Are You A Sexpat Or Do You Ride The Backwards Morality Train?

[Lite Beer]

New plant extract a boon for the HIV-positive
Visarut Sankham
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- AN INNOVATIVE mixture of traditional plant extracts has proved to be a boon to the quality of life for HIV-positive people.

Medical tests have shown that the mixture, known as APCOcap, can raise the CD4-cell count in people who take anti-retroviral drugs.

When infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), patients see a drop in the count of CD4 cells - a white-blood cell that plays a key role in protecting the immune system.

Anti-retroviral drugs and APCOcap can help HIV-positive people maintain or boost their CD4 count, and with their immune system working well, patients can continue leading normal lives.

"The good effects of the APCOcap is most evident in people who are HIV-positive as well as those who have tuberculosis," a statement jointly released by the Asian Phytoceuticals Public Company Limited (APCO) and the National Innovation Agency (NIA) said yesterday.

APCOcap is made of extracts from mangosteen, black sesame, soybean, guava and gotu kola, and the Food and Drug Administration has registered it as a supplementary food product.

Dr Pichaet Wiriyachitra, who heads the Operation BIM research team, said they had been researching these extracts for more than three decades, but it was not until six years ago that the team began developing the extracts as a product for HIV-positive people.

As many as 120 HIV-positive people, including children, have taken APCOcap and the results are being monitored under the APCO project. Among those being tested are 70 HIV-positive children at Baan Gerda, a facility in Lop Buri province.

After taking APCOcap for one year, the CD4 cells of the children have risen by 67.34 per cent on average.

"Everyone is better," Pichaet told a press conference yesterday.

APCOcap is now available both locally and overseas. A girl who has been living in one of these shelters said she had not fallen ill since taking APCOcap.

NIA chairman Dr Somchet Thinaphong also expressed support for APCOcap at the press conference.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/New-plant-extract-a-boon-for-the-HIV-positive-30268186.html

-- The Nation 2015-09-05

[lee b]

Great news for all who have this, Lets just hope they can find something that cures it 100%, with cancer and all the other shi@t

[thesetat2013]

Didn't Thailand already come up with a cure for AIDS? Why would they need this if then?

[daoyai]

Marketed as a nutritional supplament they can make any claims they like, wonder if they have the courage to do a real test with a control group recieving placebos etc. ...then peer reviewed.

[AyG]

A disgusting piece of marketing aimed at the vulnerable, encouraging them to buy the company's product.

There's no mention of a double blind controlled trial. Not even a mention of a control group. They must be absolutely shameless.

[Always18]

Marketed as a nutritional supplament they can make any claims they like, wonder if they have the courage to do a real test with a control group recieving placebos etc. ...then peer reviewed.

Quite so - in the Land Of Superstition anecdotal "evidence" will trump rigorous science every time..............

[attrayant]

Seems like very little - if any - true research happens in Thailand. Let's have some pre-med students get hold of this "food product" and do a proper double-blind trial, then submit to PLoS One for publication and peer review.

[deckape]

"Everyone is better," Pichaet told a press conference yesterday.

Good enough for me!

[HerbalEd]

Marketed as a nutritional supplament they can make any claims they like, wonder if they have the courage to do a real test with a control group recieving placebos etc. ...then peer reviewed.

You seem to know little to nothing about Thailand's FDA regulation of nutritional supplements and the health or medical claims that can, and cannot, be used on their labels and in their marketing.

Yes, there are mislabeled products on the Thai market that make unproven claims, but those products are illegal under Thai FDA law.

I have a long time American friend with expertise and many years experience in dietary/food supplements regulation in USA and he says Thai FDA is actually much more stringent in supplement regulation than in USA and Europe.

Edited September 5, 2015 by HerbalEd

[umbanda]

Marketed as a nutritional supplament they can make any claims they like, wonder if they have the courage to do a real test with a control group recieving placebos etc. ...then peer reviewed.

You seem to know little to nothing about Thailand's FDA regulation of nutritional supplements and the health or medical claims that can, and cannot, be used on their labels and in their marketing.

Yes, there are mislabeled products on the Thai market that make unproven claims, but those products are illegal under Thai FDA law.

I have a long time American friend with expertise and many years experience in dietary/food supplements regulation in USA and he says Thai FDA is actually much more stringent in supplement regulation than in USA and Europe.

True. That's why so many Chinese fake dietary suplements are selling well in the USA...Nothing better than the Thai ones.

[umbanda]

If you live in Thailand and do not use the advantage in eating all Mangosteen you can get.....you are loosing the best Thailand have to offer for your health and your diet.

[jamesbrock]

Didn't Thailand already come up with a cure for AIDS? Why would they need this if then?

Not sure, but they did claim to cure Ebola...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/764359-we-have-the-cure-for-ebola-bangkoks-siriraj-hospital-announces/

[steven100]

it said ... everyone's better .... so it must be true !

they can stop taking those ground up tiger bone pills now.

[attrayant]

If you live in Thailand and do not use the advantage in eating all Mangosteen you can get.....you are loosing the best Thailand have to offer for your health and your diet.

