X-Message-Number: 8322 Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 13:10:26 -0400 (EDT) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: More Virodene Facts I hate to disrupt the fascinating philosophical debates about identity, here, with a post that actually deals with (gasp) KNOWN FACTS IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD, especially since I am also presenting bad news (and I know how cryonicists hate bad news). But here are some facts about DMF (the active ingredient in Visser's purported AIDS cure) from the Merck Index, 11th edition (kindly supplied to me by a non-cryonicist biochemist): ------------------- LD50 (dose that is lethal to 50% of the experimental animals) for mice and rats: 6.8 and 7.6 milliters per kilogram body weight, orally; 6.2 and 4.7 milliters per kilogram body weight, intraperitoneal (sic). Quote from section labeled "human toxicity": "Vapor harmful. Irritating to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Liver injury has been produced in experimental animals by prolonged inhalation of 100 parts per million." References are cited in the manual. ------------------- So, if you BREATHE this stuff, it's bad news. What does that tell us about patients who had it applied directly to their skin, bearing in mind that it penetrates the skin, as I understand it, more effectively than DMSO? It tells me that Virodene provides the convenience of one-stop shopping. After it kills you, if you want to be frozen, you don't have to look around for a cryoprotectant. You've already been perfused! Serious question for Robert Ettinger: Does your faith in Ms. Visser extend to the point where you would be willing to apply a Virodene patch to your own arm? Just curious. --CP Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=8322