Lark Lands, Ph.D., an HIV treatment expert and the science editor of Poz magazine, will be in San Francisco tonight to speak about countering or preventing the many side effects associated with HIV/AIDS medications. "I put together an integrated approach," she said. "I think a lot of people are living longer [with HIV] but are living miserably with it. For people on drugs there are terrible side effects." These can include body distortions, cardiac concerns, diarrhea, fatigue, gas, bloating, neuropathy and liver toxicity.

Many times, Lands said, doctors simply tell their patients to live with the side effects. "There is an astonishing number of people with HIV living with chronic pain," Lands said.

Some side effects can be controlled or eliminated with supplements. "In many people, vitamin B-12 really helps with fatigue," she said. For gas and bloating, Lands said the experience of Florida physician Dennis Rosa-Re suggests that if the medication (usually protease inhibitors) cannot be discontinued, pancreatic enzymes can often eliminate the problem.

Until recently, there was little research on drug side effects, but that is changing, Lands said. "There's been a huge amount of attention to drug side effects the last couple of years," she said.

Lands' presentation is being sponsored by Project Inform, Serono, Damron, and Azure Wellness System, which has launched the first line of nutritional supplements specifically for people with HIV. More information is available at www.larklands.net and www.azurewellness.com. Lands' presentation is at 6:30 this evening at the University of California-San Francisco, Laurel Heights Conference Center Auditorium, 3333 California St. at Laurel. Telephone 888-874-9979.

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