McGaw Nutrition Supplement to Be Tested in AIDS Study : Health: The Irvine firm makes a blend of amino acids, vitamins and other compounds that may bolster the immune system.

McGaw Inc., a manufacturer of nutritional products, said Monday that it has agreed to joint research with a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., research firm to test whether good nutrition can stem the onset of AIDS in HIV patients.

The $320,000 study, being conducted by the Florida-based Center for Special Immunology, seeks to determine if a high-energy nutritional product developed by McGaw is effective in bolstering the immune system of those infected with the HIV virus, company officials said.

The study will be the first of its kind to test early-stage HIV patients to see if altering nutrition slows the development of “full-blown” AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, company officials said.

While stressing that the research is not aimed at finding a cure for AIDS, Dr. William M. Rieter, director of clinical research at the Center for Special Immunology, said there is evidence that beefing up nutrition intake in HIV carriers could significantly extend their life span.

For example, he points to Lakers star Magic Johnson, who has announced he is returning to professional sports after doctors helped him gain weight since he quit the sport more than a year ago.

“The hypothesis is that if we intervene early (with nutritional supplements), we can slow down the progress of the disease,” Rieter said. “Gaining weight and feeling better doing it is the kind of goal we are looking at.”

A correlation between nutrition and AIDS has long been known. But raw data proving a relationship, especially among patients in the early stages of the disease, is lacking, said Jim Lacey, director of specialty programs at Life Care Solutions, a home infusion company in Tustin.

“There are theories that people who keep good nutritional habits tend to do better,” Lacey said.

Lacey, who has worked with AIDS patients for years, said such a study could be a boon in fighting the disease.

“It sounds like an interesting study,” he said. “I certainly would like to see the results. It’s really important to keep nutrition in the forefront (of treatment).”

The Center for Immunology will be using McGaw’s nutritional product, Immun-aid, which was developed earlier this year and is used in hospitals for improving the nutrition of a variety of patients, such as burn victims and those recovering from surgery.

Immun-aid, which is taken orally, is a blend of amino acids, fatty acids, nucleic acids, vitamins and minerals. It costs about $7 a package.

McGaw, best known for its development of a nontoxic and environmentally safe intravenous bag, approached the Center for Special Immunology, which operates five clinics across the country, to test the product on HIV patients.

“They are very noted in doing this kind of research,” McGaw spokesman Lawrence A. Watts said.

The center will study the effects of the product on HIV patients at two of the company’s clinics in Irvine and Ft. Lauderdale during the next six months. Researchers will then analyze the results and release their findings within 10 months.

“We need to find out if this truly has special value” for HIV patients, Watts said.