Ozone therapy is growing in popularity around the world.

Using Ozone in Medical Therapies

Ozone therapy is one of the most powerful and versatile therapies known today. Extensive medical research on ozone therapy has been done primarily in Europe. Through its mechanism of action, ozone has beneficial effects on every part of the body. The effects include:

1. Inactivation of bacteria, viruses and fungi: Ozone disrupts the integrity of damaged cell envelopes through per-oxidation of the phospholipids and lipoproteins. In fungi, ozone inhibits cell growth at certain stages. With viruses, the ozone damages the viral capsid and disrupts the reproductive cycle by interrupting the virus-to-cell contact with per-oxidation. Cells previously infected by viruses are more susceptible to destruction by the peroxide produced through ozonolysis, because they have weak enzyme coatings.

2. Enhancement of circulation: In circulatory disease, a clumping of red blood cells hinders blood flow and decreases oxygen absorption due to reduced surface area. There is a decrease in red blood cell flexibility which prevents them traveling down the tiniest capillaries, and blood viscosity increases. With ozone therapy, clumping is reduced or eliminated and flexibility is restored, along with oxygen carrying ability. Oxygenation of the tissues increases as the arterial partial pressure increases, and viscosity decreases. Ozone also oxidizes the plaque in arteries allowing the removal of the breakdown products, unclogging vessels.

3. Stimulation of oxygen metabolism: Ozone causes an increase in the red blood cell glycolysis rate. This leads to the stimulation of 2.3-diphosphoglycerate which shifts the oxy-hemoglobin disassociation curve to the right. This leads to an increase in the amount of oxygen released to the surrounding tissues. There is a stimulation of the production of the enzymes which act as free radical scavengers and cell wall protectors: glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase. Ozone activates the Krebs cycle by enhancing oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate, stimulating production of ATP. Ozone also causes a significant reduction in HADH and helps oxidize cytochromes.

4. Dissolution of malignant tumors: Malignant cells have an increased rate of glycolysis which leads to the production of more lactate. With ozone therapy, there is a significant decrease in lactate production, showing that the metabolism is being inhibited. Tumor cells have a peroxide intolerance due to insufficient peroxidase and catalase. Ozone is thus able to oxidize the outer lipid layer of malignant cells and destroy them through cell lysis.

5. Activation of the Immune system: Ozone stimulates the production of interferon and interleukin in the body. From this there is a cascade of subsequent immunological reactions.

6. Formation of peroxides: Ozone reacts with the unsaturated fatty acids of the lipid layer in celllular membranes, forming hydro peroxides. Lipid peroxidation products include peroxyl radicals, vital for killer cell action.

Oxygen plays a vital role in maintaining health in the body. Oxygen and sugar are the primary nutrients that each cell requires to generate energy for all its life functions. These functions include the transport of molecules, synthesis of all chemical compounds and mechanical work such as muscle contraction. Thousands of these reactions are occurring at all times. These reactions are what allow the heart to pump blood, the immune system to fight infection, the gastrointestinal tract to digest food, and the nervous system to process information.

Oxygen is also an important structural component of the organic compounds used by the body as essential nutrients, such as vitamins and fatty acids. Oxygen has an important role in removing waste products from the system. As people age, their bodies extract oxygen and transport it to the cells less efficiently. The cumulative effect of this lack of oxygenation is a decrease in the flow of vital nutrients to the tissue, the impairment of the thousands of chemical reactions necessary and the subsequent appearance of deficiency diseases. Thus an abundance of oxygen creates health and well being and a deficiency of oxygen contributes to illness.

Autohemotherapy: An effective tool to fight cancer

By Francisco Contreras, MD.

When most people hear the word ozone, they think of a protective layer of our atmosphere but aren’t really sure what it is beyond that. Ozone is oxygen but with the molecular structure O 3 instead of O 2 . This additional molecule makes ozone a highly reactive oxidant. If inhaled, ozone can do some serious damage to our bodies. However, there is an application of this substance that is very therapeutic. But first, let’s take a closer look at ozone.

In nature, ozone has a good side and a bad side. In the stratosphere, it acts as a shield, deflecting harmful UV irradiation. However, in the troposphere, ozone is a major component of the smog that harms humans, animals, and plants. When we breathe it, ozone can cause serious pulmonary and systemic side effects because it is such a powerful oxidant.

