Lyudmila G. Nikolaeva  , Tatyana V. Maystat  , Volodymyr S. Pylypchuk  , Yuri L. Volyanskii  , Galyna A. Kutsyna  , 
    Effect of Immunomodulator Dzherelo on CD4 + T-Lymphocyte Counts and Viral Load in HIV Infected Patients Receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy,
    Research Journal of Pharmacology,
    Volume 2,Issue 1,
    2008,
    Pages 8-12,
    ISSN 1815-9362,
    rjpharm.2008.8.12,
    (https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=rjpharm.2008.8.12)
    Abstract: The phase II, randomized, clinical trial was conducted in 40 HIV infected patients to evaluate the effect of oral immunomodulator  Dzherelo on immune and viral parameters. The arm A (n = 20), received standard Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) consisting of zidovudine, lamivudine and efavirenz (AZT/3TC/EFV) and arm B (n = 20)  received  50  drops  of  Dzherelo  twice  per  day  in  addition to ART. After 2 months the total CD3 T-lymphocytes increased in ART recipients from  664 to 819 cells µL <SUP>1</SUP> (p = 0.06), whereas in Dzherelo recipients they rose from  595 to 785 cells µL <SUP>1</SUP> (p = 0.03). The  population of CD4 T-cells expanded by 57.3% in ART (218-343; p = 0.002) and by 93.5% in Dzherelo arms (184-356; p = 0.004). The accrual in absolute and relative number of CD8+ lymphocytes in ART and Dzherelo recipients was 43.2% (2.7%) and 50.4% (-0.5%) , respectively. The CD4/CD8 ratio in Dzherelo recipients had increased from 1.495 to 1.940 (p = 0.03) but in the control group the increase was not significant, i.e., 1.418-1.613 (p = 0.14). About three-quarters (14/19) of patients on ART displayed the decrease in viral load (1718-1419 copies mL <SUP>1</SUP>; p = 0.008), while 95% of patients on Dzherelo had a  reduction  in  the  number  of  viral  copies (1793-1368 copies; p = 0.001). Dzherelo has a favorable effect on T-lymphocyte subsets and viral burden in HIV patients when given as an immunomodulating adjunct to ART.
    Keywords: AIDS;antiviral;ART;HAART;immunotherapy;phytotherapy