Dr. Justus Hope explores DMSO: The buried breakthrough in regenerative and rehabilitation medicine

06/01/2025 / By Olivia Cook

Dr. Justus R. Hope highlights DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) as a safe, natural compound with broad therapeutic benefits—comparable to ivermectin—but ignored or suppressed by regulators and pharmaceutical interests due to its lack of patentability.
DMSO penetrates tissues deeply, reduces inflammation, repairs nerve damage, crosses the blood-brain barrier and protects against radiation-induced DNA damage. Despite its versatility, the FDA only approves it for a rare bladder condition.
In 1980, Dr. Stanley Jacob testified to Congress about DMSO’s success in treating strokes, paralysis and chronic pain, but the FDA halted research over unproven animal safety concerns, effectively burying its medical use.
Evidence suggests DMSO aids stroke recovery, spinal cord injuries, pain relief (without addiction), radiation protection, wound healing and even developmental disorders—yet most doctors avoid it due to legal and professional risks.
Hope advocates for renewed clinical trials, legal protections for off-label use and a shift toward patient-centered medicine, arguing that DMSO’s affordability and efficacy challenge profit-driven healthcare models.

Dr. Justus R. Hope, a physician known for challenging conventional medical thinking, wants to change how the mainstream medical system views dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). In his investigative article from October 2024, he uncovers the long-suppressed story of this natural tree-derived compound with profound healing potential and a regulatory past that may explain its silence from everyday medicine.

Like the antiviral drug ivermectin, DMSO is safe, inexpensive and used widely in veterinary medicine. Yet, its power to alleviate human suffering has been largely ignored – or actively suppressed – by regulatory bodies and pharmaceutical interests. Hope aptly calls DMSO “the other ivermectin” not just for its controversial path, but also because it threatens the financial pillars of modern medicine.

While the doctor didn’t start out as a DMSO advocate, he had years of experience in stroke rehabilitation under his belt and he understood how devastating paralysis and brain injuries can be. When Hope came across a report detailing DMSO’s ability to reverse paralysis, improve stroke recovery and relieve chronic pain, he was initially skeptical.

But the science was compelling. He dug into clinical studies, articles and testimonies from a largely forgotten 1980 congressional hearing. What he found changed his view – and may change the way we think about drug suppression, patient care and medical freedom.

What is DMSO?

DMSO is a naturally occurring sulfur-based compound derived from tree lignin, a substance found in wood pulp during paper manufacturing. Though first used industrially in the late 1800s, researchers in the 1960s began studying its biological and therapeutic properties – and what they discovered was remarkable.

Among its unique qualities, DMSO can:

Penetrate the skin, muscle, bone and tissues with ease.
Carry other substances directly into the bloodstream and cells.
Relieve pain and inflammation rapidly and non-addictively, particularly in rheumatological conditions where other treatments often failed.
Cross the blood-brain barrier, reaching the brain to protect neurons.
Stimulate nerve regeneration at the molecular level.
Repair DNA damage from radiation exposure.

Despite its broad therapeutic potential, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved DMSO for one condition – interstitial cystitis, a rare bladder disorder.

Jacob’s testimony and the FDA’s crackdown on DMSO

In 1980, transplant surgeon and cryobiologist Dr. Stanley Jacob testified before Congress about DMSO. He shared firsthand accounts of patients who had recovered from chronic pain, spinal injuries, strokes and ulcers – many of whom had experienced dramatic, even “miraculous” improvements with DMSO treatment.

The FDA’s response was silence and obstruction. Citing a theoretical concern that DMSO might caused blurred vision in animals, a side effect never observed in humans, the agency blocked broader research and clinical use.

Over 1,000 clinical studies on DMSO were shut down, and only the narrowest medical use was approved. Everything else remained, effectively, illegal. One FDA official reportedly vowed to “bury the drug once and for all” – and for the most part, the regulator did.

According to Hope, the parallels between DMSO and ivermectin are striking:

Both are decades old, generic and widely used in veterinary and alternative medicine.
Both were hailed for unexpected health benefits. Ivermectin showed potential to address Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, inflammation and even cancer. Meawhile, DMSO showed potential in addressing pain, inflammation, nerve damage and stroke.
Both faced dismissal from mainstream media and health authorities when they began to threaten lucrative treatment models.

