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Dr. Frederick R. Klenner B.S., M.S., M.D., F.C.C.P.  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."

Dr Frederick Klenner MD – Publications

Only two of Dr. Frederick R. Klenner’s many papers are currently indexed by Medline. No abstract is available for either.

 

The US National Library of Medicine, the world’s largest medical library, indexes nothing whatsoever written by Klenner after 1952, when he published primarily in the Tri-State Medical Journal.

 

1988 The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D.
abbreviated, summarized and annotated by Lendon H. Smith, M.D.

1979, 1974 Significance of High Daily Intake of Ascorbic Acid in Preventive Medicine. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. J Int Acad Prev Med, 1974; Spring. 1:1, 45-69. Also: In Williams RJ and Kalita DK, editors. A physician’s handbook on orthomolecular medicine. 1977. New York: Pergamon, p 51-59. ISBN-10: 0080215335; ISBN-13: 978-0080215334. Reprinted 1979: New Canaan CT: Keats. ISBN-10: 0879831995; ISBN-13: 978-0879831998.

1974 Significance of High Daily Intake of Ascorbic Acid in Preventive Medicine.
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Journal of the International Academy of Preventive Medicine l(l):45-69.

1973 Response of Peripheral and Central Nerve Pathology to Mega-Doses of the Vitamin B Complex and other Metabolites
.
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Journal of Applied Nutrition pp. 16-40.

1971 Observations On Ascorbic Acid Beyond the Range of A Vitamin In Human Pathology
Dr Frederick Klenner MD – Journal of Applied Nutrition Vol. 23, No’s 3 & 4, p6l-88.

Excerpts:

“[Caterpillar Sting:]An adult male … complaining of severe chest pain and the inability to take a deep breath … had been “stung” or “bitten” 10 minutes earlie …. He begged for help saying he was dying … becoming cyanotic. Twelve grams of vitamin C … given intravenously as fast as the plunger could be pushed. Even before the injection was completed, he exclaimed, “Thank God.” The poison had been neutralized that rapidly. … the “culprit” [was] an object that looked like a mouse … 1½ inches long with long brown hair … a dark ridge down the entire back ,… seven pairs of propelling units and a tail much like a mouse … identified as the Puss Caterpillar … left 44 red raised marks on the back of its victim. Except for vitamin C this individual would have died from shock and asphyxiation.

… [two] boys … were caught in the “spray” of a dusting airplane … [one] was given 10 grams of ascorbic acid [by] syringe every 8 hours… He was returned home on the second hospital day. The [other] received supportive treatment but did not receive ascorbic acid. His body was something to see. The spray had produced an allergic dermatitis as well as a chemical burn. He died on the 5th hospital day.

“Three children … developed nasal diphtheria … [the] little girl under our care was given 10 grams ascorbic acid, intravenously [by] syringe every 8 hours for the first 24 hours and then every 12 hours for two times. She was then put on one gram ascorbic acid every two hours by mouth. She lived and is now a graduate nurse. The other children did not receive ascorbic acid and both died. Our young patient also received 40,000 units diphtheria antitoxin which was given intraperitoneal. The other children also were administered the antitoxin.

“…Two brothers were sick with poliomyelitis. These two boys were given 10 and 12 grams of ascorbic acid… every eight hours for 4 times and then every 12 hours for 4 times. They also were given one gram every two hours by mouth around the clock. They made complete recovery. … A third child, a neighbor, under the care of another physician received no ascorbic acid. This child also lived. The young lady is still wearing braces.

“Child of 4 years was struck on the lower leg by a large highland moccasin [snake]… Four grams of ascorbic acid was given intravenously …[after] 25 minutes … the child had stopped vomiting, she had stopped crying and was sitting on the emergency room table, laughing and drinking a glass of orange juice. She commented: “Come on, Daddy, I’m all right now, let’s go home.”… the following morning she still demonstrated the small amount of swelling of her leg and had ½ degree fever. She was given a second dose of 4 grams of ascorbic acid intravenously. … The following day, 38 hours after being bitten, she was completely normal…

“Comparing this to an earlier case of snake bite in a 16 year old girl, struck by a moccasin of about the same size… was hospitalized for three weeks. She was given 3 doses of anti-venom … This patient received no vitamin C other than that found in a regular hospital diet. Morphine was required to control pain.

“Acute Virus Pancarditis: A five year old boy … with … a “relapse” after … measles … showed a thready and feeble pulse … temperature was 105ºF. Ascorbic acid calculated at 400 mg per Kg body weight was given intravenously with a syringe. Within two hours the picture had almost reverted to normal. Injection of Vitamin C was repeated in 6 hours and again at 12 hours …[and a] fourth … after 24 hours although the patient was clinically well. The child returned home on the 4th hospital day.”

1960 The folly in the continued use of a killed polio virus vaccine. Tri-State Med J, 1959, February, p 1-8.
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Encephalitis as a sequelae of the pneumonias. Tri-State Med J, 1960, February, p 7-11.

