Re: The Cure for Heart Disease Has Been Known For Many Years


mogwaii wrote:
from www.livonbooks.com and www.tomlevymd.com


CHAPTER 2


CURING, REVERSING, AND
PREVENTING INFECTIOUS DISEASES


"Everything that is written in books is worth much
less than the experience of one physician who
reflects and reasons."

Rbazes (850-923 A.D.)


Paving the Way: Frederick R. Klenner, M.D


Even today only a very small number of medical researchers and
clinicians completely appreciate the enormous benefit that can be
obtained for a wide variety of infections and diseases by the proper
use of what is considered very large doses of vitamin C. Frederick R.
Klenner, M.D. led the way in both advocating and using the routine
administration of these high doses of vitamin C for a wide variety of
diseases, many of them infectious. Although primarily a clinical
doctor rather than an institution-based researcher, Klenner also
managed to publish at least 20 significant papers that documented the
successful outcomes that he repeatedly achieved with many patients in
Reidsville, North Carolina (see references at the end of this
chapter).


After obtaining bachelor's and master's degrees in biology, Klenner
went on to earn his medical degree from Duke University in 1936. He
spent three more years in postgraduate training before deciding to go
into the general practice of medicine. It was only in the late 1930s
and early 1940s that vitamin C became readily available and
economically affordable as a pharmaceutical. In his early medical
practice Klenner subjected only himself to the initial large doses
that he would later use on his patients. He then proceeded to use
similarly large doses on his patients, and the results were
absolutely unprecedented.


Polio (Curable and Preventable)


Although the viral syndrome known as polio is seen only very
infrequently in the United States anymore, it still takes a
substantial toll in some of the poorer countries around the world.
However, even though the terror that polio inflicted on so many
babies and children was at its peak about 50 years ago, many
individuals in the younger generation who did not see its effects
firsthand still appreciate that it was (and is) considered an
incurable disease. In fact, the 21st edition (copyright 2000) of the
Cecil Textbook of Medicine clearly asserts that "no specific
treatment is available" for polio, adding that "supportive care" is
essential for dealing with pain and increasing the chances of
survival. Both the general public and the medical specialists share
the view that polio has to "run its course" if it cannot be prevented
by vaccination or otherwise avoided. It is also generally appreciated
that many of the polio victims fortunate enough to survive the acute
infection have to subsequently endure a lifetime of being crippled to
a lesser or greater degree. A great deal of the public awareness of
this disease also stems from the vivid images of our polio-stricken
former president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who struggled greatly to be
seen in his wheelchair as little as possible in public. President
Roosevelt's condition also made it clear to the public that polio and
its crippling side effects were not limited to only babies and small
children, but included unfortunate adults as well.
The data demonstrating the ability of vitamin C to cure polio is of
worldwide concern, since polio outbreaks still occur. From August 16
to October 17, 2000, 33 cases of "acute flaccid paralysis" considered
to be secondary to polio were reported in Cape Verde (MMWR, 2000).
From July 12, 2000 to February 8, 2001, 12 "laboratory-confirmed
poliomyelitis cases" were reported in the Dominican Republic (MMWR,
2001). These latter cases were attributed to "vaccine-derived
poliovirus type 1." Regardless of the cause, however, polio continues
to infect babies and children, and doctors must be prepared to treat
these patients with the best therapy available.


When I first came across Klenner's work on polio patients, I was
absolutely amazed and even a bit overwhelmed at what I read. I had
already worked on a number of different medical conditions with large
intravenous doses of vitamin C, so I was not completely surprised by
the fact that the poliovirus could be easily eradicated by vitamin C.
However, I was not prepared to easily deal with the spectrum of
emotions that would grip me. To know that polio had been easily cured
and so many babies, children, and some adults still continued to die
or survive to be permanently crippled by this virus was extremely
difficult to accept. As a child, I swallowed the little sugar cube
polio vaccination along with all of my elementary school buddies, and
we all prayed the same prayer, hoping against hope that the virus
bogeyman wouldn't attack us as we slept.


