TI   "Ozone Therapy: The Science Behind the Scandal"

 DT   940400

 SO   Longevity (04/94) Vol. 6, No. 5, P. 54

 AB   Ozone therapy, involving doses of the reactive oxygen gas, 
      has long been in Europe a popular alternative treatment for 
      a variety of ailments.  While health authorities chide 
      practitioners for using this "unproven" therapy, reports 
      continue to describe favorable results.  Scientists also 
      continue to investigate the potential of ozone therapy to 
      eliminate disease-causing organisms from the bloodstream.  
      In the mid-1980s, German researchers began using a process 
      called autohemotherapy to test the use of ozone on blood
      infected with HIV and hepatitis B and, in 1986, a biotech 
      company called Medizone International was created to follow 
      up on the approach.  Since then, Canadian and American 
      scientists have confirmed ozone's direct antiviral effects, 
      and its ability to boost key parts of the immune system.  
      Last May, a Canadian study reported that ozone completely 
      inactivated SIV, the simian equivalent of HIV, in monkey 
      blood.  The implications for safeguarding the blood supply 
      are clear, although the therapeutic potential is not.  
      Nevertheless, according to Medizone, preliminary trials are 
      being conducted at five centers in Italy using an 
      ozone/oxygen mix to treat patients with HIV and hepatitis 
      B.  A great deal of research remains to be performed on
      ozone, but advocates predict that because ozone cannot be 
      patented, it will not attract financial backing for the 
      scientific studies needed to win FDA approval.

      Copyright (c) 1993 - Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD.  This
      information is provided by the Centers for Disease Control 
      & Prevention (CDC), National AIDS Clearinghouse as a public 
      service. Non-profit reproduction is encouraged.