Melissa Kaplan's
Chronic Neuroimmune Diseases
Information on CFS, FM, MCS, Lyme Disease, Thyroid, and more...
Last updated January 1, 2014

Note: in 1999, Dr. Beardsley began producing his thymic protein A under the name ProBoost^™. Before that time it was marketed under the name BioPro, the name I knew it as when I took it as part of the study described below.

In July-October 1997, my physician, Michael Rosenbaum MD, and an associate of his in Southern California, decided to conduct a small study of willing CFS patients of theirs on the efficacy in Biopro Thymic Protein A (now called ProBoost) on CFS. Each of us had been previously thoroughly tested to rule-out other diseases/disorders that could be the cause of our CFS-like symptoms, and had been concretely diagnosed with CFS.

There were about 30 of us in Northern and Southern California. Blood was drawn prior to our starting taking the ProBoost, and was drawn again after we had been taking 3 packs a day for 3 months. We were also given a health/mental status questionnaire to take before we started taking the ProBoost. The questionnaire was completed after Month 1, Month 2 and Month 3, at the conclusion of the test. The doctors provided us with the product, with enough single-serving packets (of the sublingual powder) to take 3 packs a day for 90 days. Dr. Rosenbaum indicated that they would likely publish their findings at some point; please contact him directly to find out if they have done so. Recent searches on PubMed, Medline and Grateful Med have not returned any such publication at the the time of this writing.

By the end of the three months, I was feeling better. Energy levels were up a bit, and I just had a better overall sense of well-being. I had had a chronic, persistent infection in one of my ear piercings for several years. It disappeared completely when I was taking the ProBoost.

After the completion of the study, I purchased ProBoost on my own to continue taking it. It was too expensive to take 3 a day, so I took one a day, boosting it to 2 a day if I felt a herpesvirus attack coming on, or otherwise like my body was starting to give way to another viral flare. So long as I continued taking it at even this reduced level, the infected piercing remained free of infection. I felt better than I did before I started the study, but not as good as I did taking three packs a day.

Things got tighter again financially, and I was not able to replenish my depleted stock of ProBoost (the source I buy it from offers price breaks when you buy 5 or more boxes, but I didn't have the $320 (product + tax + shipping) to take advantage of it). Over a couple of months, health declined perceptibly again, and the infection flared up again in the piercing. When I was able to take it again, the infection disappeared and I felt a bit better again.

Was this a placebo effect? No. The pre- and post-treatment blood work showed that in fact the ProBoost did what it was supposed to: increased my natural T-4 helper cell levels (which send the T-8 killer cells off to destroy the viral, bacterial and abnormal cells identified by the T-4s) and reduced the ineffective hyperactivity of my immune system. This was the common result found across the board in the study subjects. In addition, those subjects who had elevated Rnase-L enzyme levels (I did not) had lower levels by the end of the study period.

There isn't a lot about ProBoost available on the web that doesn't sound like snake-oil hype. I recently did another search and found the following articles to be of use in describing the importance of the thymus function in general, and thymic protein A in particular, and on Dr. Beardsley's research:

Beardsley on Thymic Protein A

Thymic Protein A: Cell Mediated Immunity

The Thymic Protein A Story: The discovery of a remarkable immune system regulator

For more information on ProBoost, contact:
Genicel, Inc.
www.proboostmed.com
2604-B El Camino Real #129
Carlsbad CA 92008-1214

Where to Get ProBoost^TM
I have comparison shopped for ProBoost/ProBoost ever since I first started taking it, and the following have the best prices. The only company of the ones listed below that I have used is Discovery Nutritional Products..

Discovery Nutritional Products (Consistently has the best price)
Linda Sharp
P.O. Box 1512
Bonsall, CA 92003
Call: 1-888-350-8233 (toll-free order-line)
Fax: 1-760-731-1226

NatureDoc.com
POB 1027 Pearl City
HI 96782 USA
1-800-952-5884; 808-626-0243

Natural Health Consultants.com
POB 1091
Vallejo, California 94590
888 852-4993; 707 647-3055
IInfo: 707 554-1820

Healthy Hotline
Terrace International Inc.
Redlands CA
800-603-0339

Improved Immune Activation Markers In Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) Patients Treated With Thymic Protein A.
Rosenbaum M¹, Vojdani A², Susser M³, and Watson CM⁴. Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine (2001) 11, 241-347

Abstract:

Purpose: to evaluate the effects of the orally administered thymic protein A on clinical blood parameters and the subjective symptoms common to patients with chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS).

Materials and Methods: A novel immune modulator, thymic protein A, in oral formulation was tested in 23 CFIDS patients manifesting clinical symptoms of CFIDS and abnormal CD8+ subpopulations and interferon pathway-associated enzyme levels.

Results: Sixteen of the 23 patients experienced normalization of immune function with a corresponding improvement in clinical symptoms of CFIDS.

Conclusion: the data suggest that reinstitution of immune regulation with thyrmic protein A may ameliorate symptoms associated with CFIDS.

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