Even more incredibly, Klenner briefly presented a summarization of
his work on polio at the Annual Session of the American Medical
Association on June 10, 1949 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Galloway
and Seifert (1949) reported on Klenner and the other presenters in
their article in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Landwehr (1991) discussed this occasion and commented on its possible
significance. Klenner's comments followed an extensive presentation
on the best-known ways to support the ability of advanced polio
patients to continue breathing. Klenner made the following remarks:

It might be interesting to learn how poliomyelitis was treated in
Reidsville, N.C., during the 1948 epidemic. In the past seven years,
virus infections have been treated and cured in a period of seventy-
two hours by the employment of massive frequent injections of
ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. I believe that if vitamin C in these
massive doses-6,000 to 20,000 mg in a twenty-four hour period-is
given to these patients with poliomyelitis none will be paralyzed and
there will be no further maiming or epidemics of poliomyelitis.

One doctor made comments before Klenner, and four doctors made
comments following him. The four doctors who commented after Klenner
did not have anything to say about his assertions. They were only
concerned with making their own observations about how a polio
patient who had difficulty breathing could best be assisted and given
a better chance to survive.


Although Klenner managed to publish his landmark article only a month
later, which documented his cure of 60 out of 60 cases of polio
during the 1948 polio epidemic, his comments at the Annual Session
apparently were little heeded and quickly forgotten. Perhaps his
results were just too fantastic to be believed.
In the journal Southern Medicine & Surgery Klenner (July 1949) gave
an in-depth accounting of his impressive treatment and results on
polio patients. He noted that all 60 of his patients presented with
all or almost all of the same signs and symptoms during the epidemic:
fever of 101oF to 104.6oF, headache and pain behind the eyes,
bloodshot eyes, reddened throat, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and
pain between the shoulder blades, in the back of the neck, in the
lower back, and in one or more limbs. Fifteen cases had confirmatory
spinal taps, and eight had been in contact with another proven case
of polio, helping to confirm the clinical diagnoses. Spinal taps were
generally avoided since they were felt to promote the access of the
blood-borne virus into the nervous system through the puncture site.
Also, with the sameness of symptoms occurring during an acknowledged
epidemic of polio, spinal taps were not justifiable for diagnosis.
Even if a skeptical reader does not think that all 60 of the patients
had polio, there is no question that the vast majority of them did
indeed have the disease.


After diagnosis, Klenner promptly initiated the massive vitamin C
therapy. He even noted that the administration of the vitamin was
much like that of an ordinary antibiotic. For children and babies
under the age of four, the vitamin C was given as an intramuscular
injection. The initial dose varied between 1,000 and 2,000 mg (one or
two grams). Body temperature was utilized as a practical guide to
continuing treatment, and the same dose was repeated in two hours if
no drop in fever had been observed. If the temperature did show a
clear drop, the next dose was held back for another two hours. This
dosing schedule was followed strictly for the first 24 hours. Klenner
noted that the presenting fevers were consistently down after the
first 24 hours, and vitamin C was then given at the same dose but
only every six hours. This dosing schedule was continued for 48 more
hours. Klenner noted that all of the patients were clinically well
after this 72-hour period of treatment. However, when three patients
had a subsequent clinical relapse of symptoms, Klenner decided it was
best to continue the vitamin C administration for all of the patients
under treatment at the same dosage for an additional 48 hours. During
this final 48-hour period, vitamin C was dosed at either eight-hour
or 12-hour intervals, and a complete and permanent resolution of the
symptoms resulted. It is also very significant to note that none of
the 60 patients treated by Klenner had any of the residual
deformities so characteristic of many polio survivors. It would
appear that the cure of all 60 polio patients was complete and
absolute.


