Harvard Study: Multivitamins Effective in Thwarting AIDS progress

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Frank <califpacific wrote:

alternative_medicine_forum From: Frank Wed, 7 Jul 2004 20:04:39 -0700 (PDT) Harvard Study: Multivitamins Effective in Thwarting AIDS progress> JustSayNo> Thu, 08 Jul 2004 02:47:57 -0000> [sSRI-Research] Harvard Study:> Multivitamins Effective in Thwarting AIDS progress> > ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)> Promoting openness and full disclosure> http://www.ahrp.org> > FYI> > A report in the New England Journal of Medicine may> be the first > serious challenge to the current accepted treatment> of people > infected with the HIV-virus. Those expensive and> toxic cocktails of > AIDS

drugs may not be the only life-saving treatment> as has been > claimed. Scientists from the Harvard School of> Public Health, who > conducted a large multi-vitamin trial in 1,078> pregnant women in > Tanzania between 1995 and 1997. Follow-up was> provided until August > 2003. > > The New York Times, Washington Post report that the> Tanzania study > found that of the women who received the> multivitamins 30% fewer died > or progressed to full AIDS during the study than a> group of women > receiving a placebo. "The counts of CD-4 cells, the> immune system > cells that the virus attacks, stayed somewhat higher> in the group > that took multivitamins. That group also had fewer> incidents of > thrush, throat ulcers, inflamed gums, nausea,> rashes, fatigue and > other debilitating side effects."> > An

editorial praises the study design. However, we> question the > study for failing to follow ethical research> standards-as mandated by > the Declaration of Helsinki. Why did this> experiment-which was, no > doubt approved by an institutional ethics review> board (IRB)--fail to > test the experimental multi-vitamin treatment> against standard AIDS > treatment? Could it be that they feared what the> results might be? > > Nevertheless, these Tanzania findings may, at last,> break the iron > triangle of pharmaceutical / medical / government> research > stakeholders who have set the treatment agenda for> HIV-infected > persons-including children and babies. If a regimen> of cheap, readily > available multi-vitamins was effective in reducing> death rates and > was accompanied by far fewer debilitating side> effects,

it will be > difficult to justify current US AIDS treatment> guidelines that focus > entirely on expensive, multi-drug regimens. > > The Times reports that: "Three years ago, Dr. Andrew> Tomkins of the > Institute for Child Health in London gave> multivitamins or placebos > to 481 H.I.V.-infected men and women in Thailand.> Although Dr. > Tomkins followed the patients for less than a year,> the group taking > vitamins had "significantly" lower mortality,> especially among those > whose immune systems were weakest, he said."> > The Alliance for Human Research Protection (AHRP)> believes that these > findings provide compelling confirmation for our> concerns that some > disadvantaged children diagnosed with HIV may have> been victimized in > experiments that subjected them to an array of toxic> experimental >

AIDS drugs and vaccines in government sponsored> clinical trials. > See: New York Post> http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/04/02/29.html> > A letter of complaint by AHRP, March 10, 2004, to> the FDA and the > Office of Human Research Protection, focused on the> ethics of using > foster care children in AIDS drug experiments--> inasmuch as they have > no parents to protect them or to refuse consent to> research. These > findings add an important dimension to our complaint> which is: > What justification is there for putting children> through the misery > of debilitating AIDS drug side effects-when a benign> alternative > treatment exists?> > The letter of complaint to the FDA and OHRP has> prompted two federal > investigations. > See: http://www.ahrp.org/ahrpspeaks/HIVkids0304.html> > > Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav> Tel: 212-595-8974> e-mail: veracare > >----> ->http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/01/health/01AIDS.html?> ex=1089259200 & amp;en=38> 073c5c00fb4877 & amp;ei=5062 & amp;partner=GOOGLE> July 1, 2004> Daily Vitamin Can Thwart AIDS Progress> By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.> > A simple daily vitamin pill can delay the progress> of AIDS in H.I.V.-> infected women, an eight-year study by Harvard> researchers has found.> > Vitamins are by no means a cure or a substitute for> antiretroviral > therapy, the researchers said. But for

malnourished> women in Africa > or Asia with little hope of getting better drugs,> vitamins are a > cheap, safe way of giving them extra months of life> and a little less > misery before they die, the study, which is being> published today in > The New England Journal of Medicine, suggested.> > "The study is important for developing countries,> especially for > pregnant and postpartum women, who are a> nutritionally vulnerable > group," said Dr. Lynne Mofenson, chief of the> pediatric and maternal > AIDS branch of the National Institute of Child> Health and Human > Development, one of the National Institutes of> Health.> > Dr. Richard G. Marlink, who helps run treatment> programs in six > African countries as director of the Harvard AIDS> Institute and > scientific adviser to the Elizabeth Glaser

