PCP, Corticosteroids, and AIDS Progression...

So I decided to look into PCP Pnuemonia outside of the HIV/AIDS Population.



PCP does affect large portions of the immunocompromised, particularly those who have been subjected to corticosteroids to suppress their immunity. 91% of patients without HIV that presented with PCP had been on corticosteroids in the previous month to three months. It has been shown that there is a link between corticosteroids and development of PCP.

http://www.utdol.com/online/content/abstract.do?topicKey=immuninf/10047&refNum=11-14

http://www.springerlink.com/content/g8uaa5je1tkv2ww4/

What I am trying to understand is how they would give something that supresses the immune system and is known to cause PCP to people who are immunocompromised with PCP. Particularly those with HIV.

"These drugs are very powerful and can cause such serious side effects as high blood pressure, kidney problems and liver disorders. Some side effects may not show up until years after the medicine was used. Anyone who has been advised to take immunosuppressant drugs should thoroughly discuss the risks and benefits of these medications with the prescribing physician."

"Immunosuppressant drugs lower a person's resistance to infection and can make infections harder to treat. The drugs can also increase the chance of uncontrolled bleeding. "

http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/Fi-La/Immunosuppressant-Drugs.html

But for some reason in incidences where PCP is acute in HIV/AIDS patients this is found to relieve them.

There is evidence of benefit for adjuvant corticosteroids in the treatment of moderate to severe PCP in people infected with HIV. There is insufficient evidence of benefit for adjuvant corticosteroids in the treatment of mild PCP in people infected with HIV. http://clinicalevidence.bmj.com/ceweb/conditions/hiv/2501/2501_I7.jsp

(this is one of several clinical studies though the others glorify them much more... )

No to mention you become more susceptible to your other infections after use of Corticosteroids as it lowers your immunity and in some instances results in declining T-Cell count... This study found that people co-infected with CMV were more likely to have severe prognosis after presenting and being treated for PCP...

"Culture of CMV in BAL was independently associated with an increased (2.7-fold) risk of short-term mortality. The clinical significance of CMV in HIV-related lung disease is an issue of controversy. Several studies323334353637 conducted before the introduction of adjunctive corticosteroid therapy concluded that CMV coinfection does not contribute directly to HIV-associated pulmonary disease. However, CMV does cause significant pulmonary disease in some individuals with HIV-1 infection, although the diagnosis frequently is missed antemortem.3839 It is possible that CMV may be a significant pathogen in patients treated with immunosuppressants or who have other infections. In one study,40 the use of corticosteroids was related to the subsequent development of CMV retinitis and colitis in HIV-1–infected patients. In a previous study41 of PCP patients treated between 1989 and 1991, we showed a twofold increased mortality rate within 3 months of diagnosis in patients treated with adjunctive corticosteroids who were BAL CMV culture positive. Patients not receiving corticosteroids who were BAL CMV negative were not at an increased risk."

http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/119/3/844.full

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11243967

Their are other anti-inflammatory options that do not have cortisol. And still PCP is a leading cause of death amongst those deemed HIV positive. It is the most common opportunistic infection... and one that often leads to AIDS diagnosis... Could it possibly be the treatment?

Then we discover this...

Conclusion: Adherence to CDC guidelines for adjunctive corticosteroid use varied according to city and patient sociodemographics. More importantly, improved outcomes seen in randomized controlled trials were not realized in practice. Among severely ill patients, mortality was 3-fold higher when corticosteroids were given according to CDC guidelines. Our findings suggest that that the utility of adjunctive corticosteroids in severe PCP needs to be revisited.

http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102195461.html

There is more to come I just find this absolutely mind boggling...

The Mitochondria & Degenerative Diseases or How ARVS cause AIDS

Ok... so in my little foray into blog world I have seemingly met someone from the mainstream that would like to help me clear up some of my confusion. So I have decided to start a new thread thats a little less stream of conscious and a little more focussed in an effort to get to the bottom of some things.

One of my biggest confusions which is highly validated is the role of the mitochondria in disease and the manipulations of the mitochondria which are a bi-product of ARV use.

So my first point in our debate would be the role of Mitochondria in Degenerative diseases. The fact that the slowing down, manipulation, and damage of the mitochondria is one of the tell tale signs of all degenerative diseases... and that the drugs slow down and damage the mitochondria is something that really needs to be discussed. In a recent study where they put several non-HIV positive people on HAART after only thirty days all showed mitochondrial DNA damage... that study is here:

http://www.aegis.com/conferences/lipo/2008/P-63.html

and that was even in drugs that were supposed to have a low mitochondrial toxicity... Ironically it has long been believed that it was HIV causing this mitochondrial dysfunction but there is so much evidence today that is clarifying that the drugs themselves may actually be responsible. (Just showing you that another thing blamed on HIV is being found to be unrelated)

So lets discuss, since we were last debating what actually causes AIDS... (I do believe there are many which is why its hard to believe this one little retrovirus is responsible and why I think the current HIV/AIDS theory is a misdiagnosis)

Lets first discuss the role the drugs could play in the development of AIDS and or these other "co-infections, opportunistic infections, illnesses" and states of degeneration. Particularly as you were trying to figure out how I would wish to blame the other illnesses that did not lead particularly to cell death... well what if this is what leads to the cell death and making these patients more susceptible to their underlying issues?

