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Dietary Supplement Information

The use of dietary supplements by people with HIV continues to increase along with the incidence of metabolic complications. Numerous articles about popular dietary supplements that positive people consume are featured in the HIV ReSource Review and the HIV Nutrition Update. Visit the HIV Nutrition Newsletter Gateway to see the articles.

Besides their informational free newsletter via email, ConsumerLab.com offers subscriptions to more in-depth information on the quality of dietary supplement products. Visit ConsumerLab.com to find out more of what they offer. 

The current free ConsumerLab.com newsletter includes information on a product review of Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplements. This dietary supplement was first featured in the Nov/Dec 1998 HIV Resource Review (Issue 15 in PDF format). Interest in Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplements continues to rise with the increased incidence of diabetes, heart disease and peripheral neuropathy among positive people. Product samples of Milk Thistle (featured in the May/June 1999 HIV ReSource Review (Issue 19 in PDF format), which interacts with antiretroviral medications, were reviewed for content and quality as well. 

ConsumerLab.com also released dietary supplement reviews of Omega-3, which is another substance gaining popularity for the treatment of metabolic complications seen in lipodystrophy (featured in the May/June 2003 HIV Nutrition Update- Issue 42). ConsumerLab.com product reviews are at their web site listed above. 

AEGiS "News by Email" Update

The present AEGiS "News by Email" service, begun in 1992, will terminate in a few short days. It will be replaced by WebBoard 7, produced by Akiva Software. WebBoard 7 has the ability to deliver information via: * Real Simple Syndication (RSS); * NNTP; and * E-mail. 

* Real Simple Syndication (RSS)-- 
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a form of XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. Originated by UserLand in 1997 and subsequently used by Netscape to fill channels for its Netcenter, RSS has evolved into a popular means of sharing content between sites (including the BBC, CNET, CNN, Disney, Forbes, Motley Fool, Wired, Red Herring, Salon, Slashdot, ZDNet, and more). RSS solves myriad problems webmasters commonly face, such as increasing traffic, and gathering and distributing news. RSS can also be the basis for additional content distribution services, in this case, the AEGiS Daily HIV Update. 

RSS is state-of-the-art and you can read more about it, RSS News Readers, and access the new RSS Daily HIV Update feed. RSS news readers are available for Windows, MAC OS, and Linux based operating systems, so hopefully no one will be left-behind. 

* Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) -- 
NNTP is an older fading protocol in the Internet protocol family. The protocol is used to retrieve news from a news server. Microsoft has built an NNTP client into its Outlook Express, and it is accessible through Internet Explorer by selecting TOOLS --> MAIL AND NEWS --> READ NEWS. WebBoard's NNTP server address is "webboard.aegis.org" (no quotes). Messages are displayed much like e-mail. Unlike the newer RSS, tables, graphics, and hyperlinks that existed in the original WebBoard postings are not carried over in NNTP. 

* Mailing Lists-- 
The WebBoard mailing list server is more sophisticated than our antiquated list server, but past experience has demonstrated that it cannot handle as many users. For those of you who have an absolute need to receive your Daily HIV Update via email, Subscribe to WebBoard. 

This is a two set process. You have to subscribe, then wait for the welcome e-mail to be sent to you with your USERID and PASSWORD. Once you receive the message, you have 24 hours to logon to WebBoard. You can get to WebBoard by going to the AEGiS home page, then scroll down to CONNECTING TO OTHERS. Click on CONNECTING TO OTHERS to expand it, then click on AEGiS SUPPORT FORUMS. Once the page loads, go to SIGN ON. 

When you receive your welcome message, access the AEGiS SUPPORT FORUMS and LOG IN. Once you are logged in, select OPTIONS, then MY PROFILE. Scroll down to mailing lists and select the format you want to receive your news in - non-digest, digest, or digest-zipped. Next, hit your BACK button, and then select MY MAILING LISTS. Select the conferences you want to receive, and click on SAVE. You'll start receiving your news again via e-mail within an hour or two. 

