The Queen’s Award for

Voluntary Service 2006

Registered Charity Number 900089 March 2012

*Tues 6 Mar 11am-12noon

‘Chat ‘n’ Chill’ (free)

Female only support group

*Weds 7 Mar 11am-12noon

‘Talk-2-Men’ (free)

Male only support group

*Tues 13 Mar 2.30pm

‘GUM Discuss Changes’ (free)

Staff from GUM come to explain changes to services

*Thurs 15 Mar 1.15pm

‘Service Users Lunch’ (£2.50)

Come and have a munch and a chat

*Thurs 15 Mar 2.30pm - 3.30pm

‘Harm Minimization’ (free)

Staff from the CRI Drug Intervention Program offer friendly support relating to substance misuse. Sessions are informal and confidential.

*Thurs 29 Mar 11am-12.30pm

‘Peer Support’ (free)

Come to give and receive support in a Service User only support group

*Thurs 29 Mar 3pm

‘Guest Speaker - Living with HIV (free)

Philip Hawkins, the founder of Body Positive Dorset is coming to give a talk about coming to terms with HIV

In the Pipeline…

If you fancy the following events or workshops please contact Reception. These will take place if we have sufficient interest

‘Literacy’ (Adult Ed) ‘Maths’ (Adult Ed) ‘Transformations’ (Art

Therapy) ‘Meditation/Voice Therapy’ NOW BOOKED for 5th Apr at 11am. Details to follow ‘Harm Minimization’ NOW BOOKED - see above

‘Other’ - Tell us what you want!

Events…………

Marathon Sponsorship Page open NOW!Marathon Sponsorship Page open NOW!

Diana, Princess of Wales House 24 Lorne Park Road

Bournemouth

Dorset BH1 1JL

Tel: 01202 297386 Fax: 01202 290385

24 Hour HIV Helpline: 01202 311166 Internet: www.bodypositivedorset.org Email: mail@bodypositivedorset.org

Please sponsor Matt’s brave London Marathon attempt in aid of Body Positive Dorset at:

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/mattday

Treatment....................................................

We have been working with Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch

Hospital (RBCH) to remove all discrimination against patients who

are HIV Positive. I am delighted to be able to report that we have

had some very encouraging feedback from service users who

have recently undergone surgery at RBCH. Not only were they

not made to wait to be the last patient on the list but there was

no double gloving and no mention of HIV.

Similar work is in hand with Poole Hospital and I hope to be able

to give you some good news from that quarter in the near future.

It would be of very real help if you could tell me about any good,

bad or indifferent experiences you have with medical treatment.

We want to celebrate the good news and we want to take

action against the bad news.

Richard

email : richard@bodypositivedorset.org

The beadier-eyed amongst our readers will have noticed Matt’s latest bid to attract sponsorship for his London Marathon... a life size poster of Matt in his running gear in Flirt cafe in the Triangle! (shown right)

This has already attracted lots of attention! Thanks to Rob and Peter at Flirt for letting Matt’s 2D double take up residence!

Your support is vital. Thank you

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/mattday

2

HIV News Corner........................................................................

HIV is ‘starved’ by some cells in the body say scientists........................................

It is possible for macrophages and dendritic cells

to produce SAMHD1 as they are "mature cells"

which do not go on to produce new cells.

Prof Baek Kim, one of the researchers from the

University of Rochester Medical Centre, said: "It

makes sense that a mechanism like this is active

in macrophages.

"Macrophages literally eat up dangerous

organisms, and you don't want those organisms

to have available the cellular machinery needed

to replicate and macrophages themselves don't

need it, because they don't replicate.

"So macrophages have SAMHD1 to get rid of the

raw material those organisms need to copy

themselves. It's a great host defence."

Dr Jonathan Stoye, virologist at the Medical Research Council National Institute of Medical Research, was part of the team whichdetermined the chemical structure of SAMHD1 last year and predicted that it would attack the dNTPs.

"We hypothesised that it works in this fashion

and the paper tells us we were right. It is

depleting cells of these dNTPs, in cells which are

not proliferating (dividing)."

However, some cells do need to divide to boost

numbers as part of the immune defence. Such as

CD4 cells which are the prime target for HIV.

"Cells which are proliferating would be in trouble

if we took dNTPs away," Dr Stoye said.

He added: "How we can use the anti-retroviral action of this protein is not clear to me."

Scientists have shown how some cells in the

body can repel attacks from HIV by starving

the virus of the building blocks of life.

Viruses cannot replicate on their own; they must

hijack other cells and turn them into virus

production factories.

A study, published in Nature Immunology, showed how some parts of the immune system destroy their own raw materials, stopping HIV.

It is uncertain whether this could be used in

therapy, experts caution.

HIV attacks the immune system and can weaken

the body's defences to the point that everyday

infections become fatal.

However, not all parts of the immune system

become subverted to the virus' cause.

Macrophages and dendritic cells, which have

important roles in orchestrating the immune

response, seem to be more resistant.

Last year researchers identified the protein SAMHD1 as being a critical part of this resistance. Now scientists believe they know how it works.

They have shown that SAMHD1 breaks down the

building blocks of DNA. So if a cell needs to

make a copy of itself it will have a pool of these

building blocks - deoxynucleoside triphosphates

or dNTPs - which make the new copies of the

DNA. However, they can also be used by viruses.

The study, by an international team of

researchers, showed that SAMHD1 lowered the

levels of dNTPs below that needed to build viral

DNA and prevented infection. When they

removed SAMHD1 then those cells had higher

levels of dNTPs and were infected by HIV.

The report said: "By depleting the pool of

available dNTPs, SAMHD1 effectively starves the

virus of a building block that is central to its

replication strategy."

