Imagine watching a woman with multiple sclerosis of many years duration (who had previously needed a “walker” to help her get around) walking unaided several times around a room at good speed and with no balance problems. Imagine listening to her say she’s sleeping better, her energy is much improved, and that she’s able to think more clearly. She attributes her dramatic improvement to the natural amino-acid derivative she’s been using for the previous two to three weeks. Imagine hearing another woman, much more seriously afflicted, report that she’s able to feed herself again, and that her friends and relatives had all noticed her speech is easier to understand. Both of these improvements occurred within a month of starting the “new” natural amino-acid derivative.
Your editor has seen and listened to both these women in just the last month. One of your editor’s colleagues at Tahoma Clinic, Dr. George Gillson, M.D., Ph.D., reports that at first checkback (approximately six weeks for treatment) for nineteen individuals with multiple sclerosis, eleven noted dramatic improvement, three reported one or more significant improvements in symptoms (including reduced numbness, better motor control, improved speech, much better sleeping, and more energy) one had no change, and four had no change associated with poor absorption of the natural amino-acid derivative, poor patch adhesion, or an interfering drug.
The nurse responsible for the revival of the use of the natural amino-acid derivative (a now mostly symptom-free “MS” sufferer herself) has collected verbal reports from over 200 individuals diagnosed with “MS” who’ve used the natural amino-acid derivative: 72% report at least one significant improvement in symptoms, and some many more.
The Natural Amino Acid Derivative:
The natural amino acid-derivative is histamine, a very small and simple molecule made by every human (and animal) body from the naturally occurring (and conditionally essential) amino-acid histidine. Yes, that’s the same histamine that most of us are told is the “bad guy” of the allergy world, against which we’re all urged to swallow the latest patent (and prescription-only, until the patent expires) “antihistamine” medication. Apparently, individuals with “MS” either don’t make enough histamine in their own bodies, or just need more. Perhaps both. No one knows for certain.
Isn’t it premature to be writing about a symptom improvement in MS based on verbal reports of only 200+ individuals, and only 19 reporting back so far to Tahoma Clinic? Results achieved with… of all things… histamine? Isn’t is all too new…and perhaps too wacky…to get our hopes up? Please refer back to title of this report (A Revival of Hope), and then let’s travel back in time to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. The year is 1950; the reporter is Miriam Zeller Gross, who published the article from which the following paragraphs are excerpted from McCall’s Magazine for December of that year.
“Take Mrs. Alice Meinert. This young mother was stricken shortly after New Year’s Day in 1947. By May, she could not get out of bed. For a year she grew steadily worse. Her father heard about the Clinic in Tacoma [not Tahoma Clinic, which was founded in 1973.-ed.]. He urged that his daughter be sent there. But the attending physician pooh-poohed the idea, and acting on his advice, Mrs. Meinert’s husband refused.
“The father took legal action and gained custody of his daughter- a step accomplished through the farseeing wisdom of Judge Chester A. Batchelor of the King County Court, Seattle.
“Four days after she reached the Tacoma clinic, Mrs. Meinert took her first steps in more than a year. One week later she walked from the house to the street and got into an automobile unaided…..her condition has improved steadily. She does her own housework, looks after her child, and appears in every way to be a well, happy woman.”
See also: You’re just 24 hours away from discovering-and reducing-your breast cancer risk
Dr. Hinton Jonez:
In 1946, Hinton Jonez, M.D., a Tacoma general practitioner, was invited by the Sisters of St. Joseph’s Hospital to open an MS clinic in a hospital wing. The Sisters had observed improvements in several individuals with MS hospitalized at St. Joseph’s under Dr. Jonez care. They had observed that the mainstay of Dr. Jonez’ treatment was injectable histamine, and knew that injectable histamine could cause adverse effects, including severe headaches or stomach aches with considerable cramping if injected at the wrong dose or speed of administration. There were even reports of deaths from too much histamine injected too rapidly. But Dr. Jonez’ patients had had no such adverse effects, and all had improved, so the Sisters were happy when Dr. Jonez volunteered to open a clinic at St. Joseph’s dedicated to the treatment of MS.
Dr. Jonez had learned of injectable histamine treatment for MS at a meeting of the American College of Allergy (now called the American College of Allergy and Immunology) from the then-well-known Bayard T. Horton, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota). According to Dr. Jonez, when discussing allergy and allergy treatment over dinner, Dr. Horton had told him and a group of physicians: “Take multiple sclerosis. There is good reason to believe it is an allergic condition. According to Dr. Jonez, Dr. Horton had explained that histamine gives new life to MS victims much as fresh fighting troops revive an exhausted army. “It’s too early to say much,” Dr. Horton told Dr. Jonez, “but we believe we are on the right track.”
Histamine For Allergies:
Some fifty or more years after Dr. Horton’s time, we’ve all been thoroughly convinced by the patent medicine companies propaganda (“advertising”) that patented and formerly patented “antihistamines” are the best way to combat allergy. Such was not the case in the 1940′s. Dr. Jonez explains:
“Let me review some 1946 medical history…the antihistamine drugs were big news that year…pharmaceutical houses worked night and day to rush the latest and most potent antihistaminic drug to doctors and druggists….while most doctors dosed their patients with antihistamine s, Dr. Horton did the exact opposite. He administered histamine. And he was getting results. Both allergic conditions and an impressive array of illnesses were yielding to Dr. Horton’s histamine treatment.
“Mysterious, intolerable head-aches disappeared. So did the symptoms of Meniere’s disease, characterized by progressive deafness, previously relieved by highly delicate surgery. A host of bizarre eye and ear conditions heretofore thought incurable had also responded to histamine.
“Horton’s method was in a sense fighting fire with fire, and based on the same line of reasoning as giving cowpox vaccinations to fight smallpox….Instead of suppressing the action of histamine by antihistaminics, he used histamine against histamine.”
If these successes were achieved by a respected staff member of the Mayo Clinic in the 1940s, why isn’t histamine commonly in use today against allergic diseases? The answers lie in the nature of histamine itself, and in the nature of American medicine. Histamine is a very “unstable” molecule; it “breaks down” very rapidly. When given orally, it can cause considerable stomach upset and cramping; when given too rapidly or in too great a quantity by injection it can (as noted above) give very unpleasant effects. A few people had actually died after being injected with too much histamine too fast. But administering it properly, Dr. Horton reported that he had given thousands of injections without a single ill effect. So why didn’t physicians learn and apply Dr. Horton’s methods as Dr. Jonez did?
Histamine’s biggest “handicap” is (and was) that as a molecule produced in human bodies it isn’t patentable. Patent medicine (sometimes called “pharmaceutical”) companies would not work “night and day” to rush histamine…or news of its latest uses…to doctors and druggists. And in the 1940s, as now, the vast majority of physicians got most of their “new treatment” information from patent medicine companies.
Dr. Jonez First “Case”:
Mrs. Johnston had suffered from MS for five years. She was bedridden, unable to move her legs. She was going blind, and had difficulty swallowing.
Dr. Jonez describes her response to histamine treatment:
“[Histamine] was given slowly, carefully. All the elaborate precautions Horton outlined were observed. He had said that histamine had an unwarranted bad reputation because doctors…gave [it] too rapidly, or used contaminated equipment. They failed to realize that the fault lay in their own ineptness….
“A rosy glow spread over Mrs. Johnston’s face, then down the arms. “I feel better already,” she said…As the days went by, there was no doubt she was getting better….she could swallow with ease for the first time in months. And to the amazement of her eye specialist, her vision was back to normal….Less than six months after her first dose of histamine, she was walking. Sensation had fully returned to the legs that had appeared hopelessly paralyzed. It began the evening her husband telephoned in great excitement; “She can wiggle her toes!…The progress was steady. Soon she gave away the wheelchair.”
Dr. Jonez goes on to explain that the natural course of MS can include unexplained “spontaneous” remissions, sometimes of long duration. As this was his first case, he couldn’t be certain that the histamine injections had caused Mrs. Johnston’s improvement. How-ever, five years later, after administering some 150,000 doses and observing the results, he wrote: “…histamine is the medication of first choice in multiple sclerosis.”
Dr. Jonez’ Clinic at St. Joseph’s:
After obtaining space at St. Joseph’s and with the help of the sisters, Dr. Jonez added several features to the basic histamine treatment. As Dr. Horton had told Dr. Jonez that MS was caused by allergy, and since Dr. Jonez’ use of Dr. Horton’s histamine treatment for MS had been successful in many cases, it’s understandable that Dr. Jonez wrote (in a “professional report”): “At our clinic, complete allergy management is the basis of therapy. On all of our patients, allergy histories are taken and scratch tests [the best available at the time – ed.] are made for sensitivities to foods, epidermals, molds, fungi, pollens, and miscellaneous allergens.” On the basis of these test, diets and allergy desensitization programs were individualized for each MS patient. Dr. Jonez emphasized the importance of allergy control as well as histamine treatment: “Almost without exception, our chronic, progressive [MS patient] suffered from food allergies.” He recounts the case of a patient: “who was out of his wheelchair three times and back again because he thought a small order of salmon and spinach wouldn’t make any difference.”
Physical therapy was another important part of Dr. Jonez’ program. The Sisters of St. Joseph’s helped him to make sure physical therapy was done adequately and appropriately for each patient. For patients whose muscles were twisted and contorted with MS spasm, Dr. Jonez prescribed injections of a powerful muscle relaxant to aid in muscle manipulation.
After five years, Dr. Jonez’ multiple sclerosis program was so successful that the Sisters decided to erect a new clinic building to house what would be named St. Joseph Hospital Clinic for Demyelinating Diseases. The official “groundbreaking” occurred on December 8,1951, with opening scheduled for August 15, 1952. Unfortunately, Dr. Hinton Jonez died, the Sisters could not find even one physician on St. Joseph’s staff willing to continue his program, and Dr. Jonez’ clinic and program at St. Joseph’s in Tacoma came to an end.
Other Natural Treatments for MS:
At the same time Dr. Jonez was working at St. Joseph’s, another pioneer in effective natural MS treatment, Dr. Roy Swank, was developing his MS diet while on the faculty of the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center. Dr. Swank’s diet is high in “unsaturated fatty acids” which have been found to aid MS when supplemented alone. Others (including Dr. Jonez) were exploring the use of injectable Vitamin B12, as well as injectable adenosine monophosphate (AMP), a natural substance made within every cell of our bodies. During the intervening years, your editor (as well as others) have found that a large proportion of individuals with MS have significant impairments of digestion and assimilation, and that a unique herbal combination can have a significant effect in MS treatment. Your editor and other Tahoma Clinic physicians have observed DHEA to be a small help for some individuals with MS. All of these valuable natural treatments and aspects of MS will follow the description of the “improved histamine” Procarin, the invaluable contribution of Elaine DeLack, R.N.
Elaine DeLack, MS, And Procari:
Elaine developed her first symptoms of MS in 1985 while living in Montana. While pregnant with her son, she developed difficulty moving her left leg. After delivery, she had variable difficulty moving her left arm and hand. In 1987, a MRI (magnetic resonance image) showed what appeared to be MS lesions in her central nervous system; a second MRI showed more lesions, and the “official diagnosis” of MS was made in 1988.
She continued to worsen until “making dinner was a chore.” Finally, she had her self-described “wake-up call”; A fall while carrying her son, who required stitches for his cuts. She knew she needed more help. She received a telephone call from a caring woman who advised her to call Raymond Bjork, M.D., a Montana physician, who advised her to try injections of Vitamin B12 and adenosine monophosphate (AMP). She reports “it really helped,” and that she could put herself into remission with these natural injections.
In 1993, she finished work for her R.N., which she had started in Montana before taking “time out” to care for her children. While working at her first job at a nursing home, she tried to convince the attending physicians to use injections of Vitamin B12 and AMP for MS patients. Only one physician would listen; he had the injections given to one of the nursing home residents suffering from MS, who strengthened and went home. Despite this none of the other physicians would consent to try the injections for their MS patients, telling Elaine “there isn’t enough research.”
So in 1994, she enrolled in a research-methods course at the Bothell campus of the University of Washington, determined to find and develop research on injectable Vitamin B12 and AMP. She found research showing that histamine stimulated the production of the “intrinsic factor” by the stomach. She knew that Vitamin B12 cannot be absorbed without “intrinsic factor,” and she recalled that Vitamin B12 had not worked for her when she swallowed it, but had been very helpful for her when she injected it. She felt she had found key information. After that, it seemed that in her research “everything led to histamine.”
Elaine started giving herself histamine by injection and with transdermal patches, but found the effects to transient. Further research led her to other natural substances, which would slow the body’s breakdown of histamine. She found a combination which helped her eliminate all her own MS symptoms. After first working with Judy Richardson, R.Ph., who helped develop the delivery system, she located George Ballasiotes, R.Ph., and Jim Seymour, R.Ph., at Key Pharmacy, in Kent, Washington, who helped develop, compound and distribute the histamine combination, the delivery system, and the patch itself, so that others could use the combination (which she named “Procarin”) more easily. She obtained a “use patent” Procarin; in the course of the patent research she discovered the work of Dr. Jonez. After she obtained her “use patent,” she formed a company, and raised money for feasibility studies.
Once again, she was frustrated by the unwillingness of many doctors to consider using the Procarin. Even when nothing else was working for their MS patients, they refused to try. Finally, she located Dr. Daniel Nehls, a Tacoma neurosurgeon, who conducted a pilot study with encouraging results.
Your Editor and Tahoma Clinic Get Involved:
In the 1980′s your editor read Dr. Jonez’ book and professional paper, and spoke to a former patient of his, still “in remission.” Dr. Jonez’ book “rang true,” and his former patient was convincing, so we tried injectable histamine at Tahoma Clinic intermittently in the mid-1980s. Unfortunately, we had no inpatient facility available for the slow, continuous, infusions mentioned by Dr. Jonez. Our patients didn’t have enough results from the histamine infusions to continue, so we put the project “on the shelf.” (We were having better results with the allergy work advocated by Dr. Jonez, and the other items mentioned in what follows.)
This summer, George and Jim from Key Pharmacy told Tahoma Clinic physicians about their work with Elaine and Procarin, and about Dr. Nehls pilot study. Fortunately, we were aware of Dr. Jonez’ prior histamine work. Having worked with natural medicine since 1973, we knew that Procarin had a very low potential for adverse effects, and that the potential benefits for MS patients were enormous. We started to work with it right away.
We designed standardized questionnaires to be filled out “before” and “after” Procarin use, so we could keep daily journals; the following is excerpted from one of these, a woman who started to apply Procarin patches twice daily on July 16, 1999:
July 19: No reaction, no improvement.
July 18: Getting out of wheelchair, improving, less fatigue. Able to feed myself, no tremors, able better to support myself in bathroom. Bladder-control improvement. Balance improving, to stand longer, comprehension improvement. Didn’t need to take an afternoon nap.
July 19: Over-all I’m feeling better, thinking clearer. Talked to relatives on the phone and they note a difference in speech and conversation.
July 20: Getting out of wheelchair even better, can stand for longer periods of time, went to P.T., and she noticed how much stronger I was. Less swelling in ankles. Still feeling better.
July 21: Feeling stronger, more energy, thinking clearer. Swelling still less in ankles. Standing longer. Less fatigue. Generally feeling stronger.
July 22: Starting to build muscles in my legs (probably from standing).
July 23: Starting to get a better appetite. Feeling lass fatigue and feeling stronger.
July 24: Same.
July 25: Less numbness in hands and arms. Still don’t take afternoon naps.
July 26: Noticed improvement in legs…getting stronger. Can make “baby steps.” Not very much, but improving.
July 27: Went to my P.T. and actually walked with help 20 feet twice. Can move my left leg forward, but can’t on my right side. Was transferring from wheelchair to P.T. table by myself.
July 28: Can stand up longer (hanging on to something). Arms continue to get stronger.
July 29: Same.
July 30: Just keep feeling stronger. Can stand with help longer.
July 31: Just over-all feeling better.
August 1: Stayed up late with a relative last night. Was not as tired. Didn’t have to take a nap. Actually took 3 small steps hanging onto a bar.
August 2: Building muscles in arms and legs. Can stand up straighter if I am hanging onto something or someone. Can look into my husband’s eyes again!
August 3: Have less swelling in my feet and ankles, but more in my right foot. Have more energy to do things around the house.
August 4: Building muscles in arms and legs.
August 5: Feeling stronger. A slight rash on my face. Have had it before comes and goes.
August 6: Same.
August 7: Felt stronger. Still rash on my face.
August 8: Fatigued. Exercised a little more than I should have.
August 9: Rash still present.
August 10: Starting to itch at several sites across chest and back. Still feeling stronger. I only seem to start itching after the second patch comes off.
August 11: Used cortisone cream on the sites that itch last night and that helped. Used it also on my face. The rash on my face is practically gone. I am also getting out of my wheelchair better and standing up straighter.
August 12: Took my first steps today!! Yeah! I had to hold onto a bar in our bathroom, but I took three steps. I yelled for my husband and made 3 steps forward and 3 back. Actually picked my feet up off the ground. Feeling stronger.
August 13: Still can take a few steps. The rash on my face is a lot better.
August 14: I noticed when I have the patches on, I don’t itch. The 8 hours I have the patch off, I seem to start itching where the previous patches have been.
August 15: Still generally feeling better every day. Getting stronger and can exercise longer.
August 16: Didn’t itch at all last night. I have also been eating better. More fish and poultry. I have always eaten fruits and vegetables, just more now.
August 17: Same.
August 18: I have been waking up around 2 AM for the last couple nights very hot and sweaty. Almost like having “hot flashes”. Went to have my hair done and normally I am exhausted by the time we get home. I wasn’t [exhausted] today. I have new hair growth that is not coming in gray, but my natural hair color.
August 19: Able to do more exercises.
August 20: Same.
August 21: Basically the same. Got up early and could do it. Getting out a lot more and feeling like I can.
August 22: Not really feeling tired after yesterday’s adventure.
August 23: Same.
August 24: Still exercising. Feeling stronger.
August 25: Same; still less swelling in my ankles.
(As noted above, of the first nineteen “return visits” to Tahoma Clinic by Procarin-aided MS, eleven showed at least on significant improvement. Five did not; it may be coincidental, but three non-responders were taking Baclofen, a “muscle spasm blocking” patent medication. But whether the Baclofen interfered with Procarin or not, Procarin is not expected to help 100%.)
How Does Procarin (And Histamine) Work Against MS?:
Dr. Jonez was convinced that MS was a manifestation of allergy. As noted above, his opinion was based on the work of Mayo Clinic physician Bayard T. Horton, M.D., as well as on the opinion of Foster Kennedy, M.D., Professor of Neurology at Cornell University Medical School, whom Jonez describes as “one of the great neurologists of our day.” He quotes Dr. Kennedy: “I have finally reached the conclusion that multiple sclerosis cannot be explained on any other basis [but allergy].” Jonez adopted and extended Horton’s histamine treatment for allergy, focusing it on MS with considerable success (as well as safety). As noted above, he also recommended complete allergy evaluation and treatment, with histamine a major tool.
However, Jonez also points out that histamine is a potent blood vessel dilator. He quotes two other histamine-employing MS researchers, who wrote that the basic therapy for MS “call for continued vasodilation of the vessels of the nervous system, as well as for the prevention of spasm. Both these measures should be enforced for 24 hours a day. A [histamine]-free interval of even a few minutes would suffice for an attack.” According to this theory, histamine reverses the blood vessel spasm (of unknown cause) associated with MS, restoring normal blood flow to the affected tissue, thus promoting healing.
