The Lorain City Page News

Home | U.S Politics | Open Forum | Lorain Events 2003 | Citizens of Lorain Opinion Page | Strecker Memorandums | Donations To Our Troops | News Around Lorain | News Around The Country | Latest News | Contact Us | Our Pictures | Past Articles
Strecker Memorandums

Here is an article you won't find in any United States Newspapers and would you like to know why? Because in our great country the press is told by the government what they can and can not print; how much of the truth they are permitted to tell.  Read on and enjoy.

Bone marrow 'cures HIV patient'

HIV particle
About one in 1,000 Europeans and Americans have a resistance to HIV

Doctors in Germany say a patient appears to have been cured of HIV by a bone marrow transplant from a donor who had a genetic resistance to the virus.

The researchers in Berlin said the man, who suffered from leukaemia and HIV, had shown no sign of either disease since the transplant two years ago.

But they stressed it was an unusual case which needed further investigation.

Experts said the result may boost interest in gene therapy for HIV.

Berlin's Charite clinic said the 42-year-old patient was an American living in Berlin, but the man has not been identified.

Genetic mutation

He had been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, that causes Aids, for more than a decade and also had leukaemia.

The clinic said since the transplant was carried out 20 months ago, tests on the patient's bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues have all been clear.


To promise to millions of people infected with HIV that there is hope of a cure would not be right

Professor Rodolf Tauber, Berlin's Charite clinic

In a statement, Professor Rodolf Tauber from the Charite clinic said: "This is an interesting case for research.

"But to promise to millions of people infected with HIV that there is hope of a cure would not be right."

Roughly one in 1,000 Europeans and Americans have an inherited genetic mutation, which prevents HIV from attaching itself to cells.

Two million people die of Aids every year and HIV is estimated to have infected 33 million people worldwide.

Option 'for a few'

Professor Andrew Sewell, from the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Immunology at the University of Cardiff said in theory a bone marrow transplant such as this one "should work" and it was surprising that no one had tried it before.

Most people with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa and this is hugely expensive
Professor Andrew Sewell, University of Cardiff

"The problem is most people with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa and this is hugely expensive, you have to find a matched donor, and it's a pretty severe and painful operation.

"So it's going to be an option for very few people."

He added that gene therapy to knock out the mutation of the key CCR5 receptor was a possibility for future treatment.

Professor Philip Goulder, an immunologist at the University of Oxford said: "It's a really interesting case which looks at a treatment which really hasn't been thought about before.

"But without having that much information about the specific case you would want to be very cautious about getting too excited and you wouldn't be able to replicate that treatment for a lot of people with HIV."

Paul Ward, deputy chief executive at the Terrence Higgins Trust said: "This case gives us something to explore in future studies but it's certainly not a quick fix as gene therapy is complex and expensive.

"With no cure in sight, prevention should be our number one priority."

WHO (World Health Organization) BULLETIN 1972

"An attempt should be made to ascertain wheather viruses can in fact exert selective effects on immune function by depressing 7SV5.195 antibody or by effecting T-Cell as opposed to B-Cell function.  The possibility should be looked into that the immune response to the viruses may itself be impaired.  If the affected viruses damage, more-or-less selectively, the cells responding to the viral antigens.

Dr. Strecker says, "in other words let's make a virus that selectively inhibits the T-cell of man."

While in college studying for Respiratory Therapy our professor, Doctor Morrison, who is no longer with us, somehow obtained a video even at that time was hard to come by called "Strecker Memorandums".

We were fortunate to have Doc Morrison as our teacher and mentor. He was a 30 year Navy Veteran with two Doctorates; One in Embryology and the other in Nuclear Medicine. He had his theory on Cancer and his belief on the origin of HIV. He did not take medicine lightly or for granted. I will say that he was one of the most intelligent people I've ever met.

On that note I will begin.

