This article came my way recently.
I though it would be of great interest to some of our group.
Ivan.
==============================
Silver Ion Therapy for HIV/AIDS and Septicemia
by Dr. Charles D. Beal, M.D.
Silver in various forms has long been known to be microbicidal. In
recent years it has been used to sterilize waste water, often in
combination with chlorine as a means to reduce the dosage of chlorine
needed. Silver iodide and other silver salts have been used medically
as antiseptics for decades. In l978, Dr. Robert O. Becker, an
orthopedic surgeon treated a series of infected, open long bone
fractures, resistant to all available antibiotics. He used silver
ions
produced by a low intensity direct current (LIDC) applied to silver
coated nylon meshes placed on the open wounds.
The report showed excellent results, but did not generate much
interest
in the medical community, which continued to rely on new antibiotics
as
they became available, but still with not infrequent failures.
In 1989, while attending the international AIDS Conference in San
Francisco, Philip Burris, Ph.D., wondered if silver ions could be used
to kill the HIV virus in humans. He was able to have done in vitro
studies showing that the LIDC technology could prevent the
transmission
of the HIV virus from infected to non-infected lymphocytes without
damaging the lymphocytes. Other studies showed many bacteria to be
quite sensitive to silver ions, with human cells being much less
sensitive. Waste water studies of viruses occurring in sewage found
the
hepatitis A virus to be the most resistant to silver ions, the polio
virus less resistant, and the rotovirus the most sensitive. The
hepatitis virus, of course, is known to be quite resistant to
antiseptics, heat and drying. The method appears useful for the
eradication of Legionella pneumophilia from cooling systems.
Rationale for Treatment of HIV With Silver Ions
Silver ions are produced in enormous quantities when an electric
current
is passed through silver metal in saline or other conducting solution,
including blood. The amount of current needed is much lower than the
current needed to affect the heart muscle. Silver ions are positively
charged while viruses and bacteria have a weak negative charge. Thus,
there is a mutual attraction between the ions and the organisms, the
latter being inactivated by the ions. It seems likely that the silver
ions also attach to red blood cells and proteins in the blood, as well
as combining with chloride ions. Nevertheless, the enormous quantity
of
silver ions produced appear adequate to destroy the viral particles.
The half-life of the ions in the blood is calculated to be 7.8
seconds,
giving them time to react with many virons, particularly if the
electrode is placed in a large blood vessel, such as the superior vena
cava, which empties directly into the heart with blood from many
different veins. The blood entering the heart then is pumped
immediately to the lungs where the ions should still be active. It is
not known, however, whether silver ions delivered via the blood stream
will be found to be useful to treat pulmonary infections. The blood
returning to the heart after oxygenation then is distributed to the
remainder of the body. An electrode placed in an artery should be
able
to deliver the ions directly and rapidly to the target organ. How
practical or effective such treatment would be is not known.
Animal Studies
Both cats and certain primates can be infected with a fatal disease
caused by retroviruses similar to HIV. The feline immunodeficiency
virus (FIV) appears to be transmitted to other cats through the
saliva,
that is through biting. FIV is not known to be infectious to humans.
Dr. Burris was able to obtain one very ill FIV infected cat from a
neighbor, but could not convince any veterinarian in the area to treat
the cat with silver ions. Eventually he found a research veterinarian
practicing in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, who anesthetized the
cat, placed a silicone rubber catheter containing a silver wire
protruding from its end into the superior vena cava via a jugular
vein.
A cathode was attached to the skin of the chest. The microamp power
indicated above was applied for 22 minutes by means of a small power
supply, followed by the nanoamp power for 90 minutes. It was assumed
that the cat would soon die of its disease. Thus the primary purpose
of
this treatment was to determine silver levels in the blood. It was
found that the natural level was increased only briefly by about 10%.
All animals maintain trace amount of silver in the body. Of great
interest, however, is that by the second post-treatment day the cat
began eating well, and within four weeks the many sores on its back
and
ears had healed. The cat was treated in March, l996, and at the
present
appears perfectly healthy. It is not known whether some infectious
agents remain in the cat's body. Since that apparently successful
effort, attempts have been made to obtain the FIV infected cats for
treatment, but so far without success. We have been informed,
however,
that in recent years neither the FDA nor the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) have been requiring animal studies prior to evaluating
anti-HIV drugs in humans.
Human Studies
Cesar Garcia Ramirez, MD, practicing in Tijuana, became aware of the
FIV treatment, and felt that it would be a compassionate act to at
least try
the therapy on some of his dying AIDS patients. He obtained
permission
from the Baja California Division of Public Health, as well as
agreement
for the treatment protocol from a group of physicians serving as the
institutional Review Board (Human Studies Committee). Volunteer
patients were fully informed and signed consent forms. Initially,
three
very ill patients were chosen. Silver electrodes in silicon rubber
catheters were placed in arm veins and passed up as far as the vena
cava, or near to it. Each patient was treated for 12 minutes at 2.5
microamps, then for 72 hours at 125 microamps except that one patient
was treated for only 48 hours. All three patients felt better by the
second day, and considerably better by Day 5. Viral loads dropped
precipitously, almost to zero in one patient and much lower than the
initial count in the other two. Laboratory and clinical results are
attached. [not found - Ivan]
The next three months were spent in equipment improvement,
seeking to be able to reduce viral loads rapidly to zero in all
patients, and to be able to maintain the zero level for weeks or
months
if need be until the badly damaged immune system has had time to
recover and be able to itself to combat the infection. The virus is
present not only in the blood stream, but also in lymph nodes and
other organs of
the body.
