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Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation (UVBI) involves the closed circuit, ex vivo exposure of less than 1/20^th of your bloodstream to ultraviolet light.  Rapidly dividing or metabolically overactive blood components (bacteria, parasites, and viruses) will absorb excessive ultraviolet energy and sustain DNA/RNA damage.  Resting white cells will absorb less energy, but will use this energy to up regulate their oxidative anti-microbial defense mechanisms.  Infused back into your circulation will be dead/attenuated microbes (which act like a vaccine – UVBI was first used to treat polio) and physiologically up regulated immune cells.  Thus UVBI is effective (multiple papers to prove this) in human bacterial and viral infection.  Abnormally activated immune cells, such as those involved in asthma and autoimmune conditions, will also absorb excessive energy; thus a benefit of UVBI in asthma and (likely) other auto-immune conditions.  The oxygen binding determinant of hemoglobin (2,3-DPG) is altered, such that blood and tissue oxygenation improve.  While only a small portion of your circulation receives direct ultraviolet energy, these cells will release photons of energy to the remaining cells of your body (termed secondary emanation), so your entire body is treated.  Autonomic nervous system function is affected, leading to peripheral vasodilation.  Toxins are inactivated; thus UVBI rapidly clears the “toxicity” of infection and may be useful in the treatment of spider and snake bites.  UVBI has been used successfully in wound healing and in speeding recovery from surgery (given either pre or post-op).  A German study demonstrated a symptomatic benefit in peripheral vascular disease, and American case reports described favorable affects in CV conditions.  The down side potential of this office-based IV therapy is minimal (see consent form).

So why isn’t UVBI in widespread use today?  Well, UVBI was in widespread use before I was born.  UVBI is FDA allowed, but the machines are not patentable.  There is no financial incentive for any entity to fund UVBI research.  UVBI just doesn’t fit in with the way we do Medicine in the US.  To quote Robert Rowan MD (who taught me the UVBI technique) UVBI is “The Cure that Time Forgot”.  Now it is our time to bring this low cost, low risk treatment back.

UVBI came about in the early 1930s.  At that time, polio was the scourge of young people and American Medicine had little to offer those stricken.  Today polio is a non-issue, as a result of polio vaccination.  As kids we received attenuated (lethally injured) polio virus, to which our immune system develops effective immunity.  UVBI was invented by Emmitt Knott, an American engineer.  The ex vivo (outside the body) antimicrobial effects of UV light had been known for years.  Knott reasoned that exposure of a portion of one’s blood to UV energy would

lead to an in vivo (within the body) enhanced immune response.  Knott demonstrated a benefit in animals.  The first human to be treated (1933) was a young woman dying of sepsis.  All else had failed, but UVBI didn’t; she made a full recovery.  The second patient recovered from a brain abscess.  Doctors got excited; more patients were treated, and by the late 1940s 1000s of patients had been successfully treated and over 100 papers published.  UVBI worked where all else had failed.  High levels of success with the use of UVBI in bacterial and viral infections (including polio) were reported.  Surgeons noted a smoother post-op course when UVBI was applied pre-operatively.  Hypoxic patients treated with UVBI demonstrated improved blood and tissue oxygenation that lasted for weeks.  Applications in Military Medicine were found; UVBI improves tolerance to hypoxia in flyers and tolerance to bends in divers.   

In the ‘50s, new, patentable antibiotics came out and the attention of American physicians was shifted away from low-cost, non-patentable UVBI and towards the new pharmaceuticals, for which research money was available (same story as EECP).  UVBI remained in use in Germany and within the Soviet bloc, where 100s of additional papers were published. 

We now have drug resistant bacteria (bacteria cannot become UV resistant).  Air travel brings with it the potential for rapid dissemination of viral agents to which none of us are immune.  Twenty years ago I received training in Oxidative Medicine and passed the exam given by the American Board of Oxidative Medicine.  My own personal patients were treated with a device manufactured in Russia (American versions were not available).  The machine broke and I got interested in new projects (EECP, MME, clinical research, etc.), so I dropped the ball.  With the Ebola scare a few years ago, I got re-involved (nothing like a little personal fear to get the Doctor moving).   We now have a new machine of American manufacture and can offer this modality to you.  A treatment takes 30 minutes and involves a single IV stick.  The methodology we use is described in our UVBI consent form.  

A four-hour DVD literature review in available (click above) and you can read Into the Light by William Campbell Douglas MD or Dr. Rowan’s article The Cure that Time Forgot (search UVBI or Robert Rowan on line; also look at the websites that cover UVBI).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       James C. Roberts MD FACC FAARFM  2/13/18

                                                                                                       Informed Consent for Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation 

         I, __________________________________,representing that I am of sound mind and not currently under the influence of any alcohol or drugs, hereby give consent to Comprehensive Heart Care, Inc., and its employees, including any Doctor, Nurse, or Staff Member associated with Comprehensive Heart Care, to administer to me Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation (UVBI).  The rationale for UVBI has been explained to me and I have had the opportunity to ask questions.  I have reviewed the provided UVBI information sheet.  

         I understand that UVBI is not FDA approved; rather that UVBI is FDA cleared as a medical device that was in interstate commerce prior to 1975.  I understand that the efficacy of UVBI in any particular disease state has not been demonstrated to the FDA.  I understand that the rationale for UVBI rests in papers published in the American literature in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, and in later German and Russian literature.  I understand that Dr. Roberts has read these papers (those in English) and has received training in Oxidative Medicine and the application of UVBI.  I understand that Dr. Roberts feels that UVBI can be administered with safety and with an expectation of benefit in multiple medical conditions, particularly in infection.   

         If I am receiving UVBI to address an infectious process, I understand that UVBI should not be considered as an “alternative” or “substitute” for hospital based care in the case of serious infection, and I understand that antibiotic therapy may be appropriate even if I am receiving UVBI.  However, I understand that I should not take a sulfa antibiotic for five days post-UVBI.  I understand that I might experience a “die off” or “Herxheimer” reaction post-UVBI, related to the rapid destruction of invading organisms, and that this may take the form of malaise, fatigue, achiness, and sweats. 

         If I am receiving UVBI to address asthma, I understand that I might experience an asthma attack the night of my first UVBI, and thus I will keep my anti-asthma medications close at hand. 

         I understand that heparin, an anti-coagulant, will be used to prevent clot formation within my blood (when it is external to my body in the IV tubing, UV device, or syringe), and that I will experience a transient and mild anticoagulant effect when the heparinized blood is re-infused.  I further understand that abnormal bleeding has not been reported in the published UVBI literature.  Nonetheless, if I have any known bleeding tendencies or medical conditions associated with easy bleeding, I will relate these to Dr. Roberts prior to undergoing UVBI.  

         I understand that UVBI involves placement of an intravenous catheter, which always entails a small risk of infection, bleeding, or superficial clotting at the puncture site.  With the use of heparin anticoagulation, slight bruising at the puncture site would not be unexpected, and I accept this.  

         I understand that UVBI is not covered by Medicare or any other insurer.  As such, my insurer will not be billed for this service and I agree to reimburse Comprehensive Heart Care for the cost of UVBI at the time of service (or pre-paid by prior arrangement between myself and Comprehensive Heart Care).    

         Having read this document, the procedure description on the opposite page, Dr. Roberts’s information sheet on UVBI, and following a discussion with Dr. Roberts I wish to receive UVBI. 

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              Patients signature                                           Witness                                             Date