AIDS

Predicted

Requested

Produced

Deployed

It Works

In this publication you will find excerpts of an article originally published in the London Times on May 11, 1987 by Pearce Wright, Science Writer of the London Times. However, this article and its contents never made its way to the United States Media. The American Press ignored this front page story in the prestigious London Times. This story made headlines in Europe, Latin America and many other parts of the free world.

While researching this information I have read several times that the virus was created in a bio-chemical lab in Maryland. How much of this is fact or fiction?

Due to the abundance of information that I have found I have provided direct links where you can examine more facts and come to your own conclusions. I came to my own conclusions in June of 1991. I believe Dr. Strecker and I believe that he was right and anything would have been done to hide the facts of the true origin of AIDS.

I am not a physician, a microbiologist, a nurse nor am I qualified to make medical decisions. However, I am, as most of the human race, able to weigh the facts and  look at the evidence that was left behind embedded in the DNA of every victim of HIV III better known as AIDS.

 

Dedicated to all HIV Victims, their families and friends.
 
A letter from Christina Tassone
 
Below you will begin your journey into what I came to believe as the truth many years ago. 
When the Internet became available I searched the world over to find "The Strecker Memorandums" along with The London Times article but couldn't find proof of its existence.  By sheer persistence I stumlbed across them and started gathering the information necessary.  It is important that the general public have all of the information so that you can each come to your own conclusion.
Knowledge and truth will set us free.  Ignorance, deceit and turning a blind eye will be our destruction.
 
Remember, Dr. Strecker gave this presentation and interview (at the end of the clip) in 1989.  One of his statements was that this IS NOT a homosexual disease.  This was at a time that homosexuals were being blamed.  The  number of people he predicted would become infected is very close to the worldwide infected and infection rate.
 
What you will find below is a combination of Strecker Memorandums, and other articles combined with my own writing. 
 

Smallpox Vaccine Triggering AIDS?
On May 11th 1987, the London Times ran a front-page story, headlined, "SMALLPOX VACCINE TRIGGERED AIDS VIRUS". The gist of the story was that, somehow, the World Health Organization (WHO) in its efforts to eradicate smallpox in the third world, had triggered millions of AIDS cases in Africa, Haiti, and Brazil. A WHO adviser said: "I thought it was just a coincidence until we studied the latest findings about the reactions which can be caused by vaccination. Now I believe the smallpox vaccine theory is the explanation to The AIDS explosion".
Health statistics from WHO reveal that the greatest spread of HIV (AIDS virus) infection coincides with the areas having the most intensive vaccination programs. It has been speculated that smallpox vaccine given to millions throughout Africa, Haiti and Brazil has the potential to weaken the immune system of susceptible individuals. This can result in the dormant AIDS viruses present in such people to become activated and assume virulent powers. Dr. Robert Gallo, America's number one AIDS researcher has stated: "I have been saying for some years that the use of live vaccines such as that used from smallpox can activate a dormant infection such as HIV (AIDS)."

 

The circumstantial evidence is actually compelling, that the AIDS virus was artificially engineered, and planted in several different locations at about the same time through vaccination programs, and possibly blood bank contaminations. At House Appropriations hearing in 1969, the Defense Department's Biological Warfare (BW) division requested funds to develop through gene-splicing a new disease that would both resist and break down a victim's immune system.

Strecker Memorandums came to light in 1989. Dr. Streckers Theories about HIV/AIDs were correct. At a time when the medical community blamed everything from the Green Monkey carrying the virus to anything natural, Dr. Strecker believed that it was a blood born pathogen created in a laboratory in the United States.

