IS VITAMIN-E SUPPLEMENTATION A USEFUL AGENT IN AIDS THERAPY

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a clinical disorder caus ed by a retrovirus infection, representing the end point in a progress ive sequence of immunosuppressive changes. The literature is briefly s ummarized as to immunological, nutritional and other pathological modi fications caused by AIDS, and properties of immunoenhancing, anti-oxid ant and undernutrition-restoration of vitamin E supplementation. All t hese abnormalities in AIDS are similar to those that are stimulated or restored by intake of high doses of vitamin E. The drawbacks of pharm acological therapy like zidovudine (AZT), e.g. deleterious toxic side effects, inability to improve the immune dysfunctions and undernutriti on initiated by the retrovirus infection, and finding of AZT-resistant HIV strains, necessitate new strategies for the clinical trials of no vel therapies to treat AIDS with the existing medical therapies. Low t oxicity nutritional agents with immunoenhancing and antioxidant activi ties like vitamin E may help to normalize retrovirus-induced immune dy sfunctions, undernutrition and other pathological symptoms, thereby re tarding the progression of the disease to AIDS. To address this vitami n E therapeutic role in HIV-positive individuals, This paper presents a review of vitamin E-related therapeutic roles in animals and humans, thereby showing why vitamin E supplementation could be used as a usef ul therapeutic agent in human AIDS therapy. Since there is a paucity o f information available regarding the nutritional therapy in AIDS indi viduals, our purpose is to provide evidence from animal models or huma ns of the potential therapeutic role of vitamin E supplementation in t he treatment of AIDS individuals.