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Food for

Thought

‘ I love myself just

the way I am,

There’s nothing I

need to change,

I ’ll always be the

perfect me,

There’s nothing to

rearrange

Jai Josephs - Daily meditation for 3rd March from

‘The Colour of Light’ by Perry Tilleraas

We are pleased to

confirm that from March

the centre will be open

on Fridays between

10.30am and 5pm as a

drop-in service only.

There will not be any

Counselling or Support

Services available on a

Friday.

This is in response to

Service User input and

we are pleased that we

are now in a position to

resume this service.

Feedback regarding this

Friday service would be

gratefully received.

3

Every Last Thursday of the Month Please sign up with Reception in advance.

This group only meets if people sign up

As part of our continuing quest to offer the best service we possible can we have now signed up to Skype. This will enable any of us to be in easy and visible contact with any service user who has access to Skype. The idea is particularly attractive in our work with service users who live in remote or distant areas who do not have ready access to transport to get them to our Centre.

If you would like to speak to someone here by Skype please arrange a time with them in advance. This is especially crucial if you wish to contact Tracy or Samantha as they will not be available without an appointment.

We hope this new service will be of considerable benefit to our service users, albeit only a small number to begin with.

Our new skype ID is:

Body Positive Dorset

Bournemouth

now on

4

.

Mary is available from Monday to Thursday

Sports Remedial Massage Holistic Massage Indian Head Massage Reiki Thai Foot & Leg Massage

Holistic Hands @

Mary is an ITEC Diploma Member of the .... Federation of Holistic Therapists.

Don’t be a

Sourpuss...

...come to

Service User

Lunches Dates are shown in Events Listings on page 1. Please sign up with reception in advance. Price: £2.50pp

Gender Specific Support at BPD. Please contact reception as these only take place if people sign up:

Snippets..... Snippets..... Snippets.....

Webpage of the Month:

www.eventbrite.co.uk

is a...

“

5

“ Come to World Music Evening 2012 or else!

Jon Owen

The Monthly Volunteer Task-list is back! You’ll find it on reception. Currently the main tasks for March are Gardening & Cleaning

Existing Volunteers

sign up at Reception Thank you

GET TESTED.

Where Can I get Tested?

We discovered Eventbrite this month in our

search to find an online solution to ticketing for

World Music Evening 2012 (7pm, 26th May at

Centre Stage, Queen’s Road, Bournemouth -

yes that was another plug! Can you spot any

more?) Here’s what they say about themselves:

Eventbrite is an online service that people

everywhere use to create, share, and join any

event imaginable. Whether it's a photography

class with a local artist, or a sold-out concert in a

city stadium, Eventbrite makes it happen. We

enable event creation, promotion and ticket sales.

We help people discover events that match their

passions. And we let everyone share the events

they're creating or joining, bringing more people

together around the world.

Quote of the Month:

Funding Update We are once again delighted to announce

funding support from Wiltshire Council who have recently confirmed that

they will be renewing their Financial support for

another year.

The amount is not huge but it really makes a difference

to our ability to support service users from the

county who can be difficult and/or

expensive to support.

(01202 704644)

(01202 704644)

“Dear Delilah...” Body Positive’s Resident Agony Aunt

Delilah is ready to lend a friendly ear & to offer her advice. Quirky Questions, Silly

Scenarios & Deeper Dilemmas are all welcomed. So if you would like Delilah to

answer your question, whether it’s light-hearted or serious, why not drop Delilah a line.

“Dear Delilah...

I have been HIV+ for 3 years and I am very healthy. I

am currently on a trial (combo Ritonavir/Raltegravir/

Darunavir) and responding well. My only health

complaint is an intense feeling of fatigue where some

days I can barely get out of bed. Other days I can

cope but it is always there. Any advice would be

much appreciated.

‘Knackered’ in Knyveton Road

Delilah says...

Whilst fatigue (an intense tiredness that does not go

away when you rest) does not affect everyone with

HIV, various studies suggest between 35% and 65%

of positive people experience acute fatigue at some

point.* The impact of fatigue can be devastating—

physically, emotionally and socially. Muscles may

lose strength or limbs may feel so heavy that normal

physical activities are difficult. You may have trouble

concentrating, remembering things or taking an

interest in your work or social life.

‘Did you spot the deliberate mistake?....email us!! No prizes...it’s just for fun!!!’ 6

Even though fatigue is common among people with

HIV/AIDS, you should not assume your lack of

energy is something you should "just live with." The

good news is: it is possible to address HIV/AIDS-

related fatigue through a range of medical treatments

and lifestyle changes.

The first step in fighting your HIV/AIDS-related

fatigue is for you and your doctor to determine the

underlying cause of your fatigue. Your doctor is likely

to recommend tests to see if your fatigue has medical

causes, such as anaemia or hormonal imbalances, and

you may require some type of medical treatment. In

addition, there are also a number of ways you can

fight HIV/AIDS-related fatigue by making changes in

your daily life including Nutrition, Exercise,

Improving Sleep & Relaxation. For more advice on

these areas, try the great HIV resource and info

provider ‘The Body’ at:

www.thebody.com/content/art2640.html

Hope this helps, Delilah

Phone: 01202 297 386

Fax: 01202 290 385

mail@bodypositivedorset.org OR

supportworker@bodypositivedorset.org

www.bodypositivedorset.org

Mon - Thurs: 1pm to 7pm

Fri: 10.30am to 5pm

Contact Details...

Centre Opening Hours...

Follow us online...

bodypositive

@BPDorset ‘...is this in black & white? Tell us your email address to

receive a colour E-newsletter.’

Single Ticket: £7

Table Tickets for 6 people: £35

tic

Buy tickets online at www.eventbrite.co.uk

*Source: www.aidsmap.com