Does DMSO work for ALS?

There is no trial evidence that it does. We found no DMSO study for ALS on ClinicalTrials.gov and no randomized ALS trial of DMSO in PubMed. The viral stories are individual accounts we can’t check. ALS varies: in a database of 3,132 trial patients, a quarter showed no decline over six months without any special treatment, which is why single stories can’t show a drug works.

Does DMSO help arthritis or joint pain?

The evidence is mixed and weaker than its reputation. Two small German trials of DMSO gels found less pain than a plain gel. But in the two largest knee arthritis trials, run for the Pennsaid diclofenac solution, 45.5% DMSO on its own did no better than a placebo containing 2.3% DMSO. DMSO’s smell and skin warmth make it hard to blind a trial, which tends to flatter it.

Did DMSO with vitamin C cure skin cancer in a trial?

One small trial found 30% vitamin C dissolved in DMSO cleared 13 of 15 low-risk basal cell lesions after 8 weeks, against 8 of 14 with imiquimod cream. By 12 weeks the authors call it non-inferior, not superior. DMSO alone wasn’t tested, the comparator wasn’t surgery, and the authors’ own follow-up calls DMSO “most likely” a carrier for the vitamin C.

What is DMSO approved for?

In the U.S., one use: a 50% solution put into the bladder to relieve interstitial cystitis, approved as RIMSO-50 in 1978. A generic version was approved in July 2026. It is also used to freeze stem cells and as an ingredient that helps other drugs, such as Pennsaid’s diclofenac, through the skin.

Is DMSO safe to put on your skin?

Skin use is the best-studied route. Common effects are garlic breath and taste, skin irritation, redness and itching; in one trial over a quarter of people on 70% DMSO stopped for skin toxicity. The bigger issue is what it carries: DMSO pulls other chemicals through the skin, including impurities in industrial-grade product and anything on your skin. The prescription label warns it may boost other drugs.

Is IV or oral DMSO safe?

The only FDA-approved DMSO product says it is not for intravenous or intramuscular injection. IV DMSO given for arthritis has caused red-blood-cell breakdown (hemolysis), and when frozen stem cells stored in DMSO are infused, reactions from nausea to heart and nerve problems are blamed mainly on the DMSO. No product is approved for drinking DMSO.

Why isn’t there better research on DMSO?

Partly money: DMSO can’t be patented as a molecule, and FDA testified in 1980 that drug companies lost interest for that reason. Partly method: its odor makes true blinding hard. And partly history: FDA halted testing in 1965 over eye changes in animals, which advocates still see as suppression. None of that turns anecdotes into evidence.

News analysis · DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide, RIMSO-50, Dimexide) · ALS, arthritis and pain, basal cell skin cancer, interstitial cystitis · FDA labels, ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed and the 1980 House hearing · Sources checked October 19, 2026

Published October 19, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026

Does DMSO actually work for ALS, pain or cancer, and is it safe to try? We found no DMSO trial in ALS, the biggest arthritis trials found strong DMSO no better than a weak-DMSO placebo, and the viral skin-cancer result was vitamin C in DMSO on 15 lesions. Its one FDA-approved use is a bladder rinse.

DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide, is a solvent from paper-making that soaks through skin fast and leaves garlic breath.[10][7] Over the weekend, X spread stories of people with ALS getting their speech and breathing back on it, alongside a trial where vitamin C in DMSO cleared skin cancer.[1][2][3] The short answer: we found no trial of DMSO in ALS at all. For arthritis, the biggest trials found strong DMSO did no better than a placebo that held a little DMSO for the smell. The skin-cancer result came from 15 treated lesions, with vitamin C doing the work its authors credit.[6][13][21][23] DMSO does have one proven use, as a bladder rinse for interstitial cystitis. Its approved label says it is not for injection into a vein.[7]

Bar chart: of 169 PubMed records tagged as randomized trials that mention DMSO, 35 tested DMSO itself in people. Bladder 7, joint tendon and nerve pain 9, skin and wounds 5, gut disease and cancer survival 14, all from one surgeon in Baghdad, and ALS 0. ClinicalTrials.gov: 183 studies mention DMSO; 8 test DMSO alone as a treatment, 6 for the bladder; none for ALS, arthritis or cancer alone; none of the 8 has posted results. — Where the human trials are. Jabbit’s hand count of PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov, October 19, 2026.[6]

Why this matters now

On October 17, X made “Personal Stories Highlight DMSO Recoveries from ALS and Injuries” a trending story.[1] The most-viewed post, from an account with 4.4 million followers, described the vitamin C trial and was seen about 305,000 times. It did say “Larger trials are still required.”[3] A thread from @MidwesternDoc, about 120,000 views, told of Carrie, with bulbar ALS, and Todd, with “terminal ALS,” improving on DMSO. It said “Over 2000 studies” show DMSO treats conditions from Alzheimer’s to strokes.[2] @MakisMedicine suggested adding ivermectin cream to the vitamin C mix.[4]

We counted 4,777 English posts on X mentioning DMSO in the week to October 19. Most of them, 2,879, used the wording of one copy-paste reply, “My mother is a cancer survivor,” steering readers to an account selling a “protocol” of DMSO, ivermectin and fenbendazole. That spam ran before the stories did. The rest of the conversation is what grew: from about 170 posts a day on October 13 and 14 to 457 on October 18.[5] Many of the people asking are sick and looking for options, which is why the evidence matters.

