The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C

July, 1949 SOUTHERN MEDICINE & SURGERY 209

The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C

Fred R. Klenner, M.D., Reidsville, North Carolina

IN A PREVIOUS REPORT dealing with the antagonistic properties of
ascorbic acid to the virus of atypical pneumonia, mention was made of
the fact that other types of virus infections had responded favorably
to vitamin C. This paper is to present these findings as well as the
results of subsequent studies on the virus of poliomyelitis, the
viruses causing measles, mumps, chickenpox, herpes zoster, herpes
simplex and influenza. Further studies with the virus of atypical
pneumonia will also be discussed.

These observations of the action of ascorbic acid on virus diseases
were made independently of any knowledge of previous studies using
vitamin C on virus pathology, except for the negative report of Sabin
after treating Rhesus monkeys experimentally infected with the
poliomyelitis virus. A review of the literature in preparation of this
paper, however, presented an almost unbelievable record of such
studies. The years of labor in animal experimentation, the cost in
human effort and in "grants," and the volumes written, make it
difficult to understand how so many investigators could have failed in
comprehending the one thing that would have given positive results a
decade ago. This one thing was the size of the dose of vitamin C
employed and the frequency of its administration. In all fairness it
must be said that Jungeblut noted on several occasions that he
attributed his failure of results to the possibility that the strength
of his injectable "C" was inadequate. It was he who unequivocally said
that ''vitamin C can truthfully be designated as the antitoxic and
antiviral vitamin."

In developing this paper it was felt that, since all virus infections
were more or less akin, only one of this family would be considered in
detail. Poliomyelitis, because of its prevalence and the seriousness
of the problem it presents, was chosen as the disease to be so
treated.

Poliomyelitis is in most instances an acute febrile disease of sudden
onset, with symptoms of a systemic infection which either abruptly
abort or develop to hyperesthesia, asymmetry of reflexes and flaccid
paralysis or palsies of muscle groups. It affects individuals of all
ages, but mainly children, as do more common childhood diseases to
which class it most likely belongs. Only slight contact between the
carrier of the virus and the susceptible person suffices in some cases
for the transfer of the causative organism. In this respect and also
in that the virus can be demonstrated in the nasal washings as early
as six days before onset of symptoms, poliomyelitis resembles measles.
We never have an epidemic of poliomyelitis preceding an epidemic of
measles; the opposite is frequently true. This grouping of the virus
organisms is too often repeated not .to carry some significance. For
example, atypical pneumonia and influenza are caused by closely allied
viruses; so are chickenpox, herpes zoster and herpes simplex; so are
measles, mumps and poliomyelitis. The incubation period depends on the
mode of entry. In experimental animals. Fraser and others showed that
the average was 6.6 days with intracerebral inoculation and ten days
when the intravenous route was used. Howitt mentions that the virus
reaches the nervous system sooner after intranasal than after
intravenous instillations. Transmission (Brodie, 1934) is by means of
droplets from the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract.
Infection by means of raw milk, human feces and house flies is highly
improbable.

The research of Flexner, Dark and Amoss in 1914 proved that
poliomyelitis is a disease of the entire nervous system, that the
sensory ganglia are the seats of early and profound histological
changes. The disease is significant mainly for the paralysis produced
through injury to the motor neurons of the spinal cord and brain. This
is caused by a special affinity of the virus for a certain type of
nerve tissue. Experiments show the cerebral cortex to be the most
unsatisfactory site for growth, that large amounts of the virus placed
in this area are apt to disappear in a short time. Observations in
monkeys and in man show that the anterior horn cells, particularly
those of the lumbar cord, are the most favorable sites for
proliferation of the virus.

In all clinically ill patients the virus eventually travels in the
course of its invasion by several channels. The virus can make a
direct assault through the olfactory bulb, to the brain, medulla and
spinal cord. The virus can enter the blood stream directly or through
the lymph channels. Following damage to the natural protective
barrier, the choroid plexus, it can make its way to the central
nervous system, or it can be excreted back onto the nasal mucous
membrane where it will pick up the direct route of the olfactory bulb.

