Traditional Medicine and HIV Clinical Pharmacology:

Implementation Research

Tsitsi G Monera, PhD Fellow UB-UZ Aids Training Program

Outline

Parirenyatwa Hospital OI clinic support group

Support group – Researcher model Herb-drug clinical study

Parirenyatwa Hospital OI clinic support group People with common interests and

experiences Safe space to share common

concerns, verbalize emotions Positive reinforcement, emotional

support, hope Learning environment –coping skills,

self-help projects, treatment information

Support group Researcher

model born out of the HIV-infected patients’ needs for comprehensive pharmacotherapy and the pharmacologists’ needs to explore pharmacotherapy issues in HIV-Infected patients

mutually beneficial collaboration between support group and researcher

Prevalence of Use of Traditional Medical Systems

Traditional Medicine

Preliminary in vivo studies in animal models typically serve as a basis for clinical trials

Effect of Moringa oleifera (Moringa, Drumstick, Horseradish tree) on the Pharmacokinetics of Efavirenz and Nevirapine in vivo.

Ethical Considerations

To compare the steady-state pharmacokinetics of nevirapine and efavirenz in HIV-positive patients before and after supplementation with Moringa oleifera leaf powder

5 challenging levels of ethical and regulatory approvals (JREC, HSIRB, BRTI- exemption) Medical Control Authority (MCAZ)and national ethics committee (MRCZ)

Acknowledgements

The program is sponsored by the UB-UZ AIDS International Training Research program funded by the Fogarty International Center.