Well here is a copy of the original FAQ for the newsgroup;

Original FAQ
Written by James M. Scutero, original proponent of misc.health.aids

MISC.HEALTH.AIDS FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) LAST UPDATE: 4/2/95

SECTION 1: ABOUT MISC.HEALTH.AIDS
SECTION 2: AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome)
SECTION 3: AIDS TREATMENTS
SECTION 4: HIV TESTING
SECTION 5: NUTRITION
SECTION 6: HERBS

SECTION 1: ABOUT MISC.HEALTH.AIDS
1.0 Q: What is misc.health.aids?

A: Misc.health.aids is the only UNMODERATED newsgroup on Usenet devoted to
AIDS.

1.1 Q: Can I post anything about AIDS on misc.health.aids?
A: Yes.

1.2 Q: Can I advertise things for sale on misc.health.aids?
A: No. If you do advertise on this newsgroup expect to get a mailbox full of
hate-email. The postmaster at your site will be notified and your Usenet
privileges might be taken away from you.

1.3 Q: If I see advertising on misc.health.aids what can I do to stop it? A:
First send the advertiser an email message stating that advertising on
misc.health.aids is forbidden by the subscribers of this newsgroup. Then
send a note to the postmaster of the advertiser's site.
Example: If dick@bogus.com advertises on misc.health.aids, send your
complaints to dick@bogus.com and postmaster@bogus.com or abuse@bogus.com

SECTION 2: AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome)
2.0 Q: What is AIDS?
A: AIDS (noun): a condition of acquired immunological deficiency associated
with infection of the cells of the immune system by a retrovirus, occurring
esp. in homosexual and bisexual men and in intravenous drug abusers, and
recognized clinically usu. by a life-threatening infection (esp. pneumonia
caused by the microorganism Pneumocystis carinii) or Kaposi's sarcoma or
both in addition to marked depression of the immune system
REFERENCE: Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary

2.1 Q: How does HIV cause AIDS?
A: There are many theories, but there is no consensus on how HIV causes AIDS
or if it is sufficient or even necessary to cause AIDS.

2.2 Q: Wait a minute! Doesn't HIV cause AIDS by killing T cells? A: Contrary
to popular belief, the decline in T4 lymphocytes found in people labelled as
having AIDS, does not occur as a result of HIV killing these "T" cells
directly according to current research. REFERENCES:
Wain-Hobson, S. Nature 366, 22 (1993)
Phillips, A.N. et al. Nature 367, 124 (1994)
Wain-Hobson, S. Nature 373, 102 (1995)

2.3 Q: But isn't HIV the only virus that infects immune system cells? A: No.
Human Herpes Virus number 6 (HHV-6) infects and kills T4 cells, T8 cells,
Natural Killer cells and B cells. HHV-6 variant A is also found as a
disseminated infection in immunocompromised people. Some researchers suggest
that HHV-6 may by an important co-factor in AIDS.
REFERENCE: Lusso, P, Gallo, RC Immunology Today 16(2) 67-71 (1995)

2.4 Q: How many people have been diagnosed with AIDS in the world since AIDS
started in 1980?
A: A little over 1,000,000 according to the World Health Organization.
REFERENCE: World Health Organization Global Programme on AIDS The Current
Global Situation of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic 3 January 1995

2.5 Q: Does this make AIDS the "Viral Pandemic of the Century"? A: No. An
estimated twenty million people were killed in the Influenza epidemic
of 1918 worldwide, 548,000 in the U.S.
REFERENCE: The 1993 World Almanac and Book of Facts

SECTION 3: AIDS TREATMENTS
3.0 Q: Can AZT, now called zidovudine, prolong my life?
A: No. There is no evidence that AZT prolongs life.
REFERENCE: Seligmann, M. et al. Lancet 343, 871-880 (1994)

3.1 Q: But doesn't AZT delay symptoms of AIDS?
A: No. There is no evidence that AZT delays symptoms.
REFERENCE: Seligmann, M. et al. Lancet 343, 871-880 (1994)

3.2 Q: Well at least it is a good treatment for dementia, isn't it? A: No. A
federally funded study, which was an observational analysis from the
Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, found antiretroviral treatment did not reduce
the incidence of HIV dementia. REFERENCE: Neurology (October 1994, pages
1892-1900)

3.3 Q: Well how about ddI, ddC, d4T or 3TC?
A: Sorry, there is no clinical evidence that these drugs will prolong your
life or delay symptoms either.

