FAIR to NIH Director, Pres. Bush, Senate and House "Distribute some of HIV research funding to other illnesses" In a six-page letter to the Director of the National Institutes of Health that was also sent to President Bush and all members of the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittee members overseeing NIH funding, FAIR called for a recognition of the great success against HIV diseases and a redistribution of a portion of HIV/AIDS research dollars to other illness. Click on Dr. Zerhouni to read the full letter that was accompanied by the signatures of all members of our Board of Directors. The response by Dr. Zerhouni is included. "Scientists Feel Deflated as NIH Research Bubble Begins to Pop" In a telling article reported by Daniel Levine, the downturn in NIH research funding is significantly affecting our nation's bio-medical research effort. Click on the Business Times logo to read its interesting quotes. Ex-NIH Director Varmus, who played a key role in achieving large HIV funding, says only Congress and the President are to blame, not the NIH. We disagree in our letter to Mr. Levine, viewable here. Having achieved excellent drugs for treatment, the NIH Now Shifts HIV $$ to finding a Vaccine Is that Appropriate? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a statement on the need to "...accelerate efforts in both basic and clinical research to design promising new [HIV] vaccine candidates (here). Our response: FAIR would like a vaccine for HIV and many other illnesses, but before present AIDS research dollars are allotted for that purpose, we believe it more appropriate for the NIH to concentrate on finding better treatments for illnesses that have not achieved the basic goal of effective therapy as has been realized for HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, if a vaccine is developed for HIV, then what is it? It will be yet another preventive policy (see story below) and billions more will be needed to pay for this new preventive policy when we don’t presently have the funding to provide medicines and develop health infrastructures in Sub-Saharan Africa. As stated above, we already have the preventive and pharmaceutical solutions to HIV disease. The End of AIDS; a Global Summit CNN's Medical Correspondent, Sonjay Gupta, MD, (left) hosted an excellent global summit on HIV/AIDS entitled "The End of AIDS, A Global Summit" that featured President Clinton and many international HIV experts. Was the need for more research mentioned once? No. Did Dr. Gupta and Dr. Rosenberg exaggerate when speaking of HIV/AIDS in the USA? Yes. Many comments by the participants were very revealing and corroborated FAIR's position on the solution to global AIDS: prevention education, providing the existing medicines and harm reduction policies (clean syringes). To read enlightening quotes by the participants, click on Dr. Gupta's picture.

50,000 New Parkinson's Patients Annually

The US Food and Drug Administration recently announced a new drug to help patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. This good news was offset by the troublesome statistic that there are 50,000 new Parkinson's patients annually (compare to an estimated 40,000 for HIV). For the full story, click on Michael Fox or on Muhammad Ali.

Nations Levy Airline 'AIDS Tax' on Passengers

A group of 14 nations, led by France, has announced that they will impose a tax on airline passengers to help buy drugs for people infected with HIV/AIDS. Story here.

Al Gore, Global Warming and FAIR?

FAIR's Home page introduction points out that one of our government's research disparities is that the amount spent on the “Health Effects of Climate Change” is greater than the funding for over 6,000 illnesses. We presume Vice President Gore would disagree with us as evidenced by his new movie, "An Inconvenient Truth." The US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works criticized the Associated Press for applauding Gore's movie without mentioned the scores of scientists who have harshly criticized the movie. In addition, Tom Harris of the Canadian Free Press reports dozens of eminent scientists disagree with Vice President Gore and an Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT, Richard D. Lindzen, also expresses objections to Mr. Gore's position in the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page. All those strong opinions and arguments may be read by clicking here.

Test everyone?

Previously the Centers for Disease Control, as reported by FAIR, announced that it wanted to test every pregnant woman in the USA for HIV, regardless of her risk profile or lack thereof. As reported by WebMD, the CDC has announced it wants to test everyone who receives medical care for HIV disease. See our local response to the Desert Sun Newspaper here.

NIH Announces new Clinical Studies on Orphan (rare) Diseases--FAIR: "Insufficient Funding"

The National Institutes of Health announced five-year funding awards totally $71 million. The total funding by the NIH for over 6,000 orphan diseases is $1,185 billion dollars, which amounts to $200,000 per disease. This low figure leads us to conclude that both the total funding for orphan diseases and the increase of $71 million are insufficient.

 

The HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Parade Continues

In May there were 1,742 HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials, in August, 1,865, in October 2,233, in December the total was 2,293, now in June it is 2,520. Find out how many for your disease by clicking here. For example, there are a total of only 1,598 clinical trials for Diabetes, 255 for Alzheimer's Disease, 270 for COPD and 306 for hepatitis C.

