HIV
vitamin natural therapy herbs and vitamins
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. When HIV enters your body, it
moves inside white blood cells called "CD4 lymphocytes." HIV takes over the CD4
cells and makes billions of virus pieces each day. The virus pieces spread through your
body. Your body tries to defend itself against HIV by making antibodies (these hook on to
the virus and keep it from making virus pieces) and by special cells called macrophages
and natural killer T-cells. These cells help you to get rid of some of the virus pieces.
If antibodies against HIV show up in your blood, you know your body is trying to protect
you from the HIV infection you have picked up. However, it's usually several months before
your body makes enough antibodies to measure.
The AIDS virus entered the United States in about 1969 from Haiti,
carried most likely by a single infected immigrant
After acute HIV infection, your body works hard to attack the virus. With your body fighting, the virus can't make so many virus pieces. Even though you still have HIV infection, you'll begin to look well and feel well again. The usual blood tests will be normal. However, during this time, the virus pieces are still attacking your lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are the centers of your body's immune system. The virus may also attack your brain tissue and slowly cause damage there. Over 10 to 15 years, HIV would kill so many CD4 cells that your body could no longer fight off infections. At this point, a person is diagnosed as having AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Once you have AIDS, you can easily get many serious infections.
38 million people around the world, half of them women, are living with HIV/AIDS,
according to the latest figures from UNAIDS, the United Nations agency spearheading the
battle against HIV or AIDS.
HIV Natural options
There are no natural therapies that are endorsed by the medical profession.
However, studies have shown several nutrients and herbs to have antiviral
properties. It is difficult to predict what clinical effect, if any, these herbs and
supplements have in the natural progression of HIV.
Antioxidant -- There is evidence suggesting that patients infected with human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) are under chronic oxidative stress.
People infected with HIV
may benefit from treatment with antioxidant vitamins.
Bovine Colostrum may
reduce the severity of diarrhea in HIV patients.
Green
Tea -- Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), one of the components of
green tea has been suggested to have antiviral activity. To determine the effects of EGCG on HIV infection, peripheral blood lymphocytes infected with HIV were incubated with
increasing concentrations of EGCG. EGCG strongly inhibited the replication of the HIV
virus.
EGCG found in green tea prevents HIV from binding to immune system cells by
getting there first. Once EGCG has bound to immune system cells there is no room
for HIV to take hold in its usual fashion. The EGCG test is in vitro, and it
will take human research to determine whether EGCG is effective against HIV in
people who are infected or whether regular green tea intake or taking
EGCG supplements have a role
to play in preventing or reducing the severity of HIV infection.
Glutamine, the amino
acid, could be helpful for those on anti-HIV medicines.
Glutamine-antioxidant nutrient
supplementation can increase body weight, body cell mass, and intracellular
water when compared with placebo in HIV patients.
Hyssop has antiviral activity against herpes simplex and HIV-1.
Licorice may be helpful.
Olive Leaf has
anti-HIV activity
Rooibos tea has anti-HIV activity.
Ginseng CD4+ T cell counts in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-infected patients are
maintained or even increased when treated with Korean red ginseng.
Catuaba, an Amazonian
plan, has anti-HIV activity.
Danshen, a Chinese herb
There is very little information on how these herbs interact with antiviral medicines used to treat HIV or AIDS. For instance, Garlic reduces saquinavir blood levels by 50% and may affect other drugs.
Chinese herbal medicine, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi and its identified components (i.e., baicalein and baicalin), have been shown to inhibit infectivity and replication of HIV.
Researchers with HerbalScience have identified
chemical components in elderberry, cinnamon, and green tea extracts that bind to
the HIV viruses and block them from infecting target cells in the laboratory. An
article detailing the research, titled "HIV type-1 entry inhibitors with a new
mode of action," appears in the August 2009 issue of Antiviral Chemistry &
Chemotherapy. The authors are affiliated with the University of Miami Leonard
Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, and HerbalScience Group LLC, a
Naples, Florida, and Singapore-based company dedicated to applying advanced
science and technology to the production of botanical drugs and nutraceuticals.
Randall S. Alberte, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer of HerbalScience and one
of the authors of the published study. Previous research by HerbalScience had
demonstrated the ability of its proprietary elderberry extract to inhibit entry
of the H1N1 influenza virus into target cells. For the HIV study, researchers
used the same elderberry extract, and compared the antiviral activities to those
of extracts obtained from green tea and cinnamon, two botanicals that are also
known to be rich in flavonoids, plant nutrients that are beneficial to health.