Excerpt from: The real origin of AIDS & the US Tuskegee experiment -Dr. Kwame Nantambu

The AIDS virus 'was created by the United States government at Fort Dietrich in Maryland, a biological warfare laboratory in building number A550 in the P4 lab'. The sum of US $10m was requested by the Defense Department to build the lab under the House of Representatives Bill number H.B. 15090 in the 91st Congress in 1970.8

According to Dr. Theodore Strecker (1989):'(the US) National Cancer institute in collaboration with the World Health Organization made the AIDS virus in their laboratories at Fort Detrich (now NCI). They combined the deadly retroviruses, bovine leukemia virus and sheep vlsna virus, and injected them into human tissue cultures. The result was the AIDS virus, the first human retrovirus known to man and now believed to be 100 percent fatal to those infected'.9

Dr. Strecker further contends that AIDS couldn't have engineered itself. It was engineered in a laboratory by virologists.10 The record reveals that the World Health Organisation (WHO) vigorously: 'called for scientists to work with these deadly agents and attempt to make a hybrid virus that would be deadly to humans: An attempt should be made to see if viruses can in fact exert selective effects on immune function. The possibility should be looked into that the immune response to the virus itself may be impaired if the infecting virus damages, more or less selectively, the cell responding to the virus'.11

The AIDS epidemic was triggered by 'the mass vaccination campaign which eradicated smallpox.12 In fact, the WHO itself has studied 'new scientific evidence suggesting that immunization with the smallpox vaccine Vaccinia, awakened the unsuspected, dormant human immuno defense virus infection (HIV)'.13

In the words of an adviser to the WHO: 'I thought it was just a coincidence until we studied the latest findings about the reactions which can be caused by Vaccinia. Now I believe the smallpox vaccine theory is the explanation to the explosion of AIDS"
.14

Dr. Strecker did this research and taped this years before the current information on AIDS was given. Dr. Strecker was well aware of the horror getting ready to swallow the human race.  Here are only a few points that Dr. Strecker points out in Strecker Memorandums.

The Government said it was absurd.  I have found that the more an organization or person denies or tries to discredit something, the more likely they are guilty.  Look around you and listen to the news. Chemical warfare was only the tip of this great monster.  We now contend with Eboli, Mad Cow Disease, different strains of HIV and West Niles Virus. These are just to name a few. Ask yourself the following questions honestly. Realy did we ever hear about these diseases before the late 70's? Did they exist before the late 70's? Is the excuse, "they existed in other countries and were brought over to the United States" feaseable? I find that hard to believe because the transfer of these diseases would have happened a long time ago and believe me Eboli would not have gone unnoticed.

AIDS is a Retro-virus. Retro-viruses occur in animals. If you want to know about a Retro-virus talk to a veterinarian. Most M.D's of that time had little if no experience in the area of Retro-viruses.

It would be no coincidence that Dr. Max Essex was in charge of the Leukemia Research Group of Harvard, and Dr. O.W. Judd of Glasgow Leukemia Research; they were both veterinarians.

  • AIDS is a slow viral disease
  • After vaccination, if vaccination were possable, it would take 14 - 20 years to see if the vaccine worked
  • AIDS did not exist in Africa until the mid 70's or later
  • AIDS first appeared in New York 1978
  • AIDS then appeared in San Francisco 1980 in white- male Homosexuals between the ages of 20-40
  • AIDS did not appear in Black Heterosexual Immigrants/Haiti
  • The Green Monkey is not capable of harboring or reproducing the AIDS Virus.  Had this monkey been a carrier the Pygmies would have been infected long ago. The Pygmies were, at one time, 100% free
  • The infection was not brought from the jungle to cities but the opposite
  • Codan choices are not found in man or monkey but are found in the Visna Virus (Bovine Visna Virus)
  • AIDS Selects and destroys T4 cells
  • So called experts would like you to believe that the virus jumped species.

One of many questions is: How did animal viruses get into humans?

The article, "Smallpox vaccine triggered "AIDS virus"  then appeared on the front page of the London Times on May 11, 1987. Supposedly,  somebody was hired by WHO to investigate wheather or not the Smallpox vaccine was a contributer to the AIDS infestation in Africa.  A researcher, who remains anonymous is afraid to reveal his name, was hired by WHO to investigate that study.  He investigated over a year, turned in the report, was paid and that was the end of it.  A year or so later he walks into the London Times and throws the report on Pearce Wrights desk, who is/was the Science Writer at The London Times and said, "if you really want to know what's going on with AIDS in Africa here's the answer."

