MFONFU OIL (coconut oil) TREATS FUNGAL MENINGO-ENCEPHALITIS IN HIV/AIDS

MFONFU OIL (coconut oil) TREATS FUNGAL
MENINGITIS AND ENCEPHALITIS IN HIV/AIDS PATIENTS,
OCTOBER 2007 TO DECEMBER 2008, Bamenda – Cameroon,
10 January 2009

Dr MFONFU Daniel
Independent ResearcherTel: (237) 677 60 12 07,
Website: http://www.mfonfudaniel.blogspot.com
Email: danielngongho@yahoo.com
C/o St Mary Soledad Catholic Health Centre

P.O. 157 Mankon, Bamenda - Cameroon


ABSTRACT
Thirty four HIV/AIDS patients suffering from fungal meningitis and encephalitis treated from October 2007 to December 2008 were analysed. The only objective sign observed in all the patients was oropharyngeal candidiasis (thrush); it is thus the pathognomonic sign in fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients.

Oropharyngeal candidiasis in an HIV/AIDS patient should indicate the risk of developing fungal meningitis and encephalitis. Memory loss was also one of most declared symptoms. The diagnosis of fungal meningitis was presumptive; only one was positive for Cryptococcus neoformans. The early diagnosis and treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients with mfonfu oil (coconut oil) should be based on clinical approach by the presence of neurological and mental disorders, and oropharyngeal candidiasis. The recovery rate within the first two weeks of treatment with mfonfu oil (coconut oil) was 91.2% while the fatality rate was 8.8%.

This operational research confirms the effectiveness of mfonfu oil (coconut oil) in the treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients. Mfonfu oil (coconut oil) would be used sooner or later to treat fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients; it is effective, available, and cheap; and it is a revolutionary discovery for humanity!

Nevertheless educational campaigns for the prevention HIV infection are still paramount because there is not yet any specific medication against HIV.

The use of coconut oil (mfonfu oil) for the early treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis, supplementing ARV therapy, will greatly prolong the lives of HIV/AIDS patients.

All efforts contributing positively to the fight against HIV/AIDS from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top of the health pyramid such as this discovery should be highly considered and appreciated.

INTRODUCTION
The author is analysing the cases of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients treated with mfonfu oil (coconut oil) from October 2007 to December 2008, both at home and at the St Mary Soledad Catholic Health Centre, following the publication of the preliminary research results in the article, ‘Coconut oil (mfonfu oil) treats fungal meningo-encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients’, Bamenda – Cameroon, 02 April 2008 at the website: http://www.mfonfudaniel.blogspot.com/.

The most conventional symptoms and signs of meningitis and encephalitis are headache, fever, numbness and cramps of limbs, weakness of limbs, stiffness of limbs, neck rigidity, photophobia, delirium, localized seizures, paralysis of limbs, speech alteration, hallucination, confusion, and memory loss; ending with coma.

The common causes of fungal meningo-encephalitis in HIV/AIDS are Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida Albicans.

GOAL
Demonstrate the effectiveness of mfonfu oil (coconut oil) in the treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients.

OBJECTIVES
- Study the clinical characteristics of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients
- Present the results of the treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients with mfonfu oil (coconut oil).
- Propose a clinical approach for the diagnosis of fungal meningo-encephalitis in HIV/AIDS.

METHOD
The criteria for inclusion in the research were being HIV positive; having neurological and mental disorders; absence of Kaposi or any neoplasm, tuberculosis and pregnancy; and to be monitored for a period of 14 days. Coconut oil was extracted by the author hence mfonfu oil.

A questionnaire was used to register information and data on the patients.

Patients were administered 5ml of mfonfu oil (coconut oil) orally twice daily for 14 days period of follow up and beyond. Patients who were not on ARV were placed on ARV following their recovery.

The setting of the research was in Bamenda at the St Mary Soledad Catholic Health Centre from October 2007 to December 2008. Laboratory tests were done to identify the fungi in the cerebrospinal fluid. Epi-Info of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was used to analyse the data collected.