Dr. Oz, is that you?

[DLock]

"Medical tests have shown that the mixture, known as APCOcap, can raise the CD4-cell count in people who take anti-retroviral drugs."

...at least they are saying when taken WITH anti-retroviral drugs....which is more than likely the reason CD is going up. You could probably substitute anything for APCOcap and as long as taking AR drugs, your CD4 should go up.

If they were claiming that this "fruit juice" could raise CD4 alone....it would be borderline criminal if not absolutely proven to be 100% true.

Crap.

[cockatoowho]

Marketed as a nutritional supplament they can make any claims they like, wonder if they have the courage to do a real test with a control group recieving placebos etc. ...then peer reviewed.

You seem to know little to nothing about Thailand's FDA regulation of nutritional supplements and the health or medical claims that can, and cannot, be used on their labels and in their marketing.

Yes, there are mislabeled products on the Thai market that make unproven claims, but those products are illegal under Thai FDA law.

I have a long time American friend with expertise and many years experience in dietary/food supplements regulation in USA and he says Thai FDA is actually much more stringent in supplement regulation than in USA and Europe.

I have a long time Australian friend with expertise and many years experience with people who lets say talk through their rear. My friend says to tell your friend to get real, this is Thailand we are talking about.

[GanDoonToonPet]

What an absolute disgrace, although I shouldn't be surprised after (ex) Dr Wakefield's claims on MMR & Autism with lapdog Jenny McCarthy's 'mommy instinct' bullshit; first world?

Medical tests have shown that the mixture, known as APCOcap, can raise the CD4-cell count in people who take anti-retroviral drugs

Measured against what? Where is the control group? Placebo effect anyone?

Anti-retroviral drugs and APCOcap can help HIV-positive people maintain or boost their CD4 count, and with their immune system working well, patients can continue leading normal lives

Anti-retroviral drugs and eating fruit & veg can help HIV-positive people maintain or boost their CD4 count, and with their immune system working well, patients can continue leading normal lives.

Anti-retroviral drugs and doing almost anything else can help HIV-positive people maintain or boost their CD4 count, and with their immune system working well, patients can continue leading normal lives.

Anti-retroviral drugs and doing nothing else can help HIV-positive people maintain or boost their CD4 count, and with their immune system working well, patients can continue leading normal lives.

A causes C or B causes C? No control of variables to isolate the cause...Basic schoolboy error, I know because I (desperately try to) teach it to my students in their statistics classes.

This also touches me personally...

4 years ago, my mother in law was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was in her early fifties. After she had a double mastectomy & first round of chemotherapy / radiotherapy, she got talking to a woman in her village. According to 'the woman' both her & her husband had cancer & were magically cured by a doctor in a temple in Kanchanaburi. The main selling point seemed to be that this treatment didn't make your hair fall out!

So the mother in law decided that she would cancel her future medical treatment & go to the temple in Kanchanaburi to get 'cured'. To cut a long story short, apart from the huge cost & inconvenience she caused over many months, she passed away 6 months later.

Her mother, who had lived with her all her life, ate the same (fish, veg, fruit), drank the same (light alcohol use) & likely shared with her the majority of her genes, is alive & well at 107 years old; she still works if you can believe it!

So for those who say 'What's the harm?', the harm is that those who get caught up in pseudo-scientific bullshit could possibly lose half their life...

I'd like to know the name of this 'doctor'. My wife showed me several pamphlets & his book to me but I can't recall his name. I saw pictures of all the usual suspect lakorn stars parading around the temple,,,after all, west or east, famous people are among the best qualified medical experts in the world.

Edited September 5, 2015 by GanDoonToonPet

[NickJ]

The Thai FDA.....is more stringent because of graft and corruption. Not our of care for patients. A friend in the nutrtion business will be paying for a liscense for each ingriedient of each product he imports.......its about money. Once a product is liscenced even if the same product from a diffrent company with a diffrent wrapping cones in it to mustgo thru

the entire process.Its a system based on greed and exclusion.

[Jon Wetherall]

Didn't Thailand already come up with a cure for AIDS? Why would they need this if then?

And Ebola, don't forget Ebola. probably other stuff too. Cancer? Baldness? Being too short? Brown skin?

The Magic Kingdom - where everyone has a Harry Potter pencil.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Jon Wetherall

[muskoka]

Marketed as a nutritional supplament they can make any claims they like, wonder if they have the courage to do a real test with a control group recieving placebos etc. ...then peer reviewed.

A disgusting piece of marketing aimed at the vulnerable, encouraging them to buy the company's product.

There's no mention of a double blind controlled trial. Not even a mention of a control group. They must be absolutely shameless.

I think this is even more "shameless", trust no-one just because they have mainstream media support, do your own research - with an open mind.

Or not - "up to you"

Doug

Editor In Chief Of World’s Best Known Medical Journal: Half Of All The Literature Is False ...