Dr. Strecker goes on to say, "as far as we know this has never been discussed or addressed in this country.  And I find that particularly interesting as to why it has never been addressed in the United States for the following reason, a quote in that article in that story was from Dr. Robert Gallow, who is the reported co-discoverer of the AIDS virus.  He states, "this was an interesting and important hypothesis."  If this is interesting and important why wasn't it addressed?  I'll tell you the answer to that.  If you made AIDS would you tell anybody?  Of course not."

I decided that the best way to pass this information on to the public was to post an article from "Strecker Memorandums" every week and leave links that you can follow for more information.

This way, you can make a clear and informative decision on your own.  As I have said I am not a medical doctor. However, I do understand the material and films, but there is so much information that I honestly wouldn't know where to begin without confusing you.  I feel that this is so important that I want to make sure the correct information reaches you.  The American Public deserves to know ALL of the facts not just some of the facts.

 

1-24-04
I would just like to update you on the latest lie being fed to the public which is as follows:
 
 
The discovery of the SIVcpz in the tissue remains of "Marilyn," a (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) chimp who died in 1985, led to the announcement. "During a serosurvey in 1985, Marilyn was the only chimpanzee of 98 tested who had antibodies strongly reactive with HIV-1 by enzyme linked immunosorbent essay (ELISA) and western immunoblot."2 She was "wild-caught" in Africa [origin unknown], exported to the United States as an infant and used as a breeding female in a primate facility until her death"2 She had naturally occurring SIVcpz: Marilyn had "never been used in AIDS research and had not received human blood products after 1969."2 When she died in 1985, tests "were unavailable" to "perform various kinds of genetic analysis" performed today.4
 
1) Once again, I am going to point out that no one wants to take the "blame" for creating AIDS and they are still trying to go with the first theory of the virus being carried by a "monkey".
 
2)  Of course they have no idea where this monkey came from BUT they were bringing it into the United States to "breed" with other chimps. 
I find that hard to believe that there is NO paper trail on this chimp. They just brought it to the United States, not knowing where it came from, and started to breed it.  How did a chimp get through customs?
 
3) The full article pertains to AIDS being transmitted now from  a "sub-species" of the chimp.
Once again, they are trying to make the public believe that this virus "cross jumped" species.
 
4)Ironically, years later they just "HAPPENED" across the tissue of the mysterious monkey, that came from the deep jungle of Africa, that made it's way into the United States with no paperwork to breed, who just happens to carry the HIV Virus or something very similar. 

 

I was very amused reading this article.  So much so that I actually found myself laughing outloud.  It's a cover up and anyone with the ability to read and reason will see the flaws in the article. 


To read the full article click here.

Article 1
 
Is AIDS Man Made?

The Strecker Memorandum


We have a story to tell you, a very strange story that affects you, me, and every other human being on earth. A story that must be taken seriously by the governments of every nation in the world because there may not be many humans left to govern by the turn of the century, or shortly thereafter. A story so bizarre, and so sinister that, if it were not that it is all true, it would make a great science fiction thriller. (Interestingly enough, Lorimar Pictures of Hollywood purchased the rights to Dr. Strecker's life story.)

The story begins in 1983 with Dr. Robert B. Strecker, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Strecker practices internal medicine and gastroenterology in Los Angeles. He is a trained pathologist and holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology. Dr. Strecker and his brother, Ted, an attorney, were preparing a proposal for a health maintenance organization (HMO) for the Security Pacific Bank of California. They needed to know the long-term financial effects of insuring the treatment of AIDS patients. Inasmuch as this information was not readily available in 1983, both brothers began researching the medical literature to learn what they could about this relatively new disease. The information they uncovered right from the beginning was so startling to them, so hard to believe, that it would dramatically alter both their lives and lead them on a five-year quest culminating with the creation of The Strecker Memorandum, the most controversial video tape of our time and a remarkable set of documents called "The Bio-Attack Alert."

