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Letters to the Editor Issue 261

by Letters(more info)

listed in letters to the editor, originally published in issue 261 - March 2020

Hospital-Based Intravenous Vitamin C Treatment for Coronavirus and Related Illnesses

by Andrew W Saul and Atsuo Yanagisawa MD PhD

 

No matter which hospital a coronavirus patient may seek help from, the question is, Will they be able to leave walking out the front door, or end up being wheeled out the basement backdoor? Prompt administration of intravenous vitamin C, in high doses, can make the difference. Abundant clinical evidence confirms vitamin C's effectiveness when used in sufficient quantity.[1]

Physicians have demonstrated the powerful antiviral action of vitamin C for decades.[2]

Specific Instructions for Intravenous Vitamin C

The Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy (JCIT) recommends intravenous vitamin C (IVC) 12.5/25g (12,500 - 25,000 mg) for acute viral infections (influenza, herpes zoster, common cold, rubella, mumps, etc.) and virus mimetic infections (idiopathic sudden hearing loss, Bell's palsy). In adults, IVC 12.5g is given for early stage illness with mild symptoms, and IVC 25g for moderate to severe symptoms. IVC is usually administered once or twice a day for 2-5 continuous days, along with or without general treatments for viral infections.

IVC 12.5g cocktail

Sterile water    125 mL

50% Vitamin C           25 mL (12. 5g)

0.5M Magnesium sulfate        10 mL

Add Vitamin B complex       

Drip for 30-40 min     

 

IVC 25g cocktail

Sterile water    250 mL

50% Vitamin C           50 mL (25g)

0.5M Magnesium sulfate        20 mL

Add Vitamin B complex       

Drip for 40-60 min     

 

Patients with acute viral infections show a depletion of vitamin C and increasing free radicals and cellular dysfunction. Such patients should be treated with vitamin C, oral or IV, for neutralizing free radicals throughout the body and inside cells, maintaining physiological functions, and enhancing natural healing. If patients progress to sepsis, vitamin C should be added intravenously as soon as possible along with conventional therapy for sepsis.

Toronto Star, 30 May 2003: "Fred Hui MD believes that administering vitamin C intravenously is a treatment worth trying. And he'd like to see people admitted to hospital for the pneumonia-like virus treated with the vitamin intravenously while also receiving the usual drugs for SARS. 'I appeal to hospitals to try this for people who already have SARS,' says Hui. Members of the public would also do well to build up their levels of vitamin C, he says, adding that there is nothing to lose in trying it. 'This is one of the most harmless substances there is,' Hui states. 'There used to be concern about kidney stones, but that was theoretical. It was never borne out in an actual case.' Hui says he has found intravenous vitamin C effective in his medical practice with patients who have viral illnesses."[3]

Additional administration details are readily obtained from a free download of the complete Riordan Clinic Intravenous Vitamin C Protocol.[4] Although initially prepared for cancer patients, the protocol has found widespread application for many other diseases, particularly viral illnesses.

"Research and experience has shown that a therapeutic goal of reaching a peak-plasma concentration of ~20 mM (350- 400 mg/dL) is most efficacious. (No increased toxicity for posoxidant IVC plasma vitamin C levels up to 780 mg/dL has been observed.) . . . [T]he administering physician begins with a series of three consecutive IVC infusions at the 15, 25, and 50 gram dosages followed by post IVC plasma vitamin C levels in order to determine the oxidative burden for that patient so that subsequent IVCs can be optimally dosed."

Pages 16-18 of the Riordan protocol present IVC administration instructions.

http://www.doctoryourself.com/RiordanIVC.pdf  or https://riordanclinic.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/RiordanIVCprotocol_en.pdf  

There are Four Pages of Supporting References

"Given the rapid rate of success of intravenous vitamin C in viral diseases, I strongly believe it would be my first recommendation in the management of corona virus infections."

Victor A. Marcial-Vega, MD Puerto Rico

"It is of great importance for all doctors to be informed about intravenous vitamin C. When a patient is already in hospital severely ill, this would be the best solution to help save her or his life."

(Karin Munsterhjelm MD) Finland

Winning the Hospital Game

When faced with hospitalization, the most powerful person in the most entire hospital system is the patient. However, in most cases, the system works on the assumption that the patient will not claim that power. If on your way in you signed the hospital's legal consent form, you can unsign it. You can revoke your permission. Just because somebody has permission to do one thing doesn't mean that they have the permission to do everything. There's no such thing as a situation that you cannot reverse. You can change your mind about your own personal healthcare. It concerns your very life. The rights of the patient override the rules of any institution.

If the patient doesn't know that, or if they're not conscious, or if they just don't have the moxie to do it, the next most powerful person is the spouse. The spouse has enormous influence and can do almost as much as the patient. If the patient is incapacitated, the spouse can, and must, do all the more. If there is no spouse present, the next most powerful people in the system are the children of the patient.

