Fwd: THE MOSS REPORTS Newsletter (10/05/03)

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THE MOSS REPORTS Newsletter (10/05/03)

 

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Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. Weekly CancerDecisions.com

Newsletter #102 10/05/03

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A FRIENDLY SKEPTIC LOOKS AT GALAVIT™

 

 

I first came across Galavit in November 2000, while on

a tour of German complementary and alternative (CAM)

cancer clinics. There had been an enthusiastic article

in March of that year on the supposedly successful

cancer treatment of a well-known European actor,

77-year-old Ivan Desny, after using a Russian medicine.

One clinic in Bavaria that I visited was busy

administering this very expensive product, which they

described as an " immune stimulant undergoing clinical

trials. " It was all very hush-hush and mysterious. They

could show me no documentation on the product, no

clinical results or Phase I safety studies. The product

was Galavit.

 

 

Shortly thereafter, a media frenzy erupted in Germany

on this very topic. Claims and allegations went back

and forth between proponents and members of the medical

establishment. Then, in October 2001, German newspapers

ran exposes that the celebrated Mr. Desny had never

actually had cancer at all, but had simply " played the

part " of a terminal cancer patient on behalf of a

friend who wanted to market this product! The German

website on this topic, www.galavit.de, shut down after

exposure of " der Schwindel " (as the Germans called it)

and the whole topic seemed relegated to the dustbin of

history.

 

 

In the meantime, due to the pervasiveness of the

Internet, and the seeming immortality of even the most

erroneous statements posted there, Galavit lives on

around the world: there are presently over 370 websites

that still mention it. Most of these are in German and

Russian, but over 50 English-language sites discuss or

even offer Galavit for sale. One very well known CAM

practitioner has seemingly made great claims for its

effectiveness against cancer…although in a phone

conversation he recently told me that he had totally

withdrawn his support. Here at the Moss Reports, we

continue to get a great many inquiries regarding the

effectiveness of this purported cancer cure.

 

 

At the Russian Galavit website (www.galavit.ru), which

still operates, one can find some basic information on

the product, although I have not independently verified

the claims made there. Galavit is said to be a white or

light yellow crystalline powder which can be dissolved

in saline solution or water to produce an injectable

form. The active substance is a derivative of

phthalhydrazide. (The word is misspelled at the site.)

Some newspaper accounts have identified it as amino

tetrahydrophthalozin sodium salt. Phthalhydrazine is an

analog (or look-alike) of a common chemical substance

called luminol (Bottu 1991). This is a

chemiluminescent, a substance whose oxidation is

accompanied by a striking emission of light. Luminol is

commonly used to disclose the presence of microbes, for

example in high school science experiments. It is also

used in forensic criminology to detect traces of blood

that are invisible to the naked eye. The cost of

laboratory-grade luminol is around $5 per gram (1,000

milligrams).

 

 

The manufacturer and owner of the Galavit trademark is

a closed joint stock company called " Tsentr Sovremennoy

Meditsiny, " i.e., the Center of Modern Medicine, which

is abbreviated as Medicor. Its Russian Registration

Certificate was approved (we are told) by the State

Pharmacological Committee on March 31, 1997. The General of the company is Mr. Valery H.

Zhilov. I received no reply to an email sent to the

address provided for him.

 

 

 

Mode of Action

 

 

Galavit is said to have both anti-inflammatory and

immune modulating activity. Its major pharmacological

effect is on the macrophage, which is a scavenging

immune cell. In inflammatory diseases, Galavit

supposedly inhibits the overproduction of various

pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis

factor (TNF) and interleukin-1, as well as active

oxygen species ( " free radicals " ). Normalizing

macrophages is said to lead to a concomitant decrease

in autoimmune reactions and a recovery of normal T-cell

functions. Galavit is also said to stimulate the

bacteria-killing activity of neutrophils (a type of

white blood cell), thereby enhancing resistance to

infectious diseases.

 

 

In Russia, Galavit is reportedly prescribed for the

treatment of acute infectious diseases of many types as

well as for chronic inflammatory diseases, including

those that have an autoimmune component (such as

ulcers, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, liver

diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, etc). It has also been

used to treat immune deficiencies arising in cancer

patients as a side effect of radiation and

chemotherapy.

