Although there were no age-matched control patients in this outcome study, and certainly uncontrolled variables, considerable improvement was observed after parenteral infusion therapy with multiple nutrients, both for pre/post treatment and treatment over time. There was more pronounced improvement after longer-term treatment. Patients who received treatment for longer than a month fared considerably better than those who stopped therapy within a month or less.Patients experienced rapid clinical relief during – or at some time after – most infusions, depending on their degree of distress, and as the data demonstrates, pulmonary function improved overall during the sequential infusion study. It would also appear that the effectiveness of this type of therapy might be cumulative, as patients appeared to require treatment less often as time passed. Drug usage was decreased in all patients, and discontinued or reduced to intermittent use in over half of the patients studied.The primary reason mixed nutrients were employed in this study is that prior to this study the author had observed that the effect of a combination of nutrients was consistently more beneficial than the infusion of IV magnesium sulfate alone.
Patients given magnesium (sulfate) alone also seemed to develop a more rapidly increasing tolerance for (or resistance to) magnesium, and pulmonary function did not improve nearly as significantly as were those of patients who were given the complete protocols. Therefore, infusions of magnesium sulfate alone, without other nutrients added, was not employed in this study.It has been demonstrated previously that intravenous infusions with magnesium sulfate appear to be more effective that nebulized albuterol alone [26], and it has also been demonstrated that intravenous magnesium may be successful when all other more "traditional" interventions, including corticosteroids, have failed [28]. Considering this, the results of this study came as no surprise to the author.There are numerous metabolic and biochemical explanations as to why each of the specific nutrients added might indeed provide more benefit for asthmatics than magnesium sulfate alone. For example, Vitamin C is known to have a general antihistaminic effect [39], it decreases bronchial responsiveness overall [40] and bronchial responsiveness to histamine in patients with allergic rhinitis [41].
Vitamin C is also a potent free radical scavenger, and free radicals are known to play a role in the cause of airway obstruction attendant with asthma [42].Trace minerals also mitigate the inflammatory response [43], perhaps because they play a major role in the anti-oxidation of free radicals [44]. Further, manganese has been found deficient in bronchial biopsies of asthmatic patients, indication manganese replenishment could aid in the treatment of asthma. Lastly, zinc is an essential trace mineral for most immune mechanisms in the body to function, including lymphocyte (T-cell) function [46].This reasoning could partly explain why the patients in this study who received longer-term therapy with infusions fared best. Molybdenum, as Wright's study demonstrated [36], may be a significant part of the long-term benefit. Indeed, those patients who received an average of less than one infusion monthly for over a year fared almost three times as well as those who received infusions for a month or less.
Over the period of this study, the author observed that 6 of 44 asthmatic patients appeared to fail with this particular type of infusion therapy. These 6 patients, however, were judged as failures prior to any patient having received three IV treatments. Since this study was undertaken, the author has found that it sometimes takes 3 to 5 infusions for patients to observe a substantial clinical benefit. Therefore, actual failure may be in question.Shortly after this study was first begun, it became clear that patients who received weekly or more frequent therapy with these parenteral nutrients for a period of 1 1/2 to 3 months improved more rapidly and distinctly than patients who received only occasional infusions. It also became evident that this group of patients was able to extend the interval between treatments to 8–14 days and then longer. Several patients were able to extend their intervals out as far as 4–6 months with little apparent loss of efficacy.This led the author to reach the preliminary conclusion that there may be some type of "loading" period, or dose accumulation, of one or more of these nutrients employed here.
Dr. Wright, working with intravenous molybdenum for asthma, discovered this same phenomenon [36].It was also often observed that patients with acute asthma sometimes did not improve immediately, or even appeared to worsen immediately after an infusion. This is very likely secondary to the acute bronchodilitation resulting from this treatment, with resultant mucous production (release) and coughing. Studies have shown that optimal pulmonary function is likely to occur considerably later than 10 minutes after an infusion of magnesium, even out to perhaps 80–110 minutes [10]. The author's experience supports this observation and it is likely that the post-infusion measurements in this study were usually taken before the maximum benefit occurred.As a more important note, the author observed that the Infusion protocol, when given as the initial treatment, whether for a patient with acute or chronic asthma, could cause considerable worsening of symptoms several hours after the infusion. Early in the study, three patients who were given the Infusion as their first treatment experienced increased respiratory distress later in the day, two of which required emergency treatment.
The author postulates that the infusion administration of either the molybdenum or the trace minerals (containing molybdenum) prior to "priming" a patient with at least one IV that does not contain minerals can cause an adverse reaction. Although the mechanism of this reaction is not yet clear, the author speculates this response may be secondary to an acute sulfite detoxification response to molybdenum.Considering this, the author advises that neither trace minerals nor molybdenum be included in any rapidly infused IV or in any IV to be administered for acute asthma.The author would conclude that parenteral infusion therapy with the nutrients used in this study might have considerable benefit. Infusions of these particular parental nutrients very often made the difference for patients who otherwise were responding poorly to other modalities of treatment.As a result of this study, the author is of the opinion that this type of therapy adds a dimension to the treatment of chronic asthma not attainable with conventional therapy using bronchodilators and corticosteroids, especially in the acute situation.