Elaine DeLack has a different point of view. Based on her research (she cites the Journal of Neuroscience Research; Archives of Neurology; Pharmacology, – Biochemistry and Behavior, Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine; Annals of Neurology; Journal of Neurochemistry) she writes: “I believe that MS is a result of an infectious agent, very possibly a provirus, that attacks [histamine] producing cell bodies in the central nervous system….Proviruses, or slow viruses, sit dormant in a cell until a stressor causes them to become active, and they begin the trick the cell into reproducing [the virus]. The [histamine] producing cells become busy making the virus rather than [histamine] and a person starts to experience symptoms of MS due to the lack of [histamine] being produced. Eventually the [histamine]- producing cell body becomes so full of the virus that it explodes dumping the virus and the cell contents (which we call enzymes that the cell is normally intended to make), into the blood and spinal fluid. This results in an increased level of [histamine], which in turn stimulates the making of the component that maintains the myelin. This results in a decrease of MS symptoms and a person goes into remission. but many of the dumped viruses from the damages [histamine] producing cells are able to invade more [histamine] producing cells. The virus in these newly invaded cells remain dormant until once again a stressor triggers the virus to become active and the above cycle is repeated. This is what I believe is happening during the Remissive-Relapsing stage of MS. Once the [histamine] producing cells have been depleted to the point that the body can no longer produce enough [histamine] to maintain the myelin as well as the many other functions it is involved in, the MS symptoms begin to worsen steadily. This I believe is the stage that is called Secondary Progressive MS. I believe that Chronic Progressive MS happens when a person experiences a sever attack on these [histamine]- producing cells being destroyed, the person experiences a rapid steady decline with n remissions all due to the deficient level of [histamine].”
No one (especially your editor) knows whether Dr. Jonez’ theories or Elaine DeLack’s theories of how histamine works against MS are true in the whole or in part. Ultimately, this is very important, but for MS sufferers, the most important questions are: Can histamine (as Procarin) lessen my symptoms? Is it safe? Although more work is needed, it appears that the answer is yes.
Procarin (And Histamine): Facts and Observations:
It’s obvious that Procarin (histamine and natural substances which slow histamine breakdown and release) isn’t a cure for MS, but a replacement therapy, much like insulin for type 1 diabetes, or natural hormone replacement therapy for menopause. As such it needs to be used continuously and indefinitely (when effective) to maintain symptom relief.
Dr. Jonez wrote: “Our best results were obtained among those able to take the largest amounts of histamine. Blondes and redheads are watched with particular care. They seldom tolerate as heavy doses of histamine as those with darker coloring.” He also wrote: “…histamine must be given constantly and in tolerance doses.” He concluded a professional paper as follows: “after treating over 1500 patients…it is our opinion that much can be done for suffers of multiple sclerosis. Early diagnosis and treatment result in a great possibility of bringing about a remission and the retarding or arresting of the disease….Treatment as outlined does not cure, but it does arrest symptoms a great many times….by this regimen we have made ambulatory or wheelchair cases out of bedfast ones. Also, we have taken wheelchair cases and made them ambulatory. Still others become symptom-free and remained so without an exacerbation up to periods of over five years.”
Elaine DeLack notes a paradox: the effect of the histamine in Procarin is completely negated by H2 blocker” patent medications (medications which block the action of histamine at “H2″ receptors). These include Zantac, Tagamet, and other “acid blocker” medications. However, “antihistamines” found in “cold remedies” (such as Benedryl) do not interfere with the histamine in Procarin, and in fact can be used to treat the occasional skin rash associated with its use. Elaine and her husband Marvin have also noted apparent association between lack of response to Procarin and ‘heat-insensitive” MS; most individuals with MS are very sensitive to heat, and report their symptoms worsen with “heat stress.”
At present, the “patch” technology for Procarin is still evolving. Instructions for use must be followed carefully for the Procarin to be absorbed properly and do its give job. Individualization of both patches and dose is sometimes necessary. Presently, the “prevailing” price for one month’s supply of Procarin is $249. However, as more and more of the over-1000 compounding pharmacies start offering it, the price may well decline somewhat.
