At this time, DMSO is a respected, approved pharmaceutical agent in
more than 125 countries.
In 1970, the FDA approved DMSO for the
treatment of musculoskeletal disorders in dogs and horses. Many
veterinarians consider DMSO to be the most valuable therapeutic
substance in their armamentarium.
Additionally in 1978, it was
approved by the FDA in humans for the therapy of Interstitial
Cystitis (a painful disabling urinary bladder inflammation).
In many
ways, DMSO represents the "aspirin" of our era. If aspirin had been
introduced in 1963 with its multiple properties, it might very well
have been similarly restricted in the scope of its application.
DMSO became prescriptive for humans in the USSR in 1971. Since that
time, it has been widely used in the USSR alone and in combinations.
Currently DMSO is employed in the therapy of various musculo-skeletal
problems in Russia. Dr. Balabanova of the Moscow Institute of
Rheumatology estimates that about 50 percent of the Russian
arthritic population receives DMSO as a part of their therapy.
There
are more than one hundred articles in the world's literature
relating to DMSO and arthritis. These include both clinical results
and mechanism of action. Among the well-documented pharmacologic
properties of DMSO include analgesia, anti-inflammation, softening
of scar tissue, hydroxyl radical scavenging, vasodilation, and
stimulation of healing.
An excellent controlled study was completed by the Japanese
Rheumatism Association showing benefit in rheumatoid arthritis (Matsomoto
- Annals of NY Academy of Sciences 1967, Vol. 141, Article 1,
560-569). Twenty university centers were involved.
One of the most important questions about any medicinal therapy is
safety. Except for nuisance side effects such as odor, the only
well-documented, potentially serious side effect is the occasional
patient who is allergic. A careful review of the published
literature on DMSO show that there is not a single death which can
definitely be attributed to this agent.
Conservatively, hundreds of millions of patients have been safely
treated with DMSO worldwide. DMSO is a substance of extraordinary
low toxicity.
In 1965, when the FDA halted evaluation of DMSO in the United
States, they had data in their files on more than 100,000 patients
submitted by approximately 1,500 physicians in our country showing
safety and effectiveness. The pharmaceutical companies submitting
the aforementioned data were Merck, Syntex, and Squibb. This
occurred in 1965.
When we discuss DMSO, we are talking about an agent which not only
relieves pain, but has multiple well-documented effects in a variety
of illnesses.
DMSO possesses lifesaving potential in stroke and head
injuries (JC de la Torre - Annals of NY Academy of Sciences 1975,
vol 243).
In multiple lower animal studies, DMSO prevents indefinite
paralysis following severe spinal cord contusions. Since 1965, about
300,000 people in this country have sustain spinal cord injuries.
Many remain paralyzed. The early effective use of DMSO might have
prevented these tragedies.
More recently, Karaca (European Journal
of Clinical Pharmacology 1991, vol 40:113-114) & Kulai (Neurchirurgia
1990, Vol 33: 177-180) report on the value of intravenous DMSO in
the management of brain swelling and intracranial pressure in
patients with the severe closed head injury.
Currently, DMSO and fructose diphosphate is being
studied in rodents for the therapy of
Alzheimers' Disease.
Today, DMSO is an effective treatment for many illnesses for which
we have no other therapy. It is safer, less expensive, and at least
as effective for a variety of problems for which we are presently
using other, less effective, and more costly treatments.
In 1972 the
National Academy of Sciences evaluated the scientific data on DMSO
and concluded it was a least as effective as currently approved
treatments for three musculoskeletal inflammatory problems in man.
Published articles on DMSO have shown benefits with the
following conditions:
