Anybody have experience with Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO)

[Dover]

I have been hearing amazing anecdotal stories about this stuff. One woman, who had been using it for her arthritis, proclaimed it as a miracle drug...best thing since the invention of aspirin.
Someone else told me that due to it's ability to 'push' or carry any other substance that is on the skin directly into the bloodstream, it is a very good delivery system for B12 which he places on his skin and then puts a little DMSO on top of it. But he cautioned that it could also deliver harmful substances that are already on the skin into the body as well, so he only does the B12 treatments after showering.
I first heard about DMSO three weeks ago, when a man who works on my car and has joint pain in shoulders and hands said it changed his life. He thought he'd need to retire but then was told about DMSO from a friend. That was 4 years ago. He thinks the pharmaceutical companies are conspiring to undermine its widespread use because they can't own the patent and produce it themselves.


What is it?
DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) is a colorless, slightly oily liquid that is primarily used as an industrial solvent.

The use of DMSO for therapeutic applications is controversial, but some evidence indicates that DMSO has anti-inflammatory properties and alleviates pain when applied to the skin. These effects have been reported particularly with connective tissue diseases (such as scleroderma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis) and muscle injuries.1 2 3 DMSO applied to the affected area appears to reduce pain by inhibiting transmission of pain messages by nerves and may also soften the abnormal connective tissue associated with disorders such as Dupuytren’s contracture, keloids, Peyronie’s disease, and scleroderma.4

Double-blind and other controlled studies have found a 25% DMSO gel effective for pain relief in osteoarthritis of the knee5 and a 50% DMSO cream helpful for symptoms of acute reflex sympathetic dystrophy.6 However, while a double-blind trial successfully used a 10% DMSO gel to reduce pain and improve movement in people with acute tendinitis of the shoulder or elbow,7 an older double-blind trial found no difference between the effects of a 70% DMSO solution and a 5% DMSO "placebo" solution.8

Preliminary research has suggested that DMSO may help relieve symptoms of amyloidosis of the skin.9

Some medical doctors have instilled DMSO into the bladder to treat interstitial cystitis.10 A study from Malaysia reports that oral DMSO reduced relapse rates for peptic ulcer significantly better than placebo or the ulcer drug, cimetidine.11 DMSO is sometimes used by physicians as a vehicle to help absorb other therapeutic agents through the skin.

Where is it found?
DMSO is derived from trees as a manufacturing by-product from the processing of paper. Metabolites (breakdown products) of DMSO, such as the sulfide and sulfone forms, are naturally present in the human body. However, the role of these in the body is not clear...cont'd


http://www.truestarhealth.com/Notes/2839006.html



http://www.dmso.org/articles/information/brobyn.html

http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/dim_0098.shtml

[Warpy]

1. It didn't work on pain for me

but it seemed harmless enough. The only side effect I got was a garlicky taste in my mouth after I'd used it.

Just be careful your skin is clean because it can be a carrier to get substances into your bloodstream.

[Dover]

7. Warpy, you seem to be the only respondent who has real experience

with this. How long did you use it, and how often did you apply it before determining it was not helpful? Also what form of the product did you use?

I read about that garlic taste in the mouth and heard that it smelled bad. But everyone I spoke to so far seemed to be happy with results. I wonder why it didn't have any effect for you?

[Warpy]

9. I gave it a month

applied 4 times a day. Nothing but the garlicky taste in my mouth.

I used a supply I obtained from a friendly vet. I'd read about it, researched the safety and the warnings, and decided it was worth a try. I wasn't ready to throw in the towel and go on narcs yet. This was about 20 years ago.

I seem to be particularly immune to the placebo effect.

[EST]

2. I think there links between DMSO and blindness.

[MadisonProgressive]

3. Does it get you high?

[trotsky]

4. Shows some promise, but some reason for caution as well.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/OTA/ota05.html#DMSO

DMSO has been studied in mainstream research for a variety of possible therapeutic uses. As a possible cytotoxic agent, DMSO has been studied in human tumor cell lines and in human tumor model systems in animals, and in each case, DMSO demonstrated no activity (243). As a possible tumor differentiating agent (942) (a substance that stimulates tumor cells to undergo development to mature, benign cells (827)), DMSO was found to be active in mouse and human leukemic cell cultures and in human solid tumor cell cultures (243,827), but it did not improve survival in animals implanted with human tumor cells (243); this lack of an effect in vivo is the basis for NCI classifying DMSO as a relatively weak differentiating agent, compared to other available agents (243).
...
Topical application of DMSO has been associated with redness, itching, and inflammation of the skin and a garlic- like taste and odor on the breath. Intravenous administration of DMSO has been reported to cause transient hemolysis (breakdown of red blood cells), resulting in urinary excretion of hemoglobin (45,983). Several additional adverse effects of DMSO are mentioned in the Donsbach booklet (263), including "possible damaging effects to the liver, the kidneys, bloodforming organs, and the central nervous system"; and "headache, dizziness, nausea, and sedation."

Toxic effects to the lens of the eye were reported in studies involving the use of DMSO in dogs, rabbits, and pigs, although no such effects have been noted in studies with human subjects (45). The safety of prolonged use of DMSO in humans has not been established.

[Dora]

5. Your friend applies B-12 topically?

I've heard of sublingual, intranasal, and intramuscular uses of B-12, but topical? Tell me more, please, if you can.

(I know this is somewhat of a thread hijacking, but I'm b-12 deficient so B-12 mentions always get my attention.)

[Dover]

6. It was not a friend who shared that particular anecdote

It was a fellow who was at a healthfood store. We struck up a conversation and what he told me was that he simply applied B12 to his clean leg or wrist and then immediately applied DMSO on top of that. It works really fast, apparently, to push the topically applied vitamin into his blood stream. That's all I know. Might do a search and see if you can find more about that particular use.

[Dora]

8. Ah. Thanks for clarifying.

it sounds suspect to me, but I'll google it nonetheless. Thanks!

******

Added on edit: Well, I'll be hogswallered. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/478419?src=mp Topical B-12 is an effective treatment of atopic dermatitis.

May 21, 2004 — Topical vitamin B12 is effective for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, according to the results of a phase III trial published in the May issue of the British Journal of Dermatology.

"Vitamin B12 is an effective scavenger of nitric oxide (NO)," write M. Stücker, from Ruhr University Bochum and St. Josef Hospital in Germany, and colleagues. "As the experimental application of a NO synthase inhibitor, Nω-nitro-L-arginine, led to a clear decrease in pruritus and erythema in atopic dermatitis, it would be reasonable to assume a comparable effect of vitamin B12."

To determine the efficacy and tolerability of a new vitamin B12 cream as a possible alternative to current therapies, the investigators conducted a prospective, randomized, and placebo-controlled phase III multicenter trial enrolling 49 patients. For eight weeks, each patient applied the vitamin B12-containing active preparation to the affected skin areas of one side of the body and the placebo preparation to the contralateral side, according to the randomization scheme, twice daily, in the morning and evening.

After treatment, the modified Six Area Six Sign Atopic Dermatitis (SASSAD) score dropped to a significantly greater extent on the body side treated with the vitamin B12 cream than on the body side treated with placebo (55.34 ± 5.74 vs. 28.87 ± 4.86; P < .001). The investigator and patients mostly rated the effect of the active drug as "good" (58%) or "very good" (59%) and the effect of the placebo drug as "moderate" (89%) or "poor" (87%).