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Immunocal

General Product Description: A whey protein powder product intended specifically for glutathione supplementation.
At one time. it was also called HMS90 (Humanized Milk Serum, 90% Protein).

Manufacturer Information: Immunocal is made by Immunotec Inc., 300 Joseph Carrier, Vaudreuil, Dorion, QC Canada J7V 5V5. Pronutra is made by Immunotec Medical Corporation, 3 Label Lane, Swanton, VT USA 05488.

Medical Validation: Immunocal is classified by the FDA as a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) product. As such, it is limited from making medical claims per se. Product information is generallypreceded with a disclaimer stating that the product is not intended to diagnose, cure, prevent, or treat any disease. Beyond the GRAS requirements very little validation is actually required. There may be one or more studies suggesting that the product might be beneficial or sometimes not. In many cases, actual scientific validation of nutraceutical products is rather minimal.
For a nutriceutical product, Immunocal stands out as being very well validated. When a doctor needs information on a medical product, they often go to the Physician's Desktop Reference (PDR). The PDR entry contains information on pharmacology, usage, contraindications, side effects, directions, and a list of scientific references presented in a concise, professionall written entry. For many doctors, that basicly does it in terms of validation. Both Immunocal and Pronutra have entries in the 2009 PDR. So if your doctor seems skeptical about this product, it will help to say, "It's in the PDR."

Immunocal has been the subject of a number of studies published in peer-reviewed medical literature. Some are referenced below. These papers usually use a generic name of the drug or compound so as not to give any appearance of a conflict of interest. They only give a brand name when absolutely necessary. Therefore, it is notable that at least 9 papers listed on www.pubmed.com state that Immunocal was the whey powder that was evaluated and refer to it by that name.

What distinguishes Immunocal from other whey powder products: There is a lot of variation in the protein composition of whey powders. Whey protein powder is not a standardized commodity. The effect of protein composition on quality of whey powder as a glutathione supplement is uncertain. However, variation from one product to the next is probably sufficient to make a difference.

Reports in medical journals will very seldom mention brand names to avoid onflict of interest issues. They will use the generic name of the product, e.g., diazepam rather than Valium. There must be a specific reason that justifies use of the brand name. It is therefore notable that the research studies mentioned above gernerally refer to Immunocal, by name, as opposed to undenatured whey protein isolate or concentrate.

Rimkor7 website is not affiliated in any way with the following suppliers. These sources are referenced the information and convenience of our visitors:

Immunocal Distributors:

www.zuckermanpharmacy.com

www.howtowireahouse.com

Clinical Studies:

1] Kennedy RS, Konok GP, Bounous G, Baruchel S, Lee TD.The use of a whey protein concentrate in the treatment of patients with metastatic carcinoma: a phase I-II clinical study.Anticancer Res. 1995 Nov-Dec;15(6B):2643-9

[2] Grey V, Mohammed SR, Smountas AA, Bahlool R, Lands LC. Improved glutathione status in young adult patients with cystic fibrosis supplemented with whey protein. J Cyst Fibros. 2003 Dec;2(4):195-8. Erratum in: J Cyst Fibros. 2004 Mar;3(1):62.

[3] Micke P, Beeh KM, Buhl R.Effects of long-term supplementation with whey proteins on plasma glutathione levels of HIV-infected patients. Eur J Nutr. 2002 Feb;41(1):12-8.

[4] Watanabe A, Okada K, Shimizu Y, Wakabayashi H, Higuchi K, Niiya K, Kuwabara Y, Yasuyama T, Ito H, Tsukishiro T, Kondoh Y, Emi N, Kohri H. Nutritional therapy of chronic hepatitis by whey protein (non-heated). J Med. 2000;31(5-6):283-302.

In vitro studies:

[5] Baruchel S, Viau G. In vitro selective modulation of cellular glutathione by a humanized native milk protein isolate in normal cells and rat mammary carcinoma model. Anticancer Res. 1996 May-Jun;16(3A):1095-9.

[6] Tsai WY, Chang WH, Chen CH, Lu FJ. Enhancing effect of patented whey protein isolate (Immunocal) on cytotoxicity of an anticancer drug. Nutr Cancer. 2000;38(2):200-8.

Literature reviews:

[7] Kelly KM. Bringing evidence to complementary and alternative medicine in children with cancer: Focus on nutrition-related therapies. Pediatric Blood Cancer. 2008 Feb;50(2 Suppl):490-3; discussion 498. Review.

[8] Bounous G. Whey protein concentrate (WPC) and glutathione modulation in cancer treatment. Cancer Res. 2000 Nov-Dec;20(6C):4785-92. Review.