When you go to the hospital, bring along a big red pen, and cross out anything that you don't like in the hospital's permission form. And before you sign it, add anything you want. Write out "I want intravenous vitamin C, 25 grams per day, until I state otherwise." And should they say, "We're not going to admit you," you reply, "Please put it in writing that you refuse to admit me." What do you think their lawyers are going to do with that? They have to admit you. It's a game, and you can win it. But you can't win it if you don't know the rules. And basically, they don't tell you the rules.

This is deadly serious. Medical mistakes are now the third leading cause of death in the US. Yes, medical errors kill over 400,000 Americans every year. That's 1,100 each day, every day.[5]

There are mistakes of commission and mistakes of omission. Failure to provide intravenous vitamin C is, literally, a grave omission. Do not allow yourself or your loved ones to be deprived of a simple, easy to prepare and administer IV of vitamin C.

"If a family member of mine died due to coronavirus infection, after a doctor refused to use intravenous vitamin C, I would challenge his or her treatment in a court of law. I would win." (Kenneth Walker MD surgeon)

It can be done

Vitamin IVs can be arranged in virtually any hospital, anywhere in the world. Attorney and cardiologist Thomas E. Levy's very relevant presentation is free access. [6,7] http://www.doctoryourself.com/VC.NZ.Sept.2010.pdf  and http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n26.shtml .

Both the letter and the intent of new USA legislation now make this easier for you.

"The new federal Right to Try Act provides patients suffering from life-threatening diseases or conditions the right to use investigational drugs... It amends the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt investigational drugs provided to patients who have exhausted approved treatment options and are unable to participate in a clinical trial involving the drug. Advocates of right to try laws have sought to accelerate access to new drugs for terminally ill patients who are running out of options. Arguably, the law does not represent a radical change in this and several other states, however, because in 2016, California had already joined the majority of other states in adopting a law enabling physicians to help terminally ill patients pursue investigational therapies, without fear of Medical Board or state civil or criminal liability. . . The new Right to Try law should give physicians, as well as drug manufacturers, some added comfort about FDA enforcement in these cases."[8]

Therefore, in regards to intravenous vitamin C, do not accept stories that "the hospital can't" or "the doctor can't" or that "the state won't allow it." If you hear any of this malarkey, please send the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service the text of the policy or the law that says so. In the meantime, take the reins and get vitamin C in the veins.

References:

1. Saul AW (2020) Nutritional Treatment of Coronavirus. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n06.shtml  

2. Saul AW (2020) Vitamin C Protects Against Coronavirus. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n04.shtml  

3. Mawhinney J (2003) Vitamin C touted to fight virus. Toronto Star, 30 May 2003. http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/06/06/vitamin_c_could_be_effective_against_sars.htm.  

4. The Riordan IVC Protocol is a free-access download at http://www.doctoryourself.com/RiordanIVC.pdf  

5. James JT (2013) A new, evidence-based estimate of patient harms associated with hospital care. J Patient Safety 9:122-128. https://journals.lww.com/journalpatientsafety/fulltext/2013/09000/A_New,_Evidence_based_Estimate_of_Patient_Harms.2.aspx  .

6. Levy TE. Vitamin C: the facts, the fiction, and the law. http://www.doctoryourself.com/VC.NZ.Sept.2010.pdf  

7. Levy TE. Vitamin C And The Law. OMNS. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n26.shtml .

8. Nelson H, Zimmitti S (2018) New Federal Right to Try Act. NH Healthcare Law Perspectives. https://www.nelsonhardiman.com/right-to-try-right-to-die-federal-and-state-laws-in-flux-for-providers-who-treat-terminally-ill-patients  

To learn more about intravenous vitamin C:

There are many articles posted for free reading at https://riordanclinic.org/journal-article-categories/intravenous-vitamin-c/

Mikirova N, Hunninghake R. (2014) Effect of high dose vitamin C on Epstein-Barr viral infection. Med Sci Monit. 20:725-732. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24793092 . "The clinical study of ascorbic acid and EBV infection showed the reduction in EBV EA IgG and EBV VCA IgM antibody levels over time during IVC therapy that is consistent with observations from the literature that millimolar levels of ascorbate hinder viral infection and replication in vitro."

Gonzalez MJ, Berdiel MJ, Duconge J, Levy TE, Alfaro IM, Morales-Borges R, Marcial-Vega, V, Olalde J. (2018) High Dose Vitamin C and Influenza: A Case Report. J Orthomol Med. 33(3) https://isom.ca/article/high-dose-vitamin-c-influenza-case-report/  "Based on the positive outcome in this case, we propose that Intravenous Vitamin C should be studied as a vital component of the treatment protocol for acute viral infections."