3.4 Q: But what if I take AZT in combination with ddI, ddC, d4T or 3TC? A:
Even if you take it in combination with an egg roll it has not been proven
to prolong your life or delay symptoms.

3.5 Q: How about protease inhibitors?
A: Nope. Despite all of the hoopla, these drugs have not been shown to
prolong life or delay symptoms.

3.6 Q: How about Interleukin-2 (IL-2)?
A: No. The following is a commentary on a study done on IL-2 conducted by
Joseph Kovacs, M.D. and H. Clifford Lane, M.D., at the Laboratory of
Immunoregulation (part of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases NIAID).
"The original IL-2 dose for these studies was 18 million IU per day, but the
majority of patients required dose reductions to either twelve or six
million IU, primarily because of the debilitating side- effects that
historically have accompanied high-dose IL-2 therapy.these include fever,
severe flu-like symptoms, capillary leakage, lung congestion and swelling,
liver, kidney and gall bladder disorders, neutropenia (low neutrophils, a
type of white blood cell), thrombocytopenia (low platelets), glucose
intolerance and irratating dermatologic problems such as psoriasis
flare-ups. Some participants have dropped out of the NIAID trials due to the
severity of the symptoms...IL-2-induced CD4 increases ultimately will need
to be correlated with explicit improvements in immune function for the
therapy to proceed into large, expensive efficacy phase III trials.
Improvements in immune function will then need correlation with clear health
and survival benefits in order for IL-2 to be validated and approved as a
treatment for HIV infection." REFERENCE: GMHC Treatment Issues vol. 9, num 2
page 7-11

3.7 Q: But don't all these drugs raise my T cells?
A: Yes to varying degrees but this effect is a transient one. People who
undergo drug therapy will often have a temporary rise in T cells, but this
does not mean that they live longer or stay well longer.

3.8 Q: So does this mean I will die from AIDS if I test HIV+ because these
drugs don't work?
A: There are many people who do not take these drugs and are still alive and
healthy after many years. Don't believe the hype. Testing HIV+ is not a
death sentence despite what your friends, doctors, and the media tells you.

SECTION 4: HIV Testing
4.0 Q: Has there ever been a large, general population study comparing the
results of HIV antibody tests with either PCR results or viral cultures?
A: (Does anybody have an answer to this?)

SECTION 5: NUTRITION
5.0 Q: Are there any studies on HIV and nutrition?
A: Yes, there are many. Here is one abstract.
AU - Dwyer JT
TI - Nutrition support of HIV+ patients.
AD - Frances Stern Nutrition Center, New England Medical Center Hospital,
Boston, MA 02111.
AB - Case management strategies for the nutritional support of patients
infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are evolving as the
disease becomes less rapidly fatal and more chronic. Nutritional status
changes in advanced HIV infection are similar in many respects to
protein-calorie malnutrition. Current clinical effort and research focuses
on the beneficial effects of preserving lean body mass and keeping
asymptomatic patients in good nutritional status by preventing micronutrient
deficiencies and by treating preexisting nutritional problems rather than
attempting to intervene late in the disease's course, after secondary
malnutrition has already developed. Nutrition support and intervention
trials only late in the disease process have not been promising in reversing
weight loss once it has occurred. Special diets, such as lactose- or
gluten-free diets, may be helpful in some cases as asymptomatic treatment of
some opportunistic infections, and such measures may slow additional losses.
However, secretory diarrhea, which often seems to be inherent to the disease
itself, is not ameliorated by such measures. Current research is focusing on
the potential role of glutamine in slowing malabsorption and on combinations
of diet and drug treatments. Asymptomatic patients are now the focus of
concern. Preserving good nutritional status by attention to preventing
weight loss and loss of lean body mass and assuring food safety are primary.
Symptomatic patients require specific assistance depending on the presence
of opportunistic infections and the drugs required. Specific nutrition
support measures depend on whether or not the gut is functional.(ABSTRACT
TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
REFERENCE: Henry Ford Hosp Med J 1991;39(1):60-5

5.1 Q: What are amino acids?
A: "Amino acids can best be described as the construction blocks from which
protein is made. Just as in a child's construction kit the pieces come in
different shapes and sizes and yet fit together to make something
recognizable, so the more than 20 amino acids each have unique
characteristics, and yet are capable of being fitted together into an almost
limitless variety of proteins.

Protein is formed by the joining together, into chains, of amino acids and
thus far over over 100,000 different proteins have been identified in
nature, which are the result of variations in the pattern in which the
chains are constructed.

