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The following is an excerpt from the above Hepatitis C E-book THYMIC PROTEIN, THYMUS EXTRACTS, AND HEPATITIS C
Learn About and Compare Bio Pro Thymic Protein A and Natcell Thymus Extract as Treatment for Hepatitis C Thymic Protein A
is a nutritional supplement designed to effect the same biological
activity as the protein from the human thymus. It is made from cultured
cells, not from actual thymus glands. The isolated and purified protein
is derived from bovine thymus cells.
The human thymus is part of the body's endocrine and lymphatic systems. It reaches its maximum size at puberty and then begins to gradually shrink as we age. It is Dr. Beardsley's belief that age related decreased immunity is due to a lack of properly programmed T-cells and the shrinking of the thymus gland. It is said that by age 40, the thymus gland is drastically smaller and has very reduced function. The thymus gland plays a very important role in cell-mediated immunity. The thymus gland produces proteins which "program" T-cells. T-cells (T-lymphocytes) are made by the bone marrow and they are white blood cells. T-cells find and kill foreign invaders. Without the thymic proteins produced by the thymus, the T-cells are "naive", immature, and they will not function. Insufficient production of thymic proteins to program the T-cells could allow chronic infections and degenerative diseases to develop. If a T-4 (helper) cell is programmed by the proper thymic protein it can identify any invader in the bloodstream, and secrete proteins called interleukins and interferons which tell the T-8 (killer) cells where to find the invader and how to destroy it. As explained by Dr. Beardsley, of all the cells in the immune system the t-4 helper cell is the most important, it regulates the delicate balance of the immune system by secreting certain lympokines and cytokines, among them interleukin-2 and interferon, which act as "messengers" to tell specific cells to attack and destroy invading pathogens. Essentially, the T-4 cells guide the "killer" cells (T-8, cytotoxic) to attack and destroy certain invading cells such as viruses and cancer cells. Thymic Protein A is designed to be the precise thymus protein which is the key to the cell-mediated immune system which programs the T-4 lymphocyte (T-4 helper cell). According to Journal of Hepatology, 2004 Mar;40(3):491-500, "Compared with the control group, significant improvements in virological and/or biochemical response were seen in trials of thymic extract." Another study in the Journal of Hepatology, 2001 May;8(3):194-201, concludes that, "TA1 (thymosin-alpha1) treatment could benefit patients with hepatitis C infection by increasing the Th1-type response, fundamental for sustained clearance of hepatitis C; and by decreasing the Th2-type response, associated with persistence of viraemia.
Naomi Judd! The world-famous celebrity and country singer has recovered from her own battle with hepatitis C. AlternativeMedicine.com, in one of their website< articles, describes Naomi's health regimen/protocol, "Perhaps one of the most significant therapies (for its effect on Naomi's Hepatitis C) was thymus glandular extract from calves... Naomi's liver enzyme levels, which had gone up again after the interferon cycle ended, dropped to within the normal range after she added the thymus glandulars to her program." The following doctors use it regularly in their practices (or for themselves): Drs. Robert Atkins, Abram Ber, Jonathan Wright, Lee Cowden and Serafina Corsello.
Lloyd Wright,
the author of Triumph Over Hepatitis C, who has been "cured"
and now tests negative for HCV, has tried it. However, he stresses that
the "frozen thymus" is far superior in many ways and attributes most
of his success getting rid of the virus to "live cell frozen thymus
extract," which is available on his website, hepatitiscfree.com.
Lloyd Wright has provided a a statement from the manufacturer of the
frozen thymus extract, which explains how it is different from Thymic
Protein A : "The thymus provided by Author and researcher Lloyd Wright
is manufactured using our state-of-the-art extraction and ultra-filtration
process to preserve the integrity of the active thymic molecules and
peptides. The thymus extract sold by Lloyd Wright provides broad-spectrum
thymic peptides of 50,000 Daltons or less. Some thymus products have
only one known peptide (thymic protein A). Moreover, our propritary
ultra-filtration technology is a chemical solvent free process that
eliminates unwanted compounds such as fat and fibrous tissues typically
found in powders. The live cell thymus provides the molecules in the
most natural state possible and it is the highest quality peptide
complex available. Kept frozen to preserve integrity of all peptides.You
can read more about this and find out how to get it at hepatitiscfree.com.