Clark, Turner and Reynolds (1926, 1927, 1929) concluded that the virus
chiefly travels by the direct route to the brain. Lennette and Hudson
( 1935) confirmed this theory and reported their studies indicating
that human infection is chiefly through the nasopharynx. Brodi and
others showed that by section of the olfactory tracts in monkeys
infection by the direct route was prevented. It is of more than mere
academic interest that while the nasal mucosa of the monkey contains
branches of the 5th and 7th cranial nerves and that in addition, since
the virus can readily gravitate from the nasopharynx to the tonsil bed
with its nerve supply, if the olfactory tracts are cut no infection
will occur. The most likely explanation is that the olfactory is
non-medullated, the neurons lie in the nasal mucosa and are thus
exposed to the virus. The sciatic nerve (Brodi) will transport the
virus only when it has been injured, suggesting that lack of myelin
may render the healthy olfactory nerve vulnerable to the virus.

The most important of the secondary routes of infection is by the
excretion of the virus from the blood stream onto the nasal mucosa.
Lennette and Hudson (1934, 1935) demonstrated in monkeys that by
sectioning the olfactory tracts and then inoculating by the
intravenous route with the virus of poliomyelitis, they could prevent
infection.

This would fit in with the work of Jungeblut and others that the
spread of the virus through the central nervous system is along nerve
tracts, rather than by means of the cerebrospinal fluid, the infection
to become manifest when the first cell group is reached, and by relays
of fibers, reaches the mid-brain. Here numerous fiber-paths run in all
directions and the virus is carried by both motor and sensory axons,
causing disease at many levels of the brain and cord.

Since there is always a period of septicemia in the first few days of
poliomyelitis, it might be that this is the all-important route and
that the virus is grown on a living tissue, the blood, and then is
deposited out on the surface of the olfactory bulb. From this we
conclude that the time to destroy the virus is during this incubation
period which varies more with virulence and power of multiplication
than with size of initial dose.

The second flanking maneuver of importance is through the choroid
plexus. It is the function of the choroid plexus and the pial
lymphatic vessels to exclude the virus present in the blood from the
nervous system. Once these protective structures are injured, however,
the exclusion ceases and infection can follow readily. Changes in the
structure or function of the meningeal choroid plexus complex, too
slight to be detected in the cerebrospinal fluid or as morphological
alterations, materially diminish its protective power. Flexner and
Amoss injected large doses of the virus intravenously, then tested the
cerebrospinal fluid and found no virus after the first 48 hours; virus
in small amounts at the end of 72 hours; after 96 hours evidence of
free access to this system. The virus was still present 19 days later
when paralysis was beginning.

Poliomyelitis in man is always more severe if exercise is taken at
time of the infection. Here one must consider the factor of filtration
of the virus through the choroid plexus as being increased due to the
elevation of the vascular bed pressure. Also, that, by the
acceleration of the blood flow caused by greater oxygen demand in
physical effort, a marked increase in the percentage of the virus
deposited on the nasal mucosa would result.

We must agree with Fairbrother and Hurst that too little consideration
has been given to the pathology of the nervous system and in
particular to the drainage of the tissue fluids. These men confirmed
the earlier work of Schroder, who stressed that the normal flow of
these fluids is along the perivascular spaces from the center of the
cord outward, and that any inflammatory exudate occupying these spaces
must be swept into the pial meshes; further that meningeal
infiltration may seem nothing more than a drainage of cells from the
interior of the cord. Fairbrother and Hurst found that meningeal
infiltration does not occur in monkeys until the perivascular
infiltration beginning in the deeper vessels reaches the surface.

The presence of the filterable microorganism or virus of poliomyelitis
upon the mucous membrane of the nose and throat does not necessarily
lead to infection. It may give rise to a class of healthy carriers who
are themselves immune. Amoss and Taylor found a secretion of the
mucous membrane capable of neutralizing or inactivating the virus,
this property absent altogether from the secretions of some persons,
in those of others present at one time and not at another. It is
probable that in actively immune animals the passage of the
neutralizing substance from the blood into the cerebrospinal fluid
would continue as long as the inflammation present in the meninges
rendered the structures easily permeable to the protein constituents
of the blood. This secretion X could not have the properties of a true
antibody. The virus of poliomyelitis is intracellular from the time it
invades the terminal cells of the olfactory system until the end of
the disease, except when crossing the synaptic junctions between
cells. This explains why the virus cannot be neutralized by antibodies
in the serum. Further protection is afforded the virus by the
functional barrier between the circulating blood and the central
nervous system.

