HIV and the Scare-Crow
HIV and the Scare-CrowHIV and the Scare-Crow2005 Annual Report not published - The annual report of the Journal of Immunity for 2005 was not published this winter due to conflicting work obligations of the editor(s) and a lack of time to secure a sufficient number of advertisers and/or other funding sources. It is hoped that the report can be published at the end of this year.
Overview of the past year
C LeBeau / M Konlee
The first issue of the Journal of Immunity (JOI) in 2005 focused on the use of beets and other interleukin 6 inhibitors in the treatments of HIV/AIDS, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, candidiasis, and heart disease.
Surprisingly, two persons with hepatitis C (HCV) reported a viral load decline from 90 to 100% when eating one pound of beets (raw, juiced or cooked) each day along with other components of their daily protocols. Published research in this issue by Kapadia et al in Cancer Lett 1996 reported on the use of beet extract for preventing lung and skin cancer.
Recently a reader with advanced lung cancer and an external cancer lump under her arm pit reported that a few days after adding a pound of beets to the daily diet that the malignant tumor began to shrink in size and started to drain. This follows a yearlong battle and treatments that included both radiation and chemotherapy, treatments that are now completed as the doctors can offer nothing more than pain pills at this time. The lung cancer is still there while the Cat-scan shows no change in tumor size since the beets were added to a daily regimen that also includes a quart of freshly pressed vegetable juice, plant based selenium and other treatments including the water from San Damiano.
The second issue of JOI published both case reports and several scientific studies that found that prednisolone or prednisone could significantly increase the CD4 helpers cells in persons with HIV and prevent and delay progression to AIDS. The amount needed to do this was surprisingly low dose of just 5 mg daily, taken in the morning.
The use of low dose prednisolone, prednisone or hydrocortisone has caused some confusion as to dosage equivalents. In terms of strength and effects, just 5 mg of prednisolone or prednisone is the equivalent of about 20 mg of hydrocortisone.
Of the synthetic substitutes for hydrocortisone, Dr Plechner told Keep Hope Alive that he preferred low dose prednisolone over prednisone and hydrocortisone as there was no edema, water retention and weight gain. Plechner stated that prescribed hydrocortisone is synthesized from corn and this causes some persons who are sensitive to corn to gain weight. He added that prednisolone had fewer side effects than prednisone making it the cortisol substitute of his choice.
It should also be noted that Albrecht Ulmer the German physician who treated over 200 HIV+ patients with low dose prednisolone since 1990 made no mention of using prednisone or hydrocortisone in his published studies.
Prednisolone along with prescribed thyroid was used by Plechner to treat animals of various cancer and other conditions including late stage lung cancer. In very advanced cases of cancer, Plechner used very high doses of prednisolone to stop the cancer growth. As the cancer went into remission, the prednisolone was gradually reduced. Along with the prednisolone he also prescribed thyroid that he said was essential for processing the prednisolone.
Finally I raised the possible use of both low dose Naltrexone (3 to 4 mg once daily in the evening) and low dose Prednisolone as a safe, low cost way of stopping HIV progression to AIDS and as an alternative to using the HIV meds [protease inhibitors , Reverse Transcriptase inhibitors (RTI's) and non-nucleoside NNRTI's, fusion inhibitors and others].
When using prednisolone or hydrocortisone, low dose thyroid such as Armour, a natural form is essential to long-term use of cortisol like drugs.
Dr Alfred Plechners 30 plus years of experience and success in treating animals for a wide range of conditions including cancer found thyroid critical to recovery in most animals. Plechner tested for IGA and researchers have found that thyroxin from thyroid induces immunoglobulin type A (IGA). IGA is low in cancer and AIDS patients and in many other conditions where the integrity of the intestinal tract is compromised such as in leaky gut syndrome. IGA is essential for restoring mucosal immunity and reducing overactive humoral (antibody) responses.
Plechner found in advanced or terminal conditions that high doses of prednisolone were needed - the equivalent of 40 to 60 mg daily of Prednisolone that is tapered off after 3 or 4 weeks and after the cancer has gone into remission. The Triple immune based therapy approach should work best when the CD4's are 300 or higher. When the CD4's are below 200, antiviral meds may also be needed for a period of time until the CD4 counts reach 300 or higher.