Klenner even noted that two of the patients already had advanced
disease to the point where fluids were coming back through the nose.
This was a symptom that typically heralded the progression of the
disease to the point that breathing support would be required, and
the chance of deformity and even death would be significantly
increased. However, the recoveries of these two patients were also
complete.
Klenner (September 1956) also published some of his clinical
observations on the use of vitamin C to treat polio in two older
patients. One 21-year-old woman presented with deep eye pain, leg
pain in the hamstring area, pain in the neck and lower back, and a
general desire to keep her entire body in a fixed position to avoid
painful movements. She had a fever that reached 104.6oF, along with a
sore throat that had relapsed after an initial treatment with
antibiotics, aspirin, and fruit juice two weeks earlier. It is
interesting to note that the small amounts of vitamin C in the fruit
juice may very well have kept the symptoms from evolving more quickly
and definitively. In any event, Klenner felt the clinical diagnosis
of polio was straightforward, and this 118-pound patient was
immediately given 22,000 mg of vitamin C by slow intravenous
injection with a 100 cc syringe. She then took 1,500 mg of vitamin C
with juice every two hours at home. Twelve hours later she was free
of her headache and had a fever of only 101.4oF. Klenner then gave
her another 22,000 mg injection of vitamin C. There was some nausea
and vomiting for the next 30 minutes, but after 24 hours she had a
temperature of 100.8oF, with definite clinical improvement noted.
Seven 18,000 mg injections of vitamin C were then given every 12
hours. Then five 10,000 mg injections were given every other day.
Oral vitamin C was continued for an additional week at 1,500 mg every
three to four hours. Klenner noted that the patient had an almost
complete elimination of pain, except at the knees, after the first 48
hours. Temperature had normalized after 84 hours. Other than some
thiamine (vitamin B1) injections to help nervous tissue recovery,
vitamin C was the only medication given to achieve a prompt and
complete recovery.


Another patient, a 28-year-old female, presented with a very
comparable clinical picture. She also demonstrated the same type of
response after 96 hours of similarly dosed intravenous and oral
vitamin C therapy. Even if one were to argue that both of these
patients had a severe form of influenza rather than polio, the
clinical responses they demonstrated to these large doses of vitamin
C are nonetheless very dramatic. Getting over the flu in only three
to four days would still be a modern medical miracle, regardless of
the treatment used.


In another case reported by Klenner (1953), an eight-year-old boy
presented to Klenner's office with a history of flu-like symptoms
during the prior week. The child was continuing to be bothered by
nausea and vomiting, sore throat, and a deep-seated headache at the
back of his eyes that had even failed to respond to adult-sized doses
of aspirin from his mother. Klenner took note of this clinical
picture along with a few other classical symptoms, and he had little
doubt the boy was having difficulty recovering from the poliovirus.
By any standards the boy's recovery was remarkable even if the
syndrome had been due to another virus. He had a fever of 104oF and
continued to cradle his head in his own hands in an attempt to find
relief. He was also beginning to have some localizing symptoms
characteristic of polio in his lumbar area (lower back) and left
hamstring. Klenner gave 2,000 mg of vitamin C intravenously
immediately in the office. The boy was then sent to the hospital
where he promptly received another 2,000 mg of vitamin C
intravenously. Repeated injections were then given every four hours.
Only six hours later, with no other pain medication, the severe
headache was completely relieved. The nausea and vomiting had
resolved as well. Klenner commented that this previously miserable
child was actually now in a "jovial" mood. The boy was discharged
after a hospital stay of 48 hours during which he had received a
total of 26,000 mg of vitamin C. A lesser oral regimen was continued
to prevent a relapse that Klenner realized could occur whenever
vitamin C therapy was severely tapered or discontinued too soon.
Whether it was flu or polio, the response was prompt, and the cure
was complete. Even today, modern medicine does not have a single
effective and non-toxic virus-killing drug.


In an especially incredible case, Klenner (1951) described a five-
year-old girl stricken with polio. This child had already been
paralyzed in both her lower legs for over four days! The right leg
was completely flaccid (limp), and the left leg was determined to be
85% flaccid. Pain was noticed especially in the knee and lumbar
areas. Four consulting physicians confirmed the diagnosis of polio.
Other than massage, vitamin C was the only therapy initiated. After
four days of vitamin C injections the child was again moving both
legs, but with only very slow and deliberate movement. Klenner also
noted that there was a "definite response" after only the first
injection of vitamin C. The child was discharged from the hospital
after four days, and 1,000 mg of oral vitamin C was continued every
two hours with fruit juice for seven days. The child was walking
about, although slowly, on the 11th day of treatment. By the 19th day
of treatment there was a "complete return of sensory and motor
function," and no long-term impairment ever resulted. Vitamin C not
only completely cured this case of polio, it completely reversed what
would undoubtedly have been a devastating, crippling result for the
remainder of this girl's life.