It has been shown that ozone possesses broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

This means that it fights the bacteria that cause infection. In the First World War, it was used by medics to save the lives of wounded soldiers suffering from gaseous gangrene. Today ozonated solutions and ozonated oils are still used to treat wounds and a host of infections. Ozone therapies are used to treat fistulae, abscesses, ulcers, gingivitis, stomatitis, and osteomyelitis. In addition, ozone has been widely used in sewage treatment and water purification processes because it is such an effective bacterial scavenger.

On the world scene, ozone therapy became an alternative medical approach in 1954, when Wehrly and Steinbart first described its application. They found that while the human respiratory tract reacts very negatively to ozone, human blood does not. In fact, when exposed to appropriate ozone concentrations, our blood tames the strong oxidant properties of ozone, thus eliminating any acute side effects. The benefits derived from this therapy are staggering. Oasis doctors know that ozonation of the blood improves the exchange of oxygen in the blood, activates the immune system, and increases the efficiency of the antioxidant system. What is most exciting to us is how these three things combine to effectively retard or reverse tumor growth. It is obvious to our doctors that ozone is useful in the treatment of degenerative diseases like cancer. Over the last seven years, doctors at Oasis have advanced the use of ozone therapy, the results have been extraordinary. Our patients have experienced measurable tumor reduction quickly, sometimes in as little as two weeks. For long-term results, we still believe that metabolic therapy is vital, but it is wonderful to get fast results, too. Let me explain how ozone therapy is administered. Autohemotherapy is the process of bringing small quantities of blood into contact with ozone.

This ozone therapy is performed each year on several hundred thousand patients around the world, mostly in Russia, Poland, Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Belgium and Cuba.

The medical ozone used in this therapy is an O 2 /O 3 mixture with a low ozone concentration. The ozone generators used to produce this mixture are incredibly precise.

Autohemotherapy is typically performed in one of two ways. The standard technique is to withdraw 150-250 ml of blood and expose it to a O 2 /O 3 mixture at a specified ozone concentration, followed by intravenous reinfusion of this blood into the patient. g*At the Oasis of Hope, we have the option of running an extracorporeal loop to ozonate all of the patient’s blood. This second technique involves automatically running the blood through a continuous recirculating device which mixes ozone and blood in a closed loop before reinfusing it.

The results from two very recent studies proved the safety and effectiveness of the ozonation of blood in humans. No significant changes in blood chemistry or other parameters were found. The patients felt no particular sensations during treatment. The treatment session was followed by a feeling of well-being and euphoria, lasting several hours. Most importantly, there was a total lack of side effects. The authors conclude that blood ozonation is clinically valid, without side effects and that there are at least four areas , namely infectious diseases, vascular disorders, degenerative diseases (particularly metastatic cancer), and pathologies related to immune depression, where this treatment could be useful when orthodox therapies have failed .

All of these factors fall within the principles embraced by Oasis doctors. So, how does the ozone actually work? Personally, I am fascinated by the cascade of effects ozone provokes when it is introduced into the bloodstream. Ozone decomposes in blood and interacts immediately with several substances, namely fatty acids, cholesterols, proteins, and carbohydrates.

When the ozone decomposes a series of reactive oxygen species are quickly produced, the most important of which is hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). A sudden rise in H 2 O 2 concentration triggers very different biochemical activity depending upon the type of cell the H 2 O 2 penetrates.

If the H 2 O 2 penetrates red cells and endothelial cells, three things happen. First, there is an increase in the delivery and release of oxygen by red cells toward the tissues.

Then, in areas of the system that were constricted, endothelial cells enhance release of nitric oxide (NO) resulting in dilation of blood vessels and improving oxygen flow.

Finally, the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) is inhibited due to the improvement of oxygenation in the neoplastic tissue. Remember, tumors feed on blood vessels. Thus, anything that reduces the formation of blood vessels helps to restrain tumor growth. When H 2 O 2 penetrates cells known as leukocytes, it induces the production of specialized biological assassins called cytokines. These include interleukins, interferon, and tumor necrosis factor.

The cytokines launch an array of immune functions, such as macrophages and neutrophils, which slow tumor growth and metastasis.

The presence of H 2 O 2 in the blood increases the efficiency with which the body eliminates oxidants.

We know that persistent oxidative stress from free radicals, or oxidants, is at the root of degenerative diseases like cancer. Countless findings show that aging, chronic viral infections, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases are all accompanied by a reduction in the body’s ability to detoxify itself properly. Without question, ozone therapy will rapidly become an essential tool for oncologists and an integral part of comprehensive treatment programs. Over the next few years, Oasis doctors will continue to refine the use of ozone therapy. I expect even more dramatic results.