I met an American AIDS activist in Harare sometime this year and he had very interesting data on effective and affordable treatment for HIV/AIDS. He had a very long story to tell about his 20 year battle with HIV. He found out he was HIV positive twenty years ago.

The guy has researched extensively and in collaboration with the World's top HIV/AIDS scientists, in trying to come up with a cure or at least some form of treatment for the virus. For more details read for yourself on this website:http://www.ipath.org/main.html

Basically he says he was one of the first people to use AZT. He used it for a number of years. It was effective to a certain degree, in increasing his C4 count. But he went on a downward slide, and was declared as having full blown AIDS in 1995. I will try to cut the story short. After trying several medicines, mineral supplements and herbs with no success, he tried Aspirin and selenium.

He says after taking Aspirin (one tablet a day)for a month he noticed that there was a remarkable improvement in his C4 count. When he combined Aspirin and 400mcg of selenium everyday for some months, he had a full blood count of 1000, meaning to say his immune system was back to where it was 20 years ago. The guy was very fit and looked very healthy, so much that people were faking that he has been HIV positive for 20 years.

His basic proposition is that HIV positive people should take a combination of Aspirin, a tablet of selenium (200mcg to 400mcg)plus one multivitamin tablet a day. Aspirin acts like an anti-retroviral, selenium helps the body manufacture C4 cells that are required to maintain the body's immunity system. A multivitamin is important especially for sick people in poor countries who might not have a balanced diet. This treatment regimen prolongs life, and does not require a prescription, is cheap and affordable(it cost about US70 per year to be on this treatment). Aspirin, selenium and multivitamins can be taken in addition to anti-retrovirals if one can afford them. The advatage of this regimen is that it has fewer side effects.

This programme of treating HIV is currently in use in Zambia with visible results. There is a pilot project in Zimbabwe, conducted by the UZ School of Medicine and an organisation known as the Centre. To my knowledge the Centre is the only organisation in Harare which gives out Selenium to AIDS sufferers for free. Its is difficult to find in pharmacies in Zimbabwe. But lapha emazweni its available even in supermarkets.I have heard testimonies from AIDS sufferers that their health has improved with this simple treatment regimen.

The American talked quite emotionally about the profit motive of big pharmaceutical corporations and the conspiracy of silence surrounding the effectiveness of these cheap and available drugs. But throughout his presentation he has not misled people into thinking this is a cure for AIDS. It is a treatment which prolongs life.

The doctors on this forum would really help in enlightening us all. Siyagulelwa, njalo mhlawumbe engxenye lathi silayo ivirus. I have never been tested. I am not a medical person but I thought this information would be useful to share with others.

Once again doctors would assist us on this one.

hmm food fo thought..i like the point u raised about drug companies taking advantage of the situation to make a profit.

i have always argued that there is no incentive
fo companies to come up with a cure or prevention
because they are makin so much profit from this
tragedy.look at how much money is raised for cancer & all other ailments every yr ,compare
it with the financial results of major drug companies like pfizer ..!!

Most drugs that can help most of the patients neva make it into the market because they r supposed to be approved by FDA ,but most FDA members who r suppose to approve these drugs r shareholders or have a financial interest in other Pharmaceutical companies, y would they approve anythin that was not developed by their own company ?

i think it will be a while b4 the world sees a cure fo major ailments.

yeyi ndoda waht a good piece of a post.into oyibhalayo leyi iyenza ingqondo sibili.

Woza lazo Thembalami.......Check also the length of time it takes for the FDA to withdraw drugs with harmful side effects from the market <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" /> . The big question of course is avele afike njani with those kinds of effects in the market in the first plase ngoba bekuvele kukhona ama drugs already in the market with similar if not better impact.

I always think to myself that the American consumerism is the people's worst enemy ngoba balemali ready in their pockets to but anything new, sensational and exciting and making the drug companies and themselves sick millionaires in the process.

Nxa linga thola isikhathi bantu liboke libale
ibhuku lika Kevin Trudeau , elithi
Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About
Loba nje ama critis emsola ethi aka thembekanga.

his arguement is "Whose gonna guard the guards "

Shocking News Indeed

HIV/AIDS is indeed a perplexing affliction bantu.

A multiple drug resistant strain of HIV with the most rapid progression so far witnessed by scientists has been discovered recently. One case detected so far but admits that udlule kwabanengi...... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />

Therefore,let's us not relax with the hope of getting anti retroviral treatments......Read for yourselves!

Ngikubalile kuphephandaba le UK kukhanya i AIDS izasikhukhula nxa singalibala.This report iyethusa and hope pple do take care about their sexual health,uphila kanye ,do not waste yo lyf for a few minutes of pleasure.

was reading da paper today and i saw this article which say there is now a stronger HIV virus. we were used to that one that took years to become AIDS but now there is this one that take at least two months


KAMBE SHUWA ZIHLOBO, BANGANE LEZITHA MASIQHAPHELENI NGOBA SAFA SAPHELA SHUWA. AMACONDOMU NXA LIBONA EDULA U CAN ALWAYZ GET THEM FOR FREE THAN UKUTHI UFELE UBUNANDI BETWO MINUTES. ASIZIBAMBENI SIZIGQAJENI NGEMIZIMBA YETHU KHONA ISIZWE SIKAMTHWAKAZI SIZAKHULA SINGAFINGENGCULAZA SINGAKATHATHI ILIZWE. HOW ARE WE GOING TO FUNDISA ABASAKHULAYO NGOMKHUHLANE LOWU NXA THINA SINGAVELA SIBE CARELESS .................... PLIZ PLIZ PLIZ ASIZIPHATHENI <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />

Can Traditional Medicine Help AIDS?
Sam Burcher reports on some successes with a native herb.