As one reviews the work of Klenner, it can readily be seen that he
did not stick to hard and fast formulas on how much vitamin C to give
to a certain patient. He always based subsequent dosing on the degree
of general clinical response and the extent to which a elevated
temperature had been lowered from the previous vitamin C dose.
Although this is completely appropriate, it may make some potentially
adventurous physician readers a bit reluctant to try using large
doses of vitamin C on different viral syndromes without a fixed
schedule of dosing based on diagnosis and body size. As will be shown
later in this book, this fear is completely groundless due to the
lack of toxicity of vitamin C at even the highest doses. The greatest
practical concern of high-dose vitamin C therapy is not an overdose
of vitamin C, but an underdose. Typically, the acutely ill patient
will not get a high enough dose of vitamin C for a long enough period
of time, and the treating physician will then think that the less
aggressive vitamin C dosing represents all that can be done with this
agent. Some viral diseases, to be discussed later, can metabolize as
much as 300,000 to 400,000 mg of vitamin C daily. In these cases the
only way to assure a complete recovery, or even survival, is to
maintain such an elevated dose until the virus has been completely
destroyed. There are some viral syndromes that may even require still
larger amounts of vitamin C. The rule of thumb in vitamin C treatment
of viral diseases is to continue increasing the dose as long as the
clinical response is inadequate or unsatisfactory, and to continue
the treatment period until all clinical symptoms have disappeared.


Vitamin C and Polio: Supportive Research


Although the clinical cures that Klenner achieved with the vitamin C
treatment of polio stand completely on their own merits, it should be
of interest to note that earlier basic research had already suggested
that vitamin C was a very effective killer of the poliovirus.
Jungeblut (1935) demonstrated that vitamin C could completely
inactivate the poliovirus outside of the body ("in vitro"), rendering
it non-infectious even when injected directly into the brains of
monkeys. Salo and Cliver (1978) demonstrated this in vitro
inactivation of the poliovirus by vitamin C more recently. Peloux et
al. (1962) also showed that vitamin C, along with hydrogen peroxide,
inactivated the poliovirus. Jungeblut (1937) later induced
experimental polio in monkeys by this same direct injection technique
into the brain. He found that about 30% of the 62 infected monkeys,
which had also received injections of vitamin C, escaped developing
paralysis. In the control group only about 5% of the survivors
escaped paralysis. This demonstrated that vitamin C could kill the
poliovirus in an infected animal ("in vivo") as well as in a test
tube ("in vitro"). Although Jungeblut's use of lower doses of vitamin
C, relative to Klenner's dose levels, did not demonstrate the level
of clinical efficacy achieved by Klenner, Jungeblut's results clearly
showed that vitamin C was an agent capable of killing the poliovirus
in research animals and preventing subsequent neurological damage.
This virus-killing effect alone deserved significant recognition
since vitamin C was such a non-toxic therapy. Furthermore,
Jungeblut's much smaller doses of vitamin C were given by a different
route of administration than used by Klenner. Also, the virus had
already been injected directly into the brain before the vitamin C
treatment began, thereby giving the virus the ability to quickly
progress to an advanced state of infection. Jungeblut (1937a),
desiring to make sure that the data in his work was statistically
significant, repeated his efforts with another 181 monkeys and again
found that approximately 30% of them survived their infections
without paralysis. Jungeblut (1939) later demonstrated a comparable
virus-killing ability of vitamin C in monkeys when a different
infecting strain of the poliovirus was used. These studies allowed
Jungeblut to clearly confirm that vitamin C by itself could kill the
poliovirus in infected monkeys. It remained only for doctors such as
Klenner to discover the most effective protocols for the
administration of vitamin C in humans for diseases such as polio.


Greer (1955) also reported excellent clinical results in his
treatment of five polio victims with only oral vitamin C, given
10,000 mg at a time. This vitamin C dose was given as often as every
three hours for up to 10 days. The total daily oral dose of vitamin C
would range from 50,000 to 80,000 mg. His patients ranged in age from
five to 43 years of age, and two of the patients did have slight
residual weakness in a leg after treatment was complete. Baur (1952)
also reported positive effects using only 10,000 to 20,000 mg of
vitamin C daily, shortening both the total time of illness and the
time it took to normalize the elevated body temperatures. However, in
light of Klenner's success at seeing no residual damage in 60 out of
60 patients, it would appear that intramuscular and intravenous
administrations of vitamin C get tissue levels of vitamin C to an
optimal range more effectively than only oral administrations. Using
oral vitamin C appears to best serve as an adjunct to the other forms
of vitamin C administration, and oral vitamin C is obviously the form
of choice for long-term daily usage to stay healthy and prevent
disease.


