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Dimethyl sulphoxide (“DMSO”) is the other ivermectin. It is equally as unknown as ivermectin once was and perhaps equally miraculous.

It was first discovered in the late 19th century as a byproduct of the kraft process for making paper from wood pulp. At about the same time, Russian chemist Alexander Zaytsev synthesised it by oxidising dimethyl sulphide.

It is a remarkably safe chemical that protects cells from fatal stressors making it particularly beneficial for conditions affecting the heart, brain and spinal cord.

It protects cells from death, is helpful in a variety of circulatory disorders, is a promising treatment for heart attacks, is a paradigm-shifting stroke therapy, treats many critical aspects of traumatic brain injuries, brain bleeds, concussions and spinal cord injuries, and development disorders and many cognitive disorders will respond to DMSO.

DMSO could save millions of people from brain and spinal injury, A Midwestern Doctor says. And some data has accumulated on DMSO’s value in psychiatry as well.

Additionally, it has shown promise in diseases that result from misfolded proteins, including cystic fibrosis, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and amyloidosis. Amyloidosis is one of the most well-known protein misfolding conditions which has also been linked to the covid “vaccines.” For amyloidosis, DMSO appears to dissolve the amyloid aggregates and eliminate them from the body.

In an article titled ‘The Other Ivermectin: DMSO’, physician and writer Justus R. Hope said, “The cat is out of the bag on ivermectin, but there is another drug, equally as unknown as ivermectin once was and perhaps equally miraculous … DMSO.”

In sharing his “DMSO awakening experience” with his readers, he referred to an essay written by A Midwestern Doctor (“AMD”), a pseudonym for an American physician who publishes articles on a Substack page titled ‘The Forgotten Side of Medicine’.

Although AMD has presented his research in a neutral tone, “words cannot begin to express my disdain over how DMSO was treated or the human cost of the callous bureaucratic dictates which have kept it from being adopted within the medical system,” he said.

“The FDA was [ ] able to squelch [DSMO] … [It] is particularly tragic because of how much suffering (and economic cost) many of the disorders discussed [in the article below] create and the fact that decades of research and billions of research dollars have brought us no closer to solving them.”

DMSO Could Save Millions From Brain and Spinal Injury

AMD spent three months researching and arranging thousands of pages of literature to accurately present the importance of DMSO and its benefits, which AMD covered in a series of articles, starting with its key properties and the conditions where it provides the most profound benefits.

In the first essay titled, ‘DMSO Could Save Millions From Brain and Spinal Injury’ published last month, AMD described the decades of evidence showing DMSO revolutionises the care of many “untreatable” circulatory and neurological conditions. 

The full essay is behind a paywall.  However, AMD has made a substantial portion of it free-to-read, so substantial it appears to be the full essay.  The following is a précis of the free-to-read portion.  We have attached a PDF of the essay below as it is easier to search for specific terms in a PDF document should any of our readers wish to read more detail on any point we have summarised.

AMD has published 6 parts to his DSMO series so far.  For those who wish to read more articles on this topic, you can find links to them at the beginning of AMD’s latest essay, ‘The FDA’s War Against DMSO and America’.

Table of Contents

Overview

DMSO is a remarkably safe chemical that protects cells from fatal stressors such as freezing, burning, shockwaves and ischemia,^[1] making it particularly beneficial for conditions affecting the heart, brain and spinal cord.

^[1] Ischemia is a condition where blood flow to a specific part of the body is reduced or obstructed, leading to a shortage of oxygen and nutrients for the affected tissues. This can occur in various organs, such as the heart, brain, kidneys and limbs.

The use of DMSO has the potential to revolutionise the management of strokes, heart attacks and spinal cord injuries, and its adoption could have saved countless lives and prevented millions from a lifetime of disability or paralysis if not for the US Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA’s”) sabotage.

DMSO has various remarkable properties, including stabilising proteins, which makes it effective in treating challenging protein disorders such as amyloidosis and numerous genetic disorders.  It can treat a wide range of severe illnesses that are often incurable and frequently fatal or lead to permanent disability, including complex neurological disorders like Down Syndrome, Developmental Delay, ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

It is also effective in treating acute injuries and rehabilitating chronic musculoskeletal disorders like arthritis, making it a highly effective pain medicine that has allowed many people to regain control of their lives.

Despite its potential, DMSO’s existence is largely unknown to the general public today due to the FDA’s multi-decade-long war against it, which was met with widespread outcry from Congress and the public.

DMSO’s Unique Characteristics and Safety Profile

DMSO is a naturally occurring chemical found in small amounts in various foods and substances, such as milk, tomatoes, tea and the ocean.  It is also produced in the body.

