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Dr. F. R. Klenner and Vitamin C Megadoses |
F. R. Klenner, MD |
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FREDERICK ROBERT KLENNER, M.D. by Andrew
W. Saul Assistant
Editor, Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Reprinted
with permission from J Orthomolecular Med, 2007. Vol 22, No 1, p
31-38.
The sound
barrier was broken in 1947. The Korean War began in 1950. In between was the
polio epidemic of 1948-9, during which Dr. Frederick Robert Klenner cured
every polio case he saw by using vitamin C. VITAMIN C
AGAINST POLIO Claus W.
Jungeblut (1) had the initial idea; William J. McCormick (2) was an early
proponent of frequent gram-sized doses. But it was Frederick Robert Klenner
who first gave polio patients tens of thousands of milligrams of vitamin C
per day. He had been doing so since before D-Day. “From
1943 through 1947,” writes Robert Landwehr (3), “Dr. Klenner
reported successful treatment of 41 more cases of viral pneumonia using
massive doses of vitamin C. From these cases he learned what dosage and route
of administration - intravenously, intramuscularly, or orally - was best for
each patient. Dr. Klenner gave these details in a February 1948 paper
published in the Journal of Southern
Medicine and Surgery entitled ‘Virus Pneumonia and Its Treatment
with Vitamin C.’ (4) This article was the first of Dr. Klenner’s
twenty-eight (through 1974) scientific publications.” “When I first came across
Klenner’s work on polio patients,” writes Thomas Levy, “I
was absolutely amazed and even a bit overwhelmed at what I read. . . To know
that polio had been easily cured and so many babies, children, and some
adults still continued to die or survive to be permanently crippled by this
virus was extremely difficult to accept. . . Even more incredibly, Klenner
briefly presented a summarization of his work on polio at the Annual Session
of the American Medical Association on June 10, 1949 in ‘It might be interesting to
learn how poliomyelitis was treated in “How
then,” asks Landwehr, “could a Dr. Fred R. Klenner, a virtually
unknown general practitioner specializing in diseases of the chest, from a
town no one ever heard of, with no national credentials, no research grants
and no experimental laboratory, have the nerve to make his sweeping claim in
front of that prestigious body of polio authorities?” Indeed, Klenner
was hardly a man to mince words. “When proper amounts are used, it will
destroy all virus organisms,” he would say. “Don’t expect
control of a virus with 100 to 400 mg of C.” (6) Klenner administered ascorbate by
injection, and, as Lendon H. Smith describes in great detail in the Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C:
The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D., Klenner found
that “the most effective route was intravenous, but the intramuscular
route was satisfactory. He gave at least 350 mg per kilogram of body
weight.” That quantity per day is a dose of 25,000-30,000 mg or so for
an adult. Yet, Smith adds, “With 350 mg per kilogram of body weight
every two hours, he could stop measles and dry up chicken pox.” This is indeed a large amount of
vitamin C. Such use exemplifies the modern orthomolecular physician.
Klenner’s doses were enormous, flexible and symptom-driven. The sicker
the patient, the higher the dose. Massive ascorbate treatment cured every one
of 60 polio cases Klenner saw. He published his report in Southern Medicine and Surgery in July
of 1949. (7) All patients were well in three days. None had any paralysis. In a 1950
letter, Klenner wrote: “Since
my last communication, I have seen four new cases of poliomyelitis. All of
these have completely recovered. Three cases were seen in the acute febrile
stage and in each instance, using 65 mg per kg body weight (by injection)
every two (to) four hours, recovery was spontaneous in 48 hours.” (8) In 1951,
“In an especially incredible case,” Levy says, “Klenner (9)
described a five-year-old girl stricken with polio. This child had already
been paralyzed in both her lower legs for over four days! The right leg was
completely limp, and the left leg was determined to be 85% flaccid. Pain was
noticed especially in the knee and lumbar areas. Four consulting physicians
confirmed the diagnosis of polio. Other than massage, vitamin C was the only
therapy initiated. After four days of vitamin C injections the child was
again moving both legs, but with only very slow and deliberate movement.
