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some things that should have higher priorities than others. Aging does not wait for
such ponderous proceedings.
Respectfully yours,
FRANK KING.
SEATTLE, WASH., March 27, 1980.
Hon. CLAUDE PEPPER,
Chairman, House Select Committee on Aging,
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. PEPPER: Concerning D.M.S.O., which is a substance you are studying for
release to the general public. I am most concerned. My neighbor has to go to Oregon
to get relief for her failing knee-caps. She has had some injections, also the salve,
and finds it most helpful. Her friend goes with her and has had some treatment,
and finds relief from her arthritis. They are both conservative people, and would
not want something dangerous to be allowed, but in all their reading they do not
find D.M.S.O. to be dangerous, and we feel that anything that can give such relief
should be available to all.
I sincerely hope your committee will look at the facts and give an o.k. to this
wonderful product.
Yours truly,
JEAN MCLELLAN.
LAKE OSWEGO, OREG., March 27, 1980.
Hon. CLAUDE PEPPER,
House Office Building No. 2,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR SIR: As I understand, your committee on aging is continuing its investiga-
tion of DMSO, especially as it deals with the easing of pain and stiffness connected
with arthritis, but also it affects other human ailments.
I have been using DMSO both topically and by injection since mid-January of this
year. Two and a half years ago I underwent spinal surgery for the relief of pinched
nerves that brought on veritable paralysis of two fingers on my right hand. The
surgery was, technically, superior; but it has led to regeneration of the deadened
nerves. As a last resort, I went this past January to consult Dr. Jacob at the
University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, inquiring about the use of DMSO for
the nerve problem and for an arthritic problem I have had in my left hand for a
long time. I have had considerable improvement with my left hand: the pain has
almost gone entirely and the stiffness is definitely improved. Injections for the
hoped-for regeneration of the nerves affecting my right hand have not so far
brought the desired results. But I am still hopeful. Enough that the arthritis has
been relieved to a very great extent.
I have known others who have had complete relief from their suffering from
arthritis. One man, distantly related by family connections and one still quite
young, wakened every morning with his hands tightly curled shut from arthritis.
He sought Dr. Jacob's help, took the treatments of DMSO, and is now totally
relieved-is, in fact, quite active physically, as he was in his early years.
It seems to me that your committee should recommend that FDA be directed to
test and approve DMSO immediately, that the evidence already collected warrants
approval, that side effects are minimal (I have had none whatsoever), and that those
presently suffering should be given the same opportunity for relief as people who
live in European and South American countries, where DMSO is freely used.
The FDA has taken an unconscionably long time in coming to any review of the
use of DMSO (fourteen years). It will not do simply to argue that DMSO may have
side effects still known or not yet experienced. Many drugs now on the active
market have serious side effects; the widely used and usually helpful penicillin, for
example-some people are seriously allergic to it; clinoril, widely used for arthritis,
has been found to produce bad side effects seven months after it has been used;
atromid-S, a drug used to reduce cholesterol, may be taken off the market because
of serious side effects; even simple aspirin can aggravate an ulcer condition or give
the user a stomach problem.
You and your committee can do a great deal to promote the approval for DMSO. I
hope that you will act with vigor in seeing that the FDA takes action on its use.
Respectfully yours,
HOYT C. FRANCHERE.
