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Dr. Frederick R. Klenner B.S., M.S., M.D.  Reidsville, North Carolina – 1907 – 1984

2005 Orthomolecular Hall of Fame Inductee

Biography & Summary Tribute   –   Publications   –   References

“Orthomolecular” is essentially another word for “nutritional.”

“Vitamin C is the safest substance available to the physician.”

“Some physicians would stand by and see their patient die rather than use ascorbic acid because in their finite minds it exists only as a vitamin.”

Significance
of high daily intake of ascorbic acid in preventive
medicine.

Journal of the International Academy of Preventive Medicine l (l):45-69.
Spring 1974 Vol 1 No 1

INTRODUCTION
THE VIRUS STORY
THE CHOLESTEROL STORY
THE HEAVY METAL STORY
OTHER APPLICATIONS
THE CANCER STORY
OTHER APPLICATIONS
schizophrenics 
tooth decay  tuberculosis
cancer of the lung
Chronic myelocytic leukaemia
Pancreatitis Virus
pancarditis
SUMMARY 
American Medical Association burn cases
snake bite

Frederick Robert Klenner, B.S., M.S., M.D., F.C.C.P.,
A.A.F.P., after graduating Duke University School of Medicine, March 1936, took
three years of hospital training and then entered the private practice of
medicine at Reidsville, N.C. Although specializing in diseases of the chest, Dr.
Klenner is engaged in a limited general practice which has enabled him to make
observations on the use of massive doses of ascorbic acid in virus diseases as
well as on other pathological syndromes.

He has published 28 scientific papers on these
observations and has given numerous lectures to civic and other groups. Dr.
Klenner is a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Sci­ence;
Fellow and Diplomate of The International College of Applied Nutrition; Fellow
of The Royal Society of Health, London, England; Honorary Fellow of The
International Academy of Preventive Medicine and a member and fellow of many
other medical and scientific organizations.

INTRODUCTION
The American Medical Association its introduction to Nostrums,
Quackery and Pseudo-Medicine states: “In from 80 to 85 per cent of all cases of
human ailment, it is probably that the individual will get well whether he does
something for his disposition or does nothing for it. The healing power of
nature, fortunately for biologic perpetuity, works that way.” These percentages
are relative. Increased population and greater concentration in terms of living
patterns, as well as other types of insult to body, will frequently change this
index. As physicians we have a duty to get the patient well, irrespective of his
chance for self-healing with diet or herbs. Hippocrates once declared, “Of
several remedies physicians should choose the least sensational.” vitamin C
would seem to meet this requirement.

THE VIRUS
STORY
The common cold has received renewed interest since publication of
Pauling’s book [1] Brody, [2] in 1953, after studying vitamin C and its effects
on colds in college students, advised that ascorbic acid be given early and
often and in sufficient amounts. This confirmed what we had been experiencing
and reporting over a period of several years. The response that we observed with
massive and frequent doses of ascorbic acid in treating the common cold alerted
us to the real significance of this treatment in preventive medicine. In
February 1948, [3] I published my first paper on the use of massive doses of
vitamin C in treating virus pathology.

By February 1960, [4] some 25 scientific papers later,
I realized that every head cold must be considered as a probable source of brain
pathology. Many have died, especially children, following the sudden development
of cerebral manifestations secondary to even a slight head and/or chest cold.
These insidious cerebral happenings are responsible for the so-called crib
deaths attributed to suffocation. They die by suffocation, but by way of a
syndrome similar to that found in cephalic tetanus toxaemia culminating in
diaphragmatic spasm, with dyspnea and finally asphyxia. These infants and
children who have been put to bed apparently well, except for an insignificant
nasal congestion, will demonstrate bilateral pneumonitis at autopsy. Adequate
vitamin C, taken daily, will eliminate this syndrome, is less acute but unless
recognized and treated heroically, the infant will soon die. This condition is
probably due to severe brain trauma received at time of delivery.

Laryngismus stridulous will be present in this
condition and the child will sound as if it has a cold. Calcium gluconate and
massive, frequent injections of vitamin C will also reverse this pathology. The
recognized treatment is daily oral dihydrotachysterol.   Adequate ascorbic acid
taken during the period of gestation will also prevent the occurrence of this
syndrome. The information relative to crib syndrome is backed by case histories
at Annie Penn Memorial Hospital, Reidsville, N.C. I have seen children dead in
less than two hours after hospital admission, having received no treatment,
simply because the attending physicians were not impressed with their illness. A
few grams of ascorbic acid, given by needle, while they waited for laboratory
procedures or examination to fit their schedule, could have saved their lives. I
know this to be a fact because I have been in similar situations and by
routinely employing ascorbic acid have seen death take a holiday. In a paper
titled “An Insidious Virus,” [5] I reasoned that it should be a maxim of
medicine for large doses of vitamin C to be given in all pathological conditions
while the physician ponders his diagnosis. The wisdom of this dictum is backed
by many hundred cases under our super­vision. I have seen critically ill chest
patients well enough to go home after intravenous injection of 1 or 2 litres of
5% dextrose in water, each carrying 50 gram ascorbic acid. This procedure
resulted in a dramatic transition from sickness to health.

Virus encephalitis can also be associated with the
common cold as a result of the presence of herpes simplex in cold sores, Lerner
[6] and associates believe that thousands of cases exist yearly from this route.
Of this number, they estimate that one third die; and of the survivors, eight of
nine have residual brain damage. Their work suggests that passive hemaggluting
antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid are a better indicator of the presence of
infectious virus than are circulating antibody titers in the serum. The simple
herpes virus from the insignificant fever blister, but possessing the capability
of producing encephalitis, can remain hidden for years in the neuron according
to Drs., Stephens and Cook. [7]. This confirms the thinking of Goodpasture [8]
given to us many years ago. Thus, a herpes simplex virus once present in a cold
sore, although healed and leaving no evidence of lip pathology, could ignite
later by simple exposure to ultraviolet light. How many mothers are endangering
the lives of their children by sun-bathing, labouring under the belief that they
are improving their health”?

