Announcements

** International AIDS Conference: Free Passes for Persons
with HIV; Apply by April 12

The VII International Conference on AIDS, June 16-21 in Florence, Italy, is offering free passes to persons with HIV who would like to attend the Conference but cannot afford the registration fee. Requests should be received by April 12, although they will still be considered after that deadline, if possible.

As stated in the March 12 announcement, "People with HIV who are interested in applying for free passes to the Conference can write a letter stating that they are HIV+, with a brief statement of why they want to attend the Conference and how they have been involved in the fight against AIDS (activist, volunteer, service provider, etc.) . Priorities will be given to people from developing countries, women, and people of color. Letters should be sent to the Community Relations Department (address below) by April 12."

Two hundred free scholarships are available: one third for Italians, one third for North Americans, and one third for persons from the rest of the world, with an emphasis on developing countries. Unfortunately, the Conference cannot provide travel or free housing; it will help people find low-cost housing in Florence. Italy has no immigration restrictions on persons with HIV.

To apply for the free passes, or if you have questions about this program, contact Laura Thomas or Benjamin Junge at the Community Relations Department by fax, phone, or mail (we suggest fax):


FAX: (39 6) 44.53.369 phone: (39 6) 44.57.888 Community Relations Department VII International Conference on AIDS Laboratory of Virology Istituto Superiore di Sani Viale Regina Elena, 299 00161 Rome, Italy


[Organizations note: the Conference will also provide a small number of exhibition booth spaces to non-governmental and community-based organizations at greatly reduced rates: Lit. 392,700 (approximately U. S. $350). During the Conference, the booths must be attended at all times. Inquiries on booth space should be addressed Centro Servizi Segreteria, FAX: (39 55) 660236, phone: (39 55) 670182, address: Via A. Lapini, 1, 50136 Firenze, Italia.]


** San Francisco: Chinese Herbal Protocol Starts April 17;
Lecture April 11

The Immune Enhancement Program (IEP) will begin a new 12- week herbal therapy research program on April 17; a lecture and orientation meeting will be held April 11 at 7:00 p.m. The program, subsidized by Subhuti Dharmananda's Institute for Traditional Medicine (ITM), costs $190 for the 12 weeks, including herbal tablets, herbal consultations, monthly acupuncture visits, and blood work, including T-helper counts. The formulas emphasize ganoderma (a mushroom used in Oriental medicine), and also include astragalus and other herbs.

The Immune Enhancement Program, located at 3450 16th Street in San Francisco, began in October 1990. The herbal formulas used are based on several years' work by ITM, in cooperation with other organizations, in developing herbal combinations for persons with HIV.

For more information, call the Immune Enhancement Program, 415/252-8711.


** National AIDS Update, San Francisco: Deadline Extended

The National AIDS Update Conference (May 19-22 in San Francisco; see notice in our last issue) has extended the $145 early-registration deadline to May 10 for AIDS TREATMENT NEWS readers only; this is a savings of $50. To qualify, write "ATN Reader" on the registration form.

This conference (on care and services, education and prevention, policy and administration, and treatment) provides AIDS education for health-care providers, service organization administrators, government representatives, and others.

For more information, contact AIDS Conference Registrar, phone: 415/255-1297, FAX: 415/255-8496.


** International Conference Assistance Requested

AIDS TREATMENT NEWS sent five staff members to both the V International Conference on AIDS in Montreal in 1989, and the VI International Conference in San Francisco in 1990, greatly expanding our coverage of the Conference, background for future articles, and contacts with international and other organizations. In 1991, however, we can only afford arrangements for one person, our editor John S. James, to attend the VII International Conference in Florence in June. We are asking if readers can contribute money so that we could send one or two more writers to this Conference, and/or have a literature table at this meeting, which is especially important for making international contacts.

Please send donations (not tax deductible) payable to "ATN Publications" and marked "Conference Fund," or call Tim Wilson at 415/255-0588 for additional information.


Statement of Purpose

AIDS TREATMENT NEWS reports on experimental and complementary treatments, especially those available now. It collects information from medical journals, and from interviews with scientists, physicians, and other health practitioners, and persons with AIDS or HIV.

Long-term survivors have usually tried many different treatments, and found combinations which work for them. AIDS TREATMENT NEWS does not recommend particular therapies, but seeks to increase the options available.

We also examine the ethical and public-policy issues around AIDS treatment research and treatment access.