Weekends in the Country

posted: 14/02/2011

The next Living Proof weekend, for people who have lived with HIV for five years or longer, will be from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 March, near Stafford, south of Manchester.
 

The nltsg – National Long-Term Survivors Group - provides support to people who have been living with HIV for 5 or more years. nltsg is open to anyone who has been diagnosed HIV positive for five years. They welcome everyone as members.
 

Weekends : some funding help
nltsg receives no funding and charges for the Living Proof weekend cover the costs - £170. Help may be available for some people - if you live in NW England ask our services team about this.

Thanks to a generous award from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, nltsg offers a limited number of places to people who have not attended a nltsg weekend before. To qualify, you must

• be either over 50, OR
• be socially isolated (living in a rural location, low HIV prevalence area or otherwise unable to use local HIV support services), OR
• be a worker (paid or volunteer) in the HIV support sector.
Please contact them for details.

Weekends
The weekends are a safe space for people to come together for peer support, sharing experiences and discussing issues. Professional facilitators hold discussion groups and workshops, but users decide what is discussed.
Complementary therapists offer a wide range of treatments throughout the weekend.
All activities are optional.

Weekend details
The weekends run from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, with people arriving from 3:30pm on Friday. They expect everyone is ready by 5:45pm for the Opening Circle.
On Friday evening, they hold a 'Getting to Know You' session, which gives everyone the opportunity to talk in small groups about their reasons for attending, their hopes and expectations for the weekend, as well as voicing any concerns they may have.

Throughout Saturday and on Sunday morning they hold discussion groups, workshops and complementary therapy sessions.

There is plenty of free time during the weekend, which offers an opportunity to relax and network. Many find this the most beneficial aspect of the weekend, as it provides the chance to talk, listen and learn in an informal but safe environment with other people living with HIV.

The weekend is fully catered and there is a bar available in the evening. Most dietary requirements can be accommodated.

The weekends end with a Closing Circle at around 2:45pm on Sunday afternoon.

Bookings by email
 

07967 430797 by phone

by post :

National Long Term Survivors Group
BM LTSG
London WC1N 3XX

Living Proof Weekend dates

2011:

25 - 27 March
8 - 10 July
23 - 25 September
16 - 18 December

2012:

23 - 25 March
6 - 8 July
28 - 30 September
14 - 16 December
 

What people said about their Living Proof weekend experience

"Just what I needed at this time, a lovely group of people, everyone I met here was friendly and I did not feel excluded."

"The best thing was getting to make new friends and meeting old ones; meeting other positive people and coming together as a group "

"I enjoy the weekend away from home. As a long-term survivor, I enjoy passing on my experiences and learning from new and old members. It goes a long way in helping a person living with HIV, and I leave refreshed and wanting to do more."

"The best thing was discovering other people's example of how they deal with the virus: peer support - sharing experiences - able to relax completely - a chance for personal recharge."

Diagnosed 7 Years Plus Event

posted: 11/01/2011

This Wednesday evening,12 January, we have a meeting for anyone diagnosed with HIV for seven years or longer. If you were diagnosed with HIV seven or more years ago please come and meet with others in the same position. 

Share and learn

This is a chance to share experiences and see if there are particular support needs that come from having HIV for longer.

Ed Wilkins talks and answers questions

Dr Ed Wilkins (North Manchester General Hospital) will speak and asnswer questions. 

Just turn up on the night, or for more information, contact Lynda by email or on 0161 274 5652. If you have never used George House Trust services before please call Lynda.

There will be light refreshments at this event and travel expenses for those that need them.
 

Gene Hope from HIV Controllers

posted: 05/11/2010

Scientists are closer to understanding why a tiny proportion of people with HIV can live for many years without treatment and without developing AIDS. New scientific insights could boost HIV vaccine and treatment prospects by exploiting natural immunity to the virus. But a UK HIV expert said there is still a "long way" to go before a vaccine or any new drug for HIV can be developed.

Natural immunity

About one in 300 people with HIV do not develop AIDS because of natural immunity. Their immune systems keep the virus in check, preventing HIV from overwhelming the body's immune system defences, and reducing the risk of passing on HIV.
 

People who stay healthy are described as "HIV controllers". Their bodies are able to control HIV by suppressing it so far that the viral load can be undetectable.
 