Roizman [9] believes that all children are infected by
age 5, but that only 1% experience true clinical illness. For many years
investigators thought that each recurrence of fever blisters represented a new
infection. Evidence is accumulating that shows the herpes simplex virus is
harboured in dormant form until a physiologic or emotional event provokes the
virus to produce the typical herpetic lesion. In one case with five repeats of
herpes virus erupting at yearly intervals and at the same site, 7-10 gram
ascorbic acid by mouth, daily, was found to eliminate this pathology.

Effecting a cure when a virus is the offending agent,
and many times bringing about this change in the short space of 24 hours, is a
rewarding moment in medicine. Vitamin C treatment must be intensive to be
successful. Use veins when practical, otherwise give vitamin C intramuscularly.
Never give less than 350 mg/kg body weight. This must be repeated every hour for
6 to 12 times, depending upon clinical improvement, then every two to four hours
until the patient has recovered. Ice cubes held to the gluteal muscle before and
after injection will reduce or eliminate pain and induration. When treatment
continues for several days, the child can be placed on an ice cap between
injections. When employing vitamin C intravenously, it is best to use sodium
Ascorbate and the solution free of all additives except sodium bisulfite. The
dose of vitamin C using a syringe should range between 350 mg and 400 mg/kg body
weight. In older patients or when very high doses are required the vitamin Can
be added to 5% dextrose in water, in saline solution or in Ringer’s solution.
The concentration should approximately be 1 gram to 18 cc fluid. Bottle
injections will need 1 gram calcium gluconate on to two times each day to
replace calcium ions removed by the high intravenous schedule. One quart of milk
daily will suffice when using the vitamin intramuscularly. In place of milk one
can substitute calcium gluconate tablets. Supplemental vita­min C is always
given by mouth. As a guide in determining the amount and frequency of injections
we recommend our Silver Nitrate-Urine test. [10] This is done by placing ten
drops of 5% silver nitrate in a Wasserman tube and adding ten drops urine. A
colour pattern will develop showing white, beige, smoke grey or one that looks
like fine grain charcoal. Charcoal is the colour needed and the test is
performed at least every four hours. The test itself is read in one minute.

These large doses of ascorbic acid will also bring all
body tissue back to saturation which means that the white blood cells will now
be capable of destroying other pathogens that might be clouding the picture.
Unless the white blood cells are saturated with ascorbic acid they are like
soldiers without bullets. Research on this is now under way at the Bowman Gray
School of Medicine by McCall and Cooper. [11] White cells ingest bacteria and in
the process produce hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide will combine with
ascorbic acid to produce a substance which is lethal to bacteria. I have seen
diphtheria, hemolytic streptococcus and staphylococcus infections clear within
hours following injections of ascorbic acid in a dose range from 500 mg to 700
mg/kg body weight given intravenously and run in through a 20G needle as fast as
the patient’s cardiovas­cular system would allow.
Part of the white cells are lymphocytes. They, too, play an important role in
survival from infection. We found in several cases of trichinosis [12] that the
behaviour of the lymphocytes was the real story of the changing blood picture
and actually determined the course of the disease. Wintrobe [13] observed that
the function of the lymphocytes was stimulation of antibody formation and that
the lymphocytic response runs parallel with the recovery of the patient. This
build-up of antibodies appears directly proportional to the concentration of
ascorbic acid in all body tissue, and yet we give vaccines but pay no attention
to the degree of tissue saturation of ascorbic acid. Dr. Nossal [14] of the
Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Australia, wonders about the mechanism
by which lymphocytes, on meeting antigens, decide to be turned on or off. He
asks that physiological mechanism underlies the discrimi­nation between
immunization and the induction of immunological tolerance and would suggest that
it is controlled by vitamin C which in turn affects the negative charge which
then influences the response of the lymphocyte. Ginter [15] of the Research
Institute of Human Nutrition, Bratislava, offers some evidence to this effect in
his statement: “that all reactions which are connected with vitamin C have
oxidation-reduction features. It is therefore prob­able that the biological
function of vitamin C can be located in the metabolic reactions which are
connected with electron transfer.”

The killing power of ascorbic acid is not limited to
just herpes simplex and the adenovirus. When proper amounts are used it will
destroy all virus organisms. We found measles to be a medical curiosity.
Specifically we observe that vitamin C given prophylactically, by mouth, was not
protective unless 1 gram was given every two hours around the clock. One gram
every four hours would modify the attack. One gram given every four hours
intramuscu­larly was also protective. With our own children we kept the measle
syndrome going off and on for 30 days by giving 1 gram every two hours for two
days, then off for two days. The disease was then stopped by continuing 1 gram
every two hours, by mouth, for four days. By 1950 we learned that we could kill
the measles virus in 24 hours by giving intramuscular injections in a dose range
of 35 mg/ kg body weight every 2 hours. We also found that we could dry up
chicken pox in the same time, but more dramatic results were obtained by giving
400 mg/kg body weight intravenously. Two to three injections in 24 hours were
all that was required. We published these results in 1951.[16] Recently, we
cured a man weighing 85 kg in four days taking 30 gram each day by mouth. In
conclusion, the killing power of ascorbic acid on virus bodies has been
demonstrated by me in hundreds of cases, many of which were treated in our
hospital with nothing but vitamin C. We have published some 28 papers on this
matter.

