May 27, 1994
Dr. H. Rodney Withers - Director
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
10833 Le Conte Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Dear Dr. Withers,
Thank you for your letter dated May 20, 1994. Your decision of not
committing resources to low-level DC electrotherapy may be correct and
proper, but I do wish to respond to the objections raised by you:
1. It is true that negative results are infrequently published, but this is
unlikely to be the case here since the last paper published (in 1992) on
this subject -- ref.#6 on the yellow sheet -- was all negative. [A careful
study of the previous works would indicate that most beneficial results are
obtained with 2 to 3 milli-ampere currents applied at 1.5 to 3 volts.
Authors of the last paper, however, decided to use 20 mA at 9 V, causing
electrochemistry rather than electrotherapy!]
2. Yes, electric currents are used to heal bone-fractures but such currents
are usually alternate. Even when direct currents are used for this purpose,
the level is kept between 2 and 20 micro-ampere -- about 100 to 1000 times
less than that suitable for tumor-treatment.
3. I am a bit surprised at your statement that the tumor systems used in
those publications would have elicited immune rejection responses and hence
the results are open to some question. In all the experiments, comparative
studies were done between test and control groups. Since immune system
would affect both groups equally, it should have no bearing on
(differential) results.
4. Low-level DC electrotherapy may act selectively on a tumor since its
likely target is the free-radical containing active-site of enzyme
ribonucleotide reductase. Concentration of this enzyme - vital for cell
growth - is exponentially higher in cancerous cells, as compared to
ordinary cells. (In fact, basal level concentration of this enzyme in
normal cells is so low that it can only be inferred, not detected.)
Evidence seems to indicate that feeble direct currents of a few milliampere
have little, if any, adverse effect on healthy tissues. This is in contrast
with chemotherapeutic drugs - including hydroxy urea - which often destroy
biochemical machinery of a cell at multiple sites, without any finesse, and
thus are highly toxic to all tissues.
Sincerely,
Jay Kulsh
1333 N. Sweetzer Ave. #2F, Los Angeles, CA 90069 * Phone/Fax: 213-654-3782
P.S.: Recently-retired Dr. Robert 0. Becker - a top authority in the field
of bioelectricity -who in his last book 'Cross Currents' mentioned about
the need for "a more sophisticated approach" in treating cancer with
electricity, thinks that I have right ideas.