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DMSO - Selected articles: Treatment of Arthritis Authors: Jack Blount, M.D., Ronald M.
Davis, M.D., Ray Evers, M.D., Stanley Wallace Jacob, M.D., Pat McGrady,
Sr., Efrain Olszewer, M.D., Gus J. Prosch, Jr., M.D., Dr. Paul K. Pybus,
Fuad C. Sabbag, M.D., Roger Wyburn-Mason, M.D., Ph.D., Alan Rory Zapata,
M.D./Responsible editor/writer Anthony di Fabio. All rights reserved by the The Roger
Wyburn-Mason and Jack M.Blount Foundation for Eradication of Rheumatoid
Disease AKA The Arthritis Trust of America 7111 Sweetgum Drive SW, Suite
A, Fairview, TN 37062-9384 Several years ago Ronald M. Davis, M.D.
demonstrated, in our publication A Treatment for Scleroderma &
Lupus Erythematosus, the strategic use of DMSO (Dimethylsulfoxide).
We've also reported on the good results of DMSO used with and without EDTA
(Ethylene Diamine Tetracetic Acid) in our Chelation Therapy. DMSO is a prolific, and inexpensive
byproduct of the pulp paper industry, and its medical uses has been
reported many times, by many people, but especially in the works of
chemist Robert J. Herschler and surgeon Stanley Wallace Jacob, M.D., and
also as popularized by Pat McGrady, Sr. in The Persecuted Drug: The Story
of DMSO13. The external and internal use of DMSO
by veterinarians for pain in animals has long been accepted. Those humans
who've managed to obtain a sufficiently pure variety of DMSO have also
benefited from its pain-relieving qualities. Apparently, as Ronald M.
Davis, M.D. has learned, when used in an IV over a number of months, even
the most hopeless cases of Scleroderma and Lupus Erythematosus can be
drastically reversed; while its use (as developed by Ray Evers, M.D.
(deceased) in EDTA/DMSO IV's has long been accepted by many holistic
physicians for peripheral circulation problems, as well as many other
problems all of which are related -- as is Scleroderma and Lupus
Erythematosus -- to free radical excess in the human physiological
systems. Those of us who've suffered from
Rheumatoid Diseases of one or the other of the 75 to 100 differently named
collagen tissue diseases know the nature of free radical pathology first
hand. We could not, on the best of days, dispute that collagen tissue
diseases (Rheumatoid Diseases) generate as a by-product many free radicals
which create hob with every working apparatus of our human bodies. The message to be learned from the
pioneer physicians Stanley Jacobs, Roger Wyburn-Mason, M.D., Ph.D., Dr.
Paul K. Pybus, Jack Blount, M.D., Gus Prosch, Jr., M.D., Ray Evers, M.D.,
Ronald Davis, M.D., Efrain Olszewer, M.D., Fuad C. Sabbag, M.D., Alan Rory
Zapata, M.D. and others is that (1) collagen tissue
diseases can be licked; (2) the pain of these diseases do not need to be
endured; (3) one does not need to destroy self with the use of cytotoxic
drugs, gold, penicillamine or long-term corticosteroids to rid oneself of
the disease and its effects. Indeed, we have now learned that all
of these traditional rheumatic treatments generate more dangerous
free-radicals than the disease itself, thus over-burdening the body even
further. It is clear, in the reports that follow, that Doctors Olszewer, Sabbag and Zapata, along with Jacobs, Evers and Davis, have added new and important knowledge to our persistent search for wellness. Control of Free Radicals in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis Efrain Olszewer, M.D., Fuad C. Sabbag,
M.D., Alan Rory Zapata, M.D. Copyright Townsend letter for Doctors,
June 1922, #107, p.495; re- produced by permission of the authors and the
publication. Rheumatoid diseases are some of the
most crippling pathologies on earth1. Statistically one-third of
individuals more than 35 years old suffer from Osteoarthritis, and also a
large number of patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, two of the most common
diseases of this group of pathologies. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an
autoimmune disease, and Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease, but
both have something in common. They are closely related to Free Radical
(FR) synthesis, as an inflammatory disease in RA in the prostaglandin
metabolism and synthesis of leukotrienes, and in the destruction of
cartilage in patients with OA2. Considering that these two pathologies
are the most frequently seen in rheumatoid diseases we decided to study a
correlation between FR synthesis before therapy, attempting to measure the
decrease of FR production using antioxidant therapy with the following
objectives: 1. Confirming that there is a
relationship between FR synthesis with both diseases; 2. If the antioxidant therapy works not
only with clinical improvement but also with an important reduction in the
FR production; 3. How we can keep, if possible, the
low levels of FR in these patients -- helping to keep the patient
asymptomatic for long periods of time. Methods and Materials Thirty patients were included, 15 of
them with RA, and 15 with OA, with a follow-up of 18 months. The antioxidant used was DMSO (Dimethylsulfoxide
in doses of 5 cc for each therapy together with B complex, Vitamin C, and
Magnesium Sulphate) in a five-week, twice-weekly for the first period, and
a followup of one bottle monthly for 18 months. As we know DMSO3 is one of the most
powerful antioxidants known, that also blocks the CH-(hydroxyl) FR (It is
well known that the human body does not have any antioxidant enzyme to
block its formation.)4. DMSO is also an important anti-inflammatory
substance, and as we showed in another study, is extremely useful in
patients with inflammatory and degenerative diseases. In order to measure the FR production
we used the method HLB (Heitan-La Garde-Bradford)5 that determines the
presence of ROTS (reactive oxygen toxic species), mostly formed by FR,
