Complementary therapies

Complementary therapies in your own words

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  Finally undetectable!

  After almost 15 years of HIV, and six years of viral load testing, I heard on Thursday, June 21st 2001 that my viral load had...

  From: In your own words

Complementary therapies news from aidsmap

• Low vitamin D concentrations associated with poor clinical and virological outcomes among people starting HIV therapy

  Low vitamin D concentrations are associated with an increased risk of HIV disease progression among people starting antiretroviral therapy, investigators report in the online edition of The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Virological failure also had an association with low vitamin D ...

  19 May 2014 | Michael Carter

• Smoking cannabis does not accelerate progression of liver disease in people with HIV/HCV co-infection

  Smoking cannabis does not worsen liver disease in people with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection, Canadian research published in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases shows. “We found no evidence that cannabis smoking increases the risk of ...

  31 July 2013 | Michael Carter

• Why Zambians don't test and treat

  A study amongst 2443 people in Zambia, recruited from HIV clinics and community organisations, found that social ostracism, rejection by sexual partners and fear of not being able to handle antiretroviral therapy (ART) were the reasons people most often ...

  26 July 2012 | Gus Cairns

• Alternative treatments are commonly, but covertly, used alongside ARVs in London

  Alternative treatments such as herbal remedies are commonly used by patients from southern Africa in London, but imbalanced power relationships discourage discussion of their use with clinicians, researchers report in the online edition of Social Science ...

  07 January 2010 | Roger Pebody

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Complementary therapies news selected from other sources

• With no antiretrovirals, Venezuela HIV patients rely on leaf remedy

  As Venezuela’s hyperinflation and chronic medicine shortages leave HIV patients with little hope of obtaining antiretroviral drugs, many are now relying on the leaves of a tropical tree known as the guasimo.

  13 December 2018 | Reuters

• Nigerian herbal medicines widely used by HIV positive people can contain antiretrovirals

  Herbal medicine use among HIV positive people in Nigeria is widespread, poorly recorded and often precedes ART initiation. Contamination with antiretrovirals is possible and concerning, particularly in untreated people, say the authors of a study of herbal medicine presented at CROI 2016.

  24 March 2016 | HIV i-Base

• Superhero Vaginal Bacteria Species Traps HIV, Could Be a Natural Condom Someday

  The benevolent powers of the vaginal microbiome are even greater than we thought. In addition to aiding fertilization and protecting fetuses during pregnancy, healthy vaginal mucus that’s full of good bacteria can trap and immobilize HIV particles. The study examined the cervicovaginal mucus, or CVM, of 31 women and tested its ability to immobilize HIV particles. CVM samples that contained higher concentrations of D-lactic acid, which only bacteria can produce, did far better than others. The D-lactic acid wasn’t itself a barrier to HIV, but an indicator of something else going on that made certain types of CVM better at trapping the virus than others. That something was Lactobacillus crispatus, a species of bacteria that could change the way we think about HIV prevention.

  08 October 2015 | Slate

• Vitamin B12 During Hepatitis C Treatment

  Although requiring further investigation, a study has demonstrated Vitamin B12 as capable of boosting the success of Hepatitis C treatment.

  22 August 2012 | Hepatitis Central

• Herbal HIV drugs from China for Kenyan market

  The Government will begin distributing herbal anti-HIV supplement from China that has been proved to significantly boost immunity of people living with HIV and Aids who are not on anti-retroviral therapies. 

  02 April 2012 | The Standard

• Yoga Helps HIV-Positive Rape Victims In Rwanda

  "Women will tell you that before yoga, they were crippled with aches and pains; they felt old. Now they crave yoga because when they feel physically stronger, they feel more confident and optimistic," the instructor says.

  01 August 2011 | Huffington Post

• UK: The faith healers who claim they can cure cancer and HIV

  A group of faith healers who claim they have miracle cures for cancer and HIV have been condemned as "irresponsible, even criminal" by a professor of complementary medicine, following a BBC Newsnight investigation.

  29 June 2011 | BBC Newsnight (video)

• Swaziland: Thabile Xaba, 'I Can Take the ARVs Now if I Like But I Must Consult the Ancestors'

  Most Swazis go to traditional healers if they feel ill, but in a country with the world's highest HIV prevalence rate healers are struggling to cope. Thabile Xaba, 37, a healer who has been diagnosed HIV-positive at a clinic, told IRIN about her experiences.

  02 March 2011 | IRIN Plus News

• UK: Herbal medicine to be regulated

  Herbal and Chinese medicine practitioners will be allowed to continue trading under Government plans to side-step a European ban on unlicensed treatments.

  16 February 2011 | Daily Telegraph

• Uganda: HIV Activists Want Errant Religious Leaders Convicted

  ACTIVISTS have demanded that the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Bill, 2010 provide for legal action against religious leaders and traditional healers who extort money from the public in the guise of curing AIDS.

  03 February 2011 | AllAfrica

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