In certain individuals some virus conditions have a
slower response. Herpes zoster and mumps belong to this group. We found that in
these conditions equally rapid destruction of the virus could be effected
through the use of adenosine-5-monophosphate. Adenosine was given according to
age and weight, 25 mg in children and 50-100 mg intramuscularly in adults. This
was given every 12 hours along with ascorbic acid. Adenosine will sometimes
precipi­tate a mild reaction in that the patient will feel a fullness in his
head with varying degrees of nausea. Inhalation of aromatic spirits of ammonia
will quickly relieve and, if used before injection, will prevent this
condition.    Their response, when Adenosine was administered, led us to
theorize that when a cell has been invaded by a foreign substance, like virus
nucleic acid, enzymic action fostered by ascorbic acid contributes to the
breakdown of virus nucleic acid to Adenosine deaminase which converts adenosine
to inosine. Some individuals cannot manufacture sufficient adenosine to cope
with this phase of purine metabolism under certain stress conditions associated
with virus pathology. The net result from this chemical action is to catabolize
purines rendering them una­vailable for making additional virus nucleic acid.
Ascorbic acid is further unique in that it possesses the capability of entering
all cells. After entering a virus infected cell, ascorbic acid proceeds to take
up the protein coats being manufactured by the virus nucleic acid, thus
preventing the assembly of new virus units. These newly made macromolecules
within the host cell soon create a situation where the tensile strength of the
cell membrane is exceeded with resulting rupture and cell death. Ascorbic acid,
when given in the massive amounts that accomplish full tissue saturation, will
also enter those cells harbouring the so-called dormant virus. Where the vitamin
C removes the protective protein coat of the virus the micromolecule formed will
act in the capacity of a repressor factor inhibiting further activity of the
virus nucleic acid which is then destroyed by additional vitamin C. We offer as
proof of this the instance of a patient having herpetic lesions for five years
and being cured with continuous high daily intake of ascorbic acid. In acute
virus infection, associated with a virusemia, ascorbic acid given intravenously
will remove the protein protective coat from the virus body, leaving the denuded
virus unit vulnerable to the leucocytes for destruction. Note that adrenal
cortex extract and/or desoxycorticosterone acetate must also be considered for
support of the adrenals in a debilitated patient.

THE
CHOLESTEROL STORY
Next in importance to the virus is the story of cholesterol. One must
understand, as noted by Ginger [17], that acute scurvy and chronic
Hypovitaminosis C are metabolically different conditions. On this point the Food
and Life Yearbook, 1939, U.S. Department of Agriculture, had this to say: “Even
when there is not a single outward symptom of trouble, a person may be in a
state of vitamin C deficiency more dangerous than scurvy itself. When such a
condition is not detected, and continues uncorrected, the teeth and bones will
be damaged, and what may be even more serious, the bloodstream is weakened to
the point where it can no longer resist or fight infections not so easily cured
as scurvy.”

Working with guinea pigs many research groups have
proved that acute avitaminosis C produces an increase in cholesterol
concentration in the whole body. This increased concentration of whole body
cholesterol in scorbutic guinea pigs can be caused either by increased
biosynthesis or by slowed down cholesterol metabo­lism The main pathway of
cholesterol catabolism is in conversion to bile salts. The stimulating effect of
ascorbic acid on the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids and decreased
oxidation of linolenic acid in the tissues of scorbutic guinea pigs has been
well docu­mented. Mjasnikova [18] found that intravenous injections of high
doses of ascorbic acid to patients with high level blood cholesterol is followed
by a distinct decrease of cholesterolemia. It must be remembered that the
referred high doses of vitamin C employed by other scientists does not approach
the schedule that we recom­mend. For example, Tjapina [19] reported on the
effect of intrave­nous doses of 500 mg ascorbic acid on cholesterolemia in
patients suffering from atherosclerosis. The hypocholesterolemic effect from
vitamin C was apparent within one hour. With continued daily injections of 500
mg there was continued drop in blood cholesterol. Spittle [20] showed that blood
cholesterol levels, in humans, vary with the amount of vitamin C employed. In
our own experience we lowered the blood cholesterol in one patient 42 points in
six weeks by increasing the vitamin C intake by mouth from 10 gram to 20 gram
each day. Spittle advanced the theory that atherosclerosis is a long-term
deficiency or negative balance of vitamin C, which permits cholesterol levels to
build up in the arterial system and results in changes in other fractions of the
fats. Ginter [15] also demonstrated that with a high cholesterol diet, guinea
pigs used up all their dietary vitamin C while rats and rabbits who manufacture
their own vitamin C showed a gain in ascorbic acid tissue levels. Ginter also
showed that experimental animals given 50 mg vitamin C each day had cholesterol
deposits 40% lower than animals fed the same diet but given only 5 mg of C
daily. In a survey of 1000 school children Ginter et al. showed that 97%
suffered from vitamin C lack during winter months when C-rich fruits and
vegetables were less abundant [22]. The children also showed corresponding rise
in cholesterol Czechoslovakian workers also reported that when guinea pigs are
fed a diet deficient in vitamin C and rich in cholesterol, they frequently
develop gallstones [23]. Small reported to the Society of University Sur­geons
in New Orleans in 1973 that when gallstones are removed from patients they are
60%-70% cholesterol [24]. This suggests a causative factor in human gallstone
formation. Reviewing the literature and summarizing his own studies, Ginter
concluded that there is no doubt that the daily intake of ascorbic acid in the
control of cholesterol will have a more pronounced effect in those persons who
are already saturated with vitamin C. Tjapina and many others have reported that
when amounts of ascorbic acid as low as 500 mg each day, by needle, were
continued for 60 days, the clinical picture in the majority of the patients was
dramatic, especially concerning the manifestations of coronary artery disease.
Willis [25] reported that in scorbutic guinea pigs, fatty deposits on the aorta
were formed very quickly, even without adding cholesterol to their diet. In
1957, Willis [25] found that when ascorbic acid was given to these scorbutic
guinea pigs, the atherosclerotic lesions were quickly absorbed. Ascorbic acid is
directly associated with the mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of human
atherosclerosis. Duguid [27] found alterations of ground substance observed in
atherosclerosis that produced experimentally to be morphologi­cally similar.
Electrocardiographic tracings by Shafer [28] on scorbutic animals showed that
with prolonged vitamin C therapy, abnormalities disappeared entirely. Stamler
[29], following the mortality rate for middle aged persons, found a significant
drop with improved nutrition with supplemental C.

