Announcements

** AIDS Federal Lobbying: Washington, May 22-24; Local
Districts May 29-June 6

This year's AIDSWatch lobby days "is dedicated to securing
greater AIDS program funding in Congress during the
appropriations cycle, with a focus on health care reform that
will be beneficial for people living with HIV disease. The
goal is to have representation from every Congressional
district."

Those who cannot go to Washington for the May 22-24 events
can help locally by lobbying their U.S. Representative and
Senators during the Congressional recess, May 29 - June 6.

For more information about either the Washington or the local
district efforts, call Lisa Ragain, National Association of
People With AIDS, 202/898-0414; or, if you are affiliated
with one of the groups below, call them directly. This
project is coordinated by NAPWA, and sponsored by: AIDS
Action Council; AIDS National Interfaith Network; AIDS Policy
Center for Children, Youth, and Families; AIDS Project Los
Angeles; American Foundation for AIDS Research; CAEAR
Coalition; Housing Works; Human Rights Campaign Fund;
Mobilization Against AIDS; Mothers' Voices; National Alliance
of State and Territorial AIDS Directors; National Community
AIDS Partnership; National Hemophilia Foundation; National
Minority AIDS Council; National Native American AIDS
Prevention Center; Project Inform; San Francisco AIDS
Foundation; Treatment Action Group; and the Whitman Walker
Clinic.


** California: AIDS Budget Lobby Day, May 16

California's 4th annual AIDS Budget Lobby Day, consisting of
a briefing on the California AIDS budget, a rally on the
Capitol steps, and meetings with legislators and legislative
staffs, will be Monday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the
State Capitol in Sacramento. This event is sponsored by major
AIDS organizations in both Northern and Southern California,
and by Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.

For more information, call 415/864-5855 x2537 (Northern
California) or 213/993-1374 (Southern California).


** NAC, Glutathione and HIV -- San Francisco, May 7

Leonore Herzenberg, Ph.D., a member of the Genetics
Department at Stanford University, will speak on recent
research regarding N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as a potential
treatment for HIV.

The rationale for using NAC is that glutathione levels inside
the cells are known to be abnormally low in many persons with
HIV disease; this may impair the cells' antioxidant defenses,
and the resulting oxidative stress may also stimulate the
growth of HIV. NAC has been proposed as an efficient way to
raise glutathione levels, but it remains controversial, with
some researchers questioning whether it is adequately
absorbed.

[The Herzenberg Laboratory at Stanford is currently
coordinating a trial, in San Francisco, to see whether high
doses of NAC can restore glutathione levels if they are
deficient. The main entry criteria are: T-helper count of 500
or less, no acute opportunistic infections (those under
control are OK), and a low glutathione level (volunteers will
be tested). For more information about volunteering for the
trial, call Bill Clawson or Laura Goldbaum, at 415/863-8090.]

Dr. Herzenberg's talk, sponsored by ACT UP/San Francisco,
will be Saturday, May 7, at 1:00 p.m. at the Davies Medical
Center (Gazebo Room), Castro and Duboce Streets. Admission is
free.