Prescribe for Yourself - BioPro Thymic Protein

The thymus produces hormone-like proteins that regulate the immune system, meaning that it controls the production and maturation of important immune cells. For this role, the thymus is distinguished as the "master gland of the immune system."

Chronic stress, environmental toxins, poor diet, viral and bacterial invaders, and other factors can impair immune system function. This is compounded by the mysterious fact that as we age, the thymus gland shrinks in size, a process known as "involution." Located above the heart just behind the breastbone, the thymus is at its largest size when we're newborn, but by age 40, it's only about one-sixth this size. Its reduced ability, or inability, to program new immune cells is possibly the reason why we have less ability to fight infection as we age. Studies show that even by the age of 20, adults have difficulty refurbishing their immune systems when they're destroyed by extensive radiation.

Fortunately, the thymic protein BioPro can help people rebuild a failing immune system. Michael E. Rosenbaum, M.D., M.Sc., is a physician and nutritionist who conducted a study of the benefits of BioPro in patients diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Dr. Rosenbaum is a leader in the field of natural health and vitality who has written extensively on immunity and nutrition, and is currently a Director of the Orthomolecular Health Medicine Society. In 1992, he co-wrote Solving the Puzzle of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Life Sciences Press) with colleague Murray Susser, M.D.

All the patients in Dr. Rosenbaum's study had pre- and post-treatment blood work, and the common result found across the study was that BioPro helped to change the biomarkers for CFS in a positive direction. The doctor also observed an improved sense of well-being."I am very impressed by the positive shift in the immune response," says Dr. Rosenbaum. He adds that the results are being tabulated for publication.

Other physicians are recounting their BioPro successes. Internationally recognized lecturer and clinician Serafina Corsello, M.D., founder and executive medical director of the Corsello Centers for Integrative Medicine in New York, and cofounder of the Foundation for the Advancement of Innovative Medicine (FAIM), is a BioPro advocate. Dr. Corsello's first experience with BioPro demonstrated its ability to resolve her own acute cystitis symptoms within one evening. She described this episode to listeners while hosting "Your Health Choices," a nationally-syndicated radio program, saying three packets of BioPro was all it took.

Julian Whitaker, M.D., Director of the Whitaker Wellness Institute in Newport Beach, California, is another well-known physician who has given a BioPro testimonial. As Dr. Whitaker related in his monthly newsletter, Health & Healing, on the evening of the third day of a horrendous flu, he took a packet of BioPro each of the four times he woke up. When he awoke the following morning, he was surprised to find that he felt well enough to go to the office.

Yet as captivating as these BioPro stories of immediate healing are, they're only the opening act in a huge story. Dr. Whitaker says BioPro™ Thymic Protein A is "likely the most powerful stimulant of the immune system ever discovered."

The thymus is a ductless gland--called a holocrine gland because it secretes whole cells. It's where immune-defensive T cells are nurtured and matured. The thymus is like a school for teaching T cells their immune functions. Its "teachers" are 30 distinct proteins that program the T cells. Most of our T cells "graduate" and leave the thymus to go live elsewhere by the time we're fully grown. The immune system continues to function because these preprogrammed T cells still circulate in the body.

Thymic cellular education begins before birth, when the thymus becomes populated with lymphocytes, the infection-fighting white blood cells. Proteins in the thymus transform these cells into T lymphocytes (T for thymus), commonly known as T cells. Some T cells are programmed to be T4 helper cells, the crucial agents of immune defense that recognize the difference between "self" (one's own cells) and "nonself" (foreign invaders such as viruses and neoplastic tissues such as malignancies).

When T4 cells identify nonself substances, they trigger the search-and-destroy missions of another type of T cell, the cytotoxic T8 killer cell. Other T cells signal B-lymphocyte cells in the bone marrow to produce antibodies that neutralize specific foreign invaders.