WHAT THEY DISCOVERED

Right there in the medical literature for anyone to read for themselves was, basically, proof that the AIDS virus and pandemic was actually predicted years ago by a world-famous virologist, among others. They found that top scientists writing in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization were actually requesting that AIDS-like viruses be created to study the affects on humans. In fact, the Streckers unearthed thousands of documents all supporting the man-made origin of AIDS.

Meanwhile, the government was telling everyone that a green monkey in Africa bit some native and started AIDS. As their research continued, it became obvious from the documentation that the virus itself was not only created as requested, but actually deployed, and now threatens the existence of mankind because it does what it was designed to do: cause cancer in humans via a contagious virus. Eventually, the Streckers came to realize everything the government, the so-called AIDS experts and media were telling the public was not only misleading, but out and out lies. . . .

THE SCARIEST PART

The most dreaded fear that all oncologists (cancer doctors), virologists, and immunologists live with is that some day cancer, in one form or another, will become a contagious disease, transferable from one person to another. AIDS has now made that fear a reality. If you think you are safe because you are not gay or promiscuous, or because you are not sexually active, then you must watch The Strecker Memorandum very carefully. . . .

THOUSANDS ARE ALREADY DEAD

Over one hundred thousand Americans have already died because they didn't know the truth about AIDS. Approximately 23 million Americans are already infected. More than 1 in 60 babies born in New York City is infected; three in 100 college students in America [one in 33] is infected; one in 20 aliens applying for amnesty is infected, including men, women and children . . . .

WHY A VIDEO TAPE?

One of the first things the Streckers did was to try and tell their medical and legal colleagues what they were finding in the literature. Some were interested; most were not. Certainly no one was prepared to risk their professional standing by making waves within the establishment. Ted Strecker compiled some of the most damaging documents into a report he called "The Bio-Attack Alert" and sent it to every Governor of every state, the President, the Vice-President (George Bush), the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and selected members of Congress. He got a grand total of three replies from three governors, nothing from the government. Both he and Dr. Strecker were laughed at and ridiculed at every turn. As an example, Dr. Strecker told the government in 1985 that virtually every person testing positive for AIDS would die prematurely and painfully. The government said that was nonsense. Their figures showed that maybe ten percent at most would die from the disease. In 1986, the government said maybe 50 percent of those infected would die, in 1987, they said maybe 75 percent, in 1988 they finally agreed with Dr. Strecker that AIDS is virtually 100 percent fatal. We could go on with facts Dr. Strecker unearthed that the "experts" said were wrong and now accepted as the truth. Dr. Strecker, like a good scientist, submitted paper after paper with his findings published in Europe. Again, closed doors. What to do? Dr. Strecker did not feel he could take the time from his practice and his research to write a book. On the other hand, everyone has a TV and now most households have a VCR. The time involved to make a video is nothing compared to writing a book, and so the video The Strecker Memorandum was created. It is 96 minutes of the most startling, controversial, and information-packed video you will ever see. It disputes virtually everything the American public is being told by the government, so-called AIDS experts, and the media. In fact, after seeing it YOU will know more about AIDS than 99 percent of all doctors in America.

MUSIC IS NOTHING IF THE AUDIENCE IS DEAF

With the video made, it seemed a simple matter to advertise it and the world would now become aware of what it was facing, right? Wrong! The fact that you are even reading about The Strecker Memorandum now is a minor miracle by itself, inasmuch as TV stations have refused to advertise it. TV and radio time brokers that sell blocks of commercial time have refused to sell us time. TV station managers have refused to even air programs containing interviews with Dr. Strecker. A national radio network did an interview with a famous talk show host and Dr. Strecker-and then refused to run it. Virtually every big name network television magazine show and all the syndicated TV interviewers and talk show hosts have said NO to Dr. Strecker. Big city newspapers will not take any print ads telling about it, and so it goes. WHY? What is in The Strecker Memorandum that sends a cold chill down the spine of most media executives?

