Fighting HIV with Malaria?

[Pliablemoose]

Text

Cincinnati's Dr. Henry Heimlich says malaria can be used to cure AIDS, cancer and Lyme disease through a process called malariotherapy. Dr. Heimlich has been sharply criticized by state, federal and international health organizations for these experiments.
This is how he explained the process at a conference in October:

His theory is based on tests performed in 1918 by Nobel Prize winner (medicine) Julius Wagner-Jauregg, who reported that malariotherapy cured neurosyphilis.

The idea is to inject AIDS patients with malaria to induce high fevers that will kill the HIV virus.

After 10-12 fevers and after approximately three weeks, the malaria is cured with drugs.

The fevers allegedly spark an immune reaction, which reverses AIDS' attack on patients' immune system.

In one study, malariotherapy was performed on eight HIV-positive men, ages 23-40, in China. After the malaria was cured, the patients were monitored for two years.

Heimlich contends that malariotherapy is affordable and available to patients who would not normally have access to expensive drugs.

I think Dr Heimlich has had the Heimlich Manuver performed one too many times on him. Each time the patients spike a high fever, they'll lose some brain cells.

 

[Zim Hosein]

This Dr. needs mental help IMHO Pliablemoose :|

 

[SuperTool]

Well if he is so smart, maybe he should infect himself with HIV and then undergo malariatherapy to cure it.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Well if he is so smart, maybe he should infect himself with HIV and then undergo malariatherapy to cure it.

Excellent idea SuperTool, this is a democracy, let's vote on it

 

[mEarles]

am i the only one who thinks this could be a GOOD thing???

 

[MacBaine]

Along these lines...but completely different... I've always wondered about something...

Why can't the HIV virus be killed by lowering the body's temperature? To my understanding, the virus can only live in a very narrow temp. range... so why don't we just lower somebody's body temperature to something that is liveable for the person, but will kill the virus?

 

[Zebo]

Sorta like autoclaving your hands for sterility

I don't remember for sure but I tought the aids protiens can survive up to 400 C.

 

[BoberFett]

You luddites probably would have had Alexander Fleming executed as well.

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: MacBaine
Along these lines...but completely different... I've always wondered about something...

Why can't the HIV virus be killed by lowering the body's temperature? To my understanding, the virus can only live in a very narrow temp. range... so why don't we just lower somebody's body temperature to something that is liveable for the person, but will kill the virus?

The problem is that humans can also only live in a narrow temperature range
I suspect that a simple organism like virus will be able to withstand a larger temperature range than a complicated one like a human.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Originally posted by: MacBaine
Along these lines...but completely different... I've always wondered about something...

Why can't the HIV virus be killed by lowering the body's temperature? To my understanding, the virus can only live in a very narrow temp. range... so why don't we just lower somebody's body temperature to something that is liveable for the person, but will kill the virus?

Cryogenic freezing?

 

[classy]

Hmmmm. Well his theory is not ridiculous. Its introducing something that you know you can cure to kill off something you can't cure. I hope more testing is done along these lines. For someone who is going to die anyway its certainly worth a shot. Remember it was considered crazy when we started injecting kids with certain diseases so they could develop an immunity to the disease. Mecidine is not always 1+1=2.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: classy
Hmmmm. Well his theory is not ridiculous. Its introducing something that you know you can cure kill off something you can't cure. I hope more testing is done along these lines. For someone who is going to die anyway its certainly worth a shot. Remeber it was considered crazy when we started injecting kids with certain diseases so they could develop an immunity to the disease. Mecidine is not always 1+1=2.

Holy hell, I agree with classy on something.

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: BoberFett

Originally posted by: classy
Hmmmm. Well his theory is not ridiculous. Its introducing something that you know you can cure kill off something you can't cure. I hope more testing is done along these lines. For someone who is going to die anyway its certainly worth a shot. Remeber it was considered crazy when we started injecting kids with certain diseases so they could develop an immunity to the disease. Mecidine is not always 1+1=2.

Holy hell, I agree with classy on something.

 

[BoberFett]

***long pause as people try to figure out who Fleming was***

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
***long pause as people try to figure out who Fleming was***

Don't worry, I knew. Of course I had nothing to add to this thread since I don't know much about biology beyond my 9th grade class.

 

[LeeTJ]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: MacBaine
Along these lines...but completely different... I've always wondered about something...

Why can't the HIV virus be killed by lowering the body's temperature? To my understanding, the virus can only live in a very narrow temp. range... so why don't we just lower somebody's body temperature to something that is liveable for the person, but will kill the virus?

The problem is that humans can also only live in a narrow temperature range
I suspect that a simple organism like virus will be able to withstand a larger temperature range than a complicated one like a human.

