Page 16 - El Tejano January 2018

El Tejano Magazine
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Two Pilot Clinical Studies Show Promising Results: AHCC Mushroom
Extract May Eradicate Recurrent HPV Infections in Women

(NAPSI)—Two clinical studies conducted at McGovern acylated alpha-1,4-glucans, AHCC has been the subject of
Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science over 60 Medline-indexed and more than 20 human studies.
Center at Houston (UTHealth) showed that AHCC® mush- Clinical research has shown that AHCC increases the num-
room extract can clear infections in women with recurrent ber and activity of natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells
human papillomavirus (HPV). Results of the most recent and specifi c cytokines that help the body fi ght off infections
study were presented at the 14th International Conference and block growth of abnormal cells. The compound’s mode
of the Society for Integrative Oncology held in Chicago on of action has been shown to be the stimulation of TLR-2
November 12−14, 2017. and TLR-4 receptors in the gut and its function as a prebi-
otic, nourishing the benefi cial colonic and intestinal bacte-
The objective of the two studies was to determine whether ria. AHCC has been widely used in Japan for over 30 years
AHCC could eradicate an HPV infec- and in the U.S. for more than 15 years.
tion in women at two diff erent daily It is off ered as a dietary supplement
supplementation amounts (AHCC 1 and is also available in higher potency
gram or AHCC 3 grams) and to assess as a prescription medical food.
the necessary duration for AHCC thera-
py to be eff ective. AHCC Research Association

The fi rst pilot study enrolled 10 women The mission of the AHCC Research
with persistent high-risk HPV infection Association is to increase public aware-
taking 3 grams of AHCC once daily ness of AHCC in integrative medicine,
from fi ve weeks up to six months. educate consumers and doctors on
Half of the subjects who stayed on Scientists have found a way AHCC’s preventative and therapeutic
the protocol for four months showed a to use a mushroom extract to benefi ts, and support research studies
complete eradication of the HPV virus. help women infected with HPV. on AHCC. For more information, please
“Eradication” means that they cleared visit www.ahccresearch.org.
the infection by the end of the supplementation period and
remained infection-free when tested two months post-sup- Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
plementation.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that has
The second study, which looked at the effi cacy of AHCC been detected in more than 99 percent of cervical cancer
at the 1-gram dose, tracked 10 women with persistent, patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control
high-risk HPV infections for up to a period of eight months. and Prevention, several other cancers are related to HPV,
The study observed that four of nine patients experienced including 95 percent of anal cancers, 60 percent of oropha-
eradication of the HPV infection by the end of the study ryngeal cancers, 65 percent of vaginal cancers, 50 percent
period. One patient was withdrawn from the study due to of vulvar cancers and 35 percent of penile cancers.
an unanticipated pregnancy and noncompliance with study
protocol. While most HPV infections are self-limiting and resolve
without causing any symptoms, there is currently no ef-
On average, it took the responders in the AHCC 1-gram fective treatment for those that persist and that the body’s
study longer to eradicate the HPV infection compared to innate immune system cannot clear. According to Dr.
duration of supplementation observed in the AHCC 3-gram Judith Smith, “We test women for HPV, and if they have
study. These fi ndings suggest that AHCC daily supplemen- a persistent infection, there is nothing we can do for them
tation successfully modulates the host immune system to except watch and wait. With AHCC, we may be able to
eff ectively eradicate persistent, high-risk HPV infections. eliminate that terrible limbo when a woman is in between
Since the AHCC 3-gram supplementation achieved results HPV infection and a possible cancer diagnosis.”
in shorter duration, it is the recommended supplementation “HPV is associated with many life-threatening cancers,”
dose for future evaluation and use for this research. said Dr. Smith. “What we need is a safe, eff ective treatment
for HPV before the cancer occurs.”
The study was conducted by Dr. Judith Smith, the Direc-
tor of Women’s Health Integrative Medicine Research About Dr. Smith
Program in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology &
Reproductive Sciences at McGovern Medical School at the Dr. Smith’s research focus is on the safe and eff ective use
University of Texas. of nutritional and herbal supplements with pharmacologic
modalities as they relate to women’s health. Her current
About AHCC research involves cancer eradication of high-risk HPV
infections in women with persistent HPV infection.
AHCC is a compound derived from cultured mycelia of For more information, please contact the AHCC Research
Japanese lentinula edodes mushrooms. Standardized to Association at info@ahccresearch.org.
14 www.eltejanomagazine.com