ASCORBATE VS. AN AIDS SUPPRESSOR FACTOR

ASCORBATE VS. AN AIDS SUPPRESSOR FACTOR
A recent article describes the discovery of a -suppressor factor- in AIDS patients. This suppressor factor was found to be neutralized in the test tube by concentrations of ascorbate equivalent to that which would be achieved in a man who ingested 10 to 20 grams of ascorbate a day. It was thought that this amount was -"far too toxic"- to use in humans and that a less toxic antioxidant should be found (6).

-Actually, 10 to 20 grams/24 hours of ascorbate is easily tolerated and is not toxic- (1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14). Unfortunately, clinically I have shown that the AIDS disease process destroys even larger amounts of ascorbate than the 10 to 20 grams because bowel tolerance is regularly increased to the range of from 40 to 185 grams of C per 24 hours in the patient who has moderate Kaposi's lesions and/or moderate lymphadenopathy. -Therefore, the 10 to 20 gram equivalent of ascorbate in the test tube will not be adequate in vivo-.

PRELIMINARY STUDY Because of the hypothesis that AIDS patients would benefit from large doses of ascorbate, I began the actual treatment of AIDS patients and have found that ascorbate is indeed very valuable when used in conjunction with certain conventional treatments.

The following preliminary recommendations are based partly upon an anecdotal group of approximately 90 AIDS patients who sought medical care from physicians but who also took high doses of ascorbate on their own. Additionally, it is based upon 12 of my AIDS patients, 6 of whom were given intravenous ascorbate for a short period of time. Most of these patients have had considerable improvement in their condition. This improvement seems somewhat proportional to the amount of ascorbate taken by the patient relative to the severity of his disease. If the patient tolerates enough ascorbate to "neutralize the toxicity" of his disease and if the secondary infections are treated; his condition will go into remission. Subjectively, symptoms decrease and increase inversely with how closely the patient titrates to bowel tolerance.

The only death has been in a patient who had previously chemotherapy, interferon, and total body Xray therapy. Additionally, his veins were so destroyed by previous treatments that intravenous vitamin C therapy could not be continued under the existing circumstances.

Such a preliminary report of recommendations is justified only because of the urgency of the problem addressed and because in San Francisco and now New York, news of the ascorbate treatment is spreading rapidly. Ascorbate is being used by an increasing percentage of the AIDS patient population but without much guidance. There have been many requests by physicians for the treatment protocol.