beta-carotene and AIDS-Related-Complex

In a pilot single blind study, beta-carotene (BC) supplementation produced, in ARC patients under current treatment, apparent recovery from asthenia, fever, nocturnal sweating, diarrhoea, loss in weight, and led as a result to an improvement in general health and working efficiency, but not to an improvement in multiple district lympho-adenopathies. Nevertheless, BC appeared to prevent progress to AIDS and, in addition, to lower the effective dosage of AZT used in one case of ARC developed into AIDS, producing a recovery from opportunistic infections and an inhibition of Kaposi sarcoma diffusion, in line with a two-fold rise in CD4 counts.

Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adult; AIDS-Related Complex; beta Carotene; Carotenoids; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Female; Humans; Leukocyte Count; Male; Pilot Projects; Single-Blind Method

The objective of this work was to check possible additive beneficial effects of whole body hyperthermia (WBH) associated with beta-carotene (BC) supplementation in patients with AIDS. In a pilot study, 10 HIV positive patients, (8 with AIDS and 2 with AIDS related complex, ARC), after AZT or DDI discontinuation, were first treated with one single session of WBH applied with a non-invasive procedure at 42 degrees C core temperature for one hour, and subsequently supplemented with BC 120 mg daily continuously. All patients well tolerated the non-invasive WBH as well as the high dose BC supplementation. Apart from one patient who died after 4 months, all the others underwent an HIV burden diminution, clinical improvement and amelioration of laboratory data, along with an subjective improvement of their life quality. With reference to control groups, namely (a) only WBH applied with extracorporeal procedure to 31 AIDS patients, and (b) only BC supplementation at high dosage applied to 64 ARC patients, the combined physical and BC supplemental treatments clearly showed a better and longer lasting response.

Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adult; AIDS-Related Complex; Antioxidants; beta Carotene; Carotenoids; Female; Food, Fortified; Humans; Hyperthermia, Induced; Male

Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Adult; AIDS-Related Complex; Animals; Antimutagenic Agents; beta Carotene; Bleomycin; Breast Diseases; Carotenoids; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; Chromosome Aberrations; Diet; Female; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Lymphocytes; Male; Menstruation Disturbances; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Pain; Rats