Section IV -- Supplementation's /Herbs
Part 1 - What is 19-nor-Androstenedione?
"Nor-Andro is very hot right now, and it's rapidly replacing Deca as the world's most popular steroid-like compound! After all, it's much cheaper, and it's legal!" as recently reported in the February 1998 issue of Ironman.
19-nor-Androstenedione is so new - no human studies exist yet! Although it is imported and must pass both FDA and Customs inspections, it does not automatically imply that it will not be classified as an anabolic steroid, and banned by the DEA in the near future. However, for the moment, this product has seemingly fallen within the legal "loophole" that has been so desperately welcomed by many athletes.
Similar to Androstenedione, 19-nor-Androstenedione has demonstrated its effectiveness at increasing muscularity, vascularity, endurance, and strength, along with the apparent added benefit of improved lipolysis or increased fat mobilization. 19-nor-Androstenedione has far fewer potential side effects than its Androstenedione cousin. It is a precursor to nandrolone and a number of other 19-Nortestosterone derivatives, which is why it works so well. Nandrolones are preferable to testosterones because of poor conversion to undesirable estrogenic compounds, therefore the androgenic side effects such as acne, increased body-hair growth and acceleration of male pattern baldness are less prevalent. Unfortunately however, supplementation with 19-nor-Androstenedione may cause a false positive on a steroid test for nandrolone (known commercially as Deca).
19-nor-Androstenedione stacks well with Androstenedione as it has the ability to mirror the anabolic and androgenic effects of the ever popular "Deca-Durabolin" (many of you who have read "Physical Enhancement with an Edge" should be well aware that Deca can be obtained in Mexico as Deca Durabolin and Norandren 50) and injectable Testosterone combination. The highly anabolic properties of nandrolone are undisputed. Nandrolone easily binds to the body's steroid receptors and remains attached even longer than testosterone. 19-nor-androstenedione lacks a carbon molecule at a certain position in its molecular chain (19th to be exact). These carbon molecules cause amino acid reactions within the body which programs them to perform only specific functions. It is not converted by the liver into testosterone once it's completely metabolized, but instead is converted to nor-testosterone, which is the technical name for nandrolone, or "Deca".
For more information regarding nor-Androstenedione, be sure to check out "Is Deca - The World's Most Popular Steroid...Now Legal?" in the February 1998 issue of Ironman.
Is there any reason not to take 19-nor-Androstenedione?
Nandrolones are preferable to testosterones due to poor conversion to undesirable estrogenic compounds. Exposing androgen receptors to high levels of androgens actually causes new receptor sites to be transcribed. This allows the dosage to be lowered later in the cycle, enabling the permanent muscle gains while at the same time, avoiding the side effects. Androgenic side effects such as acne, increased body-hair growth and acceleration of male pattern baldness are less prevalent.
If you have heart conditions, high blood pressure, liver problems or are prone to male pattern baldness, you may exacerbate these conditions with the use of 19-nor-Androstenedione.
How to use 19-nor-Androstenedione:
There are several ways to administer a dose of 19-nor-Androstenedione. One method is sublingually, which means a capsule is placed under the tongue and allowed to dissolve. It is not swallowed. The capsule can also be broken apart and the 19-nor-Androstenedione substance itself can be placed directly beneath the tongue and the floor of the mouth. This allows for less of the substance to be broken down by eliminating "first pass". In other words, less of the 19-nor-Androstenedione would be destroyed by the stomach acids and liver. There is no data available at this juncture regarding how quickly this method is absorbed into the bloodstream.
An another method is nasally, which means that the substance is "inhaled" through the nasal passages. The capsule is broken apart and the powder is snorted up through the nasal mucosa to also allow for quicker absorption into the bloodstream. This method allows the anabolic hormone levels to peak approximately 30 minutes after intake.
My personal medical knowledge/experience of the sublingual application would estimate that it should be just as quick and efficacious as the nasal method for several reasons. One is that the blood capillaries are very close to the surface of the mouth mucosa (lining), so absorption is also very rapid. (I can relate this similar to "heart" medications such as Nitroglycerin, as these types of meds have to be effective immediately to counteract the onset of a possible heart attack.) Studies have shown that when taken sublingually, the drug is released at a controlled rate which allows for full absorption. Within seconds in the reference to the heart victim, the Nitroglycerin is working on the heart to restore normal rhythm. Therefore, I would suggest that the nasal application has the quickest absorption rate (my guess is within virtually minutes) then the sublingual, (which again should also be almost as quick). I would guess anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.
