AIDS is an incurable disease. HIV treatment is very complicated and expensive. With the latest advances in the pharmaceutical industry, it is now possible to slow the disease’s progression but not completely cure and stop it. Once the virus enters the body, it stays there permanently. AIDS damages the immune system, making the body weak and susceptible to other infections. For this reason, people infected with HIV tend to get sick more often. Diarrhea, candidiasis, and bacterial infections are common in people living with HIV.
HIV treatment in China
In 1985, the first case of an HIV-infected person was recorded in China. Infected farmers in some regions of the country sold infected plasma and thus accelerated the disease’s spread. The government has formed a national team to fight HIV to tackle the problem.
Initially, about a hundred patients were treated in the program, but about 82,540 patients were treated after the expanded diagnosis. Some recent data confirm that about 740,000 Chinese are infected with HIV.
HIV treatment way
HIV treatment in China can be divided into three basic categories.
The first is highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART. This treatment is effective in slowing the development of the disease. However, the drugs used are very toxic and create many side effects. These include nerve, liver, and kidney damage.
The second type of treatment is called Buiao, and it includes teas, medicinal plants, and various types of tonics. This treatment is also used in Western countries.
The third type is traditional Chinese medicine. This method is used together with HAART to improve HIV-infected people’s immunity and reduce the side effects of drugs.
Traditional Chinese medicine or TCM is guided by the principle that the disease occurs due to an imbalance in the body. When this imbalance is treated, the body moves in the healing direction. This therapy treats the body as a whole. This method of treatment has been practiced for several thousand years.
For this reason, a study was conducted to determine the benefits of TCM in HIV-infected patients. 257 subjects were included in this study. The selection of these parameters was rigorous, and over time this number was reduced to only 11. These 11 subjects included 11 different traditional Chinese medicines tested on 998 HIV-infected patients. The results were as follows:
Traditional Chinese medical preparations
1 – IGM – 31:
This formulation consists of 31 different plants, and it was tested on 30 people over a period of 12 weeks. It has been noticed that the condition of HIV-infected patients has improved. CD4 cells did not recover, and also the number of virus concentrations remained the same.
2 – 35-Herb:
This formulation included 35 plants for the treatment of HIV and was tested on 68 patients within 6 months. Many of these plants were the same as in IGM-31. Patients had a CD4 count below 500 / mm3. The analysis proved that these plants are not toxic.
3 – SH mixture:
This mixture of 5 herbs for the treatment of HIV was given to 60 patients. This mixture was given with the conventional anti-HIV drug zidovudine. It was found that patients who took this mixture had fewer side effects and that they tolerated treatment with this drug better.
4 – Qiankunning:
This preparation was obtained by the extraction of 14 different plants. The interrogation was performed on 70 people. It has been determined that people who received this traditional medicine have a large drop in HIV levels in the body after 7 months of consuming this mixture.
5 – Zongyan-4:
This preparation for the treatment of HIV was prepared by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. 72 patients were enrolled in the study. People who took this mixture were found to increase CD4 cells. ZY-4 has been shown to boost the immune system in people with HIV.
6 – Aining Granules:
This plant has been tested in patients who have already received HAART. Half of them received AG, while the other half received a placebo. The half who received AG had a smaller decrease in CD4 cells than those who received placebo. The negative effects were smaller in the AG group. This shows that when HAART and AG are combined, the results are much better. Virus concentration was not reduced in any group.
7 – Xiaomi Granules:
This herb for the treatment of AIDS was given to patients who had oral candidiasis. These patients were already receiving Nystatin. The research was conducted within 2 weeks. People who have received this herbal mixture have been found to have improved symptoms.
8 – Jiagyuankang capsules:
116 patients were included in this study. These patients suffered from a reduction in white blood cells and have already used some anti-HIV drugs. After using this herbal mixture, the white blood cells’ level increased in all subjects without side effects.
9 – Xielikang capsules:
In this study, 158 patients suffering from chronic diarrhea took KCS capsules. In all respondents stool improvement .
10 – Aikang capsules:
This mixture was tested on a sample of 102 patients. No progress in the treatment of HIV has been demonstrated in this study.
11 – Tangkao tablets:
176 patients were included in this study. These patients had a CD4 cell count greater than 200 / mm3. People who took this herbal mixture experienced an increase in CD4 cells. Also reducing is the number of viruses in the body.
There were negative effects, but researchers believe that they are present due to the disease’s effects. Also, no toxicity of this herbal mixture has been proven.
Summary
Current TCM studies on HIV are not sufficient to draw any firm conclusions. In each of the above studies, the sample size was not large enough to extract definitive information.
Current research shows that using TCM can address some of the symptoms, as was the case with candidiasis and HIV-induced diarrhea. However, at the number of CD4 cells and the number of viruses, the results cannot be confirmed.
A larger number of samples is needed for safer conclusions to more accurately determine the effects of TCM in people with HIV and AIDS.