The doctor observed a disturbingly familiar pattern with the two drugs. A cheap, natural compound shows promise across multiple conditions. Patients and doctors advocate for its use, backed by real-world results.

But regulatory bodies ignore it or cite weak justifications to restrict it. Meanwhile, Big Pharma – which is in bed with regulators – frown that these natural compounds cannot be patented. Without a patent, there is no profit and no push to bring it forward.

How DMSO works and what it may heal

DMSO’s therapeutic value stems from a few powerful mechanisms: It reduces inflammation, neutralizes free radicals, carries other substances deep into tissues and protects cells and nerves at the molecular level.

Here’s what research and case reports suggest it may help treat:

Stroke and brain injury: DMSO crosses the blood-brain barrier, allowing it to reach brain tissue quickly – something most drugs can’t do. Once there, it reduces inflammation, protects neurons and improves blood flow, helping prevent further damage. Case reports show patients regaining speech, movement and mobility within hours when treated promptly.
Spinal cord injury and nerve regeneration: DMSO helps preserve nerve cells and may stimulate regeneration of damaged nerves. By reducing swelling and oxidative stress around the spinal cord, it has enabled recovery in cases once considered irreversible – even in patients with long-standing paralysis.
Pain relief: DMSO acts as a fast-acting anti-inflammatory and analgesic, offering relief in seconds for many types of pain. It works at the cellular level to calm inflamed tissues and nerve endings. Importantly, it’s non-addictive, non-toxic and has no risk of respiratory depression – unlike opioids.
Radiation protection and DNA repair: DMSO has shown an extraordinary ability to protect cells from radiation damage. It scavenges harmful free radicals and has been documented to repair over 90 percent of double-stranded DNA breaks caused by gamma radiation. This suggests applications in cancer care, radiation therapy and nuclear emergency preparedness. (Related: DMSO: A common lab chemical with ANTICANCER potential.)
Ulcers and wound healing: DMSO penetrates skin and tissue barriers, bringing oxygen and nutrients into damaged areas while reducing inflammation and microbial growth. It accelerates the healing of diabetic disorders, pressure sores and scleroderma-related skin wounds, often with reduced pain and minimal scarring.
Development and neurological disorders: Although anecdotal, some reports describe neurological improvements in children with Down syndrome and other developmental delays after DMSO use. These effects may stem from its neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory actions in the central nervous system.

Why most doctors stay silent

Under federal law, prescribing DMSO “off label” is technically legal. However, many state regulations and medical board risks discourage its use.

In states like Florida, Montana, Oregon and Washington, laws support or protect physicians who prescribe pharmaceutical-grade DMSO outside its FDA-approved use. Meanwhile in California, physicians must provide written disclosures and obtain extensive informed consent – requirements that create legal and professional disincentives.

As a result, many patients resort to buying DMSO gels from farm supply stores, using veterinary-grade products on themselves – often without guidance or medical supervision. But nothing makes the case for DMSO more powerfully than the stories of real people:

Clara Fox, whose son Bill was paralyzed from a neck injury, watched him regain strength and mobility after receiving DMSO therapy. His progress stalled when the compound was removed, then resumed when it was reintroduced.
Scleroderma patients, who had lived with painful skin ulcers for years, saw healing within weeks.
Stroke survivors, once written off, began biking, walking and functioning again.

These stories and thousands more emerged from Jacob’s Oregon clinic, where DMSO was quietly administered in patients with stunning results.

A call to rethink medicine

Ultimately, Hope isn’t calling for blind belief in DMSO. He is calling for honest science, open minds and patient-first priorities. He believes that:

DMSO deserves renewed scrutiny in the form of clinical trials.
There should be legal protection for physicians prescribing it responsibly.
There should be open dialogue about its use in neuroprotection, pain care, stroke and more.
DMSO should be recognized not as an outdated solvent, but as a potentially transformative therapy.

In an era of soaring healthcare costs, chronic illness and increasing concern about radiation exposure, DMSO may be the right medicine at the right time. The story of DMSO isn’t just about a natural compound – it is about a medical system that sometimes favors profit over possibility.

Watch Dr. Jeffrey Mueller explaining the science and real-world use of DMSO in integrative medicine in this clip.

This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon.com.