The two drugs are always taken together, along other HIV drugs.

Aptivus is made by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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Long-term effects of drugs worry UK HIV patients

By Patricia Reaney

Fri Jun 30, 2006

LONDON (Reuters) - Although he has HIV, living with the virus that causes AIDS is not Nikk Bowden's major concern.

He is lucky enough to have the drugs that have turned HIV/AIDS from a death sentence into a treatable illness, and like many in his position what now worries him most are the long-term toxic effects of the medications he takes.

Muscle pain and wasting, liver and pancreas problems, diabetes, fat redistribution and nerve damage are side effects that can occur after years of use.

"Long-term you do worry as to exactly what it is doing to your body. If you are expected to be on them for 30-40 years, as some doctors will tell you, what is going to happen further down the line," said the 34-year-old decorator from Edinburgh.

"Has enough research been done into this and is it on-going? Are we going to get the answers as the doctors get them or are they going to keep them quite quiet?" he added in an interview on Friday.

Bowden, who was infected 7 years ago through unsafe sex, is not alone in his concerns.

In a survey of nearly 2,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Britain, 69 percent said they did not feel informed enough about the long-term effects of medications.

Fear of other illnesses, or opportunistic infections, caused by HIV was second on the list of top concerns followed by the short-term side effects of the drugs. Patients were less troubled about the interaction of HIV drugs with other medications, according to the poll.

Ninety-three percent in the survey conducted by the UK Coalition of People Living with HIV and AIDS said they had difficulty planning for the future.

"This survey is timely and indicates that the patients' greatest concern is long-term toxicity," said HIV researcher Professor Brian Gazzard, of London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, in a statement.

Bowden added that many of the drugs have simply not been around long enough for researchers to know what their impact would be after taking them for decades.

"It is a worry that you could be taking something that isn't fully understood over a period of time," he said. "The payment is that I get extra years of life through taking the medication. It is the best part of a bad deal, I suppose."

The first medical cases of the mysterious illness now known as HIV/AIDS were reported 25 years ago. AZT, the first therapy for AIDS, was approved for use in the United States in 1987.

Today about 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, with the majority in sub-Saharan Africa.

By the end of last year, 1.3 million people in poor countries had access to AIDS drugs.

Bill Weintraub:

There are now 40 million people infected with HIV.

And their only hope are these drugs.

Which are toxic.

When Dr. Edward C. Green says "We could easily prevent this disease," he's shouted down.

When I say "We could easily prevent this disease," I'm shouted down.

What those who shout us down are doing is condemning literally tens of millions of people to at best, a lingering death.

When Museveni of Uganda talks about Fidelity and optimal relationships based on love and trust -- he's shouted down.

Yet Museveni alone among African leaders has succeeded in radically reducing HIV prevalence among the people in his charge.

Something the gay leadership have shown themselves incapable of doing.

Let's look at the guy who's profiled in the second article.

He's a "decorator" -- a traditionally gay, femmy, profession.

He was infected seven years ago through "unsafe sex" -- which isn't sex at all.

Is there a relationship between effeminacy and receptive anal?

Yes.

Is that how most gay men are infected?

Yes.

Through receptive anal.

Is effeminacy good for gay men?

NO.

Will we continue to say so?

YES.

Because the idea that you can leave effeminacy in place in gay male culture and somehow move these feminized males away from anal -- is FALSE.

Can't be done.

Anal and effeminacy are intimately related.

Anal, promiscuity, and effeminacy are inter-related.

They feed on each other.

And all three have to be destroyed.

They have no place in the lives of MEN who LOVE MEN.

What do we offer in their stead?

PHALLUS

FIDELITY

MASCULINITY

Here's what Robert Loring and David said in David's message thread Less than a Real Man:

Robert: You are a REAL MAN because real men LOVE other men.

David: Young boys and men should be taught to go with what is natural and normal and healthy for all men...MASCULINITY, FIDELITY, INTEGRITY, PHALLIC SEXUALITY, WARRIOR BROTHERHOOD...it should be celebrated by and for every man, everywhere.

"Real men LOVE other men."

That's the TRUTH.

That message has to get out.

And look at David's list:

MASCULINITY

FIDELITY

INTEGRITY

PHALLIC SEXUALITY

WARRIOR BROTHERHOOD

That's what I had with Brett.

That's what I have with Patrick.

That's what all men who love men can have.

If they want it.

Those who are opposed to our stance on effeminacy need to look at the world effeminacy has made.

They need to scroll to the top of this page and read about the toxic meds and the 40 million infected.

And remember the 25 million who've already died.

© All material Copyright 2006 by Bill Weintraub. All rights reserved.

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