Dr W. Gifford-Jones: People are dying needlessly of coronavirus. https://www.mpnnow.com/news/20200128/dr-gifford-jones-people-are-dying-needlessly-of-coronavirus  

Murata A.  Virucidal activity of vitamin C: Vitamin C for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases. Proceedings of the First Intersectional Congress of Microbiological societies, Science Council of Japan, 3:432-42. 1975.

Saul AW. Vitamins in Hospitals http://www.doctoryourself.com/hospitals.html   

Saul AW. (2020) Vitamin C Protects Against Coronavirus. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n04.shtml  

Saul AW. How to Get Intravenous Vitamin C Given to a Hospitalized Patient: A Checklist http://www.doctoryourself.com/strategies.html  

Cathcart RF. Preparation of Sodium Ascorbate for Intravenous and Intramuscular Administration http://www.doctoryourself.com/vitciv.html  

Note

The Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy (JCIT) was founded in 2007. JCIT has organized educational seminar on intravenous nutrient therapy and integrative medicine for 13 years. JCIT now consists of 850 active members of physician and dentists. Every year, the College organizes 10 or more educational seminars with protocols for intravenous vitamin C therapy, mainly along with the Riordan Protocol, for patients with acute and chronic diseases. More than 2500 physicians in Japan have learned these protocols, and patients can easily find member's clinics all over Japan. In addition, JCIT recommends that physicians stock extra vitamin C vials in case of a pandemic. The JCIT website (Japanese language only): https://www.iv-therapy.org  

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org  

Find a Doctor

To locate an orthomolecular physician near you: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n09.shtml  

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html

http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml

Editorial Review Board:

Ilyès Baghli, M.D. (Algeria)

Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)

Prof. Gilbert Henri Crussol (Spain)

Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)

Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)

Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)

Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)

Michael J. Gonzalez, N.M.D., D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)

William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)

Tonya S. Heyman, M.D. (USA)

Suzanne Humphries, M.D. (USA)

Ron Hunninghake, M.D. (USA)

Michael Janson, M.D. (USA)

Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA)

Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)

Jeffrey J. Kotulski, D.O. (USA)

Peter H. Lauda, M.D. (Austria)

Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)

Homer Lim, M.D. (Philippines)

Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA)

Victor A. Marcial-Vega, M.D. (Puerto Rico)

Charles C. Mary, Jr., M.D. (USA)

Mignonne Mary, M.D. (USA)

Jun Matsuyama, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)

Dave McCarthy, M.D. (USA)

Joseph Mercola, D.O. (USA)

Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)

Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)

Tahar Naili, M.D. (Algeria)

W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)

Dag Viljen Poleszynski, Ph.D. (Norway)

Jeffrey A. Ruterbusch, D.O. (USA)

Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)

Thomas L. Taxman, M.D. (USA)

Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)

Garry Vickar, MD (USA)

Ken Walker, M.D. (Canada)

Anne Zauderer, D.C. (USA)

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor-In-Chief

Editor, Japanese Edition: Atsuo Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)

Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA), Associate Editor

Helen Saul Case, M.S. (USA), Assistant Editor

Michael S. Stewart, B.Sc.C.S. (USA), Technology Editor

Jason M. Saul, JD (USA), Legal Consultant

Comments and media contact:

drsaul@doctoryourself.com  OMNS welcomes but is unable to respond to individual reader emails. Reader comments become the property of OMNS and may or may not be used for publication.

 

 

Early Large Dose Intravenous Vitamin C is the Treatment of Choice for 2019-nCov Pneumonia

Richard Z Cheng MD PhD, Hanping Shi MD PhD, Atsuo Yanagisawa MD PhD, Thomas Levy MD JD; Andrew Saul PhD.

 

The 2019-nCov (coronavirus) epidemic originated in Wuhan, China and is now spreading to many other continents and countries, causing a public fear. Worst of all, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral drugs for 2019-nCov available. This adds to the public fear and gloomy outlook. A quick, rapidly deployable and accessible, effective and also safe treatment is urgently needed to not only save those patients, to curtail the spread of the epidemic, but also very important in the psychological assurance to people worldwide, and to the Chinese in particular. Acute organ failure, especially pulmonary failure (acute respiratory distress syndrome, ARDS) is the key mechanism for 2019-nCov's fatality. Significantly increased oxidative stress due to the rapid release of free radicals and cytokines etc. is the hallmark of ARDS which leads to cellular injury, organ failure and death. Early use of large dose antioxidants, especially vitamin C (VC), therefore, plays a key role in the management of these patients. We call upon all those in the leadership, and those providing direct assistance patients, to bravely and rapidly apply large dose intravenous vitamin C (IVC) to help those patients and to stop this epidemic.