Genes of 1000 compared with 2,600

The latest study involved an exhaustive genome-wide genetic scan involving a million measurements of the DNA of 1000 HIV controllers from around the world. These were compared with the genomes of 2,600 other people with HIV. The comparison revealed significant differences in the DNA responsible for one of the immune system's vital proteins, called HLA-B. This is already known for defending the body against viruses.
 

Small differences
The study found that the ‘Controllers’ version of this protein has differences in only five of the amino acids – the building blocks of proteins. These differences are at the "binding pocket," which locks on to invading viruses, before warning the immune system that it is under attack.
 

HLA-B is part of the process by which the immune system recognises and destroys virus-infected cells. Part of the protein called a binding pocket "drags and drops" peptides from inside the virus onto the cell membrane. These then mark out the cell for destruction by CD8 "killer" T cells of the immune system.
 

"We found that, of the three billion nucleotides in the human genome, just a handful make the difference between those who can stay healthy in spite of HIV infection and those who, without treatment, will develop AIDS," said Bruce Walker, director of the Ragon Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
 

Paul de Bakker of the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said: "Earlier studies showed that certain genes involved with the HLA system were important for HIV control. But they couldn't tell us exactly which genes were involved and how they produced this difference. Our findings take us not only to specific protein, but to a part of that protein essential to its function."
 

One step closer

Dr Walker emphasised that the discovery just one of the major differences that increase people’s chance of living healthily with HIV.
"We've not identified the precise mechanism to explain HIV controllers, but we know that of all the genetic influences involved, this is by far the most important," Dr Walker said.
 

Doug tells us why he's involved
Doug Robinson, 46, from Truro, Massachusetts, is one of hundreds enrolled in the study of "HIV controllers". He was diagnosed in November 2003 but is still healthy and well. Normally by this stage of HIV infection, and without anti-HIV drugs, Mr Robinson would be expected to have a high level of HIV in his bloodstream – a "viral load" of about 50,000 copies of HIV. Instead, Mr Robinson has under 50 copies, which is undetectable.
 

"After my diagnosis, a friend told me that I am here for a purpose, that I could be a link to something that could be beneficial, and I felt like I had a responsibility to put myself out there," Mr Robinson said. "I feel it's my responsibility, no matter what I do, to put that to use. When I'm long gone, and the dust has blown over me, I hope to leave something, a positive contribution."

Hope but a long road
Gus Cairns, editor of HIV Treatment Update of the UK's National Aids Manual, said: "This research opens the door to the development of a vaccine that could encourage the body to mimic the most effective kind of immune response, or to drugs that could interfere with HIV's ability to infect cells and derange the immune system.
"Nonetheless there is still a lot we don't know about why some genetic variants provide a much less welcoming environment for HIV than others and, although we are becoming clearer about what kinds of specific immune response are effective against HIV, we are a long way from being able to make them happen, or even knowing what we must do to make them happen."
 

Sources and reference
Independent
BBC
HIV Controllers study

Science article (pay to view)

Diagnosed Before 2003?

posted: 02/11/2010

Meet other people diagnosed for more than seven years, people who tested positive in about 2003 or before. Meet for support on Tuesday evening 16 November between 6pm and 8pm.

The idea is to meet other people in a similar position and discover the support needs that come after living with HIV for seven or more years.
 

Just come along
Just turn up, or if you would like more information please contact Lynda Shentall, Director of Services on 0161 274 5652 or e-mail her

Refreshments and travel
There will be light refreshments at this event and travel expenses for those that need them.
 

Where, when

Tuesday 16 November
6 – 8pm
George House Trust 77 Ardwick Green North Manchester
 

Image from dhiverse

Diagnosed 7 Years Plus Event

posted: 10/08/2010

How we think and feel about HIV, and our needs for support may change, the longer we have had HIV. This is your chance to meet up with others, share your experiences of living with a HIV diagnosis for seven or more years, and to learn from others.

If you were diagnosed over 7 years ago, this is specially for you and others in the same position. Are there different support needs as you gain more years of experience with HIV? 
 

Lynda Shentall – Director of Services is leading this event, and you can simply turn up on the evening. If you have never been to George House Trust before, please call us first - 0161 274 4499.

When, Where

Wednesday 15 September

6.00pm to 8.00pm

George House Trust, 77 Ardwick Green North, Manchester

Need more information?

For more information call Lynda on 0161 274 5652 or email her.

Snacks and travel

There will be light refreshments and the normal travel expenses.