AIDS post-HIV : beat of a different drummer - AltHeal

A d d ress: Dennis L. Karter, M.D., Department of
Infectious Disease, St. Vincent's Hospital, Cro n i n
665, 153 West 11th St., New York, NY 10011,
U.S.A.]
Vitamin A Reduces Death From Diarrhoea in
Children
This was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of
vitamin A supplementation carried out in 118
o ffspring of HIV-infected women in Durban South
Africa. The infants received a supplement of
50,000 I.U. of vitamin A at 1 and 3 months of age;
100,000 I.U. at 6 and 9 months of age; and
200,000 I.U. at 12 and 15 months of age. The
supplemented group had a lower overall morbidity
than the placebo group. Among the 85 children of
known HIV status morbidity associated with
diarrhea was significantly reduced in the supplemented
infected children, whereas there was no
e ffect of supplementation on diarrheal morbidity
noted among the uninfected children. [The Effects
of Vitamin A Supplementation on Morbidity of
Children Born to HIV-Infected Women. Coutsoudis,
Anna, Ph.D., et al, American Journal of Public
Health, August 1995;85(8):1076-1081. Addre s s :
Anna Coutsoudis, Ph.D., Department of Pediatrics
and Child Health, 23062 [AIDS, inf]University of
Natal, P.O. Box 17039, Congella 4013, South
Africa]
Vitamin A Supplementation
Exacerbation of AIDS may result in vitamin A
depletion. Vitamin A at the level of 13,000 to
20,000 I.U. per day may cause slower progression
to AIDS. [Vitamin A Depletion in HIV Infection and
AIDS. Jolly, P.E., et al, AIDS, 1996;10(1):114.
( A d d ress: P.E. Jolly, Department of Intern a t i o n a l
Health, School of Public Health, University of
Alabama at Birmingham, 720 S. 20th Stre e t ,
Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0008, U.S.A.]
Vitamin A, B12 and Zinc Repletion Raises CD4
count
In evaluating 108 HIV-1 seropositive homosexual
males it was found that a deficiency in vitamin A or
vitamin B12 was associated with a decline in CD4
(helper) cell counts while normalization of vitamin
A, vitamin B12 and zinc was associated with higher
CD4 cell counts. Zidovudine did not affect these
values. Low baseline values of vitamin B12
p redicted accelerated HIV-1 disease pro g re s s i o n .
This data suggests that micronutrient deficiencies
a re associated with HIV-1 pro g ression and raises
the possibilities that normalizing these micro n u-
trient levels may increase symptom- free survival.
[ M i c ronutrients and HIV-1 Disease Pro g re s s i o n .
Baum, Marianna K., et al, AIDS, 1995;9:1051-1056.
( A d d ress: Dr. M.K. Baum, Department of
Epidemiology and Public Health, University of
Miami School of Medicine, P.O. Box 016069
(R669), Miami, FL 33101, U.S.A.]
Vitamin A, Beta Carotene and Arg i n i n e
Supplements May Enhance the Efficacy of
Vaccines
In immune-competent and immune-incompetent
mice that were inoculated with pox vaccine,
supplemental vitamin A reduced the severity of the
illness and prevented death. Mice without vitamin
A pretreatment died. The authors note that in their
work with monkeys, nutritional supplementation
that supports immune function also enhances the
e fficacy of some vaccines. These authors believe
that supplementation with immune enhancing
nutrients, such as vitamin A, beta-carotene, and
arginine, will help AIDS patients tolerate and have
m o re success with vaccines and tre a t m e n t .
[ Vitamin A Supplements and the AIDS Va c c i n e .
Seifter, E., et al, Journal of the American College of
Nutrition, 1991;548/Abstract 46. Address: Dr. E.
Seifter, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx,
New York 10461 U.S.A.]
Vitamin B12 and Cognitive Function
Eighty-four HIV type I infected homosexual men,
20 to 55 years of age were evaluated for the
relationship between plasma vitamin B12 status
and change in information processing speed.
Deficiency was defined as vitamin B12 levels of
less than 200 pg/ml. Significant improvement was
seen in neuropsychological testing with normalization
or maintaining of vitamin B12 levels, while a
decline in these levels resulted in a reduction of
s c o res. The authors conclude normalizing vitamin
B12 levels in HIV type I patients may pro v i d e
significant improvement in speed of re t r i e v i n g
o v e r l e a rned information from long-term memory.
[Plasma Cobalamin Levels Affect Information
Processing Speed in a Longitudinal Study of HIV-1
Disease. Shor-Posner, Gail, Archives of Neurology,
February 1995;52:195-201. (Address: Gail Shor-
P o s n e r, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and
Public Health, University of Miami School of
Medicine, Miami, FL 33101, U.S.A]
Vitamin B12 Deficiencies Doubles Risk of
Progression to AIDS
Of 310 subjects who were seropositive for the HIV
virus over a 9-yr. follow-up, those who had serum
vitamin B12 concentrations of