WO2000021369A1

WO2000021369A1 - Treating hiv with edta

Info

Publication number: WO2000021369A1
Application number: PCT/US1998/020937
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ronald Bennett
Original assignee: World Health Research Institute
Priority date: 1998-10-13
Filing date: 1998-10-13
Publication date: 2000-04-20
Also published as: AU9683998A

Abstract

The chelating agent EDTA, when applied to the human body in suppository form, is found to affect the population of helper cells and suppressor cells associated with HIV infection.

Description

Treating HIV with EDTA

This invention relates to a method of treating HIN (human immunoresponse virus) with EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid).

The HIN virus overcomes the ability of the body to defend itself from infection, so that the AIDS patient ultimately dies from infectious disease. The normal body contains suppressor cells, which tend to suppress the immune system, and helper cells, which assist the immune system in resisting infection. In AIDS patients, the helper cell population is remarkably depressed, and the suppressor population is increased, as compared to a healthy person. The populations of helper and suppressor cells are known to be reliable indicators of immune system condition.

Chelation is a chemical process in which certain compounds capture metal ions by drawing them into a heterocyclic ring structure. When applied to the body, chelating agents can bind metal ions into molecules that can be expelled by the body. It is well known to treat the human body with EDTA complexes to remove arterial calcium placque, or to remove heavy metals such as lead and mercury. Various modes of administering chelating agents to the body have been practiced, including oral, anal and IN administration. In my U.S. Patent No. 5,602,180, 1 disclose one such method.

In 1982, V. Wunderlich and G. Sydow published an article "Disintegration of Retroviruses by Chelating Agents" in the Archives of Virology. They reported that exposure in vitro of certain type C viruses, primate type D viruses, and bovine leukemia virus to the chelating agents EDTA and EGTA (ethylene glycol bis (2-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'- tetraacetic acid) resulted in partial disintegration of such viral membranes. Wunderlich and Sydow theorized that calcium and possibly magnesium cations were important to maintaining integrity of retroviral membranes, and that calcium chelation, for that reason, disturbed membrane integrity.

Recognizing that HIV is a type D retrovirus, I made further studies, and have now found that treating the human body with the chelating agent EDTA appears to be effective against the HIV virus. In a study which I caused to be conducted in 1998, EDTA was administered in suppository form to half of a small group of HIV-positive subjects every twelve hours for thirty days. At the end of treatment, the patients who had received EDTA exhibited, as a whole, a greater population of "helper" cells, and a lower population of "suppressor" cells, than did those who had not.

I have subsequently found that EDTA treatment is also effective against the Hepatitus "C" virus, perhaps for the same reasons discussed in the Wunderlich and Sydow article, even though Hepatitus "C" is not a retrovirus.

Additionally, the method disclosed can be used to remove metal ions such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum, and other heavy metals. In lead-poisoned children, the lead tends to affect the nervous system, particularly the brain. Lead poisoning affects the intellect, mood, coordination, and other abilities. Lead poisoning is particularly prevalent in Latin America, and there are over 70 million known lead-poisoned children world-wide.

The present invention is a method of treating HIV-positive patients, by administering an EDTA chelating agent so as to attack the HIV virus and thereby improve the immunologic response of the body. Such treatment has been found to increase the helper cell population, and decrease the suppressor cell population, contrary to the progression normally observed in AIDS patients.

As an example, in the study mentioned above, suppositories were prepared, each containing 1000 mg of calcium EDTA in a time-release form. These were administered to a group of HIV-positive subjects every twelve hours for thirty days. A control group received a placebo suppository according to the same schedule. Each group also received mineral and immune enhancing supplements orally every twelve hours. Neither the patients nor the study administrator knew which patients had received the placebos. The patients' blood was tested at the beginning and end of the treatment, for various parameters including CD4 "helper" cell and CD8 "suppressor" cell population. The results of the blood tests are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 shows, for each of the ten patients, two pairs of vertical bars. The first pair shows the level of helper cells, before (on the left) and after treatment. The second pair shows the level of suppressor cells, before (on the left) and after treatment. The cell count associated with each bar is displayed above the bar. Patents 1 - 5 were treated with EDTN while patients 6 - 10 were administered the placebo.

By interpreting Figure 1, one can see that in the treated patients, the average increase in helper cells was 86.4 cells per μl, whereas the average in the control group decreased 13.4. In the treated patients, suppressor cells decreased an average of 156.8, while the control group increased an average of 180.6. Simply put, the treated patients improved, while the control group deteriorated, notwithstanding the supplements administered.

Various methods of making controlled-release suppositories, which are suitable for application to this invention, are known. Usually, the bulk of the suppository is an inert waxy carrier in which medication is dissolved or suspended. Early suppositories used a material such as gelatin which dissolved slowly in the intestine. Synthetic polymers such as polyglycol have also been used, as have metal salts in a matrix which regulates the relase of medication. U.S. Patents 4,265,875; 4,292,300; 4,406,883; 5,151,434; 5,188,840; 5,215,758; 5,352,455 and 5,393,528 are representative. Choosing suitable carrier materials for EDTN and suitable matrix ingredients, are by now matters of ordinary skill to people familiar with this field. The release-controlling agents should be chosen so that release occurs within the body over a period of three to four hours following administration.

Since the invention is subject to modifications and variations, it is intended that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as only illustrative of the invention defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method of treating HIV-positive patients, by administering an EDTA chelating agent so as to attack the HIV virus and thereby improve the immunologic response of the body.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, characterized in that the EDTA chelating agent is administered rectally the form of a suppository.

3. The invention of claim 2, characterized in that the EDTA chelating agent is in a time- release form in the suppository so that it is released slowly in the intestine.

4. The invention of claim 3, wherein the suppository is formulated so that its EDTA chelating agent is released in the intestine over a period of three to four hours.

5. The invention of claim 3, wherein the administration is done at regular intervals over a period of at least 30 days.

6. The invention of claim 5, wherein the intervals are each about twelve hours.

7. The invention of claim 6, wherein the dosage of EDTA chelating agent per administration is about 1000 mg.

8. The invention of claim 5, wherein the daily dosage of EDTA chelating agent is about 2000 mg.