The immune system has to have a healthy population of T cells to do its job of protecting us from nonself substances. Defense is no easy task. We live in a sea of invaders, of countless airborne, surface-borne and waterborne pathogens. Then there are the genetic mutations constantly taking place within our bodies, greatly exacerbated by environmental toxins and other factors, and tending to form pre-cancerous cells. The T in T cell should stand for tough. The ability of the immune system to protect us is amazing.

Researcher and immunologist Terry Beardsley, Ph.D., recognized the importance of the thymus while studying immune deficiency at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. As he considered the essential benefits of replacing natural thymic function to repair immune deficiency, he came up with the concept that resulted in BioPro.

Dr. Beardsley knew that all the thymus extract preparations available at that time, in the late 1970s, were derived by grinding up thymus tissue, meaning that they contained only fragments of proteins. He reasoned that it would be better to use whole, intact thymic protein molecules instead, because the entire protein molecules are needed to attach, or "fit," into the receptor sites of deficient T4 helper cells.

Once the T4 cells' receptor sites are filled by these thymic protein molecules, the cells become activated. They can then start producing
immune-defense molecules such as Interleukin-2, an immune system activators of T killer cells.

In the laboratory, Dr. Beardsley began culturing thymus cells to isolate the specific protein molecule that causes T4 cells to mature. He was able finally to purify the intact native thymus protein biomolecule, comprising 500 amino acids, and make it available in the same form as it exists in the human thymus. He was awarded a patent for this process.

Scanning electron micrograph of a T lymphocyte,
or T cell, which is produced in the bone marrow

and matured in the thymus gland.

Dr. Beardsley spent more than 10 years doing the fundamental research in animals to prove that BioPro works. Assay tests in animal models and in the laboratory show the production of Interleukin-2. Its production by T4 cells is the benchmark measure of T cell maturity and the initiation of immune response. Tests at the National Institutes of Health have also proved the protein product to be a powerful immune stimulant. Many other tests and trials, including one conducted with 22 cats infected with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, have shown that Dr. Beardsley's thymus protein enhances immunity as defined by both clinical and laboratory parameters.

Electron micrograph showing a T killer cell (in yellow)
inducing a cancer cell to undergo programmed cell death.

James Lapcevic, D.O., of Las Vegas, Nevada, has also studied BioPro clinically. He says it "strengthens the body's defense force against all infections." Dr. Lapcevic estimated (and reported in a 1997 issue of the Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients) that 65 million Americans have a dysfunctional immune system, and that "manifestations are a variety of diseases, such as arthritis, asthma, allergy, diabetes, chronic viral infections, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Epstein-Barr virus, AIDS, and cancer." He is not alone in his belief that "a large portion of immune dysfunction and suppression may be due to thymus functional deficiency."

"Loading theory" is the term often used to explain immune dysfunction. The immune system first gets knocked down, or disregulated, by many things together (such as stress, viruses, and toxins). Then along comes an infection that never really goes away. The infection is the last straw, precipitating an immune dysfunction syndrome. Dr. Atkins uses the term "mixed-infection syndrome" to describe this process, saying that it sometimes begins with Candida albicans (yeast) overgrowth. Add to that a virus like Epstein-Barr and the "immune system is overwhelmed because it's overmatched."

Dr. Lapcevic has seen clinical improvements in immunity from BioPro use. They include increased total white blood cell count; increased T4 and T8 cell levels; increased total red blood cell count; sometimes an increase in Natural Killer cell level; and a decrease in viral load.

The doctor points out, however, that BioPro is not a "magic bullet" in the sense that one can ignore the importance of "lifestyle, diet, general nutrition, and state of mind as essential components to sound health and longevity."

Many consider T4 helper cell function one of the keys to longevity and the most important aspect of immunity. Healthy immune function has benefits ranging from anti-aging to helping to reverse cancer. Robert Rountree, M.D., co-founder of Helios Health Center in Boulder, Colorado, is widely known for his skill in providing nutritional, herbal, and mind/body healing techniques for persons with cancer. He knows the importance of substances that boost the immune system and has added BioPro (one to three packets per day) to his list of therapies for cancer patient care.

Some Indications for BioPro

BioPro™ Thymic Protein A is indicated for fighting infections as well as
immune-deficiency diseases such as HIV. Physicians have reported it
to be effective against infections including herpes, shingles, flu, colds,
and sinusitis. It may be used in any situation in which strengthening of
immune function is desirable.

Other named indications:

* AIDS--restoring the level of T4 cells
* Allergies--fighting underlying infections that disregulate immunity
* Anti-aging--restoring immune "efficiency"
* Arthritis--including juvenile arthritis
* Bladder cancer--boosts effectiveness
of BCG treatment
* Cancer (prostate cancer study being conducted)
* Chronic fatigue syndrome
* Chronic recurrent infections from overuse of antibiotics
* Environmental illness
* Fibromyalgia
* Hepatitis C (further study being conducted)
* Immune strengthening during treatment with chemotherapy, radiation,
and immune-suppressing drugs
* Lyme Disease--"may enhance immunity against"
* Prevention of cancer and other degenerative diseases
* Veterinary applications--animal version being developed

Obtaining balance

Dr. Beardsley has often been asked about autoimmune diseases, and whether his thymus protein could overstimulate the thymus, making such conditions worse. He dismisses the notion as out of date and says new data shows that "autoimmunity is the other side of the same coin as immune deficiency." In other words, autoimmune conditions are likely another manifestation of immune disregulation--a loss of regulation that indicates thymic dysfunction.

Dr. Corsello, a leader among those who've chosen to combine complementary interventions with conventional medical modalities, uses BioPro as an integrative aspect of her practice. "When in doubt," she says, "use an adaptogen, which is what BioPro is. It doesn't up-regulate or down-regulate the immune system. . . . People are so brainwashed in terms of up-regulation, down-regulation. They're not trained to understand harmonization, balance. . . . When you're restoring functions, you're obtaining balance. You're bringing the intelligence, the original intelligence of the function for which the organ was created by God."

No contraindications

BioPro is extremely safe. To date, there are no reports of allergic reaction. Dr. Beardsley adds that no animals are sacrificed for this product. Cells from the original calf thymus source are cultured in the laboratory.

No contraindications are known. And there is no gland-suppressing feedback effect from taking Thymic Protein A (as there can be from taking substances to stimulate endocrine glands).

People taking cortisone and other steroids, or drugs for AIDS, which all suppress immune function, have seen less benefit from BioPro. (While steroids interfere with the protein's adherence to lymphocytes, this is not a contraindication.) The effectiveness of higher dosages in overcoming or compensating for cortisone-type damage needs to be studied. Dr. Corsello suggests trying to take enough BioPro to overcome the effects of immune-suppressing drugs.

Usage

BioPro™ Protein A comes in single-dose packets, each containing 12 trillion biologically-active protein molecules (4 micrograms) in a maltodextrin powder base. The structure of the protein molecule is very fragile: it is easily destroyed by stomach acid. It is improtant, therefore, that each dose be slowly dissolved sublingually (under the tongue), where it can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream.

The recommended BioPro dosage is generally one to three packets per day, depending on the type and severity of the health problem.The appropriate level of thymic supplementation should be discussed with a qualified health care practitioner.

Contact:

For information about ordering BioPro™ Thymic Protein A, call PTP Distributors: 800-776-9577.

For further information about BioPro™ Thymic Protein A, or to order the product, call Klabin Marketing: 800-933-9440.

For information about Dr. Michael Rosenbaum's use of BioPro and his approach to treating CFS, visit his website at www.michaelrosenbaummd.com. (Dr. Rosenbaum's office is at 300 Tamal Plaza, Suite 120, Corte Madera, CA 94925; phone number: 415-927-9450.)

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