Remembering that researchers have found that 90% of HIV lives in the intestines, it is critical to restore intestinal flora and normal stool pH (5.8 to 6.4) and normal stool properties (large diameter and floaters). A large colony of friendly flora producing a slightly acidic colon acts as a barrier against HIV replication in the intestines, particularly the colon where most of the activity occurs. The result of successfully implanting and feeding the flora with a high fiber diet is to obtain a lower viral load and higher CD4 counts. However, always remember that your health and well-being depends on your CD4 counts and not the viral load.
The person with a CD4 count of 100 and non-detectable viral load is many times (10 to 20 times or more) more likely to die from an infection than a person with a viral load of 100,000 or 200.000 and a CD4 count of 300. Even the NIH own guidelines of when to start of HIV meds are based on the CD4 count, NOT THE VIRAL LOAD. The pharmaceutical companies advertising and propaganda campaigns have shifted the goal post from CD4 counts to viral load counts and have increasingly left their clients in the Emergency Rooms of hospitals with cancers, lipodystrophy, heart attacks, osteoporosis, neuropathy, lactic acidosis, just to name a few. The propaganda and slick advertising campaigns supports Wall Streets bottom line. The untold story is that it is not the HIV virus alone that causes AIDS but the immune systems over-reaction to its presence that causes AIDS. AIDS is not a disease of immune deficiency. It is a disease of immune system over-activity that eventually leads to immune system exhaustion. The rationale for using anti-inflammatory and mild immune suppressive drugs (prednisolone etc) is to prevent this "exhaustion" and prevent the decline in the CD4 counts that leads to AIDS and opportunistic infections.
You could compare HIV infection and CD4 cells to a Scare-Crow and crows. The Scare-Crow does not kill crows, nor does HIV directly kill anyone. However, if the crow reacts to the Scare-Crow by flying in circles day and night until it drops dead from exhaustion, then you can say that the crows reaction to the Scare-Crow, that is "over-activity," is what leads to a deficiency of crows (that is dead crows and dead CD4 cells).
Similarly, it is the immune system overactive humoral antibody response to the presence of HIV that leads to immune exhaustion and low CD4 counts (AIDS). This is the rationale for using low dose immuno-suppressive drugs in the treatment of HIV infection and thus preventing the decline in CD4 counts that leads to AIDS. The CD4's cells, like the Crows, need a rest so they don't work themselves to death.
The immunotherapy guidelines listed here are our best recommendations to date. However, an informed person would not limit themselves to the triple combo immune-based therapies listed here, but would also follow a good diet as described in the Immune Restoration Handbook and add other immune modulators like raw garlic, mushrooms, plant based selenium, magnesium oxide, beets, fish oil and maybe lecithin and Royal Jelly, to name a few.
In fact, even an Aspirin a day (81 mg) can help raise CD4 helper cell counts. See John James reports from the early 1990's and the NIH own Aspirin studies. Unfortunately, the NIH study used too much Aspirin and they declined to endorse Aspirin as a treatment for AIDS because of side effects. (Like cancer, heart attacks and osteoporosis from some of the FDA approved drugs for AIDS are not serious side effects???)
Patients need to consult with a physician who is open minded and flexible in the use of immunotherapy and/or antiviral medications. These treatments should be in addition to following the diet plan in the Immune Restoration Handbook and the addition of other immune modulators discussed in this and past issues of the JOI.
CD4's over 300 - 5 mg daily of Prednisolone taken at 9 am (dosing based on 1 mg Prednisolone for each 30 lbs of body weight) i.e.: a 90 lb person would need 3 mg daily and a 210 lb person would need 7 mg per day. Also, one-half grain of Armour Thyroid is recommended if the body temperature is more than one-half degree below normal. One-half grain twice daily should be used if the body temperature is more than one degree below normal. Naltrexone is taken once daily at night based on a dosing regimen of 1 mg per 50 lbs of body weight. (150 lb person uses 3 mg daily and a 250 person would use 5 mg daily).
CD4's between 200 and 300 Prednisolone daily dose is double that of the range used when CD4's are over 300 and is taken twice a day - once at 9 am and the other at 2 pm. Example - a 150 lb person would take 5 mg of Prednisolone twice daily. Armour thyroid and Naltrexone should also be given per recommendations in Category 1.
