Correspondence - Vitamin C and Hot Flashes

We congratulate the increasing number of articles which have appeared on the multiple methods of management of menopause. In the interest of completion, we should like to report the use of vitamin C in the menopausal syndrome.

A total of 94 menopausal patients were studied for four months. Each subject received 1200 mg of bioflavonoids and ascorbic acid daily in divided doses for one month. For comparision, controlled drugs including calcium carbonate, the antipyretic salicylamide and even estrogens were given for one month each. The results: the bioflavonoid/vitamin C capsules beat out the rest. Actually, 88 % of the participants had partial to complete relief of hot flashes.

And so, who should take vitamin C? Obviously, those with menopausal problems would be well-served.

E Cheraskin, M.D., D.M.D. University of Alabama Medical Center Park Tower 904/906 2717 Highland Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35205

F.A.C.T. Use in Chronic Leukemia: A Case Report.

A 65 year old man presented with chronic lymphatic leukemia (T-cell type) of four years duration. He was also diabetic with retinopathy and required 60 units of insulin daily.

Fortified Ascorbate Chelation Therapy (F.A.C.T.) entails intravenous use of vitamin C in doses of 25 or 50 grams in 500 ml of 5% dextrose in water. This powerful antioxidant has important functions as outlined in previous work.¹ An intriguing germane action for the present case was suggested by the finding by Pauling and colleagues that white cell counts drop during vitamin C therapy.² They postulated that an increased resistance to infection may require less immune system white cells.

The initial white blood cell count before therapy was 37,000. After 10 daily

F.A.C.T. (25 grams vitamin C) the count dropped to 27,000. Six months later, the count was 33,000 and after five treatments with F.A.C.T. (50 grams vitamin C), it dropped to 26,000. Increased energy levels, lasting several weeks were experienced after each course.

Vitamin C is our most potent exogenous, intracellular antioxidant, abolishing free radicals that cause degenerative diseases, aging and cancerous change. Similar in structure to glucose, it can use the same transport mechanisms to enter cells. It also recycles vitamin E, our most important exogenous, extracellular antioxidant. Both are important for optimal immune system function. In seniors, who may have diminished absorption of vitamin B12, this additive by by intramuscular injection will ensure maximal cell growth and reproduction plus nucleoprotein and myelin synthesis.

Poydock and her group at Roswell Park hospital have reported excellent success in discouraging tumor growth using vitamin B12 with C.³ Conclusion: F.A.C.T. has a salutory effect on the white cell count and energy levels in a 65 year old male with chronic lymphatic leukemia.

References

1. Ringrose C: Therapeutic Use of I.V. Vitamin

C. Linus Pauling Institute Journal, Summer Issue, 1994; 8.

Robinson AB, Catchpool JF, Pauling L: White Count Response to Vitamin C. IRCS Med. Sci, 1975; 3: 259.
Poydock E, et al: Reported to the National Cancer Institute Symposium on Vitamin C. Bethesda, Maryland. Sept. 1990.

C. Ringrose, M.D., F.R.C.S. Ringrose Institute, Edmonton, AB