Pediatric> AIDS Foundation, > said the study would prompt him to recommend> vitamins for his > patients.> > "This is exciting because it costs literally pennies> and can ward off > the time when you need to begin treatment with> expensive and toxic > drugs," he said.> > The study, run by the Harvard School of Public> Health and the medical > school of Muhimbili University in Tanzania, followed> 1,078 women in > Dar es Salaam between 1995 and 2003. The women were> recruited when > they were pregnant. They had no access to anti-AIDS> cocktails, so > H.I.V. infection meant a sentence of eventual death> from > tuberculosis, meningitis, pneumonia, Kaposi's> sarcoma or other > opportunistic infections.> > About six million people in poor countries are> already sick enough to > need antiretroviral

drugs, the World Health> Organization estimates, > and another 25 million or more will need them soon.> Only about > 400,000 are getting them.> > Efforts to increase that number have gone slowly> because of high drug > prices, fights over patents, a lack of money from> donors, reluctance > by African leaders to admit that their nations have> epidemics and the > inability of shattered health care systems to muster> enough doctors, > nurses and laboratories to safely deliver the drugs.> > Vitamins costing less than $15 a year might prolong> the lives of > people waiting for rescue, the study concluded. The> supplements do > not attack the virus, but enhance the body's own> immune system, > allowing it to do so.> > The vitamins were specially made for the study "but> are quite easy to > mass-produce," said

its lead author, Wafaie W.> Fawzi, a professor of > nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard. They> contained about three > times the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E> and 6 to 10 times > the allowance of C and B-complex vitamins.> > The supplements are not the first stopgap therapy> proposed for the > poor. In 2000, the World Health Organization advised> that AIDS > patients who were not on antiretrovirals get regular> doses of > cotrimoxazole, an antibiotic better known as> Bactrim. That drug, > which cost only about $8 a year in generic form,> warded off secondary > infections, which are often fatal. Largely because> of the cost and > the disorganization of African health care systems,> that > recommendation has not been widely adopted.> > The Tanzania study found that 30 percent fewer of> the women who

> received the multivitamins died or progressed to> full AIDS during the > study than a group of women receiving a placebo. The> counts of CD-4 > cells, the immune system cells that the virus> attacks, stayed > somewhat higher in the group that took> multivitamins. That group also > had fewer incidents of thrush, throat ulcers,> inflamed gums, nausea, > rashes, fatigue and other debilitating side effects.> > > Nonetheless, vitamins were no cure. About a quarter> of the women who > received them still died or reached full AIDS during> the study, and > without antiretroviral treatment, virtually all can> be expected to > die in the next few years.> > The study had to be changed twice in midstream for> ethical reasons, > Dr. Fawzi said.> > Vitamin A was dropped from the supplements because>

researchers found > evidence that it increased the risk that mothers> would pass the > infection to their babies.> > Also, when the authors had early evidence that> multivitamins > prevented fetal death and premature births, they put> all the women in > the study on multivitamins until they delivered.> After that, the > mothers went back on their previous regimens,> without doctors or > patients knowing whether they were on a placebo.> > The study confirms what researchers have suspected> since the > epidemic's early days, Dr. Marlink said. > > Many AIDS researchers noticed that vitamin-deficient> patients > sickened faster than well-fed ones, he said, but> Americans who were > malnourished usually had other problems, like drug> and alcohol abuse, > that made it hard to blame poor nutrition for their>

rapid declines.> > Three years ago, Dr. Andrew Tomkins of the Institute> for Child Health > in London gave multivitamins or placebos to 481> H.I.V.-infected men > and women in Thailand. Although Dr. Tomkins followed> the patients for > less than a year, the group taking vitamins had> "significantly" lower > mortality, especially among those whose immune> systems were weakest, > he said.> > Dr. Tomkins called Dr. Fawzi's study "particularly> important" because > many people are not yet in treatment despite the> efforts of the > Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and> "it's going to be > a long time before everybody is," he said.> > The women studied were poor but urban. Their diet> was "not very rich, > but not suboptimal," he said, adding that rural> women probably ate > less well. But those