CD4's between 100 and 200. Prednisolone dosing is 4 times the recommended dose of Category one, which is 4 mg per 30 lbs of body weight (150 divided by 30 = 5 X 4 = 20). For a person of 150 lbs, this would be 10 mg twice daily at 9 am and 2 pm (20 mg total for the day). The lower the CD4's the more Prednisolone is needed to normalize the TNF and the IL-6 and rapidly increase the CD4 counts. Thyroid and Naltrexone should also be used per the recommendations of Category 1. As the CD4's climb the amount of Prednisolone can be gradually lowered.
Note: if the drugs can be tolerated, antiviral meds may be included for 3 months or longer until the CD4's are over 300. To prevent PCP, consider Mepron (a prescribed drug). It has fewer side effects than Bactrim/ Septra/ Dapsone or consider an OTC herb called Sees-2000 (Lomatium Dissectum) once daily. Watch out for a rash that occurs in 1 in 7 persons - discontinue if it occurs.
CD4s' below 100. The starting dose for Prednisolone is 8 times the dose used in Category One. This would be 8 mg per 30 lbs of body weight. (150 lbs divided by 30 = 5 X 8 = 40). For a person of 150 lbs, this would be 20 mg at 9 am and 20 at 2 pm. 40 mg total per day is suggested along with Thyroid and Naltrexone as recommended in Category 1 and, if tolerable, antiviral meds may be used until the CD4's are 300 or higher after which they may be discontinued. When the CD4's are below 200 use a prophylaxis to prevent PCP.
The third JOI discussed treatment options for the seasonal flu, the bird flu, sinus infections and the common cold. Inadvertently left out was GOOT, Garlic Oil Ointment. We now have two persons who reported that rapidly recovered from the seasonal flu by rubbing GOOT either on the bottom of their feet or on their stomach. The mixture can be made by blending in a coffee grinder or food processor one tablespoon of raw garlic cloves with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. The mixture called GOOT is stored in a refrigerator and has an active shelf life of about 12 months.
An article appearing in a local newspaper a few months ago reported that chickens fed sauerkraut in Korea recovered from the bird flu. This leads us to imagine a dish of warmed-up sauerkraut with a sliced raw garlic clove mixed in as a main meal or side dish for treating the bird flu. A glass of sauerkraut juice with a clove or raw garlic blended in would be another option to consider. Hopefully, this bird flu virus (H5N1) won't mutate and transfer from human to human and the feared epidemic won't materialize. For now, this is a waiting game as the jury is out waiting to see of the virus mutates into a highly transmittable form. Meanwhile, North America awaits the arrival of birds infected with H5N1 from Asia and Africa.
by Tracy B, (original posting in May 2005 - phone call updated/corrected 4/5/06)
I have reported my partner had been using hydrocortisone and Armour Thyroid. The doctor has switched him to 5mg of prednisone twice daily one dose at 9 am and the other at 2 pm. There has been a definite increase in energy levels, body temperature and less bone aches and pain.
Dr. Gathe says that several years ago before HIV meds the only thing they had to treat patients with was prednisone or prednisolone and other immune modulators. He did seem to think that those treatments had been abandoned before their full affect could be studied because of the introduction of HIV meds. He increased my partner's cortisol dose because he was seeing such good success. H e says he does not think that 10 mgs of prednisone daily will cause any bone damage. He thinks the prednisone will help more than the hydrocortisone but will continue to look for side effects even at this low dose!
My partner has been off HAART over 6 months. We will see if thyroid, prednisone, selenium, with amino acid supplementation has kept viral load down.
May, 2005 Tracy B Houston, TX
I finally got numbers back from last blood work. I have been using prednisone and iodine therapy plus NAC, glutamine, selenium, etc. My viral load went from 7600 to 27,000 but my T-cells also came from 300 to 400 which are higher than they have been in 5 years. I had stopped doing any natural anti-viral (I usually use colloidal silver...but you know the money thing) also my alt & alt went up. I think hep. c viral load is up so will start silver again ASAP. May try thyroid but blood pressure was so high I was afraid. It is more manageable now so I am switching from Iosol (iodine) to Thyroxine. Tracy B.
