UBI therapy

The last two decades have seen an escalation of
immune-related illnesses such as fibromyalgia (FM),
chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), allergic conditions
and HIV/AIDS. This has led to a revival of interest
among medical practitioners worldwide regarding the
ability of ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI) in the
treatment of such disorders.

involves extracting 100 ml of the
patient's blood, irradiating it with ultraviolet
light, and then returning it to the patient's body in
a sterile, closed-loop system.

As a simple, non-toxic, Food and Drug Administration
(FDA)-approved procedure, UBI is a potent immune
system stimulant, and was used extensively worldwide
between 1930 and 1965 for the successful treatment of
a wide range of advanced viral and bacterial
illnesses. Not only did it demonstrate potent
antiviral and antibacterial effects, but it also had
the huge advantage of producing no serious documented
side-effects after being administered to more than 30
000 patients over a period of 70 years.1

The dramatic advances in antibiotics, vaccines and
corticosteroids in the 1950s unfortunately put a halt
to the growing interest in UBI at the time. Even
though it was illogical to set aside a therapy that
could treat viral diseases that were impervious to
antibiotics, such as chronic hepatitis and viral
pneumonia, interest in UBI only began to resurface in
the '80s and '90s when the limitations of antibiotics
and steroids in treating chronic auto-immune illnesses
became obvious.

UBI presents an interesting and relatively low-cost
alternative for patients willing to try this
therapeutic modality, with international feedback on
the response of auto-immune conditions to UBI showing
great promise. Steps have been taken to arrange
protocols at a few major university medical research
centres in the United States. The focus will be on the
treatment of HIV, hepatitis, malaria and those viruses
immune to current antibiotics.2

UBI has proved to be highly effective in treating
bacterial infections, including septicaemias,
pneumonia, wound infections, peritonitis and typhoid.
Its efficacy has also been noted in treating profound
toxaemias, where it has often served as a life-saving
measure.3

How UBI works

The US Foundation for Blood Irradiation (FFBI) manual
emphasises that UBI is a non-specific therapy, as its
exact mode of operation is unknown. There are repeated
suggestions in many archaic articles, modern lay
publications and physicians' websites, however, of UBI
acting as a powerful immune stimulant.4

Laboratory studies have demonstrated that UV light
deactivates viruses and bacteria. Clinically, the
general hypothesis is that UBI penetrates and destroys
viral and bacterial walls (but not white and red blood
cells), with the residual debris stimulating an
antibody-antigen reaction, facilitating destruction of
intact viruses and bacteria by macrophage (a large
scavenger cell) white blood cells.

Physiologically, UBI has been shown to:

increase blood oxygen levels5

deactivate bacteria, viruses and fungal growth6

cause a detoxification effect, deactivating both snake
venoms and bacterial toxins7

enhance phagocytosis (engulfing of foreign
matter/debris/microbes/tumour cells) by activated
macrophage cells

cause vasodilatation and decrease oedema8

activate steroids and cortisone-like molecules
(sterols) including vitamin D

control nausea and vomiting.9

The blood that is exposed to the ultraviolet light
continues to emit secondary radiation and some
scientists believe that this may be the way that
ultraviolet blood irradiation has cumulative effects.
Each treatment also builds on and enhances the effects
of previous treatments.

Gynaecologist, Dr Sterna Franzsen, has a special
interest in treating allergic conditions and CFS, and
reports that her patients with eczema or CFS improved
noticeably, either totally or in part, after receiving
UBI treatment. 'With severe eczemas, which do not
respond to dietary intervention, UBI is the only
viable alternative to cortisone', she says. 'Thus, UBI
is a breakthrough therapy for many of these patients.
It is certainly not infallible and there is no
guarantee that UBI will work for all patients,
especially those with auto-immune illnesses. But
having said that, I don't know of any medical
treatment that works 100% of the time.'

Port Elizabeth-based medical practitioner, Dr Charles
Wildervanck, has also noted significant improvements
in patients treated with UBI therapy for severe
eczemas as well as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and
cancer.

In the case of CFS, international and local case
studies demonstrate a clinical improvement in 60 - 80%
of the patients treated. The response of FM patients
to UBI is more encouraging with both local and
international case studies showing a partial or total
remission of symptoms in up to 100% of sufferers
exposed to UBI therapy.

However, until definitive clinical trials are
published confirming the efficacy of UBI in treating
specific auto-immune illnesses such as CFS and FM,
sufferers who undertake UBI treatment need to
understand that they are doing so on the basis of case
study results, and clinical trials conducted on other
viral and bacterial infectious disorders.

The future of UBI

According to the American Foundation For Blood
Irradiation (FFBI), studies are in process to evaluate
the use of UBI in the treatment of Alzheimer's
disease, malaria and CFS.10

The FDA agreed recently to review data it will receive
from Michigan State University on the effectiveness of
UBI in treating AIDS. Johns Hopkins University and the
National Cancer Institute are also researching the
uses of UBI.11

References:
A copy of the references is available from the SAJNM
office, Tel 021-880 1444.

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