While billions of dollars have been pledged to help the worst affected, many of the poorest countries are still left without the medical support available in the west, and up to 80% of the population must rely on traditional medicine for primary healthcare.

Medicinal plants have been part of the great healing traditions around the world going back thousands of years; the best known being the Indian Ayurvedic medical system, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Herbal Medicine. These traditional medicines are the basis of a quarter of all drugs in today?s modern pharmacy [1].


The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Traditional Medicine as health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques (e.g. reflexology) applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illness or maintain well-being. In 2002 WHO launched its first comprehensive traditional medicine strategy to assist efforts to promote affordable, effective and safe use of Traditional Medicine (TM) and Complimentary Alternative Medicine (CAM) [2].


In Africa, TM is used by up to 80% of the population to meet primary healthcare needs and is crucial in the fight against infectious diseases. The ratio of a conventional, or western-trained general practitioner (GP) to patients is 1: 20 000, whereas the availability of TM practitioners is 1: 200 to 1: 400. This highlights the need for reliable and affordable herbal medicines that are locally available [3].


In South Africa, it is estimated that over 6 million people are living with HIV/AIDS and 150 babies are born with HIV every day. Conventional drugs exist for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, but they are only affordable by an estimated 1% of sufferers. Three out of four AIDS patients in Africa rely on some form of TM for treating the symptoms of HIV/AIDS (see Box 1).


Sutherlandia Frutescens (subspecies Microphylla) genus Fabaceae (pea and bean/leguminosae) is a perennial shrub that grows wild in the arid regions of Botswana, Namibia, Zululand, Western and Eastern Cape regions of Africa. Sutherlandia can grow up to 1.5 metres in height in optimum conditions of stony grasslands exposed to constant sunshine in daylight hours. A display of blood red flowers bloom from June to December and its seeds are carried in greenish- red papery pods, which are almost transparent. The pinnate and compound shaped leaves have a green-grey colour giving the bush a silvery appearance [4].


The leaves and branches of the Sutherlandia bush are bitter to the taste, but are known traditionally to have health-giving properties. The dried leaves, containing four active compounds, are ground by traditional healers to make into tonics, teas, pills or creams (see Box 1). In the absence of easily available and affordable anti-retrovirals, these herbal treatments are used as the first line of defence in combating the symptoms of AIDS and other wasting diseases. Traditional Medicine practitioners who prescribe Sutherlandia are keen to preserve the use of the plant as a traditional medicine to maintain its patent-free status.

Conventional and traditional healers join up
An independent, inter-disciplinary partnership of TM healers, botanists, conventional doctors and scientists have joined up to form the group, PhytoNova, to prescribe and record the medicinal benefits of Sutherlandia in the treatment of HIV/AIDS symptoms. Dr Nigel Gericke, a GP and a botanist and his colleague Mr Credo Mutwa, 82-year-old traditional healer (sanusi), lead PytoNova's clinical practice and laboratory in Cape Town, South Africa.


PhytoNova makes and supplies medicinal remedies derived from Sutherlandia for the treatment of HIV/AIDS symptoms direct to their own patients and to AIDS clinics in the region before a big pharmaceutical company can get their hands on it. Hundreds of AIDS patients have been treated by Gericke and Mutwa, who share the view that as long as they can prove that something is in the public domain, and is widely used to treat HIV/AIDS, then no one can come along and patent it for profit.


The price to Africans for a month's supply of pills made from the Sutherlandia bush is ?2.50, and the powder form of the dried leaves, which is thought to be more effective because of its bitter taste, costs less than 60p for two month's supply [5].


Gericke describes the promoting of weight gain in wasted, full-blown AIDS patient as Sutherlandia's principal and most valuable medicinal property. Frequent significant and often sustainable gains in weight have been recorded in HIV patients taking Sutherlandia tablets. Weight records of 244 patients receiving treatment of Sutherlandia between November 1999 and September 2002 are available from The HIV and AIDS clinic in the Ngwelezane Hospital. Weight increases of up to15 kg were reported in the majority and in some cases gains of 3-5kgs were sustained over the entire record keeping period [6]. This physiological boost has an immediate effect of enhancing energy levels and improving the patient's mood. Gericke said: "We have seen several examples of bed-ridden patients able to get up after a month's treatment and even to return to subsistence farming." Other AIDS patients who were told to "go away and die" are delighted to find themselves still alive three years on after being treated by Mutwa. This anecdotal evidence supports the theory that AIDS may have become a chronic illness rather than a fatal one.


Gericke informed South African government scientists of the benefits of Sutherlandia. These include improvements in appetite, weight gain, sleep, exercise tolerance, anxiety and an overall sense of well-being. But "because it was a tonic, the scientists dismissed it. They always rush, with classical reductionist thinking, to look for the magic ingredient," said Gericke, summing up the reality that HIV/AIDS itself is so complex, that it is increasingly apparent that there is no "one-stop" solution for its treatment. Gericke has also appealed to his government to grow the bush on a massive scale, to mobilise a public health drive, but this too was ignored. To protect wildstocks of the plant from over-harvesting in the region, he has contracted local farmers to grow acres of Sutherlandia shrubs. This precautionary approach has created local employment and maintained the "not at risk" status of Sutherlandia as a medicinal plant.


