DMSO – Stanley Jacobs' 60 Minutes Interview Part 1

This interview of Dr. Stanley Jacobs by the esteemed Mike Wallace for the popular news program 60 minutes was done several decades ago. This interview when released actually gridlocked the phone circuits of the entire city of Portland as millions of calls came in to Dr. Jacob's office. Amazingly despite this kind of press the potential of DMSO for medical use remains largely untapped due to the lack of profitability in an un-patentable, naturally derived, safe and potent compound that smells like garlic.

Oncology and the fight against cancer have been fixated on the “war” against cancer and hence their weapons of choice have been almost exclusively poisons.  Until recent history  the basic mechanisms of cancer and certainly of healthy physiology and the bodies innate healing capacity have been neglected and poorly understood.  Nutritional and herbal approaches to supporting patients’ bodies to fight and heal has been openly mocked and challenged.  Complementary / alternative treatments are criticized as too weak to be worthwhile, or so powerful that they compromise the potency of chemotherapy and radiation.  Many oncologists tell their patients to avoid supplementing with anti-oxidants like vitamin C using this reasoning.  From my perspective they may as well tell their patients to avoid eating fruits and vegetables while they are at it since they are full of anti-oxidants.   Conventional oncology loves to tout pharmaceutically driven and funded research as quintessential evidence, yet many of their treatments have not met their own criteria and anti-oxidants have repeatedly been shown to improve outcomes and maintain quality of life in cancer patients in study after study.  The truth is limited to where you are looking for it and the hand that directs the microscope has to be guided by a fistful of cash.

The truth cannot be suppressed eternally and curiousity about vitamin C and cancer has percolated to a rapid boil.  The scientific literature continues to mount supporting the use of oral and Intravenous  vitamin C for cancer patients.  The article posted below is one more example.  This study, carried out in Germany (of course…)  looked at 125 post-operative breast cancer patients and compared tolerance to conventional  treatment  in patients receiving IV Vitamin C and those not receiving it.    Vitamin C administration resulted in a significant reduction of complaints induced by the disease and chemo-/radiotherapy (1/2 the intensity), in particular of nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, depression, sleep disorders, dizziness and haemorrhagic diathesis.  There were also “no side effects” to vitamin C treatment! This should pique the interest of any honest oncologist given the fact that a patient who tolerates treatment, is more likely to complete treatment and therefore survive.

The vast majority of high dose Vitamin C research on cancer patients has been done on late stage terminal patients who have  no conventional  treatment options left.  The only negative studies I have seen have been in patients of this type who only received oral vitamin C which limits dosage to a maximum of 10 grams versus the 50-100 grams often given intravenously.  Two such studies  are often cited to refute claims of vitamin C’s effectiveness..  The first – (Edward T. Creagan et al. N Engl J Med 1979; 301:687-690) treated patients who had a median survival of only 7 weeks, meaning they were selected based on imminent death.  The second (N Engl J Med 1985; 312:137-141) treated terminal patients with colorectal cancer.  Let’s see… treating a cancer in the gastrointestinal tract with an agent that requires intestinal absorption of large amounts of the compound being tested.  I’m no clinical researcher but the experimental design here seems a bit suspect to me.  If these studies are worth citing, I’d like to cite them as examples of conventional oncology’s absolute failure to provide any treatment option in the first place for these patients – including hope.  Turn-about is, after-all, fair play.

As the numbers and studies of Vitamin C’s effect on cancer build, so will public awareness until organizations such as the National Institute of Health might actually be pressured to fund the full scale study Vitamin C deserves.  In using Vitamin C intravenously supportively with cancer patients in my office I have observed that every last one of them reports a significant improvement in quality of life.  I have never seen a severe reaction to Intravenous Vitamin C even in doses as high as 100 grams in severely debilitated terminal cancer patients.  Given judiciously by a physician adequately trained in its use Vitamin C is an integral part of integrated cancer support.  There are currently studies underway at Jewish General Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital at Herlev.  Please review the links below and decide for yourself what the preponderance of the evidence reveals.

Be well,

DocGriffith

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IV Vitamin C and Breast Cancer Trial

In Vivo. 2011 Nov;25(6):983-990.
Intravenous Vitamin C Administration Improves Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients during Chemo-/Radiotherapy and Aftercare: Results of a Retrospective, Multicentre, Epidemiological Cohort Study in Germany.
Vollbracht C, Schneider B, Leendert V, Weiss G, Auerbach L, Beuth J.
Source

University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 9/Building 35a, D-50931 Cologne, Germany. Tel: +49 2214786414, hans.beuth@uk-koeln.de.

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate under praxis conditions the safety and efficacy of intravenous (i.v.) vitamin C administration in the first postoperative year of women with breast cancer.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Epidemiological multicentre cohort study, including 15 gynaecologists and general practitioners representatively distributed in Germany. Data from 125 breast cancer patients in UICC stages IIa to IIIb were selected for the study. A total of 53 of these patients were treated with i.v. vitamin C (supplied as Pascorbin® 7.5 g) additional to standard tumour therapy for at least 4 weeks (study group) and 72 without this additional therapy (control group). Main outcome measures were efficacy in regard to outcome and severity of disease- or therapy-induced complaints during adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy and aftercare.

RESULTS:

Comparison of control and study groups revealed that i.v. vitamin C administration resulted in a significant reduction of complaints induced by the disease and chemo-/radiotherapy, in particular of nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, depression, sleep disorders, dizziness and haemorrhagic diathesis. After adjustment for age and baseline conditions (intensity score before adjuvant therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy), the overall intensity score of symptoms during adjuvant therapy and aftercare was nearly twice as high in the control group compared to the study group. No side-effects of the i.v. vitamin C administration were documented.

DISCUSSION:

Oxidative stress and vitamin C deficiency play an important role in the etiology of adverse effects of guideline-based adjuvant chemo-/radiotherapy. Restoring antioxidative capacity by complementary i.v. vitamin C administration helps to prevent or reduce disease-, or therapy-induced complaints in breast cancer patients.

CONCLUSION:

Complementary treatment of breast cancer patients with i.v. vitamin C was shown to be a well tolerated optimization of standard tumour-destructive therapies, reducing quality of life-related side-effects.

Links and resources:

PubMed (National Institute of Health – Database of peer reviewed scientific literature). Search conducted:  “Vitamin C and Cancer”.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=vitamin%20c%20cancer

Copenhagen University Hospital at Herlev:  Vitamin C as an Anti-cancer Drug.  clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01080352

The University of Kansas Hospital:  IV Vitamin C – Frequently asked questions.  http://www.kumed.com/default.aspx?ID=5049

Jewish General Hospital Study:  Trial of Chemotherapy Plus Intravenous Vitamin C in Patients With Advanced Cancer for Whom Chemotherapy Alone is Only Marginally Effective.  http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/related/NCT01050621

The Vitamin C Foundation:  http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/vitcancer.shtml

Vitamin C and Cancer (Book by Linus Pauling and Ewan Cameron).

Vitamin C Monograph:  Linus Pauling Institute.  http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability. It is also a debilitating and heavily stigmatized condition that all too often goes undiagnosed and untreated, leaving sufferers without hope of recovery. Current treatments are largely ineffective. Join Olympia based naturopathic physician Dr. Thomas Griffith for a discussion of his preferred treatment for TBI- intravenous DMSO, a compound made during the processing of tree pulp. Passionate about finding safe and effective treatments for serious conditions, Dr. Griffith will present evidence from clinical trials that DMSO is a promising therapy for sever traumatic brain injury.  

This is an image of Phinneas Gage, a famous TBI victim who actually lived to tell the tale.

Dr. Griffith recommends visiting DMSO.org before attending the presentation, to familiarize yourself with the history and research about DMSO.

Clinical human trials are confirming the strong performance of prunes in reversing osteoporosis in animal studies. The exact mechanism of action is still not clear but it has been noted that prunes are a rich source of selenium and boron, both necessary in bone metabolism and mineralization. The polyphenols in prunes are known to down regulate inflammatory and catabolic biochemical pathways (breakdown) resulting in less bone loss and more synthesis. Many other fruits contain similar polyphenols but prunes have proven to be the most effective fruit for preventing and reversing bone loss.

