• Treatment Models from India
  Interview with Shashank Joshi, M.D.

  An HIV specialist in India describes an evolving standard of care, when only a few patients can afford the antiviral regimens common in richer countries. Dr. Joshi's approach include nutritional support for the immune system, intermittent HAART for some, herbal treatment, de-worming, and sometimes drugs to reduce intestinal inflammation and therefore possibly lower viral load.

• Testosterone Cream Available at CPS; Gel Approved by FDA
  A major HIV-specialist pharmacy is now carrying a compounded testosterone cream for topical application, avoiding the shots or patches otherwise used to deliver this drug. Meanwhile, the FDA has approved a testosterone gel -- but this gel will not be widely available for several months.
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• Anabolics, Exercise, Nutrition, Supplements: New Book Available
  Built to Survive, by the editors of the newsletter Medibolics, discusses anabolic steroids, exercise, nutrition, and supplements for preventing or treating muscle wasting in AIDS.

• Vaccine News, March 2, 2000
  Much is happening to accelerate development of vaccines, especially for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Major initiatives were announced at a meeting of the President's Millennium Vaccine Initiative, March 2 at the White House.

• Fluconazole: Pfizer Asked to Lower Africa Price
  Pfizer, Inc.'s fluconazole costs almost 15 times as much in South Africa, where it is patent protected, than in Thailand where it is generic. The result is that many Africans die of cryptococcal meningitis and other fungal infections because they cannot obtain the patented drug at Pfizer's price. In South Africa, a coalition of major organizations has asked Pfizer to either reduce the price to the Thailand level, or voluntarily license the patent so that the treatment could be made available.

• Dietary Supplement Regulation: FDA Public Hearing April 4, Written Comments Due May 4
  Problems in how the U.S. regulates "foods" vs. "drugs" could eventually block access to low-cost and natural treatments.

• FDA Drug-Approval Background: New Web Pages
  An FDA Web site explains the details of how drugs are regulated.

• African Americans and AIDS: Highlights of 2nd Annual Washington Conference
  Treatment and prevention experts look at how to respond to the epidemic among African Americans, who are much more likely than whites to have HIV and AIDS.

ISSN # 1052-4207

Copyright 2000 by John S. James. Permission granted for noncommercial reproduction, provided that our address and phone number are included if more than short quotations are used.