PhytoNova is convinced that progression to AIDS from HIV can be delayed once the patient has agreed to receive the appropriate treatment and doses of Sutherlandia, which are taken on an ongoing basis, in addition to careful attention to diet. It is recommended that alcohol; recreational drugs and other drugs that damage the immune system should be avoided. Anne Hutchings, an ethno-botanist and researcher of traditional Zulu medicine at the University of Zululand, who works in the weekly HIV and AIDS clinic at Ngwelezane Hospital, supports these prescriptions. She uses Sutherlandia derived products from PhytoNova in addition to her own remedies made up from local plants (see box1). She started with just 11 patients in 1999 and now has more than 400 [5].


In 2001, a community-based AIDS hospice in Emoyeni, South Africa, admitted 71 AIDS patients for terminal care. Sister Pricilla Dlamini treated the patients with Sutherlandia pills and infusions of another local plant often referred to as African potato (Hypoxis Hermerocallidea) PhytoNova tracked the progress of her patients one year later. Of the 71 patients, 30 had been discharged as healthy back into the community. Some have since returned for follow-up treatments with Sutherlandia while others have been lost to follow-up treatments. No adverse events were reported [7].


Virginia Rathele is a nurse and Zulu traditional healer (sangoma) in the Northern Cape town of Kuruman. She is using Sutherlandia pills to treat 300 AIDS patients in her clinic. She says "Sutherlandia does not work properly just on a diet of porridge. You have to have vegetables." One of her patients was close to death and weighed only 26kg, but after receiving treatment and an improved diet now weighs 45kg and is helping to run the clinic. Rathele is also keen to keep the plant patent free and believes the treatment should be accessible to everyone.

Traditional medicine dispels the darkness
Historically, Sutherlandia has been called many names and used for many purposes. The indigenous Koi San tribes-people name it "Insiswa" meaning "the one that dispels darkness." Insiswa has been used for centuries as an energy booster and anti-depressant. Sangomas know the plant as "unwele", a "great medicine" which so uplifts your spirit that you will not want to tear your hair out and was prescribed for the widows of Zulu warriors. The name "cancer bush" or "kankerbos" is another name ascribed to Sutherlandia by Afrikaners and attests to a traditional use as a cancer remedy. Sutherlandia came to the attention of British botanists when Zulu sangomas used it against the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed 20 million worldwide. The English version of Sutherlandia was named after James Sutherland, the first superintendent of the Edinburgh Botantical Gardens [8].


Sutherlandia has a "beautiful portfolio of chemicals" says Gericke (see Box 2). He has analysed and identified a range of chemicals, which have been previously used for the treatment of patients with cancer, TB diabetes, schizophrenia and depression and as an anti-retroviral agent. Some of these molecules, already identified from sources other than Sutherlandia have US patents attached to them for their use in treatment of these diseases [9]. Gericke recognises the great potential of the plant's chemistry and says: "The claim we are making on the basis of this, is that we can dramatically improve the quality of life of many AIDS patients. We are certainly not making the absurd claim that Sutherlandia is a cure-all or a cure for AIDS.


The medical records of a patient who had ceased taking conventional anti-retrovirals to combat symptoms of HIV /AIDS for two years before turning to PhytoNova for treatments using Sutherlandia pills were documented. These show a marked decrease in the patient's viral load and a significant increase of his CD4 lymphocyte cell count over a six-week period. His starting CD4 count in May 2001 was 340, which increased to 647 in June 2001. During the same period his viral load decreased from 25 000 to 9 200 [10].

A study on toxicity
To date, no severe adverse reactions to Sutherlandia in any form has ever been reported. Nevertheless an independent safety study was conducted by South Africa's Medical Research Council because of the significant ethno-botanical background and availability of the plant as well as the severity of the HIV/AIDS problem in the region. The study tested the effect of Sutherlandia on sixteen vervet monkeys in four groups including one control. The monkeys were fed with dried Sutherlandia leaf powder for three months and exhibited no single indication of toxicity even in the group fed nine times the dose prescribed for the treatment of AIDS in humans. A massive dose of 1x 500mg/kg by mouth was administered without any adverse effect. This is the first South African medicinal plant to be evaluated for toxicity using primates in a controlled study [11].


The Indigenous Knowledge Systems Division (IKS) of The MRC in South Africa is committed to the scientific and clinical validation of promising indigenous medicinal plants. Sutherlandia is considered by IKS to have a long history of medicinal use going back at least 105 years. It acknowledges that a tonic made from the plants may be of value to people living with HIV/AIDS in terms of enhanced well being, increased appetite and body mass as well as increased tolerance for exercise. Use of Sutherlandia is contraindicated in pregnancy [12].


The IKS was formed in 2001, and has created successful collaborations with traditional healers across the regions of Africa. So far they have identified 20 traditional healers across the region from the 300 000 that are estimated to exist on the continent. The select healers are encouraged to keep records of their consultations and it is hoped they will train other healers to do so. A medicinal garden project has also been started where plants can be cultivated and identified. A library and computers systems are also being developed alongside a TM database called TRAMED III, which incorporates medicinal plant monographs.


Not all testimonies to the powers of Sutherlandia are glowing. Stuart Thomson, director of Gaia Research has attacked the plant, the MRC trials and PhytoNova. He says Sutherlandia is a "poison panacea" and PhytoNova is unlawfully distributing a substance, which he believes is potentially toxic as well as using people as human guinea pigs. Thomson considers the MRC study to be invalid because the monkeys were not infected with HIV/AIDS and were studied for less than six months [13]. He also raises some questions on the safety of L-Canavanine (see box 2). But Sutherlandia taken under allopathic or traditional medical guidance would certainly seem to offer an alternative to sludgy liquids made of industrial solvents which sell on the streets of Johannesburg like hot cakes by those looking to exploit the numbers of desperate people living with HIV /AIDS [14].