Other Worthwhile “Natural” MS Therapies: Diet:
Dr. Roy Swank, now-retired Professor of Neurology at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, recommended a diet low in saturated fat (20 grams daily or less) with added “unsaturated fatty acids” including cod-liver oil and vegetable oils. The “Swank Diet” eliminated margarine, “shortenings,” and hydrogenated (partially or otherwise) vegetable oils. Very long-term follow-up (in some cases over thirty years) showed that individuals who followed the diet closely had significantly less deterioration as compared with those who didn’t follow the diet. Notably, the death rate was 31% among those who had followed the diet, and 80% among those who hadn’t. Individuals with the least disability at the start of the study did best: 95% of that group remained only mildly disabled for approximately 30 years. 18,19 Given these statistics, the “Swank Diet” (modified to eliminate all food additives, preservatives, colorings and artificial flavoring, all “refined flour” and sugar, and completely individualized for food allergy) is always recommended for MS sufferers at Tahoma Clinic.
Food Allergy: As noted above, Dr. Jonez believed and observed that food allergy could have significant impact on MS. Dr. Jonez certainly wasn’t alone. One study reported that in fifteen individuals with MS, symptoms could be completely controlled or improved by avoidance of allergenic foods, house dust, or tobacco. Other researchers reported that 31% of 49 MS sufferers improved when they avoided allergenic foods. When they re-introduced these foods, symptoms frequently worsened. Both your editor and his colleague Alan R. Gaby, M.D., (former co-editor of this newsletter) have worked with individuals whose MS greatly was improved by food allergy avoidance.
Impairment of Digestion And Assimilation:
Even if the very best, individualized diet is strictly followed, it won’t help as much as it might if it isn’t optimally digested and absorbed. At Tahoma Clinic, individuals with MS are always evaluated for digestive impairment. A large majority are found to have either gastric hypochlorhydria (low production of stomach acid) and/or “pancreatic exocrine insufficiency” (lack of sufficient pancreatic digestive enzymes to optimally digest food fiber, fats and oils, or proteins). Stomach tests are performed as “gastric analysis by radiotelemetry.”24 Pancreatic function is assessed in a much more “low-tech” fashion, by a direct microscopic observation of a specially-stained stool specimen, along with a “steatocrit” (a determination of the percent undigested fat in a stool specimen). Supplementation of betaine hydrochloride with pepsin with meals and/or pancreatic enzymes (pancreatin”) after meals is recommended for any individual whose tests are abnormal.
One research paper has reported poor digestion and absorption in a large proportion of individuals with MS. Quoting from the abstract to this paper: “Malapsorption tests were studied in 52 patients with multiple sclerosis. The stools were examined microscopically for fat and undigested meat fibers and were found to be abnormal in 41.6 and 40.9% respectively [pancreatic exocrine insufficiency – ed.]. Abnormally low five-hour excretion of d-xylose [another test of malabsorption – ed.] was demonstrated in 26.6% of cases. Malabsorption of Vitamin B12 was found in 11.9% of cases….” Unfortunately, no one has published data on the prevalence of gastric hypochlorhydria in MS; in practice, Tahoma Clinic has found well over 50%.
Essential Fatty Acids:
Dr. Swank’s diet emphasized high levels of essential fatty acids. A “meta-analysis” (combined statistical evaluation) of three MS research trials (not done by Dr. Swank) concluded that supplementation of essential fatty acids (in this case, sunflower oil) was associated with longer remissions and less severe exacerbations (worsenings.) Instead of routinely recommending sunflower oil, your editor prefers to monitor “red-cell membrane essential fatty acids” (a blood test), and recommend “omega-3,” omega-6,” and “omega-9″ unsaturated fatty acids in quantities to keep the “omega-3/omega-6 ratio” tipped in favor of the “omega-3″ oils. Although this is done for MS on purely theoretical grounds (at this time) the reason is that omega-3 fatty acids are thought to generally suppress inflammation and an over-active immune system, while the omega-6 fatty acids generally are thought to do the opposite.