A recent study by Dr. Bahram Arjmandi of Florida State University was published in the Journal of Medicinal Plants May 2011. This study of 160 postmenopausal osteopenic (decreased bone density) women, “not on hormone replacement therapy or any other prescribed medication known to influence bone metabolism”, demonstrated the ability of prunes to not only prevent bone lose but to actually reverse bone loss and increase bone density with administration of just 100 grams of prunes per day (roughly 10 prunes). Given the significant potential for side effects from current standard of care prescriptive medications, this study calls to question the necessity of those drugs. It also infers that consumption of prunes before the onset of bone loss may be preventative of osteoporosis.

The mechanism behind prunes effects on bone density may not be fully elucidated, but from a Naturopathic perspective it is clear. Prunes provide fiber which enhance the bowels ability to eliminate toxins and byproducts of metabolism. Fiber provides food for beneficial gut bacteria which in turn provide cells of the colon with short chain fatty acids as a breakdown product of the fiber they digest. Short chain fatty acids are a food to colon cells and help them to function more optimally. The types of bacteria fed by the fiber from prunes are capable of modulating the immune system to a less reactive and less inflammatory response. Inflammation has been linked to increased bone degeneration.

The improvements in bowel function also lead to greater absorption of food which is especially important when it comes to bone supporting nutrients like Vitamin D, Calcium, Magnesium, selenium, boron and of course bone building polyphenols. From an ND’s perspective these mechanisms of prune action on bone density are obvious. This theory is further supported by the fact another study published in April 2010 by Dr. Arjmandi in the Journal of Medicinal Food showed that a combination of a type of fiber called fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and dried plum provided added benefit in restoring bone density in rats. The combination of FOS and plum was more effective than plum combined with additional polyphenols.

It’s amazing how much research it takes to pull the nectar of knowledge out of a deliciously simple prune and discover the potent benefits within. Thanks to Dr. Arjmandi and his team at FSU for bringing food back to the table as medicine. It is time we moved away from the notion that medicine must be equated to a pill. I sure hope the price of prunes doesn’t go up because of this…

Stay well,

Doc Griffith

I’ve posted three articles below that focus on infectious organisms detectable in the blood stream and their role in the onset and progression of coronary artery disease / atherosclerosis. The consequence of uncontrolled coronary artery disease is myocardial infarction or heart attack, one of the top killers in the US. Though there is still debate about the extent these infectious microbes contribute to atherosclerosis, the evidence suggests that the greater number of different organisms detectable the greater severity of progression towards arterial disease. There have also been studies confirming improved vascular function after use of anti-microbial agents like anti-biotics.

For years the primary focus of treatment of coronary artery disease treatment and research has focused on reducing LDL cholesterol with statin drugs. Now we are seeing evidence mounting that the cholesterol may just be merely kindling and that environmental factors such as infectious agents may be the match to light the fire. Genetics likely dictate how far, fast and furiously the fire burns. Statin drugs are the most prescribed and studied means of treating these risks. The research, funded by big Pharma, has been myopically focused on statins ability to lower LDL cholesterol, and they do apparently reduce risk. Some would argue the risk reduction is marginal and is not worth the common adverse effects of statins that have made them unpopular with many patients. What is left out of the discussion and research is the fact that statins are potent anti-inflammatories and their protection may be conferred by putting out the match. The role of infectious organisms is still not definitive as there is not nearly enough research done on therapies, other than LDL reduction by statins, to actually bring other causation to light.

What the evidence calls to question about infectious disease presence in these patients is whether there may be other ways of turning down the heat like addressing infectious agents and other causative factors. Conventionally the primary means of treating infection is with the use of anti-microbial drugs but these are rarely used for atherosclerosis outside of a research setting. Fortunately, as an Naturopathic physician, there are many tools to reduce the threshold of inflammatory and hyper-coagulative (sticky platelets and cholesterol) responses that create the susceptibility to developing atherosclerosis. A basic naturopathic approach may include: Exercise and lifestyle, anti-inflammatory dietary modification, anti-oxidants, natural antimicrobials, cholesterol lowering agents and blood thinners, gastrointestinal and immune support, cardio-protective and supportive herbs and nutrients, elimination of environmental toxins, as well as IV treatments such as intravenous vitamin C, lipoic acid, phosphatidylcholine and dmso (all show promise in reducing vascular damage of atherosclerosis). These approaches address the basic pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, not just the numbers on a cholesterol panel.