Klenner also noted that there was a “definite response” after
only the first injection of vitamin C. The child was discharged from the
hospital after four days, and 1,000 mg of oral vitamin C was continued every
two hours with fruit juice for seven days. The child was walking about,
although slowly, on the 11th day of treatment. By the 19th day of treatment
there was a “complete return of sensory and motor function,” and
no long-term impairment ever resulted. Vitamin C not only completely cured
this case of polio, it completely reversed what would undoubtedly have been a
devastating, crippling result for the remainder of this girl’s
life.” (4) For such elegant results, in the days before widespread use
of either antibiotics or vaccination, one may wonder why Klenner was not
awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine. ORTHOMOLECULAR
ORIGINATOR Born 22 October 1907 in Klenner had hospital
privileges at Reidsville’s In a 1978 letter to
Klenner, Irwin Stone writes that he thinks that “giving levels of
ascorbate for long periods of time at the daily levels you recommend. . . is
equivalent to creating a new human subspecies, ‘Homo sapiens
ascorbicus’ . . . with unusual resistance to disease and stress and
with a prolonged life span.” Stone adds, “I was sorry to hear
that the book you intend to write is still only a gleam in your eye.”
(13) Although he never would
publish a book on vitamin therapy, Dr. Klenner was a Fellow of the Greensboro Daily News reporter Flontina Miller has
colorfully described Klenner’s office, above a drug store in
Reidsville. “Up a creaking stairway is a dimly-lighted hallway. . . On
one side of the hall is a stark waiting room nearly filled with patients. . .
A hand-printed sign tacked by the door reads, ‘Limited General Practice’.
. . Two walls (are) covered with
framed certificates and honors awarded by medical schools and organizations.
A crude hand-scrawled cardboard sign on a window air-conditioning unit reads,
‘Snake Inside.’ No snake actually lives inside the air conditioner,
but Mrs. Klenner declares the sign has worked miracles to keep
visitors’ hands off. She said patients, waiting to talk with the
doctor, often would tamper with the unit, causing continual need for repairs.
. . For the past 12 years, Mrs. Klenner has been her husband’s fulltime
nurse, and they manage the office with no other help. ‘I’d never
see my husband if I didn’t work with him,’ said Mrs. Klenner. . .
‘Sometimes he overworks and feels kind of tired.’” (15) He
was also subject to severe headaches, including migraines. Still, according
to journalist Jerry Bledsoe, Klenner never sent bills to his patients.
“If a patient couldn’t pay when treated, then he could pay when
he could. And even if he couldn't pay and still needed a doctor, Dr. Klenner would be there, making house calls no matter the
hour.” (16) Another Greensboro Daily News article written
by Miller recounts how Klenner first used injections of vitamin C: “Dr. Klenner
remembers using (ascorbate) for a man, who was lying near death from severe virus
pneumonia, but refused to be hospitalized. ‘I went to his house and
gave him one big shot with five grams or 5,000 milligrams of vitamin
C,’ he recalled. ‘When I went back later in the day, his
temperature was down three degrees and he was sitting on the edge of the bed
eating. I gave him another shot of C, 5,000 milligrams and kept up that
dosage for three days, four times a day. And he was well. I said then, well,
my gosh! This is doing something.’" (17) Klenner devised an early
office test for vitamin C. (18) He would go on to administer massive amounts
of ascorbate against any and all viral diseases. And, in the course of some
forty years of general practice, Klenner used vitamin C, often accompanied
with high doses of other nutrients, to fight a striking variety of other
illnesses. Smith (6) itemizes a list that includes Rocky Mountain Spotted
Fever, bladder infections, alcoholism, arthritis, leukemia, atherosclerosis,
ruptured intervertebral discs, high cholesterol, corneal ulcer, diabetes,
glaucoma, burns and secondary infections, heat stroke, radiation burns, heavy
metal poisoning, chronic fatigue, and complications resulting from
surgery. Additionally, Klenner also reported mega nutrient cures of tetanus
(19, 20), trichinosis (21), venomous bites from spiders or snakes (22, 23),
