Dr. Merrill Garnett is a research chemist and dentist. He is head of the Garnett McKeen Laboratories in Islip and Bohemia, New York. For the past forty years, Dr. Garnett has researched molecular and cellular biology in order to find effective, nontoxic cancer treatments.

Dr. Garnett began with the research of German scientist Otto Warburg, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery that cancerous tumors are oxygen deficient and rely upon anaerobic metabolism for energy production. Anaerobic (without oxygen) metabolism produces less energy per unit of fuel, which means decreased energy efficiency in tumor cells. Although these cells are less efficient, this shift is believed to be a form of cellular energy conservation, because less energy is produced.

Dr. Garnett looked at this research and asked: If changes in gene expression alter cellular metabolism in this way, could this be used to somehow target cancerous cells for destruction while leaving healthy cells (those that still utilize primarily aerobic metabolism) alone? Could this decreased energy production be a result of natural selection, wheremutant cells that are better able to conserve energy are the ones that survive and multiply? His research focused on ways to identify the enzyme and energy changes that cause the shift from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism, and finding ways to prevent it. Dr. Garnett sought to find a way to utilize the anaerobic energy default mechanism used by cancer cells to bring about their demise.

The Product of Dr. Garnett's Search
In his book First Pulse, Dr. Garnett describes how he searched for "the signaling mechanism by which cells migrate together to form tissues and organs. The cancer cell state is a single cell type of behavior; cancer cells do not form tissues and organs. The organizing communications are missing." In other words, Dr. Garnett sought to discover the signal that tells cells when to form tissues and organs; in so doing, he hoped to discover why cancer cells lack this signal, and how to correct this. By understanding the course of events that triggers the formation and differentiation of normal cells, Dr. Garnett hoped to discover ways to restore these normal events to cancerous cells. "How are these communications interrupted?" Dr. Garnett asked.

In the course of his research, he saw that cancer cells were not malicious entities, but simply immature, or undifferentiated, cells. He sought to discover an enzyme (a substance that catalyzes the activity of biochemical machinery) that would trigger the electron oxygen pathway in order to provide the conditions used by DNA to process developmental changes. He hypothesized that just such an enzyme was missing in cancer cells. By replacing it, he hoped to trigger both the maturation of normal cells and the destruction of these immature, undifferentiated cells.

After more than twenty years of research and laboratory testing with more than 20,000 compounds, Dr. Garnett developed a synthetic enzyme that could facilitate a sort of "selective electrocution" of tumor cells by shutting electrons into the mitochondria and DNA. This enzyme appeared to be able to target cells that relied upon anaerobic metabolism-cancerous cells while leaving normal cells intact. Most of the compounds tested were metallo-organic compounds; that is, metals bonded to organic compounds. He sought one that could predictably be toxic to cancerous cells. Dr. Garnett's rationale for choosing to test specific compounds had to do with complex scientific theories regarding the electrochemical charges he found in DNA and in cells. In fact, his research gave rise to an entirely new field of study called electro genetics, which studies the energy reactions by which the living state interacts with its hereditary material, DNA. In other words, Dr. Garnett discovered that electrochemical energy is an important "language" used by DNA to communicate with the cell in which it resides, and that this energy is also used for intercellular communication.

Dr. Garnett's electrogenetic theories are backed by highly sensitive electronic studies. Other scientists have studied this electrical genetic pulse, but no other scientist has so deeply delved into its implications, especially for the treatment of cancer. Through the use of sensitive instruments, Dr. Garnett found and was able to measure, beneath the pulse of the heart and all living tissue, a cellular pulse-a vibration that distinguishes the living from the dead, healthy cells from abnormal cells. Dr. Garnett believes that the difference between life and death in the cell and the body is the transfer or movement of electrical energy through the cells and their DNA, which contains all our genes.

Cellular metabolism is, in the end, an electrochemical process. When glucose enters a cell, it is broken down into a substance called acetyl-coA, which is then channeled into a process known as the Krebs cycle, or citric acid cycle. This cycle does not occur in anaerobic metabolism, which is a more primitive form of energy production. The Krebs cycle uses acetyl-coA to produce a high- energy substance known as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), which is then oxidized-it donates an electron in a part of the metabolic process called the electron transport chain.

The energy is released along the electron transport chain in the form of voltage jumps. That electrochemical energy is captured in reactions that preserve it in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency of the body. Any energy needs on the part of the body are filled by the splitting of ATP into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and a free phosphate molecule.

