Cyclodextrin As A Therapeutic “Drug” For HIV AIDS, Niemann Pick Type C and other Viruses

Addi and Cassi’s first round of cyclodextrin infusions have been going smoothly at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada.   We’re now into our third day of continuous infusions of hydroxy propel beta cyclodextrin (HPBCD) into the girls’ bloodstreams and they don’t seem to be experiencing any negative side effects.    I feel as if it’s having a positive and immediate effect.  Addi was talking yesterday afternoon and stringing together more than one word — “I like my toys, I’m brave enough, I need your help, “Bye” to Dr. Hastings, and “Ad” for her name Addison.  Even Cassi came out with a few words - “Mommy, No.”     This is quite encouraging to us but we’re not yet sure if it’s a result of the cyclodextrin treatment.

Addi and Cassi resting during cyclodextrin infusions

Addi and Cassi’s blood work-ups have come back “normal” following the cyclodextrin infusions.  There was a slight elevation in both girls’ eosinophils after 24 hours but it was minor.   We also had to change Addi’s port access needle as it was not working properly and we were unable to draw blood.   Unfortunately, we had to re-install the needle on her chest without any numbing cream.  Ouch!

I found out this morning that researchers were looking at the same cyclodextrin (HPBCD) and Niemann Pick Type C disease back in 1996 — 13 years ago!   I received this information from a scientist in Europe and I almost had a heart attack when I read the scientific abstract.

Somehow cyclodextrin research as it relates to Niemann Pick Type C was not thoroughly pursued with all angles exhausted by scientists.   This simply can not happen again — not only for Niemann Pick Type C disease but for HIV/AIDS and potentially other viruses like Herpes that are inactivated and killed by cyclodextrin.

I worry about the future of cyclodextrin research.  We can’t count on pharmaceutical companies to research cyclodextrin or bring therapeutic products with cyclodextrin to people as they are focused on profits and patents on new drugs that take millions of dollars and years to make.   Cyclodextrin is an inexpensive and non-toxic compound that can be deployed tomorrow — far too EASY!   But the HIV/AIDS pharma companies should be watching cyclodextrin very closely.  I believe the smart ones will start investing into research and try and create new patents around cyclodextrin since the Niemann Pick Type C cholesterol gene/protein on Chromosome 18 is the culprit in HIVs ability to assemble itself in the human body.

Very First Glass Infusion Bottles of Cyclodextrin

It’s time that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of AIDS Research or the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention or some other government agency steps in and redirects money into cyclodextrin research to study this potentially life-saving compound that has very broad applications.

I am also asking for help from private citizens and global foundations such as The Gates Foundation, The Clinton Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, amfAR and One.org to step in and help by taking a closer look at cyclodextrin and it’s relationship to cholesterol metabolism and killer viruses like HIV/AIDS.   We must make sure cyclodextrin is properly tested as a therapeutic agent whether money can be made from it or not (which is can be!)

Videos

KTVU Story On Cyclodextrin And Its Amazing Benefits for HIV/AIDS and A Deadly Cholesterol Disorder

(April 1st, 2009)

Bay Area Television station KTVU tells the fascinating story about how research by Dr. James Hildreth into HIV/AIDS and the FDA approval of Cyclodextrin for Addi & Cassi are related. Our thanks to all the folks involved in creating this wonderful 4 minute segment.

Cyclodextrin. HIV AIDS. Niemann Pick Type C. Cholesterol. Sugar Killing HIV? Who Would Have Imagined This?

Millions of children in Africa like Rosine are needlessly contracting HIV/AIDS when an inexpensive and non toxic sugar compound called Cyclodextrin (or HPBCD) kills the HIV/AIDS virus and could literally stop the spread of this horrible deadly disease from mother to child (not to mention adults!).  Now that the world is going to find out how important the Niemann Pick Type C GENE and proteins (located on Chromosome 18) are to the HIV/AIDS viruses ability to create itself and replicate in an infected person’s body, there may be some significant breakthroughs on the horizon.

Rachel and Rosine - Africa Children With HIV/AIDS

Rosine’s HIV/AIDS infection is being spread through her body with the helps of the Niemann Pick Type C proteins which help the HIV/AIDS virus makes itself inside a person’s cells.   Cyclodextrin sugar is having miraculous effect on the HIV/AIDS virus (it’s killing the virus in animals!).   Millions of children in Africa contract HIV/AIDS through the birth canal.   Imagine the possibilities of pregnant mothers in Africa having an inexpensive and safe cream applied inside the birth canal prior to giving birth?   The virus could be stopped - today!   Cyclodextrin is readily available and simply needs to be tested in humans and deployed to see if it can work as effectively on people as it does in animals.

