PREFACE:
The following case history was the spark that ignited this in-depth
investigation of the causes and pathogenesis of acquired immune
deficiency syndrome (AIDS). A 60 year-old-white male, HIV-
negative, developed Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) following treatment with a two month course of prednisone
(60 mg per day) and a two week course of azathioprine (50-100
mg/per day) for lung fibrosis. His blood CD4+ T cells count was
255/µL, the CD4+ T cells /CD8+ T cells ratio was 0.6, and he had
severe lymphocytopenia. He also suffered from pneumonia and
severe fungal infection in his mouth and skin. Cessation of the
treatment with prednisone and azathioprine lead to the reversal of
the damage in his immune system. He recovered from pneumonia
and the fungal infection after a short course of antibiotics and the
use of antifungal lotion. Twenty-two days after the last dose of
prednisone, his CD4+ T cells count was 657 cells/µL. The
development of AIDS in this man was by use of therapeutic
immunosuppressive agents. This case and the wide use of
immunosuppressive agents in modern medicine to treat a variety
of chronic illnesses, gave me the incentive to review the medical
literature to evaluate the HIV-hypothesis, and to investigate the
contribution of therapeutic agents in addition to illicit drugs,
alcohol, and malnutrition to the pathogenesis of AIDS.
The HIV-hypothesis states that HIV cause AIDS by killing the CD4+
T cells directly or indirectly, usually after long incubation times
(about 10 years), and reduction in the number of these cells to
very low levels leads to severe immune deficiency. Patients with
severe immune deficiency (CD4+ T cells parasitic) and certain
forms of cancer such Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphoma. The
HIV-hypothesis prescribes that treatment of patients with antiviral
drugs such inhibitors of reverse transcriptase such as Zidovudine
(AZT) or protease inhibitors can delay the progression of AIDS by
preventing the HIV replication in the cells.
Review of the medical literature revealed the following facts:
1. The HIV-hypothesis is not supported. HIV is a harmless virus
both in the in vivo and the in vitro settings. HIV infected (HIV+)
and HIV-negative patients have similar symptoms and lesions of
AIDS. Damage to the immune system is rapidly reversible after
removal of the true insulting agent or treatment of the true
causes. For example, the thymus of a mouse with 50% damage
induced by vanadate, healed completely within 10 days; 80%
atrophy in the thymus of a malnourished child was reversed in 9
weeks by feeding a proper diet. Thus, a slow virus, such as HIV,
cannot result in immune failure because it cannot cause enough
damage to overcome this rapid rate of natural healing. Some lymph
nodes and spleens of HIV infected individuals (HIV-positive) show
hyperplasia of the lymphoid tissue. This contradicts the
HIV-hypothesis that HIV kills T cells. The literature is clear that
Anthony Fauci, the Director of the AIDS program at the NIH, and
his colleagues seem to agree that HIV does not cause cell
necrosis in T cells or B cells. Their own work led them to change of
their original hypothesis (HIV infects and kills CD4+ T cells) to
state that "apoptosis is strictly dependent on cellular activation
and direct infection of CD4+ T cells with HIV is not required for
apoptosis to occur".
2. At least 77% of the 2,349 patients who participated in the four
major clinical trials with AZT (1986 to 1992) were HIV-negative
prior to their treatment with AZT. These trials cumulated in the
approval of AZT as the treatment for patients with AIDS or for the
asymptomatic patients who were HIV-positive. Therefore, the
conclusions indicating that AZT prolongs lives and/or delays the
development of AIDS in HIV infected individuals are incorrect.
These studies also indicated that AIDS is caused by agents and/or
processes other than HIV. Nobody, including the United States
Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) who approved the use of
AZT, questioned the HIV-hypothesis.
3. AZT and protease inhibitors are very toxic drugs. Their use in
the treatment of AIDS has complicated the picture of this disease
by causing bone marrow damage, liver and kidney damage, and
damage in other organs.
