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An Interview With Dr. Stanley Jacob: Discussing DMSO
Shirley Kengla
University of Oregon Health Science Center •
Eugene, OR
The doctor who pioneered the use of DMSO sits in his
humble office while the phone rings repeatedly. People call from
all over the world wanting information about this miracle drug.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jacob ponders his own miracle, an intelligent
daughter astounding teachers at her select high school. With
unassuming humility, Dr. Jacob marvels at her accomplishments,
unable to take responsibility for it or make any connections to
his own remarkable history with DMSO.
The Doctor
Dr. Stanley Jacob, surgeon and researcher
at Oregon Health Science University, believes in the power of
DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide). Any why shouldn't he? He founded the
use of DMSO for a wide range of uses, including the treatment of
interstitial cystitis (IC). Dr. Jacob has also been swallowing a
teaspoon of DMSO every day for the past 32 years, and hasn't had
a cold or flu during that time.
With years of research, numerous
presentations and unflagging participation in FDA approval of
DMSO behind him, Dr. Jacob could be thinking of retiring. He's
not. "I want to be the George Burns of medicine." Dr. Jacob
said. He still accepts new patients and particularly likes those
no one else has been able to help. "The easy patients anyone can
treat. It gives me a feeling of joy to take someone resistant to
treatments and see the patient improve," he said.
Treatment
His technique for using DMSO has evolved
over the years. It began when he became interested in using the
substance to preserve animal tissue in freezing temperatures for
transplantation. He learned the drug had many healing properties
and explored ways to use it. In 1962, Dr. Jacob treated his
first IC patient. He teamed up with the patient's urologist to
use DMSO intravesically, instilling a mixture, referred to as a
"cocktail," of heparin, cortisone, bicarbonate and a 15 percent
concentration of DMSO into the bladder.
After finding the cocktail worked, he began
increasing the dosage to 50 percent DMSO concentration. Dr.
Jacob introduced his mixture to other urologists, who found DMSO
to be the first thing that worked to improve bladder capacity
for IC patients.In 1973 he monitored studies of 100 IC patients,
a key to 1978 approval of the drug by the FDA. Dr. Jacob noted
that the FDA had an open attitude at the time, but was a
stickler on the package insert. Dr. Jacob, who wrote the DMSO
insert, said it does not accurately indicate how DMSO should be
used but rather reflects the struggle between scientists and the
FDA.
What is the time scale for treatment?
Contrary to the insert, Dr. Jacob suggests trying DMSO for
one year before giving up on it.
The Treatment
Many doctors still use the cocktail Dr.
Jacob used the 70s, but Dr. Jacob developed a new approach that
he said increased his patient improvement rate from 70 to 90
percent. Before inserting the DMSO intravesically, he uses DMSO
as an intravenous drug.
"Almost everyone knows IC is a systemic
disorder," Dr. Jacob said. By injecting the DMSO directly into
the bloodstream, DMSO can reach all of the patient's organs. He
uses strictly DMSO for his patients for the bladder
instillations. He starts out with 25 percent concentrations of
DMSO and builds up to 50 percent. Dr. Jacob, recognizing that
pain is not always confined to the bladder in IC patients, uses
DMSO as a topical agent for pain the perineal area.
Dr. Jacob does not put his patients on a
rigid schedule. He administers DMSO as the patient requires it.
To promote this approach, patients are taught how to do
instillations themselves. They are instructed to hold the
substance in their bladder for as long as the patient is
comfortable, usually no more than 15 to 20 minutes. The length
of time improves the benefit but is not worth the discomfort.
For inserting the catheter, Dr. Jacob suggests using lidocaine
or K-Y Jelly.
How does it work?
How does DMSO work? Dr. Jacob describes it
as "the most potent free radical scavenger known to man." He
said, "Some molecules produce an unequal number of electrons.
The instability of the number causes them to destroy cells. DMSO
hooks on to those molecules and then leaves the body holding
onto them." In simpler terms, installed DMSO takes the bad guys
out of the bladder when a patient excretes urine.
How safe is DMSO? DMSO is a natural
substance present in water. DMSO is used to treat scar tissue
and has antibacterial properties. Although women are advised not
to use it during pregnancy--and Dr. Jacob agrees that pregnant
women should avoid any substance--DMSO is used to preserve
frozen human embryos. No organ system is damaged by it, Jacob
said. DMSO can interfere with liver function tests and give a
false reading. That problem is remedied by simply waiting a week
after treatment to take the test.
How long can patients use it?
Long-term use has been documented as safe. Of patients
that respond to DMSO, one out of three patients goes into a
long-term remission after seven years. The rest continue to use
DMSO indefinitely.
In reference to his years of exposure to the drug over the
past 32 years, "I can say with certainty that I have no
problems, health wise. I can't say it is because of DMSO, but I
can say I haven't been hurt by it," Dr. Jacob said. Dr. Jacob
considers DMSO a therapeutic substance rather than a
conventional medication. Since DMSO penetrates the skin, it can
act as a carrier for other pharmacological substances. The
current limits on DMSO use disappoint Dr. Jacob, who believes
that US medical treatment has just scratched the surface of
DMSO's possibilities.
DMS02
An example of those limits involves a derivative of DMSO,
called DMS0 2.
Dr. Jacob said this "interesting substance" gets away from the
nuisance side effects (odor and bladder irritation) of DMSO.
DMS02
is better tolerated by patients. Unfortunately, DMS02
does not have FDA approval, with no chance of getting it until
well-documented studies can be done. Dr. Jacob estimates such
studies would require about a million dollars.
Dr. Jacob believes DMS0 2
could change the lives of the hundreds of thousands of women and
men who suffer from IC. Jacob worked with chemist Bob Herschler
to develop DMS02.
When FDA approval looked bleak, Herschler began selling the
substance in a crystalline form as a food. Jacob said that DMS02
can be valuable by mouth for many diseases, but that IC patients
do much better to take it into the bladder.
Further Studies
Dr. Jacob is currently serving as a consultant for a
company that is studying the use of DMSO for catastrophic
problems such as head injuries and AIDS. He has urged them to
study the substance for IC, but the company is undercapitalized.
He looks hopefully to the ICA as a source of funding for DMS0 2
studies.
"I really believe there is nothing out there now and or to
be introduced over the next 25 years that compares to DMSO and
its metabolite DMS0 2,"
Dr. Jacob said.
Source
Kengla, Shirley. "An Interview With Dr.
Stanley Jacob: Discussing DMSO." The Restroom Register,
Winter, 1994.
DMSO Organization wishes to thank the
publisher for allowing this interview to be placed on our World
Wide Web site. The publisher retains the copyright. If you wish
to copy any portion of this interview, please obtain permission
from the publisher. |
