Autohemotherapy a Part of Immunotherapy
Autohemotherapy, or self-blood therapy, was first described by the French
physician Paul Ravaut in 1913 and has been employed in a wide range of
chronic disease conditions. Several hundred articles on the subject have
been published in mainstream medical journals, such as the Journal of
the American Medical Association, mostly from the early 1920s through
the early 1940s, as listed in the various Index Medicus volumes (generally
under the subject category "serum therapy").
Autohemotherapy is not an "alternative therapy". The reported beneficial
action of autohemotherapy has been attributed to the presence of antigens
in the blood, which stimulate the production of antibodies when injected
into the tissues. This explanation finds support in the work of Dr. E. C.
Rosenow (Mayo Foundation, 1915-44), which established the presence of
a causative organism or antigen in the blood during active stages of many
diseases. Thus the action of autohemotherapy can be compared to that of
an autologous vaccine and belongs into the field of immunotherapy.
The technique is more common in Europe and South America than in
the United States. It involves the withdrawal of a small amount of blood
(depending on the patient's condition) from the vein and the reinjection of
the same blood back into a muscle or into the vein. The aim of the therapy
is to enhance the immune system's ability to fight disease.
The blood retains its normal components - the usual complement of
hormones, antibodies, minerals, and salts. Any metabolic by-products
resulting from acute or long-term illnesses also will be present in the blood
and their reintroduction into the patient will force the body to mount a fresh
immune response to the disease causing substances.
The blood may be mixed with a homeopathic remedy, or ozone (an
unstable form of oxygen), before being reinjected into the patient. Dosage
and interval depend on the individual patient's needs.
This technique has been part of the Issels Treatment of immune disorders,
chronic degenerative diseases and cancer.
DISCLAIMER: The extent of the response to treatment varies from patient to patient, even with similar diagnosis as the internal bodily environment is unique to each individual patient.
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