4. AIDS in drug users and homosexuals in the USA and Europe is
actually caused by the heavy ancillary use of glucocorticoids and
other immunosuppressive agents to medically treat the wide range
of the chronic serious illnesses of the respiratory system,
gastrointestinal system, and other organs, malnutrition, release of
endogenous cortisol, and opportunistic infections in these
persons. The appearance of AIDS in the USA and Europe has
coincided with the approval of the use of glucocorticoid aerosols in
1976, the timing of the introduction of crack cocaine, the use of
heroin by inhalation, and with the use of alkyl nitrites by
homosexuals to enhance sexual activities.
5. AIDS in hemophiliacs is related to the use of corticosteroids and
other immunosuppressive agents to prevent the development of
antibodies for factors VIII and IX and to treat other chronic
illnesses such as joint disease.
6. AIDS in people receiving blood and/or tissue is related to the
use of glucocorticoids to prevent reactions of transfusion, tissue
rejection, and to treat other illnesses.
7. AIDS in infants and children is caused by their exposure to drugs
and corticosteroids in utero and their exposure to corticosteroids
after birth used to treat their chronic illnesses.
8. AIDS in Africa is caused by malnutrition, release of endogenous
cortisol, and by opportunistic diseases. Atrophy in the lymphoid
tissue in people suffering from malnutrition has been known since
1925. Malnutrition causes severe atrophy in the thymus and
lymphoid organs and impairs the function of the T cells. These
changes are reversible by feeding. The size of thymus in
malnourished children increased from 20% of normal to 107% of
normal, following nine weeks of feeding. In addition, the CD4+ T
cells of 1075 HIV+ pregnant women increased from 426/µL to
596/µL in six months by giving these women a balanced diet. This
also improved the outcome of their pregnancy. The reduction in
CD4+ T cells in HIV+ homosexuals was also reversed by the
cessation of treatment with glucocorticoids.
9. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and lymphoma are induced by the use of
steroids and drugs, and the release of endogenous cortisol. It is
not caused by a slow virus. KS is reversible upon the termination of
the treatment with immunosuppressive agents prior to
metastasis.
10. Some symptoms of AIDS are reversible, especially at early
stages prior to the development of malignant cancer. These
symptoms can be cured by supportive medicine, diet, antioxidants
(alpha lipoic acid) and vitamins, antibiotic and antifungal
medications. The use of glucocor-ticoids, AZT, and protease
inhibitors to treat AIDS are contraindicated.
Furthermore, I found that Anthony Fauci's publications contain
detailed description of the side effects of glucocorticoids and other
therapeutic drugs, toxicity of illicit drugs and alcohol, and the
impact of malnutrition on the immune system. He and his
colleagues described the symptoms of AIDS in 1976 that resulted
from the use of glucocorticoids and warned against their side
effects, especially the fungal infection of the respiratory system
which is associated with the use of gluc-ocorticoid aerosols. I
used their publications extensively as principle references for this
report and to unravel the mysteries associated with AIDS.
However, Fauci and his colleagues apparently overlooked
significant medical facts presented in their publications and in the
published literature. They also did not explain the many cases of
AIDS who are HIV-negative and misunderstood the thousands of
cases infected with HIV+ and who have not developed AIDS even
over 10 years after infection. They described the first group of
these patients as, "idiopathic CD4+ T cells lymphocytopenia (ICL)"
and the second group of patients as, "long-term nonprogressors".
My review of the medical evidence indicated that A. Fauci and other
leaders of the HIV-hypo-thesis inadvertently misdirected the great
resources of our country by misunderstanding the etiol-ogy of the
disease, promoting overly complex and incorrect pathogenic
models, and by encouraging the use of toxic drugs. It appears that
the entire efforts of the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the
Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) have been
focused on maintaining that HIV is the cause of AIDS and not on
objectively evaluating the medical evidence. This tragic approach
has to be stopped now. We need to use more valid scientific
approaches in working to understand diseases.
Mohammed Ali Al-Bayati
Ph.D., D.A.B.T., D.A.B.V.T.