Why bother looking into alternative therapies with all the progress in drug treatment? Two main reasons: first, the longer a person can remain healthy and off the drugs, the more information the scientific community will have regarding the appropriate treatment protocols. Wouldn’t it be awful to jump on the "cocktail" bandwagon only to discover in a year that the amounts prescribed were wrong? And, these wrong amounts led to quicker resistance? Second, many more drugs will be coming available that have greater effectiveness and fewer unpleasant effects.
Now that the dust has settled around the revelations of the effectiveness of combination therapy in treating HIV infection, we are seeing the beginnings of the limitations of that same therapy. More people are becoming resistant to the available drug treatments and the effects of these drugs are sometimes quite unpleasant.
Many HIV specialists advocate a "hit them hard and hit them quickly" attitude in an effort to reduce viral loads to undetectable levels. At this point in time, there is no published research showing that an "undetectable" viral load is any better than a viral load under 5000 copies per ml., so this approach may be questionable. Why risk a person becoming drug resistant if their viral load is under 5000? That will eliminate future treatment options if the viral load increases in the future. In theory it seems obvious that an undetectable viral load is better, but we have seen that even after an extended period of time being undetectable, the virus is still present and, as was presented at the XI International Conference on AIDS, the virus is very active. Even if undetectable viral loads ultimately are shown to be statistically better, there are hundreds of HIV+ persons across the country who have achieved this without resorting to drug use.
With unanswered questions like these about the use of the drugs, what can a person do? I always have held fast to the belief that a person should exhaust more conservative methods before utilizing drugs which have damaging effects. So, what do you do? First, obtain two viral load tests within thirty days of each other to establish a baseline. This will help to lessen the effect of the inherent inaccuracy of the test. Second, make contact with people knowledgeable in the area of alternative therapies. Remember, alternative therapy can include other drugs as well. A good starting place would be the Being Alive Alternative Therapies Support Group listed at the back of this newsletter.
Lets us take a look at three anti-viral options. The first, and most well known, is SPV-30, an extract of the boxwood evergreen. Two abstracts were presented at the last International AIDS Conference that showed that over 60% of participants in one study of 173 persons demonstrated a decrease in their viral load after six months with 38% having a decrease greater than 50% (0.3 log). While this is not as glamorous as the drug results, remember, first, there are no toxic effects associated with use, and second, this study utilized SPV-30 as a monotherapy. It does appear the effectiveness of SPV-30 decreases with lowering viral loads with the critical level being 40,000. Above this it appears more effective, below, less effective. At this time, there does not appear to be a consensus on the mechanism of action so it is too early to tell what SPV-30 may be used in combination with.
The second antiviral is actually a class of herbs containing dicaffeoylquinic acids. These acids have demonstrated activity against the viral enzyme integrase, hence they are properly referred to as integrase inhibitors. This enzyme is the last of the three retroviral enzymes targeted for drug therapy. Aronex Labs has recently introduced Zintevir which is the first drug to inhibit integrase that has reached Phase 1 trials. The dicaffeoylquinic acids are a non-toxic class of chemicals that inhibits integrase. The studies so far presented have focused on Bolivian herbs which are difficult to obtain here. In discussions I have had with one of the researchers, he relayed to me that artichoke may be a source of these acids and, after contacting a French manufacturer, it was confirmed that artichoke does contain the acids being studied. After reviewing the published research and finding out the amount of the acids in one particular companies product and the amount needed to obtain an appropriate blood level, I was able to establish a preliminary protocol using artichoke in combination with SPV-30 or with the third antiviral listed below.
The third product is an extract of the olive tree leaf. In my practice I utilize one particular product because the reputation of the company is very good. While I have yet to see any scientific studies on the mechanism of action, James Privitera, M.D. has voiced his opinion that it is both a reverse transcriptase inhibitor like AZT and a protease inhibitor like Crixivan. One active ingredient is thought to be calcium elenolate, a substance extensively studied by Upjohn Labs. These studies showed effectiveness against several different viruses however the compound was quickly removed from the blood after being bound with certain proteins and thus, rendered useless. Apparently, when given in the herb extract form, the calcium elenolate is not removed by the body which allows for it to be effective.
The above three therapies are noteworthy in that the first two have demonstrated some level of effectiveness in HIV specific studies and all three have minimal, if any, side effects which warrant discontinuing of the therapy. Here are three options to consider prior to drug use. I recommend starting whatever combination you have decided to use on the day after your second viral load test. Depending on the level, you would retest after two to four weeks to see what type of response you are getting and plan accordingly. Please do not misunderstand, many people will have to use the drugs, but many will not, at least not yet. I have referred many patients to different drug studies when it seemed appropriate. Drugs do not need to be the initial line of treatment for many persons. Look into all your options before settling on a course of action.
Dr. Brian A. Smith is a chiropractic doctor and naturopathic physicianwho has specialized in the treatment of immune-suppressed individuals since 1987. He is a scientific advisory board member of AIDS ReSEARCH Alliance.
He maintains a private practice in Los Angeles and can be reached at (323) 306-4909. Questions from readers are welcome as are suggestions for future articles. You can also contact him via E-mail at: Send e-mail to Dr. Smith
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