AIDS TREATMENT NEWS No. 055 - April 22, 1988
John S. James
In the laboratory, according to Shinitzky's published papers, AL 721 forms "chylomicron-like" assemblies, visible under an electron microscope. These are believed to consist of a spherical core of "neutral lipids" (one of the ingredients of AL 721) with a thin layer of phospholipids (the other two ingredients) around the surface. Most U.S. physicians who have considered the matter have dismissed AL 721, saying that the chylomicrons would be broken up during digestion, and the product would therefore be ineffective.
Recently we found a discussion of blood lipids in a standard medical reference work, The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics (1985 edition, pages 827-829). It lists chylomicrons as one of six classes of blood lipids. It also lists the source of the neutral-lipid core of these chylomicrons as dietary fats absorbed from the small intestines during digestion.
The chylomicrons this book referred to have the same neutral- lipid core, but different molecules on their surface (not phospholipids as in AL 721). In both cases, however, the surface molecules have electrical charges which predispose them to form chylomicron structures. And it is generally accepted that the phospholipids in AL 721 do enter the bloodstream in a biologically active form; dozens of articles in medical journals describe trials using these food substances alone as experimental treatments for a variety of conditions, with mixed results.
No one has studied the digestion and absorption of AL 721, therefore no one knows if chylomicrons of AL 721 are found in the blood after oral use of the substance. The information cited above certainly suggests that they might be.
As far as we know, those who have said that AL 721 could not possibly work because it would be digested have never cited any facts or arguments to support their assertion. The hasty dismissal of this potential treatment seems not to accord with available information, but to contradict it. Shinitzky Interview in New York Native
In a wide-ranging interview in the New York Native, April 25, 1988, Meir Shinitzky used examples from the history of AL 721 to examine the state of AIDS research. That article, full of specifics and details, includes some of the strongest criticism ever made of the mismanagement of AIDS treatment development in the United States.
For a copy of the April 25 issue, send $3. to the Back Issues Department, New York Native, P.O. Box 1475, Church Street Station, New York, NY 10008.
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