TRENTON,
N.J.
(AP)
—
Everyone
knows
condoms
prevent
pregnancy
and
transmitted
diseases.
But
how
well
do
they
work?
That
question
is
at
the
center
of
a
debate
over
whether
the
labels
on
condom
packages
should
be
changed.
On
one
side
are
abstinence
advocates,
including
a
conservative
congressman
who
is
blocking
appointment
of
a
new
federal
drug
agency
chief
until
the
labels
are
changed.
On
the
other
side
are
“safe
sex”
advocates
who
fear
label
changes
could
undermine
confidence
in
condoms
and
increase
the
spread
of
AIDS
and
other
sexually
transmitted
diseases.
Each
side
has
some
truth
in
its
argument:
Condoms
are
very
effective
against
the
AIDS
virus,
but
data
for
their
effectiveness
against
some
other
STDs
is
surprisingly
spotty.
“They
do
not
provide
100
percent
protection,
but
for
people
who
are
sexually
active
they
are
the
best
and
the
only
method
we
have
for
preventing
these
diseases,”
said
Heather
Boonstra,
a
public
policy
official
with
the
Alan
Guttmacher
Institute,
a
nonprofit
group
that
researches
reproductive
health
issues.
Boonstra
said
that
Republican
Sen.
Tom
Coburn,
a
physician
from
Oklahoma,
and
the
abstinence-promoting
Medical
Institute
for
Sexual
Health
are
“manipulating
this
data
to
drive
home
their
own
anti-condom,
anti-contraceptive
message.”
But
John
Hart,
spokesperson
for
Coburn,
said
the
senator’s
June
15
hold
on
Lester
Crawford’s
nomination
as
commissioner
of
the
Food
&
Drug
Administration
is
an
effort
to
make
Crawford
obey
a
2000
law
sponsored
by
Coburn,
who
also
served
as
head
of
President
Bush’s
AIDS
advisory
council.
It
requires
the
FDA
to
change
condom
labels
to
give
more
information
on
their
“effectiveness
or
lack
of
the
effectiveness
in
preventing
STDs.”
WASHINGTON
—
The
AIDS
medicine
Aptivus,
manufactured
by
Boehringer
Ingelheim,
got
the
green
light
last
week
for
sale
in
the
United
States,
Reuters
reported.
The
drug
is
used
to
treat
adults
with
drug-resistant
HIV
infections
in
combination
with
Norvir
from
Abbot
Laboratories
Inc.
Boehringer,
based
in
Germany,
said
Aptivus
will
be
available
nationwide
by
mid-July,
according
to
Reuters.
A
protease
inhibitor,
Aptivus
helps
suppress
the
virus
that
causes
AIDS,
and
although
there
are
several
such
drugs
available
in
the
U.S.,
health
leaders
said
new
drugs
offer
more
options
because
patients
usually
develop
resistance
to
the
medicines.
In
two
major
clinical
trials
funded
by
Boehringer,
researchers
found
that
Aptivus
was
more
effective
than
other
HIV
drugs
when
used
as
a
companion
to
Norvir,
Reuters
reported.
NEW
YORK
—
A
new
report
shows
that
up
to
one
in
five
gay
men
have
anal
squamous
intraepithelial
lesions,
which
are
precursors
of
anal
cancer,
Reuters
Health
reported.
The
report,
published
in
the
Journal
of
the
National
Cancer
Institute
on
June
15,
details
a
study
by
researchers
at
the
University
of
California
San
Francisco.
“There
is
a
high
prevalence
of
anal
cancer
precursor
lesions
and
anal
human
papillomavirus
in
this
population
across
all
sexually
active
age
groups,
confirming
early
studies
of
disease
prevalence,”
Dr.
Peter
V.
Chin-Hong,
lead
study
author,
told
Reuters
health.
Scientists
looked
at
age-related
prevalence
and
risk
factors
for
anal
lesions
in
more
than
1,000
HIV-negative
men
who
have
sex
with
men
in
four
cities
in
the
United
States.
These
lesions
were
present
in
20
percent
of
the
study
participants,
with
15
percent
of
men
with
low-grade
lesions
and
5
percent
with
high-grade
lesions,
Reuters
Health
reported.
Researchers
found
the
precursors
to
anal
cancer
significantly
more
common
among
men
with
more
than
five
receptive
anal
sex
partners
in
the
previous
six
months.
EDINBURGH
—
The
National
AIDS
Trust
last
week
put
the
U.K.
AIDS
Memorial
Quilt
on
the
Internet
to
allow
more
people
access
to
view
it,
the
Scotsman
reported.
The
online
launch
precedes
the
G8
Summit
this
month,
when
the
world’s
most
powerful
leaders
gather
to
discuss
top
issues
across
the
globe.
In
addition,
100
quilt
panels
were
unveiled
last
week
in
Edinburgh
to
greet
the
G8
officials,
the
Scotsman
reported.
Initiated
in
San
Francisco
in
1985,
the
AIDS
Memorial
Quilt
is
a
worldwide
International
Names
Project
initiative
to
memorialize
every
person
who
dies
of
the
disease.
With
the
U.K.
Web
site,
viewers
can
access
more
than
300
quilt
panels
and
personal
stories
in
memory
of
many
of
the
13,145
people
who
have
died
from
AIDS
in
the
U.K.
in
the
last
two
decades.
“The
Web
site
is
a
moving
testimony
to
the
stigma
of
HIV
and
the
devastating
impact
of
AIDS
on
families
and
communities
in
the
early
years
of
the
virus,”
Deborah
Jack,
chief
executive
of
the
National
Aids
Trust,
said.
“However
it
is
also
a
reminder
of
how
far
the
fight
against
HIV
has
come
in
the
last
20
years.”
PROVIDENCE,
R.I.
(AP)
—
A
bill
that
would
allow
patients
with
...