2019-nCov is a rapidly developing epidemic with a high morbidity and mortality. Wang et al reports 26% ICU admission rate and a 4.3% mortality rate in their 138 confirmed cases.[1] Chen et all report that out of 99 confirmed 2019-nCov patients, 17 (17%) patients developed ARDS and, among them, 11 (11%) patients worsened in a short period of time and died of multiple organ failure.

Increased oxidative stress, an underlying ‘cytokine storm’, leads to ARDS which is the key pathology of high mortality of these pandemic viral infections. Cytokine storm-induced ARDS is the key pathology leading to death of these patients.[2] Intravenous vitamin C effectively counters oxidative stress.

Cytokine Storm

Coronaviruses and influenza are among the pandemic viruses that can cause lethal lung injuries and death from ARDS.[3] Viral infections cause a ‘cytokine storm that can activate lung capillary endothelial cells leading to neutrophil infiltration and increased oxidative stress (reactive oxygen and nitrogen species) that further damages lung barrier function.[3] ARDS, which is characterized by severe hypoxemia, is usually accompanied by uncontrolled inflammation, oxidative injury, and the damage to the alveolar-capillary barrier.[4] The increased oxidative stress is a major insult in pulmonary injury such as acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), two clinical manifestations of acute respiratory failure with substantially high morbidity and mortality.[5,6]

In a report of 29 patients confirmed of 2019-nCov pneumonia patients, 27 (93%) showed increased hsCRP, a marker of inflammation (and oxidative stress).[7] Transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a major regulator of antioxidant response element- (ARE-) driven cytoprotective protein expression. The activation of Nrf2 signalling plays an essential role in preventing cells and tissues from injury induced by oxidative stress. Vitamin C is an essential element of the antioxidant system in cellular response.[8]

Part of vitamin C's biological effects in critical care management are well reviewed in a recent article by Nabzdyk and Bittner from Mass Gen Hospital of Harvard Medical School on World's Journal of Critical Care Medicine:[9]

Antioxidant, radical oxygen scavenger protecting cells from oxidative Steroid- and catecholamine synthesis, cofactor in catecholamine, vasopressin and steroid synthesis, improves hemodynamics, may accelerate resolution of shock

Immune cell function. Increases neutrophil phagocytosis and chemotaxis, affects macrophage migration, enhances T and NK cell proliferation, modulates their function, may increase antibody formation.

Endothelial cell function. Decreases endothelium ICAM expression and leukocyte adhesion, improves endothelial barrier function, improves microcirculation

Carnitine production, modulates fatty acid metabolism, may improve microcirculation and cardiac function

Wound healing, cofactor of collagen synthesis, mitogen for fibroblasts

 

Antioxidants, especially large dose IV vitamin C (IVC) in the management of ARDS.

It's clear that increased oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis of ARDS and death. Cytokine storm is observed in both viral and bacterial infections.[3] Cytokine storm leads to increased oxidative stress, ARDS and death seems to be a common and non-specific pathway. This is important in clinical management. Since the prevention and management targeting increased oxidative stress with large dose of antioxidants seems a logical step and can be applied to these deadly pandemics, without the lengthy waiting for pathogen-specific vaccines and drugs, as is the case of the current 2019-nCov epidemic.

As a matter of fact, large dose intravenous vitamin C (IVC) has been used clinically successfully in viral ARDS and also in influenza[10] Fowler et al described a 26-year-old woman developed viral ARDS (rhinovirus and enterovirus-D68).[3] She was admitted to ICU. After failure to routine standard management, she was placed on Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) on day 3. High dose IVC (200mg/kg body/24 hour, divided in 4 doses, one every 6 hours) was also started on ECMO day 1. Her lungs showed significant improvement on day 2 of high dose IVC infusion on X-ray imaging. She continued to improve on ECMO and IVC and ECMO was discontinued on ECMO day 7 and the patient recovered and was discharged from the hospital on hospital day 12, without the need of supplemental oxygen. One month later, X-ray of her lungs showed complete recovery. Gonzalez et al (including one of the authors, Thomas Levy) reported recently a severe case of influenza successfully treated with high dose IVC [10]. 25-year-old MG developed flu-like symptoms which was rapidly deteriorating to the degree that, about 2 weeks later, the patient barely had the energy to use the toilet. He was placed on high dose IVC (50,000 mg of vitamin C in 1000 ml Ringer's solution, infused over 90 minutes). The patient immediately reported significant improvement the next day. On day 4 of IVC infusion he reported to feel normal. He continued oral VC (2,000 mg twice daily).[10] Another story has been widely circulating on the social media that large dose IVC reportedly was used in 2009 to save a New Zealand farmer, Alan Smith (Primal Panacea). One of us (Thomas Levy) was consulted upon in this case.[11,12]. Hemila et al reported that vitamin C shortens ICU stay in their 2019 meta-analysis of 18 clinical studies with a total of 2004 ICU patients on the journal Nutrients.[13] In this report, VC shortened the ICU stay by 97.8% in a subgroup of 1766 patients. Marik et al reported their use of IVC in 47 sepsis ICU cases. They found a significant reduction in mortality rate in the IVC group of patients.[14]