Since immunization against poliomyelitis comparable to that against
other bacterial diseases is still a matter of the future, it suggested
itself that some antibiotic could be found that would destroy this
scourge while in the phase of blood-stream invasion. Sabin's negative
report on the value of ascorbic acid on the poliomyelitis virus
stopped Jungeblut's work, but we were cognizant of its dramatic effect
on the virus causing atypical pneumonia, and so kept up hope. These
results were so consistently positive that we did not hesitate to try
its effectiveness against all type of virus infections. The frequent
administration of massive doses of vitamin C was so encouraging in the
early days of the 1948 epidemic of poliomyelitis that a review of the
literature was begun. Heaslip, in the Australian Journal of
Experimental Biology & Medicine reported a mean urinary output of
vitamin C under a load test of 19.9 per cent in 60 poliomyelitis
cases, as contrasted with a mean figure of 44.3 per cent in 45 healthy
contacts. This was suggestive of some relationship between the degree
of vitamin C saturation and the infectious and non-infectious state.
He was also able to show a correlation between the severity of the
attack and the level of urinary excretion of the vitamin. This would
indicate that a deficiency of vitamin C in the diet predisposed to
infection and to severity of attack. Sabin reported no appreciable
difference in infectivity of poliomyelitis in monkeys with much or no
vitamin C in the diet. Many others, however, have reported that a
"deficient vitamin C nutrition increases susceptibility to infection,"
and many others that animals dying from the effects of the
poliomyelitis virus show a reduction of vitamin C in the tissues.
Heaslip found a definite relationship between the severity of the
infection and the level of vitamin C nutrition. It is consistent with
accepted physiological action of vitamin C to expect and anti-edema
effect in any given affected area. It is worthy of note that bacterial
toxins can cause losses of from 50 to 85 per cent of the vitamin C
normally contained in the adrenals. Jungeblut's investigations seemed
to justify the conclusion that vitamin C was the "antibiotic" that
would destroy the virus organism. He stated that the prophylactic and
therapeutic administration of synthetic or natural vitamin C had given
evidence of having distinct therapeutic properties in experimental
poliomyelitis, and that the proper injection dose was directly
proportional to the speed of the infection and the stage at which the
process had arrived. Jungeblut stated in 1937 that the parental
administration of natural vitamin C during its incubation period of
poliomyelitis in monkeys is always followed by a distinct change in
the severity of the disease; that after the fifth day of the disease
distinctly larger doses are required. He realized, at that early date,
that for a fast progressing infection such as results from the R. M.
V. strain, very large doses—400 mg. crystalline C maximum in a 24-hour
period—of vitamin C would be required; for the Aycock virus with its
slower infection potential small amounts of the vitamin would suffice.
Even with almost infinitesimal amounts—100 mg. ascorbic acid for each
24-hour period—he was able to demonstrate that the non-paralytic
survivors in one series was six times as great as in the controls. In
our work we shall speak of six, ten and 20 thousand mg. in a similar
time period.

Harde et al. reported that diphtheria toxin is inactivated by vitamin
C in vitro and to a lesser extent in vivo. I have confirmed this
finding, indeed extended it. Diphtheria can be cured in man by the
administration of massive frequent doses of hexuronic acid (vitamin C)
given intravenously and/or intramuscularly. To the synthetic drug, by
mouth, there is little response, even when 1000 to 2000 mg. is used
every two hours. This cure in diphtheria is brought about in half the
time required to remove the membrane and give negative smears by
antitoxin. This membrane is removed by lysis when "C" is given, rather
than by sloughing as results with the use of the antitoxin. An
advantage of this form of therapy is that the danger of serum reaction
is eliminated. The only disadvantage of the ascorbic acid therapy is
the inconvenience of the multiple injections. This concept of the
action of vitamin C against certain toxins has led to treating other
diseases producing exotoxins. For years it has been our knowledge that
vitamin C in 500 to 1000 mg. doses injected I. M. would cure bacillary
dysentery of the Shiga type. Children having 10 to 15 bloody stools
per day have cleared in 48 hours under this schedule while at the same
time reverting to normal feedings. This dual action of vitamin C
against certain toxins and the virus organism becomes more
intelligible with the work of Kligler, Warburg and others who believed
that the detoxification effected by hexuronic acid is brought about by
a direct combination of the vitamin with the toxin or virus, this
followed by oxidation of the new compound which destroys both the
virus or toxin and the vitamin. Borsook et al. decided that the main
chemical action of ascorbic acid is as a powerful reducing agent, and
the virus causing poliomyelitis is known to be susceptible to the
oxidizing action of various agents. It is in point here to remark that
vitamin C is an integral part of the oxidation-reduction system of the
body, thus playing a definite part in natural resistance.

