ACTG Highlights

practitioners in the clinical research effort and to reach large, traditionally underserved
populations--blacks, Hispanics, women, and intravenous drug users. CPCRA investigators
have identified treatment and prevention of Ols as their top priority.
The staff of NIAID's Division of Intramural Research conduct their own clinical
investigation program at the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center in Bethesda,
Md. Intramural investigators have performed several important 01 clinical trials,
particularly for PCP and CMV retinitis. They also continue to characterize the disease
processes underlying Ols. They pioneered studies that have led to a greater understanding
of PCP and to the T4 cell count guidelines necessary for Food and Drug Administration
licensing of pentamidine as prophylactic therapy for this disease.
In addition, intramural and extramural investigators supported by the Institute's
Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases continue clinical research on infectious
pathogens. Two special clinical programs contribute to this effort. The NIAID
Collaborative Antiviral Study Group is a multicenter effort of 55 clinical investigators
focused on rare herpesvirus infections, such as herpes encephalitis. The Mycoses Study
Group is a similar NIAID-sponsored nationwide network of 28 medical centers dedicated to
clinical research on serious fungal diseases. NIAID staff heading these programs work
closely with AIDS clinical researchers and DAIDS staff to ensure that promising 01 drugs
are developed as quickly as possible.
Prepared by:
Office of Communications
National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892
May 1990

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