WHY IS EVERYONE AFRAID OF
THE STRECKER MEMORANDUM?

The excuse we hear over and over is that it is too controversial. Too controversial? They say that this information, if widely disseminated, will cause the public to panic. If someone had poisoned our water supply and you and your family could die, wouldn't you want to know about it? Would you panic? Or would you more likely be outraged and try to find out who did it and punish them? We feel the only persons who might panic are those scientists who willingly or otherwise created AIDS and are now promoting misinformation by covering it up. . .

THINK OF YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
-NOW THINK OF THEM DEAD

It may take a while before the words "species threatening" sink in, because the term has rarely been used before to describe an existing human condition. But once you realize the implications of that term and realize that, unlike any other kind of disease ever known to man, past or present, AIDS can, if unchecked kill every human on earth, then your outlook and attitude regarding everything in life must change. Whether you like it or not and despite all your precautions, the time will come when you will test positive for AIDS, and it can happen much quicker than you realize.

IT'S OUT THERE

The number of AIDS-infected people is doubling approximately every 12 months, and in some areas even sooner. With 23 million Americans carrying the virus, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see how long we have here in the U.S. Africa has, conservatively, 75 million infected; some estimates double that. Brazil as a country is in serious jeopardy because all through the 1970's they were buying their blood supply from Africa. On top of that, the World Health Organization conducted a large scale small pox vaccination program there in the 1970s (for the full implications of that see The Strecker Memorandum). Southern Japan has at least 30 percent infected with HTLV-I, the leukemia-causing virus (although you will never hear about that on TV). Haiti of course, is ravaged by AIDS; more than 20 percent of the people are infected and getting worse every day. And so it goes. Virtually every nation on earth with few exceptions (Iran is one) is reporting a growing problem. It's on every continent, every sub-continent, and every island chain, Atlantic and Pacific. So why won't the media or government tell you these things? Is it too controversial for you to handle? Are you going to panic?

IS THERE ANY HOPE

Yes and no. No, if you are waiting for the government to create a magic bullet. As you will see in The Strecker Memorandum, part of the problem is that all the various AIDS viruses are recombinant retroviruses. Very simply, that means they have the ability to recombine with the genes of any cell they enter and the offspring or new viruses they form are different from the parent viruses. HTLV-III alone (that's the most common American AIDS virus) has the mathematical ability to change itself 4 to the 9,000th power. The common cold recombines much less frequently and we haven't found a cure for it after a hundred years. Besides, does it make much sense to entrust the cure for AIDS to the same people that may have created it?

Yes, there is hope if Dr. Strecker and a growing number of realistic scientists are correct in looking at alternative, non-allopathic, non-drug modalities based on Raman spectroscopy. In fact, much research is going on now that offers great promise. Unfortunately, our government takes a dim view of any type of treatment for any type of disease-let alone AIDS-that does not conform to its rigid rules for acceptance, registration and legalization. Of course the FDA would definitely like to see an allopathic drug treatment or cure presented by an ethical drug company or university. Well, we don't think that's going to happen. Because of this attitude, much experimentation in America must go underground, underfunded, or out of the country entirely. Again this is explained further in The Strecker Memorandum.

