North Carolina Now; Interview with Dr. Charles Van Der Horst

The It's Friday December 1st. Tonight we transport you back to jolly old England for the holidays in North Carolina now. Good evening everyone I'm Maria mature I thank you for tuning in to North Carolina now and finishing your

work week with us. Can you believe it's December already the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays will be here before you know it. Well Maria Lundberg is already in the holiday spirit tonight she'll share with us an old English Yule tradition. Also today is World AIDS Day designated by the World Health Organization and officially proclaimed as such by Governor Jim Hunt. Our guest tonight is a nationally recognized leader in the field of AIDS research. We'll check in with him to get an update on how far we've come and how far we need to go to treat this deadly disease. But we start the show with the conclusion of Bob Garner's five part series on the changing face of North Carolina. You know America has long been a haven for refugees from war torn countries. Many have found peace and happiness right here in North Carolina. Adding to our state's growing ethnic diversity as Bob concludes his series tonight he introduces us to one group of refugees struggling to adapt to a new country. Well not forgetting those they left behind.

The Degas and ancient peoples several centuries ago in the central highlands of Vietnam christened by the French mountain yards or mountain people and converted to Christianity by missionaries. They became pawns in the power struggle between North and South and Vietnam in the early 1960s they were recruited and trained by the US to fight against increasing Viet Cong infiltration and domination of their Highland territory that they gave not only their fighting support but their whole hearted loyalty to the US. And when the war began to turn in favor of the communists the mountain yards became targets of a campaign that resulted in near extermination 85 percent of the mountain yard villages were ruined or abandoned and the people were forced to flee into the jungles of Cambodia simply to survive. Of a population of around a million. Over 200000 mountain yards died during the Vietnam War. The refugee community and fighting continued its reliance on strong religious faith. After 10 more years of fighting the Vietnamese

Communists and the Cambodian Camaro Rouge from their remote jungle camps one group of some 200 mountain yard sought asylum in the US. Among them was a long resettled by Lutheran family services in Greensboro in 1986 before coming to a not just death accident. I didn't have any buses on the bus on a bus out of a lot to get a soda is so vital because it is country. I don't have any skill I don't have a spit out to accept but I do the expert at the wrong situation foreshadowed what lay ahead for many more months in yards seven years later another group decided to seek asylum and resettlement. Many of them in North Carolina he him ne who had been fighting the Communists for 17 years in the jungles arrived in 1092 with a group of 400 mountain yards to try to build a new life in Greensboro NE is now president of the mountain yard Degas Association of North Carolina at an organization aimed not only at cultural

preservation and improving month and yard opportunities here but also affirming human rights for those months and yards remaining in Vietnam to keep called to pursue their mission. This same maintain that we believe that all countries and also afford to live in United States. I also what I suppose say ability to help my people how to understand the freedom of this country and then to bring out lie to learn. COULTER of this country and all that. And to learn about education for you know people headquartered in a Greensboro apartment complex NE and the association struggle with vexing problems chief among them the lack of English among the mountain yards and the difficulty in finding jobs. There is also much day to day assistance to render on this day caseworker Louis being had already taken one family to get food stamps and another to register its five children for school. It was more planned for the afternoon.

I have to pick a month now to exam because their eyes examined Yeah and and after that I have to pick an auto puzzle to DMV because it was a made to pass his housing is another wrenching concern Habitat for Humanity has helped with some new home construction and now this apartment complex is basically being used to accommodate the most recent arrivals who will eventually locate other places to rent or buy. Nice dream for the future is a new sort of village a cultural and resource center surrounded by mountain yard homes. We have heart. Small hols to keep paying eight people because I bought a two bedroom on a three bedroom light. Hartman And now we want thinking for our desk. I have out in the play and I want to have your say and point that center and we can hold together in these in easy for

others to visit or in any way. Meanwhile the current reality is that some apartments here have been closed after being found unsuitable for habitation by the city. Still there's a little Manson yard market a gathering place with pool tables and a jukebox and there is a strong sense of community. English and literacy classes are held day and night. There are citizenship classes. A Boy Scout Troop a ballet class and soccer teams. The American volunteer service program is an important link to the community. The association has had some success in finding jobs for the mountain yards including these cafeteria workers at a NC State University. How long runs his own cleaning service and thus provides a number of jobs. Since 86 he served in several leadership positions and he's still active and humble. They learn how to keep their job to be a lie and not try to help people and data. When you do something right. Of course people are a bit of a

spectacle and a bit more too but I didn't do anything for my people. But as you know before you want to be a leader you have to be a chilled out for us. Most of the mountain yards are still grieving for the country man they left behind and in addition to trying to build their own new life here the exile leaders say they're committed to improving the treatment of their countrymen by the Vietnamese government and in fact they're the only voice the native mountain yard as well. There are twelve hundred Monkton yards living in Greensboro which represents half of all the mountain yards living in the U.S. Coming up will mark World AIDS Day with an update on the progress of AIDS research. But first for an update on the news let's turn to Mitchell Lewis at the North Carolina now news desk Good evening much. Thanks Marina. Good evening everyone. The state's new concealed weapons law took effect today with far fewer North Carolinians than expected applying for a permit to carry a concealed gun at the Davidson County Sheriff's Department only about 40 people had applied

