title: Phase-1 studies of malariotherapy for HIV infecton.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether malariotherapy (an old therapy for treatment of neurosyphilis) improves some clinical and laboratory parameters of HIV-positive patients without iatrogenic complications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total 8 asymptomatic HIV-1 positive subjects whose CD4 cell counts were over 250 x 10(6) cells/L were selected for the phase-1 studies of malariotherapy and were intravenously injected Plasmodia vivax to induce artificial malaria. Malaria was terminated with chloroquine after 10 to approximately 20 malarial fever episodes. Cell-bound CD4 levels were measured by APAAP (a solid-phase enzyme essay) and levels of neopterin (NPT), beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-2 (sTNF-RII), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and HIV P24 antigen were measured by ELISA. Patients were followed up to 24 to approximately 30 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CD4 levels increased in 5, NPT decreased in 7 of 8 patients; IL-2 increased in 5 of 6 patients after malariotherapy. The total trends of B2M and sTNF-RII basically remained stable. HIV P24 antigen remained undetectable in 6, remained detectably low level in 1 and experienced increase in 1 of 8 patients after malariotherapy. No any severe complications occurred in all 8 patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that malariotherapy basically is safe for HIV infection and it seems that the therapy improves some immunological parameters of HIV patients.
authors.affiliation: The Municipal Health and Anti-Epidemic Station of Guangzhou, Guangzhou 510080.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Heimlich
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Spletzer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000097:blood; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000628:therapy*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D019798:Neopterin / Q000097:blood; D010966:Plasmodium vivax; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000097:blood; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin; D019798:Neopterin