In the body, DMSO is oxidised or reduced, with the oxidised form (methylsulphonylmethane or MSM) being the primary fate, while the reduced form dimethyl sulphide is responsible for the characteristic garlic or clam-like odour associated with DMSO use.

DMSO has two remarkable properties due to its unique molecular structure: it acts as a near-universal solvent and can pass through biological membranes without damaging them, allowing it to rapidly enter the body and brain regardless of the route of administration.

It does not accumulate in the body after prolonged use and is virtually undetectable a week after administration, with studies showing that it enters all tissues of the body within 30 minutes and declines to minimal levels after 24 hours.

DMSO has a wide range of uses, including being applied through the skin, and can be combined with almost any drug or substance to enhance its effect and reduce toxicity, although in some cases, toxicity may increase.

It is less effective at bringing larger molecules into the body, such as insulin, but is effective in protecting cells from damage and a wide range of lethal stressors, making it a potential healing agent.

DMSO in Cell Preservation and Tissue Protection

DMSO is a revolutionary substance for preserving frozen cells due to its unique property of not expanding when it freezes, making it an ideal solution for a 66% DMSO and 33% water mixture that freezes at -99.4°F.

DMSO has been shown to protect tissue from dying when its blood supply is cut off, prevent reperfusion injury and maintain the heart’s ability to circulate blood when its blood supply is cut off in various organs such as skin flaps, kidneys, small intestine, liver and heart.

It can also prevent heart damage caused by dietary copper deficiency and kidney failure caused by toxic mercury exposure.

DMSO’s Cellular Protective Mechanisms and Applications

DMSO increases the production of ATP,^[2] in cells, which likely accounts for its protective effects and anticancer properties.

^[2] ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is the primary energy currency of cells, providing energy for various cellular processes such as muscle contraction, nerve impulse transmission, and protein synthesis.

DMSO can prevent a rapid influx of calcium or sodium ions, which often occurs when a cell’s viability is threatened and can prevent asphyxiation from being lethal.

It has also been shown to protect cells from being destroyed by sonic disruption and can save fingers from severe frostbite that would otherwise require amputation.

DMSO can treat a variety of burns, including partial thickness burn wounds, severe acid skin burns, and both acidic and alkaline burns that erode the oesophagus or cause alkali burns to the eye, without being prone to producing infections.

There are numerous cases of severe burns that have fully recovered after being treated with DMSO, including a reported case by William Campbell Douglass of a six-year-old girl who fully recovered from a severe burn on her index finger after being treated with a full-strength DMSO bath.

DMSO’s Healing and Protective Effects on Tissues

DMSO has been found to prevent injured tissue from dying when administered quickly, a property seen in various applications, including rescuing neurons after a stroke and relieving sunburns in 10-30 minutes.

It can protect cells from damage caused by radiation, as seen in numerous studies involving newborn rat skin, fruit flies, golden hamster embryos, mouse eyes and non-cancerous cells during radiation therapy.

DMSO has been shown to neutralise harmful free radicals by scavenging charged ions and forming protective DMSO radicals, which help protect DNA from radiation damage.

DMSO Safety and Side Effects

The protective qualities of DMSO contribute to its extremely low toxicity, with animal safety studies and human studies showing no significant adverse effects, even at high doses.

Despite millions of treatments, no death has been linked to DMSO and thousands of papers have reported no adverse events from its use.

Common side effects of DMSO include reversible skin irritation at the site of application, garlic breath, nausea, increased urination, sleepiness and difficulty tolerating high intravenous (“IV”) doses, with skin reactions being the most common, affecting 50-75% of users.

The most significant side effect of DMSO is an allergic reaction, which affects approximately 1 in 2,000 users, although it does not manifest in an anaphylactic fashion.

There is a high theoretical risk of poisoning when DMSO is applied to the skin and brought into the body but significant instances of this are extremely rare, and the more common issue arises from using incompatible IV tubing that DMSO can dissolve.

It is generally advised not to inhale DMSO as it rarely vaporises.

DMSO and Circulatory Disorders

DMSO is effective in removing excess fluid from outside the bloodstream, increasing circulation and eliminating circulatory obstructions, making it helpful in various circulatory disorders.

The leading DMSO researcher found that 50% of patients with Raynaud’s syndrome^[3] had their symptoms eliminated with DMSO, and thrombophlebitis^[4] responded excellently to DMSO.

^[3] Raynaud’s syndrome, also known as Raynaud’s phenomenon, is a medical condition characterised by episodes of reduced blood flow to the fingers and toes, typically triggered by cold temperatures or emotional stress. The condition is caused by the spasm of small arteries, leading to temporary constriction of blood vessels.

