High-Dose Vitamin C Therapy for Major Diseases (Seoul, Korea. September 25, 2008)

Andrew W. Saul                                                           

Editor-in-Chief, Orthomolecular Medicine News Service;

Assistant Editor, Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.

ABSTRACT

The use of doses of tens of thousands of milligrams of vitamin C per day may be the most unacknowledged successful research in medicine. High doses were advocated almost immediately after ascorbic acid was isolated. Notable early medical pioneers of high-dose vitamin C therapy are Claus Washington Jungeblut (1898-1976); William J. McCormick (1880-1968); and Frederick R. Klenner (1907-1984). More recently, important work has been published by Hugh D. Riordan (1932-2005) and Robert F. Cathcart III (1932 – 2007). Jungeblut first published on ascorbate as prevention and treatment for polio, in 1935. Also in 1935, Jungeblut showed that vitamin C inactivated diphtheria toxin. By 1937, Jungeblut demonstrated that ascorbate inactivated tetanus toxin. Between 1943 and 1947, Klenner, a specialist in diseases of the chest, cured 41 cases of viral pneumonia with vitamin C. By 1946, McCormick showed how vitamin C prevents and also cures kidney stones; by 1957, how it fights cardiovascular disease. Beginning in the 1960s, Robert F. Cathcart, M.D. used large doses of vitamin C to treat pneumonia, hepatitis, and eventually AIDS. For more three decades, beginning in 1975, Hugh D. Riordan, M.D. and his team have successfully used large doses of intravenous vitamin C against cancer. The medical literature has virtually ignored nearly 75 years of physician reports and laboratory and clinical studies on successful high-dose ascorbate therapy.

High-Dose Vitamin C Therapy for Major Diseases

Presentation in Outline Form

Decades of physicians’ reports and controlled studies support the use of very large doses of ascorbate. Effective doses are high doses, often 1,000 times more than the US Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) or Daily Reference Intake (DRI). It is a cornerstone of medical science that dose affects treatment outcome. This premise is accepted with pharmaceutical drug therapy, but not with vitamin therapy. Most vitamin C research has used inadequate, low doses. Low doses do not get clinical results. Investigators using vitamin C in high doses have consistently reported excellent results. The medical literature has ignored nearly 75 years of laboratory and clinical studies on high-dose ascorbate therapy.

High doses were advocated immediately after ascorbic acid was isolated by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, M.D., Ph.D. (1893–1986). Szent-Gyorgyi received the Nobel Prize for ascorbate-related work in 1937.

The early pioneers of high-dose vitamin C therapy include:

Claus Washington Jungeblut

William J. McCormick

Frederick Robert Klenner

Modern pioneers of high-dose  vitamin C therapy include:

Robert F. Cathcart, III

Hugh D. Riordan

Claus Washington Jungeblut, M.D. (1898-1976)

Professor of Bacteriology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (NY, USA).

Jungeblut first published on ascorbate as prevention and treatment for polio in 1935. (Jungeblut CW. Inactivation of poliomyelitis virus by crystalline vitamin C (ascorbic acid). J Exper Med 1935. 62:317-321.)

Jungeblut’s other polio papers, 1937-1939:

Jungeblut CW. Vitamin C therapy and prophylaxis in experimental poliomyelitis. J Exp Med, 1937. 65: 127-146.

Jungeblut CW. Further observations on vitamin C therapy in experimental poliomyelitis. J Exper Med, 1937. 66: 459-477.

Jungeblut CW, Feiner RR. Vitamin C content of monkey tissues in experimental poliomyelitis. J Exper Med, 1937. 66: 479-491.

Jungeblut CW. A further contribution to vitamin C therapy in experimental poliomyelitis. J Exper Med, 1939. 70:315-332. 