that plays a role in virtually all disease states and metabolic
dysfunctions. The production of ROTS affects the basic cellular structures
and metabolic pathways and also reacts with blood constituents to form
various by-products which can be seen as morphological changes in the
blood. The specific morphological changes in the blood vary as a function
of the pathological condition; in this case on Rheumatoid pathologies,
strength of the immune system, specific ROTS as well as level of ROTS
being generated. The study includes the extracellular matrix formed by:
proteoglycan (as chondroitin sulphate, dermatan sulphate), hyaluronic
acid, collagen and elastin.Each of these substances may be degraded by
enzymes specific for each substance. The degradation enzymes are as
follows: chondrotinase (degrades condroitin sulphate), hyaluronidase
(degrades hyaluronic acid), collagenase (degrades collagen) and elastase
(degrades elastin). In patients with Rheumatoid
pathologies, we can find, as seen in induced-experimental arthritis
studies in rats, the activity of collagenase increase in skin, bone,
liver, kidney, and spleen, while that of hyaluronidase decreased
significantly in liver, kidney and spleen6. When traumatized normal pig
synovia was cultured with normal pig cartilage for 14 days the breakdown
of cartilage collagen and proteoglycan was accompanied by the appearance
of both collagenase and proteoglycanase7. Studies in patients with
inflammatory Rheumatoid Arthritis indicated an increase of prolyl
hydroxylase in 70% of those with active disease8. The measuring of ROTS was done in the
first visit of the patient to the office, a second measure was done after
any one of the infusions of DMSO, and the third evaluation after 18 months
in order to measure its antioxidant effect in long-term therapy in
maintenance doses. Results: In a recent study9,10 we
showed that antioxidants are extremely important in order to control the
synthesis of FR, as well as the symptoms of patients with Osteoarthritis.
As we know FR are closely related to degeneration in OA, and also in the
inflammatory response in patients with RA. From the beginning we have used in
patients with rheumatoid diseases the antioxidant DMSO (Dimethylsulfoxide)
that has an important role over the OH-FR, instead of the popular
antioxidant EDTA, that we use in patients with cardiovascular diseases as
we show in our other studies11,12 Our protocol in the last 5 years
includes: one infusion twice weekly for 5 weeks, followed by one weekly or
each 15 days, followed by one infusion monthly for as long as 1 or 2
years. With this protocol we have been successful in over 85% of patients
with OA, and over 77% in patients with RA, with long-lasting effects,
without using any other oral or parenteral non-steroidal or steroidal
anti-inflammatory. The 30 patients included in this study
were regular patients in our clinic and were evaluated three times in
order to see if it was possible to use the HLB test as a measuring method
of FR, as well as DMSO as an optimum antioxidant. The results obtained are
represented in Figure 1, where we find an initial average FR measuring
30.6% of the patients included, with an important and significant decrease
of FR production after DMSO administration, obtaining lower levels with an
average of 10.6%. That represents a 66% decrease in patients before
beginning the DMSO therapy, and keeping the patients in monthly
applications we obtained an average of 13.3% of FR synthesis. That
represents 52% decrease than the patients had in the beginning, and 12%
higher than patients after any DMSO infusion. It is important to verify that the
higher values were obtained in patients with RA, and the lowest in
patients with OA. This study was done by: Centro Internacional de
Medicina Preventiva, Rua Compevas 211 Perdizes, Sao Paulo 1501. Brazil;
Tel: (011) 623000. References 1. Beary J. III. Ed. Manual of
Rheumatology and outpatient orthopedic disorders. A Little Brown 1981. A New Approach to Rheumatic Diseases Copyright Townsend letter for Doctors,
October 1991, #99, p.778; reproduced by permission of the author and the
publication. No matter how many nonsteroidal
antiinflammatory, immunosuppressive, and cortisone-related drugs were
introduced in the past year as first option for rheumatic diseases, the
improvement obtained was poor because most of the time we only control the
pain and the inflammatory symptoms, but the disease continues to destroy
the tissues. Because of this situation, four years
ago we proposed a triple approach for sero-negative and sero-positive
rheumatic diseases with clinical and laboratory results above what we
originally expected. The triple approach includes: 1. DMSO
(Dimethylsulfoxide) one of the most powerful antioxidants known, and has a
strong antiinflammatory effect. It has been used since 1940 as an
industrial solvent, and after the studies of Jacobs was included in 1960,
for osteomuscular diseases. In 1978 the FDA approved the use of
DMSO for interstitial cystitis, but there are multiple studies showing an
improvement in different pathologies with the use of DMSO. In degenerative diseases like
Osteoarthritis free radicals (FR) attach and degenerate the cartilage,
decreasing the space in between the bones of the joint, and this contact
will produce pain with movement. In inflammatory diseases, FR are
closely related to leukotrines synthesis as described in pathologies like
rheumatic arthritis. In both cases DMSO will decrease the synthesis of FR,
inhibiting its deleterious effect on the bone structures. Experimental studies in animals
confirmed that DMSO dissolves the collagen of the fundamental matrix,
improving elastic tissue and increasing the elimination of hydroxyproline,
only in patients with collagenopathies, but not in normal
individuals. 2.