Of course, there are plants among Africa's flora and fauna that are toxic and efforts are being made to study and document these to avoid incorrect TM treatment of HIV/AIDS or indeed any illness. One such plant recorded to have toxic properties is Callilepis Laurealo or "Impila".

One Sutherlandia plant can treat ten people
Mutwa of PhytoNova says cultivating Sutherlandia is a question of sanding each little seed with fine sandpaper; planting, watering and letting them grow. He refuses to see his country destroyed by HIV and AIDS when nobody really knows the origins of the disease. His reminds critics that the bark of the Cinchona tree forms the natural chemical basis of quinine which, when used correctly is a successful treatment of Malaria for many [15]. Since resistance to quinine has become more prevalent, the shrub Artemesia was discovered to contain Artemisian, an alkaloid with even great efficacy for the treatment of mefloquinine resistant strains of Malaria.


The MRC also plans a pilot clinical trial involving 50 people on the medicinal effects of Sutherlandia [16]. This was scheduled to begin in February 2002, pending a decision by the Governments Medical Approval Council. The Director of the IKS Dr Matlalepula Matsabisa told the New Scientist "A trial like this could act as a valuable template for other trials." He said [17], "The fact is people are already using it and will continue to whether or not the government approves trials." It appears that Africa's first line treatment of HIV /AIDS is Sutherlandia, local to the regions where it is needed the most, whose history as a beneficial, though bitter, Traditional Medicine puts it firmly in the hands of the people.

Abantu abaningi sebenalo ulwazi kumbe sebeke bezwa ngemithi eyimishanguzo ebizwa ngama-ARV (Antiretroviral) esiza ekudambiseni igciwane lesandulela ngculazi i-HIV. Le mishanguzo isiyatholakala kwezinye izibhedlela zikahulumeni kodwa ngabe yini yona le mishanguzo futhi isebenza kanjani?

Siqoqe izimpendulo zemibuzo eminingi ejwayele ukubuzwa ngumphakathi ngale mishanguzo.

U :Yini imishanguzo (ARVs)?

I :Imishanguzo yimithi kumbe amaphilisi ayizinhlobo ezahlukene asiza ekudambiseni nasekuvimbeni ukwanda ngamandla kwegciwane lesandulela ngculazi emzimbeni.

Le mishanguzo ivikela amasosha omzimba ukuze akwazi ukuqhubeka nokulwisana nezifo kumuntu osephila nalo igciwane.


U: Ngabe imishanguzo iyaselapha isifo sengculazi ?
I: Cha, imishanguzo ayiselaphi isifo sengculazi. Alikho ikhambi lesi sifo sengculazi.


U: Itholakala kuphi imishanguzo?

I: Imishanguzo itholakala ezibhedlela ezithize zikahulumeni eseziqokelwe ukuba zikulungele ukukhipha le mishanguzo.

Imishanguzo itholakala mahhala ezibhedlela zikahulumeni. Imishanguzo ibikade ikhishwa ezibhedlela ezizimele kodwa iziguli bezikhokha.

U: Ngabe noma ngubani onesifo seHIV/AIDS kufanele aye esibhedlela ukuze athole le mishanguzo?

I: Cha, akusiwo wonke umuntu ophethwe yi-HIV/AIDS okudingeka ukuthi adle imishanguzo. Imishanguzo inikezwa abantu asebenemizimba engasakwazi ukuzivikela ezifweni. Imishanguzo inikezwa abantu asebenemizimba ebuthakathaka nengenwa kalula yizifo.


Kufanele ube ne- CD4 count engu 200 noma ngaphansi ukuze unikezwe imishanguzo. Ngodokotela kuphela abakwazi ukuhlola nokuthatha isinqumo sokuthi kufanele yini isiguli siqale ukunikezwa imishanguzo.


U: Kuyiqiniso ukuthi imishaguzo ingakugulisa?

I: Yebo, njengayo yonke imithi imishanguzo nayo iba nemithelela engemihle engadala ukuthi umuntu agule ngemuva kokuyiphuza.

Udokotela uyakwazi ukukuhlola enze izaba ezithize ukuze ungaguli kakhulu ngemuva kokuphuza imishanguzo.

Kubalulekile ukuthi ubonane nodokotela njalo uma uphuza imishanguzo ukuze kusheshe kubonakale uma kukhona inkinga onayo.


U: Ibiza malini le mishanguzo?

I: Ezibhedlela zikahulumeni imishanguzo itholakala mahhala. Ezibhedlela ezizimele iziguli ziyakhokha.


U: Ngabe ukukhishwa kwemishanguzo kusho ukuthi sekuzoshoda kwezinye izinhlelo zokubhekelela ezempilo?

I: Cha, ukukhishwa kwemishanguzo ngeke kuphazamise ukusebenza kwezinye izinhlelo zezempilo ezikhungweni zezempilo zikahulumeni.


U: Iphuzwa isikhathi esingakanani imishanguzo?

I: Imishanguzo uyiphuza impilo yakho yonke. Kufanele amaphilisi uwaphuze ngesikhathi esifanayo nsukuzonke futhi uyiphuze ngendlela efanele njengokuyalelwa ngudokotela. -Intatheli yoNwele Olude

Indatshana engaphezulu itholakala kuphephandaba elithiwa iso lesizwe mahlabezulu akusimina engiyilobileyo

We may be optimistic about a the cure for HIV infected people, but in my opinion, the answer is a quite far.