I'd think it would be the exact opposite. a more complex organism will be able to withstand a larger temperature range than a simple one.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: classy
Hmmmm. Well his theory is not ridiculous. Its introducing something that you know you can cure to kill off something you can't cure. I hope more testing is done along these lines. For someone who is going to die anyway its certainly worth a shot. Remember it was considered crazy when we started injecting kids with certain diseases so they could develop an immunity to the disease. Medicine is not always 1+1=2.

You can rest assured that China will do lots of testing with this concept, they have many infected with HIV, this is a cheap potential treatment & the Chinese government has taken a stance that those infected with HIV are undesirable.

Think concentration camp research, similar to what was done in Germany and Japan during WWII

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: classy
Hmmmm. Well his theory is not ridiculous. Its introducing something that you know you can cure to kill off something you can't cure. I hope more testing is done along these lines. For someone who is going to die anyway its certainly worth a shot. Remember it was considered crazy when we started injecting kids with certain diseases so they could develop an immunity to the disease. Mecidine is not always 1+1=2.

Wow, I agree with classy.

If I had AIDS, I'd be jumping at the chance to potentially have a cure.

ZV

 

[mEarles]

I'd think it would be the exact opposite. a more complex organism will be able to withstand a larger temperature range than a simple one.

yeah, we did this thing with the protista in a termite's intestines--they died from being more than 5degrees away from room temp

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: classy
Hmmmm. Well his theory is not ridiculous. Its introducing something that you know you can cure to kill off something you can't cure. I hope more testing is done along these lines. For someone who is going to die anyway its certainly worth a shot. Remember it was considered crazy when we started injecting kids with certain diseases so they could develop an immunity to the disease. Mecidine is not always 1+1=2.

Wow, I agree with classy.

If I had AIDS, I'd be jumping at the chance to potentially have a cure.

ZV

Actually, the antiretrovirals are very effective & I've seen very few sick HIV patients that have been taking their meds in tha last couple of years. My hospital has a very active Infectious Disease clinic & lots of HIV+ patients. It really has become a chronic condition, not a death sentence

 

[LeeTJ]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: classy
Hmmmm. Well his theory is not ridiculous. Its introducing something that you know you can cure to kill off something you can't cure. I hope more testing is done along these lines. For someone who is going to die anyway its certainly worth a shot. Remember it was considered crazy when we started injecting kids with certain diseases so they could develop an immunity to the disease. Mecidine is not always 1+1=2.

Wow, I agree with classy.

If I had AIDS, I'd be jumping at the chance to potentially have a cure.

ZV

Actually, the antiretrovirals are very effective & I've seen very few sick HIV patients that have been taking their meds in tha last couple of years. My hospital has a very active Infectious Disease clinic & lots of HIV+ patients. It really has become a chronic condition, not a death sentence

Magic Johnson still looks good. I guess he can afford the drugs.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: LeeTJ

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: classy
Hmmmm. Well his theory is not ridiculous. Its introducing something that you know you can cure to kill off something you can't cure. I hope more testing is done along these lines. For someone who is going to die anyway its certainly worth a shot. Remember it was considered crazy when we started injecting kids with certain diseases so they could develop an immunity to the disease. Mecidine is not always 1+1=2.

Wow, I agree with classy.

If I had AIDS, I'd be jumping at the chance to potentially have a cure.

ZV

Actually, the antiretrovirals are very effective & I've seen very few sick HIV patients that have been taking their meds in tha last couple of years. My hospital has a very active Infectious Disease clinic & lots of HIV+ patients. It really has become a chronic condition, not a death sentence

Magic Johnson still looks good. I guess he can afford the drugs.

He's HIV+, but it never developed into full blown AIDS.

Anyway, I think it's a great idea. Any research is good research.

 

[McPhreak]

I think we're LONG ways away from being able to completely eradicate HIV from any given infected individual. HIV can and does go into latency in T Cells and at this point, it is impossible to distinguish from uninfected T Cells.

The best we can do right now is use drugs and other treatments to lower the active HIV levels.

 

[rgwalt]

Well, if you have the money, AIDS (or rather HIV) isn't lethal. It has become managable with the drug coctails. Unfortunately, most the people in the world can't afford these drugs. To these people, HIV is a death sentence. I'm sure they would *gladly* take malaria for three weeks and along with the dead brain cells if it meant that it would kill HIV. I'll trade IQ points for life any day of the week.

Ryan

 

[MrChicken]

A couple of thoughts...

Malaria kills more humans than anything else. It may kill more humans than everything else combined.

Africa is loaded with people with Malaria and AIDS

If Usama was mad that we sent women over there, wait until he sees all the homosexuals show up for the mosquito bite.