We must protect our heart from stress. Adequate
vitamin C is one answer. Asahina and Asano [30] of the Toho University School of
Medicine in Tokyo found that the larger the dose of ascorbic acid given to
experimental rats, the longer they survived in decompres­sion chambers in which
the air was made to approximate that found at elevations of 33,000 feet. When
ascorbic acid was given in amounts representing 14 gram in a human, only half
their animals expired. In humans we have observed that 30 gram in 24 hours is
critical in any acute situation. Had the Japanese doubled their vitamin C dose
they probably would have had no deaths.

THE
HEAVY METAL STORY
Heavy metal poisoning is another morbid chapter in medicine. Lead
poisoning comes from many sources. Auto exhaust, smelter furnaces and storage
battery factories lead the list. Mercury takes second place. It is estimated
that at least 1 million children in the U.S. have some degree of lead poisoning.
In 1964 Mokranjac and Petrovic [31] studied the effect of mercury chloride in
guinea pigs when ascorbic acid was administered in different ways. They first
gave each animal 200 mg of vitamin C a day for one week (this roughly would
represent 14 gram in a human) and then adminis­tered a dose of mercury proved
beforehand to be 100% fatal. They then continued to give 0.2 gram of vitamin C
daily. After 20 days the animals were all alive proving that vitamin C had
protected them from certain death. If they gave vitamin C before and none after
poisoning, two died. If vitamin C was given daily after poisoning, nine of 25
died; and if a single massive shot was given after poisoning, eight of 25 died.
This again confirms that high daily intake of vitamin C will protect one from
many of the ills seen today. The same can be said for lead poisoning. One of the
more common types of lead poisoning is seen in long-term workers in lead storage
battery plants. All have subclinical scurvy. Adequate ascorbic acid intake would
eliminate the monthly blood examination for red cell stippling. The report of
Dannenberg [32] that high doses of ascorbic acid were without effect in treating
lead intoxication in a child must be ignored, since his extremely high dose was
25 mg by mouth four times a day and one single daily injection of 250 mg of C.
Had he administered 250 mg/kg body weight every two hours, he would have seen
the other side of the coin.

Monoxide poisoning is another killer or crippler.
Persons living in most American cities are frequently exposed to 100 ppm (that
is, 115 mg/cu mm) of carbon monoxide in the ambient air for varying periods of
time and may attain carboxyhemoglobin blood levels up to 10%[33].
Carboxyhemoglobin blood levels up to 7% have been reported in cigarette smokers.
These levels of carbon monoxide are quite capable of causing considerable
interference with tissue oxygenation in man by displacing oxygen from the
haemoglobin molecule and shifting the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve to the
left. Anderson [34] reports a definite link between carbon monox­ide, both in
the atmosphere and in cigarette smoke, with cardiac function. Normal coronary
arteries can readily dilate and supply an increased demand; while diseased
coronary arteries (e.g., an­gina pectoris) may not be able to meet this
challenge. The hypoxic effect of carbon monoxide may act in a synergistic manner
with other factors operative in ischemic heart disease, outstripping the limited
coronary reserve and augmenting the production of stress-induced myocardial
ischemia. Interesting is the report by Pelletier [35] who has shown
experimentally that once you stop smoking, your ascorbic acid level approaches
that of the nonsmoker. Victims of house fires, especially children, succumb more
often to monoxide poisoning, which is overlooked in the course of treating the
burn. Mayers [36] warns physicians that symptoms of smoke poisoning might be
delayed from 3 to 48 hours. In cases of this nature ascorbic acid serves a dual
purpose. A dose of 500 mg/kg body weight of vitamin C given intravenously will
immediately neutralize the carbon monoxide or smoke poisoning while at the same
time it will prevent blood sludging which is a major factor in the development
of third degree burns.

OTHER
APPLICATIONS
Other therapeutic effects of vitamin C include the following. Vitamin
C will also destroy pseudomonas, locally as a 3% spray and systemically with
massive frequent injections. This has been demonstrated in case histories on
burns treated at Annie Penn Memorial Hospital, Reidsville, N.C. It is a
demonstrated principle that the production of histamine and other end products
from deaminized cell proteins, released by injury to cells, is a cause of shock.
The clinical value of ascorbic acid in combating shock is explained when we
realize that the deaminizing enzymes from the damaged cells are inhibited by
vitamin C. Chambers and Pollock [37] have reported that mechanical damage to a
cell results in pH changes which reverse the cell enzymes from constructive to
destructive activity. The destructive activity releases histamine, a major
shock-producing substance. Ascorbic acid, when present in sufficient amounts,
inhibits this enzyme transition.

Ascorbic acid will reverse shock found in other areas
of medicine. In one patient who had taken 2640 mg Lotusate (talbutal), the blood
pressure was 60/0 when first seen in the emergency room. Twelve gram sodium
Ascorbate was administered with a 50 cc syringe. In ten minutes the blood
pressure was recorded at 100/60. Over 100 additional grams were given
intravenously over the following three hours, at which time the patient was
awake. Shock from toxalbumin, neurotoxin, proteotoxin, muscarine and formic acid
responds equally as well to high doses of vitamin C. Keeping the tissues
saturated will prevent such experiences or make recovery by additional vitamin C
a routine matter.