^[4] Thrombophlebitis is a condition characterised by the formation of a blood clot in a vein, often near the surface of the skin or deep within a muscle.

DMSO has been shown to improve diabetic circulatory impairments, such as peripheral neuropathy or diabetic ulcers, with a 94% treatment success rate in one study, and can prevent future amputations.

DMSO is also helpful for varicose veins, improving them in some cases within minutes, and can strengthen vessel walls and tone, improving venous and capillary circulation.

DMSO’s Impact on Heart Health and Blood Clots

DMSO can increase or decrease the force of heart contractions, reduce systemic vascular resistance and increase cardiac output, without altering cardiac rhythm.

It prevents blood clot formation in the body and is a powerful platelet de-aggregator.  DMSO’s effects on platelets are due to its ability to inhibit sulphhydryl, scavenge hydroxyl radicals, inhibit tissue factor expression and prevent thrombus formation and vascular smooth muscle cell activation.  By influencing the effects of the protein TF,^[5] DSMO has anti-clotting properties similar to aspirin but without the adverse effects.

^[5] Protein TF refers to a type of transcription factor (TF) protein. Transcription factors are proteins that regulate gene expression by binding to specific DNA sequences and either promoting or suppressing transcription.

DMSO appears to be a promising treatment for heart attacks due to its protective and circulatory-enhancing properties, although relatively little research exists in this area and most studies have been conducted on animals.

DMSO as a Potential Stroke Treatment

In the context of stroke management, DMSO may offer a potential treatment option.  DMSO’s ability to reduce inflammation and prevent blood clotting makes it a potential candidate for treating strokes.

The medical system emphasises prompt treatment of strokes but the primary treatment, tissue Plasminogen Activator or tPA, has limited effectiveness and can be disastrous in cases of haemorrhagic strokes.  There is a need for alternative treatments that can be used in both ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes.^[6]

^[6] Ischemic strokes occur when the blood supply is cut off to part of the brain. Haemorrhagic strokes occur when a weakened blood vessel ruptures, causing bleeding in the brain

There is currently no effective therapy for recovery from stroke, which is the second-leading cause of death and the third-leading cause of disability worldwide.  The current treatment for ischemic stroke, tPA, has a limited time window of 3 to 4.5 hours after symptoms start and is only effective for a small percentage of patients, with 13% experiencing significant benefits and 19% experiencing some degree of improvement.

An ideal stroke therapy would effectively treat ischemic strokes, have no risk of worsening haemorrhagic strokes, be easily taken at home or administered on ambulances, protect brain tissue from dying, prevent reperfusion injuries and heal damaged brain tissue after a stroke.

DMSO has been known for over 50 years to have therapeutic effects on brain tissue, including crossing the blood-brain barrier to heal damaged neurons, and has been shown to be effective in treating ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes.

A 2002 clinical trial found that DMSO, when administered intravenously with fructose diphosphate, was well-tolerated and benefited patients with acute or subacute ischemic stroke, with 63% of patients achieving improved or markedly improved neurological status.

The trial also showed that DMSO could save neurons long after the stroke had happened, making it a promising therapy for younger patients with strokes.

The results of the trial suggest that DMSO could be a paradigm-shifting treatment for stroke. Animal studies have shown promising results for the DMSO-FDP mixture in treating brain injuries, including a rabbit study where the DMSO group regained brain activity faster, had minimal brain tissue damage, and a 100% survival rate, compared to a 22% survival rate in the saline group.

AMD highlighted several human case reports and animal studies that demonstrate DSMO’s neuroprotective effects and successful use in stroke recovery.

Despite these studies, DSMO’s use has been hindered by the FDA, leading to frustration among some medical professionals. The FDA’s prohibition has limited DSMO’s use in treating strokes, despite its potential benefits.

The use of DMSO in treating strokes is not limited to hospital settings, as it can be administered at home (topically) or in emergency situations (intramuscularly), such as in an ambulance or while driving to the emergency room, without delaying medical care.  Which is why the FDA blocking its use has led to some people stocking DMSO at home for use in emergency situations.

DMSO in Traumatic Brain Injuries and Brain Bleeds

Haemorrhagic strokes and traumatic brain injuries are challenging to treat, with little progress made in neurologic intensive care over the decades, particularly in preventing long-term paralysis and disability.

Conflicting evidence exists for the use of progesterone, hypothermia and hyperbaric oxygen therapy in treating traumatic brain injuries, while methylene blue has strong evidence supporting its use, but is rarely used.

Certain trials have found that combining DMSO with other therapies, such as progesterone or an adenosine kinase inhibitor, can be more effective in treating traumatic brain injuries.

When treating severe brain bleeds, challenges include reducing intracranial pressure (“ICP”), addressing the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and managing inflammatory processes and free radicals.

DMSO addresses these issues by rapidly lowering ICP without causing a rebound, increasing cerebral perfusion, reducing brain oedema and lowering inflammatory cytokines associated with strokes and tissue injury.

Its ability to increase cerebral blood flow without increasing blood pressure or heart rate is important, as brain cells rapidly die without a sufficient blood supply to maintain their metabolism.

DMSO is a unique agent that effectively lowers ICP, with no comparable alternatives available.

DMSO addresses multiple critical aspects of traumatic brain injuries and brain bleeds, which typically require multiple drugs in conventional care.  It has been found to lower the JAK2/Stat pathway, suppress neurotoxic NMDA-AMPA-induced ion currents, prevent iron-induced lipid peroxidation and focal oedema and protect cell membranes.  AMD again provided several studies which demonstrate this.

Despite the promising results, the use of DMSO in treating brain and spinal injuries remains largely forgotten, although it is used in one treatment for brain bleeds, Onyx, which is composed of a polymer dissolved in DMSO.

DMSO and Concussions

DMSO has been found to be an effective treatment for concussions, which can predispose athletes to long-term cognitive issues, such as dementia.

A study on concussions found that DMSO was the most effective agent in preventing nervous tissue damage and neurobehavioral changes when administered before and after the injury.

The study also found that giving alcohol before the injury increased the damage caused, but DMSO alleviated this damage.

There have been cases of dramatic concussion recoveries in humans following DMSO treatment, such as a woman who received a severe concussion from falling off a horse and showed significant improvement after receiving DMSO injections 13 years later.

DMSO in Spinal Cord Injuries

Research has shown that the damage caused by severe head or spinal cord injuries is not always irreversible and that there is a window of time before injured cells die, during which treatment can be effective.

Dr. Jack de la Torre suggests that treating head injury victims within a few hours of the injury or spinal cord victims within one hour can prevent death or paralysis.

Dr. Stanley Jacob has reported successful treatment of paralysed patients with IV DMSO, including two patients who were able to walk again despite being treated beyond the recommended time frame.

DMSO has been found to produce miraculous results in spinal cord injuries, which are often considered incurable, by reducing the loss of blood flow and compressive post-traumatic swelling.

The greatest benefit from DMSO is seen when it is given intravenously within 90 minutes of the injury, and the sooner it is given, the more dramatic the improvement is.

While there have been no formal studies on DMSO after spinal injuries in humans, animal studies have shown that DMSO can prevent paralysis if administered within 2 hours of injury, and that higher doses and earlier administration can increase the speed and likelihood of recovery. 

It has been shown to be effective in treating spinal cord injuries in various animal studies, with results indicating it can mitigate damage, promote nerve regrowth and improve motor function.

In animal studies, DMSO has also been shown to repair neuronal membranes, enhance axon resealing, and reduce inflammation and fluid cavitations in the spinal cord, possibly due to its ability to increase blood flow.

DMSO has also been found to treat complications of spinal cord injuries, such as retrograde ejaculation, bedsores and body temperature control issues.

In human case reports, DMSO has been shown to have significant potential in treating brain and spinal injuries, with several cases demonstrating remarkable recoveries in patients who were initially deemed to have irreversible damage.

Dr. Jacob has reported successful treatment of a 16-year-old girl who was paralysed after diving into a pool and was able to regain almost normal function within a few weeks of receiving DMSO treatment.

Dr. Jacob also reported that two patients who received DMSO treatment within an hour of suffering an irreversible injury made a total recovery and were able to walk out of the hospital.

One such case is that of a complete quadriplegic who, after a year of DMSO treatment, regained the use of her organs and eventually walked, and is now attending college.

Another case is that of an Orange County, California, engineer who suffered a severe back injury and was paralysed below the point of injury, but after 12 years, regained some feeling and movement in his legs after using a DMSO lotion.

DMSO as a Chemical Chaperone and its Role in Misfolding Diseases

Additionally, DMSO has been identified as a chemical chaperone, which can help proteins fold into their correct configuration, potentially offering a therapeutic strategy for diseases caused by non-functional or misfolded proteins, including nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, cystic fibrosis, Machado-Joseph disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (“CJD”).

In these diseases, DMSO helps to stabilise protein conformation, prevent protein aggregation and promote the transport of functional proteins to the cell membrane.

DMSO has also been shown to increase the ability of impaired immune cells to present antigens necessary to mount an immune response.