Finally, the most convenient familiar method that these products have been manufactured by the companies for intake is - tablets/capsules, which are intended to be swallowed. The tablet/capsule can be taken with water on an empty stomach. This method is the slowest, taking approximately 45 to 90 minutes for the anabolic hormone levels to peak.
These methods of applications can be applied to most other "substances" contained within a capsule shell. Certain drugs are manufactured in a particular way primarily due to absorption values. For example, Nitroglycerin (sublingual) has to be fast-acting, a vitamin (usually tablet form) does not. Get the picture? These are merely speculative comments, and not recommendations by any warrant.
Typically, athletes take 1 (100 mgs) to 2 (200 mgs) tablets/capsules 1 hour prior to training. Others have been taken 1 to 3 tablets/capsules (100 to 300 mgs) on non-training days in efforts of maintaining the anabolic properties at high levels in the system. Also, the addition of 1 LPC capsule with each dosage of 19-nor-Androstenedione will further enhance the potency.
Dosage timing is critical as you ideally want to have your anabolic hormone levels peak approximately 15 minutes into the workout. Also, a dose first thing in the morning, and last thing before bedtime will also help to keep the levels of nandrolone and testosterone elevated while asleep.
It has also been reported that further testosterone enhancements can be obtained with the addition of Tribulus Terrestris, as this natural product from Bulgaria is able to increase the bodies LH (Leutinizing Hormone).
Part 2 - DMSO - What else can it do?
I decided to make DMSO a topic this month because of its wide spead use of administering certain steroids such as Finaplix, Primobolan tabs. Studying things about DMSO, I was amazed of what it is used for and the many possible benefits that it can give people. But of course our fucking Government is holding it up because it cannot be tested using the double-blind placebo tests! Just goes to show you, they really dont give a fuck about our health, its their own rules, regulations, and wallets that they care about. Another reason that I wanted to include this about DMSO is because of my article of injecting liqid DMSO/Finaplix.
Included in this article is the transcript of the CBS show "60 Minutes". They did a piece on DMSO that I found very entertaining. I hope you enjoy it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does DMSO Stand For?
Answer: Dimethyl Sulfoxide
What Does DMSO Do?
* Reduces Pain & Inflammation
* Penetrates Membranes
* Inhibits Baterial Growth
* A Diuretic
* A Vasodilator
* A Tranquilizer
* Potentiates Other Compounds
* Transports Molecules, and Therefore Other Medications, Across Cell Membranes
* Soften Collagen
* Stimulates Wound Healing
WHAT IS THE PRIMARY MODE OF ACTION OF DMSO?
It is the most potent Free-Radical Scavenger in Biology & Medicine, particularly for OH radicals.
HOW IS IT ADMINISTERED?
Topically, orally, subcutaneously (injected under the skin), intravesically (into the urinary bladder) and intravenously.
WHAT IS THE BEST ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION?
For chronic health conditions-intravenous is the best, but it depends on the condition/disease and severity.
IS DMSO A SUBSTITUTE FOR CORTISONE?
DMSO may preclude the need for prednisone at the beginning of therapy. It has been shown to be helpful in allowing the patient to reduce his/her dosage of prednisone in an entity such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
IN ORDER TO GET THE IV RIMSO TREATMENTS, DO I HAVE TO BE HOSPITALIZED?
No, this is done on an out-patient basis.
WILL DMSO CARRY VIRUSES & OR BACTERIA?
NO
ARE THERE ANY SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS?
DMSO is considered a very safe agent. NOTE: We are referring to the pharmaceutical grade given by a knowledgeable physician.
DOES DMSO CAUSE CATARACTS IN PEOPLE?
No, it does not.
Many Uses, Much Controversy*
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a by-product of the wood industry, has been in use as a commercial solvent since 1953. It is also one of the most studied but least understood pharmaceutical agents of our time--at least in the United States. According to Stanley Jacob, M.D., a former head of the organ transplant program at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, more than 40,000 articles on its chemistry have appeared in scientific journals, which, in conjunction with thousands of laboratory studies, provide strong evidence of a wide variety of properties. (See Major Properties Attributed to DMSO) Worldwide, some 11,000 articles have been written on its medical and clinical implications, and in 125 countries throughout the world, including Canada, Great Britain, Germany, and Japan, doctors prescribe it for a variety of ailments, including pain, inflammation, scleroderma, interstitial cystitis, and arthritis elevated intercranial pressure.
Yet in the United States, DMSO has Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval only for use as a preservative of organs for transplant and for interstitial cystitis, a bladder disease. It has fallen out of the limelight and out of the mainstream of medical discourse, leading some to believe that it was discredited. The truth is more complicated.
