AIDS Treatment Newsletters (Continued)

In AIDS TREATMENT NEWS #162 (November 6, 1992) we published
a list of newsletters which we felt our readers could use in
making informed treatment decisions. As newsletters and other
such resources come to our attention we will periodically publish
a to this list. (Note that the newsletters listed last November
are not repeated below; you can obtain the earlier list be
requesting a copy of issue # 162 from AIDS TREATMENT NEWS.)

As always, our readers our encouraged to be in touch with
us. If you know of any resource that may be helpful to others who
need AIDS treatment information, or helpful to our research and
reporting, please feel free to contact our office, or preferably
send a copy of the information to ATN, P. O. Box 411256, San
Francisco, CA 94141.

* AIDS Treatment Update. Published monthly by NAM Charitable
Foundation, Unit 52, The Eurolink Centre, 49 Effra Rd., London,
Great Britain SW2 1BZ, phone 71-737-1846, or fax at 71-737-6190.
Subscriptions are free to individuals in the UK. Institutional
rate: #18/yr. Overseas rate: within EC add #5/year; outside EC
add #15/yr. Published by the same organization that produces the
National AIDS Manual and the UK Directory of HIV/AIDS Treatments
and Trials, the first issue (November 1992) included detailed
articles on combination therapy and opportunistic infection
prophylaxis, as well as a glossary, book reviews, and brief
announcements. As stated in the newsletter, it is "Britain's
first regular newsletter specializing in information on HIV/AIDS
treatment and trials. Each month, AIDS Treatment Update will
present the most up-to-date research and clinical trial news, and
provide accessible review topics and background articles." The
focus of the newsletter is definitely aimed at readers in the U.
K but it does report about news in the U. S. The first issue
included thorough discussions about various therapies and
treatment matters that would be helpful for anyone looking for
AIDS/HIV treatment information.

* Being Alive. Published monthly by Being Alive, People with
HIV/AIDS Action Coalition, 3626 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
90026, phone 213/667-3262. Six Month subscriptions are $12; One
year subscriptions are $20; and free subscriptions are available
to anyone who cannot afford the stated rates. This comprehensive
20 page newsletter includes AIDS treatment information with news
from clinical trial research, major scientific conferences,
physicians, nutritionists, dietitians, alternative health
practitioners, and community members. Being Alive regularly
covers medical and political news related to issues facing women
with HIV. Past coverage has included information about travel
and immigration, insurance and legal issues, and reports about
prisoners with AIDS. Each newsletter also includes a Spanish
language section, support services listings for Los Angeles, and
other matters of practical concern to people living with HIV.

* The Common Factor. Published quarterly by the Committee of Ten
Thousand, c/o The Wellness Center at Packard Manse, 583 Plain
St., Stoughton, MA 02072, phone 617/344-9634. Subscriptions are
free though tax-deductible contributions are gratefully accepted.
A relatively new publication which has been published since April
1992, this newsletter provides an informational forum for the ten
thousand people in the U. S. who were infected with HIV through
blood or blood products and for their friends and family. As
stated in the first issue the Committee of Ten Thousand "was
founded as a peer-led organization striving to overcome many of
the difficulties experienced by people with HIV such as social
stigma, inadequate health care, and isolation." Original
material and reprints from other AIDS treatment publications
address these concerns by including timely articles about
pharmaceutical drug development and clinical trials, nutritional
and holistic therapies, corporate politics and health insurance,
legislation and public policy, sexuality and psychosocial issues,
and HIV care provided by the Hemophilia Treatment Centers.

* Searchlight. Published bimonthly by SEARCH Alliance, 7461
Beverly Blvd., #304, Los Angeles, CA 90036, phone 213/930- 8820.
Subscriptions are free though donations of $25 are accepted to
offset publication costs. This newsletter covers SEARCH
Alliance's community based AIDS research efforts. Their clinical
trials are designed to study drugs or treatments that may clearly
and quickly show benefit. In addition to the coverage of
SEARCH's own research, the newsletter covers general AIDS
treatment information and other topics of interest to people
dealing with HIV disease. It has recently published articles
looking at long-term survival, early intervention, women and HIV,
vaccine development, and gene therapy. In each issue there is
news about upcoming conferences and community forums, as well as
useful glossary to help make the technical language of AIDS
treatment research more accessible to people without a background
in science.

