Do you experience difficulty remembering phone numbers, people’s names or appointments? Difficulty concentrating, slowed thinking, taking longer to do complicated tasks or difficulty keeping track of daily activities?
Many people with HIV report these kinds of problems, and they can be very difficult to diagnose and treat. They might be early signs of HIV-associated dementia; they might be due to drug side effects or they might simply be part of the normal ageing process. An expert neurological assessment is needed to determine the exact cause and, in many cases, a specific cause cannot be found, leaving positive people wondering what they can do to manage the problem.
This article will focus on simple natural therapy treatments that have been shown to improve cognition (thinking) and memory problems.
The first area to think of is vitamin or mineral deficiencies. These are quite common in people with HIV and, if left untreated, can cause many problems with cognition—problems that can be, incorrectly, attributed to the direct action of HIV or written off as an untreatable drug side effect.
B vitamin deficiencies, especially of vitamin B12, are one known cause of these types of problems. Deficiencies in vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (niacin), B12 and folic acid can all cause memory problems—and confusion, irritability and depression can all result from low levels of B1, B2 or B12. (There’ll be more on natural therapy treatments for depression in a later article).
A 1990 study conducted by the University of Miami found that 34 percent of a group of 100 HIV-positive men had either serious or marginal B12 deficiencies1.
Compared to people with HIV who had normal levels of B12, those with deficiencies were more likely to have problems with short-term memory, reaction time and a visual scanning test. Encouragingly, short-term memory and cognitive ability significantly improved after supplementation with B12 injections.
The researchers concluded: “A considerable incidence of vitamin B12 deficiency occurs in even generally asymptomatic HIV infected subjects. Such vitamin B12 deficiency, even if marginal in nature, contributes to impaired cognitive function seen in such individuals.”
A more recent, 2004, American study found that 11 percent of a group of people with HIV developed a vitamin B12 deficiency within two years of their initial HIV presentation2.
Supplementation with folic acid and vitamin B6 has been shown, in a group of 211 women (presumably HIV negative) to improve memory and planning ability and to improve verbal ability. The same study also found that “dietary intake of B vitamins was also associated with memory, speed of information processing, verbal reasoning and verbal ability.”
Mineral deficiencies also need to be considered. Zinc deficiency is probably the most likely mineral deficiency to cause specific memory problems but calcium and potassium deficiencies can also result in cognitive impairment while low levels of magnesium and iron can cause confusion, irritability and depression.
Other effective treatments for relatively mild cognitive and memory problems are medicinal herbs—which have been used for these kinds of problems for centuries.
Lemon balm is one. When 42 people with “mild to moderate” Alzheimer’s disease took lemon balm for four months they had a “significantly better outcome” for cognitive function than a placebo group (p < 0.0001)[3]. Agitation was also decreased by the lemon balm (p = 0.03).
Many people are familiar with the reputation of an extract of Gingko biloba for enhancing memory and cognitive abilities. Gingko biloba is a tree, relatively common throughout Asia, which has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for many different ailments.
In one trial, 256 volunteers who had long-term fatigue engaged in a 14-week, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of a combination of gingko and ginseng. The trial found this herbal blend promoted fast, accurate thinking, improved short and long-term memory retention and reduced mental fatigue4.
Another herbal blend, Panax ginseng combined with Panax notoginseng, improved memory in people who were experiencing vascular dementia (a form of dementia caused by loss of oxygen supply to the brain) after suffering a stroke5.
For the best results with these or other natural treatments, I’d strongly recommend visiting a professional natural therapist – especially an acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist or naturopath.
A herb which has been shown to worsen memory is cannabis (marijuana) which some HIV-positive people may be using to control nausea or weight loss.
Unfortunately, marijuana’s detrimental effect is worse for people with some degree of HIV-related symptoms – while having a lesser impact on people with no symptoms or who are HIV-negative6.
Jim Arachne is the Complementary Therapy Treatment Officer for the Victorian AIDS Council.
References
1 Baum MK, Beach R, Morgan R, et al. Vitamin B12 and cognitive function in HIV infection. Int Conf AIDS. 1990 Jun 20-23;6:97 (abstract no. F.B.32).
2 Hepburn MJ, Dyal K, Runser LA, Barfield RL, Hepburn LM, Fraser SL. Low serum vitamin B12 levels in an outpatient HIV-infected population. Int J STD AIDS. 2004 Feb;15(2):127-33.
4 Akhondzadeh S, Noroozian M, Mohammadi M, Ohadinia S, et al. Melissa officinalis extract in the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease: a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003 Jul;74(7):863-6.
6 Wesnes KA; Faleni RA; Hefting NR; et al.The cognitive, subjective, and physical effects of a ginkgo biloba/panax ginseng combination in healthy volunteers with neurasthenic complaints. Psychopharmacol Bull 1997;33(4):677-83
7 Cristiani SA, Pukay-Martin ND, Bornstein RA. Marijuana use and cognitive function in HIV-infected people. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2004 Summer;16(3):330-5.