Dr. Garnett believed that electron transfer somehow held the key to understanding the genetic signaling that would transform cancer cells into healthy ones. He sought to create a sort of "liquid transistor" consisting of a metal and an organic compound (hence, a metallo-organic compound). This liquid transistor would act as an enzyme and affect the electron transfer to DNA. Because of the unique biochemical and electrical properties of metals when bound to organic compounds, he believed that this would be the key. He was right, but it took decades for him to find the right combination. Thousands of biological molecules and several dozen metals fell into the category of good candidates for such a compound.

Eventually, after over thirty years of research, he struck pay dirt. A specific combination of the metal palladium and the organic molecule alphalipoic acid proved to rapidly and efficiently transfer electron charge to DNA. When palladium is sequestered in alpha-lipoic acid, it is benign- useful, in fact-to healthy cells, but for reasons that are not entirely clear, it is toxic to cancer cells. The B vitamin thiamine was also added to create a molecule with a unique structure.

Experiments with cell cultures and mice with cancerous tumors indicated that the palladium- alpha-lipoic acid-thiamine compound was toxic to cancer cells but had no adverse effects on healthy cells. One day, in the early 1990s, the laboratory mice treated with this compound stopped dying from their once-fatal form of cancer, and analysis showed that the compound was

selectively eliminating cancerous cells. This is how palladium lipoic complexes (LAPd) were created. Dr. Garnett took out several patents on this class of compounds. One form is currently in the preclinical preparation for the pharmaceutical-approval process. Another form, Poly-MVA, is available as a nutritional supplement.

selectively eliminating cancerous cells. This is how palladium lipoic complexes (LAPd) were created. Dr. Garnett took out several patents on this class of compounds. One form is currently in the preclinical preparation for the pharmaceutical-approval process. Another form, Poly-MVA, is available as a nutritional supplement.

Thanks to Dr. Al Sanchez...
The story of Poly-MVA would not be complete without mention of the tireless commitment of Al Sanchez Sr., Ed.S., Ph.D. Dr. Sanchez lost his wife to colon cancer in 1972, when she was only thirty-four years old. At the time, he was working as a school principal, but the course of his life shifted dramatically after his wife's death. He vowed to spend the rest of his life searching for effective nontoxic treatments for cancer. He sought out substances that had some scientific support as cancer fighters, using his considerable "people skills" to network with those who research and create natural cancer remedies. As long as the evidence showed that they would not cause harm, he gave them to advanced-cancer patients to try.

His diligent searching paid off when he came across Dr. Garnett and Poly-MVA. After reviewing the research and earlier success of the product, Dr. Sanchez purchased Poly-MVA for distribution to cancer patients. To his delight and astonishment, success stories began flooding in, some of which are included in Chapter 7.

Dr. Sanchez's approach is diametrically opposed to that of mainstream medical science. Most conventional physicians are unlikely to recommend a compound to their patients if it has not undergone rigorous, extensive clinical testing that proves its safety and efficacy and brings it FDA approval. On the other hand, if one can prove that something is safe and completely nontoxic, and there is convincing evidence in its favor along with a solid scientific basis, it's worth trying, especially for people who are dying of cancer. Poly-MVA and other palladium lipoic complexes fall into this category of alternative cancer therapies.

It's true that clinical studies-the kind needed for FDA approval of a drug-are required. Many are underway. Some would argue that we must not recommend any substance that hasn't undergone this stringent and enormously costly process, especially if we don't exactly understand how that substance does what it is purported to do. The truth is, however, that aspirin was used for many years before anyone knew how it worked. Throughout history, herbal and natural medicines have been used successfully without any scientific analysis of their direct effects on human physiology.

Most clinical testing attempts to isolate the effects of a single substance on disease. One common criticism of alternative cancer remedies is that they haven't been tested alone-that is, without dietary changes or the addition of other supplements and/or drugs. However, it is hardly fair to expect people who are dying from cancer to try only one intervention at a time. Disease is a multifactorial process, and so must be the treatment of disease-especially a disease as complex and dangerous as cancer. Eventually Poly-MVA will probably be studied as a sole remedy for cancer, but for now, it makes sense for cancer patients to use any and all dietary changes, nutritional supplements, and medical methods at their disposal to improve their chances of a cure.

Dr. Sanchez established the nonprofit company the Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Research, with the intention of getting the word out about alternative cancer therapies, including Poly-MVA. Slowly, the word is spreading. If you were to do an Internet search for Poly-MVA, you would find dozens of articles, scientific information, more inspiring stories of cancer survival, and further information about Dr. Merrill Garnett's research and discovery.