In the poliomyelitis epidemic in North Carolina in 1948, 60 cases of
this disease came under our care. These patients presented all or
almost all of these signs and symptoms: Fever of 101 to 104.6°,
headache, pain at the back of the eyes, conjunctivitis, scarlet
throat; pain between the shoulders, the back of the neck, one or more
extremity, the lumbar back; nausea, vomiting and constipation. In I5
of these cases the diagnosis was confirmed by lumbar puncture; the
cell count ranging from 33 to 125. Eight had been in contact with a
proven case; two of this group received spinal taps. Examination of
the spinal fluid was not carried out in others for the reasons: (1)
Flexner and Amoss had warned that "simple lumbar puncture attended
with even very slight hemorrhage opens the way for the passage of the
virus from the blood into the central nervous system and thus promotes
infection." (2) A patient presenting all or almost all of the above
signs and symptoms during an epidemic of poliomyelitis must be
considered infected with this virus. (3) Routine lumbar puncture would
have made it obligatory to report each case as diagnosed to the health
authorities. This would have deprived myself of valuable clinical
material and the patients of most valuable therapy, since they would
have been removed to a receiving center in a nearby town.

The treatment employed was vitamin C in massive doses. It was given
like any other antibiotic every two to four hours. The initial dose
was 1000 to 2000 mg., depending on age. Children up to four years
received the injections intramuscularly. Since laboratory facilitates
for whole blood and urine determinations of the concentration of
vitamin C were not available, the temperature curve was adopted as the
guide for additional medication. The rectal temperature was recorded
every two hours. No temperature response after the second hour was
taken to indicate the second 1000 or 2000 mg. If there was a drop in
fever after two hours, two more hours was allowed before the second
dose. This schedule was followed for 24 hours. After this time the
fever was consistently down, so the drug was given 1000 to 2000 mg.
every six hours for the next 48 hours. All patients were clinically
well after 72 hours. After three patients had a relapse the drug was
continued for at least 48 hours longer—1000 to 2000 mg. every eight to
12 hours. Where spinal taps were performed, it was the rule to find a
reversion of the fluid to normal after the second day of treatment.

For patients treated in the home the dose schedule was 2000 mg. by
needle every six hours, supplemented by 1000 to 2000 mg. every two
hours by mouth. The tablet was crushed and dissolved in fruit juice.
All of the natural "C" in fruit juice is taken up by the body; this
made us expect catalytic action from this medium. Ruin, 20 mg., was
used with vitamin C by mouth in a few cases, instead of the fruit
juice. Hawley and others have shown that vitamin C taken by mouth will
show its peak of excretion in the urine in from four to six hours.
Intravenous administration produces this peak in from one to three
hours. By this route however, the concentration in the blood is raised
so suddenly that a transitory overflow into the urine results before
the tissues are saturated. Some authorities suggest that the
subcutaneous method is the most conservative in terms of vitamin C
loss but this factor is overwhelmingly neutralized by the factor of
pain inflicted.

Two patients in this series of 60 regurgitated fluid through the nose.
This was interpreted as representing the dangerous bulbar type. For a
patient in this category postural drainage, oxygen administration, in
some cases tracheotomy, needs to be instituted, until the vitamin C
has had sufficient time to work—in our experience 36 hours. Failure to
recognize this factor might sacrifice the chance of recovery. With
these precautions taken, every patient of this series recovered
uneventfully within three to five days.