I will start with what the Mitochondria do... for those of you unfamiliar with it:

What Do Mitochondria Do?

Air and food are metabolized by mitochondria. Every nucleated cell in the body contains from 5 to 2000 mitochondria. They are the size and shape of long, thread-like bacteria woven through our cells. Mitochondria consume over 80 percent of the oxygen we breathe and make over 90 percent of the energy our cells need to function. They use the oxygen in the air we breathe to release energy from food. This process transforms food calories into chemical energy, water, and carbon dioxide. The released chemical energy is then stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the universal currency of energy used by all life on earth. It is like an electrical power source that drives the engines of the cell. This process of burning food to make ATP is called oxidative phosphorylation. Only mitochondria can do it. Without it, muscles could not contract and neurons could not fire. Mitochondria literally make it possible for us to move and think.

Recent popular and scientific publications have focused on the "powerplant" functions of mitochondria. While it is true that energy production is one function of mitochondria, this is only a small part of what they do. Mitochondria in different tissues differ dramatically in their ability to consume oxygen and make ATP. For example, liver mitochondria consume just 2% of the oxygen that heart mitochondria do. Liver mitochondria are specialized for other duties. They contain, for examples, enzymes that allow them to detoxify ammonia, a waste product of protein metabolism. These enzymes are not made in the heart. Mitochondria also differ in the fuels they can bum. For example, mitochondria in the heart cannot use sugar for energy. They are entirely dependent on the metabolism of fats to meet their energy needs. In contrast, mitochondria in the liver can use both fats and sugars. The specialized functions of mitochondria help each tissue to perform its role in the day-to-day operation of the body. Children with mitochondrial disease have inherited specific mutations in either mitochondrial or nuclear genes (DNA). Their symptoms are a reflection of the tissues that need the function of that gene or genes most.

Now what does damaged mitochondria do/cause? (I will give you a few examples from a few different areas)

Here is one from the Brittish Journal of Opthalmology:

Mitochondrial dysfunction can produce several rare ophthalmological diseases. But in the next few decades, we will probably also see mitochondria as a subject of interest insofar as they may be secondly involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of other more common ophthalmological degenerative diseases. Examples of the first sort include chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, dominant optic atrophy, and LHON. Examples of the second sort might include disorders that are less obviously related to mitochondria such as cataracts, wound healing, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and other age related diseases. In normal ageing and, particularly, in degenerative disorders mitochondrial dysfunction results in defective oxidative phosphorylation and may overproduce reactive oxygen species (ROS). A common final mitochondria driven pathway to cell death may be mediated by the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP), which promotes apoptosis (see fig 1 1).). Oxidative stress is currently assumed to be a major consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction as well as a source of further damage to mitochondrial macromolecules leading to a vicious cycle that culminates in cell death.4 Indeed, we have been investigating a number of acquired optic neuropathies that all share the common feature of cell death produced by mitochondrial impairment.13
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1857143

This is another interesting article by the original people who led me to my understanding of the mirochondria and the role it plays in diseases...

"While these diseases traditionally have been assumed to result from mutations in the genes encoded by DNA in the cell's nucleus," he said, "most common degenerative diseases frequently do not exhibit inheritance patterns wholly consistent with our understanding of these nuclear DNA genetics. Our demonstration that mutations in the mitochondrial DNA can also cause the same diseases means that both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA genes that affect mitochondrial function can contribute to disease risk."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080214144414.htm#

(this article can also elaborate on why children exposed to ARVS and subject to mitochondrial dysfunction do not present issues at birth and only later in life)

There are so many many more affecting almost every area of the body... I will be happy to provide them if this is not enough.

So far we have issues with Opthalmology, Issues with the heart and muscle... and wonder what other issues there are that are caused by Mitochondrial DNA damage and Dysfunction? I am sure I could spend time adding much more... but would like to add a study on Mitochondrial Dysfunction in children exposed to ARVS in the womb and beyond quickly... so you can see just how far reaching these issues are:

CONCLUSION: Children exposed to nucleoside analogues during the perinatal period are at risk of a neurological syndrome associated with persistent mitochondrial dysfunction.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12891063?dopt=Abstract

So please "trying to help" can you explain away how the mitochondrial damage that is caused by use of ARVS could not possibly be responsible for some of the many diseases that result in death and explained as AIDS? As this truly was one of the first realizations that brought me to thinking that some of the dissident theories may indeed hold some truth. Not to mention the liklihood that in the common years we will likely hear more and more on the damaging effects these drugs have played on the children of those exposed in the womb considering many real issues may not show up for more than 10 years...

Also I will make it a point in future to keep my questions specific and well validated. As I did tell you I do not come to these conclusions without solid evidence. Many of my conclusions have also come from things you rarely find on the dissident websites... and I truly have not felt that I could use dissident science and articles to protect me from the many mainstream protocols that truly do not apply to me. It is sad the blatent lack of case by case treatment and acceptance in a paradigm that truly has no one answer and no one cause.

I am really appreciating our discussion I must say and am very curious what your thoughts on the argument presented here are.