MEDICAL UPDATE: Cimetidine, A Possible Immune Stimulator

MEDICAL UPDATE: Cimetidine, A Possible Immune Stimulator

Being Alive; March 1992
presented by Mark Katz MD and reported by Jim Stoecker

Cimetidine (brand name Tagamet) was a very popular drug some ten years ago and was first licensed in 1977 to treat ulcers. Cimetidine is one of a class of drugs that works on the stomach directly to suppress acid secretion and is thus a good treatment for ulcers. Over the years, physicians discovered that the drug might increase immune system function. Cimetidine has been used to treat various rashes, candida and herpes simplex in non-HIV infected people.

A few years ago, researchers gave cimetidine to 33 symptomatic HIV+ patients whose CD4 counts were below 300. They found that the average CD4 count of the study group had doubled after three months of daily doses of 1200 mg. They also observed various signs that the patients' immune systems were functioning better overall. In the rush of events, however, this preliminary research was not followed up. Now we need to look again at cimetidine and its potential as an immune booster. Rapid, widespread testing is needed. This is a readily available, FDA-approved drug that just might prove to be an effective immune stimulator that we so desperately need to fight HIV.
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