Health functions of DMSO

DMSO penetrates membranes

DMSO is a cell membrane PENETRANT, assisting cellular nutrient delivery and detoxification. By making cell walls more permeable, cells not only absorb nutrients more easily, but they are also better able to get rid of toxins, which are constantly being created inside the cell. Pain and inflammation is often caused by an accumulation of toxic buildup in the joints, muscles and fluids.

DMSO can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB)Useful when targeting the nerves (E.g. for peripheral neuropathy) or brain (E.g. for brain cancer).

DMSO's ability to pass through membranes varies proportionally with its strength Up to a 90% solution

From 70-90% has been found to be the most effective strength across the skin - and, oddly, performance drops with concentrations higher than 90%.
Lower concentrations are sufficient to cross other membranes. E.g. 15% DMSO will easily penetrate the bladder. (Herschler & Jacob, 1980)

After topical application, DMSO is rapidly absorbed into body

DMSO can be located in the blood within five minutes. All organs within 20 minutes and bones within an hour (Brayton, 1986)
Unlike most penetrating solvents, DMSO is not associated with irreversible membrane damage
Elimination half-time is about four days. However transdermal application prolongs elimination up to a third. Excretion of DMSO is primarily via urine.

DMSO can carry other substances with it through skin and across cell membranes

DMSO is a powerful carrier/solvent "tool" to ferry other health beneficial substances. Binds to other molecules, and helps transport them throughout the body and through cell membranes.

DMSO is more successful in ferrying some drugs than others. What it will carry depends on the molecular weight, shape, and electrochemistry of the molecules.such as morphine sulfate, penicillin, steroids, and cortisone. DMSO is not as good a carrier for INSULIN.

DMSO will carry vitamin C or cesium chloride (used to safely kill cancer cells) through the skin. Getting it into the bloodstream within minutes.
As a side note, DMSO can be taken orally with vitamin C, but NOT with cesium chloride. If it is mixed with at least 8 ounces (i.e. 1 cup) of water or some type of juice. Even 70% DMSO could cause dehydration in the digestive tract unless it is mixed with enough water or juice! Do not take DMSO orally for a long period of time.

DMSO increases cellular detoxification

DMSO can aid cellular detoxification. By making membranes more permeable, toxins are more easily flushed from cells

Copper and other heavy metal detoxifier (Phase 2). Sulfur is required for liver detoxification;

DMSO/MSM is a source of sulfur

DMSO/MSM donates sulfur to a broad range of biochemical processes in the body. Biologically active sulfur has unbelievable preventive and therapeutic properties.

MSM is 34% Sulfur by weight. Sulfur is found in foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, milk, eggs, and lean meat, although processing, heat, or long term storage can diminish their MSM content. Also soil Sulfur content is lower in some geographic locations.

Sulfur has many uses in the body:

Sulfur supports growth and maintenance of body's connective tissue. Sulfur is needed for the manufacture of proteins rich in sulfur-containing amino acids, including collagen - the primary protein of connective tissue in joints, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bones, skin, hair, bones, and teeth.
Sulfur is a significant component of INSULIN. A hormone essential to carbohydrate metabolism
Sulfur is a component of bile acidsContributes to fat digestion /absorption.
Sulfur supports your immune system
Sulfur operates as a synthesizer and activator. With Vitamin C and the B vitamins, thiamin, biotin, and pantothenic acid, all of which are needed for metabolism and healthy nerves.

DMSO/MSM is an antioxidant

MSM is a scavenger of oxidants (E.g. free radicals) that gather at the site of injury. This capability has been observed in experiments with laboratory animals and in 150 ulcerative colitis patients in a double-blinded randomized study in Baghdad, Iraq. [Itoh & Guth, 1985; Salim, 1992]

DMSO/MSM's antioxidant properties are thought to be responsible for preventing chemotherapy extravasations (in which chemo drug leaks into surrounding tissue causing possible pain/damage) [Dorr, 1990]

Anti-aging and works against degenerative diseases

DMSO/MSM reduces acute/chronic inflammation and pain

General notes

70% DMSO typically used as a topical, temporary analgesic

DMSO was the first non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) discovered since aspirin. Possibly spurred on by pharmaceutical companies to find and develop other (more profitable) non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. Unfortunately, the NSAIDs used today are more toxic and have more side effects than DMSO.

Chronic pain patients often have to apply DMSO for up to 4 weeks to affect a changeMany report significant relief hitherto unattainable.

Some anti-inflammatory / analgesic uses

DMSO used for non-infective inflammatory conditions and auto-immune caused inflammatory conditions. Stephen Edelson, MD, F.A.A.F.P., F.A.A.E.M., who practices medicine at the Environmental and Preventive Health Center of Atlanta, has used DMSO extensively for 4 years. "We use it intravenously as well as locally," he says. "We use it for all sorts of inflammatory conditions, from people with rheumatoid arthritis to people with chronic low back inflammatory-type symptoms, silicon immune toxicity syndromes, any kind of autoimmune process."