RESULTS
Thirty-four patients, between the ages 14 to 70 years, were treated from 02 October 2007 to 31 December 2008 (table 1).
The female constituted 73.5% of the patients treated (table2)
The duration of present illness ranged from less than a month to 96 months with 82.4% of the cases occurring within one year (table 3)
The clinical symptoms were obtained from the 31 patients who could speak while the signs were objectively observed by the author on all the patients.
54.8% of the 31 patients who could talk declared having fever (table 4)
90.3% stated having headache (table 5)
93.5% affirmed having insomnia (table 6)
64.5% acknowledged nausea (table 7)
58.1% accepted having vomiting (table 8)
Only 20.6% of all the patients walked normally, 50.0% did not walk at all, and 29.4% walked supported (table 9)
58.1% were in the state of confusion (table 10)
54.8% were disorientated (table 11)
58.1% had hallucination (table 12)
54.8% were delirious (table 13)
All the 31 patients who talked complained of memory loss (table 14).
45.2% of patients who could talk, had altered speech (table 15)
93.5% of the 31 patients experienced photophobia (table 16)
11.8% of all the patients convulsed (table 17)
Neck rigidity was observed in 70.6% (table 18)
3 (8.8%) of all the patients were in coma (table 19)
Stiffness of limbs was observed in 97.1% (table 20)
The lower limbs constituted the most stiffness locations above 78.8% (table 21)
Localised seizures were observed in 17.6% of the patients (table 22)
Localised seizures were located in both the upper and lower limbs (table 23)
Weakness of limbs was declared by all those who could speak (table 24)
The lower limbs were the most locations for weakness of limbs 67.7% (table 25).
All the 31 patients complained of cramps of limbs (table 26)
Cramps were indicated mostly in the lower limbs 61.3% (table 27)
All the 31 patients complained of numbness of limbs (table 28)
58.1% of numbness was indicated at the lower limbs (table 29).
Paralysis of limbs was observed in 52.9% of the patients (table 30)
Paralysis occurred mostly at the lower limbs above 38.9% (table 31)
Facial palsy was observed in 14.7% of the patients (table 32)
Facial palsy was situated mostly on the right, 60.0% (table 33)
Hemiplegia was observed in 14.7% of the patients (table 34)
Hemiplegia occurred mostly at the right side 60.0% (table 35)
CD4 count ranged from 3 to 698cells/µl (table 36)
The duration HIV of infection according to date of diagnosis was from same day of first visit to 96months (table 37)
All patients had oropharyngeal candidiasis (table 38)
73.5% of the patients were diagnosed HIV positive before 1st visit (table 39)
38.2% of the patient had a CD4 count result before 1st visit (table 40)
35.3% of the patients were on ARV before 1st visit (table 41)
One of the patients was an ARV defaulter before 1st visit (table 42)
The duration of taking ARV at 1st visit ranged from less than one month to 96 months (table 43)
26.5% of the patients were diagnosed HIV+ at first visit (table 44)
85.3% had previously received antibiotic treatment for meningitis (table 45)
All patients had previously received Vitamin B treatment for peripheral neuropathy (table 46)
Presumptive diagnosis of fungal meningitis and encephalitis was made in 97.1% of the patients (table 47)
48.0% of the patients diagnosed HIV positive before first visit were on ARV before first visit (table 48)
The temperature was normal in 73.5% of the patients (table 49)
52.6% of the patients who declared fever had normal temperature (Table 50)
Cryptococcus neoformans was positive in one of the 19 CSF investigated (table 51).The status of patients after 14 days of treatment with mfonfu oil showed a recovery rate of 91.2% and a fatality rate of 8.8% (table 52)
One (33.3%) of the 3 patients received in coma recovered (table 53)
Toxoplasmosis gondii was positive in 32.4% of the patients (table 54)
Two of the three patients received in coma had CD4 counts less than 50cells/µl while the other had 552cells/µl (table 55)
Patients who died within 14 days had Cd4 count less than 50 cells/µl

DISCUSSION
The classical symptoms and signs of meningitis and encephalitis were manifested by the patients studied; they varied according to the severity of the illness. Oropharyngeal candidiasis was the only objective sign observed in all the patients studied thus oropharyngeal candidiasis is a pathognomonic sign in fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients (Fig 1).

Oropharyngeal candidiasis in an HIV/AIDS patient without neurological or mental disorders indicates the risk of developing fungal meningitis and encephalitis.

All the 31 patients who talked complained of memory loss; this is also a very important indicative symptom of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS.

Presumptive diagnosis of fungal meningitis and encephalitis was made in 97.1% of the patients because only one of the patients tested was positive for Cryptococcus neoformans in the CSF. The patient could not walk at all, had extreme cachexia, decaying body, and severe oropharyngeal candidiasis; she died after three days probably from severe brain damage by the fungal growth.

The fungal infection of the brain and meninges could be likened to bread moulding (Fig 2). The fungi grow as thread-like filamentous macroscopic structures called hyphae, and an assemblage of intertwined and interconnected hyphae, creeping on the existing structures of the brain, initially altering the function of the structures by irritation but not destroying them; the brain is only destroyed when almost all its structures are invaded and damaged by the fungi. The brain then collapses and it is at this moment that spores of fungi would be found in the CSF; unlike a bacterial infection that would immediately cause a diffuse inflammatory process with rapid multiplication of bacteria and pus cells all circulating in the CSF. Consequently by the time fungal meningitis and encephalitis are diagnosed in the laboratory using the CSF the brain is completely damaged and irrecoverable. The neurological and mental disorders are varied depending on the area of the brain affected.

‘Cryptococcus neoformans and the candida are prone to cause meningoencephalitis. In cryptococcosis, clusters of fungi are spread throughout the brain, with little or no surrounding inflammatory responses; predominantly involve basal ganglia and cortical grey matter’ (Dr. A. Vincent Thamburaj).