and, perhaps most controversially, multiple sclerosis. VITAMINS AGAINST MULTIPLE
SCLEROSIS Nearly every person with
multiple sclerosis that I’ve met has had two things in common: a lack
of hope, and a lack of vitamins. Klenner’s patients lacked neither,
with a treatment schedule calling for
massive quantities of B-vitamins to, said Klenner, “effect nerve
repair.” He based his protocol in part on work, in the late
1930’s, by “Stern
from Columbia University, (who) was employing thiamin hydrochloride
intraspinally with astonishing results in multiple sclerosis. He reported
taking patients to the operating room on a stretcher, and following 30 mg
thiamin given intraspinally, they would walk back to their room.” (24)
While, Klenner commented, “the response was relatively
transient,” it indicated that multiple sclerosis might be a severe form
of avitaminosis. If one vitamin helped,
two seemed likely to work better. Klenner writes: “ Thiamin hydrochloride
(B-1): “300 mg to 500 mg, 30 minutes before meals and bed hour, and
during the night if awake” plus “400 mg daily by needle, given
intramuscularly” Niacin
(B-3): “100 mg to 3 grams, thirty minutes before meals and at bed hour,
and also during the night if awake – whichever dose will produce a
strong body flush.” Pyridoxine (B-6):
“100 mg to 200 mg is given before meals and bed hour. At least 100 mg
daily is given intramuscularly.” Cobalamin (B-12):
“1000 mcg three times each week by needle.” Ascorbic Acid (C):
“Ten to twenty grams should be taken daily by mouth in divided
doses.” Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2):
“40 mg to 80 mg given daily by needle I.M. 25 mg before meals and bed
time.” Choline: “700 mg to
1400 mg after each meal and at bed hour.” Lecithin: “1200 mg
soybean lecithin after each meal.” Magnesium: “100 mg
after each meal.” Calcium gluconate: Two 10
grain tablets “after each meal and at bed hour.” Calcium panthothenate:
200 mg “after each meal and at bed hour.” Aminoacetic acid
(glycine): “One heaping tablespoon of the powder in a glass of milk
four times each day.” Zinc gluconate: “10
mg three times each day has some value in Myasthenia Gravis. Take several
hours after vitamin B-2.” Additionally,
Klenner gave vitamin E (800 to 1,600 IU/day), crude liver extract,
adenosine-5-monophosphoric acid, and a multi-vitamin/ multi-trace-mineral
tablet, which would have included some vitamin D. Klenner prescribed a high
protein diet, and used available drugs to relieve tremor and stiffness. He
might also specify linolenic acid, thyroid, fresh green vegetables, fresh
fruits, a considerable quantity of milk (1 quart/day) and eggs (up to 6/day).
Klenner required patients to limit fats, eat only whole grain bread, and
specified “no junk foods, especially sweets.” (28) Klenner also offered what
he considered to be an abbreviated, compromise program. “Should a given
patient’s physician refuse to administer this schedule, I have this
recommendation: One gram thiamin hydrochloride one hour before meals and at
bed hour, and during the night if awake. Niacin taken at the same time, and
in amounts sufficient to produce a good body flush. Two hundred mg calcium
pantothenate and 100 mg pyridoxine before meals and at bed hour. Ten grams
ascorbic acid, taken in divided doses. Amino acetic acid: one heaping
tablespoon in a glass of milk, four times each day. Naturally, the full
schedule will afford more dramatic response.” He declares: “We
categorically make this statement: Any victim of multiple sclerosis who will
dramatically flush with the use of nicotinic acid, and who has not yet
progressed to the stage of myelin degeneration, as witnessed by sustained
ankle clonus elicited in the orthodox manner, can be cured with the
adequate employment of thiamin hydrochloride and other factors of the vitamin
B complex in conjunction with essential proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and
injectable crude liver.” (27) MEDIA
MUCKRAKING Perhaps
it is not a complete surprise that the print and broadcast media have been
obsessively interested in the scandal that rocked Klenner’s family
following the doctor’s death from heart disease in 1984. Fred Klenner
Jr., known as Fritz, implicated in the murders of at least 5 people, died by
his own hand in 1985. (29) The tragedy
was the subject of a bestselling 1988 tell-all book (30), in which Dr.
