Artesunate & chemotherapy agents to treat XMRV

[insearchof]

I think I may have read somewhere that Artesunate causes oxidation in the body. I believe that in chinese medicine it may be regarded in the same light as herbs such as worm wood - which have been traditionally employed to treat cancer by the chinese. So in effect, they are chemo agents.

The early form of AZT was designed for chemotherapy but was not approved for it because of its toxity/side effects - but due to political pressure from AIDS lobby and after a risk benefit assessment re AIDS was given to AIDS patients. It was very hard on the liver and most patients I believe, died as a result of liver related problems.

I have heard that checks of a patients oxidative stress levels and liver function was thought necessary before starting on Artesunate, so I am assuming that it does in fact have a similar operation -bio chemically to chemo agents.

I also believe that the operation of Artesunate is successful because it somehow has a role in reducing oxygen levels - creating oxidization - which leads to the die off of free circulating viremia.

I have also read, that with such agents causing oxidation - mitochondrial damage is caused.

If this is all correct (and I honestly do not know) this in turn raises the next question: what role (positive or negative) do anti oxidants play in this picture? Would they inhibit the role of Artesunate?

Qn: If so, how does an oxygen depleted environment generally sit with viruses? I thought that an oxygen rich environment killed viruses and bacteria - or is oxidation something exclusive to retroviruses or is it a general principle of chemotherapy as there seems to be a lot of current work being done in HIV for example on well recognised chemothreapy agents to treat latent viremia -once coaxed out of tissue.

Qn: Many people already have mitachondrial damage/dysfunction. Isn't this a problem? Can it be simultaneously addressed whilst on Artesunate?

Is my understanding correct and if so, are there informative threads on the topic somewhere here in the forum I can access?

 

[ukxmrv]

Not sure of the answers sorry, if you do a search for Artesunate you should find long threads. Dr Cheney is using it for his patients. I have tried it but no obvious good or bad reaction for me. Tried Woodworm in the past and once again - no noticable changes (apart from very vivid dreams! and a little spaced out).

AZT was used in higher dosages in the early AIDS patients. Had friends who died of AIDS so remember it well. Still have a few old friends left who took AZT in the early days. None of them have liver damage. The friends who didn't get to try AZT all died.

You can follow threads for poeple with XMRV trying AZT plus others who blog. Try a search of this forum.

If you are after chemotherapy agents to treat XMRV the one being watched by many would be Rituximab (a B cell depletory) in Norway.

XMRV+

 

[aquariusgirl]

Great questions. I think I read in a Discover article that E.Fuller Torrey and his virology collaboarators are using arteminisin to treat a retrovirus in schizophrenia patients.

 

[insearchof]

UkXMRV & Aquariusgirl - very interesting feedback - thank you. Fascinating to thinik of retroviruses associated with schizophrenia.

I know that they are using chemo agents here in clinical trials for HIV patients (though I appreciate the difference between HIV and XMRV). Will take a look at Rituximab. Ty.

 

[Chris]

Hi, Insearchof--I tried to answer your PM, but got the message that you were not receiving--so my message did not get through. I know that some big drug co is pursuing various artemisin derivatives (like Artesunate and there are already others) for anti cancer use, and I think someone at U of Washington is also working on that. You will find some papers by Efferth in the Research Library that focus on possible side effects of the artemisins, and there is some info on the long thread still. Best, Chris

 

[insearchof]

Hi CHris

Thanks for going to all that trouble. I was playing around with settings the other day, but did not intend for that to be the outcome.

Thanks for this information, I am trying to deduce whether artesunate does work in a fashion similar to chemo agents.

Will check out the info you suggested.