The research implicating other risk factors besides LDL cholesterol continues to mount and I foresee a future where the dominance of the LDL hypothesis for coronary artery disease is put into perspective. LDL cholesterol is not typically the cause atherosclerosis plaques it is a consequence of vessels that have taken a beating from high blood pressure, tissue damage, oxidation and inflammation. LDL cholesterol acts to reinforce the vascular wall to protect the coronary artery. It is the environment that dictates the susceptibility. Infectious disease presence is but one of many factors that should be taken into account to get the full picture. It is important that we expand our notions of causation with cardiovascular disease like atherosclerosis in order to do more than treat laboratory values but to actually reach closer and closer towards treating the cause and the whole patient. It is after all the whole patient that truly heals their own heart, not their practitioner or their pills.

Be well,

Doc Griffith

Nihon Rinsho. 2011 Jan;69(1):25-9.
[Etiology of atherosclerosis-- special reference to bacterial infection and viral infection].
[Article in Japanese]
Kurano M, Tsukamoto K.
Department of Metabolic Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo.

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is caused by multiple factors. Infectious disease has been proposed to be one of the causative factors, and several bacteria and viruses have been studied for their correlations with atherosclerotic diseases; these organisms include Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, HIV, CMV, HSV and hepatitis viruses. Many underlying mechanisms that infectious diseases cause atherosclerosis have been proposed; most of them suggested that inflammatory process provoked by infectious diseases led to atherosclerosis. Several clinical studies were also performed to examine whether treatment for infectious diseases could protect against atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between infectious diseases and atherosclerotic diseases and the effects of treatment for infectious diseases on atherosclerosis are still controversial; there are both positive and negative reports. Thus, further studies are needed to clarify the correlation.

Journal of Clinical Virology
Volume 32, Issue 1, January 2005, Pages 29-32

Detection of herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus DNA in atherosclerotic plaques and in unaffected bypass grafts

Ali I. Ibrahima, Michel T. Obeida, Muhidien J. Joumaa, Ghassan A. Moasisb, Wael L. Al-Richaneb, Ingrid Kindermannc, Michael Boehmc, Klaus Roemerd, Nikolaus Mueller-Lantzschd, Barbara C. Gärtnerd, Corresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author
Purchase
Department of Clinical Chemistry and Microbiology, University of Damascus, Syria
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Assad University Hospital, Damascus, Syria
Department of Cardiology, University of the Saarland, 66421 Homburg/Saar, Germany
Department of Virology, University of the Saarland, 66421 Homburg/Saar, Germany

revised 28 June 2004; Accepted 28 June 2004. Available online 23 August 2004.
Abstract

Background: Herpes virus infections are suspected to be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Objective and method: Viral DNA of herpes simplex virus (HSV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) was analyzed by real-time PCR on 48 biopsies from atherosclerotic plaques extracted by end-arterectomy (46 coronary arteries, 2 carotid arteries), and in tissue from non-atherosclerosis vessels from the same patient as controls (23 internal mammary arteries, 43 saphenous veins). Results: HSV-1 DNA was detected significantly more frequently in plaques (35%) than in control veins (9%, P = 0.006). However, the frequency of HSV-1 DNA detection in the internal mammary artery grafts was as high as in plaques (22%, P = 0.28). CMV and EBV DNA were exclusively found in plaques but not in controls, with 10% for CMV (P = 0.06 versus veins, P = 0.17 versus graft arteries) and 2% for EBV (P = 1.0), respectively. HSV-2 was neither detected in plaques nor in controls. Herpes viral DNA was significantly associated only with arterial hypertension but not with other classical risk factors (P = 0.02), in accordance with the hypothesis that herpes viral infection may alter the vessel wall. Conclusion: We conclude that herpes viral infections may have a role in atherosclerosis and that the presence of herpes viral DNA in the grafts used for bypass surgery might constitute a potential risk for atherosclerosis or restenosis.

Abbreviations: PCR, polymerase chain reaction; HSV, herpes simplex virus; CMV, cytomegalovirus; EBV, Epstein-Barr virus; CAD, coronay artery disease; vs., versus

Editorials – Circulation Research. 2008; 102: 861-863

Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Endothelial Activation
The Smoke That Precedes the Fire of Atherosclerosis?
Sean P. Didion
From the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City.

