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Viral hepatitis, a life-threatening immunological disorder

Jose Carlos Barbosa Vosgerau | 04.07.2004 23:20 | Health | World

Viral hepatitis is a worldwide disabling and fatal disease wich current technic treatment has poor results, select resistant virus and even maintain virus infection and has fatal side effects. Current technic ignores that the core of the problem is the host response before microbe challenge with large amounts of energy waste and not the virus itself alone.

Normalization of host cytokines levels and providing substract and energy for cellular reconsturction and normal function, at a very low cost, without toxicity (no lifethreatening side effects) concomitantly with virus destruction is the cornstone of the Restorer Practical Immunologic Technic (RPIT). Viral hepatitis is pandemy in expansion (out of control) and of extraordinary medical and social and economical importance, a frequent cause of mortality and disability in all ages. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to be one of the most important viral pathogens in humans. HBV infection is a health concern for China, and a hyperendemy in Thailand. Chronic hepatitis B is a leading cause of death worldwide, despite antiviral therapy, liver transplant or vaccines. It is stimated that there are 350 millions of people infected with HBV and around one-quarter of these chronic carriers will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer within 30 years. The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC – liver cancer) is increasing in many countries. The estimated number of new cases annually is over 500,000, and the yearly incidence comprises between 2.5 and 7% of patients with liver cirrhosis.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects an estimated 170 million persons worldwide. Chronic hepatitis C is a particular health issue for Western Europe and U.S.A, accounting for 40% of end-stage cirrhosis and 30% of liver transplants and a common cause of HCC. The epidemic of HCV infection continues to escalate in Australia. Chronic hepatitis C acquired in childhood is a progressive, slow-moving, fibrotic disease. Hepatitis E also is a health concern for India, it may trigger fulminant hepatitis.
But viral hepatitis injuries are not restrict to liver damage. Severe extra-hepatic immunologic disorders as arthritis, thyroiditis, “idiopathic” pulmonary fibrosis, fatigue, fibromialgia, vasculitis, lichen planus (a pre-cancerous disorder), sialadenitis (Sjogren-like), parotide lymphom, cryoglobulinemia tipe II, renal disease, neuropathy, thrombocytopenic purrpura, porfiria cutanea tarda, diabetes mellitus, cataract. There is a significant association between chirrosis and cryoglobulinemia. Current “treatment” has very disappoiting results, relies on anti-virals (interferon and ribavirin), which are partially effective when the viral replication is inhibited, about 10-20% of patients only. Many patients drop out the treatment because very frequent severe and fatal side effects as pseudoinfluenzal symptoms, lack of appetite, abdominal pain, anemia, myalgias, fever, rash, headache, thrombocytopenia, granulocytopenia, hair loss, irritability, itching of the skin, diabetes mellitus, hepatitis, liver, heart, renal failure, arrythmia, heart attack, psicosis, etc, side effects of interferon-alpha (IFN-a). Treatment of hepatitis B virus carriers with lamivudine induces the outgrowth of drug-resistant virus variants. Liver disease associated with hepatitis B and/or C virus is a significant and increasing cause of death for HIV-infected patients. HIV coinfection is associated with poorer response to IFN-alpha therapy, more frequent HBV reactivations, and increased incidence of cirrhosis and cirrhosis-related death, beyond of the problem of antiretrovirals hepatotoxicity. In spite of all these severe side effects and the poor treatment results, there is no significant histologic improvement. Indeed, the current “treatment” promote and maintain the viral infection.
When the current technic referes about results is about “sustained responder” that should be not confused with cure, but based on 2 fragile criteria- viremia clearence and ALT (liver enzyme) normalization often for 6 months to 1 year of observation (liver cancer may occur 30 years later and not until 1 year after hepatitis onset). But it should kept in mind that:1. the hepatitis virus is an intracellular parasite, the circulanting particules are a small part of the true viral load, 2. viremia may disappear spontaneously, 3. the virus not only infects the hepatocyte but also other cells as lymphocytes, etc. Patients with liver cirrhosis maintain an efficient intrahepatic hepatitis C virus replication even in end-stage disease, although hepatitis C virus viraemia decreases according to the severity of liver disease. It is possible to have normal ALT during active viral hepatitis. Despite high viral load, children with chronic HBV infection may lack significant biochemical signs of liver dysfunction. Despite the absence of biochemical abnormalities in these patients, there is still a risk for long-term complications. So, the abscence of circulating viral particules detected by routinary tests (that are not necessarily the most precise ones, vide occult hepatitis B or hepatitis C without detectable antibodies) does not mean virus absence in tissues, or abscence of viral activity, of host immunological response before virus challenge, of disease and hardly it takes into account or it even ignores the extra-hepatic manifestations that overburden to much