Most of the patients treated had taken either an antibiotic treatment for meningitis or vitamin B therapy for peripheral neuropathy.

The recovery rate within the first two weeks of treatment with mfonfu oil was 91.2% while the fatality rate was 8.8%. The best results are obtained when patients are treated as soon as they develop neurological and mental disorders, because brain damage due to long period of illness may be irreversible or may be repaired only after a very long period of treatment.

The patients who recovered regained their mental and neurological faculties indicating that the HIV encephalitis described in the natural evolution of HIV/AIDS may be aggravated by fungal infection of the brain. The rapid recovery of patients treated, confirms that mfonfu oil (coconut oil) is a very formidable and effective antifungal for deep seated fungal infection in the human body. No manifestation of toxicity was identified.

Patients with very low CD4 count should be quickly treated with mfonfu oil (coconut oil) since all those who died had CD4 count less than 50cells/µl
Toxoplasmosis gondii was positive in 32.4% of the patients; it may be associated with the fungal infection but may not be the principal cause of meningitis and encephalitis because it was observed that patients recovered with the mfonfu oil treatment before receiving the treatment for toxoplasmosis.

In view of the fact that the laboratory diagnosis through the presence fungal spores in CSF would not occur in the early stages of fungal meningitis and encephalitis it would be thus necessary to establish an easy and operational clinical approach to the diagnosis of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS using the findings of this research.

The clinical approach for the diagnosis of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients is proposed as follows:

· Neurological and mental disorders in HIV/AIDS patients, and oropharyngeal candidiasis should set the basis for the diagnosis of fungal meningitis and encephalitis.
· The state of fungal infection of the oropharyngeal cavity should be a clinical indication for early and preventive treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis with mfonfu oil (coconut oil).
· Eliminate the obvious causes of meningitis and encephalitis such as bacteria, parasites, virus, tuberculosis, tumours, etc.
· Most patients would have previously received an antibiotic therapy for bacterial meningitis, antifungal therapy for oropharyngeal thrush and vitamin B therapy for peripheral neuropathy.

The development and use of cheap serological tests for the diagnosis of fungal infections especially Cryptococcus neoformans infection would greatly facilitate the diagnostic process.
It was observed that acute respiratory distress that did not respond to antibiotic therapy and not positive for tuberculosis was treated with mfonfu oil (coconut oil) treatment thus indicating the presence fungal pneumonia in both HIV/AIDS and non HIV/AIDS patients. The resistant or atypical tuberculosis might be a fungal pneumonia that could be treated mfonfu oil (coconut oil)

CONCLUSION
Oropharyngeal candidiasis was the pathognomonic sign identified in all the HIV/AIDS patients with fungal meningitis and encephalitis.

The early diagnosis and treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients should be based on clinical approach by the presence of neurological and mental disorders, and oropharyngeal candidiasis.

The recovery rate within the first two weeks of treatment with mfonfu oil was 91.2% while the fatality rate was 8.8%. This operational research has confirmed the effectiveness of mfonfu oil (coconut oil) in the treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients.

Mfonfu oil (coconut oil) treats also fungal pneumonia as observed during this research.

Mfonfu oil (coconut oil) should sooner or later be used to treat fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS; it is effective, available and cheap!

The use of mfonfu oil (coconut oil) in the treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients is a revolutionary discovery for humanity!

Nevertheless educational campaigns for the prevention HIV infection are still paramount because there is not yet any specific medication against HIV.

The use of mfonfu oil (coconut oil) for the early treatment of fungal meningitis and encephalitis, in combination with ARV, will greatly prolong the lives of HIV/AIDS patients and thus reduce the burden of palliative care at home and bed occupancy in health care services; and ultimately decrease mortality due to fungal meningitis and encephalitis.

All efforts contributing positively to the fight against HIV/AIDS from top to bottom and from bottom to top of the health pyramid such as this my discovery should be highly considered and appreciated, for the benefit of humanity.

I pray that as you read and use the results of my research presented in this article, my author’s rights and dues are respected and guaranteed, ‘Noting that intellectual property rights are an important incentive for the development of new health-care products’ (WHO WHA59.24 Public health, innovation, essential health research and intellectual property rights: towards a global strategy and plan of action, The Fifty-ninth World Health Assembly)
This research was financed entirely by the author, Dr Mfonfu Daniel.

SOME FREQUENTLY USED ABBREVIATIONS:
- HIV: human immunodeficiency virus
- ARV: antiretroviral
- CD4: cell cluster of differentiation antigen 4 cell (a subgroup of T lymphocytes)
- AIDS: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
- CSF: cerebrospinal fluid
- CDC: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

APPRECIATION
My immense thanks go to Mother Purificaçión, Matron of St Mary Soledad Health Centre at Bamenda.
I thank Dr Lebga John and Dr Nchifor Simon for the encouragement.
I thank Mr Mfonfu Vincent, Dr Mfonfu Gabriel and Mr Mfonfu Kevin for assistance.
I thank all those who have helped me in this research.

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