Klenner is mentioned over 50 times, and then, in 1994, a two-hundred minute
made-for-TV movie. (31) It is instructive to note that the news media
reported on the son’s crimes far more than it reported on the father’s
cures. There have been countless television programs and Dr. Klenner’s
immensely valuable work is his legacy. Linus Pauling said, “The early
papers by Dr. Fred R. Klenner provide much information about the use of large
doses of vitamin C in preventing and treating many diseases. These papers are
still important.” (32) Klenner is justly remembered as the doctor who
was first to boldly assert that “Ascorbic acid is the safest and most
valuable substance available to the physician” and that patients should
be given “large doses of vitamin C in all pathological conditions
while the physician ponders the diagnosis.” Whether overshadowed by scandal
or stubbornly ignored by the medical profession, high-dose ascorbate therapy
is here to stay. “I have used Dr. Klenner’s methods on hundreds
of patients,” said Lendon H. Smith. “He is right.” References: 1. Saul
AW. Claus Washington Jungeblut, M.D.: Polio pioneer; ascorbate advocate. J
Orthomolecular Med, 2006. Vol 21, No 2, p 102-106. http://www.doctoryourself.com/jungeblut.html 2. Saul AW. The pioneering work of
William J. McCormick, M.D.. J Orthomolecular Med, 2003. Vol 18, No 2,
p 93-96. http://www.doctoryourself.com/mccormick.html 3.
Landwehr R. The origin of the 42-year stonewall of vitamin C. J Orthomolecular Med, 1991. Vol 6, No
2, p 99-103. http://www.whale.to/v/c/index.html
4. Klenner FR. Virus pneumonia
and its treatment with vitamin C. Southern
Medicine and Surgery, 1948, February. Vol 110, No 2, p 36-38, 46. http://www.whale.to/v/c/index.html"
5. Levy
TE. Vitamin
C, infectious diseases, and toxins: Curing the incurable. 6. Smith,
LH. Clinical guide to the use of vitamin C: The clinical experiences of
Frederick R. Klenner, M.D.. 7.
Klenner FR. The treatment of poliomyelitis and other virus diseases with
vitamin C. South Med J, 1949, July.
3(7), p 209-214. and http://www.whale.to/v/c/index.html"
8.
Klenner FR. Letter to M.G. Farnsworth, Farnsworth Laboratories, Inc., 9.
Klenner FR. Massive doses of vitamin C and the virus diseases. South Med J. 1951 Apr;113(4):101-7.
PMID: 14855098 http://www.whale.to/v/c/index.html" 10. Bledsoe J. Bitter blood: A true
story of Southern family pride, madness, and multiple murder. NY: Dutton,
1988. Also: NY: New American Library, 1989. Page 114. 11. Klenner FR.
Observations on the dose of administration of ascorbic acid when employed
beyond the range of a vitamin in human pathology. J Applied Nutrition, 1971, Winter. Vol 23, No 3 and 4, p
61-68. and http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html
12. Stone I. The healing
factor: Vitamin C against disease. NY: Grosset and Dunlap, 1972; p 191-192. 13.
Letter from Irwin Stone to Dr. & Mrs. Frederick R. Klenner, 14. Saul AW. The 2005
Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame. J Orthomolecular Med, 2005. Vol
20, No 2, p 113- 117. http://orthomolecular.org/hof/index.shtml 15.
Miller F. Klenner’s office recalls old-fashioned practitioner. Greensboro Daily News, undated
reprint. This medium-circulation newspaper, founded in 1909, has been known
since 1982 as the News-Record. The
periodical’s archives might be accessible at https://www.greensboro.com/ . 16.