Dietary antioxidants (vitamin C and sulforaphane) were shown to reduce oxidative-stress-induced acute inflammatory lung injury in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.[15]. Other antioxidants (curcumin) have also been shown to have promising anti-inflammatory potential in pneumonia.[16]

High dose IVC has been clinically used for several decades and a recent NIH expert panel document states clearly that high dose IVC (1.5 g/kg body weight) is safe and without major side effects.[17]

Summary

2019-nCov pneumonia is a rapidly developing disease with high morbidity and mortality rate. The key pathogenesis is the acute lung injury causing ARDS and death. Coronaviruses, influenza viruses and many other pandemic viral infections are usually associated with an increase oxidative stress leasing to oxidative cellular damage resulting in multi-organ failure. Antioxidants administration therefore has a central role in the management of these conditions, in addition to the standard conventional supportive therapies. Preliminary clinical studies and case reports show that early administration of high dose IVC can improve clinical conditions of patients in ICU, ARDS and flu. It needs to be pointed that pandemics like 2019-nCov will happen in the future. Specific vaccines and antiviral drugs R&D take long time to develop and are not available for the current nCov epidemic and won't be ready when the next pandemic strikes. IVC and other antioxidants are universal agents for ARDS that can be rapidly applied clinically. Given that high dose IVC is safe, can be effective, we call on the involved leadership and healthcare professionals to look into high dose IVC without further delay. More clinical studies of the IVC and oral VC (such as liposomal-encapsulated VC) are needed to develop standard protocols for the current use and future uses are urgently needed. We hope when the next pandemic strikes, we won't be so helpless and we'll be ready.

For Further Reading

Coronavirus Patients in China to be Treated with High-Dose Vitamin C http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n10.shtml  As of the date of publication of thie Orthomolecular Medicine News service Release, Dr Cheng is in Wuhan facilitating IVC treatment for hospitalized coronavirus patients.

Vitamin C and its Application to the Treatment of nCoV Coronavirus

http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n09.shtml 

Hospital-based Intravenous Vitamin C Treatment for Coronavirus and Related Illnesses

http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n07.shtml 

Nutritional Treatment of Coronavirus

http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n06.shtml 

Vitamin C Protects Against Coronavirus

http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n04.shtml 

References

1. Wang D, Hu B, Hu C, Zhu F, Liu X, Zhang J, Wang B, Xiang H, Cheng Z, Xiong Y, Zhao Y, Li Y, Wang X, Peng Z. Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA. Feb 7 2020.

2. Chen N, Zhou M, Dong X, Qu J, Gong F, Han Y, Qiu Y, Wang J, Liu Y, Wei Y, Xia J, Yu T, Zhang X, Zhang L. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study. Lancet Lond Engl. Jan 30 2020.

3. Fowler III AA, Kim C, Lepler L, Malhotra R, Debesa O, Natarajan R, Fisher BJ, Syed A, DeWilde C, Priday A, Kasirajan V. Intravenous vitamin C as adjunctive therapy for enterovirus/rhinovirus induced acute respiratory distress syndrome. World J Crit Care Med. 6(1):85-90. Feb 4 2017.

4. Meng L, Zhao X, Zhang H. HIPK1 Interference Attenuates Inflammation and Oxidative Stress of Acute Lung Injury via Autophagy. Med Sci Monit Int Med J Exp Clin Res. 25:827-35. Jan 29 2019.

5. Yan X, Fu X, Jia Y, Ma X, Tao J, Yang T, Ma H, Liang X, Liu X, Yang J, Wei J. Nrf2/Keap1/ARE Signaling Mediated an Antioxidative Protection of Human Placental Mesenchymal Stem Cells of Fetal Origin in Alveolar Epithelial Cells. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019;2654910. 2019.

6. Hecker L. Mechanisms and consequences of oxidative stress in lung disease: therapeutic implications for an aging populace. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol.;314(4):L642-53. 01 2018.

7. Chen L, Liu HG, Liu W, Liu J, Liu K, Shang J, Deng Y, Wei S. [Analysis of clinical features of 29 patients with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia]. Zhonghua Jie He He Hu Xi Za Zhi Zhonghua Jiehe He Huxi Zazhi Chin J Tuberc Respir Dis.43(0):E005. Feb 6 2020.

8. Liu Q, Gao Y, Ci X. Role of Nrf2 and Its Activators in Respiratory Diseases. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019; 7090534. 2019.