ADDITIONAL VIRAL DISEASES AND VITAMIN C


Viral Hepatitis (Curable and Preventable)


Acute viral hepatitis, a serious infection of the liver, afflicts
between 0.5 and 1.0% of the United States population annually.
Conservatively, this incidence of hepatitis translates to at least
one million new cases every year. The current medical textbooks still
maintain that there are no specific curative therapies for this
disease, and provide only nonspecific recommendations aiming to treat
symptoms while avoiding whatever might aggravate the underlying
process. When the acute syndrome has not completely resolved or
subsided on its own after a six-month period, the patient is
generally considered by definition to have chronic hepatitis. Roughly
2% of the United States population is felt to have chronic hepatitis.
Chronic hepatitis results in upwards of 10,000 deaths annually in the
United States, and roughly another 1,500 patients with this disease
survive to receive liver transplantation.


Acute viral hepatitis, which keeps many people sick for extended
periods of time even if it does not result in chronic hepatitis, is
easily and readily completely curable if treated promptly with
adequate doses of vitamin C. The effects of vitamin C on hepatitis
patients who have already proceeded to the chronic stage is less well-
defined, although some evidence indicates that a high enough dose of
vitamin C for a long enough period of time would probably resolve
this disease as well in many of the cases.


Klenner (1974) considered vitamin C the drug of choice for viral
hepatitis. His general recommended dosing of vitamin C for hepatitis
was 500 to 700 mg per kilogram of body weight, given every eight to
12 hours by vein. He would also give at least another 10,000 mg daily
by mouth in divided doses. Routinely, a complete resolution of the
hepatitis could be expected in two to four days. On occasion, Klenner
would achieve a cure of viral hepatitis with only oral vitamin C (as
sodium ascorbate). Presumably, such patients were less ill or more
reluctant about being stuck with needles. One case reported by
Klenner was given only 5,000 mg of vitamin C in water or juice every
four hours. All signs and symptoms of the hepatitis were gone by 96
hours. This involved a total of 120,000 mg of vitamin C by mouth over
the four-day period.


Smith (1988) reported on further dramatic successes that Klenner had
with viral hepatitis. One 27-year-old male who was acutely ill with
jaundice (yellowed eyes and skin), nausea, and 103oF temperature
received a total of 270,000 mg of vitamin C intravenously and 45,000
mg of vitamin C orally over the next 30 hours. After this relatively
brief period of time, the patient stopped spilling bile in his urine,
his temperature was no longer elevated, and he returned to work.
Another Klenner hepatitis patient, a 22-year-old male acutely ill
with chills and fever, was treated over a six-day period. He received
a total of 135,000 mg of vitamin C intravenously and 180,000 mg of
vitamin C orally. He, too, had resolution of his symptoms and went
back to work. Of particular interest was that this man's roommate
also contracted hepatitis, but he had to remain in the hospital for
26 days with only bed rest as treatment. Klenner treated another male
hepatitis patient over a six-day period with a total of 170,000 mg of
vitamin C intravenously and 90,000 mg orally. During this six-day
period, the patient's SGOT (a liver function test abnormal in acute
hepatitis) had gone from 450 to 45 (very high to near-normal).


Smith also reported on a case of chronic hepatitis that Klenner
treated successfully. This 42-year-old male had already been treated
unsuccessfully with steroids over a seven-month period. Although
Klenner wanted to treat this patient much more aggressively, he was
wary that some of the other doctors on the hospital staff would
eventually deny the patient any vitamin C therapy if too large a
dosing regimen of vitamin C was ordered. Nevertheless, he still
managed to administer 45,000 mg of vitamin C intravenously three
times a week and 30,000 mg of vitamin C orally daily for about five
months, finally achieving resolution of the disease. Chronic
hepatitis will generally prove more difficult to completely eradicate
than acute hepatitis with vitamin C therapy, even though the acute
viral form of this disease is virtually always a completely curable
disease if treated promptly and vigorously with vitamin C. As you may
surmise from the above information, Klenner would always use his
clinical expertise in determining how vigorously to treat his
patients with vitamin C. He prescribed vitamin C by general
guidelines according to clinical and temperature responses. Part of
the reason for this clinical approach pertains to how deficient the
patient was in vitamin C body stores before the disease ever took
hold. Any given patient can require far more vitamin C than a
seemingly comparable patient if the body stores of the two patients
were not comparable in amount prior to the onset of the infection.
However, patients with chronic active hepatitis have decreased blood
vitamin C levels and laboratory indicators of increased oxidative
stress (Yamamoto et al., 1998), and this indicates that some vitamin
C supplementation is always appropriate in such patients.