DMSO: A History of Controversy
The history of DMSO as a pharmaceutical began in 1961, when Dr. Jacob was head of the organ transplant program at Oregon Health Sciences University. It all started when he first picked up a bottle of the colorless liquid. While investigating its potential as a preservative for organs, he quickly discovered that it penetrated the skin quickly and deeply without damaging it. He was intrigued. Thus began his lifelong investigation of the drug. The news media soon got word of his discovery, and it was not long before reporters, the pharmaceutical industry, and patients with a variety of medical complaints jumped on the news. Because it was available for industrial uses, patients could dose themselves. This early public interest interfered with the ability of Dr. Jacob--or, later, the FDA--to see that experimentation and use were safe and controlled and may have contributed to the souring of the mainstream medical community on it.
Why, if DMSO possesses half the capabilities claimed by Dr. Jacob and others, is it still on the sidelines of medicine in the United States today?
"It's a square peg being pushed into a round hole," says Dr. Jacob. "It doesn't follow the rifle approach of one agent against one disease entity. It's the aspirin of our era. If aspirin were to come along today, it would have the same problem. If someone gave you a little white pill and said take this and your headache will go away, your body temperature will go down, it will help prevent strokes and major heart problems--what would you think?"
Others cite DMSO's principal side effect: an odd odor, akin to that of garlic, that emanates from the mouth shortly after use, even if use is through the skin. Certainly, this odor has made double-blinded studies difficult. Such studies are based on the premise that no one, neither doctor nor patient, knows which patient receives the drug and which the placebo, but this drug announces its presence within minutes. Others, such as Terry Bristol, a Ph.D. candidate from the University of London and president of the Institute for Science, Engineering and Public Policy in Portland, Oregon, who assisted Dr. Jacob with his research in the 1960s and 1970s, believe that the smell of DMSO may also have put off the drug companies, that feared it would be hard to market. Worse, however, for the pharmaceutical companies was the fact that no company could acquire an exclusive patent for DMSO, a major consideration when the clinical testing required to win FDA approval for a drug routinely runs into millions of dollars. In addition, says Mr. Bristol, DMSO, with its wide range of attributes, would compete with manydrugs these companies already have on the market or in development.
The FDA and DMSO
In the first flush of enthusiasm over the drug, six pharmaceutical companies embarked on clinical studies. Then, in November
1965, a woman in Ireland died of an allergic reaction after taking DMSO and several other drugs. Although the precise cause of the woman's death was never determined, the press reported it to be DMSO. Two months later, the FDA closed down clinical trials in the United States, citing the woman's death and changes in the lenses of certain laboratory animals that had been given doses of the drug many times higher than would be given humans. Some 20 years and hundreds of laboratory and human studies later, no other deaths have been reported, nor have changes in the eyes of humans been documented
or claimed. Since then, however, the FDA has refused seven applications to conduct clinical studies, and approved only 1, for intersititial cystitis, which subsequently was approved for prescriptive use in 1978.
Dr. Jacob believes the FDA "blackballed" DMSO, actively trying to kill interest in a drug that could end much suffering. Jack de la Torre, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurosurgery and physiology at the University of New Mexico Medical School in Albuquerque, a pioneer in the use of DMSO and closed head injury, says, "Years ago the FDA had a sort of chip on its shoulder because it thought DMSO was some kind of snake oil medicine. There were people there who were openly biased against the compound even though they knew very little about it. With the new administration at that agency, it has changed a bit." The FDA recently granted permission to conduct clinical trials in Dr. de la Torre's field of closed head injury.
DMSO Penetrates Membranes and Eases Pain
The first quality that struck Dr. Jacob about the drug was its ability to pass through membranes, an ability that has been verified by numerous subsequent researchers.1 DMSO's ability to do this varies proportionally with its strength--up to a 90 percent solution. From 70 percent to 90 percent has been found to be the most effective strength across the skin, and, oddly, performance drops with concentrations higher than 90 percent. Lower concentrations are sufficient to cross other membranes. Thus, 15 percent DMSO will easily penetrate the bladder. In addition, DMSO can carry other drugs with it across membranes.
It is more successful ferrying some drugs, such as morphine sulfate, penicillin, steroids, and cortisone, than others, such as insulin. What it will carry depends on the molecular weight, shape, and electrochemistry of the molecules. This property would
enable DMSO to act as a new drug delivery system that would lower the risk of infection occurring whenever skin is penetrated.
DMSO perhaps has been used most widely as a topical analgesic, in a 70 percent DMSO, 30 percent water solution.
