Reducing Viral Load by dialysis - an XMRV Rx option?

[parvofighter]

Here's some interesting info on a patented antiretroviral dialysis-like "machine" that is making a buzz in the biotech investment blogs. It's called the Hemopurifier , from Aethlon Medical Inc. and it has been proven to reduce viral load of HIV and other viruses, and improve immune function.

Why do I think this technology might have relevance for XMRV ME/CFS patients?

• Some ME/CFS patients are highly drug-intolerant. The Hemopurifier might provide a viable non-drug option for these patients.

• It might provide a means to reduce maternal/fetal transmission of XMRV (if that indeed happens) after birth, preventing XMRV from entering cells and organs.

• If government guidelines result in delay of antiretrovirals for XMRV patients (something that I don't recall being discussed yet on this forum), the Hemopurifier could "be used as a first line therapy, reducing viral load and delaying the need to start antiviral therapy."

• If XMRV - despite its low replication rate - eventually proves to mutate in the way HIV does, developing resistance to drug therapies, the Hemopurifier could forestall XMRV resistance to antiretrovirals by removing mutant strains.

• If used in a clinical trial with Canadian-criteria, XMRV+ve ME/CFS patients, treatment success might provide yet another source of proof that we are dealing with a virus, and abnormal cytokine profile.

• Since retroviruses (and ME/CFS) are known to be associated with opportunistic infections, use of the Hemopurifier might be invaluable in eliminating opportunistic infections within ME/CFS patients, as well as XMRV. This is especially relevant for as-yet unidentified opportunistic infections... namely viruses known to be positive in tissue, and below the limit of detection in bloodwork. I.E. You might have a false negative result (as I had) for, say, Parvovirus B19 or HHV-6. But you need to treat that too, as well as the XMRV (if indeed XMRV is proven to be causal for ME/CFS).

• And the list goes on... very intriguing stuff.

Excerpts of info on Aethlon Medical Inc.

From: http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_(A_to_Z)/Stocks_H/threadview?m=tm&bn=27865&tid=388347&mid=388347&tof=12&frt=2

• Established Exosome Sciences, Inc. (ESI) as a wholly owned subsidiary of Aethlon Medical to leverage the discovery that our Hemopurifier captures exosomes known to suppress the immune system in cancer patients.

• Completed and reported on the "first-in-man" study of a medical device to treat the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which demonstrated a 92% reduction of viral load and improved immune function resulting from short-term intermittent application of our Hemopurifier in the absence of any antiviral drug therapy.
  • OK, so how do we get Aethlon interested in doing research on XMRV?
• Entered into an agreement that extends studies of our Hemopurifier with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) under a cooperative research and development agreement.
  • I wonder if USAMRIID might be enticed by Veterans associations - possibly Dr Klimas and/or WPI? - to do a study on the Hemopurifier with Gulf War Illness and/or ME/CFS patients?

• Documented our Hemopurifier effectively captures the current pandemic strain of the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus. During invitro studies, the Hemopurifier removed 68% of H1N1 virus from blood plasma in 30 minutes, 80% of the virus in two hours, and a 96% reduction of H1N1 was observed at six hours. The studies were performed by third party researchers approved by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to house and conduct research with pandemic strains of H1N1 virus.

• Reported compelling human clinical outcomes against Hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infection; then disclosed a data supported strategy to improve HCV cure rates; and subsequently discovered a clinical validation by Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical (Asahi) that confirms moderate levels of viral filtration at the outset of standard of care (SOC) therapy can dramatically impact HCV cure rates.

The Hemopurifier
From: http://www.aethlonmedical.com/technology/hemopurifier.htm

Aethlon Medical has developed a patented extracorporeal device, known as the Hemopurifier, to address the treatment of viral conditions that are either resistant or evolve resistance to drug and vaccine therapies. The Hemopurifier converges the established scientific principals of hollow-fiber dialysis and affinity chromatography with the discovery of affinity agents that selectively bind envelope viruses. The result is an affinity treatment cartridge that separates and captures circulating viruses, viral proteins, and toxins before the occurrence of cell and organ infection. The treatment goal is to reduce viral load burden without drug toxicity so that the patient's natural immunity can recover to wage an effective battle against viral infection. However, the mechanical nature of the Hemopurifier also allows it to be deployed in conjunction with other therapies including drugs and vaccines, if available. An additional benefit stems from treatment access, as the Hemopurifier has been designed for utilization in the global infrastructure of dialysis and continuous renal replacement machines already present in hospitals and clinics.

Scientific articles classify the Hemopurifier to be both an immunotherapy and fusion inhibitor treatment. The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated that the Hemopurifier will be treated as a Class III Medical Device in U.S. regulatory submissions. Pre-clinical human blood studies have documented the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier in capturing HIV (The AIDS Virus), HCV (Hepatitis-C), and Orthopox Viruses related to human Smallpox. The mechanism of capture has been shown to be via the polysaccharide chains that reside on the surface glycoproteins of envelope viruses. Since the polysaccharide portions of the viral glycoproteins are attached via normal host cell (functions not under control of the virus), they are highly invariant. Moreover, the high abundance of polysaccharides allows viruses to escape immune surveillance. Thus, while many viral proteins are highly variable in their primary structure, the polysaccharide chains are nearly invariant, allowing for the capture of all strains and clades of many viruses. In fact, lectin derived affinity agents immobilized within the Hemopurifier have been shown to inhibit the growth of all tested strains of HIV and can capture of inhibit the growth of other envelope viruses including SIV, FIV, HCV, Measles, Mumps, Influenza, Ebola, Marburg, and Orthopox viruses. Recent studies indicate that the Hemopurifier affinity agent is also able to capture Dengue hemorrhagic fever virus. In conclusion, the Hemopurifier has expansive therapeutic capabilities that address: global pandemics (HIV-AIDS); chronic infectious diseases (Hepatitis-C); naturally evolving pathogens; and pathogens weaponized for bioterrorism attacks against U.S. military and civilian populations.
​

The Hemopurifier  - Aethlon Medical (OTC BB: AEMD.OB)
From: http://www.aethlonmedical.com/pdfs/IndustryReport.pdf

Researchers from Aethlon Medical have developed a potentially promising extracorporeal entry inhibitor, the Hemopurifier (HIV dialysis). The Hemopurifier, by decreasing viral load, appears to have a number of attributes necessary for a globally practical therapy for HIV, both as a conjunctive and salvage therapy. And by removing mutant strains, could extend the life of currently approved drugs and could represent a valuable lifecycle management strategy. The Hemopurifier is able to clear infectious HIV, gp120 and other related toxins before infection occurs. Also, since the Hemopurifier does not cause cross-resistance, and given the new government guidelines that encourage the delay of initial drug regimens, it may be utilized as a first line therapy, reducing viral load and delaying the need to start antiviral therapy. Aethlon Medicals dialysis approach could also represent an important adjunct therapy for current dialysis patients that are co-infected with HIV (estimated to be a significant percent of the current kidney dialysis population). Aethlon also has plans to use the Hemopurifier as a treatment countermeasure against drug and vaccine resistant biological weapons. In one hour of treatment The Hemopurifier has cleared 90% of the toxic protein gp-120, which depletes healthy immune cells.58 Aethlon scientists are also researching the capability of the Hemopurifier to regulate the overproduction of Cytokines, which could improve the treatment outcomes of both infectious and autoimmune diseases.

The Hemopurifier, by removing mutant strains that cause resistances, could extend the life of currently approved drugs, and represent a valuable lifecycle management strategy for patients and pharmaceutical companies.
​

More publications on plasmapharesis at: http://www.aethlonmedical.com/technology/publications.htm

Now we just have to get Judy Mikovits and Jim Joyce
(Chairman & CEO of Aethlon Medical Inc.) talking.

​

FYI: Jim Joyce
Chairman, CEO
858.459.7800 x301
jj@aethlonmedical.com
​

[FONT=&quot] P.S. Just wish I had some income so I could buy stock!
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[gracenote]

Wow, parvo. Just wow.

 

[julius]

Wouldn't the fact that most of the XMRV is not in the blood, but in other tissues make it less effective for us?

 

[parvofighter]

Yeah, it would, but...

Wouldn't the fact that most of the XMRV is not in the blood, but in other tissues make it less effective for us?

Yeah, it would, but... imagine the impact IF the technology could give you a head start by getting rid of:

• Any circulating virus
• Abnormal cytokines
• Possibly proteins expressed by the virus (didn't Dr Mikovits say that some of the pathology might be caused by proteins, not the virus itself?

Then you do targeted chemotherapy to get at the tissue reservoirs?

I do like the possible impact of at least cleaning up the blood... When I think back to all those blessed remissions in my (unfortunately distant) past, I can't help wondering whether this technology might give SOME patients' immune systems just the boost they need to get back on track.

At any rate, it's nice to have another potential therapy in our future arsenal... now for the $Million dollar question... is treatment financially viable? Maybe the addition of another target market (i.e. Prostate cancer XMRV, ME/CFS XMRV, etc) might bring the net cost per treatment down...