Just got back my test results from last lab work. I have added mushrooms to my protocol and to my friend as well. Both of us had significant drops in viral loads I lowered the HIV viral load from 22,900 to 7260! My friend has been off HIV meds for 2 years after suffering from lactic acidosis and numerous other side effects including neuropathy, nerve damage in gut etc.
We were expecting a large jump in his viral load that had been 26,000 and expecting him to have to go back on HIV meds. He had just suffered another bout of pneumonia in November (staff) but we were shocked his viral load had also fallen!!!! to 2,500. I started giving him the mushrooms after this. We are taking Reishi caps and Cordyceps. I forgot the place I read on this web site where the man was getting his mushrooms but remember what good results he said he was having. Tracyb@houston.rr.com
Note: I have been taking 3 Cordyceps caps (500MG +enzymes) and 6 Reishi Complex (270MG + enzymes) and a mushroom blend by Jarrow 3 caps daily. A total of 12 caps or about 4500 mg of mixed mushrooms each day.
03-22-06 Tracy B Tracyb@houston.rr.com
I have just got Prednisolone 5 mg from my doctor, after reading the new Journal of immunity. But do I take the tablet (only one of 5 mg) with food or not ?? regards Micaell
Hello Mark - sorry to write you again. But I'm a little confused about prednisolone and the dose, because I read different doses all the time. As I understand it, the dose for "real" Cortisol (hydrocortisone) is 20 mg once a day. And the synthetic form like prednisolone or prednisone is 5 mg once a day. I don't think I understand it, so I hope you can help me, so I get the BEST and correct dose with the most optimal cortisol product. Regards Micaell
The Consumers Guide on Prescription Drugs recommends taking prednisolone at 9 am daily to mimic the time the adrenal glands that would normally produce cortisol at its peak at this time. Nothing in the book says you must take it with or without food. You can check with your doctor if you wish.
Prednisolone and/or Prednisone are 4 to 5 times stronger than hydrocortisone mg to mg. I.E. 5 mg Prednisolone is the equivalent of 20 to 25 mg of hydrocortisone. Because Prednisolone is not synthesized from corn, as is hydrocortisone, there is no risk of unwanted weight gain. This is what Alfred Plechner reported. I would try once a day the Prednisolone at 9 am and if a second dose is need, again at 2 pm.
Thyroid (1/2_ grain or more) should also be part of the protocol and 3 to 4 mg Naltrexone before bed time - 10 or 11 pm will help further in balancing of the immune system. (Naltrexone dosing should be about 1 mg daily per 50 pounds of body weight) example - a 100 lb person will need 2 mg daily and a 200 lb person 4 mg daily. This requires a prescription and it is filled at a compounding pharmacy.
Note: If you cannot obtain a prescription for prednisolone, you can buy hydrocortisone cream OTC at your local drug store. Buy the 1% strength and use about _ teaspoon once daily. Massage it into the skin in the morning after you get up once a day. One half teaspoon contains about 20 mg of hydrocortisone. If you desire to go to a higher dose, repeat the _ teaspoon dose in the afternoon around 1 to 2 pm. In massaging hydrocortisone into the skin, I would move the location to a different part of the body each time for a few days before applying it again in the same area.
However, having suggested the use of OTC hydrocortisone cream, I still believe the best choice is prednisolone.
J Infect Dis. 1995 Mar;171(3):521-2
Andrieu JM, Lu W, Levy R. Paris, France.
Forty-four asymptomatic patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), who had 200-799 CD4 cells/microL, received oral prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg for 6 months; 0.3 mg/kg thereafter). After 1 year of treatment, no major side effect or AIDS events had occurred. The percentage of DR+ and CD25+ phenotypes in CD4 T cells decreased significantly as did levels of serum IgG, IgA, and beta 2-microglobulin. Serum p24 antigen and HIV RNA levels remained stable. CD4 cell counts increased significantly at all time points (median increase at 1 year, 119 cells/microL). Peripheral blood mononuclear cell apoptosis after overnight stimulation with anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies was strongly inhibited at all times. In asymptomatic seropositive patients, immunotherapy for 1 year with glucocorticoids was safe and led to sustained increases in CD4 cell counts and to improvement or stabilization of other biologic markers of disease activity.
Note from editors of JOI: This is yet another study on the efficacy of low dose prednisolone as an immune modulator. At .3 mg prednisolone per KG body weight would be about 10 mg twice a day for a 150 to 160 pound person. Combined with previous studies reported in the JOI in 2005, the range of low dose prednisolone is somewhere between 5 mg and 20 mg daily.