This genotypic constitution of the HIV virus is very complex.

bathi ukuhamba kuzala induna abezolimi lwesintu. Ngithe ngiphonse nami kulesi sivivane, engikucoshe ngendlela ngihamba-hamba( hhayi ukuloya).
Kukhona odokotela kwele Zimbabwe esebesungule igatshana lokunikezela ngemithi kubakithi asebekhungethwe yilensindabadala yokugula.
Bathi bona bangakwazi ukunikeza ogulayo imithi edingeyo ukonga impilo yaloyo ogulayo nyangazonke ngentengo eyi ?8.00 nyangazonke, angazi ke ngamanye ama currences.
HHayi ingculazi kuphela bathi kebona sebanamadokotela kumadolabha cishe wonke nxa ubathinta bayazi ukuthola udokotela oseduze nesiguli sakho.
icontact engiyiphethe ithi:nickyb@utande.co.zw
or direct toomunye wabasunguli baleligatsha:Ingrid landman 0026311204157
****NB: angisiyo ingxenye kumbe isisebenzi salenhlanganiso.lulwazi engilucoshe ngendlela njengoba ngishilo ngenhla
ngithemba kukhona abazo sizakala.

Ma ngikuthola kahle mfowethu, uthi wena sokukhona khambi lokonga impilo yalo, othe wathola ingqe magciwane?

Ngizacela ukuthi labo abafisa ukuthi bathathe nyathelo lokusebenzisa leyo mithi, babe lonanzelelo. Ulolwazi na, ngemininingwane yemithi abayisebenzisa okunceda labo ababanjwe ligciwane le ngculasi?

Baba Dokotela
Ngithemba ngicace bha ukuthi lento ngiyicoshe ngendlela, njalo angilona ilunga kumbe angikho uhlwini lwaba sebengenele lolosizo.
Bengithi ngichathezele abangabe bedinga lolo sizo.
Mhlawumbe abantu abafana nawe abalo lwazi ngezemithi bangaxhumana nabo labo bantu bese behlomisa umphakathi ukuthi amakhambi abanikezela ngawo alungele umzimba noma cha.
iBusiness card engiyiphethe ibhalwe kanje:
SHE
Sharing Health Empowerment
nicky Brabner
108 Prince edwaard St
Milton park
Harare
Tele: 263-4-797011
fax: 263-4-797011
Email: nickyb@utande.co.zw

Dokotela,

Ngicela uke uchasise baba ngelauric acid ukuthi yona ilusizo na ekwelapheni amagcikwane. Ngizwa ingcitshi zisithi iyasetshenziswa ekwelapheni imvukuzane? Inganceda na ekwelapheni ingculazi?

Ncomanzi, ngiyabonga ngemininingwane yokuthinta labo bantu. Ngizathatha isikhathi, ngiba thinte, ngihluze indlela yabo labanye bami la. Ngizafaka imicijo eveza imibono yami kulesi sihloko.

uyazi lawe mfo ukuthi, abantu nxa sebe didekile, bathatha amanyathelo ngokuphangisa, bengahloli ukuthi isiphetho sinjani. Ngikhumbula ngesikhathi kufika ikhambi elalibizwa "fungus", kwelakithi. Abantu abanengi, baphanga bathenga leyo fungus, beyinatha, begeza ngayo, bephalaza ngayo njalo.
abathengisi baleyo fungus, babangabantu abanothileyo ngokho lokho, kodwa kungela kwelatswa.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by samdala:
<strong>..ngelauric acid ukuthi yona ilusizo na ekwelapheni amagcikwane...</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ama "lauric acid", akuqembu ilibizwa "fatty acids", atholakala kusithelo seCoconut. Lu mhlobo wama asidi, ale khabhoni ehlukene lamanye atholakala ekudleni inyama, enza ukuthi umzimba uhambise kuhle igazi lekudla njalo wehlise amanani okuba lemvukuzane.

Invukuzane yikhulula okungaqondanga kwama seli omzimba engena emithanjeni yegazi laku "lymphatic system". Imvukuzane yenziwa yikuxhwala kwama seli omzimba hatshi amagciwane. Ukuxhwala lokhu kungabangelwa, lufuzo kumbe ukukhula, kuhlanganisa ikudla ukudla okungalungelanga umzimba.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">...zisithi iyasetshenziswa ekwelapheni imvukuzane? </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">
Kawelaphi lawa ma asidi, kodwa ayehlisa amanani okubanjwa yimvukuzane. Ayasetsheziswa kwezinye izikhathi kulabo abale mvukuzane kodwa, indlela ejwayelakileyo yokwelapha imvukuzane ngeye "chemotherapy", ekhipha lawo maseli axhwalileyo. Imithi enye eyande ukusetshenziswa igoqela i prednisone le dexamethasone.


</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Inganceda na ekwelapheni ingculazi? </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

HATSHI, njengo kutsho kwami i"genetic structure" yegciwane leHIV yakheke ngedlela enzima kakhulu. Ngizafaka imifanekiso, lezigaba, lengcazelo ngokukhula lokukwanda kwegciwane legculazi emzimbeni, kuntumezo yami elandelayo.

Ngiyabonga kakhulu Dokotela ngokusichasisela thina uquqaba ngolwazi olutechnical kanje.

Dokotela kanti kwenziwa yini ukuthi abacwaninga ngezokwenziwa kwemithi yokwelapha amagcikwane (viruses) yiloba aphi, behluleke ukuthola imithi yokuwelapha?