All very interesting stuff.:Retro smile:

 

[MEKoan]

Version without colour

Reducing Viral Load by dialysis - an XMRV Rx option?

Here's some interesting info on a patented antiretroviral dialysis-like "machine" that is making a buzz in the biotech investment blogs. It's called the Hemopurifier , from Aethlon Medical Inc. and it has been proven to reduce viral load of HIV and other viruses, and improve immune function.

Why do I think this technology might have relevance for XMRV ME/CFS patients?
Some ME/CFS patients are highly drug-intolerant. The Hemopurifier might provide a viable non-drug option for these patients.

It might provide a means to reduce maternal/fetal transmission of XMRV (if that indeed happens) after birth, preventing XMRV from entering cells and organs.

If government guidelines result in delay of antiretrovirals for XMRV patients (something that I don't recall being discussed yet on this forum), the Hemopurifier could "be used as a first line therapy, reducing viral load and delaying the need to start antiviral therapy."

If XMRV - despite its low replication rate - eventually proves to mutate in the way HIV does, developing resistance to drug therapies, the Hemopurifier could forestall XMRV resistance to antiretrovirals by removing mutant strains.

If used in a clinical trial with Canadian-criteria, XMRV+ve ME/CFS patients, treatment success might provide yet another source of proof that we are dealing with a virus, and abnormal cytokine profile.
Since retroviruses (and ME/CFS) are known to be associated with opportunistic infections, use of the Hemopurifier might be invaluable in eliminating opportunistic infections within ME/CFS patients, as well as XMRV. This is especially relevant for as-yet unidentified opportunistic infections... namely viruses known to be positive in tissue, and below the limit of detection in bloodwork. I.E. You might have a false negative result (as I had) for, say, Parvovirus B19 or HHV-6. But you need to treat that too, as well as the XMRV (if indeed XMRV is proven to be causal for ME/CFS).
And the list goes on... very intriguing stuff.

Excerpts of info on Aethlon Medical Inc.

From: http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/S...dview?m=tm&bn=27865&tid=388347&mid=388347&tof =12&frt=2

Established Exosome Sciences, Inc. (ESI) as a wholly owned subsidiary of Aethlon Medical to leverage the discovery that our Hemopurifier captures exosomes known to suppress the immune system in cancer patients.

Completed and reported on the "first-in-man" study of a medical device to treat the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which demonstrated a 92% reduction of viral load and improved immune function resulting from short-term intermittent application of our Hemopurifier in the absence of any antiviral drug therapy.

OK, so how do we get Aethlon interested in doing research on XMRV?

Entered into an agreement that extends studies of our Hemopurifier with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) under a cooperative research and development agreement.

I wonder if USAMRIID might be enticed by Veterans associations - possibly Dr Klimas and/or WPI? - to do a study on the Hemopurifier with Gulf War Illness and/or ME/CFS patients?

Documented our Hemopurifier effectively captures the current pandemic strain of the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus. During invitro studies, the Hemopurifier removed 68% of H1N1 virus from blood plasma in 30 minutes, 80% of the virus in two hours, and a 96% reduction of H1N1 was observed at six hours. The studies were performed by third party researchers approved by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to house and conduct research with pandemic strains of H1N1 virus.

Reported compelling human clinical outcomes against Hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infection; then disclosed a data supported strategy to improve HCV cure rates; and subsequently discovered a clinical validation by Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical (Asahi) that confirms moderate levels of viral filtration at the outset of standard of care (SOC) therapy can dramatically impact HCV cure rates.

The Hemopurifier

From: http://www.aethlonmedical.com/techno...mopurifier.htm

Aethlon Medical has developed a patented extracorporeal device, known as the Hemopurifier, to address the treatment of viral conditions that are either resistant or evolve resistance to drug and vaccine therapies. The Hemopurifier converges the established scientific principals of hollow-fiber dialysis and affinity chromatography with the discovery of affinity agents that selectively bind envelope viruses. The result is an affinity treatment cartridge that separates and captures circulating viruses, viral proteins, and toxins before the occurrence of cell and organ infection.

The treatment goal is to reduce viral load burden without drug toxicity so that the patient's natural immunity can recover to wage an effective battle against viral infection. However, the mechanical nature of the Hemopurifier also allows it to be deployed in conjunction with other therapies including drugs and vaccines, if available.

An additional benefit stems from treatment access, as the Hemopurifier has been designed for utilization in the global infrastructure of dialysis and continuous renal replacement machines already present in hospitals and clinics.