Laboratory studies suggest that DMSO cuts pain by blocking peripheral nerve C fibers.3 Several clinical trials have demonstrated
its effectiveness,4,5 although in one trial, no benefit was found.6 Burns, cuts, and sprains have been treated with DMSO.
Relief is reported to be almost immediate, lasting up to 6 hours. A number of sports teams and Olympic athletes have used
DMSO, although some have since moved on to other treatment modalities. When administration ceases, so do the effects of
the drug. Dr. Jacob said at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Health in 1980, "DMSO is one of the few agents in
which effectiveness can be demonstrated before the eyes of the observers....If we have patients appear before the Committee
with edematous sprained ankles, the application of DMSO would be followed by objective diminution of swelling within an hour.
No other therapeutic modality will do this." Chronic pain patients often have to apply the substance for 6 weeks before a change
occurs, but many report relief to a degree they had not been able to obtain from any other source.
DMSO and Inflammation
DMSO reduces inflammation by several mechanisms. It is an antioxidant, a scavenger of the free radicals that gather at the site
of injury. This capability has been observed in experiments with laboratory animals7 and in 150 ulcerative colitis patients in a
double-blinded randomized study in Baghdad, Iraq.8 DMSO also stabilizes membranes and slows or stops leakage from injured
cells. At the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1978, 213 patients with inflammatory genitourinary disorders
were studied. Researchers concluded that DMSO brought significant relief to the majority of patients. They recommended the
drug for all inflammatory conditions not caused by infection or tumor in which symptoms were severe or patients failed to respond
to conventional therapy. Stephen Edelson, M.D., F.A.A.F.P., F.A.A.E.M., who practices medicine at the Environmental and
Preventive Health Center of Atlanta, has used DMSO extensively for 4 years. "We use it intravenously as well as locally," he says.
"We use it for all sorts of inflammatory conditions, from people with rheumatoid arthritis to people with chronic low back
inflammatory-type symptoms, silicon immune toxicity syndromes, any kind of autoimmune process. "DMSO is not a cure,"
he continues. "It is a symptomatic approach used while you try to figure out why the individual has the process going on. When
patients come in with rheumatoid arthritis, we put them on IV DMSO, maybe three times a week, while we are evaluating the
causes of the disease, and it is amazing how free they get. It really is a dramatic treatment."
As for side effects, Dr. Edelson says: "Occasionally, a patient will develop a headache from it, when used intravenously--and it
is dose related." He continues: "If you give a large dose, [the patient] will get a headache. And we use large doses. I have used
as much as 30 ml IV over a couple of hours. The odor is a problem. Some men have to move out of the room [shared] with their
wives and into separate bedrooms. That is basically the only problem." DMSO was the first nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
discovered since aspirin. Mr. Bristol believes that it was that discovery that spurred pharmaceutical companies on to the
development on other varieties of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. "Pharmaceutical companies were saying that if DMSO can
do this, so can other compounds," says Mr. Bristol. "The shame is that DMSO is less toxic and has less int he way of side effects
than any of them."
Collagen and Scleroderma
Scleroderma is a rare, disabling, and sometimes fatal disease, resulting form an abnormal buildup of collagen in the body.
The body swells, the skin--particularly on hands and face--becomes dense and leathery, and calcium deposits in joints cause
difficulty of movement. Fatigue and difficulty in breathing may ensue. Amputation of affected digits may be necessary. The cause
of scleroderma is unknown, and, until DMSO arrived, there was no known effective treatment. Arthur Scherbel, M.D., of the d
department of rheumatic diseases and pathology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, conducted a study using DMSO with 42
scleroderma patients who had already exhausted all other possible therapies without relief. Dr. Scherbel and his coworkers
concluded 26 of the 42 showed good or excellent improvement. Histotoxic changes were observed together with healing of
ischemic ulcers on fingertips, relief from pain and stiffness, and an increase in strength. The investigators noted, "It should be
emphasized that these have never been observed with any other mode of therapy."10 Researchers in other studies have since
come to similar conclusions.
Does DMSO Help Arthritis?
It was inevitable that DMSO, with its pain-relieving, collagen-softening, and anti-inflammatory characteristics, would be employed
against arthritis, and its use has been linked to arthritis as much as to any condition. Yet the FDA has never given approval for
this indication and has, in fact, turned down three Investigational New Drug (IND) applications to conduct extensive clinical trials.