Other clinicians have achieved clinical successes similar to those of
Klenner in the vitamin C treatment of acute viral hepatitis, and
often much less total vitamin C was administered. Dalton (1962)
reports on a 20-year-old female presenting with the typical clinical
picture of acute hepatitis. For the first three days of her illness,
while she received only complete bed rest as her primary treatment,
little clinical improvement was seen. However, she was then started
on a series of vitamin C injections, and over the remaining six days
of her hospitalization received a total of six 2,000 mg vitamin C
injections. After only the second injection, she remarked that she no
longer had the feeling of "being sick." Although she remained
hospitalized for several more days, she wanted to go home the next
day. Dalton, a medical doctor, commented that this case was the most
dramatic recovery from hepatitis that he had ever observed. Even
though the patient appeared to be completely cured of hepatitis, she
did require a longer period of treatment with vitamin C than Klenner
typically needed with his higher dosing regimen.


A dentist, Orens (1983), reported on his personal experience with
hepatitis B. By taking a combination of 25,000 mg of vitamin C
intravenously and 20,000 mg orally Orens had a near-normalization of
extremely elevated liver enzymes (SGOT, SGPT, and LDH) over only a
five-day treatment period. Orens also indicated that he only took
vitamin C for a period of 10 days. Although Orens was originally
advised by his physician that he might be out of the dental office
for a period of six to 12 weeks, he was back to working full-time by
the end of his 10-day course of vitamin C. By the time two additional
months had passed there was a total normalization of his liver
function tests. Bauer and Staub (1954) also reported that acute viral
hepatitis responded positively to 10,000 mg of vitamin C a day,
accelerating the resolution of symptoms and shortening the overall
duration of the illness. Kirchmair (1957, 1957a, 1957b) similarly
reported that 10,000 mg of vitamin C daily for only five days
markedly improved the clinical status of 63 children with acute
hepatitis. The vitamin C was administered either intravenously, by
rectal infusion, or both. The jaundice was noted to clear more
rapidly, and hospitalization times were cut roughly in half. Swollen
livers were noted to subside much more quickly as well. Baetgen
(1961), again using 10,000 mg of vitamin C a day, reported similar
excellent clinical responses in 245 children with acute hepatitis.


Calleja and Brooks (1960) reported on a case of acute hepatitis
treated with intravenous vitamin C. A liver biopsy on this patient
revealed that he already had cirrhosis (chronic scarring) of the
liver with superimposed acute hepatitis. The cirrhosis was attributed
to long-term heavy alcohol intake. A 5,000 mg dose of vitamin C was
given intravenously daily for 24 days. On this regimen the patient
had a dramatic clinical response. His anemia (low blood count)
resolved, and his white blood cell count and analysis returned to
normal. He gained weight, recovered his appetite, and lost all of the
abdominal fluid that he had been accumulating due to the progressive
failure of his liver. His only liver function test that did not
normalize with the treatment was the one that reflected the
irreversible cirrhosis part of this liver disease. Perhaps most
significant was the complete resolution of the inflammatory changes
on a repeat liver biopsy. Such changes classically accompany acute
hepatitis and end up persisting to some degree whenever chronic
hepatitis subsequently develops. Of further interest is that this
study utilized much smaller doses of vitamin C compared to those used
by Klenner. Nevertheless, a complete clinical success was eventually
achieved.


Cathcart (1981) is another physician who has repeatedly witnessed the
ability of vitamin C to easily eradicate the infecting virus in acute
viral hepatitis and achieve a complete clinical cure. He reported
that he never had a single case of acute viral hepatitis fail to
respond to properly dosed intravenous vitamin C. Cathcart also noted
that he has never observed any of his vitamin C-treated acute
hepatitis patients subsequently develop chronic hepatitis. He noted
that the acutely elevated liver enzyme levels (SGOT and SGPT)
typically started dropping dramatically after only the first
intravenous administration of vitamin C. He also noted that the
yellowing effect of the associated jaundice would take four to five
days to clear, well after the patient feels better. He attributed
this to an actual staining of the skin by the excessive amounts of
bilirubin that circulate in the blood during acute hepatitis.
Cathcart lamented in his writings that he was simply confounded by
the fact that such an inexpensive, simple, nontoxic, and
extraordinarily effective therapy was not routinely used for a
disease that disables and/or kills so many people worldwide.


