Useful against atherosclerosis, a possible anti-hypertensive, historically used for exhaustion and nervousness, yet a strong potential for toxicity.
A German study examined the use of Iscador, a mistletoe extract, in 40 HIV-positive patients with less than 200 T4 cells/ml. Patients injected themselves subcutaneously with 0.01mg to 10mg of Iscador twice per week for eighteen weeks. The only toxicities were transient fever on the day of injection and soreness at the injection site. The researchers of this small, unblinded and unreviewed study reported that 28 of the 36 patients (77%) had increases in T4 levels of greater than 20%. Iscador should only be administered under the supervision of a doctor familiar with its use. [Gorter R, et al. Abstract PO-B28-2167. IX International Conference on AIDS. Berlin. June 1993]