Is there a conspiracy between medical scientists, chemical biologists and geneticists and others in NOT finding a cure for viruses? Ingani obacteria labofungus alikuthathi mango nxa likwelapha? Kanti pho nxa sekubuya kumavirus kwehlulani? Is there more to the story Dokotela?

Wonkewonke
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Please take a close look at this. I picked this from the net and i found it as one of the most accurate and simple depictions of the HIV cycle.
Before we can think of how we can cure HIV infected subjects, we need to understand the anatomy of the HIV virus itself.

HIV just like all viruses binds to the subject cells and uses the inherent proteins to grow and mutate into multiple copies of itself.

1. Binding
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<img src="http://img105.echo.cx/img105/5121/binding1ck.gif" alt=" - " />

The HIV infection starts with the attachment of HIV by way of the gp120 protein to the CD4 target cell.


2. Penetration
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<img src="http://img105.echo.cx/img105/9637/penetration1ns.gif" alt=" - " />

After attachement, HIV releases genetic material into the CD4 cell.


3. Uncoating
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<img src="http://img111.echo.cx/img111/6826/uncoating5ih.gif" alt=" - " />
Partial uncoating of the viral core occurs to expose the viral RNA. Once in the cell cytoplasm, the conversion of the viral RNA into double-stranded DNA commences as the viral reverse transcriptase becomes active.


4. Reverse Transciptase
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Reverse transcriptase synthesizes a double-stranded DNA copy of the single-stranded viral RNA generating a provirus.


5. Integration
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<img src="http://img105.echo.cx/img105/2295/integration8xr.gif" alt=" - " />
The viral DNA migrates to and enters the host cell nucleus and becomes integrated into the cell DNA with the help of the enzyme integrase.


6. Transcription
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<img src="http://img23.echo.cx/img23/695/transcription8se.gif" alt=" - " />
Once inside the host cell nucleus, the RNA changes viral DNA into RNA.


7. Translation
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The viral mRNA leaves the nucleus. The translation of the viral mRNA results in the synthesis of three polyproteins essential in the continue process of viral reporduction.


8. Assembly
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<img src="http://img221.echo.cx/img221/9871/assembly0ek.gif" alt=" - " />
Proteins associate with the inner surface of the plasma membrane and interact with proteins present in the plasma membrane. As these proteins accumulate on the inner surface of the plasma membrane, they aggregate and commence assembly to form the virus. As assembly continues, the new HIV leaves the cell.


9. Extrusion
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<img src="http://img62.echo.cx/img62/2778/extrusion0pe.gif" alt=" - " />
As the virus buds from the cell, it acquires a lipid coat, carrying the gp 120 and gp 41 proteins. The virus is extruded into extra-cellular space in this immature state


10. Maturation
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<img src="http://img157.echo.cx/img157/2005/maturation9sk.gif" alt=" - " />
During (or soon after) the budding of the new HIV particle from the host cell membrane, the viral proteinase in p160 becomes active, generating the mature form of HIV. It's at this final step the the cycle begins again to form more HIV.


Photographs provided by the Toronto General Hospital, 2004
aids.about.com

Dokotela
You prebiously wrote:-

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Dokotela:
<strong>

This genotypic constitution of the HIV virus is very complex. </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">And above you furnish information to the effect that the HIV is a retrovirus. I stand corrected but surely this means that it is one of a sub-set of viruses that are retroviral. If that is the case do other retroviruses display the same level of complex genetic consistitution as the HIV?

Secondly, it is my understanding that the genomic consistitution of the virus has been sequenced. Is the sequence significantly different to that of other retrovirus that is does the HIV posesses other genes that are peculiar only to the HIV and not to other retroviruses? If not where then does the complexity of the HIV virus reside?

Thirdly, in your follow up post you refer to the cycle of the HIV. Undoubtedly as you point out this offers an insight as to finding a cure for the virus. I am of the somewhat limited understanding that some of the various treatments attempt to do just that. The example of AZT springs to mind, AZT (nd I stand corrected) was supposed to function as a nucleotide analogue that would interfere with the formation of viral DNA from its RNA template. AZT would appear not to have been succesful in doing this. Could you shed any light (or point in the direction) as to why this should be the case?

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Jazelindizayo:
<strong>.. do other retroviruses display the same level of complex genetic consistitution as the HIV?...</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The other retroviruses also pose the same complexity as the HIV virus. The properties, which distinguish them as retroviruses, make them mutate very fast and grow resistant to pharmaceutical antiviruses. From my last post you will notice the reverse transcriptase stage, which normally causes the RNAP - RNA polymerase to occur is present as asserted. The other retroviruses also exhibit complexities as well.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">..retrovirus that is does the HIV posesses other genes that are peculiar only to the HIV and not to other retroviruses? If not where then does the complexity of the HIV virus reside?...</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Certainly the genoms of the HIV (both HIV-1 and HIV-2) virus was sequenced including feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), just mention a few. HIV is a human virus and has shown some complexities. I hope as I say this you understand that research is still underway to find the cure for these retroviruses. Some experiments have shown that the FIV infection in cats can be inhibited by pharmaceutical methods. This, I should say is still under tests and I hope soon enough we shall have the pharmaceutical methods to stop FIV from resulting in feline AIDS. HTLV-I & 2 also exist in humans and also pose as threat known to cause leukemia/lymphoma. I have also heard of HTLV4 and 5 but have not obtained sufficient information on them.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">...you point out this offers an insight as to finding a cure for the virus...</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">My statement above is simply to say that the first step to finding the solution to a problem would be to understand the problem itself. If I affirm that the cycle I have presented gives some insights to finding the cure them practically I would be saying I can cure an infected subject. Please view this as a simple depiction to make readers understand the cycle and complexity of retroviruses.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">...AZT ... was supposed to function as a nucleotide analogue that would interfere with the formation of viral DNA from its RNA template... Could you shed any light... </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Just as you indicate, when AZT in spliced into the DNA strands, the reverse transcriptase will be stopped. Normally by inhibiting the RT phase we would be halting the synthesis and mutation of the virus. You must be aware of the toxic properties of AZT and other DNA chain-terminators that will kill even uninfected T cells. AZT therefore cannot be an antivirus for HIV.
I heard from a friend that now, because of the its functions, AZT is now being prescribed for psoriasis and cancer patients to kill growing cells by halting cell DNA synthesis.