In the treatment of other types of virus infections the same "fluid"
dose schedule was adopted. In herpes zoster 2000 to 3000 mg. of
vitamin C was given every 12 hours, this supplemented by 3 000 mg. in
fruit juice by mouth every two hours. Eight cases were treated in this
series, all of adults. Seven experienced cessation of pain within two
hours of the first injection and remained so without the use of any
other analgesic medication. Seven of these cases showed drying of the
vesicles within 24 hours and were clear of lesions within 72 hours.
They received from five to seven injections. One patient; a diabetic,
stated that she was always conscious of an uncomfortable feeling, but
that it was not an actual pain. Although nine-tenths of the vesicles
cleared in the usual 72-hour period, she was given 14 injections, the
last seven of only 1000 mg. This extra therapy was given because of a
small ulceration, an inch in diameter, secondarily infected by rupture
of the vesicles by a corset stave prior to the first visit. Vitamin C
apparently had no effect on this lesion, which was healed in two weeks
under compound tincture of benzoin locally and penicillin and
sulfadiazine by mouth. (The patient objected to taking penicillin by
needle.) One of the patients, a man of 65, came to the office doubled
up with abdominal pain and with a history of having taken opiates for
the preceding 36 hours. He gave the impression of having an acute
surgical condition. A massive array of vesicles extended from the
dorsal nerve roots to the umbilicus, a hand's breadth wide. He was
given 3000 mg. of vitamin C intravenously and directed to return to
the office in four to five hours. It was difficult to convince him
that his abdominal pain was the result of his having "shingles." He
returned in four hours completely free of pain. He was given an
additional 2000 mg. of vitamin C, and following the schedule given
above he recovered completely in three days.

In herpes simplex it is important to continue the treatment for at
least 72 hours. We have seen "fever blisters" that appeared healed
after two injections recur when therapy was discontinued after 24
hours. Vitamin C in a strength of 1000 mg. per 10 c.c. of buffered
solution gave no response when applied locally. This was true no
matter how often the applications were made. In several cases 10 mg.
of riboflavin by mouth t.i.d. in conjunction with the vitamin C
injections appeared to cause faster healing.

Chickenpox gave equally good response, the vesicles responding in the
same manner as did those of herpes. These vesicles were crusted after
the first 24 hours, and the patient well in three to four cays. We
interpreted this similarity of response in these three diseases to
suggest that the viruses responsible were closely related to one
another.

Many cases of influenza were treated with vitamin C. The size of the
dose and the number of Injections required were in direct proportion
to the fever curve and to the duration of the illness. Forcing of
fruit juice was always recommended, because of the frequency and ease
of reinfection during certain periods of the year.

The response of virus encephalitis to ascorbic acid therapy was
dramatic. Six cases of virus encephalitis were treated and cured with
vitamin C injections. Two cases were associated with virus pneumonia;
one followed chickenpox, one mumps, one measles and one a combination
of measles and mumps. In the case that followed the measles-mumps
complex, definite evidence was found to confirm the belief that
massive, frequent injections are necessary in treating virus
infections with vitamin C. This lad of eight years was first seen with
a temperature of 104°. He was lethargic, very irritable when molested.
His mother said he had gradually developed his present clinical
picture over the preceding four or five days. His first symptom was
anorexia which became complete 36 hours before his first examination.
He next complained of a generalized headache, later be became
stuporous. Although very athletic and active, he voluntarily took to
his bed. He was given 2000 mg. of vitamin C intravenously and allowed
to return home because there were no available hospital
accommodations. His mother was asked to make an hourly memorandum of
his conduct until his visit set for the following day. Seen 18 hours
after the initial injection of vitamin C, the memorandum revealed a
quick response to the antibiotic—after two hours he asked for food and
ate a hearty supper, then played about the house as usual and then,
for .several hours, he appeared to have completely recovered. Six
hours following the initial injection, he began to revert to the
condition of his first visit. When seen the second time temperature
was 101.6°, he was sleepy but he would respond to questions. The rude
irritability shown prior to the first injection was strikingly absent.
A second injection of 2000 mg. vitamin C was given intravenously and
1000 mg. of "C" prescribed every two hours by mouth. The next day he
was fever and symptom-free. As a precautionary measure a third 2000
mg. was given with direction to continue the drug by mouth for at
least 48 hours. He has remained well since. A lad of 12 years had
generalized headache a week after having mumps, this followed by
malaise, and in 12 hours a lethargic state and a fever of 105°.
Admitted to hospital he was given 2000 mg. of vitamin C then, and 1000
mg. every two hours. Following the third injection he was sitting up
in bed, laughing, talking, begging for food and completely without
pain. He was discharged 24 hours following admission clinically well.
Since relapses do occur if the drug is discontinued too soon, he was
given 2000 mg. of vitamin C every 12 hours for two additional days.

