Polyprenols in treating alcoholic and narcotic intoxication
Clinical study.
The study was conducted with the participation of 60 people with alcoholic and narcotic intoxication complicated by hepatitides and HIV infection. Half of the test subjects took the traditional basic therapy, the other half was given polyprenols. Polyprenols showed their effectiveness on the 15th day of therapy already, with the process of recovery from the abstinence syndrome was 3-7 days only. Normalization of all indicators of blood and urine was faster than that of the group taking the basic therapy. In addition, in the therapy of polyprenols, a significant improvement of the function of the central nervous system was noted.
Solagran Limited, Melbourne, Australia 2 I.I. Skvortsov-Stepanov City Psychiatric Hospital No. 3, Saint Petersburg, Russia S.M. Kirov Academy of Forestry Engineering in Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia I.M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Introduction
About 500 million people in the world suffer from chronic viral hepatitides (CVH).
Viral hepatitides B and C may eventually go into cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
In the overall structure of morbidity of viral hepatitides, chronic viral hepatitis accounts
for 5.4% of mixed hepatitides that are identified in 12.4% of cases. In CVH, a dysfunction
of the system of mononuclear phagocytes is observed, that is accompanied by the hyperproduction
of active forms of oxygen, which leads to a decrease in the system of antioxidant defense
of the organism. In CVH, against the background of exogenous intoxications with alcohol (its surrogates)
or narcotics, lipid peroxidation activates in the membranes of mitochondria, that leads to the abnormality
of processes of oxidative phosphorylation and, as a consequence, to a reduction of ATP synthesis.
Individuals with alcoholic and narcotic dependence (parenteral use of narcotics), as well as HIV-infected individuals,
fall under the risk group in terms of incidence of CVH. The therapy of CVH is now developed in two directions:
• Improvement of pathogenetic therapy and inclusion of medications of hepatoprotective and metabolic activity.
• Search for antivirals with the use of interferons (IFN), IFN inducers and various treatment regimens.
Study Purpose Evaluation of therapeutic efficacy and safety of polyprenols* in patients with alcoholic and narcotic
intoxication complicated by chronic viral hepatitides B, C and HIV infection in comparison with basic therapy conducted
in accordance with international standards of treatment.
Results
A new natural polyprenolic preparation* is a 95% concentrate of polyprenols derived from spruce needles (Picea abies L. Karst). The preparation has hepatoprotective and hypolipidemic effects. It normalizes the processes of oxidative phosphorylation at the level of cell metabolism. In addition, it possesses an immunomodulatory effect and an ability to raise the level of endogenous IFN in blood. Unlike cycloferon that is widely used in the treatment of CVH, the induction of IFN under the influence of polyprenols* leads to a longer circulation of endogenous IFN that does not have the antigenicity and has no side effects. It is known that side effects can occur in interferon therapy: gastrointestinal and psychiatric symptoms, myelosuppression, etc., which are observed on average in 10-40% of patients with CVH. It is known that, in 42% of patients, INF can cause the production of autoantibodies that result in the reduction of the effectiveness of therapy. Two groups of patients with alcoholic and narcotic addiction were formed: the experimental group of patients passed the course of treatment with polyprenols* (60 persons), the control group passed the course of basic therapy (30 persons). The experimental group passed the course of disintoxication and therapy with polyprenols* without the inclusion of nootropics, cerebral protectants, anti-depressants or group B vitamins. The polyprenolic preparation* was administered to patients with the dose of 8 drops 3 times a day before meals within 30 days. The basic therapy included infusion disintoxication, group B vitamins, nootropics, cerebral protectants, anti-depressants. The work was carried out on the basis of I.I. Skvortsov-Stepanov Psychiatric Hospital No. 3. The formed groups had the same duration of illness -44.2% were patients with the disease term of 6-10 years. Patients with viral hepatitides of types B, C, B+C, of which 0.7% were HIV-infected patients, were 33.3% compared to 30% of patients in the control. The number of patients with drug addiction: in the experiment -13.3%, in the control - 3.3%, with the convulsive disorder against the background of intoxication − 20 and 10%, respectively. The experimental group patients had a heavier medical history: 50% used alcohol surrogates and 13% used narcotics of opium group (heroin in a daily dose of 1.5-2 grams, opium, methadone), which greatly exacerbated the intoxication and resulted in toxic encephalopathy. The analysis of clinical-biochemical indices of blood and urine in patients with CVH demonstrated the effectiveness of therapy with polyprenols*, starting from the 15th day of treatment. The process of recovery from the abstinence syndrome was 3-7 days, the normalization of clinical and biochemical indices of blood and urine, the general condition of patients with the poliprenolic preparation* was faster than that of the basic therapy. Under the influence of the preparation, both "liver indicators" of blood and indicators of carbohydrate and cholesterol metabolism normalize, neurological symptoms improve, and there is a clear antidepressant effect. In this group of patients, only one patient with a complicated medical history (narcotization within 15 years, traumatic brain injury (TBI), a suicide attempt) failed to achieve a pronounced effect after treatment. After the use of the preparation, 63.6% of patients with the convulsive disorder have positive dynamics on EEG.
Conclusions
Thus, polyprenols* improve the detoxification function of liver, its carbohydrate and cholesterol metabolism in the above listed group of patients. The consequence is not only the improvement of biochemical indices of blood and urine in comparison with the basic therapy, but a significant improvement in the function of the central nervous system. It can be assumed that the combination of hepatoprotective properties of polyprenols* and their ability to induce IFN made it possible to achieve a more rapid effect of therapy in this category of patients. (Published in the proceedings of the International Conference "Development of Scientific Research and Surveillance of Infectious Diseases"/ edited by A.B. Zhebrun. — SPb.: Louis Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Saint Petersburg, Federal Budgetary Institution of Science of Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being), 2010.)
* A polyprenolic preparation of Ropren was used the study, which is a pure concentrate of polyprenols (the total fraction is 95%). The text of the study is provided by courtesy of Solagran.