1957 Dr Frederick Klenner MD. An insidious virus. Tri-State Med J, 1957, June.

1956 Poliomyelitis: Case histories.
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Tri-State Medical J, 1956, September, p 28-31.

1955 A critical analysis of the Francis report concerning the 1954 poliomyelitis vaccine program.
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Tri-State Med J, 1955, June.

1955 Poliomyelitis vaccine: Brodie vs. Salk
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Tri-State Med J, 1955, July.

1955 The role of ascorbic acid in therapeutics.
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. (Letter) Tri-State Medical J, 1955, November, p 34.

1953 The Use of Vitamin C as an Antibiotic.
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Journal of Applied Nutrition, 1953. 6:274-278.
Also appeared in 1953; Southern Medicine and Surgery,1953, Vol 114(8).
Paper presented at AAN Convention, May 1953, Pasadena, California.

In this paper, Dr Klenner counters the Sabin monkey study which discredited ascorbate therapy at a critical time. This allowed the expansion of the use of vaccines rather than this safer, albeit less financially interesting treatment.

1952 Dr Frederick Klenner MD. The Vitamin and Massage Treatment for Acute Poliomyelitis. South Med J, 1952, Aug;114(8):194-7. PMID: 12984224

1951 Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Massive Doses of Vitamin C and the Virus Diseases. South Med J, 1951, Apr;113(4):101-7. PMID: 14855098. Sometimes erroneously cited as 103(4),

1949 Fatigue, normal and pathological, with special consideration of myasthenia gravis and multiple sclerosis.
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Southern Medicine and Surgery, 1949, September, Vol 111, No 9.

1948 Virus Pneumonia and its Treatment with Vitamin C.
Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Southern Medicine and Surgery, 1948, February, Vol 110, No 2.

 

Publications attributed to Frederick R. Klenner include:

 

Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Paper presented in the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Tri-State Medical Association of the Carolinas and Virginia, held in Columbia, Feb 19th and 20, 1951. May have been published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition.

Dr Frederick Klenner MD. News about Diabetes Mellitus (letter). Tri-State Med J, 1955, May.

Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Poliomyelitis vaccine: The authorities speak. Tri-State Med J, 1956, March.

Klenner may also have published in Tri-State Med J in April, 1954 and again in October, 1958.

Dr. Frederick Klenner MD – References

 

1. Saul AW. Claus Washington Jungeblut, M.D.: Polio pioneer; ascorbate advocate. J Orthomolecular Med, 2006. Vol 21, No 2, p 102-106. http://www.doctoryourself.com/jungeblut.html

2. Saul AW. The pioneering work of William J. McCormick, M.D.. J Orthomolecular Med, 2003. Vol 18, No 2, p 93-96. http://www.doctoryourself.com/mccormick.html

3. Landwehr R. The origin of the 42-year stonewall of vitamin C. J Orthomolecular Med, 1991. Vol 6, No 2, p 99-103. http://www.whale.to/v/c/index.html

4. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Dr Fred Klenner MD – Virus Pneumonia and Its Treatment With Vitamin C
. Southern Medicine and Surgery, 1948, February. Vol 110, No 2, p 36-38, 46.

5. Levy TE. Vitamin C, infectious diseases, and toxins: Curing the incurable. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris Corporation, 2002, p 52-53. ISBN: 1-4010-6964-9 (Hardcover); 1-4010-6963-0 (Softcover)] Previously reviewed in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 2003, Vol 18, No 2, p 117-118.

6. Smith, LH. Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C: The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D.. Portland, OR: Life Sciences Press, 1988. Originally titled: Vitamin C as a fundamental medicine: Abstracts of Dr. Frederick R. Klenner, M.D.’s published and unpublished work. ISBN 0-943685-01-X. Reprinted 1991, ISBN 0-943685-13-3. The full text of this book is posted at http://www.whale.to/v/c/index.html” .

7. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C. South Med J, 1949, July. 3(7), p 209-214.

8. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Letter to M.G. Farnsworth, Farnsworth Laboratories, Inc., Chicago, dated October 14, 1950. Photocopy in author’s possession.

9. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Massive doses of vitamin C and the virus diseases. South Med J. 1951 Apr;113(4):101-7. PMID: 14855098
http://www.whale.to/v/c/index.html”

10. Bledsoe J. Bitter blood: A true story of Southern family pride, madness, and multiple murder. NY: Dutton, 1988. Also: NY: New American Library, 1989. Page 114.
11. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Observations on the dose of administration of ascorbic acid when employed beyond the range of a vitamin in human pathology. J Applied Nutrition, 1971, Winter. Vol 23, No 3 and 4, p 61-68. http://www.orthomed.com/klenner.htm and http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html

12. Stone I. The healing factor: Vitamin C against disease. NY: Grosset and Dunlap, 1972; p 191-192.

13. Letter from Irwin Stone to Dr. & Mrs. Frederick R. Klenner, Gilmer Street, Reidsville, North Carolina, dated 3 June 1978. Carbon copy kindly provided by Steve Stone. The house that was the Klenners’ longtime residence is less than 20 miles north of Greensboro, NC, about four miles west of US Highway 29, and five blocks north of the Annie Penn Memorial Hospital.
14. Saul AW. The 2005 Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame. J Orthomolecular Med, 2005. Vol 20, No 2, p 113- 117. http://orthomolecular.org/hof/index.shtml

15. Miller F. Klenner’s office recalls old-fashioned practitioner. Greensboro Daily News, undated reprint. This medium-circulation newspaper, founded in 1909, has been known since 1982 as the News-Record. The periodical’s archives are accessible at
http://company.news-record.com/library.htm .

16. Bledsoe J, p 231.

17. Miller F. Dr. Klenner urges taking vitamins in huge doses. Greensboro Daily News, Tuesday, Dec 13, 1977, p A8-A10.

18. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. A new office procedure for the determination of plasma levels for ascorbic acid. Tri-State Medical J, 1956, February, p 26-28.

19. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. The history of lockjaw. Tri-State Med J, 1954, June.

20. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Recent discoveries in the treatment of lockjaw with vitamin C and tolserol. Tri-State Med J, 1954, July.

21. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. A treatment of trichinosis with massive doses of vitamin C and
para-aminobenzoic acid. Tri-State Medical J, 1954, April.

22. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Case history: The black widow spider. Tri-State Med J, 1957, December.

23. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Case history: Cure of a 4-year old child bitten by a mature Highland Moccasin with vitamin C. Tri-State Med J, 1954, July. The Highland Moccasin, a viper, is also known as the copperhead.
24. Sern EL. The intraspinal injection of vitamin B-1 for the relief of intractable pain, and for inflammatory and degenerative diseases of the central nervous system. Amer J Surg, 1938. 34:495.

25. Moore MT. Treatment of multiple sclerosis with nicotinic acid and vitamin B-1. Archives Int Med, 1940, January, Vol 65, p 18.

26. Zimmerman HH, Burack F. Lesions of the nervous system resulting from a deficiency of the vitamin B complex. Arch Pathology, 1932, February, Vol 13:207.

27. Dr Frederick Klenner MD. Multiple Sclerosis and Myasthenia Gravis – Response of Peripheral and Central Nerve Pathology to Mega-Doses of the Vitamin B Complex and other Metabolites
. Parts 1 and 2. J Applied Nutrition, 1973, 25:16-40. Free full-text download Also: Klenner, FR. Treating multiple sclerosis nutritionally. Cancer Control J, undated. 2:3, p 16-20. And, a similar, comprehensive MS/MG protocol is to be found in the Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C: The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D., reference 6, above.

28. Program prescribed by Dr. Fred R. Klenner, a two-page itemized check-off list of nutritional recommendations for patients. Hand-dated January 25, 1979 by Irwin Stone, who added a notation that it had been “Rec’d from L. P. Institute.” (Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine). Provided by Steve Stone.

29. While it has sometimes been assumed that son Fritz Klenner (Fred Klenner Jr.) was a physician, he was not. He never attended medical school.

30. Bledsoe J. Bitter blood: A true story of Southern family pride, madness, and multiple murder. NY: Dutton, 1988. ISBN-10: 052524591X and ISBN-13: 978-0525245919. Also: NY: New American Library, 1989. ISBN-10: 0451402103 and ISBN-13: 978-0451402103.

The book contains three black-and-white photos of Dr. Klenner. Chapter 22 focuses on his work. That chapter, and the balance of the book, is less than flattering. Publisher’s notes say that Jerry “Bledsoe wrote an award-winning series about the (Fritz Klenner) case in 1985 in the Greensboro (NC) News & Record,” where he is a senior writer and columnist. http://company.news-record.com/library.htm . A New York Times bestselling author, Bledsoe has also written “Before He Wakes: A True Story of Money, Marriage, Sex and Murder”; “The Angel Doll”; “Death Sentence: The True Story of Velma Barfield’s Life, Crimes, and Punishment”; “Death by Journalism? One Teacher’s Fateful Encounter with Political Correctness;” and “North Carolina Curiosities: Jerry Bledsoe’s Guide to Outlandish Things to See and Do in North Carolina.”
31. In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness stars Kelly McGillis as Susie Lynch and Harry Hamlin as Fritz Klenner (Fred Klenner Jr.). Produced by Ambroco Media Group and Dan Wigutow Productions. Directed by Jeff Bleckneritz. Originally telecast in the USA by CBS in two parts, on 16 and 18 January, 1994. Later shown in Britain by BBC 1 on 19 and 20 April, 1997. The film is not known to have won any awards.

32. Pauling L. Foreword to: Stone I. Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C: The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D..