Addi & Cassi Hempel - Twins with Niemann Pick Type C

Cyclodextrin treatment is being tried as a potential therapy in Niemann Pick Type C DISEASE, which afflicts 5 year old identical twins, Addi and Cassi Hempel.  Addi and Cassi were born with two “genetic defects” or inherited “mutations” from their parents on the Niemann Pick Type C GENE.  These mutations on the GENE cause a fatal cholesterol metabolism DISEASE that is often referred to as “Childhood Alzheimer’s.”   The FDA recently approved a “compassionate use” IND to allow the twins to receive cyclodextrin infusions directly into their bloodstreams.    With cyclodextrin having such a profound effect on cellular cholesterol in mice studies and on viruses like HIV/AIDS attach to cholesterol when they enter the body like HIV/AIDS, imagine what else it might do if more research was done on this compound?

Thanks to Kresta King Cutcher Venning for sharing her beautiful pictures of children in Africa who are suffering from HIV/AIDS.   This picture of Rosine was taken in 2006 and she is still battling her HIV/AIDS infection.   Together we must bring the story of children and families in different parts of the world who are fighting what seems to be entirely different fatal diseases, but are really connected through cholesterol, to the world!

The Connection Between HIV/AIDS, Niemann Pick Type C and Cyclodextrin - Hope In Sight!

How HIV/AIDS Infects People? Learn how the Niemann Pick Type C Gene and a Rare Cholesterol Disease are Helping Researchers Understand How The Virus Makes Itself In The Body

April 1st, 2009

Bay Area Television station KTVU Channel 2 reports on the remarkable story of how two deadly diseases, one extremely rare and one a global epidemic, are connected by a cholesterol metabolism gene called Niemann Pick Type C located on Chromosome 18.

Dr. James Hildreth, a pre-eminent HIV/AIDS researcher who heads the Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research at Meharry Medical College in Nashville discusses how a non toxic sugar compound called cyclodextrin kills HIV/AIDS.   Cyclodextrin punches holes in the virus, inactivating its ability to replicate in the body.

When HIV enters the human body, it attaches itself to cholesterol. Dr. Hildreth has discovered how HIV creates itself in a person’s cells — by utilizing the Niemann Pick Type C proteins on Chromosome 18.

The story details how 5 year old identical twins, Addi and Cassi Hempel, who were born with a defect on the Niemann Pick Type C gene, will receive infusions of cyclodextrin into their bloodstreams to help treat their rare cholesterol disorder.   Their treatment could pave the way for future HIV/AIDS therapies.

About Web of Hope

About Web of Hope

Thank you for visiting my website, Web of Hope.  I started Web of Hope to educate people about an inexpensive and non toxic sugar compound called hydroxy propel beta cyclodextrin (HPBCD) and the relationship between cyclodextrin, HIV/AIDS and a rare cellular cholesterol disease my identical twins suffer from called Niemann Pick Type C.  You may be visiting Web of Hope after hearing recent news about the sugar compound cyclodextrin in the media.

Soon after learning that my identical twin 5 year old daughters, Addi and Cassi, were diagnosed with a rare a fatal cholesterol storage disorder, I began researching the possibility of treating my daughters with cyclodextrin.   Cyclodextrin is known to extract cholesterol in cell culture and is used throughout the food processing industry in products such as fat free butter and salad dressing.  Little did I know that the Niemann Pick Type C gene on Chromosome 18 that is causing Addi and Cassi’s deadly cholesterol illness would also be the same gene responsible for helping the HIV/AIDS virus create itself in a person’s cells and that cyclodextrin kills the HIV/AIDS virus.

After months of research work, we were finally able to convince the FDA to allow our doctors to treat Addi and Cassi with cyclodextrin infusions based on promising mice data and cyclodextrin’s excellent safety profile.   Addi and Cassi will be the first in the United States to receive cyclodextrin infusions which we hope will lead the way for other human studies.

After you spend some time learning about cyclodextrin and its potential remarkable therapeutic benefits for HIV/AIDS and Niemann Pick Type C, I hope you will help me build my Web of Hope community of supporters and help me raise awareness so that cyclodextrin treatments can be brought to millions of people worldwide.

Sincerely,

Chris Hempel

I’m a M.O.M. to Addi and Cassi Hempel
www.AddiandCassi.com

Co-Founder, Spark Public Relations
www.Sparkpr.com

Advisory Board, Children’s Rare Disease Network
www.TheProjectCharity.org