Moreover, its use for arthritis remains controversial. Robert Bennett, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.A.C.R., F.A.C.P., professor of medicine
and chief, division of arthritis and rheumatic disease at Oregon Health Sciences University (Dr. Jacob's university), says other
drugs work better. Dava Sobel and Arthur Klein conducted their own informal study of 47 arthritis patients using DMSO in
preparation for writing their book, Arthritis: What Works, and came to the same conclusion. Yet laboratory studies have indicated
that DMSO's capacity as a free-radical scavenger suggests an important role for it in arthritis.13 The Committee of Clinical Drug
Trials of the Japanese Rheumatism Association conducted a trial with 318 patients at several clinics using 90 percent DMSO
and concluded that DMSO relieved joint pain and increased range of joint motion and grip strength, although performing better in
more recent cases of the disease.14 It is employed widely in the former Soviet Union for all the different types of arthritis, as it
is in other countries around the world.
Dr. Jacob remains convinced that it can play a significant role in the treatment of arthritis. "You talk to veterinarians associated
with any race track, and you'll find there's hardly an animal there that hasn't been treated with DMSO. No veterinarian is going to
give his patient something that does not work. There's no placebo effect on a horse."
DMSO and Central Nervous System Trauma
Since 1971, Dr. de la Torre, then at the University of Chicago, has experimented using DMSO with injury to the central nervous
system. Working with laboratory animals, he discovered that DMSO lowered intracranial pressure faster and more effectively than
any other drug. DMSO also stabilized blood pressure, improved respiration, and increased urine output by five times and increased
blood flow through the spinal cord to areas of injury.15-17 Since then, DMSO has been employed with human patients suffering
severe head trauma, initially those whose intracranial pressure remained high despite the administration of mannitol, steroids,
and barbiturates. In humans, as well as animals, it has proven the first drug to significantly lower intracranial pressure, the number
one problem with severe head trauma. "We believe that DMSO may be a very good product for stroke," says Dr. de la Torre,
"and that is a devastating illness which affects many more people than head injury. We have done some preliminary clinical trials,
and there's a lot of animal data showing that it is a very good agent in dissolving clots."
Other Possible Applications for DMSO
Many other uses for DMSO have been hypothesized from its known qualities hand have been tested in the laboratory or in small
clinical trials. Mr. Bristol speaks with frustration about important findings that have never been followed up on because of the
difficulty in finding funding and because "to have on your resume these days that you've worked on DMSO is the kiss of death.
" It is simply too controversial. A sampling of some other possible applications for this drug follows. DMSO as long been used to
promote healing. People who have it on hand often use it for minor cuts and burns and report that recovery is speedy. Several
studies have documented DMSO use with soft tissue damage, local tissue death, skin ulcers, and burns. In relation to cancer,
several properties of DMSO have gained attention. In one study with rats, DMSO was found to delay the spread of one cancer and
prolong survival rates with another.22 In other studies, it has been found to protect noncancer cells while potentiating the
chemotherapeutic agent. Much has been written recently about the worldwide crisis in antibiotic resistance among bacteria.
Here, too, DMSO may be able to play a role. Researcher as early as 1975 discovered that it could break down the resistance
certain bacteria have developed. In addition to its ability to lower intracranial pressure following closed head injury, Dr. de la Torre's
work suggests that the drug may actually have the ability to prevent paralysis, given its ability to speedily clean out cellular debris
and stop the inflammation that prevents blood from reaching muscle, leading to the death of muscle tissue. With its great
antioxidant powers, DMSO could be used to mitigate some of the effects of aging, but little work has been done to investigate
this possibility. Toxic shock, radiation sickness, and septicemia have all been postulated as responsive to DMSO, as have other
conditions too numerous to mention here.
DMSO in the Future
Will DMSO ever sit on the shelves of pharmacies in this country as a legal prescriptive for many of the conditions it may be able
to address? Will the studies we need to discover when this drug is most appropriate ever be done? Given the difficulties the drug
has run into so far and the recent development of new drugs that perform some of the same functions, Mr. Bristol is doubtful.
Others, however, such as Dr. Jacob and Dr. de la Torre, see the FDA approval of DMSO for interstitial cystitis and the more recent
FDA go-ahead for DMSO trials with closed head injury as new indications of hope. The cystitis approval means that physicians may
use it at their discretion for other uses, giving DMSO a new legitimacy. Dr. Jacob continues to believe that DMSO should not even
be called a drug but is more correctly a new therapeutic principle, with an effect on medicine that will be profound in many areas.
Whether that is true cannot be known without extensive a publicly reported trials, which are dependent on the willingness of
researchers to undertake rigorous studies in this still-unfashionable tack and of pharmaceutical companies and other investors to
back them up. That this is a live issue is proved by the difficulty the investigators with approval to test DMSO for closed head injury
clinically are having finding funds to conduct the trials.
