New AmFAR Directory: Best Quick Reference for Mainstream Treatments

The January 1997 AIDS/HIV TREATMENT DIRECTORY, compiled and published by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), is an excellent reference for almost any treatments for HIV in general medical use or in clinical trials in the United States. It will be helpful to patients who are involved in their own treatment, as well as to physicians and AIDS professionals.

Some uses for the directory:

1. You have heard the name of a treatment and want to find out something about it.

2. You want to learn about the major treatments or prophylaxis regimens for an opportunistic infection.

3. You want to learn about the major clinical trials for a drug or opportunistic condition.

4. You need to find public or private programs that can provide some drugs without charge. The directory has separate listings for:

a. Expanded access / compassionate use / treatment IND programs for unapproved drugs;

b. State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP), which offer a limited list of drugs, varying greatly from state to state, to persons with low income levels;

c. Patient assistance programs of pharmaceutical companies (which first try to find any programs which could pay for the drug, but then can supply free drug to persons with very low incomes who have no other possible way to get them).

The expanded access and patient assistance programs are listed alphabetically by drug; the ADAP listing is alphabetical by state.

Other sections in the directory:

* A resource list of about 100 newsletters and hotlines, with a special listing of publications and hotlines for women, and a listing of Spanish-language information sources.

* A 12-page glossary -- and also a one-page list of abbreviations and symbols used.

* A seven-page index, which primarily lists names of the drugs.

The directory does have its shortcomings. Some of the page numbers in the index are off by one -- so do not give up if what you are looking for is not on the page listed; the index probably did get you to the right section, which usually is alphabetical. And the newsletter and resource lists need more checking to make sure the listings are current.

This edition includes an article on viral load, which includes important background, but will soon be dated when a major new government treatment standard is released, probably within a month.

There is almost no information on alternative treatments -- which probably should be listed separately, by different organizations, because there is much less evidence available, and therefore much less consensus about them.

The material is well organized, but the table of contents would be more clear if it were divided into sections. We would also like to see a short section pointing interested readers to the most important online computer resources -- including Web sites, free or low-cost databases, and news groups or mailing lists.

To subscribe to the AIDS/HIV TREATMENT DIRECTORY, which is published twice a year, call 800/38-AmFAR. A limited number of free copies are available to persons with HIV who cannot afford a subscription, from the National AIDS Clearinghouse, 800/458-5231 x7100. Canadians can get a free copy from the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE), 800/263-1638 or 416/944-1916.