Further evidence for the ability of vitamin C to destroy hepatitis-
causing viruses can be found in the work of Morishige and Murata
(1978). From 1967 to 1973 hospitalized patients who received whole
blood transfusions also received anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 mg of
vitamin C daily after the transfusions were given. Twelve cases of
hepatitis were seen in a group of 170 patients who received little or
no vitamin C after their transfusions (incidence 7%), and only three
cases of hepatitis were seen in a group of 1,367 patients who
received 2,000 mg or more of vitamin C daily after their transfusions
(incidence 0.2%)! With even higher doses of vitamin C, especially if
given intravenously, this incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis
should be virtually zero. Knodell et al. (1981) published data
claiming to refute the positive data outlined above. However, the
vitamin C dosing administered by these investigators continued only
16 days after the transfusions as contrasted to almost six months by
Morishige and Murata. Also, Morishige and Murata gave their patients
substantially larger daily doses of vitamin C for this longer period
of time. Unfortunately, the scientific literature on vitamin C, both
past and present, continues to attempt to debunk the many incredible
clinical effects of vitamin C on various conditions by conducting
studies that use much smaller doses for much shorter periods of time.
Furthermore, few debunking studies ever use the highly effective
intravenous administration of vitamin C, at any dose.


Russian investigators, using much smaller doses of vitamin C in their
viral hepatitis patients than the curative doses noted earlier,
nevertheless documented significant improvements in laboratory test
results. Komar and Vasil'ev (1992) administered only 300 or 400 mg of
vitamin C daily along with several other vitamins (B3, B6, and B12).
They noted significant improvements in levels of immune proteins in
the blood as well as in the function of immune cells. Vasil'ev et al.
(1989) had earlier made the same finding using only 300 mg of vitamin
C daily for two to three weeks. Vasil'ev and Komar (1988) also
determined that this same dose of vitamin C clearly resulted in a
more rapid recovery of the depressed T-lymphocyte levels seen in
acute viral hepatitis.


Part of the reason for vigorous vitamin C therapy in acute hepatitis
is that the disease process itself rapidly utilizes the existing body
tissue stores and blood levels of vitamin C present prior to the
disease. This increased rate of vitamin C utilization is actually
seen in all infectious diseases and virtually all non-infectious
medical diseases. Dubey et al. (1987) looked at the plasma levels of
vitamin C in patients with viral hepatitis and found those levels to
also be significantly decreased.


The scientific evidence has clearly established that acute viral
hepatitis can be easily cured when enough vitamin C is administered
in the early stages of the disease. This early treatment also
provides strong assurance that the acute hepatitis will not just
appear to spontaneously resolve while actually evolving into the long-
term infection of chronic hepatitis, which can sometimes occur in
acute hepatitis untreated by vitamin C and given only supportive
care. The symptoms of chronic hepatitis nearly always respond well to
vitamin C therapy, and some cases of chronic hepatitis may actually
be curable if enough vitamin C is given for a long enough period of
time. However, clearly supporting data for the cure of chronic
hepatitis by vitamin C could not be found and probably has yet to be
definitively gathered.


The data on the decreased incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis in
patients taking enough daily vitamin C is also compelling evidence
that a high enough daily dose of vitamin C should ensure that acute
viral hepatitis is a completely preventable and curable disease.
Although less readily apparent, a very significant benefit of
properly dosed vitamin C would be the elimination of any need or
reason to vaccinate people against hepatitis. This would further
protect the population from any of the negative consequences that are
sometimes seen with such vaccinations.

Klenner also had striking success in the effective symptomatic
treatment and eventual cure of virtually all viral diseases that he
treated with vitamin C. More viral diseases, only some of which
Klenner had the opportunity to treat with vitamin C, will now be
addressed and discussed separately.

I believe Dr. Klenner was quite brilliant. It's interesting to read
about his work and place it in context with the knowledge of Pauling
and Rath.

PeterB

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