 

 

 

Dosages and Administration

 

 

Galavit is administered intramuscularly. It comes

in 10-milliliter vials containing 100 milligrams of the

drug. The shelf life in a cool dark place is said to be

two years. The dosage and length of treatment depend on

the character, severity and duration of the illness. I

will not speak about the use of Galavit for patients

other than those with cancer. But for the correction of

immune deficiencies in cancer patients who are also

receiving radiotherapy and chemotherapy the starting

dose is said to be 100 milligrams every other day for 5

injections, then once in 3 days for a total of 20

injections.

 

 

It has been difficult to substantiate the actual nature

and clinical effects of Galavit, in part because of

language and cultural differences. However, all over

the world true scientists speak one language, i.e.,

that of peer-reviewed research. If one searches PubMed,

a standard medical database of 12 million such

citations, one finds just two references to Galavit.

The first is from a Russian journal and relates to the

treatment of chronic stomach ulcers, not cancer. The

other, published in a standard Western journal, refers

to a study of Galavit's effects on cytokine production

in lab animals infected with Astrakhan spotted fever

and North Asian scrub typhus. Again, not cancer. This

latter article concludes that " therapy with Galavit

reduced manifestations of the disease, decreased

mortality of experimental animals, and decreased the

concentrations of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis

factor to normal value. " This is good news if you

happen to be an animal with Astrakhan spotted fever,

but there are no articles in PubMed that relate to the

use of Galavit in treating cancer in humans.

 

 

Much of the enthusiasm for Galavit in the

English-speaking world has been generated by a single

practitioner, Dr. Kurt Donsbach. He is a chiropractor

who directs the Santa Monica clinic of Rosarita Beach,

Mexico, which also has a branch in Poland. In his long

and controversial career, Dr. Donsbach has advocated

many alternative cancer treatments. In March 2001, he

wrote in his 'Let's Talk' newsletter that he had

attended a meeting in Romania along with " a limited

group of oncologists from around the world, " the

purpose of which was to launch Galavit outside Russia.

 

 

He reported that the product was first developed in

Obninsk, Russia, " by their astronaut medical team, who

were under orders to create a substance that would

protect the Russian astronauts from the high doses of

radiation they could be subject to during their long

periods in space and from the possible emergence of

tumors from such exposure to radiation. "

 

 

He claimed that Major General Dr. Victor Ljutov, of Medicine for the Air Force and Space

Travel, used Galavit on 300 cosmonauts and " a further

30,000 cancer patients successfully. " In some cases

Galavit was used alone, in others it was used in

conjunction with orthodox cancer therapy. I have no way

to independently validate or refute any of these

claims, but many of them were later contested in the

German media. It certainly seems incredible that Dr.

Ljutov could have treated 30,000 cancer patients yet no

mention of this work ever made it into the standard

medical database! If you search for " Dr. Victor Ljutov "

on the Internet there are no references at all except

those by Dr. Donsbach himself and there are also zero

articles by a Dr. Victor Ljutov in PubMed.

 

 

According to Dr. Donsbach, the result of this

experimentation was as follows:

 

 

Galavit stimulated the immune system against cancer

cells.

Galavit stopped the growth of primary tumors.

Galavit prevented metastasis.

Galavit promoted the regeneration of diseased organ and

body tissue.

Galavit increased dramatically the life expectancy of

cancer patients.

Galavit drastically improved the quality of life of

even the most terminal cancer patient.

Galavit reduced the side effects of radiation and

chemotherapy.

 

 

Donsbach commented at the time: " I don't know of any

substance which has anywhere near the broad spectrum

application or the dramatic results of this product. "

Realizing the sweeping nature of these claims, he

added, " Anyone can make claims such as I offered here,

but I am convinced after attending this conference,

that they are true. "

 

 

(TO BE CONCLUDED, WITH REFERENCES, NEXT WEEK)

 

 

 

--Ralph W. Moss, PhD

 

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

 

 

The news and other items in this newsletter are

intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in

this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for

professional medical advice.

 

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