With the addition of thyroid, naltrexone and other immune modulators we can expect even better results, rendering the need for antiviral meds like protease inhibitors, RTI's, NNRTI's and other drug cocktails as an short term (not life long) event in the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
C LeBeau
J.I. Rodale, the founder of Prevention magazine in the 1950's, wrote about the role of magnesium in the prevention of cancer and cited many areas of the world where cancer prevalence was high when the magnesium content of the soil was low. Today the role of magnesium in human health is increasingly being recognized. Together, calcium and magnesium are two of the most critical minerals needed for hundreds of cellular functions.
Magnesium has been depleted from the soil. It is generally refined out of the food supply through processing. It is found in the molasses of cane sugar, the wheat germ and bran that is removed in processing grains. It is found in most whole foods and especially nuts, whole grains, beans, molasses, dark leafy vegetables and other green foods. Magnesium is a component of chlorophyll.
Foods in the diet that most deplete magnesium levels include corn syrup, white sugar and hard liquor. A diet high in meat and refined carbohydrates also depletes magnesium levels as the pancreas uses magnesium to help produce digestive enzymes. A diet high in salt reduces calcium levels that then has the effect of depleting both potassium and magnesium.
Lavon Dunne states in the "Nutrition Almanac" that "along with calcium, magnesium is found in bones and is important in the conduction of electrical impulses of the muscles and nerves. Magnesium, like calcium, is a relaxantŠŠ it activates the enzymes necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates and amino acids. It is involved in insulin secretion and function. Magnesium has been found to reduce hyperactivity in children who had low magnesium levels. It may improve vision in glaucoma patients, lower blood pressure, and may be a factor in chronic fatigue syndrome."
Magnesium is needed for the activation and production of enzymes throughout the body. Without enzymes, metabolic functions of the individual cell become paralyzed. Magnesium is needed for the body to retain and utilize potassium, a mineral needed for celled mediated immunity and immunity against cancer. With low magnesium, the pancreas cannot produce adequate enzymes for digestion. This leads to putrefaction of food, especially meats, in the digestive tract. Magnesium is also needed for the production of pancreatic enzymes that destroy cancer cells.
Today, some dietary supplements with magnesium have questionable value. These include man-made amino acid "chelates" with magnesium attached and also magnesium carbonate. The "chelates" that are not of plant origin may even interfere with the absorption of the magnesium. What chemical that magnesium is bound to can have a significant impact on its function or lack thereof.
Magnesium hydroxide as is found in "Milk of Magnesia" is a powerful laxative but is also a powerful alkalizer as reported by the pH Foundation. A couple of spoonfuls can be a quick remedy for an extreme acid saliva condition and will quickly bring saliva pH back to normal.
Calcium hydroxide also called "Lime Water," (not the fruit) will have this alkalizing effect also. Magnesium oxide is more pH neutral (but tending alkaline) and is more suited for long-term use.
Magnesium oxide may form magnesium chloride in the stomach and what is not absorbed may form magnesium butyrate and magnesium lactate in the colon in the presence of friendly bifido bacteria. Other mineral oxides found in well water or spring water may under a similar process.
Magnesium sulfates (Epson salts) are well absorbed and are used for anti-inflammatory properties for sore joints and muscles and it is used for constipation. The most widely sold supplemental form of Mg is magnesium citrate.
I believe that the mineral compounds that form through the natural digestive process are the types of compounds that should be offered to the public as dietary supplements. Cellular functions may require several forms of the same mineral for different purposes. Some supplements that are identical to those formed in the digestive process include magnesium chloride, calcium lactate, calcium butyrate and magnesium butyrate and other naturally occurring acid bound forms. In a functional digestive system, magnesium in whole foods and magnesium oxide as a supplement should form both magnesium chloride (in the stomach) and magnesium butyrate and mg lactate in the colon.
With mineral oxides found in natural spring water, various acids in the digestive process can bond to the minerals and thus release the oxygen. Today, the most widely sold forms of calcium and magnesium are the citrate or carbonate forms. The problem with the carbonate form is that it neutralizes stomach acid and that is fine if you suffer from acid reflux syndrome. However, if you have insufficient stomach acid and lack sufficient bifido-bacteria in the colon, most of the mineral carbonate forms (calcium carbonate and mg carbonate) may pass through the intestines unchanged and unabsorbed.