BE BOLD AND MIGHTY FORCES WILL COME TO YOUR AID-OR MIGHTY FORCES WILL COME AND KILL YOU

An ominous personal aspect of this story has been the sudden and unexpected deaths of two of the key players. First, Dr. Strecker's brother, Ted Strecker, was found shot to death in his home in Springfield, Missouri, an apparent suicide, on August 11, 1988. Was Ted Strecker suicidal? Perhaps. In the past he suffered from depression and monumental frustration at the relative lack of interest in his findings. Dr. Strecker spoke with him the night before his death. Ted was cheerful, in good spirits, and looking forward to certain new developments that promised progress. The next day he was found dead, his 22-caliber rifle next to him. No message, no goodbyes to anyone. Officially a suicide. Next, Illinois State Representative Douglas Huff of Chicago was found alone in his home, dead from an apparent overdose of cocaine and heroin, on September 22, 1988. Representative Huff did everything in his power to make the Illinois State Legislature and the people of Chicago aware of Dr. Strecker's work. He was very vocal, gave many press interviews, was constantly on television and radio urging people to wake up to the coverup concerning AIDS. Did Representative Huff use drugs? Perhaps. Was he an addict? No. Would he have known how dangerous a massive overdose of cocaine and heroin was? Yes, of course. Cause of death: officially a stroke. Dr. Strecker has serious doubts that his brother killed himself. Representative Huff's associates doubt he died accidentally, and yet they are gone. Who's next?

IGNORANCE IS BLISS, OR IS IT SUICIDE?

We all know it is easier for a king to have a lie believed than a beggar to spread the truth. Well, we are spreading the truth about AIDS. Unfortunately, it isn't pretty. But the fact is, you are not being told the truth by the government or the so-called AIDS experts. The media, for reasons of their own, will not present information contradicting the official propaganda. So you can choose to go along with the same people who gave us brain cancer (SV-40 virus) as a result of their contaminated polio vaccines in the early 1960's, a polio-like disease from their contaminated Swine Flu Vaccine in the 1970's; and AIDS from their smallpox and hepatitis B vaccines; or, you can at least make yourself aware of the clear and present dangers that we all face by watching The Strecker Memorandum. The cost of the tape is nominal, but we submit that remaining ignorant can cost infinitely more.

Click here to view Strecker Memorandums. When you get to the link they state there are having some problems. JUST SCROLL DOWN TO "Strecker Memorandums" and click. This will take you to the Video by Dr. Strecker.

AIDS UPDATES:
AIDS Cure Possible, Study Suggests

A small human study may point the way to a cure for AIDS.

Behind the stunning results is a totally new approach to HIV treatment. It makes use of an epilepsy drug -- valproic acid -- that flushes HIV out of its most remote hiding places in the body.

Combined with powerful HIV drugs, the approach might totally eliminate the AIDS virus from the body. That promises a cure for AIDS, says study leader David M. Margolis, MD.

"This might lead to a therapy that would clear virus from an infected person, or reduce it to such a low level they would not need treatment for a very long time," Margolis tells WebMD. "But that is only a hope for the future. It will require a lot more work. Today, HIV is still a problem."

The Margolis team's groundbreaking report appears in the Aug. 13 issue of The Lancet. Accompanying it is an editorial by McGill University researcher Jean-Pierre Routy, MD, PhD.

"This is very serious data -- a very exciting piece of information," Routy tells WebMD. "For the first time, the disease may be attacked in the last cells where it is hiding. That is a sign of hope. We can expect one day to remove all these infected cells."

HIV in Hiding

A decade ago, there was great optimism that powerful AIDS drug combinations would eliminate HIV from the bodies of infected people. These highly active antiretroviral therapies -- HAART -- put the AIDS virus on the defensive. The drugs kept HIV levels so low, it was hoped that the virus would soon vanish from the body.

That didn't happen. The reason: latent HIV. Latent HIV is inactive virus planted deep in the DNA of human cells. There it lies in wait, beyond the reach of anti-HIV drugs. This tiny, smoldering infection is enough to burst into full-fledged AIDS once a person stops taking HAART.

Researchers have tried everything, from years of toxic drugs to bone marrow transplants, to get rid of latent HIV. None of it worked. Making this even more maddening were recent findings that this last reservoir of HIV infection is very small.

"The total amount of infected cells is very small: just 1 gram in a person with normal body weight," Routy says. "But until a few weeks ago it was impossible to attack these cells."

