Is AIDS a manageable disease like diabetes, as some have suggested over the past few years? It may have the potential to be so, using strategies to maximize the usefulness of current drugs and new therapies in the research pipeline, as reported in the last issue. Yet the reality of HIV disease often brings to mind crisis management rather than a vision of long-term control. Side effects of anti-HIV agents -- not to mention the effects of the disease itself -- can complicate any treatment plan. Reports from recent conferences confirm a lack of understanding of drug side effects, although novel ways of treating them are being looked at. For people coinfected with hepatitis C or B it can be harder still to manage HIV disease. Research continues in this area, however, and new agents for viral hepatitis have recently been approved. In addition, interviews with clinicians and treatment advocates suggest that many complex issues specific to women with HIV have yet to be adequately addressed.

As the new editor of BETA, I know from my years on this journal's editorial staff that the most important service we can provide is accurate, in-depth, and freely accessible HIV health information. The best means of assessing the work we do has always been for readers to provide us with feedback. Some data from our recent reader survey are included in this issue. I encourage all our readers to keep the comments coming.