9. Nabzdyk CS, Bittner EA. Vitamin C in the critically ill - indications and controversies. World J Crit Care Med.;7(5):52-61. Oct 16 2018.

10. High Dose Vitamin C and Influenza: A Case Report - ISOM [Internet]. [cited 2020 Feb 9]. Available from: https://isom.ca/article/high-dose-vitamin-c-influenza-case-report/?from=groupmessage&isappinstalled=0 

11. Levy T. Primal Panacea. MedFox Publishing; 350 p. (Kindle Edition).

12. Levy TE. Primal Panacea. Medfox Pub, 2012. Kindle, 2017.

13. Hemilä H, Chalker E. Vitamin C Can Shorten the Length of Stay in the ICU: A Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 11(4). Mar 27 2019.

14. Marik PE, Khangoora V, Rivera R, Hooper MH, Catravas J. Hydrocortisone, Vitamin C, and Thiamine for the Treatment of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Retrospective Before-After Study. Chest. 151(6):1229-38. 2017.

15. Patel V, Dial K, Wu J, Gauthier AG, Wu W, Lin M, Espey MG, Thomas DD, Jr CRA, Mantell LL. Dietary Antioxidants Significantly Attenuate Hyperoxia-Induced Acute Inflammatory Lung Injury by Enhancing Macrophage Function via Reducing the Accumulation of Airway HMGB1. Int J Mol Sci. 21(3). Feb 1 2020.

16. Zhang B, Swamy S, Balijepalli S, Panicker S, Mooliyil J, Sherman MA, Parkkinen J, Raghavendran K, Suresh MV. Direct pulmonary delivery of solubilized curcumin reduces severity of lethal pneumonia. FASEB J Off Publ Fed Am Soc Exp Biol.;33(12):13294-309. Dec 2019.

17. High-Dose Vitamin C (PDQ(r))-Health Professional Version - National Cancer Institute [Internet]. [cited 2020 Feb 9]. Available from: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/vitamin-c-pdq 

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org 

Find a Doctor

To locate an orthomolecular physician near you: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n09.shtml  

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html  http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml

Editorial Review Board:

Ilyès Baghli, M.D. (Algeria)

Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)

Richard Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. (USA)

Prof. Gilbert Henri Crussol (Spain)

Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)

Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)

Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)

Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)

Michael J. Gonzalez, N.M.D., D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)

William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)

Tonya S. Heyman, M.D. (USA)

Suzanne Humphries, M.D. (USA)

Ron Hunninghake, M.D. (USA)

Michael Janson, M.D. (USA)

Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA)

Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)

Jeffrey J. Kotulski, D.O. (USA)

Peter H. Lauda, M.D. (Austria)

Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)

Homer Lim, M.D. (Philippines)

Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA)

Victor A. Marcial-Vega, M.D. (Puerto Rico)

Charles C. Mary, Jr., M.D. (USA)

Mignonne Mary, M.D. (USA)

Jun Matsuyama, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)

Dave McCarthy, M.D. (USA)

Joseph Mercola, D.O. (USA)

Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)

Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)

Tahar Naili, M.D. (Algeria)

W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)

Dag Viljen Poleszynski, Ph.D. (Norway)

Jeffrey A. Ruterbusch, D.O. (USA)

Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)

Thomas L. Taxman, M.D. (USA)

Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)

Garry Vickar, MD (USA)

Ken Walker, M.D. (Canada)

Anne Zauderer, D.C. (USA)

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor-In-Chief

Editor, Japanese Edition: Atsuo Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)

Editor, Chinese Edition: Richard Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. (USA)

Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA), Associate Editor

Helen Saul Case, M.S. (USA), Assistant Editor

Michael S. Stewart, B.Sc.C.S. (USA), Technology Editor

Jason M. Saul, JD (USA), Legal Consultant

Comments and media contact: drsaul@doctoryourself.com  OMNS welcomes but is unable to respond to individual reader emails. Reader comments become the property of OMNS and may or may not be used for publication.

 

 

Establishment of a Life-Saving Information Service for Cancer Patients

Dr Peter H Kay

 

Chemotherapy is a common front-line treatment for cancer patients. Unfortunately, around a quarter of cancer patients are killed by chemotherapeutic drugs rather than the cancer for which they are being treated.[1] Many of these fatal drug side effects can be avoided by reference to genetic typing of systems involved in drug activation or metabolism. My aim is to enable all health practitioners to help patients by providing them with a much needed information service about the pros and cons of various treatment options and how they may avoid some of the dangers of chemotherapy.

I am a retired Australian trained molecular pathologist and cancer specialist. Following my return home to the UK, I began to be asked many questions about cancer.

One of the most common questions asked is, "Why do some chemotherapeutic drugs help some people but cause serious harm to or even kill others?”