Qaphelani bakwa Mthwakazi, akukho khambi elingakwelpha kuleligciwane. Imithi yesintu layo angiboni ukuthi ingelapha njani lu mkhuhlane.

Majaha, valelani amabhubesi mantombazane livale iminyango.

I heard several testimonies in which people claim they are healed from HIV Virus through faith in God. Can anyone enlighted us on the validity of such claims and help us to confirm that an HIV infected person can be cured by faith.

Help!

I know of one lady who was 'on the game' who had been infected with HIV and was having AIDS symptoms. She was prayed for in church and came back a few weeks later with a doctors letter giving her the all clear.

Qoki enxoxweni yethu le ethusa kangaka.

Kunagabe ekhona na olama statistics about umkhuhlane lo, kukhangelwa izindawo ngezindawo.

Mhlawumbe ngibone kubi. Ingani umkhuhlane lo kuzwekazi leAfrika ubhahe emazweni alabelungu? Ungakhangela amazwe alehlekana nje labelungu, kukhanya kusengathi lomkhuhlane ubhahile. Khangela kumhlubulo we SADC amazwe alabalungu abaningi kumbe lapho abelungu abalama interests umkhuhlane kukhanya ubulele. Yinindaba kunjalo? Botswana, Zimbabwe, RSA mina bengibona kungathi abamhlophe bapheka inombolo kumbe kulokunye esingakwenzi kuhle. Abelungu kabala ma interest eWest Afrika yikho ama statistics akhona engethusi. Whites think that if they exteminate the black in Southern Africa, that will be their next home. They have seen that their plans of making the moon inhabitable will take some time and they are over crowded emazweni abo. The other thing is that they want our resources, thats the reason why they are making this AIDS thing to be rampant in souther africa. These GMOs we are given, we should treat them with caution because I think they make our system to be week and kusenza sihlaselwe yimikhuhlane yonale. Umbuzo enginawo ngowokuthi kanti in Europe kungaba le 22 000 bantu abalomkhuhlane wonalo??? These statistics asazi. Mhlawumbe siyazihlupha ngento enziwa ngabomo yibonaba bantu abathumezela imithi eAfrika. Its unfortunate that in Africa we do not have our own Pharmaceutical companies, everything has to be channeled through other countries.

Yinsindabaphendule le.

Kodwa what explains ukubhaha kwe HIV-AIDS in countries where we whites have an interest and lapho okulokulihlekana kwabelungu???

with GOD NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE IT MAY BE TRUE THAT IT CAN BE CURED BUT THEY HAVENT FIND THE CURE AS YET.

BKM the cure has been found.....they do not know it but there are some people who have been cured...

Ndabezitha, uyazi all along I thought besibambisene indlela kodwa lapha I think you are now going to the East, no we are supposed to go to the West wethu. Cure for what??? No no lets not spread ivangeli elingayisilo. Or maybe with regards to cure kuyangokuthi ungubani asazi. If like the medication is is soo expensive that most well off people cannot afford then the cure is not there.

Lets try to preach ukuziphatha and tell people the real truth. Some will go aroung saying the cure is now there. I have not heard of any from Mthwakazi where I hail from whose confessed that s/he's been cured.

Bandla lets practise ABC nxa kusehlula shayela ngecondom

So, are we to say the cure for AIDS is found ecaweni na?

Uxolo kengiphendule. Doc , kuyangokuthi utshoni nge cure. Nxa usitsho for those not yet infected then yes. Ngoba if you truly follow the book uza abhusteyina kodwa bakithi iqiniso yikuthi nxa uvele wangena wagangxama ngesilevu hayi mina ngithi icure ongayithola echurch ngeyo kuphenduka uvume izono zakho ngxa ulazo. That way you have peace in your self and maybe ivindictiveness from those that are already infected is then none existant. This way the spread of ayida is curbed. Kodwa , kodwa heyi bakithi asizifundisenini ukungaphonguwela. LIna libona ingani ondlebe zikhanyilanga bengabe besifa nge AIDS bona bele cure ngi tsho! Let the truth be told , lumkhuhlane nxa uzakuba le cure izavela kibo ngoba phela jealous down bahlakaniphile laba bantu.Even though ingatholwa ngumuntu omnyama bayahle bagijime and patent the whole thing ingathi yibo. So ukuze umthwakazi usinde bakithi asingayenganani. Akula cure for AIDS or HIV.Amaphilisi akhona ayathoba kuphela

Yikuthi ngangizwe abantu besitsho njalo, ukuthi ingculazi iyelatshwa ngumoya oyongcwele. Kutsho ingaphi inkinga, njengoba sisithi evrything is posible with God, kodwa sibuye sithi ayelapheki ingculazi. Are we saying uNkulunkulu akalakho ukwelapha lesi sifo?

