Magnificent manganese

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Doctors at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA have unexpectedly discovered that raising levels of the trace element manganese in cells can slow the rate of HIV replication. Manganese is involved in the correct working of the reverse transcriptase enzyme, which HIV uses to turn its genetic information into the type

human cells use. The majority of current HIV drugs work by blocking this enzyme. The researchers found that, in test-tube experiments, increasing the manganese concentration in cells reduced HIV replication by 50 per cent.
Rushing out to buy manganese supplements, however, is not necessarily a good idea. The researchers warned that research was at a test-tube stage and that increasing the element's concentration in cells might have very different effects in real life. It would take two to three years to find a drug that increased its levels in cells. Manganese is generally non-toxic at up to three times the 3-5mg/day normally acquired from diet (it is abundant in seeds, green leafy vegetables and pineapples), but very high levels have been known to cause Parkinson's disease-like symptoms.

Pineapple: Source of manganese

Who doesn't take their drugs, and why?

Worries about side effects and the drugs disrupting one's lifestyle are the strongest

predictors of which patients will fail to stick to their drug regimes, a research project has found.