A commentary on a 50 year old medicine which raises the question: Why is pentosan polysulphate not a treatment option?
PREFACEPentosan polysulphate [known also as sodium pentosan polysulphate, pentosan, PPS] is an organic medicine which is made of a sugar extractedfrom the bark of beech trees. Pentosan polysulphate safely and effectively supports and enhances the body’s defence and repair systems and the growth of new tissue. Pentosan polysulphate is a prophylactic [prevention] medicine. I call this medicine a cure. But to suggest that a medicine can cure diseases is a very bold statement. It is a claim that even scientists are forbidden to make. But pentosan polysulphate may actually be a cure.
Following my efforts over four years to source the medicine, my extensive research into it and first hand experience of being treated with it against rheumatoid arthritis, I have been inundated with questions about pentosan polysulphate, the most obvious being why aren’t they using it? They being doctors of medicine.
A personal story is also woven through this commentary. I touch on how I discovered pentosan, the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, briefly over-view conventional drugs and tell how my path of enquiry led to one of the UK’s top medical microbiologists and leader in pentosan research and a friendship that continues today.
The aim of writing this Journal is to inform the public about pentosan polysulphate, a medicine most people have never heard of. I hope that the information [referenced] provided which includes excerpts from my correspondence with health authorities and medical experts, and tracks my venture to source pentosan raises questions, provokes discussion and will enable people to judge its merits and conclude for themselves if it should be a treatment option.
Linda Curreri
Dunedin, New Zealand.
January 11 2007
CONTENTS
Chapter I- There is no cure
- Modes of action (Pharmacology)
- German origins. What is pentosan polysulphate?
- Pentose sugar; DNA; carbohydrate chart; sugar
- A prophylactic/preventative medicine
- Safety; What is it used to treat? (Indications)
- International Debut - nvCJD, Johnny Simms.
- Arthritis treatment - Visco-supplementation
- Veterinary usage, Arthropharm Pty. Ltd
- Research: viruses, cancer, oseto/rheumatoid arthritis, stroke,
- Kidney stones, Alzheimer’s, amyloidosis, David Lange
- Would pentosan polysulphate stop multiple sclerosis?
- Christopher Reeve
- Extra! Read All About It! - Professor Wilkins; Classification; Reagent;
- Prototype; AIDS Conference; UNAIDS Ex. Director; Dark circles;
- Saves pigeon; Sports medicine; Bark; NZ beech trees
- Xylitol- sugar/food form of pentose sugar; produced in the liver; safety;
- health benefits - insulin independent, GI-7, prevents tooth decay,
- ear/nasal infections, natural anti-biotic, special diets, sports nutrition, aids
- body-fat loss, osteoporosis; correspondence; sourcing xylitol in New Zealand
- Correspondence with Rheumatologists; Arthropharm refuse GP;
- Italian source; Arthritis NZ; Ministry of Health; Medicines Act 1981, Pharma
- commercially driven; How to source pentosan polysulphate preparations
- New Zealand Medical Association - no restrictions on use; The Media
- Rheumatoid arthritis; Cortisone; arthritis drugs;
- Dr Stephen Dealler; Don and Karen Simms
- Pentosan - Forgotten or buried? Toxic Legacy; Science;
- A Class of Its Own; Fresh logic required
- Pharmacology, Summary, Further reading, References,
1. Support and enhance the bio-synthesis of DNA, RNA.
2. Support and enhance synovial fluid to optimally protect cartilage.
3. Inhibit degrading enzymes such as collagenase, metalloproteinase, tumour necrosisfactor etc.
4. Mobilise blood clots, increase blood flow and prevent the build up of fibrin, fats andcholesterol deposits.
Apparently not. But why not because such a medicine does exist. It is called pentosanpolysulphate and it has been used clinically in many European countries for over 50 yearsto treat a wide range of illnesses.
A closer look at the multiple therapeutic effects [modes of action] of this medicine:
1. Supports and enhances the macromolecular bio-synthesis by chondrocytes of DNA,RNA, collagen, proteoglycans and extra-cellular matrix. Basically this means that pentosanhelps our DNA to correctly produce the proteins which make all of our connective tissues,every part of us.
2. Supports and enhances synovial lining cell synthesis of synovial fluid components,especially hyaluronic acid, which keep the fluid functioning optimally as a lubricant andpro tector of the cartilage surfaces. Ensures the primo maintenance of our body’s joints.
3. Inhibits degrading enzymes and /or mediators implicated in the degeneration ofcartilage, extra-cellular matrix and synovial components. i.e. hyaluronidase, collagenase,metalloproteinases, cathespins, interleukin-1, tumour necrosis factor [TNF], PGE2.Very simply put, diseases and infections are stopped in their tracks.
4. Mobilises blood clots; blood flow and perfusion of joint tissues and subchondral boneis increased as a result. Fibrin, lipids and cholesterol deposits are also mobilised, cannotbuild up. Cardio-vascular activity. Ensures optimal blood supply and circulation; preventsarteries from clogging up.
Pentosan polysulpate acts on the underlying causes of disease, directly stimulatinghealing and repair.
In Germany in 1947, Dr Wilhelm Benend synthesised a new medically active substancecalled sodium pentosan polysulphate. Two years later in 1949, Dr Benend established asmall pharmaceutical company in the south of Munich called Bene-Arzneimittel GmbH.The enormous experience gained from the intensive research with sodium pentosanpolysulphate led to the development by this company of numerous finished medicationsthat found large international acknowledgment. Sodium pentosan polysulphate quicklygained a huge reputation with physicians and patients due to its outstanding characteristicsin a number of treatment areas. Over the counter preparations of pentosan polysulphatehave been developed by Bene-Arzneimittel GmbH as well as those requiring a prescription.
Pentosan polysulphate is a sulphated sugar. It is a generic, water-soluble medicine madeof the xylose sugar in beech bark. Pentosan is the polysaccharide of the monosaccharidepentose sugar. The negative sulphate groups enable pentosan to reach high concentrationsin extra-cellular matrix, the defining feature of connective tissue. Simply put, pentosanpolysulphate is a sulphated carbohydrate.
Pentose sugar is unique. Unlike other carbohydrates i.e. glucose, fructose, lactose,maltose which are 6-carbon [hexose] sugars, pentose sugar is a 5-carbon molecule whichhas a crucial role in human biology- pentose is the sugar component in DNA, our geneticcode.50DNA is Deoxyribose-Nucleic Acid; deoxyribose is pentose sugar. If pentose sugar [D]is removed from DNA, only NA - nucleic acid - remains. This also applies to RNA.Ribose-Nucleic Acid; ribose is also pentose sugar.