The use of vitamin C in measles proved to be a medical curiosity.
During an epidemic vitamin C was used prophylactically and all those
who received as much as 1000 mg. every six hours, by vein or muscle,
were protected from the virus. Given by mouth, 1000 mg. in fruit juice
every two hours was not protective unless it was given around the
clock. It was further found that 1000 mg. by mouth, four to six times
each day, would modify the attack; with the appearance of Koplik's
spots and fever, if the administration was increased to 12 doses each
24 hours, all signs and symptoms would disappear in 48 hours. If the
drug was discontinued or reduced to three or four doses each 24 hours
following the disappearance of Koplik's spots, within another 48-hour
period the fever, the conjunctivitis and Koplik's spots would be back.

It was our privilege to observe this picture over and over in two
little volunteer girls for 30 days. These "research helpers" were my
own little daughters. The measles virus was eventually destroyed in
this instance by continuing 12,000 mg. by mouth each 24 hours for four
days. We interpreted this result to indicate that on withdrawing the
drug with the cessation of signs and symptoms, a small quantity of the
virus remained, which after another incubation period produced anew
the first stage of measles; when the drug was continued beyond the
clearing stage the virus was destroyed in toto. No case of
post-measles bronchopneumonia was seen. The "measles-cough" of measles
bronchitis was over with after three or four 1000 mg. injections of
"C" at 6-hour intervals. This was true even when other medications
well above the calculated dose range for cough had had no effect.
Whenever a patient presented a mixed-virus infection, such as receding
mumps and developing measles, it was found that double the calculated
dose of vitamin C was necessary to obtain the usual results.

Of mumps, 33 cases were treated with ascorbic acid. When vitamin C was
given at the peak of the infection the fever was gone within 24 hours,
the pain within 36 hours, the swelling in 48 to 72 hours. Two cases
were complicated with orchitis. A young man of 23 years developed
bilateral orchitis one Friday morning, by seven o'clock that night he
was in severe pain, had a fever of 105" and was nursing testicles the
size of tennis balls. Vitamin C was started at this time—1000 mg.
every two hours, intravenously. The pain began to subside following
the first injection and ceased in 12 hours. There was no fever after
36 hours. The patient was out of bed feeling his old self after 60
hours. He had received 25,000 mg. of "C" in this 60-hour period. An
experiment involving three cousins: One, a boy of seven, had the old
routine of bed rest, aspirin, and warm camphor oil applications and
iodex to the swollen glands. This child had a rough time for a week. A
second boy, aged 11, was allowed to develop mumps to the point of
maximum swelling without any therapy, then given vitamin C, 1000 mg.
intramuscularly, every two to four hours. This lad was entirely well
in 48 hours. To the third patient, a girl of 9, vitamin C was given on
the up curve when the swellings were 60 per cent of the expected, and
the temperature recorded at 102.3°. The dose was 1000 mg. of vitamin C
given intravenously every four hours. This child was well and remained
so from the third day of treatment.

Further studies on virus pneumonia showed that the clinical response
was better when vitamin C was given to these patients according to the
dose schedule outlined for poliomyelitis. Where pneumonitis was
demonstrated, the clearing of the chest film was parallel with the
clinical recovery. In cases of consolidation of entire lobes the x-ray
clearing lagged days behind the clinical response. In these cases 1000
mg. of "C" should be given every 12 hours for at least a week after
the patient is apparently well. There was no change in the results as
given in a previous paper; the patients were well in the third day of
treatment.

