NEW NIH HOTLINE FOR CLINICAL TRIALS INFORMATION

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has set up a new toll- free hotline to provide information about all NIH clinical
trials of experimental AIDS treatments. Persons considering volunteering for a trial can call 800/TRIALS-A between 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Three health workers (including one who speaks Spanish) will provide the information from a computer database which is updated weekly.

At this time the hotline has information about NIH trialsQabout a third of all AIDS trials in the United States. Within the next few months, the system plans to expand to include the other trials also, by incorporating a database of non-NIH trials currently being developed by the FDA. There are also plans to make this information directly accessible to the public by personal computer, through database services already provided by the National Library of Medicine.

NIH trials are currently being conducted at over 100 hospitals and medical centers throughout the United States, and at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. There are trials for adults and for children, and for persons at all stages of HIV infection, including those who are asymptomatic.

The hotline is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Comment

It has long been difficult for those who want to volunteer for trials to find out what trials are available. At the same time, many trials have been greatly delayed because they cannot find volunteers. The new NIH hotline service should help with these problems. We need to see how well it works in practice, and would appreciate hearing from our readers about their experiences in using it.

Persons considering volunteering for trials should also obtain A Practical Guide to Clinical Research, published by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), with support from NIAID. It was published as a special issue of AmFARUs AIDS/HIV Experimental Treatment Directory, February, 1989. It can be obtained for $10. (free for persons with HIV who cannot afford it) from AmFAR, 212/719-0033; or by mail, send a check to AmFAR, 1515 Broadway, Suite 3601, New York, NY 10036.