[National Cancer Institute Report]

rashes did occur at the higher doses. Eight of 15 children
showed improved immune cell counts, and six of nine children who
had presented with elevated levels of p24 showed decreases in
this parameter. Two of the three children who had overt
developmental deficits prior to beginning ddC showed evidence of
improvement.
The investigators have also evaluated a regimen in which AZT
is administered to children for three out of every four weeks,
while ddC is administered during the fourth week. The goal of
this schedule is to maintain continuous antiretroviral therapy
while attempting to avoid the bone marrow suppression associated
with AZT and the neuropathy seen with prolonged use of ddC. With
the children treated for at least 1 1/2 years, these goals seem
to have been accomplished in this pilot study, suggesting that
additional clinical trials with this regimen are warranted.
The researchers have also carried out extensive studies with
ddI in children and have shown it to be an active and promising
antiretroviral agent. Present studies are comparing AZT to ddI,
and studies combining AZT with ddI are also under way.
New Approaches to AIDS Vaccines
NCI scientists Drs. Prem Sarin and Gallo, along with
Dr. Allan Goldstein of The George Washington University Medical
Center, Washington, D.C., Drs. Daniel Zagury and Ammar Achour at
the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France, and
colleagues have reported encouraging results from the first human
trials of an HGP-30 AIDS vaccine. The study was conducted at the
Kobler AIDS Clinic at St. Stephen's Hospital in London.