The human body alone contains over 50,000 different forms of protein. The
total presence of amino acids in the body represents fully three quarters of
the body's dry weight (this is excluding the water content). Most of the
amino acids in the body can be manufactured out of just eight other amino
acids, which are all essential in the diet. This means that our diet has to
allow the the acquisition of free forms of these eight amino acids for life
to continue.
These 'essential' amino acids are critically important to life and health,
for out of them the body makes the other amino acids, as well as many of the
vital compounds which keep the body working, such as the enzymes,
neurotransmitters, mucopolysaccharides etc., not to mention blood, muscles,
organs and bones from which we are constructed.

When only a short chain of amino acids is joined together, in a particular
sequence, it is called a peptide. When the chain is long, it is called a
protein. The amino acids themselves are constructed from a combination of
the following elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and in some cases
sulphur.
REFERENCE: Thorsons Guide to Amino Acids by Leon Chaitow N.D., D.O
HarperCollins (1991)

5.2 Q: What are the names of the eight essential amino acids?
A: L-tryptophan, L-isoleucine, L-lysine, -L-threonine, L-leucine,
L-methionine, L-phenylalanine, L-valine. L-arginine and L-histadine are
considered 'essential' for children.

5.3. Q: Where can I get amino acids?
A: Amino acids are found in food. Since protein is made of amino acids, any
food with protein will contain amino acids. Individual amino acids
supplements can also be purchased in health food stores.

5.4 Q: I heard that the amino acid called lysine is good for herpes
outbreaks, is this true?
A: Yes. Herpes outbreaks are common in PWAs and supplementation with
free-form lysine has shown to be beneficial in controlling Herpes along with
a diet high in lysine and low in arginine.
"This suggests that physicians in a position to study the effect of lysine
in H. simplex infections should do so. It appears to do no harm and may be a
useful therapeutic measure."(1) "Tissue culture studies have demonstrated a
beneficial effect on viral replication when the amino acid ratio of arginine
to lysine favors arginine. The opposite, preponderance of lysine to
arginine, suppresses viral replication and inhibits cytopathogenicity of
herpes simplex virus."(2)
"L-Lysine appears to be an effective agent for reduction of occurrence,
severity and healing time for recurrent HSV infection."(3)

REFERENCES:
1. Kagan, C. "Lysine Therapy for Herpes Simplex", The Lancet, 1:137 (26 Jan
1974)
2. Griffith, R.S., "A Multicentered Study of Lysine Therapy in Herpes
simplex Infection", Dermatologica 156: 257-267 (1978) 3. Griffith, R.S.,
"Success of L-Lysine Therapy in Frequently Recurrent Herpes simplex
Infection", Dermatologica 175: 183-190 (1987)

5.5 Q: What foods are high in lysine and low in arginine?
A: Fish, chicken, beef, lamb, milk, cheese, beans, brewer's yeast and mung
bean sprouts. Most fruits and vegetables have more lysine than arginine,
except for peas. Gelatin, chocolate, carob, coconut, oats, wholewheat and
white flour, peanuts, soybeans and wheatgerm have more arginine than lysine.

SECTION 6: HERBS
6.0 Q: Can garlic help a person with AIDS?
A: "Because of preliminary data that strongly support it as an immune
enhancer, and because of its effectiveness against a number of opportunistic
microbes that are associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS),
including Herpesvirus hominis type I, cryptococcal, mycobacterial, and
candidal organisms, garlic may have a strategic role to play in the AIDS
pandemic." REFERENCE: Abdullah, TH et al. Journal of the National Medical
Association, 80(4) 439 (1988)

6.1 Q: Will Garlic delay symptoms of AIDS or prolong my life?
A: There have been no large clinical trials done on garlic to answer this
question.

6.2 Q: I don't like the taste or the smell of garlic. How else can I take
this herb?
A: There are many orderless garlic products on the market. The National
Cancer Institute uses Japanese Aged Garlic Extract in its research in AIDS
and Cancer.

The misc.health.aids FAQ is published and updated weekly by James M.Scutero.
All rights reserved. Noncommercial reproduction is encouraged.

Well there it is! The rest is up to you. I will be happy to discuss any
questions and answers on this newsgroup. No email please. When discussing
questions and answers in the misc.health.aids FAQ, please use the title,
"CHANGE: misc.health.aids FAQ" in the subject line of your post. If you just
have a question without an answer, I will be happy to put it in the FAQ so
other people can answer the question. I will include the names of the people
who answer the questions in the FAQ if they so desire. Let's keep the
submissions short and sweet with REFERENCES! Feel free to correct any
grammatical errors.

James M. Scutero, original proponent of misc.health.aids

Gary Stein