Bledsoe J, p 231. 17.
Miller F. Dr. Klenner urges taking vitamins in huge doses. 18.
Klenner FR. A new office procedure for the determination of plasma levels for
ascorbic acid. Tri-State Medical J,
1956, February, p 26-28. 19.
Klenner FR. The history of lockjaw. Tri-State
Med J, 1954, June. 20. Klenner FR. Recent discoveries in the treatment of lockjaw with vitamin C and tolserol. Tri-State Med
J, 1954, 2:2, p 7-11, July. www.doctoryourself.com/Klenner_lockjaw.pdf
21. Klenner FR. A treatment of trichinosis with massive doses of vitamin C and para-aminobenzoic
acid. Tri-State Medical J, 1954, April. 22.
Klenner FR. Case history: The black widow spider. Tri-State Med J, 1957, December. 23.
Klenner FR. Case history: Cure of a 4-year old child bitten by a mature
Highland Moccasin with vitamin C. Tri-State
Med J, 1954, July. The Highland Moccasin, a viper, is also known as the
copperhead. 24. Sern EL. The
intraspinal injection of vitamin B-1 for the relief of intractable pain, and
for inflammatory and degenerative diseases of the central nervous system. Amer
J Surg, 1938. 34:495. 25. Moore MT. Treatment
of multiple sclerosis with nicotinic acid and vitamin B-1. Archives Int
Med, 1940, January, Vol
65, p 18. 26. Zimmerman HH, Burack
F. Lesions of the nervous system resulting from a deficiency of the vitamin B
complex. Arch Pathology, 1932,
February, Vol 13:207. 27. Klenner FR. Response
of peripheral and central nerve pathology to mega-doses of the vitamin
B-complex and other metabolites. Parts 1 and 2. J Applied Nutrition, 1973, 25:16-40. Free full-text download at http://www.townsendletter.com/Klenner/KlennerProtocol_forMS.pdf
Also: Klenner, FR. Treating multiple sclerosis nutritionally. Cancer Control J, undated. 2:3, p
16-20. And, a similar, comprehensive MS/MG protocol is to
be found in the Clinical Guide to the
Use of Vitamin C: The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D.,
reference 6, above. 28. Program prescribed by
Dr. Fred R. Klenner, a two-page itemized check-off list of nutritional
recommendations for patients. Hand-dated January 25, 1979 by Irwin Stone, who
added a notation that it had been “Rec’d from L. P.
Institute.” (Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine). Provided
by Steve Stone. 29. While it has sometimes
been assumed that son Fritz Klenner (Fred Klenner Jr.) was a physician, he
was not. He never attended medical school. 30.
Bledsoe J. Bitter blood: A true story of Southern family pride, madness, and
multiple murder. NY: Dutton, 1988. ISBN-10:
052524591X and ISBN-13:
978-0525245919. Also: NY: New American Library, 1989. ISBN-10: 0451402103 and ISBN-13:
978-0451402103. The book
contains three black-and-white photos of Dr. Klenner. Chapter 22 focuses on
his work. That chapter, and the balance of the book, is less than flattering.
Publisher’s notes say that Jerry “Bledsoe wrote an award-winning
series about the (Fritz Klenner) case in 1985 in the Greensboro (NC) News
& Record,” where he is a senior writer and columnist. . A New York Times bestselling author, Bledsoe has
also written “Before He Wakes: A True Story of Money, Marriage, Sex and
Murder”; “The Angel Doll”; “Death Sentence: The True
Story of Velma Barfield's Life, Crimes, and Punishment”; “Death by Journalism? One Teacher's Fateful
Encounter with Political Correctness;” and “ 31. In the
Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness stars
Kelly McGillis as Susie Lynch and Harry Hamlin as Fritz Klenner (Fred Klenner
Jr.). Produced by Ambroco Media Group and Dan Wigutow Productions. Directed
by Jeff Bleckneritz. Originally telecast in the
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