In 1980, testifying before the Select Committee on Agin of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dr. Scherbel said, "The controversy
that exists over the clinical effectiveness of DMSO is not well-founded--clinical effectiveness may be variable in different patients.
If toxicity is consistently minimal, the drug should not be restricted from practice. The clinical effectiveness of DMSO can be
decided with complete satisfaction if the drug is made available to the practicing physician. The number of patient complaints about
pain and the number of phone calls to the doctor's office will decide quickly whether or not the drug is effective." It may be
premature to call for the full rehabilitation of DMSO, but it is time to call for a full investigation of its true range of capabilities.
"60 Minutes" Cover story on DMSO
MIKE WALLACE: DMSO - 15 years ago news of this potential miracle drug flashed across the medical horizon:
dimethyl sulfoxide. It was touted as a pain reliever which would also work miracles on burns, on acne, even on spinal cord injuries;
a kind of jack-of-all-trades among drugs. The medical literature was full of stories about it, some of it pro-DMSO, much of it con,
skeptical, even derisive. The Journal of the American Medical Association editorialized against it. And the FDA, the Food and
Drug Administration, refused to okay if for general use; said it has never been proved effective. Nonetheless, two states, Oregon
and Florida have legalized it for prescription. And the black market in DMSO has become nationwide. That's how many Americans
get it. Meantime, the puzzling story of DMSO continues. It is largely fueled by the efforts of one man, Dr. Stanley Jacob,
an associate professor of surgery at the University of Oregon. For 15 years, this man - some would say this zealot - has been
pushing DMSO because he believes so deeply, despite the doubters, in what DMSO can do.
Dr. Jacob, isn't a drug that has so many alleged uses from arthritis to tennis elbow, from burns to spinal cord injuries, from mental
retardation to baldness, isn't a drug like that automatically suspect?
DR. STANLEY JACOB: No question. And I think that that's one of the reasons it's having problems. And if I had it to do all over
again, maybe the major mistake that I made, Mike, in the beginning was to tell it the way it was. I think if I would have said it was
good for a sprained ankle, but only if the ankle sprain were on the left side, DMSO maybe might be approved today.
WALLACE: Because its use is legal in Oregon, patients make the journey to Dr. Jacob's office there almost as if it were a
domestic Lourdes. As we've seen, Dr. Jacob treats some of his patients topically for their bruises, their aches and pains;
but some others of his patients, some of the most desperate, are young people left paralyzed from auto and motorcycle accidents.
These he gives DMSO intravenously to relieve the pressure on their damaged brains, to reduce the swelling in the brain or spinal
cord. And sometimes, apparently, he gets dramatic results.
MRS. WEBER: It took the swelling out of the spine, and they told my husband on the phone that I would - I'd probably be in a
chair, paralyzed, for the rest of my life. And so, we're really excited with the results.
WALLACE: Another Oregonian, transplanted to Georgia, swears by DMSO. June Jones is second-string quarterback for the
Atlanta Falcons. Time was, he says, he could hardly raise his arm to throw a football. He said he'd be out of the game without
DMSO.
JUNE JONES: My problem is in my shoulder, so the simple thing for me to do is I just put this on like this.
WALLACE: Just that much, about an inch worth?
JONES: I put about an inch worth, and I'll rub it - rub it all around the area. And I'll just leave it sit - sometimes I put on a little bit
more than that -
WALLACE: Uh-hmm.
JONES: -And I'll just let it sit like that for, oh, anywhere from twenty minutes to thirty minutes. And-
WALLACE: Boy, it smells, already!
JONES: Yeah, it - in fact, in about, well, maybe in about five minutes, I'll be able to taste it.
WALLACE: That's one small special characteristic of DMSO - it smells like garlic and it tastes like oysters. But if you took a
big whack during a game, let's say, and it was black and blue, you'd rub it on?
JONES: Oh, yeah. I do this more when I - when I play basketball in the off-season. Sometimes you get kneed in a - in a charley
horse.
WALLACE: Yeah.
JONES: Boy, I tell you, those things are painful for days.
WALLACE: Right.
JONES: I put it on right after, and I may not have any pain the next day at all.
WALLACE: Jones says several of his teammates use it too, but they wouldn't talk about it in public, because talk of any drug,
especially an illegal drug, is verboten in the NFL.
JONES: In our business, availability is the most important thing. In other words, if a guy gets hurt, he's - he could lose his job.
So, when someone comes to me and asks for - me for it, I give it to them. And - whether I'm legally okay to do that or not, I really
don't care, the repercussions, because I know I'm going to help somebody.
