The Fifth International Conference on AIDS: the scientific and social challenge

At the Fifth International Conference on AIDS, more than 12,000 scientists, clinicians, health care workers, and patients gathered in Montreal, Canada in June 1989 to promote a better understanding of AIDS and share knowledge obtained through international research efforts. Topics discussed included epidemiology, clinical symptoms, basic research, AIDS and the individual, AIDS and society, ethics and law, international issues and economic aspects of the disease. Some recently described or unusual cutaneous manifestations of skin disorders associated with AIDS were described. These include epithelioid angiomatosis, an outbreak of blood vessel lesions affecting the entire body; unusual forms of herpes zoster; acute exanthem, or skin rash, associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease; cutaneous manifestations of HIV in the Third World; Kaposi's sarcoma; AIDS and HIV infection in children; psoriasis and Reiter's syndrome; syphilis; and bullous, or blister-like, disorders. The effectiveness of the antiviral agent foscarnet and the adverse reactions to zidovudine, a drug commonly used to treat AIDS, are also described. Oral manifestations of the disease were reviewed and include oral candidiasis (a yeast infection of the mouth) and oral hairy leukoplakia (formation of white spots on tongue and cheek). It is important that North American dermatologists participate in the international effort against AIDS. Because skin disease is often a major complication, the dermatologist is often the primary health care professional consulted by AIDS or HIV-infected patients. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)