Envita treats their brain tumor patients with intravenous Poly MVA.

Poly MVA, also known as Polydox, is Lipoic Acid Palladium (LAPd), along with vitamins and minerals. The formulation being used today was developed in 1991.

Currently Envita’s brain tumor protocol calls for 60 intravenous infusions, administered 3 times weekly, so the recommended length of treatment would be 20 weeks.

Envita’s treatment has gotten some attention recently from the parents of children with a particularly nasty sort of brain tumor, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG.

To date, there is no scientific evidence that Poly MVA works for DIPG. On the Poly MVA survivors site, there are several accounts mentioning brain stem glioma, but not a single case of DIPG.

On Envita’s site is a paper, provided by the makers of Poly MVA. Excerpted from that paper, this is the information that applies to brain tumors:

Basic Scientific Evidence

  • This formulation was studied independently at Calvert Laboratories, Inc. to determine its’ effectiveness in halting the growth of glioblastoma cells in vivo. Four groups were given daily intravenous (IV) doses of this formulation or placebo; four groups were given intraperitoneal doses of 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mg per mouse for a total of four weeks. Tumor volume was measured throughout the study. Compared to the controls that received no formulation, mice receiving the test material orally or intravenously at 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mg had a significantly reduced growth of the glioblastoma (50% or greater reduction in tumor size).

  • Studies at Stony Brook University examined the non-toxic chemotherapeutic effects of POLY-MVA on brain and breast tumors. We were investigating the relationship between the degree of anaplasia of malignant cells and effectiveness o f the PdLA complex. Metabolic dysfunction, related to hypoxia and subsequent adaptive gene responses, renders some cells resistant to traditional chemotherapeutics but sensitive to the metabolic modulation of PdLA.

Representatives from Poly MVA have stated that the same effects obtained by giving Poly MVA intravenously can be achieved by taking the higher dosages they recommend on their site, for a child, 1 tsp per 20 lbs body weight per day.

At the maximum 8 tsp per day dose, a monthly supply of Poly MVA would cost between $2550 and $3450 depending on the number of bottles ordered.

Envita’s cost to provide Poly MVA is somewhere between $7,000 – $8,000 per week, $28,000 – $30,000 per month.

Following Envita’s recommended protocol for a child with a brain tumor, the cost of treatment would be around $150,000.

For families who don’t live in the Scottsdale area, it is necessary for them to arrange for living arrangements near to the Envita facility, driving the cost of getting treatment in Scottsdale even higher.

Poly MVA has been available in its current form for over 17 years. To date there are no published articles showing Poly MVA’s effectiveness for brain tumors.

There is one article in PubMed about Poly MVA, where it was shown to have possibility utility as a neuroprotective agent following a heart attach or stroke, based on an experiment using gerbils.

So far, Poly MVA is an unproven treatment for DIPG. On the Poly MVA Survivors site, there are several testimonials from children with brain tumors who have had significant survival, but all of them have had surgery and other conventional treatment and have used Poly MVA as a complement.

Families considering Poly MVA for their children with brain tumors have many less expensive options available to them than Envita’s unproven and expensive treatments.

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