David Weiss

I recently received a Facebook message from an old high school buddy who learned that I have HIV. When I read it, it nearly floored me; after all these years, most Americans, it seems, do not understand HIV. My friend's message and my reply (I've changed his name to protect HIS innocence) follows:


David

It's been more than three decades since HIV and AIDS found their ways into the modern lexicon and into our bodies. Millions of human beings everywhere on this planet have died from or are enduring this plague. The war in the Afghanistan is winding down now, and while humanity has other problems - unrest in the Middle East, food shortages and starvation, destruction of the planet - it seems to me that it's time that someone figured out how to kill off HIV once and for all.

If you've been following this blog then you already know that I've pretty much retired from blogging (does anyone even read blogs anymore?) but that doesn't mean that I've retired from life. Far from it. I watch from the sidelines of the online universe, wondering when - or if - medical science will finally cure us, once and for all. I'm becoming impatient. I'm becoming angry. Why aren't you?

In January of 2010 I posted an entry regarding an article that I'd read concerning Quercetin - a bioflavonoid that was reported to block Hep C viral reproduction. After reading the article I began taking 500mg per day as a nutritional supplement because I'd failed to respond to the conventional therapy of pegylated interferon and ribavirin (my hep c is genotype 4.)  When I had my liver biopsy back in 2005 my liver was in between stage2 and stage 3 (stage 4 is cirrhosis.)

I had my liver biopsied again two weeks ago and the results are in: my liver actually improved and is now down to stage 2. My results are anecdotal and you should always consult with your doctor before trying an alternative medicine, but needless to say, I'm a very happy camper. If you've failed conventional therapy or cannot tolerate its side effects, look into Quercetin taken with milk thistle. It worked for me!

I received a radio transmission from God this morning through a filling in my phantom wisdom tooth telling me that he/she/it would send us a perfect day today here in the Philippines. The ethereal voice said that I should go to Angol Beach , near our home, where I will receive further instructions and a discount coupon for my next "existence visa" renewal. The voice also instructed me that having achieved the age of 60 today I should close out this long-neglected blog.

I have no words of wisdom to others out there learned from living, as I have, half of my life with HIV and HEP C. It was great fun blogging from the site but there are others who are far more dedicated and/or inspired who will carry the torch, as it were, of the fire in the fight for a cure for our health and our dignity.

Best wishes to all,

David

(Sound of police sirens}

Mmm mm-mmmm-mm
Mmm mm-mmmm-mm

Indiana wants me
Lord, I can't go back there
Indiana wants me
Lord, I can't go back there
I wish I had you to talk to

If a man ever needed dyin', he did
No one had the right to say what he said about you
And it's so cold and lonely here without you
Out there the law's a-comin'
I'm scared and so tired of runnin'

Indiana wants me
Lord, I can't go back there
Indiana wants me
Lord, I can't go back there
I wish I had you to talk to

It hurts to see the man that I've become
And to know I'll never see the morning sun shine on the land
I'll never see your smilin' face or touch your hand
If just once more I could see
You, our home, and our little baby

Indiana wants me
Lord, I can't go back there
Indiana wants me
Lord, I can't go back there
{police sirens}
I wish I had you to talk to

I hope this letter finds its way to you
Forgive me, Love, for the shame I put you through and all the tears
Hang on, Love, to the memories of those happy years
Red lights are flashin' around me
Yeah, Love, it looks like they found me

Indiana wants me
Lord, I can't go back there
Indiana wants me
Lord, I can't go back there
I wish I had you to talk to

Indiana wants me (this is the police, you are surrounded)
Lord, I can't go back there (give yourself up)
Indiana wants me (this is the police, give yourself up)
Lord, I can't go back there (you are surrounded)

{shoot-out sound effects}

Indiana Wants Me by R. Dean Taylor (1976)


Having sex - protected or unprotected - with another human being, without telling him or her that you have HIV is morally wrong. It shouldn't be a crime, however, unless you actually transmit the virus.  

As recently reported in POZ, Indiana resident Tony M. Perkins (presumably NOT the actor who portrayed Norman Bates in "Psycho",) pleaded guilty to felony charges for failing to tell any of his 26 girlfriends - most of whom he apparently met on a cheesy website called "plentyoffish.com", and none of whom have tested positive for HIV - that he has our virus. The official Indiana Superior Court charging document asserted that Perkins violated Indiana statute I.C. 35-42-1-9(b) and L.C. 16-41-7-1, which purportedly make it a felony for a "carrier" not to warn that he/she has HIV.

Oddly enough, neither of the two statutes cited in the Indiana court documents actually states that failing to warn sex partners about one's HIV is a felony. Nonetheless, Perkins copped a plea and is waiting to be sentenced.

In my view, the Indiana police prosecuted Perkins for being irresponsible under the guise of a law that didn't actually apply - the statutes cited in the court documents have no language that support the charges. But they persecuted him for being HIV positive, and that, my friends, is a tragedy.

