From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: SF Sentinel Article CMV #2
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 5940
Organization: unspecified
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 23:18:33 PDT

The article, copyrighted 1992 Charles R. Caulfield, was printed in the
Thursday, August 20, 1992, edition of the San Francisco Sentinel. It is posted
with the permission of the author. This is the second of two CMV articles.
************************************************************************ 

                        ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS FOR CMV
                          by Charles R. Caulfield

    Cytomegalovirus is a leading cause of blindness and death among 
people with AIDS. The standard medical response is limited to two drugs, 
Foscarnet and Ganciclovir. Due to cost and toxicity these treatments are 
available to a only a small percentage  of individuals suffering from 
this condition.  

  This article, part two in a series, discusses potential treatments 
from outside the domain of FDA approved treatments. This information is 
intended to provide a basis for further research, and is not meant to 
serve as recommendation for any course of medical intervention. Part I 
of this article discussed the approved medications and the food additive 
BHT. This article will  discuss hypericin, Chinese herbs,  membrane 
fluidizers and nutritional strategies  as potential methods of treating 
CMV disease  

  Hypericin,  an extract the St. John's Wort plant ,  is known to 
farmers as goatweed.  It has received a good deal of attention in the 
treatment underground due to it's demonstrated activity against lipid 
coated viruses, including HIV,  in laboratory experiments.  In the last 
three years, numerous articles in the journal Antiviral Research have 
documented the effectiveness of this drug against Cytomegalovirus, both 
in the test tube and in laboratory animal subjects. The dosages required 
to be therapeutic, estimating milligrams of drug per kilogram of body 
weight which were effective against Herpes, CMV and Hepatitis in the 
animal studies, are considerably higher than the dosages available in 
hypericin formulas used widely as treatment for HIV. It has been 
reported by  Forefront Health Investigations,  that 30 to 100 mg. two 
times per week, or 10 to 20 mg per day would be the required therapeutic 
minimum needed to produce an effective amount of drug in the body to 
inactivate viral replication. This information was extrapolated from the 
data  generated by the animal studies.  Available preparations  which  
are being used widely by people as an HIV treatment , particularly the 
Jarrow and Yerba Prima preparations contain, according to Forefront 
researchers, only a tiny fraction of the proposed therapeutic dose. This 
could explain the disappointing and erratic results obtained to date in 
treating HIV with hypericin. 

    Now,  after considerable unfruitful time and effort, physicians in 
various settings have recently been able to obtain hypericin products 
containing the higher potency  and purity needed to test its antiviral 
potential in humans.  10 mg. capsules of high grade pure hypericin are 
now available from Pacific Biologicals at (1-800-869-8783) at a cost of 
approximately  $65.00  per 15  capsules,  making the cost of the 
treatment approximately  $33.00 per week. Although this cost may be 
prohibitively expensive for some individuals, it is significant to note 
that some researchers are stating that this drug is beginning to look 
like the most effective broad spectrum antiviral discovered to date.  
Other sources of the extract in therapeutic dosages, as well as 
information pertaining to their clinical application may be obtained by 
physicians and researchers by contacting  DATA (Direct Action for 
Treatment Access), P.O. Box 60391, Palo Alto CA 94306.

     Since  oxygen free radicals are  released by the body's metabolism 
of hypericin, and these are known to have some deleterious effects on 
immune functioning, it is being suggested by some researchers that 
individuals using the drug in dosages high enough to inactivate lipid 
viruses should supplement their diets with antioxidants, such as beta 
carotene or vitamin C during the course of therapy to offset the 
possibility of cellular peroxidative damage.  The only known toxicity 
associated with use of St. John's Wort extract is the development of 
photosensitivity, warranting avoidance of prolonged exposure to sunlight 
by people using this therapy.

Chinese medicinal herbs have shown a considerable  degree of antiviral 
activity in university studies conducted both in the US and abroad.  In 
1988 the biological activity of some Chinese herbs was tested against 
HIV at the University Of California, Davis. The results of these 
laboratory experiments, which demonstrated antiviral properties of 
several commonly used medicinal herbal products were documented in  the 
journal Antiviral Research.  Other studies, which have been documented 
over the years in the Journal of the Chinese Medical Academy have shown 
certain herbs to be effective against herpes viruses,  a category which 
includes Cytomegalovirus. 

