MEDICAL UPDATE: Study of Curcumin

MEDICAL UPDATE: Study of Curcumin

Being Alive Newsletter; Beling Alive/Los Angeles - September 93
Mark Katz MD and reported by Jim Stoecker

We are always on the lookout for new ways of fighting HIV. Now we hear about using the spice curcumin, an ingredient in turmeric. Turmeric, as you might know, is the spice used to make curry yellow.

Researchers at Harvard have identified curcumin as one of three possible HIV inhibitors shown to be effective in the test tube. We also have anecdotal reports from a couple of people in San Francisco who take the spice and report drops in their p24 antigen.

Many treatment possibilities go through the stages noted above. Researchers find something that appears to work in the test tube. Word gets out to the community, and some people give the treatment a try. We then get some anecdotal evidence of efficacy. What is needed at that point is a clinical trial to provide the basic scientific evidence for determining treatment value.

In the case of curcumin, a clinical trial is being planned by Search Alliance here in Los Angeles. Twenty people with CD4 between 50 and 400 will be included in the study. All must have positive p24 antigen. During the eight weeks of the study, the subjects will take 885 mg of curcumin three times a day. If interested in and qualified for this study, call Search Alliance at 213.930-8820

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