Conference Reports

Conference Reports

Please click on the topics below for conference reports. This area will be updated periodically as reports are written. If you have any questions, suggestions or other thoughts about these reports, please do not hesitate to contact FIAR. For information on our project in South India, click here. (It is with great sadness that we note that the Indian Council of Medical Research has delayed making a decision on this NIH grant for over three years. As a result, it appears we will be unable to spend the portion of funds dedicated for our friends at Gandeepam. Bureaucracy indeed kills.)

Now Available: The 13th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections was held February 5-8, 2006 in Denver, CO. Both the SHORT REPORT and the COMPLETE REPORT are now available.

Health Policy document. I was a participant of a focus group at CUNY in late May/early June 2005 where we were asked to prioritize care using rather simplistic measures. I objected to the study design and offered my own analysis. I think an interesting read.

Report from the 12th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Boston, Mass held in February, 2005. This is in a PDF format. If you would like a copy of the document, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Are the millions dying of AIDS an act of Genocide? This is the case made in this somewhat dated working draft document, last edited in August, 2001. But it remains unfortunately a relevant commentary today. The pharmaceutical industry in conjunction with the US and other governments has worked assiduously to deny access to millions of people with AIDS the basic medications that would prevent their dying. Many excuses are offered as to why and the primary defense offered by PHrma is that some distorted perception of "intellectual property" trumps human life. The US government is complicit and supportive, largely through vicious unilateral trade deals and other efforts to deny Africans and Asians access to care. The testament of another 3 million men, women and children dying needlessly in 2005 acts as an indictment--and this document endeavors to lay the groundwork for chages of genocide.

Review article on Essential Fatty Acids.

Report on the 11th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, San Francisco, CA held in February, 2004.

A site visit to India was undertaken in March, 2003 by FIAR's Director, George Carter. The first week was spent visiting the site of Citta's hospital, schools and women's center in Orissa, a very poor state in Northeastern India. We hope to undertake collaborative efforts with Citta. The second week was our second site visit to Gandeepam, where Mr. Carter was accompanied by Dr. Indyk from Mt. Sinai. (The first site visit was held in during a conference on HIV/AIDS and Siddha medicine held in December, 2003.) Finally, a community meeting was held in the third week at the Blue Diamond Society in Kathmandu, Nepal to further strengthen the proposal to conduct clinical research of Ayurvedic and/or Tibetan medicine in the management of HIV. Please click on the highlighted text in this paragraph to link to the relevant reports/websites.

POTENTIAL ANTI-HIV BOTANICALS. This is a preliminary listing of a variety of botanical and herbal medicines that have the potential for activity against HIV. Some have been studied as monotherapy in people living with HIV, such as Curcuma longa and Glycyrrhiza glabra. Others may only display activity in test tube studies. FIAR hopes this will serve as the basis for source material for clinical studies of botanical combination therapy to slow HIV disease progression. The table provides information on some of their active chemical constituents as well as background information on how some have been used in the Ayurvedic and Chinese medical traditions. This table will be periodically updated.

Positive Nation's Gus Cairns' Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements document. An excellent review of a variety of supplements from the United Kingdom perspective. Extensive information on doses, side effects, cross reactions and other information. Written in 2000-2001 so it needs to be updated but still contains a great deal of relevant data. And indeed, a great number of questions that FIAR may begin to address through its clinical studies--what do you wish to see studied?? It is lengthy so give time for a download for those using dial-up modems.

Nepal Project: Report from Blue Diamond Society. Report on the first outreach training workshop for men who have sex with men (MSM) in Nepal. Please also find a report on the Outreach Training Report of May 2002 for MSM. A Rapid Response Report for August, 2002 provides further information. Click on the Nepal Project for background on the FIAR project there as well as information on the Blue Diamond Society and Citta.

Seminar Summary - June 20, 2002, on the Topic: Preventing and Treating Side Effects of HIV Therapy. Presenter: George M. Carter; Location: Knox County Health Department, Knoxville, TN for Tennessee AIDS Support Services, Inc. (TASSI).

Botanical Interventions for Toxicities and Negative Effects. This is a draft report done for DAAIR that provides some ideas for preventing and managing antiretroviral side effects using botanical interventions.

African Traditional Healers and the Impact of Colonialism. A report from a presentation at the New York Academy of Medicine, by Steven Feierman, Ph.D. March 13, 2002.

Report on the 9th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Seattle, WA, February 2002. Please also see the related Table of Antiretrovirals.

Tibetan Herbs. This is a rather long table, it may take some time to download. It was in preparation for a journey to India for September, 2001 that did not take place due to the destruction of the World Trade Centers. It will be updated later in 2001.