Stephen LeBlanc and Jeff Getty, ACT UP/Golden Gate Writers Pool
Following the closure of the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club, there has been much heated discussion about medical marijuana access for people with AIDS. The debate includes questions such as: What are the legitimate uses of medical marijuana? Who are the beneficiaries and abusers of cannabis? Why hasn t medical mari
One innovation at this year s International AIDS Conference was to have a debate each morning at the end of the plenary session with everyone present. The conference organizers tried to choose controversial topics in several broad areas and get outspoken advocates for competing points of view to represent them. Each sp
Much has been published about the effectiveness of protease inhibitors, a new class of powerful antiviral AIDS drugs that have been shown in clinical trials to dramatically decrease the amount of virus in the blood (viral load) and raise CD4 levels, but comparatively little has been written about the day-to-day implica
Seven years of diligence have finally paid off, and a major breakthrough has occurred for all HIV-infected patients of Kaiser Permanente. ACT UP/Golden Gate had previously won smaller battles with the health maintenance organization, such as securing access to eye implant research for patients and remedying a specific
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. While by no means an original line, this is unfortunately an apt description of federal HIV prevention efforts for young people. Important changes in policy around prevention have translated into effective, impressive programs that are succeeding in reaching many 18
Scientists have discovered that certain chemokines (trace chemical elements) in the human body may be responsible for non-progression in HIV disease. As far back as 1988, Dr. Jay Levy s group reported that CD8 T-cells secrete a chemokine that slows HIV progression. Scientists have named these factors RANTES, MIP-l?? an
Last week, the members of ACT UP/Golden Gate s Treatment Issues Committee attended the XI International AIDS Conference in Vancouver. By now, considerable media attention has been paid to the protease inhibitors and combination therapy. However, as with many conferences, many of the smaller, less publicized sessions co
Stephen LeBlanc and Rob Sabados, ACT UP/Golden Gate Writers Pool
More and more People with AIDS are beginning to realize what some activists and more aggressive HIV-doctors have been saying for years: AIDS-associated wasting is not an irreversible consequence of AIDS, but is an AIDS-associated condition that can be effectively treated. People who are wasting can, with appropriate tr
Irving first noticed a sore on the back of his leg. Instead of healing normally, the sore turned bluish, then purple, and now is an active Kaposi s Sarcoma (KS) lesion. Hank was diagnosed with KS in 1987 and his lesions have come most frequently during periods of high stress. Many of those lesions have then receded.
Nine activists from ACT UP/Golden Gate and ACT UP/Washington were arrested Thursday, June 20 at the World Animal Congress conference in Washington D.C. Eight Golden Gate members spearheaded the action, to respond to the growing conflict between people with AIDS and animal rights extremists such as PETA (People for the
Bill Snow and Larry Hanbrook, ACT UP/Golden Gate Writers Pool
HIV infection is often described as having a few distinct phases, beginning with initial infection, followed by the asymptomatic, symptomatic, and AIDS phases. The possibility of taking action immediately after infection with HIV represents an important new front in the efforts to fight HIV. There are at least 700-1000
After 15 years of this AIDS epidemic, most of us guys living with HIV/AIDS have become accustomed to casually discussing our medications, symptoms, and infections. A T-cell or viral load result might be considered light enough conversation for cafe-talk. A Herpes outbreak is generally reserved for more serious brunch d
Stephen LeBlanc and Rob Sabados, ACT UP/Golden Gate Writers Pool
More and more people with AIDS are beginning to realize what some activists and more aggressive HIV-doctors have been saying for years: unwanted weight loss (wasting) is not an inevitable consequence of AIDS. Many PWAs with even serious weight loss can regain and maintain a near normal weight and have a good quality of
It is estimated that between one and two thirds of all adults with AIDS and as many as 90 percent of children with AIDS will develop some sort of neurological complication. Perhaps the most well known - and most disturbing - of these is AIDS Dementia Complex ( ADC ), which occurs in seven to ten percent of adults with
During the week of July 5-11, more that 15,000 AIDS researchers, drug developers, AIDS service providers, and activists from around the world will gather in Vancouver, British Columbia, for the 11th International Conference on AIDS. The conference is the first world-wide meeting of its kind in two years. Five thousand,
When the history of the AIDS epidemic is written, 1996 will probably be known as the end of the nuke monopoly. The first antiviral drugs developed, the nucleoside analogs or nukes, are notorious for causing complications such as bone-marrow suppression or peripheral neuropathy . While the protease inhibitors and non