For the person with acid reflux syndrome, he will obtain much of his minerals in the "chloride" form that occurs when the minerals bond to hydrochloric acid in the stomach. However, unless this person also has a good colony of bifido-bacteria, he will lack the production of calcium and magnesium butyrate in the large intestines. Butyrates are fuel for the colonic cells. A long term absence of butyrate in the intestines will eventually lead to the structural destruction of the intestinal wall and micro villa, colon cancer, a weakening and even a perforation of the intestines, infections requiring surgery and other diseases of the gut.
by C LeBeau
Several published studies have found a direct link between magnesium deficiency and lower glutathione levels and an increase in oxidative stress. The results of these studies are profound in understanding how magnesium deficiency promotes HIV progression, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome and hepatitis, all types.
We know from many published studies that glutathione levels are directly related to HIV replication, and hepatitis C activity (HCV) as well as cancer. Published research finds that magnesium deficiency increases TNF-a and IL-6 - two cytokines that have been inexorably linked to HIV progression to AIDS, cancer progression and chronic fatigue syndrome and other conditions. The role of magnesium in reducing inflammation and over activity of humoral immune responses has, unfortunately, been overlooked for too long.
While the RDA for elemental magnesium is set at 400 mg daily, the therapeutic use of magnesium ranges from 800 mg to 1600 mg or more daily. One study with magnesium sulfate (Epson salts) found no adverse effects even at 3000 mg daily. Persons with HIV, cancer, hepatitis and CFIDS would most likely benefit from a therapeutic dose of magnesium, but when going over 1000 mg daily, a person should be monitored by a health care professional.
The following article by Mildred Seeling MD is excerpted from a very lengthy and well documented article found online at www.mgwater.com/cancer.shtml Go to this web site for the full article and a listing of 219 supporting scientific references.
by Mildred S. Seelig, M.D., M.P.H.
Adjunct Professor, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, North Carolina University Medical Center, Chapel Hill, N.C.
The section headers of this paper are as follows:
(1) Over 300 enzymes that influence the metabolism of carbohydrate, amino acids, nucleic acids and protein, and ion transport, require Mg.(2,3) Its roles in fatty acid and phospholipid acid metabolism, that affect permeability and stability of membranes, are being elucidated.(4-6) It has been proposed that Mg is central in the cell cycle, and that its deficiency is an important conditioner in precancerous cell transformation.(7-9) In addition, immunocompetence (that eliminates transformed cells) is Mg-dependent.(1,10-12) Mg supplementation of those who are Mg deficient, like chronic alcoholics, might decrease emergence of some malignancies.
(13) Epidemiologic studies suggest that low water and soil Mg may predispose to some cancers, but not to others. (14-18) Hard water is directly related to longevity, but the age-associated cell mutation and diminished capacity for immunosurveillance can obscure geochemical effects.(19,20)
Lympholeukemia(11-13,21-29) and bone tumors,(30-33) resembling those seen in children, have developed in some normally resistant rat strains when Mg deficiency was begun at weaning, but not in others. The effect of Mg on cancer produced by tumor transplants, or by chemicals, has depended on the time Mg supplementation or deficiency was induced, relative to exposure to oncogens.(12-13) Optimal Mg intake may be prophylactic against initiation of some neoplasms. Since cancer cells have high metabolic requirements, it is not indicated (alone) in the treatment of cancer. (13)
To read the rest of this report go to http://www.mgwater.com.shtml
by Malpuech-Brugère C, et al 1999 Jan 6;1453(1):35-40. Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France.
The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of different stages of Mg deficiency on endotoxin response and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) production. Weaning male Wistar rats were pair fed either a Mg-deficient or a control diet. At day 7, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced no lethal effects in control rats but resulted in 70% mortality in Mg-deficient rats within 3 h.