All the extracts were prepared using the company's patented extraction
technologies, which standardize the chemical profile of any selected botanical
in order to deliver a compositionally and functionally consistent product, batch
to batch. The researchers were able to identify specific compounds in each of
the three botanical extracts that bind to and block HIV infection in target
cells. Among the hundreds of compounds present in the extracts, only two
compounds were found to bind to the HIV virus particles. Furthermore, the study
examined the inhibitory interactions between the elderberry extract and
enfuvirtide (also termed Fuzeon), among the first of a new class of HIV
antiviral drugs called entry inhibitors, or drugs that disrupt the fusion of
virus and target cells. Enfuvirtide is known to bind to a specific glycoprotein
of the HIV virus required for viral fusion and infection. When enfuvirtide was
combined with the elderberry extract, the inhibition of infection increased by
nearly 6 orders of magnitude. That result indicates that the active antiviral
chemistries in the elderberry extract bind to a different HIV glycoprotein than
does enfuvirtide, demonstrating a significant synergistic effect on in vitro
infection. The authors of the article are Ryan C. Fink, Bill Roschek, Jr., and
Randall S. Alberte, all of HerbalScience Group LLC. Dr. Fink is also affiliated
with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Miami
Leonard Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida. HerbalScience is a
privately-held life sciences company headquartered in Naples, Florida, with
facilities in Singapore. HerbalScience is engaged in the discovery, development,
manufacture, and marketing of proprietary botanical compounds for human health
in the U.S. and international markets. The company has prominent alliances with
prestigious university laboratories and prominent researchers in the U.S., as
well as research institutions in China.
Other options for those
infected with the HIV virus.
Writing about emotional
topics appears to reduce stress in HIV-infected patients and may improve immune
responses.
HIV infection and circumcision
Circumcision reduces the risk of HIV infection by up to 60 percent in African
men, but does not have a noticeable affect in gay and bisexual men of color in
the U.S.
HIV and marijuana smoking
Smoking cannabis daily can reduce the chronic nerve pain experienced by
many HIV -infected patients. However, the negative influence of marijuana on the
immune system needs to be taken into account.
HIV
Medical treatment
The medical treatment of HIV or AIDS is with several antiviral drugs.
The development of new antiviral drugs has had a
tremendous impact on the quality of life and life expectancy of HIV-positive and
AIDS patients, as the drugs effectively disrupt the replication cycle of the HIV
virus. Yet the regular use of those drugs - such as zidovudine (also known as
azidothymidine or AZT), protease inhibitors, and highly active antiretroviral
therapy (HAART) involving multidrug therapies - has led to resistant HIV strains
and high side effect profile.
November 2009 - Countries should phase out the use of Stavudine, the most widespread antiretroviral, because of "long-term, irreversible" side-effects in HIV patients including wasting and a nerve disorder, according to the World Health Organization.
February 2010 - Patients taking a Bristol-Myers Squibb drug for HIV are at risk of a rare, but potentially fatal, liver disorder. The Food and Drug Administration said it has received 42 reports of the disorder since Videx was approved in 1991. Four patients died from bleeding or liver failure after developing the problem, known as non-cirrhotic portal hypertension.
Other options for those
infected with the HIV virus.
Writing about emotional
topics appears to reduce stress in HIV-infected patients and may improve immune
responses.
Protein in sperm helps HIV enter
cells
An ingredient in human semen may actually help the HIV virus infect cells.
Naturally occurring prostatic acidic phosphatase or PAP, an enzyme produced by
the prostate, can form tiny fibers called amyloid fibrils that can capture bits
of the human immunodeficiency virus and usher it into cells.
HIV statistics
38 million people around the world, half of them women, are living with
HIV / AIDS,
according to the latest figures from UNAIDS, the United Nations agency spearheading the
battle against HIV or AIDS.
HIV in China
The number of reported HIV / AIDS cases in China has grown by nearly 30 percent
in 2006, and the HIV virus seemed to be spreading from high-risk groups to the
general public. Experts from the United Nations and the Chinese Health Ministry
estimate about 650,000 people in China were HIV positive by the end of 2006.
Drug abuse accounted for 37 percent of the newly found infections this year
whose transmission routes had been determined, while unsafe sexual contact had
caused 28 percent. People selling blood illegally or receiving infected blood
from hospitals in the 1990s accounted for 5 percent of HIV cases.
HIV in Indonesia
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, is projecting half a
million HIV cases by 2010, and double that if preventive steps are not taken.
Current estimates put the number of HIV cases in a range of 169,000-216,000 in
Indonesia, which has a total population of 220 million.
FDA Rule Requires Warning on
Nonoxynol 9 OTC Contraceptive Products
In December 2007, FDA issued a final rule requiring manufacturers of
over-the-counter (OTC) stand-alone vaginal contraceptive and spermicidal
products containing the chemical ingredient nonoxynol 9 (N9) to include a
warning that the chemical N9 does not provide protection against infection from
HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) or other sexually transmitted diseases.
Stand-alone spermicides include gels, foams, films, or inserts containing N9
that are used by themselves for contraception.