Molluscum contagiosum, a benign but annoying complication of HIV, is being seen more as people are living longer with the disease. A painless, hard, pimple-like lesion in the skin, molluscum are caused by an unclassified double-stranded DNA pox virus. Two strains of molluscum have been identified with no clinical diffe
This is the fourth in a series of periodic articles about the importance and challenges of developing an AIDS vaccine. The next article will be about using animal models to test vaccines. Many scientists believe it will be possible to develop a vaccine to protect against HIV infection or disease. But they don t begin t
Two weeks ago, we reported in this column the crisis facing California s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and ADAPs nationwide. At the time of publication, we were anxiously awaiting a decision from the state Department of Finance on a request for augmentation that would give the program funding to cover its deficit
Late in 1990 a small group of activists from the old ACT UP New York launched an historic project called Countdown 18 Months. The objective of the project was to force the NIH and pharmaceuticals to identify and study drugs to prevent and treat the major opportunistic infections that kill people with HIV/AIDS. With the
The recent decisions of the FDA to grant fast-track approval to three protease inhibitors - Crixivan (a.k.a. Indinavir ), Ritonavir (a.k.a. Invarase), and saquinavir - has brought about
The past year has been a time of great progress in the treatment of HIV infection. In the fall of 1995, large long-term studies were concluded in the U.S. and Europe proving the clinical and survival benefits of multi-drug combination therapy. Over the last six months, a watershed series of clinical trials have reporte
Recently, a fair amount of research has examined one of the more perplexing facts of HIV: some people infected with HIV will become very sick with AIDS within just a few years of infection, while other people living with HIV will live for 15 to 20 years, or even longer, with few symptoms of HIV disease, even with no an
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is one of the many opportunistic infections (OI) that maim and kill people with AIDS. In the past year, an effective diagnostic test has been developed. Unfortunately for those diagnosed with PML, research has been so slow that AIDS Treatment News described PML as probab
Bay Area Reporter, 395 Ninth Street, SF, CA 94103 415/861-5019 415/861-7230 - 29 Feb 1996
Mike Salinas, Bay Area Reporter
Although condoms will remain the best line of defense against AIDS for many years to come, manufacturing advances haven t kept up with the burgeoning market. Only the packing has changed in nearly a century, and virtually all the products themselves are still latex balloons with all the limitations of rubber-based prod
This is the third in a series of periodic articles about the importance and challenges of developing an AIDS vaccine. Future articles will address some of the specific issues involved, including design of HIV vaccine efficacy trials, selecting subjects for trials, maximizing community involvement, protecting human subj
Much interest has been raised by a new approach to treating HIV infection called Cytolin; this article will provide an overview of the current status of clinical research into the drug. Since this therapy is in the earliest stages of investigation, most of the data has been presented by the company and its supporters.
G'dali Braverman, ACT UP Golden Gate Writers' Pool
In a healthcare market that has become increasingly dominated by cost considerations, people with HIV/AIDS find themselves receiving a range of standards of healthcare - or carelessness. Given the evolution and advances in therapies, it is difficult to define an optimal standard of care today that patients could rely u
Viral load monitoring - using viral DNA to count the amount of HIV in a person s bloodstream - is rapidly being recognized as an important tool in HIV/AIDS patient care. Recent data has confirmed what many doctors and researchers have long believed about the importance of this test. The viral load test is done by two m
New hope has emerged for people with AIDS who suffer from chronic cryptosporidium-related diarrhea. An experimental drug called Nitazoxanide, or NTZ, appears to be far more effective than any treatment yet tested against cryptosporidium infection. Cryptosporidium is a single-celled intestinal parasite that can cause ch
Human papilloma virus ( HPV ), long known to cause warts, is the focus of increasing research and concern in the medical community. Like many other diseases, HPV becomes more aggressive in people with compromised immune systems, including those with HIV and AIDS. Using new techniques in molecular biology, scientists ha
Having AIDS or HIV creates additional obstacles for survival and quality of life in an already difficult world. How one chooses to deal with the medical aspects of HIV infection often dictates the quality and perhaps length of life. Patients should develop a proactive approach to self-care and self-advocacy. ACT UP/Gol
Clinical trials and their design have often been thought of as the exclusive province of researchers and academics, but AIDS activists have played a major role in improving trial designs and speeding drug development. The involvement of activists in these processes has been helpful and in some cases crucial. While acti
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.