...“The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness.” (source)

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/05/16/editor-in-chief-of-worlds-best-known-medical-journal-half-of-all-the-literature-is-false/

Estimating that as many as half of all medical studies are wrong, Editor-in-Chief Richard Horton of The Lancet, a leading peer-reviewed international medical journal notes that medical science “has taken a turn towards darkness." ...A May 22 New York Times article agrees. Titled “What’s Behind Big Science Frauds?” authors Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky discuss how leading scientific journals have been duped into publishing bogus studies which reference nonexistent data.

http://www.newsmax.com/LarryBell/Climate-Change-Global-Warming-Media-Bias/2015/08/31/id/672766/

www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(15)60696-1.pdf

[Ulic]

All that is missing is "weight loss" and Dr. Oz will start hawking it on the Dr. Oz show.

A sure fired hit then.

[how241]

Great news for all who have this, Lets just hope they can find something that cures it 100%, with cancer and all the other shi@t

+1...Good news if it really helps.

[ravip]

High time that Thai authorities hand over the entire country to these TV experts.

Thailand would be the worlds best country in no time.

Edit

So all such as these are genuine and scientifically proven stuff?

Andhere is another one >>> http://www.webmd.com/news/breaking-news/food-additives/rm-quiz-food-label-claims?ecd=wnl_wmh_083115&ctr=wnl-wmh-083115_nsl-ld-stry&mb=6KZaO0sn0k42yeDky7Ikc%40HnVev1imbCOvtH0Fkun2U%3d

Edited September 5, 2015 by ravip

[Travelman868]

Great news for all who have this, Lets just hope they can find something that cures it 100%, with cancer and all the other shi@t

There are new drugs available that will fully control HIV, they are not a cure but allow a patient to live a normal life. HOWEVER these drugs are not available under the 30 baht system in Thailand.

Thailand make the HIV problem worse by not giving treatment until CD4 has fallen to 200 (they were going to raise this to 300, not sure if that happened yet) 200 is the level which denotes the border from HIV to full blown Aids.

It is short sighted and silly not to treat the virus until it get serious, unless they are hoping most will die while waiting to be treated. !!!!!

[h90]

Great news for all who have this, Lets just hope they can find something that cures it 100%, with cancer and all the other shi@t

To cure is very bad for the profit.....

[The Deerhunter]

A disgusting piece of marketing aimed at the vulnerable, encouraging them to buy the company's product.

There's no mention of a double blind controlled trial. Not even a mention of a control group. They must be absolutely shameless.

Yeah! I'm more than a bit dubious, I must confess. Like to see more proof than what appears to be a paid PR promo.

[phoenixdoglover]

The standard claim for all kinds of remedies is that they "boost your immune system".

As others have shown, so does eating a balanced diet, exercising, and getting enough sleep.

However, of much, much greater significance for those with high risk behaviors for HIV is this news item (not from Thailand):

Washington Post, Sep 4, 2015 - "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that PrEP has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection by up to 92 percent when taken consistently but is much less effective when taken inconsistently. In one key study, called PROUD that included men who have sex with men in Britain, the risk was reduced by 86 percent.

In this study, 100 percent of the participants remained HIV-free. That's right, not a single person in the study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, became infected while on the drug during the study period that included 2.5 years of observation."

Edited September 5, 2015 by phoenixdoglover

[attrayant]

Great news for all who have this, Lets just hope they can find something that cures it 100%, with cancer and all the other shi@t

To cure is very bad for the profit.....

Which is exactly why the measles, polio and smallpox vaccines were suppressed and their inventors chained up in a dungeon never to be heard from again, so that the diseases could continue to sicken people and generate billions of dollars in medical care profit? Sorry but that doesn't pass the smell test.

We're getting very close to a universal flu vaccine that will be effective against all strains. The new ebola vaccine is showing great promise in phase-3 human trials. If the 'Big Pharma wants to keep people eternally sick' conspiracy theory™, were true, neither of these things would be happening.

[attrayant]

The standard claim for all kinds of remedies is that they "boost your immune system".

As others have shown, so does eating a balanced diet, exercising, and getting enough sleep.

The whole "boost your immune system" thing is a load of bovine excrement. Most of us already have properly functioning immune systems. When an immune system becomes "boosted", or overreacts to something, we end up with hives, rashes, sneezing and sometimes life-threatening swelling (the tongue or neck, for example, when the immune system overreacts to something one has eaten) to the simplest irritants. So-called hyperactive or "boosted" immune systems are responsible for life-threatening peanut allergies.

You really don't want a boosted immune system.

For those few who don't have a normal immune system because of some physiopathological condition, or because they're taking an immune suppressant, there isn't much they can do. People like Jessica Ainscough get famous for being self-proclaimed "wellness warriors" who ignore expert medical opinion and instead try to beat their conditions with healthy lifestyle changes and claim that algae smoothies and coffee enemas are making them healthy.

[Acharn]

Great news for all who have this, Lets just hope they can find something that cures it 100%, with cancer and all the other shi@t

As for cancer, haven't you heard of laetrile? Made from peach pits, as I recall. All these things are endorsed by Mike Huckabee.