On September 18, 1939, Time magazine reported that Jungeblut, while studying the 1938 Australian polio epidemic, said that low vitamin C status was associated with the disease. Unlike oral polio vaccination, vitamin C has never caused polio. Few know that vitamin C has been known to prevent and cure poliomyelitis for nearly 75 years.

Whatever happened to vitamin C therapy for polio?

Jungeblut used fairly low doses. Albert Sabin used even lower doses, normally only one-third of Jungeblut’s. Sabin’s unsuccessful “replication” was taken as the standard, and is to this day. Even with relatively low doses of vitamin C, Jungeblut made the correct conclusion: “Vitamin C can truthfully be designated as the antitoxic and antiviral vitamin.”

In 1935, Jungeblut showed that vitamin C inactivated diphtheria toxin.  (Jungeblut CW, Zwemer RL. Inactivation of diphtheria toxin in vivo and in vitro by crystalline vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Proc Soc Exper Biol Med 1935; 32:1229-34.) By 1937, Jungeblut demonstrated that ascorbate inactivated tetanus toxin.  (Jungeblut CW. Inactivation of tetanus toxin by crystalline vitamin C (l-ascorbic acid). J Immunol 1937;33:203-214.)

Of Dr. Jungeblut’s many research reports, 22 were published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Free online access at http://www.jem.org/contents-by-date.0.shtml

Jungeblut’s biography and bibliography:

Saul AW. Taking the cure: Claus Washington Jungeblut, M.D.: Polio pioneer; ascorbate advocate. J Orthomolecular Med, 2006. Vol 21, No 2, p 102-106.

http://www.doctoryourself.com/jungeblut.html  and  http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom 

William J. McCormick, M.D. (1880-1968)

Practicing physician in Toronto, Canada. 

Vitamin C as antiviral, antibiotic

Ascorbate deficit causes cardiovascular disease

Injections of gram-sized doses

Over 60 years ago, McCormick saw vitamin C deficiency as the essential cause of, and effective cure for, numerous communicable illnesses. He was one of the very first to advocate injected, gram-sized doses of vitamin C as an antiviral and antibiotic. (McCormick WJ. The changing incidence and mortality of infectious disease in relation to changed trends in nutrition. Medical Record, 1947. September.)

Vitamin C does not cause kidney stones. Modern writers consistently pass by the fact that McCormick used vitamin C to prevent and cure kidney stones . . . in 1946. (McCormick WJ.  Lithogenesis and hypovitaminosis. Medical Record, 1946. 159:7, July, p 410-413.)

“Vitamin C is a specific antagonist of chemical and bacterial toxins.”  (W. J. McCormick, MD)

McCormick also noted that four out of five coronary cases in hospital show vitamin C deficiency. (McCormick WJ. Coronary thrombosis: a new concept of mechanism and etiology. Clinical Medicine, 1957. 4:7, July.) Vitamin C is essential to strengthen the walls of blood vessels, small and large. A vitamin C deficient artery can literally "bleed" into itself . Blood clot forms; stroke may result.

Over fifty years ago, McCormick “found, in clinical and laboratory research, that the smoking of one cigarette neutralizes in the body approximately 25 mg of ascorbic acid.” (McCormick WJ. Intervertebral-disc lesions: a new etiological concept. Arch Pediatr. 1954 Jan;71(1):29-32.) McCormick recognized that cigarette smoking, in causing vitamin C deficiency, causes artery damage and cardiovascular disease. 30 years later, Linus Pauling and Matthias Rath would go on to demonstrate how vitamin C was a cure for cardiovascular disease.

Rath M, Pauling L. Solution To the Puzzle of Human Cardiovascular Disease: Its Primary Cause Is Ascorbate Deficiency Leading to the Deposition of Lipoprotein(a) and Fibrinogen/Fibrin in the Vascular Wall. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Vol 6, 3&4th Quarters, 1991, p 125. 

Rath M, Pauling L. A Unified Theory of Human Cardiovascular Disease Leading the Way To the Abolition of This Diseases As A Cause for Human Mortality. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Volume 7, First Quarter 1992, p 5. 

