HIV/AIDS

Role of micronutrients in the control of HIV and AIDS

Abstract:
AIDS has become a global health crisis and a leading cause of death in the developing world. Since 1981, more than 25 million people worldwide have died from this immunodeficiency syndrome and 12 million AIDS orphans have been left behind in Africa alone, According to the UNAIDS/World Health Organization (WHO) 2006 AIDS epidemic update, the number of people living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus linked to AIDS, has grown from 8 million in 1990 to nearly 40 million at the end of 2006.

Micronutrient Cooperation in Suppression of HIV Production in Chronically and Latently Infected Cells

R.J. Jariwalla, B. Gangapurkar, A. Pandit, T. Kalinovsky, A. Niedzwiecki, M. Rath
Molecular Medicine Reports 2010, 3:377-385

Abstract:
Nutrients are known to display pharmacologic activity against viruses and to exert cooperative effects in cells. To study the influence of nutrient cooperation on HIV production in chronically infected T lymphocytes, we evaluated the individual and combined effects of nutrients on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) released into the culture supernatant. In unstimulated cells, low concentrations of single nutrients namely, ascorbic acid (AA), green tea polyphenols (GT), or lysine did not significantly suppress HIV-1 RT production. However, when GT (25 μg/ml) and AA (32 μg/ml to 64 μg/ml) were combined and applied to cells, extracellular RT was significantly reduced relative to control. Combining GT (25 μg/ml) with lysine (25 μg/ml), also reduced RT level to a greater extent (51% of control) than that observed with lysine alone, and addition of AA (16 μg/ml) to the same combination decreased RT further to 17% of control (p=0.06).

The Essentiality of Nutritional Supplementation in HIV Infection and AIDS: Review of Clinical Studies and Results from a Community Health Micronutrient Program

R.J. Jariwalla, A. Niedzwiecki, M. Rath
Bioactive Food in Promoting Heath: Fruits and Vegetables, Ed. R. Watson and V. Preedy  
Elsevier Inc, 2010, Ch. 22, pp. 323-342

Abstract:
The evaluation of the effects of a micronutrient program on AIDS-defining symptoms and other symptoms associated with AIDS in different populations of patients living in different townships and different regions of South Africa, which included Cape Town (Khayelitsha and Western Cape), KwaZulu-Natal province (including Durban) and Free State, concludes that: a) Daily supplementation with a nutritional program containing a defined complex of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, selected amino acids, polyphenols, and other essential nutrients by AIDS patients not taking antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) caused significant reduction in all AIDS-defining and other physical symptoms associated with the progression of AIDS. b)

Micronutrient Synergy in the Control of HIV Infection and Aids

R. J. Jariwalla, A. Niedzwiecki and M.Rath
Recent Translational Research in HIV/AIDs, ed. Y.W. Tang, InTech Publishers, 2011, Ch. 25, pp 513-526.

Abstract:
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has become a global health pandemic and the most common cause of death among young adults aged 20-24 years (Patton et al., 2009). According to the UN/AIDS Global Report published in November 2010 (UNAIDS 2010), about 1.8 million persons died from AIDS-related causes in the year 2009 alone. At the end of that year, the epidemic had left behind totally 16.6 million orphans, defined as those under 18 who had lost one or both parents to AIDS. Since the beginning of the epidemic, nearly 30 million people have died from AIDS-related causes.