Correspondence to Sean P. Didion, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 340-G Eckstein Medical Research Building, Iowa City, IA 52242. E-mail sean-didion@uiowa.edu

Exactly 100 years ago, the physician Sir William Osler suggested an important role for inflammation, as well as infection, in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.1 Indeed, it is now well accepted that atherosclerosis is a disease with a large inflammatory component.2 In addition to traditional risk factors, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and smoking, previous, as well as chronic or recurrent, infection has emerged as a novel risk factor for atherosclerosis. Cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, Helicobacter pylori, and hepatitis A are a few examples of pathogenic agents that have been, in 1 form or another, associated with atherosclerosis.3 However, no association appears to have garnered more attention, or plausibility, than that between Chlamydophila pneumoniae (formerly Chlamydia pneumonia) infection and atherosclerosis.

To those of us who have been labelled as quacks, charlattans or fear mongers for suggesting just such a thing, research like this is validation by way of hard science. The truth is that low levels of environmental pollutants are found in all of us and they do promote disease. This has been known in the case of developing infants and children for a long time but still hasn’t led to prioritization of research, govermental or medical practices towards protecting even babies. There is a rising pile of evidence that is being generated by dedicated and skilled scientists and the day is coming when medicine will have to face the truth and decide on a course of action. Let’s hope they will take a cue from the naturopath and the shaman, and that they will not put their hopes into a pill, but into the preservation of the balance of nature.

Be well,

Doc Griffith
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BMC Genomics. 2011 Apr 1;12:173.
Comparative genomic analyses identify common molecular pathways modulated upon exposure to low doses of arsenic and cadmium.
Benton MA, Rager JE, Smeester L, Fry RC.

BACKGROUND:

Exposure to the toxic metals arsenic and cadmium is associated with detrimental health effects including cancers of various organs. While arsenic and cadmium are well known to cause adverse health effects at high doses, the molecular impact resulting from exposure to environmentally relevant doses of these metals remains largely unexplored.

RESULTS:

In this study, we examined the effects of in vitro exposure to either arsenic or cadmium in human TK6 lymphoblastoid cells using genomics and systems level pathway mapping approaches. A total of 167 genes with differential expression were identified following exposure to either metal with surprisingly no overlap between the two. Real-time PCR was used to confirm target gene expression changes. The gene sets were overlaid onto protein-protein interaction maps to identify metal-induced transcriptional networks. Interestingly, both metal-induced networks were significantly enriched for proteins involved in common biological processes such as tumorigenesis, inflammation, and cell signaling. These findings were further supported by gene set enrichment analysis.
CONCLUSIONS:

This study is the first to compare the transcriptional responses induced by low dose exposure to cadmium and arsenic in human lymphoblastoid cells. These results highlight that even at low levels of exposure both metals can dramatically influence the expression of important cellular pathways.

Source:
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Abstract

Khalil Gibran
On Work

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life’s procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.
When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?
Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work, you fulfill a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.
But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.
You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love, you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.
And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.
Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, “He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is a nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
“And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet.”
But I say, not in sleep but in the over-wakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.
Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distills a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

Join Dr. Griffith at 7:30 on Wednesday, August 31st at the downtown Olympia Timberland Library for a talk on Traumatic Brain Injury and the Evidence of Treatment with DSMO!

Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability. It is also a debilitating and heavily stigmatized condition that all too often goes undiagnosed and untreated leaving sufferers without hope of recovery. Current treatments work poorly, but Dr. Thomas Griffith, a local Naturopathic physician, administers DMSO, a compound made during the processing of tree pulp. Dr. Griffith is passionate about finding safe and effective treatments for serious conditions. He will present evidence from clinical trials that DMSO is such a therapy for severe traumatic brain injury. Dr. Griffith encourages anyone with TBI and their loved ones to come. Gulf War Veterans are especially welcome. Please tell anyone you know who might benefit from this information.

Location: Olympia Timberland Library

313 8th Avenue SE
Olympia, WA 98501-1307
360-352-0595
Age Group(s): Adults
Date: 8/31/2011
Start Time: 7:30 PM
End Time: 8:45 PM

Dr. Griffith practices at Vital HealthCare in Olympia, Washington. If you have questions, you can reach his office at 360-455-8281.

Vital HealthCare
3525 Ensign RD NE Ste N
Olympia,WA 98506
Phone 360-455-8281