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DR. RICHARD CROUT: Nobody's died from using DMSO. It it's it's a
relatively safe drug, as- as drugs go.
WALLACE: Uh-hmm.
DR. CROUT: It- it causes skin rash where it's put on, or at least redness of the
skin. It's caused hives in a few people. May cause headache, nausea, in some
people who use it. And it rather routinely imparts a garlic odor to the breath. So
it's got side effects that are not entirely pleasant, but it's not been a toxic drug.
WALLACE: It's a safe drug, comparatively safe drug, you would say?
DR. CROUT: Com-comparatively, yes.
WALLACE: So, we come back to the controversy that began fifteen years ago. Dr.
Crout insists that, despite these anecdotes, neither Dr. Jacob nor any other
scientist has ever really proved that DMSO is effective. They've never proved
scientifically that it works for anything other than a rare bladder disease called
interstitial cystitis.
DR. CROUT: I think people are- are rooting for the drug, in a sense, rooting for
the investigators to come through, give us some-give us the right kind of evidence
that stands up under scientific scrutiny.
WALLACE: Well-
DR. CROUT: And that's- that's how simple it is with DMSO.
WALLACE: So, I put a sampling of apparently credible scientific evidence before
Dr. Crout.
Are you familiar with "Dimethyl Sulfoxide in Muscular Skeletal Disorders" - Journal
of American Medical Association?
DR. CROUT: Yes.
WALLACE: "Topical Pharmacology and Toxicology of DMSO" - Journal of Medical
Association.
DR. CROUT: Correct. Right. Uh-hmm.
WALLACE: "A Double-Blind Clinical Study"
Inflammations" - Current Therapeutic Research.
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DMSO
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"for Acute Injuries and
DR. CROUT: Yes.
WALLACE: "Treatment of Aerotitis and Aerosinusitis with Topical DMSO". An
entire book on the subject of dimethyl sulfoxide by D. Martin and H.G. Hauthal. So
it's not as though this is some quack remedy that a few people have used and swear
by. There is a considerable body of scientific investigation undertaken-
DR. CROUT: That's right, with some very key holes in that body of evidence.
WALLACE: And that- and those key holes are?