WALLACE: Perhaps more typical of the legions who depend on DMSO are those who suffer chronic pain. Emily Rudich suffered
searing, unrelenting pain from arthritis for years, and she could find no relief, she says, until DMSO. She'd no longer be playing
the piano without it, she told us.
EMILY RUDICH: I have some very badly gnarled fingers from arthritis, and the DMSO eases the arthritis right away. It's not a
miracle drug, doesn't really cure it, but it eases it.
WALLACE: And it does other things for her too.
RUDICH: I had a fever blister on my lip. I used DMSO three times, and the fever blister went away immediately. I've cut myself
in the kitchen, and sometimes quite badly, and have used DMSO on it and the cuts begin to heal right away.
WALLACE: How does DMSO work? What does it do inside your body that kills pain and helps healing? Dr. Jacob gave us a
capsule understanding.
DR. JACOB: One is that it blocks certain types of nerve conduction. These are the fibers which produce pain. Second, it reduces
inflammation or swelling. Third, it actually improves blood supply to an area of injury. Fourth - and this could be in the key - in the
test tube in certain types of injury, it literally stimulates healing.
WALLACE: But is it safe to us? We put that question to Dr. Richard Crout, head of the Bureau of Drugs of the Food and Drug
Administration. How many people have died from using DMSO? How many that you know have gotten ill from using it?
DR. RICHARD CROUT: Nobody's died from using DMSO. It - it's a relatively safe drug, as - as drugs go.
WALLACE: Uh-hmm.
DR. CROUT: Com-comparatively, yes.
WALLACE: So, we come back to the controversy that began fifteen years ago. Dr. Crout insists that, despite these anecdotes,
neither Dr. Jacob nor any other scientist has ever really proved that DMSO is effective. They've never proved scientifically that it
works for anything other than a rare bladder disease called interstitial cystitis.
DR. CROUT: I think people are - are rooting for the drug, in a sense, rooting for the investigators to come through, give us some -
qive us the right kind of evidence that stands up under scientific scrutiny.
WALLACE: Well -
DR. CROUT: And that's - that's how simple it is with DMSO.
WALLACE: So, I put a sampling of apparently credible scientific evidence before Dr. Crout. Are you familiar with
"Dimethyl Sulfoxide in Muscular Skeletal Disorders" - Journal of American Medical Association?
DR. CROUT: Yes.
WALLACE: "Topical Pharmacology and Toxicology of DMSO" - Journal of Medical Association?
DR. CROUT: Correct. Right. Uh-hmm.
WALLACE: "A Double-Blind Clinical Study" - DMSO - "for Acute Injuries and Inflammations" - Current Therapeutic Research?
DR. CROUT: Yes.
WALLACE: Treatment of Aerotitis and Aerosinusitis with Topical DMSO, an entire book on the subject of dimethyl sulfoxide by
D. Martin and H.G. Hauthal. So it's not as though this is some quack remedy that a few people have used and swear by. There
is a considerable body of scientific investigation undertaken -
DR. CROUT: That's right, with some very key holes in that body of evidence.
WALLACE: And that - and those key holes are?
DR. CROUT: Controlled trials demonstrating that it really works for some of the claims that it's - that it's touted for.
WALLACE: But controlled trials with DMSO are difficult, because that would involve something called "double-blind" tests,
where neither patient nor investigator knows who is getting a drug, who is getting a placebo. And that can't be done with DMSO,
because the smell of the drug gives it away. What the FDA says is needed is proper testing, and that, for instance, is to treat
comparable groups of patients with and without the drug over a long enough time to evaluate its consequences, good or bad.
And this, say the doubters in the medical establishment, has just not been done with DMSO. The National Academy of Sciences,
you know, looked over a lot of the work that has been published about DMSO, right?
DR. JACOB: Yes, they did.
WALLACE: And the National Academy of Sciences's committee said, in effect, that only a few were scientifically sound, that
most of the DMSO studies had been inadequately set up and carried out.
DR. JACOB: I don't agree with that conclusion, because I personally have published several dozen articles on DMSO, and I've
been associated with two New York Academy of Sciences symposia. There was no one on that committee, Mike, who had
actually ever treated a patient with DMSO, to my knowledge -
WALLACE: Uh-hmm.
DR. JACOB: - and I think that that makes a difference.
WALLACE: This young mother, Sandy Sherrick of Riverside, California, suffered severe whiplash and nerve damage in an
automobile accident two years ago. When we first met her last November, she was in agony. No pain-killer, no therapy, no
doctor, it seemed, could help.
SANDY SHERRICK: Oh, the pain was extremely bad. I was to the point where I cried continuously. I did not cook meals.
I did not clean. I barely got myself dressed.
WALLACE: And this went on for how long?
SHERRICK: Months. They finally got to the point where they just told me, "You're simply going to have to live with it."
WALLACE: Then she heard about DMSO. And as a last resort, Sandra Sherrick - as you can see, still very much in pain -
flew to Portland, Oregon, to be treated by Dr. Jacob. We went with her. She received her first dosages intravenous.
DR. JACOB: This will run in about an hour an hour and half.
SHERRICK: I can taste it.
DR. JACOB: You can taste it? Ready? Don't be too disappointed if, after the first intravenous, you're not significantly improved.
SHERRICK: Okay.
DR. JACOB: Okay? Let's just see what happens.
WALLACE: Twenty-four hours later, there was no real improvement. Besides, she had become nauseous from the treatment.
DR. JACOB: Bend it to one side, and bend it to the other. Now, do you have any more mobility, or about the same mobility?
SHERRICK: I think about the same.
WALLACE: By the third day, she was feeling a little better. You began to see it in her face.
SHERRICK: Well, I didn't have to take any more medicine.
DR. JACOB: How long has it been since you haven't had to take medicine?
SHERRICK: Over two years.
WALLACE: Before she left for home, Dr. Jacob showed her where and how to apply DMSO topically to her neck and back.
DR. JACOB: Now, when you put it on, don't rub it too hard. You just have to apply it to the skin and it goes in. Let it dry over twenty minutes to a half an hour. It won't be totally dry, but anything left you can just wipe off.
WALLACE: That was last November. This is Sandy Sherrick two months later back at her Riverside, California, home.
SHERRICK: Oh, the pain's gone. The pain is totally, completely gone from my neck.
WALLACE: You - You're serious?
SHERRICK: I'm telling the truth, the honest to God truth.
WALLACE: You can do anything? Can you do housework?
SHERRICK: Yes, I can.
WALLACE: Drive a car?
SHERRICK: Yes.
WALLACE: Lift stuff?
SHERRICK: I have not found anything I can't do.
WALLACE: We asked Dr. Jacob to come on down and take another look at you and to talk to you and us together. Okay?
DR. JACOB: Now, could you bend your head to the left side? Any discomfort?
SHERRICK: None.
DR. JACOB: Okay, now how about to the right side? Any discomfort?
SHERRICK: No.
WALLACE: Sandy, if you had done this three months ago, four months ago, what would have happened?
SHERRICK: I would have been in pain. He wouldn't have been able to touch me.
WALLACE: When a woman has been in pain for two years, and has an injection of, or topical application of, DMSO and suddenly a miracle happens; when a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons has been using it off and on for years, and says, "I swear by - I'm telling you my arm is better - I throw faster, straighter, better;" when you get testimonial after testimonial, I ask you, what's wrong with those testimonials?
DR. CROUT: Nothing's wrong with them. They may be right. But they don't get the - the - they don't provide the scientific evidence that's necessary for acceptance by scientists.
WALLACE: It's not just the FDA that's skeptical, not just the medical establishment; the drug companies don't have much enthusiasm for DMSO, either. Why? Jacob and others say it's because DMSO is a common chemical solvent that can be manufactured for four dollars a quart, on which no drug company can get an exclusive patient; therefore, there is no biq financial return available. Did an executive of Major drug company really tell you, Dr. Jacob, "I don't care if it" - DMSO - "is the major drug of our century, and we all know it is, it isn't worth it to us"?
DR. JACOB: I was told that if DMSO were approved, it would be competitive, and - and they didn't hold the patents. Yes, I was told that
WALLACE: And you will not tell us -
DR. JACOB: I - I would not tell you the - the name of the drug company or the individual.
WALLACE: Why?
DR. JACOB: That's the only question I will not - I will not answer. I'll answer any other question.
DR. CROUT: I think it's a fact of life that drug companies are not going to invest in something unless they think there is some financial return.
WALLACE: But we come back to the main reason for the FDA's objection to DMSO - that a story like Sandy Sherrick's doesn't take the place of a scientific test.
SHERRICK: Well, that's fine. I can understand their feeling. But they've got to be able to look at the test results and take me as and individual. I have no reason to say it does work or it doesn't. All I can say is what it's done for me personally. It worked for me.
WALLACE: Two footnotes. DMSO is now available for treatment of assorted ailments in Western Europe, the Soviet Union, Japan,
and Latin America. And tomorrow morning in Washington, the House Committee on Aging begins an inquiry into why DMSO is not available to all Americans for any appropriate ailment, including plain and simple pain.