FIV and AHCC

I didn't want to take another thread ( http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262782/fiv-cats-and-diet-any-other-fiv-cat-parents-have-input ) off-topic, but a comment about how ChrisRN is supplementing her kitties with FIV is VERY interesting. I thought it was a good idea to put the information here for people searching and who may want to look into it.

Here's the relevant quote:

ChrisRN75495 said:

...I am giving AHCC. I discovered this from my health food guy (not a chain with "salespeople" like GNC--they never heard of this and have no idea of proper indications for various supplements!). I use "Mike's Health Collection," a small family owned store in McKinney, TX (in case anyone here is nearby). They have a facebook page and can be reached. Mike had no idea of any animal application, but recommended it for my husband who had severely depressed white cell counts related to chemotherapy and radiation (he had metastatic lung cancer, doing fine now despite the odds!). As an RN, I knew we were going to have to do something and I was sick when I read up on the recommended medications for this problem. The side effects included worsening tumors, new tumors and death. Mike's supplement offered stimulation of bone marrow to produce more cells. I had two days to get the counts up before even I could not justify our continuing to refuse drugs. In two days, the oncologist wanted to know what I had done to cause the counts to go up, said they'd run the tests twice. Of course he can't make $$ off a supplement someone else sells, so that was the end of his interest!

...And they are all AMAZINGLY HEALTHY. Feel free to PM me if you want to make contact via phone or email. I don't want to post it on an open thread, but I'm happen to connect up more safely.

Christine Johnson
Susan's Cat Sanctuary (where we don't discriminate on basis of species)

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I do tend to think of http://www.fivtherapy.com as a kind of "FIV Bible." So when I read the comments about AHCC, the first thing I did was look it up, and then I checked Bud's Therapy to see if it was mentioned.

This is what AHCC is (just the wiki): Active Hexose Correlated Compound http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Hexose_Correlated_Compound

It's an alpha-glucan

Here's a promo site that focuses on the cancer-aspect, but has a lot of research and lists of clinical studies: http://www.ahccresearch.com/

Notably, the drugs.com site ( http://www.drugs.com/npp/ahcc.html ) mentions this:

AHCC at 3 g/day was evaluated for 12 months in 20 HIV-positive men. The results of the study document the following (28) : enhanced natural killer cell activity during the first month, which peaked at the third month and remained consistent during the trial; marked increase in absolute CD4+ cell counts in 14 of 20 patients during the first month and that remained consistent; no change in percentage of the CD4+ cells; increased absolute CD8 cell counts in 12 of 20 patients; and no change in the CD4/CD8 ratio.

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The reference is a 1994 study: 28. Ghoneum M, Priestly J; International Conference on AIDS. AHCC immunotherapy in AIDS patients. Int Conf AIDS . 1994;10(1):215.

So I went to check the http://www.fivtherapy site. I found only discussion of beta glucans from mushrooms, and most of the discussion was in relation to agaricus and reishi, and there was mention of a study done with reishi mushrooms where the outcome was lowered NK activity - not what we want in FIV kitties! But "AHCC is an extract prepared from mycelia of several species of basidiomycete mushrooms, including shiitake or Lentinus edodes..." (from the drugs.com site). Now - agaricus and reishi are also basidiomycete mushrooms, but the AHCC extract is principally the alpha glucans, not beta glucans:

Again, from drugs.com

AHCC contains polysaccharides, amino acids, lipids, and minerals. 1 , 2 , 4 It is obtained by a patented process involving cultivation, enzymatic decomposition, sterilization, concentration, and freeze-drying. 1 The enzyme-fermented compound is an extract of the mycelia of basidiomycetes mushrooms. Oligosaccharides account for nearly 74% of AHCC, and approximately 20% of these saccharides are partially acetylated alpha-1,4 glucans with a mean molecular weight of 5,000 daltons. 3 , 5 The biological activities of AHCC are associated with the acetylated forms of the low molecular weight oligosaccharides. 2 , 3 , 5

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And from the wiki:

Polysaccharides comprise 40% of the composition of AHCC. These include beta-glucan (β-glucan) and acetylated α-glucan. Acetylated α-glucan, produced by culturing the mushroom mycelia, is unique to AHCC. Glucans are polysaccharides and these polysaccharides are known to have immune stimulating effects.[6] The low molecular weight of acetylated α -glucan (around 5000 daltons) is easily absorbed into the system compared to the higher molecular weight of β-glucan, which is in the range of tens to hundreds of thousands of daltons.

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So not only does AHCC look very interesting as a supporting therapy for FIV kitties, but ChrisRN's experiences indicate it is effective in helping our FIV kitties. :nod:

If anyone wants to add to the discussion, provide research, etc. please do! I just wanted this information to be easily found SOMEWHERE.

I searched the FIV-healthscience Yahoo group for more info, and found that there is a product for pets. http://www.americanbiosciences.com/

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/produ...mune-system-support/205002.aspx#dtIngredients

OK, the person responsible for the http://www.fivtherapy.com website weighed in on the AHCC via the Yahoo FIV-healthscience group he started.

Here's the summary.

It isn't at all clear whether or not AHCC is advisable for use in asymptomatic FIV cats.

"Assuming that any immune stimulus is beneficial in an FIV+ cat with some presumed level of immune-deficiency is not, at least not by the HIV model, advisable. Of course, FIV is not HIV so it's possible that the HIV model is not always applicable."

And AHCC is mentioned on the site, I just didn't use the search function (you have to scroll down to the bottom of the options on the left side of the front page to find it. :anon: ).

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The bottom-line is that in FIV kitties, you don't want immune-stimulation (during the asymptomatic phase, anyway) so much as you want immune regulation, or in a targeted fashion, you want to slow down the progression of the virus. This - and options for management - are already described in detail on the FIVtherapy site.

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For anyone interested in the details, the owner of the FIVtherapy site explained the way AHCC works in the email: "AHCC stimulates production of Interleuken-12 (IL-12), and this is the presumed mechanism for any increase in absolute CD8+ lymphocyte counts. To back up, the CD4+ (Helper-T) cells, which are the primary target of the virus are primed for expansion by IL-2; this is the "cytokine" (immune-signaling protein) that is produced in response to the thymic protein A in LTCI. CD8+ (Cytotoxic-T) cells (the actual effector arm of the T-cell line) are primed by CD4+ cells in the presence of IL-12. IL-12 also activates natural killer (NK) cells, which are lymphocytes of the natural rather than adaptive immune system."

I came looking to see whether it was AHCC or AC-11 I ought to be giving my FIV cats and found this post.  Wow!  Serious research and reporting on journal articles.....  I am pleased there are more than just me doing this stuff, and some even using clean experimental technique.

I don't give it very often to cats who are not sick, but once in a great while I don't believe it hurts to have a little bit mixed into something tasty.

BTW, Justin, my cat who was at death's door 12 months ago is not only with us but looking good.

Thanks all--

Christine

Great to hear Justin is doing so well!

Glad you found the information helpful, and for sharing your use and experience. :rub: