28
disabling type of complication but we don't see it when DMSO is
used for treatment of the acute lesions.
So there are many indications where this drug would be of value
to the private practitioner as well as to the patient.
Thank you.
[See app. 8, p. 135, letter from Dr. Scherbel, dated March 31,
1980.]
The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Dr. Scherbel. We appreci-
ate your valuable contribution. We will come back to questions in a
little bit.
Our next witness will be Dr. Graham Reedy. Dr. Reedy is a
fellow in the American Academy of Sports Medicine and a fellow
in the Society for Family Medicine. He runs a sports, fitness and
family medicine clinic in Enumclaw, Wash. Dr. Reedy began his
medical career in the San Francisco Bay area where he became the
team physician for the Oakland Raiders in 1971. After 5 years in
this position, Dr. Reedy moved to his present home in Enumclaw
where he is actively involved in his clinic practice and in communi-
ty education on preventive health maintenance and drug abuse.
Dr. Reedy is a graduate of the University of California Medical
School at Irvine. His present primary interests are in sports and
fitness medicine as well as family medicine.
Dr. Reedy, we are pleased to have you and will welcome your
statement.
Gentlemen, you know we have a number of witnesses here. We
don't want to miss anything that is very relevant or important, so
please summarize your statements as much as you can.
Thank you, Dr. Reedy.
STATEMENT OF DR. GRAHAM REEDY, FORMER TEAM
PHYSICIAN, OAKLAND RAIDERS, ENUMCLAW, WASH.
Dr. REEDY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of Congress.
It is a pleasure to be here and talk in a different vein than has
been previously presented relative to the benefits of DMSO and the
utilization with soft tissues and swelling due to these particular
injuries.
My first experience with DMSO was in 1971. That year I became
the team physician for the Oakland Raiders professional football
team. My scientific interest in DMSO was initiated while in medi-
cal school in 1965. However, shortly thereafter it was removed
from the market. I had never used or observed the drug in use
until 1971.
Some of our football players were friends of the jockeys at the
Golden Gate Race Park near Berkeley and obtained DMSO from
them. They had very good success with reducing swelling of acute
injury problems prior to my coming to the team. By October 1971, I
contacted Dr. Jacob about obtaining some DMSO to use on an
experimental basis. I then began to use 70 percent DMSO, as
suggested by Dr. Jacob, with careful explanation to each player
about its experimental use, such as its side effects of clam breath
and skin irritation up to 72 hours past its use. Our application
technique was to apply it liberally all over the affected joint or
muscle, letting it dry for 5 minutes. This procedure would be
repeated up to four times. These treatments occurred from two to