* AIDS Patient Care. Published bimonthly by Mary Ann Liebert,
Inc., 1651 Third Ave., New York, NY 10128, phone 212/289- 2300.
Subscription rate is $75.00 yearly. The journal covers a wide
variety of topics relating to HIV disease. Though focusing on
health care professionals, it does provide useful information to
people living with AIDS. Included is in-depth treatment
information written for care providers and geared towards
treating HIV disease in a clinical setting. This often involves
looking closely at specific manifestations of the disease and
current options for treatment. News coverage has also followed
the emerging tuberculosis epidemic, news from the International
AIDS conferences, AIDS in rural America, mandatory HIV testing
for health care workers, social services, substance abuse,
epidemiology, and transmission.

* Positive Directions. Published quarterly by Positive
Directions, 140 Clarendon St., Suite 805, Boston, MA 02116.
Phone, 617/262-3456. One year subscription is $25.00. Available
free for those in financial need, though anything you can afford
is appreciated. The articles published in this consumer oriented
newsletter reflect a self-help model. Each edition contains
information for persons in all stages of HIV disease who are
making important treatment decisions; regularly covered topics
include experimental and approved treatments for opportunistic
infections, antiviral therapies, early intervention and disease
prevention strategies, nutritional and holistic approaches,
mental health, and AIDS policy issues. Major portions are
translated into Spanish, including the feature article. Also
included are listings of clinical trials, support services and
advocacy groups located in the Boston area.

* PAACNOTES. Published monthly by PAAC (Physicians Association
for AIDS Care) Publishing, Inc., 101 West Grand Avenue, Suite
200, Chicago, IL 60601, phone 312/222-0329. Subscription rates to
non-members: U. S. and Canada, $60 per year; elsewhere $100 per
year. Although technically a "newsjournal" written to address
the concerns of physicians treating persons with HIV, the medical
and nonmedical (including legal, social, psychological, and
political) information can also be useful to persons with HIV,
and to other healthcare professionals. Because the feature
stories are targeted to generalists and primary care physicians,
and not AIDS specialists or researchers, readers will find the
news thorough enough to answer clinical questions but not so
detailed and academic that it is overwhelming. Articles
reviewing standards of care explain treatment options as well as
diagnostic and prophylactic strategies. Editors present medical
information from current research and conference proceedings,
including news of innovative and experimental treatment
approaches. Upcoming editions will feature articles about
nutrition, wasting syndrome, and pain management.

* AIDS/HIV Treatment Directory. Compiled and published by the
American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), 733 Third Avenue,
12th floor, New York, NY 10017-3204, phone 212/682- 7440, fax
212/682-9812. While it is not a newsletter, anyone interested in
AIDS treatment information should have access to this important
directory, now in its sixth year of publication (or to its
associated computer database called TxLink, which allows
computerized searching of the same information). Published four
times a year, the AIDS/HIV Treatment Directory lists information
about clinical trials for treatments for HIV and for associated
opportunistic infections and cancers, including sites,
investigators, entry criteria, and numbers to call for
information about volunteering; it also includes information
about the treatments themselves -- which sometimes appears in the
directory before it is published elsewhere. This directory
focuses on experimental and approved rather than "alternative"
treatments, although it does include treatments sometimes
considered alternative, if they are also in mainstream clinical
trials (for example, NAC, peptide T, and compound Q). Most
issues also include an article or essay relevant to AIDS
treatment.

To order a subscription to the AIDS/HIV Treatment Directory,
call 212/682-7440 x106. Subscriptions are $44 per year in the
United States, $66 elsewhere. HIV-positive persons who cannot
afford a subscription can obtain a copy free from the National
AIDS Information Clearinghouse, 800/458-5231.