for a permit by lunchtime. Meanwhile in Durham County sheriff's officials say a steady number of people applying for permits throughout the day but it wasn't a crowd of applicants that was expected and in Mecklenburg County sheriff's officials say they scheduled 67 appointments in advance for permit applications. That way applicants wouldn't be faced with any long delays. The latest report on how livestock farms handle waste shows little improvement from a report earlier this summer just completed inspections found problems out about one quarter of the state's more than thirty five hundred hog farms. Four percent were cited for deliberately discharging waste. The blue ribbon panel studying waste problem said today they will have specific recommendations were dealing with the issue in January. If you'd like to drive a little faster on Interstate 40 and 85 in Burlington we've got some good news for you tonight. Department of Transportation officials say they plan to increase the speed on the eight mile stretch of highway from 55 miles per hour up to 65 starting next Friday. That's when a

new federal law abolishing the 55 mile per hour speed limit takes effect. However highway officials say the eight lane highway is the only area in the state where the speed limit will be changed immediately. State Democrats are uniting to try to regain a majority in the state house during the 1960's elections. The 52 Democrats who currently hold House offices have created a strategy called majority 96. The plan is for Democrats to gain nine seats in the house so they can regain the majority they lost last year. Neal or the operations manager for majority ninety six says the group wants to raise at least a million dollars in campaign funds to help win the needed seats. And now let's take a look at tomorrow's weather forecast. High temperatures are expected to be very much like they were today ranging from near 60 in the northern mountains to the mid 60s along the coast. We can also expect a beautiful sunny day statewide for all of our Saturday activities and business news Cox Newspapers of Atlanta's buying 10:00 eastern North Carolina newspapers including

green bills the daily reflector the Jordan winter is the publisher of The Daily reflector. He says the deal requires no layoffs or reductions in employee benefits. Cox Newspapers owns the Atlanta Journal and Constitution as well as 18 other daily newspapers throughout the nation. The six principal owners of high points international home furnishing center have made a move to buy out 53 of its smallest share holders the majority owners say they want to acquire the small shareholder accounts because it takes too much time and money to administer the accounts. The majority shareholders have offered two hundred twenty five dollars a share in the so-called cash squeeze out merger. A lawyer for two of the minority shareholders say they don't want to sell but may not have a choice. Stock prices headed higher on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than twelve and a half points to close at fifty eighty seven point thirteen. Volume was heavy with 440 million shares trading hands. The Standard Poor's 500 Index rose a point while the Nasdaq composite index was

down four points. And now for some stocks of North Carolina interest in. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that in this country one in every two hundred fifty people is infected with HIV.

Here in North Carolina it's believed that between 12 and 24000 people are infected with the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS has become the leading cause of death in North Carolina for African-Americans between the ages of 14 and 44. Are we losing the battle against this deadly disease. Our guest tonight is an associate professor of Medicine at USC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. He is also the clinical director of UN S. AIDS clinical trials unit which is designated by the National Institutes of Health to conduct clinical trials of new AIDS medication. Dr. Charles Vanderhorst Welcome to the program. Thank you very much I'm glad to be here. You are on the leading edge of new research for AIDS treatments how are we doing in the battle against this deadly disease. Well I think we're making slow but steady progress. I think that progress has been made certainly in the treatment of the virus I think that there. The NIH is funding centers to look at vaccines to prevent the virus I think we're looking at research both at U.N. C and elsewhere around the

country in changing people's behavior so they don't become infected and in understanding the spread of the virus through the population so I'm actually fairly optimistic in 1995 about this. It's been about 15 years or so that this virus has really been prevalent in the United States and come to the really the public's knowledge. Are we as far along as you think we should be at this point in time. Well I think we know a lot about how this virus works and we certainly know that the drugs that we've developed to date do have some activity they certainly are not cure alls we cannot make this virus go away completely with the drugs we have currently. But. It's a very hard virus to treat other viruses that are chronic viruses like this are very hard to treat as well. You talk about new drugs just recently three T.S. which is a new drug has been approved for usage in concert with AZT and the U.N. see clinical what is then the name of the department clinical trials you know the clinical trials

unit was very much taking a role and the approval of this new drug or actually the testing for it. How big of a breakthrough is this. Well I think it's very exciting and it's particularly exciting from the scientific point of view what what the. Actually my colleague Joe Aaron showed in the paper will be published in two weeks in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that if you give a plus. See that you can decrease the amount of virus in the bloodstream by over 90 percent and that can persist for a year. So that's great news that also increases the immune cells that this virus destroys. The problem is of course we still don't know. A year is great. Will it go on for several years and we also don't know if decreasing the virus that much if that's enough to make people live longer and have a better quality of life as well and that data is still coming in from those studies. Is this an expensive treatment.