Blumberg, writing in Medical World News, noted that
the discovery of the Australian antigen raises hopes for an effective hepatitis
vaccine. Many controversial studies have been reported in the use of this
antigen. Another controversial substance, vitamin C, will cure viral hepatitis
in two to four days and allow the patient to immediately resume his usual
activities. It should be given in a dose range of 500 to 700 mg/kg body weight
every 8 to 12 hours, our latest case was given 5 gm sodium Ascorbate, as
crystals dissolved in 200 cc water or fruit juice, every 4 hours – i.e.., 30
grams per 24-hour period. All symptoms and signs were removed in 96 hours. By
contrast treating virus hepatitis with an immunizing agent would possibly
require several vaccines in a single hepatic epidemic. If you want results, use
adequate ascorbic acid.

THE
CANCER STORY
The question of virus and cancer association is still academic.
Herpes simplex causing cervical cancer appears to be positive. We have cured
many fever blisters by applying a 3% ointment of vitamin C to the lip 10-15
times a day. This is put in a water soluble base. I think that it is time for
those women with a family history of cervical cancer to douche with a 3%
solution of ascorbic acid at the first report of cervical erosion. Tamponing
with a 3% solution should also be done by the physician. Twenty grams of vitamin
C daily by mouth along with local application of vitamin C could erase this form
of malignancy. Virus and breast cancer, which in the mouse has been established,
seems likely to be confirmed in women on the basis of a hereditary factor along
with a virus role. Paul Broca (1866) pointed out that ten of 24 women among his
immediate forebears had died of cancer of the breast. J. A. Murray (1911)
demonstrated that mice with familial history of breast cancer developed breast
cancer at an incidence three times that of mice with no familial history of
tumour. Feller and associates found particles resembling type B and C viruses in
eight of 16 human milk specimens from women with breast cancer but in only one
of 43 apparently cancer-free women. These are stepping stones which serve to
give warning that women from cancer-prone families should not breast feed their
children. What will daily high intake of vitamin C do in altering the breast
cancer picture? The answer is waiting for experimental work to be done with mice
from knowledge gained from Bittner’s classic cross-suckling experiment.

The role of ascorbic acid in treating virus cancer
pathology can be seen with its action in mononucleosis. Large doses of vitamin
C, given intravenously, will eliminate this virus in just a few days, the actual
time being directly proportional to the amount of the vitamin employed in
relation to the severity of the infection. A research team at Yale, after
studying hundreds of college students, believe they have evidence that
associates the Epstein-Burr virus with Burkett lymphoma [38,39]. This has also
been confirmed by researchers at Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa. Many
investigators have been working with immunological procedures for the treatment
of malignant disease. As we noted earlier, unless the patient’s tissues are
saturated with vitamin C, the response in this area will be negated. Massive
employment of vitamin C will make possible prolonged radiation therapy in late
cases. It will also prevent radiation burns. Who can say what 100 gm or 300 gm
given intravenously, daily, for several months might accomplish in cancer. The
potential is so great and the employment so elemen­tary that only the illiterate
will continue to deny its use. Schlegel t40] has demonstrated that the use of
ascorbic acid as low as 1.5 gram each day will prevent recurrence of bladder
cancer. This is the so-called wasted vitamin C.

OTHER
APPLICATIONS
Rous [41] has found that just 3 gram daily, by mouth, for four days
will completely relieve all symptoms of urethritis. He believes that the
urethral irritation is caused by phosphatic crystals formed in the urine because
of insufficient acidity. Ascorbic acid, in this case, acidified the urine enough
to force the crystals back into solution. The neglected chronic cystitis which
is the rule with ammonical decomposition in the bladder, most always associated
with marked alkalinity of the freshly voided urine, will cease to be a clinical
entity once people take at least 10 gram vitamin C every day. This will also
eliminate the backwash type pyelitis so debilitating, especially in women of
child-bearing age.

In over 300 consecutive obstetrical cases, we found
that the simple stress of pregnancy increased the ascorbic acid demand up to 15
gram daily. This simple stress of pregnancy becomes meaningful when we review
the work of Conney [42] on mammalian synthesis of vitamin C in the rat. Compared
to a 70 kg individual the rat would make, under stress, 15.2 gram of C each day.
Compare this to the 100 mg now recommended in pregnancy by the National Academy
of Science and National Research council and the disparity is shocking. Fred
Stare’s 50 mg/day is catastrophic. This must be changed. There are at least 16
categories [42], not including scurvy, that cry out against minimal daily
requirements for vitamin C. There can never exist a situation where a set
numerical unit of vitamin C will meet the needs of all men. This is true because
people are different and these same people experience different situations at
various times. Roger Williams, speaking before the National Academy of Science
in 1967, reported that among guinea pigs living in his laboratory, some needed
20 times more vitamin C than other to maintain health. We must accept Ginter’s
conclusion that acute scurvy and chronic hypovitaminosis C are metabolically
different conditions. Antonowicz and Kodicek (1969), working with guinea pigs,
discovered an extremely complex chemical process existing in animals receiving
ascorbic acid which did not occur in the animals with scurvy. They found that
glucosamine synthesis with the formation of galactosamine was normal in those
animals receiving vitamin C but did not take place in those with scurvy.