A review of McCormick’s work, with bibliography: Saul AW. Taking the Cure: The pioneering work of William J. McCormick, M.D. J Orthomolecular Med, 2003. Vol 18, No 2, p 93-96. http://www.doctoryourself.com/mccormick.html  and http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom 

Frederick Robert Klenner, M.D. (1907-1984)

North Carolina, USA, Board-certified chest physician.

Vitamin C as antibiotic, antiviral, antitoxin

Very high dose injections of vitamin C, from 350 to 1,200 mg per kg body weight per day

For decades, Dr. Klenner treated patients with injections of vitamin C, ranging from 350 to 1,200 mg per kg body weight per day. Vitamin C at 350 mg/kg is about 20,000 to 35,000 mg/day for an adult. Vitamin C at 1,200 mg/kg is about 70,000 to 120,000 mg/day for an adult.

Klenner successfully treated polio, pneumonia, and other serious infectious diseases. (Klenner FR. Observations on the dose of administration of ascorbic acid when employed beyond the range of a vitamin in human pathology. Journal of Applied Nutrition, 1971. 23(3 and 4), p 61-68.) http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html 

Klenner treated an astounding variety of diseases with massive doses of vitamin C: bladder infections, arthritis, leukemia, atherosclerosis, ruptured intervertebral discs, high cholesterol, corneal ulcer, diabetes, glaucoma, burns and secondary infections, heat stroke, radiation burns, heavy metal poisoning, chronic fatigue, and complications resulting from surgery.

Additionally, Klenner arrested and reversed multiple sclerosis with very high doses of vitamin C and other vitamins. (Klenner FR. Response of peripheral and central nerve pathology to mega-doses of the vitamin B-complex and other metabolites. Parts 1 and 2. J Applied Nutrition, 1973, 25:16-40. Free download at http://www.townsendletter.com/Klenner/KlennerProtocol_forMS.pdf ) 

Klenner’s specific treatment protocols are described in:

Smith, LH. Clinical guide to the use of vitamin C: The clinical experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D. Portland, OR: Life Sciences Press, 1988. The full text of this book is posted at

http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/198x/smith-lh-clinical_guide_1988.htm  .

Biography and bibliography: Saul AW. Hidden in plain sight: the pioneering work of Frederick Robert Klenner, M.D. J Orthomolecular Med, 2007. Vol 22, No 1, p 31-38. http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerbio.html and http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom 

Robert F. Cathcart, M.D. (California, USA, 1932 – 2007) has, since the 1960s, successfully used large doses of vitamin C against pneumonia, hepatitis, and more recently, AIDS.

Cathcart RF. Vitamin C, titration to bowel tolerance, anascorbemia, and acute induced scurvy. Medical Hypotheses, 1981 7:1359-1376.

http://www.doctoryourself.com/titration.html

Vitamin C in the treatment of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)  Medical Hypotheses, 1984. 14(4):423-433.

Vitamin C, the nontoxic, nonrate-limited antioxidant free radical scavenger. Medical Hypotheses, 1985. 18:61-77.

Cathcart bibliography: http://www.doctoryourself.com/biblio_cathcart.html 

Hugh D. Riordan, M.D. (Kansas, USA, 1932-2005) successfully used large doses of intravenous vitamin C against cancer, beginning in the 1970s. (Riordan HD. The Use of Vitamin C Infusions in Cancer (1975-2002). Vitamin C and Cancer, November, 2002.) Dr. Riordan and colleagues have published on this for many years. Their work has been largely ignored. (A list of the team’s published research is at the bottom of this page.) Additional Riordan bibliography: http://www.doctoryourself.com/biblio_riordan.html 

National Institutes of Health (USA) is now (2008) interested in high-doses of injected vitamin C as chemotherapy against cancer. (Chen Q et al. Pharmacologic doses of ascorbate act as a prooxidant and decrease growth of aggressive tumor xenografts in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Aug 4.) The medical journals and popular mass media report this as something new, somewhat promising, and definitely unproven. Yet, in 1954, 54 years ago, Dr. McCormick noted that persons with cancer typically have exceptionally low levels of vitamin C in their tissues, a deficiency of approximately 4,500 mg. (McCormick, W J (1954) Cancer: The preconditioning factor in pathogenesis. Archives of Pediatrics of New York. 71:313.) 