HIV Research Update
A study of HIV-infected African women
found that daily doses of multivitamins appear to slow down the disease and cut
the risk of developing AIDS in half. The researchers who conducted the study in
Tanzania suggested that vitamin supplements could be used in developing
countries to delay the need for HIV drugs, saving them for use at more advanced
stages and avoiding their side effects.
A randomized trial of multivitamin supplements and HIV disease progression and
mortality.
Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115,
USA. mina@hsph.harvard.edu
Results from observational studies suggest that micronutrient
status is a determinant of the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
disease. We enrolled 1078 pregnant women infected with HIV in a
double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to examine
the effects of daily supplements of vitamin A (preformed vitamin A and beta
carotene), multivitamins (vitamins B, C, and E), or both on progression of HIV
disease, using survival models. The median follow-up with respect to survival
was 71 months (interquartile range, 46 to 80). Of 271 women who
received multivitamins, 67 had progression to World Health Organization (WHO)
stage 4 disease or died--the primary outcome--as compared with 83 of 267 women
who received placebo. This regimen was also associated with reductions in the
relative risk of death related to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome,
progression to WHO stage 4, or progression to stage 3 or higher. Multivitamins
also resulted in significantly higher CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts and
significantly lower viral loads. The effects of receiving vitamin A alone were
smaller and for the most part not significantly different from those produced by
placebo. Adding vitamin A to the multivitamin regimen reduced the benefit with
regard to some of the end points examined. Multivitamin supplements
delay the progression of HIV disease and provide an effective, low-cost means of
delaying the initiation of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected women.
Advances in studies on flavonoids of licorice
College of Chemical Engineer, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian
116012, Liaoning, China.
Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2003 Jul;28(7):593-7.
The progress in the research of the active ingredients of licorice flavonoid
and the pharmacological activities was reviewed. Licorice flavonoid constituents
mainly included flavones, flavonals, isoflavones, chalcones, bihydroflavones and
bihydrochalcones. Pharmacological investigation concluded that they had
antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumer and inhibiting HIV activities. It is
important to study further the flavonoid constituents and pharmacological
activities.
A clinical review of micronutrients in HIV infection.
Ottawa Health Research Institute, Canadian HIV Trials Network, Ottawa,
Canada.
J Int Assoc Physicians AIDS Care (Chic Ill). 2002 Spring;1(2):63-75.
This article reviews current literature on the role of micronutrients in
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Deficiencies of micronutrients are
common in HIV-infected persons. They occur due to malabsorption, altered
metabolism, gut infection, and altered gut barrier function. There is a
compelling association of deficiencies of micronutrients in HIV-infection with
immune deficiency, rapid disease progression, and mortality. Also, there is
increased risk of vertical HIV transmission from mother to child with deficiency
of vitamin A, and of neurological impairment with vitamin B12. The last five
years have been exciting in micronutrient research, and there is promise that
some micronutrients may be key factors in maintaining health in HIV
immunodeficiency, and in reducing mortality. Selenium appears important in
reducing virulence of HIV and slowing disease progression. Vitamin A
supplementation in pregnant women with HIV may reduce maternal mortality and
improve birth outcomes. Supplementation in children with HIV may accelerate
growth. Carotenoid supplementation is being evaluated. Vitamin B12 may slow HIV
immune deficiency disease progression, and reverse neurological compromise.
Clinical benefit of supplementation with some micronutrients may be measurable
in the presence of pre-existing deficiency. Apart from improved general
nutrition, the impact of micronutrient supplements on health and their optimal
use in HIV infection is controversial because there are so few controlled
clinical trials. Further research is needed to elucidate the role of
micronutrient deficiencies on the course of HIV infection, and the preventive
and therapeutic role of supplementation in its clinical management.
Nevertheless, current knowledge supports the use of routine multivitamin and
trace element supplementation as adjuvant to conventional antiretroviral drug
treatment as a relatively low-cost intervention.
HIV natural treatment questions
Q. Hi. I found out about your products from a friend. I have been somewhat
depressed since being diagnoses as HIV positive last December. I am currently
taking Atripla and was wondering if I could use natural products with no
problems.
A. It is difficult to predict the role and influence of natural
supplements in those who are HIV positive. Very little research has been done in
this area. Plus, it is difficult to predict the interactions between HIV
medications and natural supplements. If you were to begin using any natural
pills, it is best to begin with very low dosages and inform your doctor.
I realize the treatment to help HIV is medication
therapy and regular blood test. However, what role does vitamins and herbs play
in helping HIV test results and how does this affect the outcome of HIV to keep
from getting worse over time? I would like your professional opinion on using
vitamins and herbs in treating HIV along with the regular medication therapy.
Thank you for your kind response as I am very much interested in ordering some
of the herbs and vitamins. WHICH are the ones I need to order to begin my
regimen and cost?
Research in this area is still in its infancy and we don't have
enough research, hopefully you can discuss some of the options on the page with
your health care provider.