Fred R. Klenner

Frederick Robert Klenner, (Oct 22, 1907 – May 20, 1984) was an American medical researcher and doctor in general practice in Reidsville, North Carolina. From the 1940s on he experimented with the use of vitamin C megadosage as a therapy for a wide range of illnesses, most notably polio. He authored 28 research papers during his career. He was one of the originators of orthomolecular medicine, but his work remains largely unaddressed by established medicine. [Robert Landwehr. " [http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/199x/landwehr-r-j_orthomol_med-1991-v6-n2-p99.htm The Origin of the 42-Year Stonewall of Vitamin C] ", J Othomolecular Med, 2002. Vol 6, No 2, pp 99-103] Klenner is the subject [Saul AW. " [http://www.doctoryourself.com/klennerbio.html Hidden in Plain Sight: The Pioneering Work of Frederick Robert Klenner, M.D.] " J Orthomolecular Med, 2007. Vol 22, No 1, pp 31-38.] or mentioned or referenced in a number of orthomolecular medicine related papers and articles. A recent book [ cite book |last=Levy |first=Thomas E. |authorlink=Thomas E. Levy |coauthors= |title=Vitamin C Infectious Diseases, & Toxins |year=2002 |publisher=Xlibris |location= |isbn=1401069630] broadly updating Klenner's cumulative vitamin C work is dedicated to him and he is profiled in "Medical Mavericks". [Riordan HD. (1989) "Medical Mavericks", Bio-Communications Inc. ISBN 0942333098]

Life

Born in Pennsylvania, Klenner attended St. Vincent College and St. Francis College, where he received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology. He graduated with honours and was awarded a teaching fellowship. He was also awarded the college medal for scholastic philosophy. He then took another teaching fellowship in chemistry at Catholic University, where he studied for his doctorate in physiology.

He graduated from Duke University, School of Medicine in 1936. After three years of hospital training and his marriage to Annie Hill Sharp, sister of Susie Sharp ^{[http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/htm/04898.html]} , he entered private medical practice in her hometown of Reidsville, North Carolina. He continued to work there all his life.

In 1946, in Reidsville, North Carolina, he delivered the Fultz Quadruplets, ^{[http://webcache.news-record.com/legacy/indepth/fultz/day1/day1.html]} the world's first recorded set of identical black quadruplets and the first quadruplets to survive in the Southern United States. He subsequently brokered a 'corporate adoption' by Pet Milk, a Saint Louis dairy, which provided a foster home, foster care, living expenses, a 147 acre farm, clothes, medical and dental care through majority in return for promotional rights. All were born under Klenner's noteworthy high vitamin C maternity regimen for over 300 births.

His main subspecialty was diseases of the chest, but he became interested in the use of very large doses of Vitamin C in the treatment of a wide range of illness. Many of his experiments were performed on himself. In 1948, he published his first paper on the use of large doses of Vitamin C in the treatment of virus diseases.

In 1949 Klenner published in and presented a paper to the American Medical Association detailing the complete cure of 60 out of 60 of his patients with polio using intravenous sodium ascorbate injection.Fact|date=September 2007 Galloway and Seifert cited Klenner's presentation to the AMA in a paper of theirs. [Galloway, T. and Seifert, M. (1949) Bulbar Polyiomyelitis:favorable results in its treatment as a problem of respiratory obstruction. Journal of the American Medical Association, 141 (1):1-8] Generally, he gave 350 to 700 mg per kilogram body weight per day.

He described giving up to 300,000 milligrams (mg) per day of neutral pH sodium ascorbate. Klenner published 27 medical papers, most about vitamin C applications for over 30 diseases, two about treatment of severe neuropathies including multiple sclerosis using [http://www.townsendletter.com/Klenner/klenner1.htm aggressive supplementation] [Klenner F. (1973)Response of peripheral and central nerve pathology to mega-doses of the vitamin B complex and other metabolites. Journal of Applied Nutrition pp16-40.] . He wrote a 28th paper ca 1980, an unpublished update about MS treatment. It was posthumously summarized by Lendon Smith in the "Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C".

His maxim: the patient should "get large doses of vitamin C in all pathological conditions while the physician ponders the diagnosis."

He inspired Linus Pauling and Irwin Stone to expand the research on the wider benefits of Vitamin C. In the foreword of the "Clinical Guide", Linus Pauling wrote: "The early papers by Dr. Fred R. Klenner provide much information about the use of large doses of Vitamin C in preventing and treating many diseases. These papers are still important."Fact|date=September 2007

References

Own publications
*Klenner, F. (1971) "Significance Of High Daily Intake Of Ascorbic Acid In Preventive Medicine," Journal of the International Academy of Preventive Medicine, Spring 1974, Volume 1, Number 1, pp. 45-69 [http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/197x/klenner-fr-j_int_assn_prev_med-1974-v1-n1-p45.htm]
*Klenner, Frederick Robert, MD F.C.C.P. "Observations On the Dose and Administration of Ascorbic Acid When Employed Beyond the Range Of A Vitamin", Human Pathology Journal of Applied Nutrition Vol. 23, No's 3 & 4, Winter 1971. [http://www.orthomed.com/klenner.htm]
*Fred R. Klenner, M.D. 1948 "Virus Pneumonia and Its Treatment With Vitamin C" [http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/194x/klenner-fr-southern_med_surg-1948-v110-n2-p36.htm]
*Klenner, Frederick Robert, MD. "The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C", 1949 paper [http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/194x/klenner-fr-southern_med_surg-1949-v111-n7-p209.htm]
*Fred R. Klenner, M.D. 1953 "The Use of Vitamin C as an Antibiotic" [http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/195x/klenner-fr-j_appl_nutr-1953-v6-p274.htm]

A posthumous summary of Klenner's 28 papers.
*Lendon H. Smith, M.D., Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C - The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D. [http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/198x/smith-lh-clinical_guide_1988.htm]

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.orthomed.com/klenner.htm#biography Biography at orthomed.com]