    Quan Yin has reported some success using their CMV retinitis formula 
as an adjunct to western antiviral therapies.  The preparation,  which 
consists of dried herbal extracts, contains herbs known to inhibit lipid 
viruses in the test tube. It has been reported that individuals who were 
not responding to conventional therapies, had a halting of the 
progression of retinitis when the herbal formula was added to the 
regimen. Other Quan Yin formulas have been designed to offset the marrow 
suppression associated with western drugs, as well as to directly 
enhance immune function. 

   Misha Cohen, a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, has been treating patients 
with HIV since 1984, and is considered one of the country's leading 
herbalists. She sees clients for herbal consultations on Friday 
afternoons in the clinic on a sliding scale basis. MediCal is accepted. 
The retinitis formula costs about $10.00 per week to use, and must be 
used under the supervision of a licensed practitioner of Chinese 
Medicine. Quan Yin Clinic is located at 1748 Market Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94102 and they can be reached at (415) 861-4964. The herbs 
themselves are not covered by MediCal, but they are modestly priced, and  
may be subsidized for eligible individuals by the AIDS Emergency Fund 
and possibly Catholic Charities AIDS Medical Fund.

Membrane Fluidizers. Prior to the advent of reverse transcriptase 
inhibiting drugs, many people  used nutritional substances made from egg 
and soy lecithin due to some promising antiviral research done at the 
Weizmann Institute in  Rehovat,  Israel.  It was theorized that the 
cholesterol in the external membranes of T cells  and in the lipid 
coatings of viruses produced  structural rigidity essential for   
binding of virus to the target host cell. These so-called membrane 
fluidizers are theorized  to extract cholesterol from the cell walls of 
viral lipid coat and the cell membranes of  T cells, causing a fluidity 
of interaction between virus and host,  thus reduces infectivity. 

   Many people reported  some degree of success using these products as 
a treatment for HIV. The limited formal research done in human medicine 
for HIV treatment was not very promising.  Yet there were reported cases 
of arrested viral disease progression for people suffering from 
hepatitis and CMV. These lecithin extracts are known  to be non toxic, 
and a number of therapeutic benefits have been ascribed to their use. 
They have been reported by  a number of individuals to have provided 
some relief from the gastrointestinal problems associated with CMV, and 
some individuals have anecdotally reported the  cessation of clinical 
decline, including vision loss and other symptoms associated with CMV 
disease. Jarrow makes a high neutral lipid egg lecithin product which is 
available from Healing Alternatives Buyers Club at 1748 Market Street 
for approximately $90.00 for 100  ten gram doses. When the product was 
in more widespread use, people were generally using up from 10 to 30 
grams per day ,  making the product cost from $30 to $90 per month. A 
home formula made from a soy lecithin extract may be made, using 
Twinlabs brand PC-55. This form of the treatment  can cost as low as 50 
cents per day to use.

Monolaurin is a nutritional product which is believed to have a mode of 
action similar to that of  the lecithin extracts. It is a saturated 
fatty acid, which is a chemical constituent of mother's milk, which is 
known to confer immunity on nursing infants until the evolution of 
independent immunity.. It is known to be safe, and is licensed by the 
USDA as a food additive, for the purpose of preventing the growth of 
bacteria and viruses in food products. It has demonstrated antiviral 
activity against lipid viruses. It is available in most health food 
stores at a cost of about $30 per month.  Many people use this substance 
in combination with BHT as an CMV prophylaxis.

Dietary Interventions.  There are some nutritional interventions which 
may help prevent the development of CMV and other herpes virus symptoms. 
Viruses in this family have a lipid coat which  is rich in the amino 
acid arginine. To make its protective coating, the virus must use excess 
arginine from the host system which is provided by foods which are rich 
in this amino acid. These foods include almonds, barley, beer,  
chocolate , fresh corn and many types of nuts.  Lysine is an amino acid 
whose chemical makeup most closely resembles arginine.  Due to this 
fact, in the absence of arginine, the virus will attempt to  use lysine 
in the construction of its protective coating. But with lysine, the 
virus is not able to complete this process and  is destroyed. It is 
believed that an increase in intake of lysine, a very affordable 
nutritional supplement,  and a decrease in dietary intake of arginine 
rich foods will help keep herpes and CMV infections dormant, and 
harmless. Lysine is available in most health food  and is generally 
assumed to be safe.

  It is clear, based on research on nutrition and non-conventional 
medical technologies, that  there is always something which can be done 
to avoid  a seemingly unavoidable medical disaster.  Those who face the 
challenge and seek out solutions from wherever they may be found are the 
most likely to achieve the most positive results.  There is always hope 
for those who are willing to cast aside preconceptions, keep an open 
mind, do their homework  and muster up the courage to do what feels 
right for them.  It is a very personal choice.
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