Read WebMD's "Study: Many in U.S. Misunderstand HIV Vaccine"

Unmasking HIV

What changed? Until now, most efforts focused on turning the latent infection into active infection. The idea was to get HIV out in the open where HAART drugs and immune responses could get at it. But these approaches had the disadvantage of making HIV replicate faster throughout the body.

Margolis' team was one of several taking a different approach. Instead of activating the HIV gene in latent cells, they changed the cells' DNA architecture. To do this, they took advantage of the ability of valproic acid to inhibit an enzyme called HDAC.

"We thought a way to unmask latent virus would be to inhibit HDAC so you are not activating the virus but sort of taking the brake off," Margolis says.

Read WebMD's "More Than 1 Million Americans Living With HIV"

Patients Respond

It worked in the test tube. So Margolis and colleagues tested their idea at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center in Dallas.

They recruited four volunteers with HIV infection. Each of them once had AIDS, but had their virus brought under control by HAART drugs. However, none of these volunteers had immune responses capable of fighting HIV.

Margolis and colleagues first intensified the patients' treatment by adding a new kind of HIV drug, Fuseon, to their treatment regimens. Then they gave them valproic acid for three months.

The results were unprecedented. Three of the four volunteers had an average 75 percent decrease in their latent HIV pool.

That's pretty amazing -- but none of the patients were actually cured of HIV infection. Margolis says it's going to take time to learn the best way to use valproic acid as an anti-HIV drug. And even if it's 100 percent effective at eliminating latent virus, he notes that current HAART treatment does not totally eliminate HIV replication. Until that happens, the pool of latent virus could always be replenished.

But that isn't always going to be an obstacle, Margolis predicts.

"If I look backward five to 10 years to the relative impotency of treatment, and look forward to how simple and effective treatment might be in five or 10 years, you will see the field does a good job of inhibiting HIV," he says. "If that is the only problem to overcome, we can definitely cure infection."

Read WebMD's "U.S. HIV-Infected Youth Take More Risks"

Warning to Patients: Don't Try This at Home

Margolis warns patients not to try taking valproic acid. It's a drug with serious possible side effects that include liver damage and, if taken by pregnant women, birth defects. Valproic acid also has dangerous interactions with AIDS drugs. In fact, one of the four patients in the study developed serious anemia because of an interaction with one of the drugs in his HAART regimen.

"It is totally irrational for patients to add valproic acid to therapy, outside clinical trials, at this point," Margolis says. "How much valproic acid would they take? How long would they take it for? How could you measure when they had enough? How do they know when to stop? There are plenty of reasons not to take valproic acid at this point."

Routy says that his team is organizing a clinical trial to try to find the best way to use valproic acid as an adjunct to HAART. He also expects the findings to give new impetus to therapeutic AIDS vaccines.

Meanwhile, the world AIDS pandemic continues unabated.

"We have to focus on HIV treatment today," Margolis says. "Right now we must continue to prevent, detect, and treat HIV infection. Finding a vaccine to prevent AIDS is still very important. But that goal is no more challenging than the goal of eradicating infection. And that is a worthy goal as well."

"Eradicating HIV from the body is a big hope," Routy. "But the hope is not today."

By Daniel J. DeNoon, reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

SOURCES: Lehrman, G. The Lancet, Aug. 13, 2005; vol 366: pp 549-555. Routy, J.-P. The Lancet, Aug. 13, 2005; vol 366: pp 523-524. David M. Margolis, MD, professor of medicine, microbiology and public health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Jean-Pierre Routy, MD, PhD, associate professor, division of hematology, McGill University, Mon

DISCLAIMER: All comments submitted for consideration are subject to my review and may be excluded or removed from this page at my discretion for any reason.

The Lorain City Page honors the privacy of our readers.  You may have your opinion posted with out your name and/or email address.  Please request this option with your email.

EDITOR@LORAINCITYPAGE.COM