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Aloe
Vera and Feline Leukemia Virus
Excerpts
from "Aloe Vera: A Mission Discovered"
by
Lee Ritter
The third study that I think is most significant
wasn't even done on humans. It was done on cats. I refer to
it elsewhere in my book to dispel any theories that would
attribute aloe vera treatment to a placebo effect. But here
I want to point out the profound results the study reflected
for aloe vera in a terminal viral disease.
The 1991
study was a joint study between the Animal Medical Hospital,
Irving, Texas, and the College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas
A&M University. Like AIDS, feline leukemia virus (FeLV)
is a retrovirus. Forty percent of cats are dead from the disease
within four weeks and 70% within eight weeks. The disease
is considered the most important severe cause of illness and
death in domestic cats.
The study
included 50 cats, all of which were serologically positive
for feline leukemia. The cats had failed to respond to conventional
treatment. All of the cats were severely ill. The cats were
injected regularly with a solution containing acemannan, a
product derived from aloe vera. The study results reflected:
At the
end of the 12-week study, 29 acemannan-treated cats were known
to be alive. Two of the original 44 were lost to follow-up
and one other died of an unrelated cause, giving a 71% survival
rate for those cats that completed the study.
Of 15
cats that died of FeLV-related disease, five died from malignancies
or marrow aplasia within nine days of entering the study.
These cats can be considered to have been terminal--beyond
rescue by any available therapy. Seven other cats died during
the 12-week study, and three died within four weeks of completing
the study. Analysis of 11 historical controls at the same
clinic indicated that nine cats died or were euthanized within
two months, and one other was dead within five months of being
diagnosed with FeLV.
All owners
of surviving cats reported that they were pleased with the
results of treatment, stating that their cats had returned
to their normal state of activity and were healthy, happy
pets.
The study
is most significant for two reasons. First, 29 cats that should
have, according to all previous scientific studies, been dead
were still alive after 12 weeks and apparently were normal.
Second, based upon the study and other documentation, the
Department of Agriculture has approved the use of aloe vera
in treating the disease. This is the first time that internal
usage of aloe vera in the treatment of disease was approved
by a regulatory body. It is a first step in an inevitable
direction. Recently, the same laboratory has isolated acemannan
from aloe vera has obtained approval to conduct a limited
study using an aloe iderivative on AIDS patients. One cannot
help but believe that the study of cats who were injected
with acemannan had some effect upon the FDA, which was certainly
aware of the feline study. The results of the study being
conducted by Carrington Laboratories, a leader in aloe research,
will be closely monitored.
(Excerpts
from the chapter entitled "Testimonies".) In courts
of law, truth is most frequently established by the testimony
of observants we call witnesses. In few areas of which I am
aware are there more available witnesses than in the beneficial
use of aloe vera. I currently have in my files hundreds of
such estimonies.
What are
the explanations other than the curative value of aloe vera?
Some sophisticated mental pygmies suggest a placebo effect.
Considering the widespread variety of ailments we will examine,
we would have to be looking at the largest placebo ever created.
I wonder if the placebo criers ever reviewed the study made
of feline leukemia, a retrovirus similar to the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus. Of the results of the study, the veterinary team conducting
one of the studies said: . . . analysis of the clinical scores
indicate that there was a progressive improvement in subjective
clinical scores in treated animals.
…
There was an improvement in major blood parameters during
the six weeks the cats were under treatment.
… The results of this study show clearly that Acemannan-treated
cats lived significantly longer than the historical controls.
… The results of only six weeks of treatment must be
considered dramatic when measured against the usually poor
prognosis of this disease.
… The significant improvement in viability as well as
the overall health of the treated cats suggest that acemannan
(from aloe vera) is an effective treatment of FeLV infection.
Who told
the cats about the marvelous curative history of aloe vera
or that they were even being injected with acemannan (aloe
vera)?
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