The vulnerability of Mg-deficient rats to LPS was associated with higher TNF alpha plasma values. Mg-deficient animals that received magnesium supplementation before endotoxin challenge had significantly increased survival. At day 2, control and Mg-deficient rats were also subjected to endotoxin challenge with or without magnesium pre-treatment. A significant increase in TNF alpha plasma level was observed in Mg-deficient rats compared to rats fed the control diet. Mg-deficient rats that received magnesium replacement therapy before endotoxin challenge had significantly lower TNF alpha plasma values than those receiving saline before endotoxin. Thus, the results of this experiment suggest that the activated or primed state of immune cells is an early event occurring in Mg deficiency.
Bussière FI, et al Br J Nutr. 2002 Feb;87(2):107-13.
St-Genès-Champanelle, France.
Recent studies underline the importance of the immunoinflammatory processes in the pathology of Mg deficiency. Neutrophils possess a superoxide anion-generating NADPH oxidase and its inappropriate activation may result in tissue damage. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of experimental Mg deficiency in the rat on polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN) activity and the role of increasing extracellular Mg.
Weaning male Wistar rats were fed either a Mg-deficient or a control diet for 8 d. In Mg-deficient rats, the characteristic inflammatory response was accompanied by a marked increase in the number of PMN. Higher plasma interleukin 6 and NO concentrations and increased lipid peroxidation in the heart were found in Mg-deficient rats as compared with control rats.
From this work, it appears that PMN activation is an early consequence of Mg deficiency and that high extracellular Mg concentration inhibits free radicals generation.
Bogden JD, et al
Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Sep;72(3):809-15.
New Jersey Medical School, Newark. bogden@umdnj.edu
OBJECTIVE: The current study was designed to assess relations among HIV-1 progression and 11 nutritional and demographic variables.
DESIGN: The participants were 106 HIV-infected outpatients and 29 uninfected control subjects (n = 89 men and 46 women; age range: 35-57 y). The HIV-infected subjects represented a broad range of disease progression.
RESULTS: We found lower concentrations of plasma and erythrocyte magnesium and of erythrocyte reduced glutathione beginning early in the course of HIV-1 infection.
Malpuech-Brugère C et
Biochim Biophys Acta. 2000 Jun 15;1501(2-3):91-8. France.
A high plasma level of IL-6 could be detected as early as day 4 for the Mg-deficient diet. Substance P does not appear to be the initiator of inflammation since IL-6 increase was observed without plasma elevation of this neuropeptide. The fact that the inflammatory response was an early consequence of Mg deficiency suggests that reduced extracellular Mg might be responsible for the activated state of immune cells.
Singh RB, et al
Biomed Pharmacother. 2004 Oct;58 Supp 1:S111-5.
Medical Hospital and Research Center, Moradabad, India.
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a highly dynamic event, which is associated with marked neuroendocrinological dysfunction in addition to cardiac damage. The immediate trigger for AMI is not precisely known. Studies conducted by Lown, Braunwald, Halberg, Otsuka and our group have demonstrated a marked increase in sympathetic activity, oxidative stress, and magnesium and potassium deficiency during AMI.
Mak IT, Goldfarb MG, Weglicki WB, Haudenschild CC.
Cardiovasc Toxicol. ;4(2):169-77.
The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
Treatment of HIV with AZT (zidovudine) may have toxic side effects as a result of multiple mechanisms. It is known that patients with AIDS may suffer from magnesium deficiency (MgD). We studied selected biochemical and histopathologic consequences of AZT administration (0.7 mg/mL in drinking water) with concurrent Mg-deficient (20% of normal) diet in male C57Bl/6N mice for 3 wk. Significant decreases in red blood cell glutathione (GSH) were evident in the Mg-deficient mice with or without AZT treatment, suggesting compromised antioxidant capacity in the blood.
MgD or AZT alone caused varying degrees of skeletal muscle degeneration; in combination, more intense degeneration and regeneration of muscle cells were evident. In conclusion, it is suggested that both the decreased blood GSH and elevated plasma TXA(2) might contribute, at least in part, to the aggravated pathological damages observed in the atrium and skeletal muscle of the AZT-treated Mg-deficient mice.
One person wrote that applying the water in the eyes got rid of a cataract after 2 months. Another person with Crohn's disease said she has been helped very much by using the water daily and says the prayers and has fewer episodes. A local female with the papilloma virus applied the water daily to the affected area and prayed. Upon examination 6 months later, the gynecologist said the viral warts were gone and the flesh was a normal color. This person also applied the water to breast lumps that became normal after 3 weeks.
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