"The function of genius is not to give new answers, but to pose new questions which time and mediocrity can resolve." — H.R. Trevor-Roper
This article is a continuation of a Q& A with Nancy Turner Banks,M.D., M.B.A, who presents her views about HIV/AIDS. The interview was conducted with Dr. Banks via telephone and e-mail by the writer.
QUESTION: Some HIV/AIDS researchers have lately been emphasizing chronic immune activation and the identification of correlates of protection with regard to HIV infection, particularly in antiretroviral (ART)-treated, HIV-positive patients? What are your thoughts on this?
The question is what are these drugs doing to cellular metabolism? The ART are quite oxidizing, attacking the cell energy factories—the mitochondria, and the body will seek to protect itself from these toxins. So if they are activating the immune system, it is not in a good way. This can be borne out by the number of people on these drugs who are not dying from the AIDS-defined diseases, but who are dying from heart, liver, or kidney failure.
QUESTION: What advice would give to someone who tests HIV-positive?
Is the person otherwise healthy, or are there risk factors for developing a future problem? Not one of the 35 HIV antibody tests on the market makes the claim that the test can identify HIV—the lingo is: “there is currently no recognized standard for establishing the presence or absence of (HIV) antibody in the human blood.” (ABBOTT ELISA). That is because there is still no gold standard—the isolation of a unique virus HIV. The HIV antibody test cross-reacts with 70 different entities—hepatitis virus, flu virus, tuberculosis (TB), leprosy, measles, various collagen vascular diseases such as lupus, measles, pregnancy, etc. So what is the meaning of the test? Did you have a flu shot in the last six months? Your test could be positive.
I would tell them that the test is always given the same risk factors, 3X more likely to be positive in Hispanics and 5X more likely to be positive in Blacks than Whites. What kind of virus knows the race of the person? However, the HIV test, like many non-specific markers of potential medical risk (such as C-reactive protein) could be used to possibly indicate some underlying inflammatory process that needs correction.
Thank you, Dr. Banks, for your time and consideration.
The references which follow contain information presenting the pros and cons of the HIV/AIDS theory. Additional information can be found at the official website of the National Institutes of Health: www.nih.gov and Dr. Banks has a website: http://www.nancybanksmd.com/
RESOURCES and READ-MORE-ABOUT-IT:
1. Banks, N.J. (2010). AIDS, Opium, Diamonds, and Empire. Bloomington. iUniverse.
2. Duesberg, P.H. (1996). Inventing the AIDS virus. Washington, DC. Regnery.
3. Chigwedere P. and Essex M. (2010). AIDS denialism and public practice. AIDS Behav. 14(2):237-47 Review.
4. Kalichman, S.C., Eaton L., Cherry C. (2010). “There is no proof that HIV causes AIDS”: AIDS denialism beliefs among people living with HIV/AIDS. J. Behav Med. 33(6):432-40.
5. Rethinking AIDS 2011. Retrieved 10/03/2011 http://ra2011.org/
6. Gisselquist D. (2008). Denialism undermines AIDS prevention in sub-Saharan Africa. Int J STD AIDS. 19(10):649-55.
7. Gallo RC, Sarin PS, Gelmann EP, Robert-Guroff M et al. (1983). Isolation of human T-cell leukemia virus in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Science. 220(4599):865-7.
8. Gallo RC, Wong-Staal F. (1985). A human T-lymphotropic retrovirus (HTLV-III) as the cause of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Ann Intern Med. 103(5):679-89.
9. Duesberg P, Koehnlein C, Rasnick D. (2003). The chemical bases of the various AIDS epidemics: recreational drugs, anti-viral chemotherapy and malnutrition. J. Biosci. 28(4):383-412.
10. Duesberg P, Rasnick D. (1998). The AIDS dilemma: drug diseases blamed on a passenger virus. Genetica. 104(2):85-132.
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