who benefited from vitamins did> so "regardless > of whether they were undernourished or not," Dr.> Fawzi said.> > > Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company > > > > See also: The Washington Post> http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-> dyn/A18847-2004Jun30?language=printer > > Multivitamins Slow AIDS Effect in Study > African Patients Had Deficient Diets > > By David Brown> > Washington Post Staff Writer> Thursday, July 1, 2004; Page A03 > > People infected with the AIDS virus who take> multivitamins every day > have a slightly slower progression of their illness,> researchers are > reporting today. > > The findings will be most useful in the developing> world, where an > effort is underway to treat millions of

HIV-infected> people and > vitamins could be an easily implemented first step.> > The effect is not dramatic but is probably enough to> warrant a > recommendation that people infected with HIV take> vitamins if their > diet is potentially deficient, some experts said.> > Supplements "might buy time to allow people to go> longer before they > develop symptoms that require antiretroviral> treatment," said Lynne > Mofenson, chief of AIDS activities at the National> Institute of Child > Health and Human Development. The institute paid for> the study, whose > results appear in today's New England Journal of> Medicine.> > The beneficial vitamins were in the B family, as> well as vitamins C > and E. Curiously, vitamin A -- which has huge health> benefits in > undernourished children -- was of no help, and was>

possibly harmful, > in HIV-infected adults. > > The new information comes from a study in the east> African nation of > Tanzania that began in 1995. About 1,000 pregnant> women who were > infected with HIV agreed to participate in an> experiment to determine > whether vitamin supplements could reduce> mother-to-child transmission > of the virus. Pregnancy increases the body's demand> for vitamins, and > many of the women were marginally nourished to begin> with.> > They were randomly assigned to take vitamin A,> multivitamins with > vitamin A, multivitamins alone or a placebo. The> vitamin doses were > six to 10 times the U.S. government's recommended> daily dietary > intake.> > The study found that multivitamins alone decreased> by about 40 > percent a baby's chance of dying soon after birth -->

mostly by > reducing prematurity and low birth weight -- but the> multivitamins > did not cut the chance of acquiring HIV during birth> or through > breast-feeding. Vitamin A, however, increased the> risk of acquiring > HIV, and its use in the study was stopped when this> became clear. > Those findings were reported several years ago.> > The women in the study continued taking supplements> after they > delivered and were observed until the summer of 2003> -- an average of > about six years for the survivors.> > Over the whole period, 25 percent of the women> taking multivitamins > progressed to late-stage AIDS or died, compared with> 31 percent of > those taking the placebo. This means that for every> 100 women taking > multivitamins for six years, the lives or health of> six would have > been preserved,

compared with 100 women not taking> vitamins.> > Those numbers, however, do not fully reflect the> benefit of > multivitamins, said Wafaie W. Fawzi, a researcher at> the Harvard > School of Public Health, who headed the study.> > For example, supplements (minus vitamin A) reduced a> woman's risk of > progressing to moderate AIDS, or of developing oral> ulcers and > painful swallowing, by 50 percent. Supplements> raised a person's CD4-> cell count -- a key measure of immune status -- by> 48 cells per > milliliter of blood, and slightly lowered the amount> of HIV > circulating in the blood.> > In all, the effects of multivitamins were comparable> to what was > achieved by taking AZT alone in studies done during> the 1980s when > that was the only antiretroviral drug available. > > It is not yet

known whether multivitamins have an> additional benefit > for people already on optimal three-drug therapy, or> whether > multivitamins are beneficial in populations in which> there is little > nutritional deficiency.> > C 2004 The Washington Post Company > > Please pass this message or article on to someone else so that they may learn also.Community Newsletters.http://www.alternative-medicine-newsletter.infoCommunity Message Boards.http://www.alternative-medicine-message-boards.info"Do not let either the medical authorities or the politicians mislead you. Find out what the facts are, and make your own decisions about how to live a happy life and how to work for a better world." - Linus PaulingGetting well

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