Enzymo-Injection-Pressure (EIP) consists in using a complex formula
in order to create pressure points in the ailing joints; this approach has
antipain, antiinflammatory and fibrinolitic effects. It works by a pressure mechanism that
will stimulate the amyelinated fibers that measure from 5 to 15 microns in
diameter, and send to the brain the pressure stimuli with a speed of 30
to100 meters per second. By this method the pressure stimuli will always
arrive first at the brain regulatory center over the pain stimuli. The formula (called F3) included in each 30cc multiple vial dose the following: Papain 0.005 grams 3.
Mucopolysaccharides, also called glycoaminoglycans, formed by the
hyaluronic acid, chondroitan and dermatan sulphate, that are components of
the fundamental matrix, and are used to stimulate the mitotic activity of
the condrocytes to keep the cartilage integrity. After a follow-up of three years in 36 eligible patients with Osteoarthritis, we prepared a retrospective analysis that soon will be published, where we obtained the following results: a. From the 36 patients included in the
follow up, 33 (91.66%) had a complete recovery of the general signs and
symptoms as: joint swelling, joint pain, limitation of movements, morning
rigidity, crippling, partial social inactivity. The other 3 (8.45%) had a partial recovery but much better than obtained with traditional therapy, and without side effects. b. The important aspect of thus study
was that it included only patients that had been using three or more
different kinds of antirheumatic drugs as follows: 100% use nonsteroidal drugs c. Thirty two (89%) of the patients
were women and 4 (11%) men. Our protocol included an intensive course of
treatments for 5 weeks and a maintenance therapy monthly. d. Nine patients (25%) had a partial
recurrence. e. Multiple joint diseases were
included: coxo-femoral, knee, shoulder, hand (interphalangeal distal)
cervical and lumbar backbone, etc. In the last two years we included
patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and sero-negative rheumatic diseases.
After more than 500 patients were treated we are extremely positive of
this triple approach for rheumatic disease and we present the following
conclusions: 1.
The triple approach therapy is highly successful in patients with
Rheumatoid Arthritis but it takes more treatments in the first part of the
therapy; however in our opinion this therapy modality keeps the patients
antisymptomatic for longer periods of time. 2.
Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis represent a small number of
our patients, but the improvement seen in these patients is sometimes
astonishing compared to the usual approach (antiinflammatories and
physiotherapy). 3. Other sero-negative rheumatic patients have variable results that suggest more intensive studies in each particular disease. 4. Finally, patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriasis, Lupus Erythematosis and other autoimmune diseases complicated with joint pathology need more attention, but it seems that we can get an outstanding therapeutic result in a long term therapy. But we still need longer follow-up studies in these specific diseases. As we know, one third of the population
over 35 suffer from Osteoarthritis and millions of others suffer from
Rheumatoid Arthritis and other rheumatic diseases, so we should consider
this group of pathologies the most crippling diseases in the world. Most of the drugs used for rheumatic
disease are associated with heavy side effects, a situation not observed
with the triple approach therapy. Conclusions Rheumatic diseases represent one of the
most crippling of all diseases and deserves special attention because most
of the control is done by drugs associated with side effects, which only
control pain and inflammation no matter how fast the disease
develops. Simultaneously using DMSO plus
Mucopolysaccharides and enzymo-pressure-injection, seems to be an
important way to control the disease evolution, and at the same time, gets
the patient back to normal activities. In this kind of therapy we did not
find any complications and no side effects. Instead we find extremely
important improvements in the patients treated. As much as we know of the implication
of the free radicals (FR) with degenerative and inflammatory pathologies,
more important seems to be the relationship with antioxidants like
DMSO. Regrowing damaged but not dead cells,
is possible when we can offer the tissues that which is necessary material
for autoregeneration. The homeostasis of the body is a result of the
equilibrium between tissues. That is the mechanism of action of our triple
conjugate therapy for rheumatic diseases. References 1. Stein H. Jay. Medicina Interna. Tomo
II. Slvat Editors. 1989.
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