SAN FRANCISCO: CHINESE HERBAL PROGRAM DEADLINE JANUARY 5

The Quan Yin Healing Arts Center in San Francisco continues to sponsor HIV treatment and research studies for seropositive people, whether symptomatic or not, through its Chinese Herbal Treatment Program. The next deadline for enrollment is January 5, for a 12-week program beginning January 10. Participants can continue with any other treatments or medications, and should already be under the care of a primary physician. The cost of the program is $190 for the 12 weeks. Interested people can call 415/861-4964.

Results of Earlier Programs

We asked Quan Yin about results of their earlier programs. A summary appears in "The Role of Chinese Herbal Medicine in the Defeat of the AIDS Epidemic," by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., published by his Institute for Traditional Medicine and Preventive Health Care, Portland, Oregon. Two groups of patients were reported. In the first, with 93 participants completing the study, "40 felt more healthy at the end of the program, 47 felt about the same, and only 6 reported feeling less healthy. White blood cell counts increased by an average of 2.85 percent and hematocrit increased by an average of 1.08 percent. T-cells were measured in 26 participants. Fifteen showed an increase, 10 showed a decrease, and one had no change. Individuals who were categorized as HIV+ indicated better response overall, and by blood tests, than those with ARC or AIDS...Of the 93, six changed diagnosis from HIV to ARC and two from ARC to AIDS.

Besides the 93 who completed that study, 54 dropped out (including two who died); a total of 147 had started. Many were listed as dropping out only because they failed to provide the last report at the end of the three months.

In the next group, 164 participants began the protocol and 127 completed it. "Fifty nine of the individuals completing the study reported feeling more healthy and 58 reported feeling about the same, while only 10 individuals considered themselves to be less healthy at the end of the three-month period. White blood cell counts increased by an average of 5.8 percent and hematocrit increased by an average of 2.1 percent. T-cell counts were available for 12 participants; of these, six showed an increase, one stayed about the same, and five experienced a decrease...Four individuals changed diagnosis from HIV+ to ARC and one from HIV+ to AIDS during the course of the study."

Another group began in September, 1989, but results are not yet available.