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WHAT APPROVED MEDICAL TREATMENT IS AVAILABLE?
• Medication is the first line of defense against arthritis, with aspirin the
most frequently prescribed pain-reliever. Other salicylate and anti-inflammatory
drugs may be prescribed when aspirin is ineffective or causes obnoxious
side effects.
• Physical Therapy, and exercise, helps maintain normal joint movement and
strengthen muscles.
• Surgery, in the most extreme and deforming cases, may be used to replace
crippled joints.
WHAT OTHER TREATMENT IS AVAILABLE?
With 32 million potential customers, hawkers and medical quacks have promoted
everything from mechanical devices and oddball gimmicks to diet and vitamin cures
to dangerous steroid drugs, as miracle treatments for arthritis. None, unfortunately,
have proven worthy of an arthritis sufferer's money.
WHAT CURES ARE UNDER RESEARCH?
There is a great deal of research underway to isolate the causes of arthritis on
several levels. DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) has been touted as a panacea for
numerous ailments since the early 1960's. To date, the possible effectiveness of
DMSO in any long-term treatment of arthritic disease has not been established.
The FDA has approved this drug only for interstitial cystitis in humans (a bladder
disease), and for veterinary use at present. DMSO is not approved by the FDA
as an anti-inflammatory or anti-arthritic drug.
II. ABOUT DMSO
WHAT IS DMSO?
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a refined by-product from the manufacture of
paper, whose medicinal possibilities were first brought to attention in America
in the early 1960's.
HOW IS DMSO ADMINISTERED?
DMSO can reach the bloodstream within seconds when applied to the skin. It is
commonly given in ointments or sometimes by injection.
DOES DMSO HAVE ANY SIDE EFFECTS?
Garlicky breath and some minor skin irritation are the only documented problems.
WHAT CLAIMS ARE MADE ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DMSO FOR MEDICAL USE?
DMSO, purportedly, can
● Eliminate or significantly reduce pain, inflammation and stiffness
associated with ailments such as arthritis, scleroderma, spinal