Additionally, DMSO has been found to have anti-cancer properties, which may be partly due to its ability to prevent the misfolding of cancer-causing proteins.

DMSO and Amyloidosis

One of the most well-known protein misfolding conditions is amyloidosis, a challenging-to-treat condition where misfolded proteins clump together in the body and disrupt organ function.

DMSO has been shown to dissolve amyloid aggregates and eliminate them from the body, with no adverse effects observed in studies.

Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of DMSO in treating amyloidosis in mice, including dissolving amyloid protein and eliminating it from the body through urine.

Human studies have also shown that DMSO can cause amyloid proteins to be eliminated in the urine, and case reports have demonstrated its effectiveness in treating systemic amyloidosis, pulmonary amyloidosis and renal amyloidosis.

A retrospective study found that oral DMSO significantly improved symptoms in patients with secondary amyloidosis from rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease or Adult Still’s disease.

DMSO has shown potential in improving renal function in patients with amyloidosis, particularly those with moderate but not severe renal failure, in several studies.

Oral DMSO improved kidney function in patients with secondary amyloidosis and may significantly improve the length of survival for these patients, as seen in studies involving patients with secondary amyloidosis from rheumatoid arthritis.

AMD highlighted cases and studies that have shown the potential of DMSO in treating amyloidosis and provided links to many others.

DMSO and Other Misfolding Diseases and Cognitive Disorders

In addition to amyloidosis, DMSO has also shown promise in treating Niemann-Pick disease, a fatal and incurable condition, by increasing the cell’s ability to remove accumulated metabolites and clinically improving patients with Niemann-Pick type C.

DMSO may also be beneficial in treating cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, due to its ability to improve blood flow to the brain, reduce the accumulation of misfolded proteins and modulate autoimmune processes.

DMSO and Brain Ageing and Cognitive Enhancement

DMSO has been found to be an effective anti-ageing therapy for the brain, reversing many complications of ageing, including skin issues, hair loss and poor organ function.

IV DMSO has been shown to be effective in helping challenging neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and ALS, typically halting the progression of the disease, although it is not curative.

AMD again highlighted various animal studies that demonstrated the potential of DMSO in preventing neuronal damage and improving cognitive function in, for example, age-related deterioration of cognitive functions and Alzheimer’s.  And research in humans has also shown promising results, with AMD highlighting some of these studies.

DMSO in Psychiatric Conditions

DMSO has also been found to be effective in treating psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, manic depressive psychosis, alcoholic psychosis, compulsive-obsessive neurosis and severe anxiety.

A study at a Peruvian psychiatric hospital found that 42 patients who received DMSO injections experienced significant improvements in their conditions, including rapid and dramatic improvement in acute schizophrenic cases, with all 14 patients being discharged within 45 days.

The study also found that DMSO was effective in treating chronic schizophrenics, with 4 out of 11 patients experiencing complete remission, and the remaining 7 experiencing some improvement.

DMSO was also found to be effective in treating manic-depressive psychotics, alcoholic psychotics, compulsive-obsessive neurotics and patients with severe anxiety, with all patients experiencing significant improvements in their conditions.

DMSO and Developmental Disabilities

The use of DMSO has been reported to have a significant impact on people with Down Syndrome, with several cases showing remarkable improvements in physical and mental abilities.

One notable case is that of Melody Clark, who at 11 months old was unable to stand or walk and had classic Down Syndrome symptoms, but after being started on DMSO, she improved dramatically and by the age of 8 was able to walk, run, talk, read and spell almost normally.

Two other cases of people with Down Syndrome, Bronwyn Nash and Billy King, also showed significant improvements after being treated with DMSO, with Bronwyn gaining weight and developing increased awareness, and Billy improving his mental capacity from that of a 10-month-old to a 7-year-old.

AMD highlights studies in Oregon, Chile and Argentina which support the anecdotal reports above.

The use of DMSO has also been reported to be beneficial for people with other conditions, including learning difficulties, low intelligence, ADHD, anxiety disorders, epilepsy, nervousness, dyscalculia, dyslexia, exhaustion and concentration problems.

Referencing two studies published in 1969, AMD demonstrated the significant improvements seen in severely developmentally delayed and learning-disabled children who were given a DSMO amino acid mixture.

The Suppression of DMSO Research and its Implications

Despite the promising results of DMSO research, the FDA was able to suppress it, and the research was largely forgotten, which is particularly tragic given the suffering and economic cost of the disorders that DMSO could potentially help.

The suppression of DMSO research is attributed to the FDA’s bureaucratic dictates and the reluctance of career scientists to investigate unorthodox ideas, which has resulted in decades of research and billions of dollars spent without finding solutions to these disorders.