South African Medical School To Conduct Electromagnetic HIV Treatment Clinical Trials
The University of Natal's Nelson Mandela Medical School in Durbin, South Africa, on Thursday announced the start of clinical trials for a new non-invasive HIV treatment that uses electromagnetic technology to disrupt the replication of the virus, the South African Press Association reports. The treatment will use a device that emits radio frequency similar to that of cell phone emissions. The patient would sit in a room "for some time" to absorb the emissions, Umesh Lalloo, head of the department of medicine, said (South African Press Association, 4/3). Although the electromagnetic field device has existed for 14 years, no scientifically controlled studies have been conducted to prove its efficacy in HIV treatment (SABCnews.com, 4/3). The school, which plans to recruit 360 HIV-positive people over the next few weeks, expects the trials to be completed by the end of the year. The treatment, which was invented by Russian scientists and refined in South Africa, was prepared for clinical trials by Hivex Ltd., a South African medical technology company (Reuters, 4/3). The trials, which will be funded by a $3 million grant from British defense company BAE Systems, will be monitored by a panel of international medical experts from Canadian, Hungarian, South African and U.S. universities (Reuters, 4/3).
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