the health and social system. Since there is no true treatment for virus until now, vaccines to prevent viral hepatitis should be a good solution. But vaccine is avaible only for hepatitis A and B, is a technic to be improved, considering the continuous hepatitis B increase in spite of vaccination programs, and the severe and potencially fatal side effects, with an aggravation - to submit healthy people to such hazard, measure that has costed to much pain for the patients and money from the Program for Vaccine Injuries Compensation of countries that adopt regular vaccination. Local adverse events reported in the 4 days following administration of combined two-dose hepatitis A and B vaccine include pain or soreness, redness and swelling; systemic symptoms included headache, fatigue, gastrointestinal events (hepatitis, gastrointestinal disease and liver function test abnormalities) and fever. Effectiveness of vaccination against VHB in hemodialyzed patients is markedly lower. Eczematous reaction to hepatitis B vaccine, persistent nodules at sites of hepatitis B vaccination due to aluminium sensitization. Polyarteritis nodosa that resulted in an ischemic and necrotic digital ulcus, necessitating surgical amputation. Unexplained neonatal fever seems to be associated with the introduction of routine hepatitis B vaccination on the first day of life. Alopecia, anetodermia, childhood bullous pemphigoid, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, multiple sclerosis occurring less than 10 weeks after hepatitis B vaccination, lichen planus, papulonodular lichenoid and pseudolymphomatous reaction at the injection site of hepatitis B virus vaccination. Arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, polyarthralgia-myalgia, vasculitis, systemic lupus erythematous exacerbation, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenic purpura, urticaria/angioedema, juvenile dermatomyositis, fever, hepatitis, pneumonitis and neurologic symptoms, compatible with the diagnosis of adult Still's disease, acute aseptic meningitis, nephrotic syndrome, unilateral optic nerve reaction appearing 9-10 hours after vaccination against hepatitis B leaving a permanent inferior notch in the visual field. Cutaneous lupus erythematosus and buccal aphthosis, ocular placoid pigment epitheliopathy, subacute thyroiditis sudden hearing loss in childhood, acute pericarditis, segmentary unilateral occlusion of the central retinal, of liver and lung dysfunction whose postmortem examination revealed evidence of immune complex-mediated organ injury in the liver, lungs, and kidneys.
Although it is known since last two decades and ignored in the medical practice, that independently of the causal agent, the viral hepatitis clinical/laboratory pictures are triggered by cytokines high levels – cytokines storm or reactional state of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, interferon-gamma (IFN-g), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a), interferon-alpha (IFN-a), between others- the host response before microbes challenge or the host immunologic response. Most of the liver or extra-hepatic viral hepatitis symptoms, including hepatitis itself are related to increased levels of IFN-a. To use more IFN-a, for treating viral hepatitis obviously is a fatal mistake. It is like to use gazoline to combat the fire. Cytokines storm leads to a progressive increase and fatal waste of energy.
A severe and potencially disabling and fatal immunologic disorder as viral hepatitis must be treated from a serious and immunological approach. The treatment based on restorer practical immunologic technic (RPIT) is suitable for any patient, human or not, it has a vast veterinarian application too, differently of the current technic, it is very simple, it has no toxicity, it is very efficient and of low cost and can be applied in any viral hepatitis. Thalidomide and Bauhinia sp have the essencial qualities for virus diseases treatment – both are virus killer and both modulates exaggerated host response before microbes challenge, with no toxicity, high efficiency and very low costs. Both medicines also provide substract and energy for cell reconstruction and normal celular function. It means that is possible to treat animals or human subclinical hepatitis efficiently, safely with low costs and so break the transmission cicle, by eliminating the virus (not the host) in important virus reservoires with intelligence and no trukulence. Differently of current treatment that causes diabetes, renal failure, hepatitis, aggravates HIV infection course, thalidomide and Bauhinia sp can not only treat but also prevent such diseases. Such results are achieved without toxicity or even without side effects! Considering that RPIT is an inovative technic, some points should be clarified:
a) RPIT is not a war against the current knowlegde, at the contrary, it is the full application of all current knowledge, modern and ancient from an immunological point of view, with a practical approach, fully backed on reality with immediate and impressive results. RPIT is a battle against ignorance, incompetence, prejudice and greed that hides the poor results behind twisted words. RPIT is a technic for mass Medicine that truely favors people’s quality of life improvement.
b)Both medicines, thalidomide and Bauhinia sp, seek RPIT basic rules:
1. safety – no toxicity
2. efficiency – results immediate and impressive
3. simplicity – they can be applied by any doctor in the most sofisticated hospital or in the most remote countryside
4. very low costs
5. prevention of diseases onset or of their complications

