Here's a good interferon resource I came across: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/9352/interferon.html.
Also, I saw an interesting post on the list from a couple years ago. The info comes from an Italian girl that Paolo talked to. It talks about cycling on and off to try and correspond with the cat's natural cycle, instead of seemingly random numbers like 7 and 7. It makes sense. But who knows? It's long. Here's the original post: http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:x04gHymhgiAJ:www.mail-archive.com/felvtalk%40vlists.net/msg32107.html+virbagen+immunoregulin&hl=en. Copy/paste below: > Hi all, > > I would like to share with you an experience with a different > way to administer oral Interferon. > > That is definitely NOT flour from my mill. It came out from > several hours on the phone with that fine Italian girl that I > mentioned once, and that is really good in vet medicine, > with the addition of a huge "hands-on" experience and really > open-minded... much more open-minded that the majority of the DVMs ;) > Unfortunately, notwithstanding she reads English without problems > (she lurks here, and in her PC there are even the most obscure works > from the most obscure universities), she says she's not good at all in > WRITING in English. What a pity ! > We got in contact because she lurked Felvtalk at the time of my > first posts. She would be a great presence on the list, just like at > the times of Dr. Myers, that Felvtalk oldtimers certainly remember... > > Anyway, here is the stuff. > > Human recombinant alpha Interferon, in FeLV+ cats, is generally > administered, orally, according to the well-established protocol > 7-days-on-7-days-off, 30 units per time. > > Given in this way, alpha Interferon does not act "interfering" with > the replication of the virus (as it does when given IV at million > units), but instead triggering, through the typical target organs > (tonsils and sub-tongue area), the production of the cat's OWN > interferon (omega Interferon). So, the benefits for the cat come from > HIS OWN interferon: oral alpha Interferon is just the "switch" to > promote production of the cat's endogen omega Interferon. > > Almost all FeLV+ cats, if not given a particular therapy, such as > Interferon, show the "rollercoaster" effect that we all know so well; > the cats goes uphill and downhill, and the "period" of this > up-and-down cycle is not necessarily regular. [ the "period" of any > physical *repetitive* phenomenon is the TIME > after which the phenomenon repeats identically; the period of > earth's rotation is 24 hours, the period of its revolution is 365 > days, the period of AC power from an USA mains outlet at 60 cycles > per second is 1/60 = 0.01666 seconds] > > Now, if we take note of the period of the rollercoaster in a > "non-Interferon" cat, we see that this period is NOT 14 days > (that is the period of the Interferon administration protocol, 7+7). > This means that the two periods (rollercoaster and Interferon) are > "asynchronous" between them, and would tend to go out of phase. > > In the example below, an hypothetical rollercoaster behaviour > (asterisk= "up" day) is confronted to the Interferon therapy > (asterisk= Interferon day) > > > ******** ******** ******** ******** > > ******* ******* ******* ******* ******* > > We see that, in certain moments, it happens that the last day > of Interferon falls near or at the end of the "up" period (beginning > of the downhill). It means that the Interferon is removed when the cat > needs it more!!! > > The function of the 7 days "off" in the standard Interferon > protocol is to avoid that the cat develops an immunity, i.e. > "insensitivity", against the oral Interferon that, being *human* > interferon, is marked as alien. So, no problem arises, from this > point of view, should the "off" period be LONGER than 7 days. > > In this light, we modified the protocol. > Interferon was started only when I felt that Micia was beginning > her "downhill" period (any of us can notice it from many little signs: > drop of appetite, (s)he doesn't run to us when entering the room, > sleepy behaviour...), and, after the 7th day, it was suspended, but > NOT re-started after 7 days, but only at the beginning of the next > "down" period. > > In this way, Interferon is given the very days the organism needs it > more, and removed when it can walk on its legs. > I observed that the behaviour of Micia, with the modified protocol, > was much "smoother" and more uniform than under the old protocol. > > Not only. > The oral way of administration spoils Interferon of ALL its *negative* > side effects, that, as you know, can be heavy when given sub-Q or IV; > to use someone else's words, in this way "can't hurt, might help". > Consider that about 89% of the ingested Interferon is lost, and that > only the Interferon that comes in contact with tonsils and sub- tongue > area "switches on" the cat's OWN Interferon production: the > administration should be SLOW, to prolonge the time during which > Interferon remains in contact with the target organs. > Squirting it too fast makes it useless as squirting it directly down > the esophagus. Most cats (and Micia between them) aren't particularly > "willing" to withstand 10 minutes of Interferon drip... > Supported in that by the vet literature, we concluded that the value > of 30 units for *oral* Interferon is not to be considered as engraved > in stone. I switched to 60 units per time, but you could give 200 or > 300 units as well. > > We all know that it's quite a widespread opinion that oral > Interferon, > at the 30 IU doses, doesn't work, and in effects, on some cats, > it doesn't work: Glenda Gardam, in a private Email, put it down > clearly > > >Our cats are still dying young > >whether or not they are on it! It helps *some* cats, but not many, in > >my opinion, but that is just my own personal opinion. [...] > >Homeopathy is not accepted by most people in North America, and I > >have been told many times that it is a waste of money, that the Vet's > >that use it are frauds, etc. [...] I have been told it is as > >effective as witchcraft, that it is stupid folklore etc............ > > I feel to suggest this protocol and dosage as a valid alternative to > the "standard" protocol, especially when the sky-high costs of FELINE > Interferon are out-of-budget. > > Yes, FELINE INTERFERON... > > In mid-December, my wife, our vet and one of the main professors at > Milan University decided (secretly from me...) to treat Micia with the > new feline Interferon, "Virbagen Omega" by Virbac. Four other FeLV cat > owners decided to treat their cats with this stuff in the same days. > I'll tell about it in a separate post. > > I hope to hear from you soon > Paolo > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sue Feldbusch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org> Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 10:28 PM Subject: interferon > How long have your felv+cats been on interferon? What's your dosing > procedure? My cat has been on it about 1.5 yrs. and 7 days on/7 days off > method. I heard about antibodies. > > > >
