Ozone
therapy a revolutionary term in medical science
today
was
originally developed by Nikola Tesla in 1900. Almost every hospital in
Germany is using this method
and has been
since
1960,
and recently Russia and Cuba are using it
as well.
Medical
Ozone has
proven its power in treating a wide range of diseases. Now, it has also
brought hope
for patients with chronic hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C (HCV) is well known for
its frequent occurrence and strong prevalence base, hence termed as a global
epedemic.
Medical ozone
due to its special biological properties theoretically and practically
deactivates HCV.
HCV- an
evolution
Hepatitis C
(HCV) was recognized in 1970s has a lesser magnitude of infection than Hepatitis
A and resembles to Hepatitis B. When in 1989 the complete genome sequence of HCV
was deciphered, it was found to
have a novel distinct serological feature among the Hepatitis virus family. The
viral particle is surrounded by a nucleocapsid layer which contains its genome,
a single stranded RNA. The nucleocapsid is again surrounded by an envelope which
helps to attach and penetrate into the host cell.
Figure:
Hepatitis C virus: model structure and genome organization.
The genome encodes structural proteins
designated as core (C), envelope 1 (E1), envelope 2 (E2), and P7 (unknown
function), providing for virion architecture, and nonstructural proteins, mainly
enzymes essential to the virion's life cycle, designated as NS2, NS3, NS4A,
NS4B, NS5A, and NS5B. When any person is affected by HCV, inside his/her body
the viral particles do not express a homogenous population. Rather, they
function as a pool of genetically variant strains known as quasispecies. This is
due to the high replication error inherent in the function of the polymerase
enzymes. Herein lays one of the important armaments of HCV. Continuously
generated genetic diversity gives it great advantage in negotiating and
conquering immune defense and therapeutic strategies. Furthermore, the antigenic
differences between genotypes may have implications regarding the proper
evaluation and the therapeutic regimen of patients. Hepatitis C distinguishes
itself by the low incidence of acute phases and by the high incidence of
progression to chronicity. Acute hepatitis C progresses from exposure, to
incubation, to pre-icteric, icteric, and convalescent phases. With an incubation
period of about 6 weeks, the first and sometimes only symptoms include weakness,
fatigue, indolence, headache, nausea, poor appetite, and vague abdominal pain.
The pre-icteric period extends from the onset of symptoms to the appearance of
jaundice, ranging usually from 2 to 12 days. The icteric phase corresponds to
the declaration of jaundice and darkened urine. The convalescent phase is marked
by the gradual disappearance of symptoms.
Ozone therapy in use
It has long been established that ozone
neutralizes bacteria, viruses, and fungi in aqueous media. This has prompted the
creation of water purification processing plants in many major municipalities
worldwide. Medical ozone's
antiviral properties may also be applied to the treatment of biological fluids,
albeit in technologically and physiologically appropriate ways. Indeed, it is
noted that medical
ozone, administered in such dosages
designed to respect the integrity of blood's cellular and constituent elements,
is capable of inactivating a spectrum of viral families.
Medical ozone
action on viral particles in infected blood yield several possible outcomes. One
outcome is the modification of virions so that they remain structurally grossly
intact yet sufficiently dysfunctional as to be nonpathogenic. This attenuation
of viral particle functionality through slight modifications of the viral
envelope, and possibly the viral genome itself, modifies pathogenicity and
allows the host to increase the sophistication of its immune response. The
creation of dysfunctional viruses by medical
ozone offers unique therapeutic
possibilities. In view of the fact that so many mutational variants exist in any
one afflicted individual, the creation of an antigenic spectrum of crippled
virions could provide for a unique host-specific stimulation of the immune
system, thus designing what may be called a host-specific autovaccine.
In HCV, viral load appears to be a major
factor in the invasiveness and virulence of the disease process. Preliminary
research has shown that reduction of viral load in Hepatitis C by means of ozone
therapy can significantly normalize hepatic enzymes and improve measures of
global patient health. Volunteers administered ozone therapy according to the
method achieved a viral load reduction in the order of 5 log, or 99.9%, along
with a normalization of liver enzyme levels.
So it is clear that,
Medical Ozone
embodies unique physico-chemical and biological properties which suggest an
important role in the therapy of hepatitis C.