When
asked to compare Thymic Protein A with thymus extracts, Dr. Beardsley,
comments, " Extracts of the thymus generally consist of whole thymus
gland which is ground and dried or strained into liquid and administered
in capsules or in sublingual drops. By the very nature of how these
extracts are processed the resultant product is a conglomeration of
thymus tissue, cell debris, fragments of thymus proteins and thymus
by-products. These extracts are only slightly effective because they
are mere fragments. To attain full effectiveness a protein must have
a specific shape with extract transmitter and receptor sites."
The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, lists thymus extracts as a treatment
for hepatitis C. It states that there is good clinical data to support
the effectiveness of orally administered bovine thymus extracts in
treating acute and chronic viral hepatitis. It reports, " The effectiveness
of the thymus extract in treating viral hepatitis is reflective of
broad-spectrum immune-system enhancement, presumably mediated by improved
thymus gland activity."
Dr.
Julian Whitaker's Health & Healing Newsletter summarizes,
Researchers have shown that a strong and multispecific CD4+lymphocyte
response to HCV proteins is only present in HCV infected patients
who successfully clear the virus..."
The
question is does Bio Pro activate a T-cell response to HCV proteins?
If cell-mediated immunity and the T-cell initiated immune response
is important to the management or even elimination of HCV (as the
most current research reported in Matthew Dolan's book seems to suggest)
and if Thymic Protein A truly stimulates these aspects of the immune
system, it would appear to be an attractive product to use.
Matthew
Dolan classifies thymic extracts as an alternative therapy, "
It is a branch of cell therapy, a treatment approach that is popular
for cancer in Germany and involves the injection of live cells from
(calf) thymus. The general idea is to reinvigorate the immune system.
There is no accurate reports on its efficacy for hepatitis C yet."
Method
of Use
The extract should
be slowly dissolved under the tongue (where is is absorbed directly
into the bloodstream), as stomach acids will destroy fragile structure
of the protein, according to John Anderson, author of the article
Resetting The Immune System's Thermostat With Thymus Protein on
AlternativeMedicine.com.
Bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) is a fatal brain disease of cattle. The disease
is believed to be caused by a "self-replicating" protein (a prion) rather
than a bacterium or virus. Meat and milk have not been shown to carry
the infective agent and measures have been taken to exclude those parts
shown to carry the infective agent (primarily brain and nervous tissue)
from the food supply.
According to an
article by Amy Norton entitled "Herbal supplements Can Contain Animal
Parts" (Source: Reuters Health, July 26, 2000), thymus products may
contain "raw animal parts". Some people are of the persuasion that there
is a theoretic possibility of a risk of transmitting "mad cow" disease
by consuming thymus products.
Dr. Scott A. Norton,
in an interview with Reuters Health, stated, "I would advise all of
my patients not to take supplements that contain central nervous system
tissue from animals." The reference to this article comes from HEPCBC.ca
and it states that the article warned readers that not all supplements
list their full ingredients, or some people may not realize that the
word "hypothalamus" means brain tissue, and "orchis" means bull testicles.
It says that regulatory institutions have little or no power over dietary
and herbal supplements.
My opinion is that
we should investigate our thymus products mindfully, but that we shouldn't
jump to irrational and paranoid conclusions. I asked Lloyd Wright about
this issue and here's what he had to say:
"There is no evidence
of mad cow disease on the north American continent. I hope they keep
it this way. 1. The thymus is thymus, live cell, no central nervous
system in it. 2. Again, Natcell thymus is Thymus, nothing else."
"There are approximately 2000 boxes of natcell thymus sold a week
in the US and a whole lot more world wide. It is safe. The Natcell
thymus is taken from live calves. Most thymus products are made from
dead cows. There is a huge difference." |