Under a grant from the National Institute of Mental
Health, Hepler and associates, according to Medical Tribune, reported that
marijuana smoking caused a significant decrease in intraocular pressure. This
decrease was found 30 minutes after smoking. In fine print they conceded that
the drop was not significant after three hours.   Thus, one would need be a
chain-link smoker to maintain worthwhile levels [43,44]. No mention was made of
the many deleterious effects smoking marijuana has on the human body. Virno and
associates [45], working in G. B. Bietti’s eye clinic observed a pronounced
reduction in intraocular pressure in the glaucomatous eyes by giving high daily
doses of vitamin C. Bietti states that these high doses of vitamin C are a very
effective hypotonic agent for intraocular pressure and when an intravenous dose
calculated at 1 gm/kg body weight is administered, the action is predominantly
by osmotic dehydration of the eyeball. Virno employed 35 gram by mouth in
divided doses each day. This gave marked reduction of pressure within four hours
and this was maintained even in patients where Diamox and Philocarpone had
failed. Linner in several symposiums using 0.5 gram twice daily reported no
significant changes in eye pressure. Linner used 1 gram and Virno 35 gram each
day — thus the difference in results. In the 1940s patients died receiving
5,000-10,000 units penicillin every four to six hours. The same type pathology
is cured today in 24 to 48 hours using 1-3 million units. The size of the dose
does make a difference – a real difference.

Dr. Linus Pauling has written that “Biochemical and
genetic arguments support the idea that orthomolecular therapy may be the
preferred treatment for many ill patients.” It is difficult to understand why
megavitamin therapy remains so controversial when massive doses of vitamin B12
are universally used in pernicious anaemia and niacinamide to correct the
pathology of pellagra. I have used 150,000-200,000 units of vitamin A in a case
of ichthyosis. The patient has been taking this dose for ten years. His skin is
clear with no signs or symptoms of vitamin A toxicity. During the same time he
has taken 10 gram of vitamin C each day. Is vitamin C the answer?

Hoffer [46] and Osmond were probably the first to
realize the value of ascorbic acid as an adjuvant with niacin in treating
schizophrenics. They employed from 6 to 8 gram
daily. One acute case was given 1 gram every hour for 48 hours at which time the
patient was completely recovered and remained so for six months without further
treatment. Hawkins [47] found that by adding megavitamin treatment he doubled
the recovery rate, half the rehospitalization rate and virtually eliminated
self-destruction in dealing with schizophrenics who have a suicide rate 22 times
that of the general population. Dr. Pauling enabled his clinic to treat
seriously ill schizophrenics for $200 per patient per year and to reduce the
number of patient visits from 150 per year to 15. Hawkins’ method give
schizophrenic patients four gram ascorbic acid and four gram niacin or the
equivalent in niacinamide, in divided doses, each day. Vanderkamp (1966)
demonstrated that schizophrenics burn up ascorbic acid ten times faster than
normal people. On an intake of four gram vitamin C each day, almost 100% of
normal people will spill some degree of ascorbic acid into the urine. In
schizophrenics one can often go as high as 40 grams/day before spilling occurs.
I have observed this same picture in severe virus infections where the patient
did not spill over the urine until the second or third day, when a clinical
response was evident. Milmer in Great Britain and Lucksch in Germany have
reported significant improvement in schizophrenics given vitamin C alone. Both
investigators used the double blind approach.

Ascorbic acid has value as an adjuvant in other
medical syndromes. With para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), which is a fraction of
the B vitamins, it will cure trichinosis in nine days [48]. Used with
intravenous mephenesin or methocarbamol, it will cure teta­nus in 96 hours.

Arthritis is not only a crippler but also a ‘nagger’.
Aspirin is the favourite medication of many physicians because it will ease the
arthritic pain. This makes aspirin a good guy and a bad guy. The bad side is
that those who take high aspirin therapy will also have low platelet and plasma
levels for vitamin C. With low plasma levels there will also be depletion in the
white blood cells. We know what this will do. As to platelets, their main
business is to keep people from bleeding to death. When a blood vessel ruptures,
collagen tissue, which makes up the basement membrane of blood vessels, is
exposed. The collagen affects the platelets so that they release a mineral
substance called adenosine diphosphate. This substance makes the platelets very
sticky so that they cling together. Aspirin can destroy this substance, but
adequate vitamin C will prevent this action. As the platelets act to seal off
the wound, a second mechanism for clot formation comes into play. This is a
liquid protein called fibrinogen. In a recent case in which the platelet count
was abnormally low and bleeding was a serious problem, 25 gram of ascorbic acid
daily by mouth raised the platelet count back to normal with cessation of
bleeding. Vitamin C is also the number one agent in collagen formation. A person
who will take 10-20 gram of ascorbic acid a day along with other nutrients might
very well never develop arthritis. Abrams and Sandson [49] have pointed out that
synovial fluid becomes thinner, thus allowing easier move­ment, when serum
levels of ascorbic acid are high. Drugs such as ACTH and cortisone are noted for
their ability to drain ascorbic acid in prolonged usage. In our experience we
found that the patient who took vitamin C to tolerance made more rapid progress
in reversing arthritic joints.

