Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service, Grant Application

Principal Investigator/Program Director (Last, first, middle):

Duesberg, Peter H.

stimulants. The frequency of nitrite use was proportional to the number of sexual partners (Centers for
Disease Control, 1982).
In 1983, Jaffe et al. investigated AIDS risk factors of 170 male homosexuals from sexual
disease clinics, including 50 with Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumonia, and 120 without AIDS. In this
group, 96% were regular users of nitrite inhalants, and 35-50% of ethylchloride inhalants. In
addition, 50-60% had used cocaine, 50-70% amphetamines, 40% phenylcyclidine, 40-60% lysergic
acid, 40-60% methaqualone, 25% barbiturates, 90% marijuana and 10% heroin (Jaffe et al., 1983b).
Over 50% had also used prescription drugs. Those with Kaposi's sarcoma had a median of 61 sex
partners per year and those without AIDS about 26. The study concludes that "lifetime exposure to
nitrites,...[and] use of various 'street' drugs...was greater for cases than controls." The lifetime drug
dose of "cases" was reported to be two times higher than of asymptomatic HIV carriers (Jaffe et al.,
198 3b).
The staggering oral drug use of those male homosexuals who practice AIDS risk behavior has
continued since the HIV hypothesis was accepted and AIDS prevention by safe sex and "clean
needles" was promoted:
Surveys studying the use of nitrite inhalants found that, in San Francisco, 58% of homosexual
men were users in 1984 and 27% in 1991, compared to less than 1% of heterosexuals and lesbians of
the same age group (Lesbian & Gay Substance Abuse Planning Group, 1991b).
A study of a group of 359 homosexual men in San Francisco reported in 1987 that 84% had
used cocaine, 82% alkylnitrites, 64% amphetamines, 51% methaqualone, 41% barbiturates, 20%
injected drugs and 13% shared needles (Darrow et al., 1987). This group had been randomly selected
from a list of homosexuals who had volunteered to be investigated for hepatitis B virus infection and to
donate antisera to hepatitis B virus between 1978 and 1980. The drug use pattern by this group was
unchanged 3 years later, in 1990 (Lifson et al., 1990).
The largest survey of its kind reported in 1990, that 83% of 3916 self-identified American
homosexual men had used one drug, primarily nitrites, and about 60% had used two or more drugs
with sexualactivities during the previous six months (Ostrow et al., 1990).
Similar drug use has been reported for European homosexuals at risk for AIDS (van Griensven
et al., 1987).
A nitrite-dose dependent distinction between AIDS pneumonia and AIDS Kaposi's sarcoma
was first described by Haverkos, et. al (Haverkos, et. al 1985; Haverkos 1988). Among 87 AIDS
patients with pneumonia and Kaposi's sarcoma, those with Kaposi's sarcoma (67 out of 87) reported
six times more amyl nitrite and ethyl chloride use, four times more barbiturate use, and twice the
metaqualone, lysergic acid and cocaine use than those with AIDS pneumonia only. Thus, Kaposi's
sarcoma correlates with a higher consumption of nitrites and other drugs.
d) Evidence that nitrites are necessary, if not sufficient, for AIDS in the absence of HIV.
1) The first five AIDS cases, diagnosed in 1981 before HIV was known, were male
homosexuals who had all consumed nitrite inhalants and presented with P-'neumnocystis pneumonia and
cytomegalovirus infection (Gottlieb et at., 1981).
2) Before IY was known, three controlled studies compared 20 homosexual AIDS patients to
40 AIDS-free controls (Marmor et at., 1982), 50 patients to 120 controls (Jaffe et at., 1983b) and 31
patients to 29 controls (Newell et at., 1985b) to determine AIDS risk factors. Each study reported that
multiple "street drugs" were used as sexual stimulants. And each study concluded that the "lifetime
use of nitrites" (Jaffe et at., 1983b) were 94% to 100% consistent risk factors for AIDS (Newell et at.,
1985b).

3) In 1993 Ascher et al. reported that 100% of AIDS patients, from a cohort that included both
PHS 398 (Rev.9/91) Page 26
Number pages consecutively at the bottom throughout the application. Do not use suffixes such as 3a, 3b.