Injectable vitamin B12:
As noted above, Elaine DeLack’s personal experience was that swallowed Vitamin B12 didn’t help her symptoms; injectable vitamin B12 did help. Dr. Jonez reported that injectable Vitamin B12 helped his patients with MS. An early report in the AMA Journal told of improvement in neurologic function in individuals with MS receiving Vitamin B12 injections. Much more recently, Japanese researchers reported more frequent improvements in both visual and brainstem auditory evoked potentials in individuals with MS receiving Vitamin B12 injections (the methylcobalamin form of Vitamin B12) during the treatment period than during the pretreatment period. Perhaps the positive responses to injectable vitamin B12 may be explained by one researcher’s statement that “…Vitamin B12 is required for the formation of myelin” [myelin is the “nerve insulation” destroyed in MS sufferers – ed.]. At Tahoma Clinic, self-injection (or injection by a family member) of Vitamin B12 is always recommended; the large majority who try it report it helpful.
Injectable Adenosine Monophosphate:
Adenosine monphosphate (AMP) is an immediate precursor of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and important “energy molecule” in every cell in our bodies. Since most (nearly 90% by one estimate) AMP is transformed into ATP, and AMP is considerably less expensive, AMP is usually used. However, Dr. Jonez was given a supply of injectable ATP (by the Anhauser-Busch Company!) and wrote “…we used [injectable ATP] on 224 patients ….The most noticeable improvement has been in bladder symptoms. The patients have been relieved of incontinence, urgency and frequency of urination, and most patients have spoken of being able to enjoy more-refreshing sleep. Several have gained better muscle co-ordination and balance in walking Several have discarded their canes…”
In one study, sixteen individuals with severe MS disability were given AMP injections for six to ten months. Very significant improvements were noted in endurance and bladder malfunction. In another study of twenty-six MS-afflicted individuals, two were reported to have had “complete and lasting relief of all symptoms and signs,” eleven were reported to have “moderate but definite and useful improvement,” four had “slight but definite improvement,” eight had “slight but variable improvement but not maintained,” and one had no change. An intriguing interconnection: Examination of a table of “biochemical pathways” reveals that AMP is a precursor of histidine and histamine, as well as ATP.
When given intravenously, AMP easily can cause transient faintness, chest constriction, and shortness of breath. For this reason, at Tahoma Clinic we recommend intramuscular injection, which rarely causes these unwanted effects.
Adaptrin (Padma 28): Adaptrin is an herbal mixture originating in Tibet. Previously known as “Padma-28,” it was suppressed by the Food and Drug Administration (despite no complaints or safety concerns). It is now available through a different supplier who wisely makes no statements about what it might be used for. In Padma 28/Adaptrin, 22 ingredients are combined in a specific order.
In a study of 100 individuals with chronic progressive multiple sclerosis, some were randomly assigned to treatment with Padma 28 (2 tablets 3 times daily) for one year, an others to a control group treated only symptomatically. 44% of those taking Padma 28 experienced improvement, including improved general condition, increased muscular strength, or improvement or disappearance of disorders affecting sphincters. Decrease in paresis (paralysis/spasticity) was observed in 36%. In those with initially abnormal visual-evoked potentials, 41% had improvement or normalization. Patients with both recurrent attacks and slowly progressive multiple sclerosis both improved, although the frequency of improvement was higher (55%) in the former group than in the latter (33%). No side effects were reported. None of the patients in the control group improved; 40% had deterioration in their condition.
DHEA:
Although (as far as your editor is aware) there have been as yet no publications concerning DHEA treatment of MS, Tahoma Clinic physicians have found it useful. DHEA levels are always measured prior to treatment, and are very frequently found to be low in individuals with MS. Supplementing with physiologic quantities of DHEA frequently results in reports of increased strength.
In Conclusion:
Elaine DeLack’s revival of Jonez’ (and Horton’s) histamine treatment of MS and her improvement of it as Procarin is a very significant breakthrough in the care of MS-afflicted individuals. Procarin has made effective histamine treatment easily possible on an outpatient, at-home basis, with enormously more convenience and considerably less cost than in-hospital, continuous intravenous or intramuscular histamine treatment. Combined with a “natural-food” Swank diet individually modified for food allergy, detection of and compensation for defects of digestion and assimilation, essential fatty-acid-supplementation, injectable Vitamin B12 and adenosine monophosphate (AMP), and supplementation of Adaptrin and DHEA, Procarin gives us not only a revival of hope but a much improved chance of making a very real improvement in symptoms of individuals suffering from multiple sclerosis.