BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 14, 2007 — A Cold War era Soviet doctor and scientist, General Vsevolod Ogarkov, had no idea the fruits of his bio-warfare research program would be used by 21st century American doctors and patients for immune system support and to beat winter colds and flu.
Thirty years later, a Colorado pharmacist has found his retirement has taken unexpected directions as a result of Ogarkov's research program.
During the 1970s, Ogarkov's researchers were studying lactobacillus bacteria, which made sense to the Russians, as these bacteria are found in traditional Eastern European foods such as yogurt. Called "probiotics" in current market jargon, the researchers believed these natural bacteria held a key to jump-starting the human immune system. By "lysing," or processing the cells into pieces, the Russians designed a product to protect the Soviet army from bio-warfare agents such as anthrax.
After his 1998 retirement, business associates introduced pharmacist John Sichel to the Russian product, called "Preparate." When he discovered the cell-wall fragment powder eliminated his daughter's hepatitis C symptoms in 1999, Sichel shared it with friends, who reported relief from everything from chronic coughs to chemotherapy and radiation side-effects. Many said cold and flu symptoms disappeared in four to 24 hours.
The details of the story read like a Michael Crichton novel, but the short version is that Sichel began marketing the product as a nutritional supplement in 2002, moving manufacturing from St. Petersberg, Russia to Indianapolis, Ind. His company, Pure Research Products, now has a customer base of over 15,000. Sichel has done virtually no advertising – business has grown via word-of-mouth out of his Boulder basement. The product has fans, including medical doctors, in all 50 states and in 10 countries.
New studies on the American-made product confirm the Russian researchers' findings. Research shows that the lysed lactobacillus cell fragments increase levels of immune activity, specifically natural interferons, which are important keys to immune function. The research also shows significant increases in tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and natural killer (NK cells).
"If you had told me 10 years ago this would happen, I wouldn't have believed it," Sichel said. With his "big pharma" background from marketing Valium in the 1960s, Sichel added that reported results are more in-line with a drug than a nutritional supplement.
Several doctors are giving the product, called "Del-Immune V," to patients. "This product is consistently safe, effective and has no side effects," said Dr. Elin Ritchie of Taos, N.M. Ritchie added that teachers are its biggest fans, reporting a significant reduction in winter cold and flu bouts.
"We often see liver and stomach problems in chemotherapy and radiation patients," said Dr. Lee Rieniets of Melville, Western Australia. "On Del-Immune V, many of those problems clear up." Dr. Reinierts, also a biochemist and geneticist, added that he regards the product as a highly effective immune booster.
Information is available at http://www.delimmune.com.
Contact:
Pure Research Products
Pamela Sichel
(303) 530-7761