In using vitamin C as an antibiotic no factor of toxicity need be
considered. To confirm this observation 200 consecutive hospital
patients were given ascorbic acid, 500 to 1000 mg. every four to six
hours, for five to ten days. One volunteer received 100,000 mg. in a
12-day period. It must be remembered that 90 per cent of these
patients did not have a virus infection to assist in destroying the
vitamin. In no instance did examination of the blood or urine indicate
any toxic reaction, and at no time were there any clinical
manifestations of a reaction to the drug. When vitamin C was given by
mouth one per cent of these patients vomited shortly after taking the
drug. In half of these cases the vomiting was controlled by increasing
the carbohydrate content of the mixture. This reaction was not
interpreted as representing a toxic manifestation; rather it was
thought to be due to a hypersensitive gastric mucosa. The dose was
reduced from 1000 to 100 mg. in young children showing this complex;
vomiting occurred as before. However, in these same patients
administration of massive, frequent doses of vitamin C by needle
affected a cure of the infection without causing vomiting.

From a review of the literature one can safely state that in all
instances of experimental work with ascorbic acid on the virus
organism the amount of virus used was beyond the range of the
administered dose of this vitamin. No one would expect to relieve
kidney colic with a five-grain aspirin tablet; by the same logic we
cannot hope to destroy the virus organism with doses of vitamin C of
10 to 400 mg. The results which we have reported in virus diseases
using vitamin C as the antibiotic may seem fantastic. These results,
however, are no different from the results we see when administering
the sulfa, or the mold-derived drugs against many other kinds of
infections. In these latter instances we expect and usually get 48- to
72-hour cures; it is laying no claim to miracle-working then, when we
say that many virus infections can be cleared within a similar time
limit.


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Ilena wrote in message ...
July, 1949 SOUTHERN MEDICINE & SURGERY 209

The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C

Fred R. Klenner, M.D., Reidsville, North Carolina

1949???

"Mogwai fear Satan" wrote in message
oups.com...
There is a vitamin C / Salt therapy for lyme disease. At first I
thought no way, now I try to take about 1 gram a day with my other
supplements. Sounds like antimicrobial properties to me! Especially
when one throws in the other research on heart disease and vit C.

Why not take actual antibiotics which you know for sure have properties you
hope vitamin C will have?
As for heart disease, supplemetanl vitamin C will not hurt you, but you
won't use it as treatment.

C A III A wrote:
"Mogwai fear Satan" wrote in message
oups.com...
There is a vitamin C / Salt therapy for lyme disease. At first I
thought no way, now I try to take about 1 gram a day with my other
supplements. Sounds like antimicrobial properties to me! Especially
when one throws in the other research on heart disease and vit C.

Why not take actual antibiotics which you know for sure have properties you
hope vitamin C will have?
As for heart disease, supplemetanl vitamin C will not hurt you, but you
won't use it as treatment.

Traditional abx didn't work. I was on for years and then the HMO got my
line pulled and was basically left for dead. It's typical treatment for
those with borrelia infection (If they are lucky enough to get the abx
in the first place.) Not cured but my life has been extended and I'm
still playing guinea pig.

"C A III A" wrote in message
...

"Mogwai fear Satan" wrote in message
oups.com...
There is a vitamin C / Salt therapy for lyme disease. At first I
thought no way, now I try to take about 1 gram a day with my other
supplements. Sounds like antimicrobial properties to me! Especially
when one throws in the other research on heart disease and vit C.

Why not take actual antibiotics which you know for sure have properties
you hope vitamin C will have?
As for heart disease, supplemetanl vitamin C will not hurt you, but you
won't use it as treatment.


vitamin C is cheaper, safe, and works for viruses as well
http://www.whale.to/a/levy4.html

vitamin C cures heart disease http://www.whale.to/w/nutrition.html

"john" wrote in message
...

"C A III A" wrote in message
...

"Mogwai fear Satan" wrote in message
oups.com...
There is a vitamin C / Salt therapy for lyme disease. At first I
thought no way, now I try to take about 1 gram a day with my other
supplements. Sounds like antimicrobial properties to me! Especially
when one throws in the other research on heart disease and vit C.