The importance of daily high intake of ascorbic acid
in preventive medicine has no limits. Crest and Colgate might limit
tooth decay to one cavity every checkup, a
relatively high index. Ten or more gram of ascorbic acid from age 10 up and at
least 1 gram for each year of life, each day, through age 9 will record no
cavities. Our son who is 20 has never had a tooth cavity. The same schedule
could eliminate disc pathology. McCormick believes the problem is avitaminosis C
[50]. Greenwood [50] believes that adequate amounts of ascorbic acid seem
necessary to disc metabolism and maintenance. In surgery we found that plasma
determinations taken before starting anaesthesia, at the conclusion of surgery,
and six hours later, were constant. At 12 hours postoperative, there was a
significant drop in vitamin C levels and at 24 hours there was a dramatic loss
of the vitamin. We have always required the surgeon to give 10 gram before
surgery, 10 gram in each postoperative bottle offluidsand 10 gram by mouth after
discontinuing fluids. Crandon et al. state that postoperative disruption of
abdominal wounds occurs eight times more often in patients with vitamin C
deficiency. Not only surgery but any type of wound or fracture will heal slowly
or not heal at all without the benefits of adequate vitamin C. Powdered vitamin
C mixed with water to form a paste and applied to poison ivy or oak will usually
effect a cure in 24 hours when adequate vitamin C is also taken by mouth.
Ascorbic acid does have a definite influence on the rheumatic heart, especially
in the acute stage [52]. I have seen children with the heart impulse so great
that it raised the bed covers with each contraction recover so completely that
later in life they were inducted into the armed services. Massive daily doses
will also cure tuberculosis by removal of the
organisms’ polysaccharide coat. It does the same with pneumococci. I am
convinced that ten or more grams a day will prevent
cancer of the lung in tobacco smokers. It
will relieve prickly heat and prevent heat stroke. vitamin C will immediately
reverse heat collapse, cramps or exhaustion if 12 to 40 gram are given
intrave­nously. It will bring recovery to electric shock victims if sufficient
amounts are administered soon after the accident. Lightning victims can also be
saved. I have done it. Chronic
myelocytic leukaemia responds dramatically to 30 or more grams daily by
mouth. Pancreatitis can be cured in less than
three hours with 50 gram intravenously, and ten gram daily by mouth is positive
insurance that it will never return. Virus
pancarditis as a sequela of an adenovirus infection can be relieved in
36 hours giving 400 mg/kg body weight, intravenously, every four to six hours. I
have never seen a patient that vitamin C would not benefit. And, too, never send
a boy to do a man’s job, meaning the dose level is very important.

In closing, I would like to quote Herbert Spencer, who
summed up rather well a caution I would like all of us to take to heart: “There
is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof ‘against
all argument, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That
principle is condemnation without investigation.”

SUMMARY
The drug evaluation book of the
American Medical Association
(1971) gives information on the value of ascorbic acid which is at least 30
years behind present day knowledge. The 200-500 mg of ascorbic acid which is
recommended as the 24-hour dose in burn cases is
a typical example. From clinical experience we know that ascorbic acid must be
given to burn victims in massive, frequent intravenous injections. Thirty to one
hundred grams daily is the proper amount to employ and this is given until
healing takes place – 7-30 days depending upon the degree of burn. We have found
and reported that this massive vitamin C therapy will eliminate skin grafting by
keeping the tissues oxygenated. Ample supply of oxygen to the tissues will
prevent blood sludging and in place of the third degree burns that develop on
the fourth or fifth day, the eschars will drop off leaving normal tissue. These
high doses of ascorbic acid will also remove the smoke poisoning found in many
fire victims and save many lives, especially children who expire from the
effects of monoxide gas. The statement found in the A.M.A. book mentioned above
– that controlled studies have shown no benefit from large doses of ascorbic
acid in human subjects – must be ignored. The large doses referred to never
exceeded 5 gram and in most cases not more than that found in a quart of orange
juice, for a 24-hour period. It is unfortunate that the editorial staff at the
A.M.A failed to check out the world literature. An example of their high doses
was an article by Dannenberg [32] which was published in the JAMA in which the
author found no value in lead poisoning by giving extremely high doses of
ascorbic acid to a child. Dannen-berg’s extremely high dose was 25 mg four times
a day, by mouth, and one single intramuscular injection of 250 mg. Had
Dannenberg employed 350 mg/kg body weight and given it, intramuscularly, every
two to four hours he would have had a recovered patient in less than 72-hours.
The amount of ascorbic acid employed in any given case is the all important
factor. In 28 years of research we have observed that 30 gram each day is
critical in terms of response. This seems to be true regardless of age and
weight. In certain pathological conditions like barbiturate intoxication, snake
bite or virus encephalitis, higher doses are required in some individuals.

We have observed from experience and from review of
the literature that 15%-20% of humans require much more ascorbic acid than do
others. Approximately 15% is in evidence when giving vaccines, since they make
no antibodies. Roughly 15% of pregnant humans were scheduled, in the past, to
become paralysed if hit with the polio virus. Fifteen percent of over 3000 cases
in our files required more ascorbic acid to prevent colds or to relive the cold
once infected. This percentage difference is the reason why one patient would
die with pneumonia while another lived, when all other factors were apparently
equal. This dosage factor alone has misled many scientists to disregard the
value of ascorbic acid in virus pathology because they would see dogs die with
distemper when they knew that the dog could make his own vitamin C. What they
did not appreciate was that even the animal could not make enough vitamin C
under certain situations. I have cured many dogs suffering with distemper by
giving several grams ascorbic acid, by needle, every two hours. We also found in
over 300 obstetrical cases that roughly 15% require as much as 15 gram
supplemental vitamin C each day just to remain within normal limits. Ten grams
each day was the highest requirement of the other 85%.

Herpes simplex virus and the adenovirus can be
destroyed with high doses of ascorbic acid. Many infections can be prevented by
taking adequate vitamin C, daily, by mouth -1 gram for each year of life up to
age 10 and after 10 years of age at least 10 gram vitamin C daily. With these
amounts the patient will spill varying amounts into the urine. The kidneys have
a threshold for vitamin C much like the spillway of a dam. Spilling is necessary
to assure adequate amounts for various body tissues. For example, white blood
cells are useless unless they are full of ascorbic acid, since it is the
ascorbic acid which makes their phagocytosis and/or destruction of pathogens
possible. Although herpes simplex usually shows itself as a small lip sore and
the adenoviruses as a mild but lingering cold, both can become killers through
passage of the virus to the brain. Either one can cause crib deaths, which is
truly the real cause. Again, we point out that high daily intake of vitamin C
can prevent this tragic incident. For this reason, if for no other, the National
Research Council and the National Academy of Science must remove the so-called
minimal daily requirement for this substance. Williams has shown and reported to
the National Academy that even guinea pigs living in his laboratory differ in
their requirements for vitamin C and that they differ each day, sometimes 20
lrnes a given unit. Guinea pigs, like man, cannot manufacture Scorbic acid due
to genetic fault. Scurvy which accounts for the thinking on the amount of
vitamin C needed is actually of no consequence in terms of avitaminosis C, which
can determine one’s future existence. Ginter, after ten years of research with
vitamin C, concluded that acute scurvy and chronic hypovitaminosis C are
metabolically different conditions. Antonowicz and Kodick confirmed this by
finding that glucosamine synthesis in the guinea pig with the formation of
galactosamine was normal in those animals receiving vitamin C but did not take
place in the presence of acute scurvy.