Ngihlezi ngila abantu abanengi kakhulu abale ngulazi, and abanye bakhona bayaya ensontweni bekhulekelwa ukuthi basile. Kungani abanye besila anbanye begasili? UNkulunkulu kakhethi muntu hantsho?

those who dont get healed bayabe bengakholwa 100% bayabe bethikaza mbijana.

with GOD ALL IS POSSIBLE.

uJesu esahamba lapha emhlabeni incwadi iyafakazi ukuthi wayesithi ukukholwa kwakho kukusindisile

kodwa abasindisa kulezinsuku bathi i loose you sebengama loose cannons, umngane wami wayeyefundela ukukhuluma ngendimi izinto ziyantshintsha kumele siguquke lazo, enye imbongi yathi ilitshe(njelele) lalo seliyifuna imali kodwa izwi lithi " I AM GOD, I CHANGETH NOT."

Mthwakazi omuhle mina ngilikholwa sibili kodwa eminye imisebenzi kamoya ongcwele iyasuka ingiphice.Mhlawumbe we are not meant to understand everything just like the disciples who had a chance to walk with the son of man never really understood everything.There are so many unanswered questions relating to faith and healing.I know one lady who claims to have been healed through the church but, the big question is 'Did she really have Aids or it was a case of mistaken diagnosis' For i really don't understand why she is the only one to have been healed in this manner out of so many people with this problem.At the same time, Msupa i would not like to suspect that the aids figures might have been somehow cooked.That will be the most stupid thing they ever did, and if they did its to their own peril,as they will be killing their own kith and kin through ignorance.Personally i don't think they could possible mess around with the drugs coz its quite simply too risky, so many years have gone by ever since billions of dollars were channeled into research and development of drugs to cure this disease aluba iqiniso selaphuma ukuthi they are messing around with the drugs.Phela kabalamfihlo eyangaphi lababantu.I stand to be corrected mahlabzulu uma ngingaqondisisi ngalinto.

Scientists produce promising AIDS drug

By Alfonce Mbizwo, Business Editor

SCIENTISTS at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) say they have made a breakthrough in producing a herbal cocktail that reduces HIV viral load in a patient?s bloodstream by up to 90 percent within two months of therapy, Chronicle can reveal.

The drug, called Gundamiti, has been developed from herbs after 14 years of research.
UZ scientists claim that it is potent enough to increase diseasefighting CD4 blood cells in the range 400to1500/ml in two months.
The herbal cocktail is currently being manufactured from the University of Zimbabwe but moves are under way to establish a factory to manufacture the drug on a large scale. Gundamiti is already being distributed in the country in capsule form.
?Gundamiti is a herbal remedy specifically designed to fight the effects of HIV in humans. It is made up of water extracts of three plants. These plants are in use as medicinal remedies,? said the lead researcher, Dr Peter Mashava of the Department of Science and Mathematics Education.
The Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Edwin Muguti, yesterday said the drug had proven that it could reduce the effects of HIV.
?We are aware of the claims that have been made regarding its potential. It is a herbal combination that has showed some promise in the treatment of some illnesses. It has antiretroviral properties and seems to improve the clinical life of some people,? said Dr Muguti.
He said the Government was not actively involved in the research but support organisations involved in the research.
?We have institutions and scientists that have been working on research projects with our support. With Gundamiti, we have researchers from the University of Zimbabwe and other institutions that are involved in this project. We did our own very preliminary investigation and were satisfied with the results. We informed the researchers that we are backing them.
?Research has been going on since the 1990s but we only started getting tangible results in November 2005,? said Dr Muguti.
Dr Mashava said so far the drug cannot completely cure AIDS but is very effective against opportunistic infections associated with HIV.
He claimed it has lowered the viral load in the range 5090 percent in two months. Studies have proven that the drug has no known side effects, with studies of both the liver and kidney functions being shown to be safe, he added.
?A person taking the medication would start showing improvement in the quality of life within one month. Opportunistic infections are drastically reduced with the increase of CD4s allowing the sufferer to enjoy a near normal life," said Dr Mashava.
The distribution of the drug has caused a storm with the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) saying it was not registered with them.
MCAZ DirectorGeneral Mr Maphios Dauramanzi last night told Chronicle that drug regulatory body had never heard of Gundamiti or that it was being distributed.
He said although Gundamiti is made from herbs,
the producers of the herbal cocktail would have to register it with the MCAZ.
?If they are claiming medicinal effects, they have to register it,? said Mr Dauramanzi.
Dr Mashava admitted that Gundamiti is not yet registered with the MCAZ but said the scientists were in the process of doing so.
?We can only register with them (MCAZ) when we have set up a manufacturing plant that meets the right standards,? he said.
Gundamiti has already been patented in all 16member states of the Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO): Botswana, the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
?We have patented the drug in ARIPO countries and also South Africa and we are making plans to manufacture it on a large scale,? said Dr Mashava.
A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a patentee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an invention. The exclusive right granted to a patentee in most countries is the right to prevent or exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing the invention.
Dr Mashava and his Zimbabwean commercial partner, African Business Linkages Holdings (ABLH), have formed a company called Gundamiti Pharmaceuticals (GP), registration number 4087/2006, to manufacture the drug.
ABHL is headquartered in Bulawayo and chaired by Mr Kwanele Hlabangana. Other board members of GP are Miss Leratang Monare, a South African national and Mr Albert Mashava.
alfonce@journalist.com

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