1. They have no toxicity, i.e., they are extremely safe for medical practice use, they have no fatal side effect, both are well known for more than 50 years and there is no surprizes in their use, differently of new drugs. Except women that can be pregnant or during the first months of pregnancy there is no restriction for thalidomide use. Bauhinia has no side effects.

2. The medicines efficiency is not related only with acute or chronic complications, they can also prevent disabling sequelae, avoiding social system burden and alowing prompt patient’s reintegration on social and economical activities.

3. They can be applied in the primare care, at home, and not necessarily in a hospital, as in earthquakes, reducing greatly the development of severe complications as neurological, cardiovascular disorders, kidney failure, etc. and obviously, reducing dramatically medicare costs

4. Both medicines are very cheap, 1 kg thalidomide costs US$600 and Bauhinia about US$30. Besides it is possible to treat severe complications as septic shock at home clearing the health system and avoiding the hospitalar infections, tensions between limited capacity of health care assistance and the increasing population’s medical needs and avoiding anxiety/depression mainly in children or older people due to family separation during hospitalization.

5. These medicines not only can treat efficiently but also can prevent the disease onset and obviously epidemies outbreak as it may occur after earthquakes, since they have no toxicity, are highly efficient, the simplicity of their use and low costs may be used even by healthy but at disease risk people or animals and they can prevent further injuries if they are applied quickly even the local of accident (multiple trauma, burns in earthquakes).

The restorer practical immunologic technic simplicity is allied to efficiency, efficacity and to effetivity aims always at the patient’s quality of life improvement such as in a severe immunological disease as viral hepatitis. This technic is very suitable for mass Medicine application. Within the restorer practical immunologic technic context, mass medicine let be the adoption of hastened measures in view of political pressures for meaning serious, of quality and low costs treatment, hence it is appliable to the vast majority of population, focused on the citizen’s quality of life improvement in short, medium and long time. It is of great importance not only for citizen’s health but also for the socioeconomic and political health of the country.

The restorer practical immunologic technic simplicity is allied to efficiency, efficacity and to effetivity aiming always at the patient’s quality of life improvement such as in viral hepatitis. This technic is very suitable for mass Medicine application. Within the restorer practical immunologic technic context, mass medicine let be the adoption of hastened measures in view of political pressures for meaning serious, of quality and low costs treatment, hence it is appliable to the vast majority of population, focused on the citizen’s quality of life improvement in short, medium and long time. It is of great importance not only for citizen’s health but also for the socioeconomic and political health of the country.

Jose Carlos Barbosa Vosgerau
- e-mail: osiris@interponta.com.br