Scientific articles classify the Hemopurifier to be both an immunotherapy and fusion inhibitor treatment. The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated that the Hemopurifier will be treated as a Class III Medical Device in U.S. regulatory submissions.

Pre-clinical human blood studies have documented the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier in capturing HIV (The AIDS Virus), HCV (Hepatitis-C), and Orthopox Viruses related to human Smallpox.

The mechanism of capture has been shown to be via the polysaccharide chains that reside on the surface glycoproteins of envelope viruses. Since the polysaccharide portions of the viral glycoproteins are attached via normal host cell (functions not under control of the virus), they are highly invariant. Moreover, the high abundance of polysaccharides allows viruses to escape immune surveillance. Thus, while many viral proteins are highly variable in their primary structure, the polysaccharide chains are nearly invariant, allowing for the capture of all strains and clades of many viruses.

In fact, lectin derived affinity agents immobilized within the Hemopurifier have been shown to inhibit the growth of all tested strains of HIV and can capture of inhibit the growth of other envelope viruses including SIV, FIV, HCV, Measles, Mumps, Influenza, Ebola, Marburg, and Orthopox viruses. Recent studies indicate that the Hemopurifier affinity agent is also able to capture Dengue hemorrhagic fever virus. In conclusion, the Hemopurifier has expansive therapeutic capabilities that address: global pandemics (HIV-AIDS); chronic infectious diseases (Hepatitis-C); naturally evolving pathogens; and pathogens weaponized for bioterrorism attacks against U.S. military and civilian populations.

The Hemopurifier  - Aethlon Medical (OTC BB: AEMD.OB)

From: http://www.aethlonmedical.com/pdfs/IndustryReport.pdf

Researchers from Aethlon Medical have developed a potentially promising extracorporeal entry inhibitor, the Hemopurifier (HIV dialysis). The Hemopurifier, by decreasing viral load, appears to have a number of attributes necessary for a globally practical therapy for HIV, both as a conjunctive and salvage therapy. And by removing mutant strains, could extend the life of currently approved drugs and could represent a valuable lifecycle management strategy. The Hemopurifier is able to clear infectious HIV, gp120 and other related toxins before infection occurs.

Also, since the Hemopurifier does not cause cross-resistance, and given the new government guidelines that encourage the delay of initial drug regimens, it may be utilized as a first line therapy, reducing viral load and delaying the need to start antiviral therapy. Aethlon Medicals dialysis approach could also represent an important adjunct therapy for current dialysis patients that are co-infected with HIV (estimated to be a significant percent of the current kidney dialysis population).

Aethlon also has plans to use the Hemopurifier as a treatment countermeasure against drug and vaccine resistant biological weapons. In one hour of treatment The Hemopurifier has cleared 90% of the toxic protein gp-120, which depletes healthy immune cells.58 Aethlon scientists are also researching the capability of the Hemopurifier to regulate the overproduction of Cytokines, which could improve the treatment outcomes of both infectious and autoimmune diseases.

The Hemopurifier, by removing mutant strains that cause resistances, could extend the life of currently approved drugs, and represent a valuable lifecycle management strategy for patients and pharmaceutical companies.

More publications on plasmapharesis at: http://www.aethlonmedical.com/techno...blications.htm

 

[julius]

Hmmm...yes. And ciguatera toxin as well. I see your point.

As for cost, you Pervo (uh...I mean Parvo)fighter, Koan and myself all come from the wonderful land of communist medicine, so no worries there.

BTW, Pervo because of your earlier thread about Perv's, not because you're a perv.

 

[Hope123]

I'd like to see actual results which a quick scan of the website mentions but doesn't go into detail about. This might be for proprietary reasons but there's always a ton of stuff out there, some legitimate, some not, which do not pan out.

I actually thought about this in terms of using dialysis to remove cytokines which are elevated in some CFS patients since it seems that might account for many of our symptoms. My concern is that dialysis has risks to it -- if it's one-time or short-term, the risks are less. But if it's needed over a longer-term, there are complications. As usual, risks need to be balanced with benefit.

 

[Hysterical Woman]

More on Hemopurifier

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0602-cleaning_infected_blood.htm

 

[oerganix]

Parvo said: Now we just have to get Judy Mikovits and Jim Joyce
(Chairman & CEO of Aethlon Medical Inc.) talking.

How about Jim Joyce and the Whittemore family???? A cure or treatment for Andrea Whittemore?

thanks for this, Parvo, very exciting.

 

[parvofighter]

GREAT idea Oerganix!; Email written and sent.

