Antiretroviral drugs can by themselves cause AIDS.

The following scientific facts support the assertion that the "antiretroviral drugs can by themselves cause AIDS":

9.1. Many healthy HIV-positive individuals along with AIDS patients, are being placed on lifetime prescriptions of nucleoside analogues that act as DNA chain-terminators, such as AZT, the analogue of the nucleoside thymidine (25,26).

Currently, protease inhibitors are being prescribed as anti-HIV medications for the lifetime of the individual (11,27).

All the drugs that are currently used as antiretroviral medications are drugs that act specifically on cells that are either metabolically active or in constant division (298). By definition, the immunocompetent cells, as well as the bone marrow cells, are cells that are dividing constantly. A very unique characteristic of the cells of the immune system is that they have to divide during the immune response (299,300). This makes the cells of the immune system much more vulnerable to the actions of these chemicals.

All the antiretroviral medications are known to be very toxic chemicals (81,114,143,152,301).

The toxic effects of AZT on people’s immune systems have been documented (302). AZT was given to 14 healthy health care professionals who were exposed to AIDS blood through needle sticks and similar accidents. Fully half of the 14 health professionals had to quit the drug because of severe toxic effects. Neutropenia [low count of one type of white blood cells] developed in 36% of the 11 persons who completed at least 4 weeks of AZT treatment. 5 of the 14 individuals could not even make it to four weeks due to "severe subjective symptoms". One professional had to be stopped prematurely because his neutropenia was so severe that he developed a respiratory infection. These toxic effects developed in only weeks, while persons with an HIV-positive diagnosis often take AZT for years (302).

9.2. There is a great deal of scientific evidence showing that the antiretroviral drugs can induce the development of AIDS-defining diseases. The possibility that AZT may actually contribute to the pathogenesis of AIDS is real (77,81,88,137,152,256,257).

The British-French Concorde trial found that AZT was unable to prevent AIDS, and instead increased mortality by 25%, compared to the untreated controls (303).

Another British study found that AZT prophylaxis decreased survival and induced wasting syndrome, cryptosporidiosis, and cytomegalovirus infection (304).

The American MAC study shows that AZT increases the risk of pneumonia, one of the AIDS defining diseases (305).

Studies often show that individuals given AZT have a worse prognosis (82), but the main stream researchers prefer to blame HIV (306).

The lymphocyte counts decreased significantly in humans treated with AZT, but not in the non-treated controls (266,307). Interestingly, these are the experiments that the Food and Drug Administration Office evaluated before the licensing of AZT (81,82,88,143).

Another study similarly found that AZT users experienced more rapid CD4+ cell depletion (308).

Prophylactic AZT has also been shown to increase significantly the risk of AIDS in hemophiliacs when compared with the untreated controls (159).

Since AZT use has begun, the mortality of British HIV-positive hemophiliacs has increased 10-fold (309).

A similar finding has occurred with American hemophiliacs (310). However, most of the AIDS researchers insist on blaming HIV (309-312).

9.3. The immunological alterations secondary to antiretroviral therapy and described in section 8, can be reversed after individuals stop taking these medications. 10 out of 11 individuals recovered their cellular immunity after stopping AZT (313).

Even patients suffering from severe pancytopenia and bone marrow aplasia recover after discontinuing AZT (254).

Clinical manifestations of mycobacterial infection started 1-3 weeks after starting the protease inhibitor Indinavir. Symptoms disappeared after the patients stopped the medication (296).

Two babies born to mothers treated with AZT for 6 months and then treated themselves for an additional month and a half, developed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, one of the clinical manifestations of AIDS. Since the babies were HIV-negative, AZT was suspended and they completely recovered, remaining healthy beyond the one year period of observation (115,314).

9.4. Merck itself, the pharmaceutical company that produces and commercializes the protease inhibitor Crixivan warns, "It is not yet known whether taking Crixivan will extend your life or reduce your chances of getting other illnesses associated with HIV" (315).

9.5. In animals, there are several examples of immunotoxicity due to antiretroviral medications:

Rats and mice treated with AZT for 7 weeks developed anemia, neutropenia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, bone marrow depletion and weight loss (316).

In a similar experiment, mice were also treated with AZT for 7 weeks and developed anemia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and myelodysplasia (317).

Hamsters treated with AZT for one or two weeks developed T-cell depletion and atrophy of the thymus (318).

Mice treated with the drug for 2 weeks developed anemia, nephrotoxicity, and lymphotoxicity (319).

AZT is also toxic to the liver (320).

The carcinogenic properties of AZT have been documented in animal experiments (318). AZT can stimulate leukemias (317).

9.6. Besides the antiretroviral drugs, healthy people who are "HIV-positive" are taking lots of prescribed antibiotics, anti-mycobacterials, antifungals, antivirals, antidepresants, as well as many over-the counter medications (321,322). All are potentially immunotoxic stressor agents (77), and all help in generating AIDS (83).

The HIV-AIDS supporters will always have the excuse that HIV is mutating and developing resistance to the current medications. However, there is no scientific substantiation for the assertion that "HIV is mutating" (323).

9.7. AIDS patients are also taking a polypharmacy of immunotoxic medications (82) that, rather than improving, very often debilitate the patient’s immune and other systems, and therefore contribute to the eventual death of the individual. Medications such as metronydazol, pyrimethamine, daraprim, amphotericin B, clotrimaxole, dapsone, interferon, pentamidine, vincristine, fluocytosine, adriamycin, vinblastine, to mention some of the more frequently used, are potent immunotoxic, myelotoxic, lymphotoxic, nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic drugs (77,284).

9.8. It is unethical, to say the least, to treat or prevent AIDS with medications known to be highly toxic to the cells of the immune system, of the bone marrow, and to the cells of other tissues and systems. The mainstream AIDS researchers are simply trying to stop the fire with gasoline.