Vitamin C has
already been extensively and unequivocally
documented
to readily cure a wide range of infectious diseases/ including many viral
syndromes considered incurable even today (Stone, 1972; Smith/ 1988, Levy,
2002). In reviewing a great amount of this information, it becomes apparent that
for most infectious diseases, especially viral ones, the only clinical failures
of vitamin C appear to occur when a large enough amount of vitamin C cannot be
effectively delivered to the invading microorganisms.
With this in mind,
then, a more effective dosing and/or delivery system of vitamin C to the various
tissues of the body should further improve the clinical efficacy of this agent.
In cancer, Riordan et al. (1995) demonstrated the likelihood that vitamin C was
an effective anti-tumor therapy as long as high enough concentrations of it
could be achieved inside the tumor(s). These researchers also concluded that
oral vitamin C supplementation was unlikely to produce blood levels of vitamin C
high enough to have a direct killing effect on a given tumor. Later, in studying
a certain line of cancer cells and the ability of vitamin C to kill those cancer
cells, Casciari et al. (2001) elegantly demonstrated this point. They showed
that the rapid intravenous infusion of vitamin C as sodium ascorbate in
combination with alpha lipoic acid was effective in reaching vitamin C levels
that were toxic to the cancer cells. They also showed that a fat soluble
analogue of vitamin C, phenyl-ascorbate, was able to kill cancer cells
effectively at a dose roughly three times lower than seen with unaltered vitamin
C.
All of the
conclusions reached by Casciari et al. noted above support the proposed concept
that most clinical failures of vitamin C for infections or other medical
conditions relate to inadequate delivery. They administered as much as 60,000 mg
of vitamin C over an 80-minute period, a very sizable dose and a fairly rapid
administration by most standards of current usage. Yet such a large and rapidly
administered infusion of vitamin C will not always be clinically effective. This
still does not mean that the vitamin C might not be the optimal treatment for a
given condition.
At the Colorado
Integrative Medical Center (www.coloradomedicalcenter.com)
in Denver, CO, we are starting to use a unique form of vitamin C therapy known
as pulsed intravenous vitamin C (PIVC) therapy. First and foremost, this
therapy utilizes the principle that the more rapidly a given dose of any
nutrient or medication is given, the higher the peak blood level of that
substance
will be. This very rapid delivery of vitamin C was first reported to be both
safe and highly effective by Klenner (1971). In acute barbiturate overdose
Klenner gave as much as 42,000 mg of vitamin C "by vein as fast as a 20 gauge
needle could carry the flow." This dose awoke the patient and began the reversal
of the barbiturate toxicity without causing any side effects of note. Klenner
safely administered IV push vitamin C on multiple occasions, often on very
critically ill patients, with great clinical success and no reported toxicity.
The concept of PIVC
is to get acute blood levels of vitamin C as high as possible. By simple
diffusion physiology, an acute doubling or tripling of the blood vitamin C
levels will temporarily allow an acute doubling or tripling of the amount of
vitamin C that normally diffuses into perfused tissues via the gradient that is
present at the baseline concentration. The temporary blood levels achieved can
be substantial. If Casciari et al. can get a certain high blood level from
infusing 60,000 mg of vitamin C over 80 minutes, then an IV push of 20,000 mg of
vitamin C over 2 minutes can be expected to temporarily increase the peak blood
concentration by 10-fold or more over the rapid intravenous infusion. This
amount has already been administered safely on multiple occasions.
Possible Hypoglycemic Reaction
A physiological
effect of such a rapid administration of vitamin C appears to occasionally
induce an acute hypoglycemia. Sylvest (1942) found that a majority of people
given intravenous vitamin C showed a clear lowering of blood sugar. This effect
is possibly due to a significant reflex release of insulin from the pancreas.
Such a conclusion is directly supported by the work of Cheng et al. (1989), who
found that vitamin C injected into rats "produced a dose-dependent and marked
hypoglycemic effect after intravenous injection." They also found that the
hypoglycemic effect was maximal at five minutes after injection, coinciding with
an increase in the plasma insulin concentration. Vitamin C is a very similar
molecule to glucose, and a rapid spike of vitamin C released into the blood
likely can induce the same reflex insulin spike that is seen in a glucose
tolerance test, where a large dose of glucose is given to evaluate how quickly
and effectively one can restore glucose levels to normal by inducing insulin
release. Clinically, this hypoglycemic effect has been the most notable in
patients who are ingesting little food and drink, and in those patients who are
generally sickest, as in advanced neurological conditions. In such patients just
an infusion of vitamin C can cause hypoglycemia as well, not requiring the rapid
IV push. Such patients may need a bolus of 50% glucose to rapidly reverse the
low blood sugar, as it has been noted to occur even when the carrier IV fluid is
5% dextrose (sugar) in water. However, the IV push does seem to more reliably
cause the hypoglycemic symptoms, which fits with the animal literature cited
above.
This vitamin
C-induced hypoglycemia should prove to be a very desirable effect clinically,
however. Severe hypoglycemia has already been safely and deliberately induced in
a protocol that has been in existence for over 70 years now. Known as insulin
potentiation therapy (www.iptq.org), intravenous insulin (roughly 20 to 40
units) is given rapidly to induce hypoglycemia. As hypoglycemia becomes
manifest, minidoses of cancer chemotherapeutic agents are administered. Such
small doses, in the presence of insulin-induced hypoglycemia/ appear to be
facilitated in their transport across the cell membrane pathways such that the
drugs reach killing concentrations inside cancer cells at much lower dosage
levels. Traditional chemotherapy can often be given without causing the
otherwise inevitable loss of hair seen with the much larger doses.
Vitamin C and
glucose actually directly compete with each other for insulin-mediated transport
into the various cells of the body (Washko et al. 1991; Cunningham, 1998).
Increased intracellular access should prove to be a major leap forward in the
effective treatment of most diseases already known to be responsive to vitamin
C, and in likely quite a few more diseases that just need more effective dosing
of vitamin C to show a positive response. Proprietary protocols being developed
at the Colorado Integrative Medical Center are using such "Vitamin C-Enabled
Intracellular Nutrition" (VEIN) methodologies.
Mid-back Discomfort
A side effect
associated with high doses of vitamin C, along with other nutrients given
intravenously, and sometimes associated with concomitant hyperbaric oxygen
therapy, has been noted at our facility. On three occasions patients have
complained of bilateral mid-back discomfort. When this has been reported,
further intravenous nutrients are discontinued, oral hydration and intravenous
hydration are initiated, and oral or intravenous furosemide is given. This has
resolved the discomfort in all circumstances. No associated abnormal laboratory
findings have been seen to result. It is hypothesized that when the solute load
gets high enough in the blood perfusing the kidney, a dehydrating effect is
acutely inflicted on the kidney cells, causing the pain/discomfort reflex.
Neglected, more serious complications could occur. However, the regimen just
outlined takes care of such situations fairly promptly. Furthermore, such a side
effect can actually give the health care practitioner a practical point beyond
which further intravenous nutrition should not be pushed acutely.
Lyme Disease Cured
Anecdotally, I have
had the occasion to clinically cure a case of acute Lyme disease with three days
of intravenous vitamin C therapy. Whether this is readily repeatable, or whether
a chronic case of Lyme disease would respond as well remains to be seen. At the
Colorado Integrative Medical Center we are now initiating a combination of
therapies including those mentioned in this newsletter to see precisely how much
success we can have on a regular basis with this particular disease. We are
presently accepting new patients at this time who have this condition and are
looking for another treatment option.
Contact Information:
Scientific Health
Solutions, Inc. Thomas E. Levy, M.D./ J.D.
1621 N. Circle Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
Telephone: (719) 548-1600
Toll-free: (800) 331-2303
Fax: (719) 572-8081
Email: TELevyMD@yahoo.com
Bibliography
Casciari, J., N.
Riordan, T. Schmidt, X. Meng, J. Jackson, and H. Riordan. (2001) Cytotoxicity of
ascorbate, lipoic acid, and other antioxidants in hollow fibre in vitro tumours.
British Journal of Cancer 84(11): 1544-1550.
Cheng, J., S.
Hsieh-Chen, and C. Tsai. (1989) L-Ascorbic acid produces hypoglycaemia and
hyperinsulinaemia in anaesthetized rats. The Journal of Pharmacy and
Pharmacology 41(5): 345-346.
Cunningham, J.
(1998) The glucose/insulin system and vitamin C: implications in
insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Journal of the American College of
Nutrition 17(2): 105-108.
Klenner, F.
(1971) Observations on the dose and administration of ascorbic acid when
employed beyond the range of a vitamin in human pathology. Journal of Applied
Nutrition 23(3&4): 61-88.
Levy, T. (2002)
Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins: Curing the Incurable. Philadelphia,
PA: Xlibris Corporation, (www.xlibris.com)
Riordan, N., H.
Riordan, X. Meng, Y. Li, and J. Jackson. (1995) Intravenous ascorbate as a tumor
cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent. Medical Hypotheses 44(3):207-213.
Smith, L. (1988)
The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D.: Clinical Guide to the
Use of Vitamin C. Portland, OR: Life Sciences Press.
Stone, I. (1972)
The Healing Factor: "Vitamin C" Against Disease. New York, NY: Grosset &
Dunlap.
Sylvest, 0. (1942) The effect of ascorbic acid on the
carbohydrate metabolism. Acta Medica Scandinavica 110:183-196.
Washko, P., D. Rotrosen, and M. Levine. (1991) Ascorbic acid in
human neutrophils. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
54(6Suppl):1221S-1227S.
Thank
you again for your efforts to promote my material.
Since
my books I have discovered to my satisfaction and scientific amazement that
oral liposomal vitamin C, in a dose of only several grams, has consistently
proved to be substantially superior clinically to 50 to 100 gram
infusions of vitamin C. I believe this is due to a vastly facilitated
intracellular uptake of the vitamin C.
If you are interested in this for yourself and your readers,
go to
www.livonlabs.com I am a consultant to this
company, but I
became so only after realizing what an astounding product this is.
Intravenous vitamin C is still much better than any other oral form of
vitamin C, but the liposomal C is consistently much better than the
intravenous vitamin C. When I am sick,I want both, but given a choice of
only one, I would take the liposomal C every time.
documented
to readily cure a wide range of infectious diseases/ including many viral
syndromes considered incurable even today (Stone, 1972; Smith/ 1988, Levy,
2002). In reviewing a great amount of this information, it becomes apparent that
for most infectious diseases, especially viral ones, the only clinical failures
of vitamin C appear to occur when a large enough amount of vitamin C cannot be
effectively delivered to the invading microorganisms.
substance
will be. This very rapid delivery of vitamin C was first reported to be both
safe and highly effective by Klenner (1971). In acute barbiturate overdose
Klenner gave as much as 42,000 mg of vitamin C "by vein as fast as a 20 gauge
needle could carry the flow." This dose awoke the patient and began the reversal
of the barbiturate toxicity without causing any side effects of note. Klenner
safely administered IV push vitamin C on multiple occasions, often on very
critically ill patients, with great clinical success and no reported toxicity.