Summary
The UK Foundation for AIDS Research is seeking funding to undertake a six month research programme to ascertain the prevalence of complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by HIV infected patients in the UK. HIV infected patients commonly use complementary and alternative medicine, but it is not known how often CAM is used, what it is being used to treat or whether patients are informing their health care practitioners of such use. The research is estimated to take one person six months to complete and funding is being sought to cover the costs and overheads of the research project.
Background
ARV is not a cure and in many cases full immune reconstruction is slow or unachievable; additionally there are side effects to the drugs or long term damage caused by HIV. People living with HIV often therefore look to the unproven supplements, vitamins or other therapies to help alleviate these symptoms or to try to increase CD4 counts further. Studies have indicated that over 50% of HIV-positive people use complementary or alternative medicine (Hsiao, An-Fu, 2003). Several earlier studies also found that up to 60% of HIV-positive patients use some kind of alternative therapy, including herbal medicine such as St John’s wort, Ginkgo and Garlic, which can have potential dangers for people living with HIV (Carter 2003). It is therefore possible for people living with HIV to spend hundreds of pounds a month of on vitamins, supplements or unproven interventions which have not been rigorously tested or proven to be of any benefit.
As a consequence of this, many HIV + people may be wasting money on unproven (or potentially harmful) interventions. Alternatively, clinically beneficial interventions have yet to be identified and the HIV+ community informed. The UKFAR has been set up to fund robust research into existing drugs, supplements and other interventions that could improve the lives of people living with HIV. The first piece of research required is to understand the use of CAM by HIV infected patients.