Whether a chemotherapy drug helps or harms a patient depends on many factors including the type of chemotherapeutic drug used and the genetic profile of the patient.  For example, many chemotherapeutic drugs are administered in an inactive form called a pro-drug. Chemotherapeutic pro-drugs must be activated when they enter the blood stream before they can kill cancer cells. The problem is that some patients inherit gene types that cannot activate pro-drugs quickly enough to be of benefit. Other patients who have inherited drug activating systems that activate pro-drugs very quickly may suffer serious side-effects because of a drug overdose effect.

Other highly toxic anti-cancer drugs administered in an active form need only to be active for a limited time. Some cancer patients die because they have inherited a drug deactivating system that removes the toxic drug too slowly.

The effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs may be pre-determined by reference to genetic typing of appropriate drug activating and deactivating systems.

Even if the genetic profile of the patient is suitable for safe administration of a chemotherapeutic drug, it may not be of any benefit to the patient because their cancer cells have developed resistance to most chemotherapeutic drugs, "the oncologist's nightmare". 

It is clear that a simple information service needs to be offered by all health carers to help cancer patients to become aware of the advantages and disadvantages of various cancer treatments. As indicated, it is my aim to ensure that all health practitioners provide this support. As a consequence, I have developed a comprehensive course for all practitioners, patients and students of the health sciences to learn about advances in cancer and  how to offer patients a  much needed information service.

Further Information

Anyone interested in establishing a base for this much needed life-saving service please contact me on peterhkay@gmail.com

References

  1. http://www.pharmatimes.com/news/chemotherapy_causes_death_in_more_than_25_of_cancer_patients_986391

 

 

Scottish Scientists Play a Key Part in New ‘Comprehensive’ Map of Cancer Genomes

A collaborative global scientific effort, which includes a group of researchers from the University of Glasgow, has completed the most comprehensive study of whole cancer genomes to date. The work will significantly improve our fundamental understanding of cancer, signposting new directions for its diagnosis and treatment.

The Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Project (PCAWG), or the Pan-Cancer Project, has discovered causes of previously unexplained cancers, pinpointed cancer-causing events and zeroed in on mechanisms of development.

The results from the Pan-Cancer Project appear in 23 peer-reviewed scientific papers, published simultaneously today in Nature and its affiliated journals. A link to all the papers published in Nature can be found here https://www.nature.com/collections/pcawg/

The Pan-Cancer Project was developed by the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), which is headquartered at the University of Glasgow’s Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, and is led by Professor Andrew Biankin, Regius Professor of Surgery at the University and Executive Director of ICGC.

The ICGC Pan-Cancer Project – a collaboration involving more than 1,300 scientists and clinicians from 37 countries – analysed more than 2,600 genomes of 38 different tumour types, creating a huge resource of primary cancer genomes. This was then used as the launch-point for 16 working groups studying multiple aspects of cancer’s development, causation, progression and classification. University of Glasgow scientists contributed data to the projects, playing key roles in various working groups within the Pan-Cancer Project, particularly how this knowledge may impact on cancer treatment and outcomes. Their contribution formed the foundation for the ICGC’s new initiative ARGO, which aims to take the next step.

Previous studies focused on the 1 per cent of the genome that codes for proteins, analogous to mapping the coasts of the continents. The Pan-Cancer Project explored, in considerably greater detail, the remaining 99 per cent of the genome, including key regions that control switching genes on and off – analogous to mapping the interiors of continents versus just their coastlines.

The Pan-Cancer Project has made available a comprehensive resource for cancer genomics research, including the raw genome sequencing data, software for cancer genome analysis, and multiple interactive websites exploring various aspects of the Pan-Cancer Project data.

The Pan-Cancer Project extended and advanced methods for analysing cancer genomes which included cloud computing, and by applying these methods to its large dataset, discovered new knowledge about cancer biology and confirmed important findings of previous studies. In the 23 papers published today in Nature and its affiliated journals, the Pan-Cancer Project reports that:

The cancer genome is finite and knowable, but enormously complicated. By combining sequencing of the whole cancer genome with a suite of analysis tools, we can characterise every genetic change found in a cancer, all the processes that have generated those mutations, and even the order of key events during a cancer’s life history.

  • We are close to cataloguing all of the biological pathways involved in cancer and having a fuller picture of their actions in the genome. At least one causal mutation was found in virtually all of the cancers analysed and the processes that generate mutations were found to be hugely diverse -- from changes in single DNA letters to the reorganization of whole chromosomes. More than a dozen regions of the genome controlling how genes switch on and off were identified as targets of cancer-causing mutations;
  • Through a new method of “carbon dating”, Pan-Cancer discovered that we can identify mutations which occurred years, sometimes even decades, before the tumour appears. This opens, theoretically, a window of opportunity for early cancer detection; 
  • Tumour types can be identified accurately according to the patterns of genetic changes seen throughout the genome, potentially aiding the diagnosis of a patient’s cancer where conventional clinical tests could not identify its type. Knowledge of the exact tumour type could also help tailor treatments.

