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From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids,soc.motss
Subject: Re: AIDS and Drugs
Message-ID: <34220@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Date: 13 Apr 90 21:34:01 GMT
References: <34196@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
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Reply-To: dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
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Approved: ddodell@stjhmc.fidonet.org (David Dodell)
Note:	Copyright 1990 by Daniel R. Greening.  Permission granted for
Note:	non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-number: 1959

In article <34196@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> dgreen@cs.ucla.edu (Dan R. Greening) writes:
>>Beconase is a corticosteroid, not an antihistamine.  I am not challenging
>>its effects on the immune system.
>Beconase is also an allergy medication, which was the original topic that
>you challenged.  If you were referring solely to antihistamines, you should
>have said so.

I thought I'd give an analogy for why I didn't elaborate on my objection.

If someone said "corticosteroids and jello increase one's susceptibility
to AIDS", it would not be too incomprehensible that someone knowledgable
might say "That's nonsense" without going into the details.  S/he would
have realized that corticosteroids are well known to affect the immune system
and that jello is not quite so notorious.  This might not be so clear
to a layperson.

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
dyer@arktouros.mit.edu, dyer@hstbme.mit.edu