I can't believe I didn't think of that.:Retro tongue:

How about Jim Joyce and the Whittemore family???? A cure or treatment for Andrea Whittemore?

Emails sent to Jim Joyce, CEO of Aethlon Medical Inc., Dr Mikovits, Annette Whittemore
I took the liberty of emailing Jim Joyce @ Aethlon, as well as Dr Mikovits yesterday on the possibility of research/treatment synergy. Then on seeing your post, I forwarded it to Annette Whittemore. Andrea certainly fits the profile of a patient with limited tolerance for medications... that would be wonderful if the Hemopurifier could boost her immunity, etc. If anyone can follow up on this lead, it would be the team at WPI.

Here's the gist of my email:

Hello Mr Joyce,

I had the good fortune to stumble across online information on your Hemopurifier today, and immediately thought of a new and significant market segment that you may not have yet considered for this technology. The Hemopurifiers dialysis-like capability to remove HIV virus, cytokines, exosomes, etc, from circulating blood had me immediately thinking of the recently discovered human retrovirus XMRV, and the sizable market potential it represents. While the XMRV retrovirus research is in its early days, there are growing indications that it may indeed be associated with human pathology, including the most malignant forms of prostate cancer, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and other disease entities. XMRV was most notably featured in a stunning breakthrough article in Science, in which authors Dr Judy Mikovits et al found the retrovirus in some 4% of controls, and 67% of patients with CFS (subsequent findings have raised the 67% figure to 98%). This research was the first time that XMRV had been established as an infectious virus, in the blood of patients and indeed an astonishing proportion of controls. The implication, as retroviral guru Dr John Coffin noted, is that some 10 million Americans may be infected with a retrovirus of as-yet unknown pathogenic potential. Since that time, papers presented at venues such as the Conference on Retroviral and Opportunistic Infections have revealed XMRV to be significantly associated with malignant prostate cancers; and dramatically responsive to hormones. For example, exposure of XMRV to prostatic secretions increases replication of the virus by several-fold. There is also growing recognition that proteins expressed by the XMRV virus may in themselves be pathogenic and that the envelope of the virus has an immune-suppressing function.

As the research on XMRV unfolds, and recognizing that the Hemopurifiers impact is restricted to blood (not viral reserve in tissue), the prospect develops that there may be a massive untapped market for your technology. Consider that 1 in 7 American men will develop prostate cancer within their lifetime; that if the 4% control figure holds for XMRV, that some 10 million Americans stand to be infected by this retrovirus. Further, if causality is proven for CFS, some 1 million Americans and 17 million patients worldwide might have XMRV-induced CFS.

I have taken the liberty of attaching Dr Mikovits emails above, in the hopes that you might find some synergy between the scientific opportunity to further investigate the retrovirus XMRV, and the opportunity to grow your market for the Hemopurifier. I would urge you to connect with Dr Mikovits at the Whittemore-Peterson Institute the organization which spearheaded this groundbreaking work on XMRV with the esteemed Cleveland Clinic, and the National Institutes of Health.​

Dr Mikovits is pivotally connected with the worlds leading researchers in prostate cancer and XMRV as well. She would potentially be able to open many doors for you, that might be of mutual benefit to the XMRV patient community, and your organization.

Below is an excerpt from a discussion thread I started today on a forum for XMRV and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, discussing potential applications by the Hemopurifier for XMRV. As you can see, even given the nature of retroviruses to have tissue reservoirs, there remain are many potential applications for the Hemopurifier in reducing viral load in XMRV patients.

Etc....
​

As for you Julius, did u know you're only 1 of 3 folks here who commented on humor in the Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus acronym?! Can you imagine what a great bar line that would be when asked, "What do you do for a living"? "Oh, I'm an expert on PERVs"...:Retro smile:

Koan, did u see my other post on some ideas that you might try to eliminate colors etc? I've switched from garish blue to darker blue for some of my highlights, & am providing more spacing to break up colors, & will keep tweaking.

Parvo:Retro smile:

 

[oerganix]

This device on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlUdVLIteok

Dated 2007, says they hope to have it on the market in the next couple of years, FWIW.

News interview, dated Nov 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVv6OHxQVTU&feature=related

Popular Science article, Mar 2006 : http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2006-03/blood-cleaner

These pictures are so interesting. This device can be worn and can use your own blood pressure to pump your blood through the filtering cartridge. (Might be a problem with low blood volumes and low blood pressure with ME/CFS, but it can also be hooked up to a dialysis pump.) They say it is about the size of a rolling pin!

I wanna know how much and where I can get one!