Currently in the Tijuana study catheters are implanted; in the
subclavian vein (behind the clavicle) and extend to the right auricle
of
heart, with the electrode protruding from the end of the catheter.
Since the electrodes in their present form oxidize and stop producing
ions in about 5 days, the present system allows the silver electrode
to
be removed and replaced while the catheter remains in place. Using
this
method viral levels have been maintained at zero, or nearly so for six
weeks in one patient. Her CD4 count is now beginning to rise, as is
the
total lymphocyte count. Most importantly, she feels very much better
than prior to treatment. She also was infected with herpes, hepatitis
C, toxoplasmosis of the brain, and cytomegalovirus (CMV) affecting one
eye. It thus is very surprising that the patient has improved so
much.
Whether any of these secondary opportunistic infections have in
reality
been successfully treated can be determined only after prolonged
follow-up. Many more patients will need to be treated and followed
for
these often fatal complications.
In addition to the work described above, 18 AIDS patients, all
seriously
ill are now under treatment. The therapy is being done on a
compassionate basis, responding to very strong pressure from the local
AIDS community, their families and friends. Unfortunately, in none of
these 18 is adequate laboratory work being performed, simply because
the cost of the rather extensive studies required to document the
value of
silver ion therapy is too great. Virtually all of these patients are
destitute. It is very gratifying, nevertheless, that all of them now
are feeling very much better, and some quite well. It is little
wonder
that there is such pressure for treatment.
Side Effects of Silver Ion Therapy
Until now no side effects attributable to this therapy have been
observed. It should be remembered that the present most effective
oral
therapy available - protease inhibitors used in combination with other
drugs is quite toxic, producing many side effects, enough so that some
patients are unable to tolerate the therapy. One patient that was
treated with silver ions for only 48 hours had a serious flare-up of
his
herpes infection soon after the treatment was stopped. On the other
hand, the woman described above who was treated for 6 weeks,
experienced a disappearance of her herpes lesion. At present it is
impossible to say whether the silver ion therapy was the cause of the
effect in either case.
Silver Metal Toxicity
Silver appears to be a relatively non-toxic trace metal for mammals.
It
is largely metabolized and excreted by the liver into the bile and
eliminated from the body. In the past the excessive and long term use
of silver compound nose and eye drops in some people were found to
produce a grayish discoloration of the skin, termed "argyria." Even
the
large amount of silver required to produce this staining appeared to
cause no other problems. Some silver compounds, such as silver
nitrate
are highly caustic. It has been observed that ingestion of 10 grams
of
this substance is fatal to human adults, but the amount of colloidal
silver entering the body using the above protocol is measured in
micrograms. It is not certain that some months of treatment will not
produce evidence of toxicity, but it is considered a very good sign
that
none has been observed so far.
Anticipated Further Studies
As of the present only 4 patients have been treated and followed with
adequate laboratory studies. The ideal design of the equipment and
its
use in the body continues to need exploration. How long initial
therapy
needs to be continued remains to be determined, and whether periodic
pretreatment will be required can only be determined by long term
follow-up of the patients. Whether silver ion therapy will work best
in
combination with other modes of treatment must be explored. It is
believed that for the initial Phase 1 studies conducted in Tijuana a
total of 50 patients need to be treated and carefully followed,
collecting enough laboratory and clinical data to present to the US
FDA,
as well as regulatory bodies of other countries, in order to gain
permission to continue the trials in the USA and elsewhere.
Laboratory
research needs to accompany the clinical work. It seems likely that
there will be many other applications for silver ion therapy, such as
the treatment of septicemias (bacteremias) and other infections.
Septicemia is a very common cause of death in seriously ill and in
some
healthy patients who contract antibiotic resistant ("killer")
streptococci, as well as other highly pathogenic bloodborne organisms.
Septicemia being bloodborne, should be immediately and forcefully
reacted upon by the silver ions. For antibiotic resistant septicemias
there presently are no satisfactory therapeutic options, though many
millions of dollars have been spent in the search.
Some of the many agents responsible for respiratory infections may
respond to the therapy. Preliminary laboratory work can help define
which infections are more likely to respond. It is known that some
leukemias and certain other cancers are related to viral infections.
Some patients suffering from chronic fatigue and similar syndromes may
have indolent viral infections. All of these possibilities need to be
explored as to whether or not they will respond to silver ions.
Agents
of tropical diseases such as malaria, typhoid, Chagas, and
leishmaniasis
should undergo preliminary laboratory evaluation prior to human
trials.
Lassa, Ebola and Hanta Viruses, often rapidly fatal, might respond to
quite short term, easily administered therapy. Thus almost certainly
the most immediate and urgent use of silver ions will be found in the
treatment of HIV/AIDS and septicemia. Still, many other possibilities
eventually should be explored.
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