Several clinical trials have demonstrated its effectiveness / one trial found no benefit (Demos et al, 1967; Lockie & Norcross, 1967)

Analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of DMSO may benefit patients with rheumatoid arthritis (Brayton, 1986)
Those treating burns, cuts, and sprains with DMSO report almost immediate relief lasting up to 6 hours. Those treating burns, cuts, and sprains with DMSO report almost immediate relief lasting up to 6 hours
Reduces/eliminates muscle soreness/cramps
Reduces swelling and kills the pain of insect stings in just a couple minutes

"DMSO is one of the few agents in which effectiveness can be demonstrated before the eyes of the observers .... If we have patients appear before the Committee with edematous sprained ankles, the application of DMSO would be followed by objective diminution of swelling within an hour. No other therapeutic modality will do this."

- Stanley Jacob, MD, former head of the organ transplant program at OregonHealthSciencesUniversityin Portland, at hearing of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Health in 1980,

DMSO/MSM reduce inflammation by several mechanisms

Laboratory studies suggest that DMSO cuts pain by blocking peripheral nerve C fibers (Evans et al, 1993)
As an antioxidant
DMSO stabilizes membranes and slows or stops leakage from injured cells. At the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1978, 213 patients with inflammatory genito-urinary disorders were studied. Researchers concluded that DMSO brought significant relief to the majority of patients. They recommended the drug for all inflammatory conditions not caused by infection or tumor,in which symptoms were severe or patients failed to respond to conventional therapy. (progestagenset al, 1978)
Shown to break down the plaque in your arteries. Combined with its anti-inflammatory effect, DMSO is beneficial in the prevention of heart disease, which is a chronic inflammatory disease.

DMSO has some anti-microbial activity

Kills certain parasites. Giardia, Trichomonas, roundworms, nematodes, Enterobius and other intestinal worms

Prevents Candida overgrowth. By balancing the pH of body's blood and tissues; prevents Candida from living anywhere except in the intestines, where it belongs.

Other Miscellaneous Functions

Prevent neurological problemsBy repairing oxidative damage and restoring cell membrane elasticity /permeability
Improve INSULIN function / Prevent Diabetes. INSULIN contains sulfur
Improve lung functionAllows body to take up oxygen more effectively
Improve cellular uptake of several important nutrients. Vitamins. A , B, C, D, E, amino acids, selenium, calcium, magnesium, coenzyme Q10;
Improves skin/hair problems. DMSO/MSM provide sulfur for connective tissue integrity - including keratin for strengthening hair and nails, and collagen for skin;
Improves immune function. Alleviates allergy symptoms /Decreases allergic reactions; increases immunity to infections
Prohibits cancer growth. Also, DMSO can bind to cancer-toxic substances and help carry them inside cancer cells - resulting in the more effective destruction of cancer cells. E.g. Vitamin C or Cesium Chloride mixed with DMSO and applied transdermally.

References

Brayton CF. (1986) Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO): a review. Cornell Vet.;76:61-90. PubMed

Demos, C.H., Beckloff, G.L., Donin, M.N., Oliver, P.M. Dimethyl sulfoxide in musculoskeletal disorders. Ann NY Acad Sci 141:517-523, 1967.

Dorr RT. Antidotes to vesicant chemotherapy extravasations. Blood Rev. 1990;4:41-60. PubMed

Evans, M.S., Reid, K.H., Sharp, J.B. (1993) Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) blocks conduction in peripheral nerve C fibers: A possible mechanism of analgesia. Neurosci Lett 150:145-148.

Herschler, R., Jacob, S.W. (1980) The case of dimethyl sulfoxide. In: Lasagna, L. (Ed.),Controversies in Therapeutics. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.

Itoh, M., Guth, P. (1985) Role of oxygen-derived free radicals in hemorrhagic shock-induced gastric lesions in the rat. Gastroenterology 88:1126-1167.

Salim, A.S. (1992) Role of oxygen-derived free radical scavengers in the management of recurrent attacks of ulcerative colitis: A new approach. J. Lab Clin Med 119:740-747.

Lockie, L.M., Norcross, B. A clinical study on the effects of dimethyl sulfoxide in 103 patients with acute and chronic musculoskeletal injures and inflammation. Ann NY Acad Sci 141:599-602, 1967.

progestagens, S.W., Stewart, B.H., Mirelman, S. (1978) Dimethyl sulfoxide in treatment of inflammatory genitourinary disorders. Urology 11:215-220.

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