Why not take actual antibiotics which you know for sure have properties
you hope vitamin C will have?
As for heart disease, supplemetanl vitamin C will not hurt you, but you
won't use it as treatment.


vitamin C is cheaper, safe, and works for viruses as well
http://www.whale.to/a/levy4.html

vitamin C cures heart disease http://www.whale.to/w/nutrition.html

Sorry. I don't buy it. Because a handful of people claim it is so for
whatever reason does not prove anything. I also do not see how vitamin C
"cures" anything.
I hope that alternatives in the right combination will be able to cure
diseases, but even then we have to worry about toxicities. If I have to take
ultra high level of vitamin C I have to worry about similar after-effects as
I do with mainstream drugs.

"C A III A" wrote in message
...

Ilena wrote in message
...
July, 1949 SOUTHERN MEDICINE & SURGERY 209

The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C

Fred R. Klenner, M.D., Reidsville, North Carolina

1949???

Yeah, was a very good year.

You have a problem?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed shortly after the end of
the Second World War to counter the threat of Soviet invasion of Western
Europe. The treaty setting up the alliance was signed in 1949 by 10 Western
European nations as well as Canada and the United States. NATO's mandate is
to provide a common defence for the European and Atlantic areas, and to
address common issues faced by the member countries.

"Jan Drew" wrote in message
. com...

"C A III A" wrote in message
...

Ilena wrote in message
...
July, 1949 SOUTHERN MEDICINE & SURGERY 209

The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C

Fred R. Klenner, M.D., Reidsville, North Carolina

1949???

Yeah, was a very good year.

You have a problem?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed shortly after the end of
the Second World War to counter the threat of Soviet invasion of Western
Europe. The treaty setting up the alliance was signed in 1949 by 10
Western European nations as well as Canada and the United States. NATO's
mandate is to provide a common defence for the European and Atlantic
areas, and to address common issues faced by the member countries.

So? Does that mean medical literature from that era are substantial for
modern science? I can tell you that 1776 is even a better a year, but does
that mean research from there stands today?

"Jan Drew" wrote in message
. com...

"C A III A" wrote in message
...

Ilena wrote in message
...
July, 1949 SOUTHERN MEDICINE & SURGERY 209

The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C

Fred R. Klenner, M.D., Reidsville, North Carolina

1949???

Yeah, was a very good year.

You have a problem?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed shortly after the end of
the Second World War to counter the threat of Soviet invasion of Western
Europe. The treaty setting up the alliance was signed in 1949 by 10
Western European nations as well as Canada and the United States. NATO's
mandate is to provide a common defence for the European and Atlantic
areas, and to address common issues faced by the member countries.

And...

500,000 steel workers went on strike
Israel became a part of the UN
Apartheid was officially adopted in South Africa as government policy
The Soviets tested their first atom bomb
And the Chinese Communists won their civil war helping America rush in an
era of McCarthism


But the events of 1949 probably weren't why an eyebrow was raised. It's
very rare that citations from 1949 have much current day relevance other
than historical interests.

"C A III A" wrote in message
...

"Mogwai fear Satan" wrote in message
oups.com...
There is a vitamin C / Salt therapy for lyme disease. At first I
thought no way, now I try to take about 1 gram a day with my other
supplements. Sounds like antimicrobial properties to me! Especially
when one throws in the other research on heart disease and vit C.

Why not take actual antibiotics

This is 2006!

Are you still in 1949?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3146082.stm

Antibiotics crisis 'looming'

A leading professor is warning of an antibiotics crisis which could lead to
thousands of people dying from treatable illnesses.

Professor Hugh McGavock from the University of Ulster has told the BBC
"gross overprescribing " by doctors is making many antibiotics useless.

He has estimated that in 12 years all antibiotics could be redundant.

The professor, who specialises in prescribing science, claims the crisis in
antibiotics is as big as Aids.

He told Radio Five Live overprescribing in the medical profession and the
farming industry over the past 50 years has rendered many antibiotics
useless.

He estimates that by 2015, bacteria which cause disease will be resistant to
all antibiotics and diseases that are easily treatable now, will be killers.



which you know for sure have properties you
hope vitamin C will have?
As for heart disease, supplemetanl vitamin C will not hurt you, but you
won't use it as treatment.