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Health Without Toxic Therapies
A few people have questioned whether people who are HIV-positive need AIDS drugs at all, particularly when they have no current AIDS-defining ilnesses.
“we have three reasons to question the administration of combination therapy (also known as highly activated antiviral therapy, or HAART: -- The drugs do not eliminate virus-infected cells and thus cannot "cure." -- Long-term use of antiviral therapy, which can be toxic, may also lead to the emergence of resistant viruses. -- There is no evidence that early treatment has made a difference in overall disease progression.”
Levy JA. The Big Question Now in Anti-HIV Therapy - When?. San Francisco Chronicle. 2001 Feb 23
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/02/23/ED200718.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/02/23/ED200718.DTL
“13 patients that have maintained plasma virus below 50 copies/ml of plasma in the absence of antiretroviral therapy were recruited for study…[they were compared to] 19 progressors [all of whom] were receiving antiretroviral therapy”
Migueles SA et al. HLA B*5701 is highly associated with restriction of virus replication in a subgroup of HIV-infected long term nonprogressors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Mar 14;97(6):2709-14.
“Vitamin B12 treatment led to an increase in the number of lymphocytes, including CD8+ cells, not only in [Vit. B12 deficient] patients but also in control subjects, and to a significant increase of NK cell activity in patients”
Tamura J et al. Immunomodulation by vitamin B12: augmentation of CD8+ T lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cell activity in vitamin B12-deficient patients by methyl-B12 treatment. Clin Exp Immunol. 1999 Apr;116(1):28-32.
“LTNPs [Long-term non-progressors] were defined as having documented HIV-1 infection for >7 years, CD4 cell counts of >600 cells/cubic mm, and no symptoms related to HIV-1 infection. With the exception of [two of nineteen] patients, no patients had ever received antiretroviral therapy.”
Montefiori DC et al. Neutralizing and infection-enhancing antibody responses to HIV type-1 in long-term nonprogressors. J Infect Dis. 1996;173:60-67.
“During follow-up of subjects with transfusion-acquired HIV-1 infection in New South Wales, Australia, we identified a group of 6 subjects who had been infected through a single common donor…Throughout follow-up (range 6.8-10.1 years after infection, 5 of the recipients and the donor (last follow-up 10.2 years after infection of the first recipient) remained clinically free of symptoms, with normal CD4 cell counts and no p24 antigenaemia [i.e. undetectable p24 antigen]…1 infected recipient (who had received extensive immunsuppressive treatment for systemic lupus erthematosus) developed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and died…The donor…has never received antiretroviral therapy, nor any prophylactic treatment for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia…Recipients A-E had no signs or symptoms of HIV-1 disease during follow-up of 6.8 to 10.1 years…No recipient has been given antiretroviral therapy or prophylaxis against P carinii pneumonia.”
Learmont J et al. Long-term symptomless HIV-1 infection in recipients of blood products from a single donor. Lancet. 1992 Oct 10;340(8824):863-7.
Courtesy Alberta Reappraising AIDS Society, October 24, 2008.