Ascorbic acid when taken in sufficient quantities will
relieve the intraocular pressure in the glaucomatous eyes, will relieve such
things as prickly heat, and is a positive reversal for pemphigus. Vitamin C when
given by needle will destroy all viruses and many can be destroyed by taking
25-30 gram each day by mouth. Lesser amounts will protect against these
pathogens. I have cured diphtheria, hemolytic streptococcus and staphylococcus
infections by employing vitamin C intravenously in a dose range of 500 to 700
mg/kg body weight. Doses under 400 mg/kg body weight can be given with a syringe
using the sodium salt. This will always produce thirst. Fluids taken just before
or immediately after will eliminate this annoyance. Doses above 400 mg/kg body
weight must be diluted to at least 1 gram to 18 cc solution, using 5% dextrose
in water, saline in water or Ringer’s solution. One gram calcium gluconate must
be added to these bottle injections to replace Ca ions pulled from the calcium-prothrombin
complex. There is no limit to the amount that can be administered by vein when
honoring these two precautions. The use of vitamin C in cancer will prove to be
a very beneficial agent. We recommend bottle doses containing 60 gram vitamin C
and such fractions of the B complex as 500 mg thiamin HC1, pyridoxine 300 mg,
calcium pantothenate 400 mg, riboflavin 100 mg and niacinamide 300 mg. This is
to be given daily or even twice daily. Vitamin C is a positive neutralizing
agent in snake bite [53], spider bite [54] and
insect stings. Our use of ascorbic acid in snake bite has been limited to the
Highland moccasin, a member of the copperhead family. Other poisonous snakes are
more deadly but we can easily calculate from our experience what dose to employ.
In a 4-year-old receiving a full strike from a mature Highland moccasin, 12 gram
was required. Unlike a virus that will continue production until completely
destroyed, the venom of the snake is constant in that there will exist no later
increase in amount. I would suggest 40-60 gram, as a starter, in a large
diamondback or cottonmouth. Additional vita­min C can be given if needed since
the patient will be well on the road to recovery with the first injection.

Adenosine monophosphate given with ascorbic acid will
increase the potential of the vitamin. This can be given in doses from 25mg in
children to as much as 200 mg in adults. Our use of this agent has been limited
to mumps and herpes zoster but we are now of sufficient knowledge to believe
that its use should be routine. The aqueous solution is more efficacious than
the gel. Some patients experience a fullness in the head, a ‘sickish’ feeling in
the chest and a slowed pulse rate. Aromatic spirits of ammonia as a smelling
agent relives or prevents this syndrome. At present we are using 50 mg doses
more frequently, until we can establish a reason for this type response.
Ascorbic acid can be life-saving in shock. Twelve grams of the sodium salt given
with a 50 cc syringe will reverse shock in minutes. In barbiturate poisoning and
monoxide poisoning the results are so dramatic that it borders on malpractice to
deny this therapy. Surgeons must learn to employ ascorbic acid more liberally.
Ten to twenty grams in the preoperative solutions and 10 gm in each
postoperative bottle will all but eliminate surgical deaths and will l-educe
hospital stay by 50%. The same can be said for obstetrical cases. We found that
obstetrical cases needed 4 gm each day the first trimester, 6 gm the second
trimester and 8-10 gm the third trimester. Fifteen percent of the patients
required 15 gm each day just to stay within normal limits.

Ascorbic acid is the safest and the most valuable
substance available to the physician. Many headaches and many heartaches will be
avoided with its proper use.

33.

Leake, J.P.,
Discussion of Polio Papers, Am. J.P. H. Vol.
26, 148
1936.

34.

Van Riper, H.E.,
Report to Physicians-Polio Vaccine, June
22, 1955.

35.

Salk, J.E.,
J. A.M.A., Vol. 151, 1081 No. 13, 1953.

36.

Kolmer, J.A., Rule, Anna., J.
Immunology,
Vol. 29, 175,
1935.

37.

Sabin, A.B.,
Immunity & Vaccine, Mod. Med. May 15,1955.

38.

Kessel, J.F.,
Dis. of Polio Papers Am. J.P.H., Vol. 26, 145,
1936.

39.

Brodie, M.,
Science New Series, Vol. 79, Jan.-June, 1934.
40.

Brodie, M., J.
Immunology, Vol. 28, 1, 1935.

41.

Salk, J.A.,
Am. J.P., II, Vol. 45, No. 2, Feb., 1955.

42.

Kramer, S.D., Schaeffer, M., Park, W. II.,
J. Imm. Vol.
27,
199,1934.

43.

Newsweek,
April 25, 1955 (Magazine).

44.

Brodie, M.,
J. Immunology, Vol. 25, 71, 1933.
45.

Draper, G.,
J. A.M.A., Vol. 68, April 21, 1917.

46.

Time Magazine,
April 25, 1955.
47.

Brodie, M.,
J. Immunology, Vol. 32, 1934.

IMPORTANT:  Information provided is intended for educational purposes and is not intended to be medical advice nor offered as a prescription, diagnosis or treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Always consult your own medical provider about your health and medical questions before making any health related decision. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration.