Knowledge Is Power! -- A Guide To Some Of The Other AIDS Newsletters


Knowledge Is Power! -- A Guide To Some Of The Other AIDS Newsletters

Being Alive; May 1993
Jim Stoecker

The AIDS epidemic has spawned a proliferation of newsletters such as the one that you are now reading. All these publications are devoted to getting the latest information out to those who most need to know, people with HIV/AIDS. Below is a guide to a number of these AIDS newsletters. Subscription information is included, but almost all these publications can be found in the Being Alive library in Silver Lake, the APLA library, or the West Hollywood library's HIV Information Center.

All of these newsletters are worth seeking out and reading on a regular basis. For those of us who are HIV+, ignorance is definitely not bliss; it could even be deadly. The more we know, the more options we have and the more we can actively participate in our own treatment. So stay informed and stay alive!

==== AIDS TREATMENT NEWS

Purpose: "Reports on experimental and standard treatments, especially those available now."

Publisher: John S. James

Address: Aids Treatment News P.O. Box 411256 San Francisco, CA 94141

Phone: 415.255.0588 or 800.TREAT12

Frequency: twice a month

Pages/Issue: 8

Annual Cost: $230 - Businesses and Institutions $115 - Non-profit Organizations $100 - Individuals $45 - Financial Difficulties

Recent Articles: "Passive Immunotherapy" "Treatment Activism Today" "AIDS Pathogenesis"

Comments: ATN is the grandaddy of all the AIDS newsletters and is an invaluable resource on treatment options. Subscription rates are a bit stiff, but well worth the money. Or look for it in one of the libraries mentioned above; you should find it there. You also can call ATN and ask for a free sample issue.

==== BETA: BULLETIN OF EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENTS FOR AIDS

Publisher: San Francisco AIDS Foundation

Address: BETA P.O. Box 2189 Berkeley, CA 94702

Phone: 415.863.2437

Frequency: 4 times/year

Pages/Issue: 28

Annual Cost: $95 - Institutional $45 - Personal

Recent Articles: "Herpes Simplex Virus Infection" "Tuberculosis" "AIDS, Cytokines and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"

Comments: Clear, well-written articles on cutting-edge medical and treatment options. At over $11 an issue, however, this information comes at a pretty stiff price. Treatment Issues (see below) covers the same ground for only $3 an issue.

==== THE BODY POSITIVE

Purpose: A Magazine about HIV/AIDS

Publisher: Body Positive Inc.

Address: The Body Positive 2095 Broadway, Suite 306 New York, NY 10023

Phone: 212.721.1619

Frequency: Monthly (except August)

Pages/Issue: 40

Annual Cost: contribution of $35 or more requested

Recent Articles: "The State of AIDS in New York" "Food for Healing"

Comments: Basically a magazine that includes politics, alternative therapies, insurance issues and a number of personal stories. Body Positive is not strong on treatment information, but does contain much of interest to people with HIV/AIDS.

==== DISEASED PARIAH NEWS

Purpose: "A forum for infected people to share their thoughts, feelings, art, writing, and brownie recipes in an atmosphere free of teddy bears, magic rocks, and seronegative guilt."

Address: DPN c/o Men's Support Center P.O. Box 30564 Oakland, CA 94604

Phone: 510.891.0455

Frequency: 4 times/year

Pages/Issue: 30

Annual Cost: $10 (or $3 for a sample issue)

Recent Articles: "Get Fat, Don't Die" recipes, Advice for the Loveworn, Porn Potato reviews a favorite "boyflick," "Which Nutritional Supplement Tastes the Yummiest?"

Comments: Something for the Queer Nation crowd - or for any of us who realize how dead-on accurate the title of this 'zine really is. Definitely not a staid source of medical information. But if you appreciate hard-edged humor, DPN might prove therapeutic.

==== NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND

Purpose: "Reports on issues pertaining to underground AIDS treatment access"

Publisher: PWA Health Group

Address: Notes 150 W. 26th Street, Suite 201 New York, NY 10001

Phone: 212.255.0250

Frequency: 6 times/year

Pages/Issue: 8

Annual Cost: $75 - Physicians/Institutions $35 - Individuals open-ended sliding scale for low income

Recent Articles: "Clarithromycin Resistance" "Reefer Madness" "What Concerns the FDA?"

Comments: The PWA Health Group is one of the oldest and largest of the buyers' clubs in the US. Their newsletter focuses on drugs and treatment options available through them.

==== PI PERSPECTIVE

Purpose: "Not a newsletter, but a unique tool for change on behalf of people with HIV. . information on a limited number of well-qualified treatment options."

Publisher: Project Inform

Address: Project Inform 1965 Market Street, Suite 220 San Francisco, CA 94103

Phone: 415.588.9051 or 800.344.7422 (CA) or 800.822.7422 (outside CA)

Frequency: 3 times/year ("or whenever we can afford it")

Pages/Issue: 20

Annual Cost: Free (voluntary donation may be requested)

Recent Articles: "Expedited Drug Approval" "Managing OIs" "Aggressive Antiviral Early Intervention"

Comments: An excellent source for information on the latest drug-based treatments, as well as the politics of new drug approval. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear often enough. (Project Inform also offers a free treatment packet that includes very informative fact sheets on various drugs. Call PI and ask for a copy.)

==== PWA NEWSLINE

Publisher: PWA Coalition

Address: Newsline 31 W. 26th Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10010

Phone: 212.532.0290

Frequency: monthly

Pages/Issue: 70

Annual Cost: $35 (free to those unable to afford this)

Recent Articles: "AIDS: Challenge for Traditional Chinese Medicine" "The Future of Home Care" "Nutrition Supplements"

Comments: A hodgepodge of information. Articles are short and cover a wide range of topics (politics, social services, alternative therapies, nutrition and the like). Each issue is devoted to a particular theme. March was alternative therapies. May brings spiritual approaches. And June, of course, is pride month.

==== TREATMENT ISSUES

Purpose: "Devoted to providing reliable information on experimental therapies."

Publisher: Gay Men's Health Crisis

Address: GMHC Medical Information 129 W. 20th Street New York, NY 10011

Frequency: 10 times/year

Pages/Issue: 12

Annual Cost: $50 - Physicians, Institutions $30 - Individuals open-ended sliding scale for low income

Recent Articles: "High Dose Acyclovir" "AIDS Dementia Complex" "Status of Tat"

Comments: TI provides in depth articles on the latest treatment approaches. Each issue includes a glossary of medical terms to help make the articles more understandable. Highly respected and well worth a look.
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Copyright © 1992 - Beings Alive. Permission granted for noncommercial reproduction, provided that our address and phone number are included if more than short quotations are used. Subscription lists are kept confidential. Being Alive, 621 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069, Tel - 310.289.2551; FAX - 310.289.9866; Email: BeiAlive@aol.com  http://www.beingalivela.org/

This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1992. AEGIS.