Professor Andrew Biankin said: “I am immensely proud that our interdisciplinary team of scientists here at the University of Glasgow played a key part in this important milestone of cancer research.

“These 23 research papers, which will be followed by yet more research from the project, will significantly improve our understanding of cancer and, in time, improve patient outcomes.

“ICGC’s latest initiative called ARGO (Accelerating Research in Genomic Oncology) is about the patient, with the goal of delivering to the world a million patient-years of precision oncology knowledge to improve human health. We must ensure that this data is shared across traditional jurisdictional boundaries to realise the full impact of precision medicine, for the benefit of all.”

Dr Lincoln Stein, member of the project steering committee and Head of Adaptive Oncology at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), said:

“The findings we have shared with the world today are the culmination of an unparalleled, decade-long collaboration that explored the entire cancer genome.

“With the knowledge we have gained about the origins and evolution of tumours, we can develop new tools and therapies to detect cancer earlier, develop more targeted therapies and treat patients more successfully.”

 Dr Peter Campbell, member of the Pan-Cancer Project steering committee and Head of Cancer, Ageing and Somatic Mutation at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK, said:

“This work is helping to answer a long-standing medical difficulty, why two patients with what appear to be the same cancer can have very different outcomes to the same drug treatment. We show that the reasons for these different behaviours are written in the DNA.  The genome of each patient’s cancer is unique, but there are a finite set of recurring patterns, so with large enough studies we can identify all these patterns to optimize diagnosis and treatment.”

More Information

ICGC - International Cancer Genome Consortium (https://icgc.org/)

ICGC-ARGO (Accelerating Research in Genomic Oncology) (https://www.icgc-argo.org)

TCGA - The Cancer Genome Atlas (https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/organization/ccg/research/structural-genomics/tcga)

PCAWG - PanCancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (dcc.icgc.org/pcawg

UCSC - University of California Santa Cruz (pcawg.xenahubs.net)

Expression Atlas (www.ebi.ac.uk/gxa/home )

PCAWG-Scout (pcawgscout.bsc.es)

Chromothripsis Explorer (compbio.med.harvard.edu/chromothripsis)

COSMIC – Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (https://cancer.sanger.ac.uk/cosmic )

Further Information

For more information contact Elizabeth McMeekin or Ali Howard in the University of Glasgow Communications and Public Affairs Office on Tel: 0141 330 4831 or Tel: 0141 330 6557; or email Elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk   or ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk   



A Course in Naturopathic Oncology

Yesterday 26 thousand people died from cancer. More people will die of cancer in the next 30 minutes than all the accumulated coronavirus deaths in the last three weeks. Not to diminish the concern about a virus going wild, or an engineered virus doing what it was designed to do, cancer is with us forever, viral scares come and go.

 

Naturopathic Oncology Course

 

My obsession these past ten years is to discover the best way to treat cancer. So I am happy to announce the completion of my Conquering Cancer course in Naturopathic Oncology. The course is a library on cancer, written in plain language, offering guidance without equal.

It provides evidence-based instructions on the use or safe and effective medicines and therapies. The course adheres to the principle of physician do no harm; focuses solely on natural forms of chemotherapy, healthy forms of radiation as well as on concentrated nutritional medicines, many of which are already in use in ICU and emergency departments.

This Naturopathic Oncology course contains a turnkey cancer treatment program that can be set up by any practitioner, clinic, spa, or hospital and even by patients and their families at home. We will look at 22 basic causes and 4 basic characteristics of cancer hopefully broadening practitioners and patients horizons beyond that of most orthodox oncologists, who are obsessed with genetic causes of this disease, which is the least common cause.

The course is available in different forms. First it is part of a Doctor of Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine degree course and can be taken for credit.

Without credit it can be taken as a standalone course of 100 lessons. It is the most comprehensive course on cancer available anywhere going further into the subject than anyone has gone before.

The course will also be available (at discounts) with consultations for patients who want to set up intensive treatment centres in their homes. Most patients do not know, for they are not told, that even after being treated in a clinic or hospital they have to continue treatments at home for best results.

The goal of the course is to improve quality of life, manage side effects, help speed recovery, prevent recurrence, and provide education for a healthy lifestyle that prevents cancer so it never needs to be treated.

Further Information

For a Full Description of course and each of the 100 lessons

https://drsircus.com/conquering-cancer-course/

Dr Mark Sircus Ac. OMD DPM

Professor of Natural Oncology

Da Vinci Institute of Holistic Medicine

Doctor of Oriental and Pastoral Medicine

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