“We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, 1770-1831)

The medical literature has ignored nearly 75 years of laboratory and clinical studies on high-dose ascorbate therapy. Doses of tens of thousands of milligrams of vitamin C is the most unacknowledged successful research in medicine.

For more information:

Free access to the online archive of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine:  http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom 

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References:

Riordan HD, Jackson JA, Schultz, M.: Case Study: High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C in the Treatment of a Patient With Adenocarcinoma of the Kidney. J. Orthomolecular Med, 1990, 5:1.

Jackson JA, Riordan HD, Hunninghake, R.E., Riordan NH: High Dose Intravenous Vitamin C and Long Term Survival of a Patient with Cancer of Head of the Pancreas. J. Orthomolecular Medicine, 1995; 10(2).

Riordan NH, Riordan HD, Meng, X., Li, Y., Jackson JA: Intravenous Ascorbate as a Tumor Cytotoxic Chemotherapeutic Agent. Medical Hypotheses, 1995 (44).

Riordan NH, Jackson JA, Riordan HD. Intravenous Vitamin C in a Terminal Cancer Patient. J. Orthomolecular Med, 1996, 11:2.

Riordan HD, et al. High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C in the Treatment of a Patient with Renal Cell Carcinoma of the Kidney. J. Orthomolecular Med, 1998, 13:2.

Gonzalez MJ, Mora, E., Riordan NH, Riordan HD, Mojica, P.: Rethinking Vitamin C and Cancer: An Update on Nutritional Oncology. Cancer Prevention International, 1998, Vol. 3, 215-224.

Gonzalez MJ, Mora, E.M., Miranda-Massari, J.R., Matta, J., Riordan HD, Riordan NH: Inhibition of Human Breast Carcinoma Cell Proliferation by Ascorbate and Copper. Puerto Rico Health Sciences J, March 2002, 21:1.

Gonzalez MJ, Miranda-Massari, J.R., Mora, E.M., Jimenez, I.Z., Matos, M.I., Riordan HD, Casciari, J.J., Riordan NH, Rodriguez, M., Guzman, A.: Orthomolecular Oncology: a Mechanistic View of Intravenous Ascorbate's Chemotherapeutic Activity. Puerto Rico Health Sciences J, March, 2002, 21:1.

Riordan HD, Hunninghake, R.E., Riordan NH, Jackson, J.A., Meng, X.L., Taylor, P., Casciari, J.J., Gonzalez MJ, Miranda-Massari, J.R., Mora, E.M., Norberto, R, Rivera, A. Intravenous Ascorbic Acid: Protocol for its Application and Use. Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal, September 2003, 22:3.

Padayatty, S.J., Sun, H., Wang, Y., Riordan HD, Hewitt, S.M., Katz, A., Wesley, R.A., Levine, M. Vitamin C Pharmacokinetics: Implications for Oral and Intravenous Use. Annals of Internal Medicine, April 6, 2004, 140(7): 533-537.

Riordan HD, Riordan NH, Jackson JA, Casciari, J.J., Hunninghake, R, Gonzalez MJ, Mora, E.M., Miranda-Massari, J.R., Rosario, N., Rivera, A.: Intravenous Vitamin C as a Chemotherapy Agent: a Report on Clinical Cases. Puerto Rico Health Sciences J, June 2004, 23(2): 115-118.

Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews at http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html ) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html )