Knowing that you will go to jail if you fail to tell your partner that you have HIV and then give it to him/her should be enough to deter reckless conduct. Having the state punish you for keeping your secret, without transmitting the disease, is wrong.

Researchers have identified two cellular proteins that are important factors in hepatitis C virus infection, a finding that may result in the approval of new and less toxic treatments for the disease, which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis.

An estimated 270 to 300 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C and the conventional treatments - interferon and ribavirin - can have significant side effects. A new drug targeting cellular proteins rather than viral proteins would be a valuable addition to the treatment arsenal, said Samuel French, an assistant professor of pathology and senior author of the study.

French and his team set out to identify the cellular factors involved in hepatitis C replication and, using mass spectrometry, found that heat shock proteins (HSPs) 40 and 70 were important for viral infection. HSP 70 was previously known to be involved, but HSP 40 was linked for the first time to hepatitis C infection, French said. They further showed that the natural compound Quercetin, which inhibits the synthesis of these proteins, significantly inhibits viral infection in tissue culture.

"This is an important finding because we can block these proteins with the idea of reducing the level of the virus in people and, ideally, completely eliminate it," said French, who also is a researcher at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study appeared in the most recent issue of the journal Hepatology.

Since Quercetin has been shown to inhibit hepatitis C infection, French said, a Phase I clinical trial will be launched at UCLA to determine if the compound is safe and effective.

Quercetin is a plant-derived bioflavonoid, and is used by some people as a nutritional supplement. Laboratory studies show it may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and it is being investigated for a wide range of potential health benefits. Currently, there are early-stage clinical trials testing quercetin for safety and efficacy against sarcoidosis, asthma and glucose absorption in obesity and diabetes.

"Because Quercetin targets cellular proteins rather than viral proteins, there is less likelihood of developing viral resistance," French said. "Cellular proteins cannot change like viral proteins can."

Many patients in the United States have a type of hepatitis C virus that does not respond to the standard treatments. In these cases, if the virus can't be blocked, end-stage liver disease and, ultimately, death may occur. Once HSP 40 and 70 were identified, French and his team used Quercetin in an attempt to block the proteins and found that the compound "reduced infectious particle production at non-toxic concentrations," according to the study.

"Quercetin may allow for the dissection of the viral life cycle and has potential therapeutic use to reduce virus production with low associated toxicity," the study states.

The UCLA clinical trial will most likely target those with type 1 hepatitis C, which is the non-responsive type prevalent in this country. Only about 50 percent of those with type 1 hepatitis C respond to treatment, French said.

Volunteers with type 1 hepatitis C who opt not to undergo conventional therapies would be recruited for the study. In other studies in other diseases, Quercetin has resulted in no significant side effects, French said.

"A non-toxic treatment for chronic hepatitis C would be great because our current therapies have significant side effects and only a certain percentage of the patient population responds," French said.

Source: University of California - Los Angeles

Quercetin is widely available at GNC and other health food stores. My Hep C (type 4) resisted the standard interferon/ribavirin treatment two years ago so I'll begin taking the Quercetin as soon as it arrives. Will it work? We'll see...

5 a.m.: The light of dawn is barely visible in the eastern sky, but the roosters have already begun to crow and our dogs, Pepper, Robin and Brownie, are eager to take me out to Tulubhan Beach for their morning run. I have no choice in the matter - the dogs are determined to go and they take turns pawing at my arms.

I pull on a pair of shorts and flip-flops ( the island fashion) and lift my heavy staff from its resting place near the bedside. The staff was carved for me by a local artist from molave wood and is hard enough to shatter bone. The dogs watch me lift it and run excitedly down to the gate of our compound, waiting for me to open it so they can charge down the road to the beach.

The wind is "amihan" now, blowing over the tidal flats from the eastern Philippine sea, thick with the scent of salt and seaweed. Its a long way from New York City. Will I ever return to the U.S.? Probably not. While I might be pursuaded to fly back to North America to defend an appropriate case involving HIV/AIDS criminalization*, I'm finished with my law  practice. I recently turned 59, and after living with HIV for 30 years, I don't know how much time I have left. It's time to kick back and watch the sunrise.

 I became a legal resident of Sweden, where Eva's family lives, last spring. The health care system in Sweden is far superior to that of the country that I left behind. All Swedish citizens and permanent residents receive health care, and its just as good or better than the health care available in the U.S.

The health care debate would be almost amusing if it weren't so sad. There are those in Congress who seem determined to prevent Americans living with HIV and other serious diseases from receiving adequate health care. Its a sorry state of affairs dominated by lobbyists for the U.S. health care industry who employ fear and misinformation to prevent change and I wonder if Washington will ever manage to give change the system...

One of my best friends, David Colton, has written an interview with R.Crumb. Read it at
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2009-10-18-r-crumb-old-testament_N.htm.


If someone will mail me a copy of the book, I will allow him to walk our dogs at 6 a.m.