New DNCB Study Opens

A pilot study of the potentially immune-enhancing substance
dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) is being co-sponsored by Project
Inform and Children's Hospital in San Francisco. DNCB was once
in wide use by the HIV "treatment underground," but the lack of a
standard dose and application at the time produced mixed results.
Because DNCB was unpatentable, the mainstream AIDS research
establishment seldom pursued it seriously as an HIV treatment.

DNCB is in common use, however, as a diagnostic lab test
applied topically to the skin, to assess delayed hypersensitivity
in immune function; it has also been tried experimentally to
treat alopecia, warts, and melanoma. Available as an industrial
solvent, particularly in photographic development, DNCB has been
reported to elicit an immunomodulatory activity from CD8 cells,
and from Langerhans cells, which are considered a pivotal
connection between the body's dermatological and immunological
systems. When brushed onto a small area of the skin, DNCB
gradually provokes a systemic immune reaction like that caused by
poison oak or poison ivy, apparently inducing Langerhans cells to
step up their capacity for signaling the proliferation of T-
cells.

This study of DNCB is innovative for its plans to observe
any correlation between skin and blood markers; it is designed
only to monitor people who have already chosen to use DNCB (with
or without AZT). It will be supervised by an HIV- knowledgeable
physician on staff at Children's Hospital, Rafael Stricker, M. D.
The protocol for the study was written by Dr. Stricker and Joseph
Brewer of Project Inform. For information about participating,
interested persons can call 415/552-7464.