HIV-AIDS

How do Glutathione (GSH) and ImmunoPro help in HIV-AIDS ?

Free radicals have been linked to much of the immune system destruction caused by HIV.

A wide range of antioxidants have been shown to protect immune function, and nutrients that maintain cellular levels of glutathione are especially important in preventing or slowing the progression of HIV infection.

HIV depletes the cells of Glutathione

It is now widely understood that AIDS is associated with a deficiency of glutathione that leads to the generation of enormous levels of oxidative stress that damage and kill otherwise-healthy cells throughout the body (Helbling B).

HIV has been shown to induce cellular depletion of glutathione. Low glutathione may be especially important in HIV, as there is evidence that the Tat protein produced by this virus can abnormally reduce glutathione levels (Choi J).

This is associated with free radical injury to numerous immune-system components. T-helper lymphocytes require adequate levels of glutathione to function normally, and HIV induces oxidative stress that depletes T-helper cells of glutathione (Res. Immunol., 1992).

Numerous studies reveal that the lack of glutathione causes lymphocytes to become weak in their immunological "efficiency," thereby contributing to the immune cell impairment characteristic of AIDS (FASEB J., 1997).

Glutathione (GSH) can protect the immune system from oxidative stress

Numerous findings have supported the theory that oxidative stress is critical to the pathogenesis of HIV infection. (AIDS 1997, 11:1389–1393).

When your body comes in contact with a pathogen or disease organism, it stimulates the development of an immune response. This oxygen-requiring process produces free radicals as the by-products of metabolism, and depletes the glutathione (GSH) in lymphocytes (mononuclear or white blood cells responsible for mounting an immune response).

Glutathione...is the major defense of CD4 T-cells cells against oxidative stress. Depletion of intracellular GSH (Glutathione) has also been shown to decrease the proportion of CD8+ cells (i.e. increases the CD4/CD8 ratio) and inhibit cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity (Chen P. and Schwartz D).

Oxidative stress may lead to enhanced HIV replication in infected cells and may also aggravate the immunodeficiency by reduction of cellular immunity and possibly by increased programmed cell death (apoptosis) of lymphocytes (Muller F).

This suggests that supplementation with nutrients to boost cellular glutathione is crucial to protect against a primary mechanism by which HIV destroys immune function.

ImmunoPro provides the components that rapidly replinish the glutathione (GSH) in lymphocytes during this GSH-depleting development of the immune response. Less hampered by oxyradicals, the lymphocyte can thus fully react with an optimal immune response to the disease organism (or antigenic stimulus).

Oxidative stress has also been implicated in HIV-related muscle wasting and weight loss, as well as dementia and neuropathy. It may also play an important role in the genesis of cellular DNA damage and, in this context, may be related to HIV-associated malignancies and disease progression (Baruchel S et al).

Glutathione (GSH) can inhibit HIV replication and decrease viral load

High levels of cellular glutathione severely limit any virus or bacteria's ability to enter cells and replicate. The infection is subsequently flushed from the system by normal means, which reduces viral load.

A number of studies have shown that high levels of glutathione in mononuclear cells can inhibit HIV replication. GSH has been shown to interfere with late stages of virus replication (Palamara AT et al); and to inhibit the reverse transcriptase (RT) process of HIV-1. (Kameoka M et al; Ho WZ et al).

Clinical data and the in vitro demonstration that whey proteins inhibits the HIV virus while increasing GSH synthesis strongly suggest that an antagonistic relation exists between the virus and cellular GSH (G. Bounous).

Another whey protein was also seen to inhibit the formation of synctia (the cellular "bridges" that allow the virus to be transmitted between immune cells), thereby preventing transmission of the virus between infected and non-infected cells (Baruchel S et al).

Replenishing cysteine can boost non-specific immune responses

Macrophages - the scavengers of the immune system - are another component of the immune system which relies on glutathione. These large immune cells protect the body by swallowing and destroying foreign particles and cancer cells.

The production of a substance called leukotriene C by macrophages is essential for them to reach invading organisms. When glutathione levels are low, the macrophages' production of leukotriene C is inhibited, resulting in diminished macrophage function.

Clinical trials have shown that the impairment of immunological functions in HIV positive patients results at least partly from cysteine deficiency (Breitkreutz R). HIV-induced cysteine depletion is a novel mechanism by which a virus destroys the immune defense of the host and escapes immune elimination.

Supplementation with a "cysteine-delivery system" like ImmunoPro, could replenish the body's requirements of cysteine and reconstitute immune function.

Glutathione has also been shown to enhance the movement (locomotion) of white blood cells called neutrophils to the site of injury or infection and decrease the number of bacterial colonies present there, resulting in improved survival. (Elferink JG).

Non-specific immune responses are important in the immune system's defenses against opportunistic pathogens.

Higher glutathione levels can improve survival in HIV-AIDS

GSH deficiency has been shown, in numerous studies, to be a key determinant of survival in HIV disease (Herzenberg LA et al).

A study by Stanford University found that for persons with a CD4 count under 200, an abnormally low level of glutathione - inside CD4 T-cells in the blood - was remarkably predictive of poor survival. The researchers at Stanford showed that those who have lower levels of glutathione inside cells suffer faster progression.

Low glutathione levels in CD4 T-cells mean increased risk of death (Stanford NAC study). The study "provides the first clear indication that GSH deficiency plays a pivotal role in determining how quickly the final stages of HIV disease progress."

Herzenberg says clinical trials assessing impact of NAC administration on long-term HIV patient survival is the next logical step in research on the subject. (PNAS: 1997;94:1967-1972)

Supplementation with whey proteins was also shown to persistently increase plasma glutathione levels in patients with advanced HIV-infection. It is possible that this "biochemical efficacy" of whey proteins may translate into a more favourable course of the disease (Micke P et al).

ImmunoPro can improve muscle wasting, weight loss and fatigue

Many people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) experience muscle loss or wasting. This leads to weakness, weight loss, fatigue and thinning of muscular areas of the body. Muscle wasting in HIV is still not well understood, but it has been linked to abnormally low cysteine levels and loss of sulfur.

Abnormally low plasma cystine levels have been found in the late asymptomatic stage of HIV infection and several other diseases associated with progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass (Droge W et al; Breitkreutz R et al).

Whey, a component of milk, is a popular diet supplement among AIDS patients because it improves weight gain and provides a protein-rich energy boost while containing little lactose. Whey protein, because of its "biological efficacy," is an easily digestible source of protein.

One study in PHAs has shown that weight returned to healthier levels after three months of whey protein supplementation. In another study combining exercise, anabolic steroids, nutritional counselling and whey protein, a significant increase in body cell mass (a measure of muscle tissue) was seen.

Many anecdotal reports do tell of gains in muscle mass in PHAs taking whey protein. According to the American buyers' club DAAIR (Direct Access Alternative Information Resources), a number of clients taking whey protein and glutamine have gained lean muscle mass and experienced improvements in their symptoms of fatigue.

In a small pilot study conducted by Dr Bounous and others with HIV-seropositive men, there was a dramatic rise in the levels of GSH in the mononuclear cells of all the study participants, and most participants reached ideal bodyweight.(Bounous G, Baruchel S et al)

The increase in bodyweight is as important as the improvement in GSH status because a loss in bodyweight is strongly related to higher morbidity in AIDS patients and a decreased ability to fight off opportunistic infections. ( Kotler, D.P. et al; Kotler D.P )