It will basically double the cost of treatment because currently it's about 200 250 dollars a month to give a patient. And this would add another 200 250 dollars a month. Your unit has also just received another research grant a very sizable Grant. What will that money be used for any specific research. Well we're looking at a whole host of drugs where we're looking at. See there are several other drugs D4 tea made by Bristol Myers Squibb. We're looking at the new class of drugs called protease inhibitors which are drugs that attack a different and sign made by the virus called the protease and Syme. And we're also looking at drugs that can stimulate the immune system such as interleukin 2. You could attack this virus not only by suppressing the amount of virus that's produced but also by boosting the amount of immune

fighting cells do you work with research on drugs that have already been developed or are you also pioneering some some new treatments on your own. Well our grant. It supports the work of new drugs as well not just drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration if I understood your question right. Also we have been working with. We also at our institution we write our own protocols as well that we do not just within the. And I hate funding but outside that as well. What about any possible cure is on the horizon. Well theoretically you could cure or get rid of this virus completely if you gave agents that were unable to suppress it. You know ninety nine point nine percent and the immune system then could come in and sweep up the rest. That hasn't been done yet. But

we've all we're just on the tip of the iceberg of developing these new drugs the protease and genes no one knows what's going to be like to give AZT and Seon a protease inhibitor for instance and see what that happens over a long term time. I have given just two drugs to three patients who been infected for 10 to 13 years and they started out with lymphocyte counts that were in the 200 range which is low normal as above 500 to 600 and they've been on AZT and VDI for now five years and their CD4 counts their lymphocyte counts are over 500. And they're working full time and feeling great so I think that. Certainly these these three people are not cured but they're living longer and better with with these drugs.

Doctor there are so many other topics that I still want to talk to you about and we're running out of time but just very quickly you seem to be a little bit more optimistic than some of the other experts that I've spoken to in this field. Any reason. Well I think that maybe other people are expecting too much that science progresses slowly. The war on cancer was started 30 years ago and they've gotten some promising new treatments. But you just take it one step at a time. And this is a different you don't want to only just treat this disease you also want to stop the spread and so research is divided between those areas and I think they're both equally important. All right well Dr. Van horse we'll have to have you back in the media future to talk about this further thank you for being here tonight. My pleasure thank you for having me on. This

time of year there are so many special events to celebrate the holidays tonight. Maria Lundberg takes us to the campus of North Carolina State University for an annual tradition that kicks off the Christmas season. Tonight the ballroom of the university student center has been transformed into the Great Hall of Rosamond castle and all the lords and ladies of the court will celebrate the holiday season in the old English tradition of a magical dinner. Lady and not to be left out. Jim writes this way the goals of the legacy it's time to step back to England. Elizabeth and period as drama and music students at NC State welcome guests to the school 16th annual magical dinner the hall is

filled with a gala atmosphere for this yuletide celebration. It all begins with a procession by the magical singers. Clap clap clap clap clap. During the 16th century magical singing was part of the entertainment featured in castles and manor houses. Mike this song Welcome home. The hosts for the evening are the lord and lady of Yorkshire who make an impressive entrance with their royal party. Their arrival signals that it's time for the court to toast with Russell a sort of medieval spiced cider as the guests enjoy this traditional drink. The room was filled with the sounds of Old English tunes played on unusual musical instruments.

Next comes one of the highlights of the evening as the Boar's Head is presented the day of the week the. Next comes a traditional Elizabeth and Neal featuring Cornish game hens served with a knife and wooden spoon which means that sometimes it's just easier to eat with your hands. Medieval style as the feasting continues roving entertainers enhance the atmosphere like this juggler who enthralled his audience with his skill. Others enjoy a beautiful Christmas serenade was followed was it was

planned a week this week as the students volunteer many hours to make the celebration special one which is an annual tradition for lots of people who attend each year. It begins the holiday for a lot of people we get a lot of people who say this is the start of our holiday this is how we begin our celebration. When the meal is completed and guests sit back to relax the court jester introduces more exciting entertainment. First come the tumblers. Followed by a spirited fencing match and a troop of players presents a comic English play

like Grace's joy after an evening full of fine food and for a volunteer. What better way to end it than with an old fashioned magical song. The magical dinners are staged by NC State's Thompson theater in cooperation with price Music Center and university dining. Take it so how our dinners are held for six consecutive nights each December. But they have become so popular that this year's dinners are completely sold out. But if you would like to attend next year you can call

9 1 9 5 1 5 2 4 0 5. The Thompson theater will place your name on a mailing list to order tickets. Well that will do it for tonight's program I hope you enjoyed it and I want to thank you for sharing your week with us here in North Carolina now. On Monday we'll be back to kick off a new week of interesting and entertaining programs. Well introduce you to an enterprising North Carolinian who is building a booming business by turning kids into newspaper readers. We'll also take a Christmas tour of the governor's mansion as it prepares to open its doors to holiday visitors. Enjoy your weekend everyone will see you back here on Monday. Good night.