87
[NOTE TO EDITOR: Background information on DMSO is given at end of this
release.]
Public clamor about the supposed cureall was revived by the hearings and a
report on the top-rated "60 Minutes" TV program on March 23.
"DMSO has been acclaimed as a 'miracle drug' for arthritis for a number of years,
but it's no such thing," according to Charles C. Bennett, vice president for education
for the Arthritis Foundation which is headquartered in Atlanta.
It has had a stormy history, he said, with emotionalism by DMSO proponents
clouding the scientific issues. "Widely publicized but unscientific testimonials and
phony Mexican DMSO clinics have combined to give the drug a false and exaggerat-
ed reputation," Bennett explained.
"DMSO is by no means a worthless drug," he said. "It appears to work as a local
analgesic and therefore might be useful in a host of conditions causing pain. But
there is no scientific proof that it reduces swelling and inflammation (which are of
such critical importance in rheumatoid arthritis, for example), or that it changes
the underlying course of any connective tissue disease."
According to Bennett, rejecting what he calls “unfair attacks" on the FDA for
holding up approval of DMSO, that agency does not now have on file any applica-
tion to release it for limited analgesic use.
The most recent applications have been for approval of DMSO for treating a
bladder condition called interstitial cystitis, which was granted; and for sclero-
derma, a serious but uncommon rheumatic disorder. The latter was turned down
because the trials did not conclusively prove its effectiveness.
The Arthritis Foundation is hoping to break the approval logjam by stimulating
the necessary testing and application to the FDA to get DMSO ok'd for lesser pain
problems-without waiting for time-consuming trials needed to clear up questions
about the drug's usefulness for serious systemic conditions, Bennett said.
He referred to testimony last Monday by the FDA's Bureau of Drugs director, Dr.
J. Richard Crout: "There is much testimonial evidence to suggest that DMSO
relieves pain after local application to injured or inflamed tissues. This is an effect
similar to that we usually associate with liniments. Properly controlled studies to
prove this point are not available but are technically possible to perform.'
The Foundation has a second aim in announcing this apparent change in its
position, Bennett said. That is to correct misleading ideas arthritis sufferers have
about what DMSO can and can't do for their disease.
"Many people have thought the Arthritis Foundation is 'against' DMSO. This is
not true at all. What we are against is misrepresentation of facts about DMSO and
especially about the Mexican DMSO clinic deception," he said.
There are more than 31 million people in the United States with arthritis, many
of them in such truly terrible and unrelenting pain that they will try anything at
any cost and any risk, he explained. Clinics in Mexico lure them with promise of
relief with DMSO, a drug "banned" in this country.
"For about eight years arthritis victims have been going to Mexico by the thou-
sands, getting treatment on the spot and bringing big supplies of medication back
home for self-dosage, which they believe to be DMSO," Bennett continued. "They
say they get wonderful relief and even recover from disabilities, and they become
DMSO disciples.
"The truth is, this relief isn't due to DMSO at all. Investigation has shown that
the arthritis patients don't get that drug. They are lied to.
"Instead they get phenylbutazone, steroids and tranquilizers, which are available
in the United States but are risky and should be taken under close medical supervi-
sion. In some cases patients have brought back dipyrone, a drug capable of causing
fatal complications."
So the Arthritis Foundation says to people who have rheumatoid or other inflam-
matory arthritis that DMSO isn't the drug for them. They need more than pain
relief; they need to have the inflammation suppressed, something even aspirin in
proper dosage can do, but DMSO can't.
BACKGROUND ON DMSO
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a well-known industrial solvent used for many
years.
In 1963 its manufacturer, Crown-Zellerbach Corporation, patented DMSO as a
drug, and the University of Oregon Medical School issued press releases on reports
by Dr. Stanley Jacob of its use in treating musculo-skeletal diseases, including
arthritis. Although sometimes administered by injection, it is most commonly ap-
plied to the skin, which it penetrates deeply and rapidly.
A great deal of publicity followed, in which DMSO was hailed as a new "wonder
drug" for a variety of diseases. The FDA at first permitted limited testing, during