Again, we strongly recommend RSS. You will never have to worry about missing news due to a full-mailbox, and you will be able to read tabular information and view graphics when they are imbedded in the article. The news server changed on December 31, 2004 to this service. 

From all of us at AEGiS, Happy Holidays and best wishes for 2005. 

Subscriber Note: HIV Nutrition News Updates will resume on January 7, 2005. Happy and Healthy Holidays! 
 

Conference Information

1) The 2nd Annual Nutrition and Health: State of the Science & Clinical Applications conference was held on March 6-9, 2005 in Tucson, AZ. For information on future conferences visit the web site. 

2) The National HIV/AIDS Update Conference was held on April 10-13, 2005 in Oakland, CA. The amfAR AIDS Research sponsored conference was co-sponsored by the Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center. Conference scholarships were available. For information on additional conferences 
information visit the web site. 

Product Information (Updated notice 3/30/05)

Revised Low-Literacy Handouts are now free on the Internet. Access them now- HIV ReSources 20 Nutrition Reproducibles Highlights CD

The 2005 HIV ReSources Nutrition Reproducibles CD has our "Easy Reader Highlights" series of handouts for lower literacy readers (Third to Sixth Grade). All 20 highlights have web site links, telephone numbers and email addresses. The 20 original educational tools offer more information for clinicians and people with a 10th- 12th grade education. 

The handouts includes a Reproduction License. The Reproduction License allows purchasers to make unlimited copies of handouts for clients or patients. 

Easy Reader Highlights in PDF format include: 

* Nutrition Resources (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Seafood Safety
* Cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidiosis Education) 
* Nutritional Risk Checklist (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Nutrition Consult Communication Form (Clinician Tool) 
* Resources for Positive Women (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Body Changes and Medicine (Lipodystrophy Education) 
* Good Habits, Good Health (Tips for Good Health) 
* Treatments for Unwanted Weight Loss (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Food and Supplements (Clinician Tool/Patient Education Tool) 
* Food Choices and Heart Disease (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Nutritional Health and Substances (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Building Healthy Bones (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Diabetes Update 2005 (Clinician Education) 
* Herb and Plant Supplements (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Tips on Hepatitis C (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Food Safety And You (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Supplement Facts (Clinician/Patient Education) 
* Meal Plans and Medicines (Clinician/Patient Education) 

Visit the HIV ReSources Reproducibles main access web page. In order to view the reproducible materials, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Free Reader installed on your computer. To download the Reader for free visit Adobe. 

Happy and Healthy Holidays!
 

HIV Treatment Studies

1) Strategies for Management of ART (SMART) 

This is a long term, international study that compares the effectiveness of two strategies for HIV treatment, to determine which approach better enables persons infected with HIV to live as long as possible while staying as healthy as possible. Participants with CD4 count above 350 cells/mm3, on HIV treatment or not, are assigned to either the GO group or the WAIT group. 

Participants in the GO group start or continue their HIV treatment for the whole period of the study regardless of their CD4 count. Participants in the WAIT group will either stop or delay treatment until their CD4 count declines below 250 cells. During the whole period of the study, the WAIT group will take HIV medications only when their CD4 count is below 250, and only until their CD4 count reaches 350 cells. Visit the web site for more information.

2) Phase I/II Study of Remune® plus AmplivaxTM- Canadian Study

This Phase I/II (early stage) therapeutic HIV-vaccine study evaluated the safety of IR103 and IR104. IR103 combines Remune (HIV-1 antigen in IFA) with Amplivax. IR104 combines Amplivax with HIV-1 antigen (without IFA). The study also assessed which dose of Amplivax plus HIV-1 antigen or Remune was best capable of generating HIV-specific immune responses.

Participants were on a stable NNRTI-containing HIV-drug regimen for more than six months, with undetectable viral load and CD4 counts of at least 300 cells/mm3. Site: Ottawa. For more information visit the web site.

3) TNX-355 with Optimized Background Therapy- Phase II- Canadian Study 

The purpose of this Phase II (early stage) study was to determine the safety and efficacy of the entry inhibitor TNX-355. The study compared different doses of TNX-355 in combination with optimized background therapy (OBT) to placebo plus OBT in HIV-positive persons. Participants had a stable viral load of at least 10,000 copies/ml, were treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for at least six months, exposed to each of the three standard classes of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and on a failing HAART regimen or discontinued a failing HAART regimen. Participants received intravenous infusions of either TNX-355 or placebo every week for eight weeks, then every two weeks. For more information visit the web site. 

Conference Information

1) The International Complementary and Alternative Healthcare Conference and Expo was held on February 12-13, 2005 at the Grand Hyatt in New York, NY. It is the premier global event designed to bring information, products and services to the Complementary and Alternative Healthcare community. The conference program featured the latest research and trends in the fields of complementary healthcare and alternative therapies. For further information on upcoming events visit the web site. 

2) The Nutritionists In AIDS Care (NIAC) and the HIV/AIDS Dietetics Practice Group (DPG) of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) had their 4th Annual NIAC & HIV/AIDS DPG Conference: Leading-Edge Update On Nutrition & Psycho-Social Management in HIV on March 5, 2005 at Hunter College, Brookdale Campus, in New York City, NY. 

Conference objectives focused on: 
* the importance of integrative and practical harm reduction nutrition strategies as well as dispelling fad diets for people living with HIV/AIDS; 
* cultural competency of Caribbean & Southern cuisine's as it relates to the management of optimal health, metabolic complications in HIV such as lipodystrophy and HIV wasting syndrome; 
* the relationship between mental health on proper nutrition and the nutritional impact of illicit drug use; 
* advanced nutritional counseling skills and the concept of supervision for registered dietitians. 

For more information on future conferences that deal with HIV nutrition, contact: Visit the HIV/AIDS Dietetics Practice Group web site or the Greater New York Dietetic Association web site.
 

Winter 2004 HIV Nutrition Update 

The Winter 2004 HIV Nutrition Update Newszine is now available. 

The feature article in Issue 50, "Cardiovascular Disease Risk in HIV Infection: Rationale for Diet, Exercise, and Healthy Lifestyle" offers insight on the treatment of HIV lipodystrophy using lifestyle changes including diet and exercise. The article is written by Jul Gerrior, RD, who is a Senior Research Nutritionist and Project Director of Nutrition and Pharmaceutical Interventions in HIV at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA. Tufts University School of Medicine offers the longitudinal cohort study, Nutrition For Healthy Living (featured in the May/June 2002 HIV Nutrition Update). Jul has co-authored numerous articles and abstracts related to HIV infection including those in publications such as The Journal of Infectious Diseases and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Her article offers information on how to more effectively treat cardiovascular disease in people with HIV/AIDS. 

Issue 50 also includes: 
* Program Spotlight column- Vital Bridges in Chicago, IL; 
* MedWatch column- highlights Pancrelipase: Creon®; 
* Resource Corner- leads to Internet resources on micronutrients and other dietary supplements; 
* HIV Infection Clinical Trials- information on clinical trials currently enrolling participants. 
 

Food, Nutrition, and HIV Conference in Boston

The Food, Nutrition, and HIV Conference was a day-long event for HIV-positive persons and front-line service providers held on on December 6, 2004. It is organized by the AIDS Action Committee's HIV Health Institute. The event was free for HIV-positive consumers, and for nutrition and public health students. It was held between 9 am and 3 pm at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury Crossing (Boston), Massachusetts. 

The morning featured informative presentations and a panel discussion. There was a Health and Food Fair (described in detail below) in the afternoon. Here is a summary of the conference highlights: 

* A Healthy Diet for Positives - Noted nutritionist Charlie Smigelski, R.D, of Fenway Community Health gave a keynote presentation called "A Healthy Diet for Positives." He reviewed the special dietary needs of persons living with HIV and discussed healthy food choices for positives. 

