Recent History of Silver Products. (Report.) Medicinal silver solutions were developed circa 1891. Wide- spread use of these products by practitioners as oral and injectable antibacterials occurred prior to 1930. There were many names for these silver products and solutions produced by different manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. Some names were: Argenti Acetas, Albargin, Argonin, Argyn, Argyrol, Largin, Lunosol, Novargan, Proganol, and Silvol, to name just A few. The effectiveness of the silver solutions as antibacterials depended on the standard of manufacture and the time elapsed since manufacture. In general, the silver solutions formulated by physicians from the commercially prepared powders were effective in varying degrees for up to 14 days from the date of formulation. Depending upon the manufacturing process, skin staining could occur when the products were used topically. Although chlorinated soda could remove some of the stains, some stains remained permanent. None of these products were as effective against bacteria as silver nitrate. However, silver nitrate had potential serious, if not fatal, side effects due to its toxicity. The silver solutions which had the highest efficacy were the preparations made in the doctors office and which were administered immediately, either orally or via injection. The pharmaceutical companies continued to produce colloidal silver products, but their use gradually fell into disfavor with the development of sulfa drugs, and the later development of penicillin. By the mid 1970's, all of the major U.S. pharmaceutical companies ceased production of these products. By 1990 there were only a few people making silver solutions - mostly dietary supplement producers. They made the product themselves, on a small scale in the way the solutions had previously been made. Unfortunately, this usually resulted in a totally unstable product that showed only sporadic effectiveness. In 1992, a Doctor was using a colloidal silver made by a company named Silverado. The Doctor noticed: That Silverado's product produced limited effectiveness against some infections some of the time, but wasn't effective at all against the same infection at other times. The Doctor had the foresight to believe that silver solutions had the potential to he very effective in treating infections if manufactured properly. He then contacted a research laboratory, and requested that they look into a possible problem with the Silverado product, or research the possibility of manufacturing a better silver solution. They found the problem immediately with the Silverado product and contacted the company. SiIverado stated they would work on correcting the problem. A few months later, the research lab discovered a unique way to infuse the silver into one particular protein. This produced an extremely stable mild silver protein (MSP) with enhanced antibacterial properties. Further testing confirmed the compound to be extremely stable. The product was then sent out to doctors, the NIH, and universities for testing. News travelled rapidly from the doctors using the newly developed MSP, as it was effective in treating many antibiotic- resistant strains of bacteria. As a result, a number of unscrupulous individuals came out of the woodwork and began to produce silver solutions, claiming them to be miracle drugs, based on the results derived from the Mild Silver Protein. These substances, sold as dietary supplements, appear to have been made the old way. They reveal little efficacy, and are inherently unstable. Test results of these poorly-made silver solutions reveal that many of them contain no silver or silver ions, and are in some cases nothing more than colored water. Additional in vitro testing against a common bacteria (S. aureus) showed some of these products to be totally ineffective, as noted below. Zone of Inhibition Source Naturals (Ultra Colloidal) 0 Silver Care 0 Kaire International 0 Although most of the newly-introduced silver solutions appeared to be frauds, a few silver solutions tested did contain some silver, and reflected some stability. Nevertheless, other problems were identified. For example, although some silver solutions were stahle for a few weeks, ultimately the silver precipitated. This happened in all tests conducted with solutions of silver and water only. Some manufacturers stated that their products were produced via electrical charge, which implied that I the product contained silver ions. Tests revealed the ion content to be no more than that of normal tap water. Some silver products were made from silver nitrate which can be extremely toxic if any silver nitrate remained in the product. Additionally, protein stabilized products can have high concentrations of nitrites, nitrates, and sodium, which can be toxic. One product tested, which was labeled as being manufactured by an FDA-approved laboratory - although not stating a lot number or expiration date - misstated the concentration of the product by over 400 ppm. This product is called Colloidal Silver "High Potency" by Innovative Health Products. The Silverado product was recently tested again to see if they had corrected their problems. A recent sample of their product was tested, Lot #7328, expiration 4/97, which revealed 4 ppm with negligible silver ions. Another sample of Silverado's product, Lot #6143, expiration 7/97, revealed 2 ppm with negligible silver ions. Noticeable particles were observed floating within the sample of Silverado's product, Lot #6143. *As Silverado did not resolve the matter-Silverado was never contacted again and the newly stabilized Mild Silver Protein was put out as an over-the-counter drug, and later as* a trace mineral dietary supplement at 30 ppm.. At concentrations above 60 ppm. more human testing needs to be conducted before "recommending"* this special formulation MSP for human use. Ongoing studies done in vitro and in vivo over the past three years have revealed that Mild Silver Protein silver solutions, Special Formulation MSP (SFMSP), and silver solution (SS) have inhibited or have been lethal against HIV. The same effect was found in vitro regarding C. alhicans., C. neoformans, the spirochetes in Lyme disease, E. coIi, S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, and P. aeruginosa. One of the products also partially inhibited Enterococcus in vitro. Further testing at higher silver concentrations will no doubt prove that this antibiotic-resistant strain of hacteria is also susceptible to the lethal bactericidal effects of MSP. Reports from doctors and practitioners that have been using Mild Silver Protein in vivo for almost three years: report correspondingly the same results as the universities' in vitro testing. Condensed limited in vitro testing results, limited doctors' patients' in vivo reports, and non-toxicity studies follow.