Background Many natural compounds were tested for the ability to suppress viral replication. The present manuscript details an analysis of high dose
vitamin C therapy on patients with
EBV infection. Material and Methods The data were obtained from the patient history database at the Riordan Clinic. Among people in our database who were treated with intravenous
vitamin C (7.5 g to 50 g infusions) between 1997 and 2006, 178 patients showed elevated levels of
EBV EA IgG (range 25 to 211 AU) and 40 showed elevated levels of EBV VCA
IgM (range 25 to 140 AU). Most of these patients had a diagnosis of
chronic fatigue syndrome, with the rest being diagnosed as having mononucleosis,
fatigue, or
EBV infection. Results Our data provide evidence that high dose intravenous
vitamin C therapy has a positive effect on disease duration and reduction of viral antibody levels. Plasma levels of
ascorbic acid and
vitamin D were correlated with levels of
antibodies to EBV. We found an inverse correlation between EBV VCA
IgM and
vitamin C in plasma in patients with mononucleosis and CFS meaning that patients with high levels of
vitamin C tended to have lower levels of
antigens in the acute state of disease. In addition, a relation was found between
vitamin D levels and
EBV EA IgG with lower levels of EBV early
antigen IgG for higher levels of
vitamin D. Conclusions The clinical study of
ascorbic acid and
EBV infection showed the reduction in
EBV EA IgG and EBV VCA
IgM antibody levels over time during IVC
therapy that is consistent with observations from the literature that millimolar levels of ascorbate hinder
viral infection and replication in vitro.