Immunitor publishes large clinical study in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

The abstract of the Immunitor’s article can be found in Medline: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14679375&dopt=Abstract.

Immunitor publishes large clinical study in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Immunitor Company announces publication of peer-reviewed article INCREASED BODY WEIGHT AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE IN AIDS PATIENTS FOLLOWING V-1 IMMUNITOR ADMINISTRATION in January issue of European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2004;58:110-115). The Journal is published by Nature Publishing Group of Macmillan Publishers Ltd, the publisher of Nature and other world's premier journals in basic biological and physical sciences. Nature Publishing Group is a global company, with headquarters in London and offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Tokyo, Paris, Munich and Basingstoke. The abstract of the Immunitor’s article can be found in Medline:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_fluids=14679375&dopt=Abstract or at Journal’s website: http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ejcn/journal/v58/n1/abs/1601756a.html&dynoptions=doi1073488968

Wasting is a common problem for people with AIDS. Although the exact cause is not well known, several factors contribute to the wasting syndrome. These include poor nutrient absorption, sores in the mouth or throat, which make eating process painful, infections in the gut, diarrhea, drug side effects, altered metabolism and hormone imbalance, and lack of money – the latter being a critical factor in developing countries. These factors work together to accelerate the disease progression and death. Currently, there is no standard treatment for AIDS-associated wasting, which remains poorly treatable even in countries with advanced medical care. Various nutritional supplements, like vitamins, amino acids and lipids can help but their effect is negligible. The appetite stimulants are unfortunately associated with increase in body fat. Hormone treatments including recombinant human growth hormone and synthetic anabolic hormones can also help, but they are extremely expensive and not readily available in poor countries.
V-1 Immunitor (V1) is a low-cost, therapeutic AIDS vaccine, developed and manufactured in Thailand and has been licensed by the Thai FDA as a food supplement and investigational R&D drug. In prior clinical studies Immunitor scientists demonstrated that orally administered V-1 Immunitor produced statistically significant weight gain. The new published study provides results from 650 AIDS patients who have received V1.

The V1 treatment resulted in a sustained and statistically significant increase in body mass across the whole population (mean±SE; 1.5±0.4 kg; p=6.5E-015). Among them, 384 (59%) patients gained an average 4.2±0.2 kg; 107 (17%) had unchanged weight; and 159 (24%) had lost 3.8±0.3 kg. Thus, the prevailing majority of patients (76%) were able to gain or maintain weight. Treatment was well tolerated; in a survey of health status in a comparable but separate group of 382 patients, about 85 % reported health improvement after V1 treatment, 6% reported no difference, and 9% of patients reported minor adverse reactions, which did not last more than one week. The clinical improvement coincided with the reduction or clearance of oral thrush in 87.5% of patients - oral thrush is the most common opportunistic infection among AIDS patients.
Not long ago the inclusion of protease inhibitors in highly aggressive antiviral therapy (HAART) was believed to increase the body weight. More recent studies indicated that HAART is associated with redistribution of fat mass from the legs to the trunk with no significant benefit in weight gain. Thus, contrary to the original belief that HAART reverses weight loss the current consensus is that AIDS wasting is not corrected by antiviral drugs.

The Chairman of Immunitor, Mr. Vichai Jirathitikal, noted that ‘…the benefit of V1 does not seem to be worse if not superior than current therapies for weight loss. V1, however, is safer and significantly cheaper than available weight enhancing therapies.’ Dr. Aldar Bourinbaiar, the Scientific Director of Immunitor, added that ‘…therapies are still being sought for treating weight loss attributable to HIV infection. Available treatment options are prohibitively expensive for developing countries where many people often cannot buy even food. Furthermore, AIDS patients with weight loss seldom recover even when given antiviral drugs. Our study also demonstrates that patients on V1 experience better quality of life and lower incidence of opportunistic infections. Our findings indicate that V1 can play an important role in the management of malnourished HIV-infected patients’
For reprints and more information please contact: info@immunitor.com
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