Armenicum
Encyclopedia
Armenicum is a drug invented in Armenia
in 1998 that its developers claim is an effective treatment for HIV
infection and a number of associated diseases. No rigorously monitored clinical trials of Armenicum have been published, and most HIV experts outside of Armenia do not endorse its use.
In 1999, a BBC
investigation involving interviews with scientists involved in administering the drug, patients and creator Alexander Ilyen raised serious doubts about the drug's efficacy, concluding that Armenicum might do more harm than good. Dr. Manfred Dietrich of the Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg
told the BBC "I would not recommend at all to take such a drug." while an American patient said "we’re in a worse state than we were before we went."
Worldwide, the most effective treatment for HIV are antiretroviral drugs, which in internationally accepted clinical trials have been the only proven way to keep patients alive, often for years. The drugs work by directly attacking and reducing the amount of HIV in the body, keeping the patient from developing Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a complete immune system failure that leads to death. The drugs, offered in cocktails of three or four at a time, are often changed as the virus becomes resistant.
Alternatively, the makers of Armenicum claim it boosts the immune system, allowing the body to fight the virus. Armenicum clinic doctors also contend the drug has been shown to reduce a patient’s viral load—the amount of HIV in the body—and that HIV never becomes resistant to it. The problem is that company scientists have never tried to prove any of these claims. They admit to not even formally monitoring the 250 patients who have been treated with the drug during the period from 2004 to 2008.
The main ingredient of Armenicum is iodine
, a general antiseptic
. According to the manufacturers it also contains dextrin
, polyvinyl alcohol
, sodium
, potassium
and lithium
cations and chloride
anions. It is described as a "blue-violet liquid with specific odor, packed in orange glass bottles per 20ml and corked tightly by a rubber plug clutched by aluminum caps."
When Armenicum was first introduced in Armenia in 1998, founders called it a "revolutionary cure for AIDS," and it immediately captured Armenia's high-ranking government officials’ interest. Early on, initial payments for Armenicum treatments came from the Armenian Defense Ministry, hoping to promote the drug’s research and development. Armenicum’s possibilities caused a buzz of excitement in the tiny country. Businessmen, it was reported in some newspapers in 1999, were buying up property so that they could rent it to all the people who would fly to Armenia to take the cure. However, as of November 2008, only about 800 people have taken Armenicum, which is financed by the Armenian government at a cost of around $6,000 per patient per year.
hospitals. According to his doctors, Armenicum turned out to be a simple immunity modular, without any effect on the virus which continues to damage the cells in the human body. Later on those news were rejected and Armenicum was named the most effective remedies for AIDS.
In March 2005 Kolesnikov was reported to have frozen to death in his native Kaliningrad. There have been several other reports on his death over the years.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
in 1998 that its developers claim is an effective treatment for HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
infection and a number of associated diseases. No rigorously monitored clinical trials of Armenicum have been published, and most HIV experts outside of Armenia do not endorse its use.
In 1999, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
investigation involving interviews with scientists involved in administering the drug, patients and creator Alexander Ilyen raised serious doubts about the drug's efficacy, concluding that Armenicum might do more harm than good. Dr. Manfred Dietrich of the Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
told the BBC "I would not recommend at all to take such a drug." while an American patient said "we’re in a worse state than we were before we went."
Worldwide, the most effective treatment for HIV are antiretroviral drugs, which in internationally accepted clinical trials have been the only proven way to keep patients alive, often for years. The drugs work by directly attacking and reducing the amount of HIV in the body, keeping the patient from developing Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a complete immune system failure that leads to death. The drugs, offered in cocktails of three or four at a time, are often changed as the virus becomes resistant.
Alternatively, the makers of Armenicum claim it boosts the immune system, allowing the body to fight the virus. Armenicum clinic doctors also contend the drug has been shown to reduce a patient’s viral load—the amount of HIV in the body—and that HIV never becomes resistant to it. The problem is that company scientists have never tried to prove any of these claims. They admit to not even formally monitoring the 250 patients who have been treated with the drug during the period from 2004 to 2008.
The main ingredient of Armenicum is iodine
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
, a general antiseptic
Antiseptic
Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction...
. According to the manufacturers it also contains dextrin
Dextrin
Dextrins are a group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch or glycogen. Dextrins are mixtures of polymers of D-glucose units linked by α- or α- glycosidic bonds....
, polyvinyl alcohol
Polyvinyl alcohol
Polyvinyl alcohol is a water-soluble synthetic polymer .-Properties:...
, sodium
Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...
, potassium
Potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
and lithium
Lithium
Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...
cations and chloride
Chloride
The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine, a halogen, picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and can also be called chlorides. The chloride ion, and its salts such as sodium chloride, are very soluble in water...
anions. It is described as a "blue-violet liquid with specific odor, packed in orange glass bottles per 20ml and corked tightly by a rubber plug clutched by aluminum caps."
When Armenicum was first introduced in Armenia in 1998, founders called it a "revolutionary cure for AIDS," and it immediately captured Armenia's high-ranking government officials’ interest. Early on, initial payments for Armenicum treatments came from the Armenian Defense Ministry, hoping to promote the drug’s research and development. Armenicum’s possibilities caused a buzz of excitement in the tiny country. Businessmen, it was reported in some newspapers in 1999, were buying up property so that they could rent it to all the people who would fly to Armenia to take the cure. However, as of November 2008, only about 800 people have taken Armenicum, which is financed by the Armenian government at a cost of around $6,000 per patient per year.
Kolesnikov Controversy
On 8 September 2000, Nikolai Kolesnikov, who had received treatment for AIDS in "Armenicum" center in Armenia was reported dead in one of KaliningradKaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
hospitals. According to his doctors, Armenicum turned out to be a simple immunity modular, without any effect on the virus which continues to damage the cells in the human body. Later on those news were rejected and Armenicum was named the most effective remedies for AIDS.
In March 2005 Kolesnikov was reported to have frozen to death in his native Kaliningrad. There have been several other reports on his death over the years.