HIV/HCV patients have poorer result
after starting treatment than those with only HIV 

As reported by Michael Carter of aidsmap news, HIV-positive individuals coinfected with hepatitis C virus have poorer outcomes after starting potent anti- retroviral therapy than patients who are only infected with HIV. Indeed, dozens of HIV organizations have acknowledged for over a year in communications to Congresspersons on the Appropriations Subcommittees that hepatitis C related liver disease is the greatest cause of death in HIV patients.

FAIR Members' Soapbox Alerts continue; this month to those suffering from diabetes and/or hepatitis C. To easily send an alert to President Bush, VP Cheney, your Senators and/or your Representatives today, click the Soapbox logo!
 

FAIR Membership is Important
Help us recruit new members today!

In the fight for fairness in funding to balance the scales of justice, remember that every new member counts. We have thousands of members and supporters in all fifty States and the District of Columbia but we need many more to impact our nation's Congresspersons and the President. Please, forward this newsletter to your friends and associates now with your personal recommendation that they join FAIR for free today by clicking on the scales of justice to the left!

Focus Disease of the Month: Diabetes

• Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.

• Diabetes is deadly; it kills more Americans than AIDS, breast cancer and hepatitis C combined. Indeed, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the USA.

• Diabetes is common: two years ago there were 16 million with diabetes. Now there are 21 million (7 percent of US population, 13 million diagnosed; 5.2 undiagnosed). Compare to HIV/AIDS: CDC estimates put the number with HIV/AIDS at 1 million.

• Diabetes symptoms: excessive thirst, extreme hunger, unusual weight loss, extreme fatigue, frequent urination, blurry vision and irritability. You can also take the American Diabetes Association's Online Diabetes Risk Test to find out if you are at risk for diabetes.

• Diabetes is serious; it is the number one cause of blindness, kidney disease and stroke. In fact, more than 65 percent of people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke.

• Diabetes and CVD: Diabetics are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, one of the world's biggest killers, 15 years earlier than other people so a diabetic 40 years of age has the same potential for a stroke as a healthy person of age 55. Full story.

• Diabetes, Genetics and Race: Do genetics and race play a role in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes? Yes! For a full explanation on the role of genetics from the ADA, click here. Hispanics are almost twice as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanics and nearly 25 percent of all Hispanics, age 45-74, have it. African-Americans are almost twice as likely to have diabetes as the general population and 11.4 percent over 20 years of age have it

• Diabetes and Age: The risk of diabetes increases with age. About 21 percent of Americans aged 60 years or older have diabetes. This compares to approximately 2 percent for people 20 to 39 years old and about 10 percent for those aged 40-59 years.

• Diabetes is costly; The United States spends approximately $132 billion each year on diabetes – $92 billion in direct medical costs and another $40 billion each year in indirect costs because of missed work days or other losses in productivity.

• Diabetes treatment:
  1. In order to survive, people with type 1 diabetes must have insulin delivered by a pump or injections.
  2. Many people with type 2 diabetes can control their blood glucose by following a careful diet and exercise program, losing excess weight, and taking oral medication.
  3. Many people with diabetes also need to take medications to control their cholesterol and blood pressure.
  4. Among adults with diagnosed diabetes, about 12 percent take both insulin and oral medications, 19 percent take insulin only, 53 percent take oral medications only, and 15 percent do not take either insulin or oral meds.

• Diabetes and Research Funding: The NIH is spending only $50 on each diabetic in research in 2007 compared to $3,040 on each HIV/AIDS patient.

• Video: To view a powerful 14 minute video by the American Diabetes Association and ABC Television with striking quotes by many well-known celebrities and politicians that illustrates the need for more fair and equitable funding, Click HERE
  
  Diabetes and all other diseases except HIV/AIDS would receive larger research allocations under the FAIR Foundation's policies.

Statistics from the American Diabetes Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The FAIR Foundation, 78629 Bougainvillea Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92211   E-mail: fair@dc.rr.com

FAIR Mission Statement: The FAIR Foundation is dedicated to fair and equitable distribution of research funds by the government for all diseases, including the 16 that kill a million more Americans than AIDS. A disease’s mortality rate shall be given emphasis in determining allocations and other secondary factors shall be utilized to insure diseases that cause great suffering but have low mortality rates will also receive significantly increased funding.