Firstly, well, hello everyone. This month I take over from Edwin J Bernard as editor of HIV Treatment Update and I’m immensely looking forward to being at the helm of a newsletter I’ve read virtually since its first issue in 1992.

It’s almost a cliché to say how much things have changed since then. To give you some historical perspective, there was a piece in that first HTU on the then-novel idea of using more than one HIV drug at a time.

There was also a piece on a new class of drugs called TIBO derivatives. That research line eventually resulted in a drug, etravirine, which was licensed last year. This month saw the first hint of success in a trial of an idea that has been around for even longer – a microbicide against HIV (see Microbicides and the trouble with good news).

Some of you may know of me already, and this isn’t a personal blog, but as a way of introducing this issue, one curious fact is that in accepting the editorial baton from Edwin, an older guy is taking over from a younger one (I’m 52 and he’s 45 – I just checked if he minds me saying that).

People with HIV now have the questionable luxury of developing the diseases of old age. There were a lot of studies of the impact of things like heart disease and dementia on people with HIV at the recent CROI Conference in Montreal, which NAM attended and reported on; I intend to cover what to expect as we get older in forthcoming issues.

This issue we look at a common and often age-related condition we haven’t looked at in detail before – diabetes (see Sweet sorrow).

Unlike the exotic zoo of opportunistic infections that comprise AIDS, these are conditions people with HIV share with the population in general. It’s possible that your HIV specialist isn’t the best person to monitor them and in some cases your GP might do a better job. Or might they? And do you want them to know you have HIV? We explore the likely expansion of the role of primary care in HIV treatment in Future daze. How people get their care is as important as what the care is and we’ll be returning again in future issues to the NHS as it changes.

One more thing before I sign off. The diabetes piece sprang from a patient who emailed NAM wanting to let us know about his treatment story, and I intend to feature many more patient voices in HTU. If you have an issue you think worth airing, email info@nam.org.uk.