* Nutrition Programs for Persons Living with HIV - David Waters, Executive Director of Community Servings, provided an overview of nutrition programs for HIV-positive persons. He also discussed efforts to ensure that persons living with HIV continue to have access to food and nutritional support. 

* Panel Discussion: "Nutrition, supplements, and you: Update on the role of nutritional supplements, side effect management, and nutrient/drug interactions" - An expert panel discussed these important issues for HIV-positive persons and the nutritionists who work with them. The panelists included: Chris Casale of Statscript Pharmacy; Sheila Davis of the New England AIDS Education and Training Center; Kristen Porter of Pathways for Wellness; and Charlie Smigelski of the Fenway Community Health Center. 

* Afternoon Health and Food Fair - There were booths with detailed information about food and nutrition programs for persons living with HIV. There were also samples of food supplements and nutritional products suitable for HIV positive persons. 

The program registration fee was $25 for front-line providers and nutritionists. Nursing CEUs were available at a small additional fee. A light breakfast and a full buffet lunch was provided at no cost. For information on future events, please visit the following web site.
 

Subscriber Response Appreciated

Due to the rising cost of publication, the HIV Nutrition Update is now only available through the Internet. Your support of HIV ReSources products allows us to continue this free service along with our popular HIV ReSources web site. If you find the weekly HIV Nutrition News Update useful, consider visiting our Recommended Books and Videos links and making purchases at Amazon.com through them. It is only through purchases from organizations and individuals like you, who recognize the value of our services, that we are able to offer them. All of our staff are volunteers and every penny you spend helps to cover the costs associated with the services we provide. 

HIV ReSources Web Site Update - 11/23/04

The HIV ReSources Web Site is updated. 

New pages: 
* Issue 50 HIV Nutrition Update

Updated pages: 
* Nutrition Discussion List Archive One

* Nutrition Discussion List Archive Two

* HIV Nutrition Update Newsletter Information
 

Press Release

Contact: Sharon Ann MeyerHIV ReSources, Incorporated

HIV Nutrition Update Enhanced with Internet Access 

Unique newsletter on HIV nutrition by HIV ReSources, Incorporated 

Fort Lauderdale, November 23, 2004

HIV ReSources announces the Internet accessible HIV Nutrition Update (ISSN 1536-1535) a peer-reviewed newszine that helps people learn more about HIV nutrition and related topics. The quarterly publication offers reliable, practical, and timely nutrition resources. Features present peer-reviewed articles and practice-oriented reviews of essential information for HIV-positive people and health care professionals working in HIV/AIDS care. Feature articles are the result of a 6-36 month process from the time authors begin their research or article to publication. 

Editor-In-Chief Sharon Ann Meyer, AS, AA, DTR, reports that the HIV Nutrition Update offers health care professionals and others opportunities to learn of cutting-edge research related to nutrition and HIV/AIDS. The 2004-2005 HIV Nutrition Update Subscription Year includes nutrition-related articles of news from clinicians working with HIV-positive people living in Africa and New Delhi.  Newsletter previews and feature articles are on the Internet at HIV Nutrition Newsletter Gateway.

HIV ReSources also offers other products to help people learn about HIV nutrition. The HIV ReSources Nutrition Reproducibles are the result of several years of research presented in newsletters published by HIV ReSources. 

About HIV ReSources, Incorporated: HIV ReSources formed in 1995 to enable nation-wide distribution of HIV nutrition resources. The corporation strives to increase the quality of life for people living with HIV and AIDS through the provision of effective nutritional services. Originally developed to help nutrition professionals acquire local resources to counsel HIV-challenged individuals effectively, nutrition education materials are now used in organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. 

Mailing Address: 
HIV ReSources, Incorporated 
PO Box 39385 
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33339-9385