The short answer

ALS: no trials on record. Of 183 studies mentioning DMSO on ClinicalTrials.gov, none tests it for ALS. PubMed has no randomized ALS trial of DMSO.[6]
Pain: some signal, weak proof. Small gel trials in Germany were positive. The two largest knee trials found the DMSO base no better than placebo.[17][18][13][15]
Cancer: vitamin C in DMSO on 15 lesions. The trial didn’t test DMSO alone, and the same team now calls DMSO “most likely” a carrier.[21][23]
Approved use: the bladder. RIMSO-50 has been FDA-approved since 1978, for interstitial cystitis only.[7][8]
Safety: the skin route is the tested one. The label says it’s not for IV or intramuscular use and calls for eye, liver, kidney and blood checks. DMSO also pulls other chemicals through skin.[7][10]

Topic	What’s being claimed on X	What we found
ALS	Recoveries in people with bulbar and “terminal” ALS	No DMSO trial in ALS on ClinicalTrials.gov or in PubMed’s trial index. Months-long plateaus happen without treatment.[2][6][25]
Arthritis and pain	Relieves pain and inflammation	Small positive German gel trials; the two largest knee trials found 45.5% DMSO no better than a 2.3% DMSO placebo.[17][18][13][15]
Skin cancer	Vitamin C in DMSO beat standard cream	15 vs 14 lesions, 8 weeks, vitamin C plus DMSO; not tested without the vitamin C; no surgery comparison.[3][21][22]
“Over 2000 studies”	Proof DMSO treats Alzheimer’s to strokes	PubMed has tens of thousands of DMSO papers, mostly lab work where it is a solvent. 35 randomized human trials test DMSO itself.[2][6]
IV DMSO	A doctor is opening an IV DMSO clinic	The only FDA-approved product says “NOT FOR … INTRAVENOUS INJECTION.” IV use has caused hemolysis.[2][7][30]

ALS: stories, but no trial

We searched ClinicalTrials.gov for every study mentioning DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide, RIMSO-50 or Dimexide, and read all 183. Not one tests DMSO for ALS. The only ALS mention is a cancer cell-therapy trial that excludes people with it.[6] A PubMed search pairing the DMSO and ALS subject headings returns nothing. We found no randomized ALS trial of DMSO among the 169 records PubMed tags as trials.[6]

We can’t check what happened to Carrie or Todd, and we aren’t saying their accounts are untrue. The thread says Todd’s ALS doctor saw his breathing improve.[2] But ALS can stall on its own. In 3,132 people from ALS drug-trial databases, 25% had no decline over 6 months, 16% over 12 months and 7% over 18 months. Real reversals were rare, under 1%. The authors warn that such stability “should not be interpreted as an ALS treatment effect.”[25] That is why a controlled trial is the only way to know. In 1980 FDA’s drug chief called the brain and spinal cord work on DMSO “potentially important” but at “a very early stage,” with no controlled trials.[9] Forty-six years later, the registry still has none for ALS.[6]

Pain and arthritis: the placebo that smelled like DMSO

Blinding is DMSO’s oldest problem. It warms the skin and makes your breath smell of garlic, so people can tell if they got it. A witness told Congress in 1980, “you can’t have a double blind test.”[9] A 2008 review of DMSO arthritis trials flagged possible unblinding and drew no firm conclusion.[16]

The cleanest answer comes from a drug that uses DMSO. Pennsaid is diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory, dissolved in 45.5% DMSO so it gets through the skin.[13][32] Its makers tested the DMSO base alone against a placebo that contained 2.3% DMSO, just enough to match the smell. In the 775-person trial on the FDA label, the strong-DMSO base and the placebo cut pain by exactly the same amount, 4.7 points. Diclofenac added the extra benefit.[13][14] A second trial found the same tie, −2.5 vs −2.5.[15]

Bar chart from the Pennsaid FDA label, Study I, knee osteoarthritis, 12 weeks. Improvement in pain score: placebo containing 2.3% DMSO 4.7 points, DMSO vehicle alone 4.7 points, diclofenac in 45.5% DMSO 6.0 points. Physical function: 12.3, 12.1 and 15.7 points. — Twenty times more DMSO added nothing over the placebo. FDA label for Pennsaid; chart by Jabbit.[13][14]

There is a weaker case on the other side. In a 1995 German trial, 112 people with knee arthritis had less pain on a 25% DMSO gel than on plain gel over three weeks.[17] In a 1994 trial of 157 people with acute shoulder or elbow tendon pain, 44% were pain-free after 14 days on a 10% DMSO gel, against 9% on plain gel.[18] Because plain gel doesn’t smell, those trials were hard to blind. For the nerve-pain condition CRPS, a 32-person Dutch trial favored a DMSO cream. A 146-person follow-up found it no different from N-acetylcysteine, with no placebo arm.[19]

A useful 1980 parallel: advocates’ big case then was scleroderma, a disease that causes painful finger ulcers. In one-hand studies, a researcher told Congress, by 6 months “the untreated hand was beginning to show” improvement too.[9] When a 1985 multicenter trial compared 2% and 70% DMSO with salt water in 84 people, there was no difference. Over a quarter of those on 70% DMSO dropped out with skin damage.[20]

The skin-cancer trial everyone is sharing

The trial is real: Burke and Bailie, Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 2022. Twenty-five people with 29 biopsy-confirmed basal cell carcinomas, the most common and least dangerous skin cancer, got either 30% vitamin C dissolved in DMSO or imiquimod, a standard prescription cream. After 8 weeks, biopsies showed 13 of 15 lesions cleared on the vitamin C solution vs 8 of 14 on imiquimod.[21] The post on X got those numbers right.[3]

What it can and can’t show:

It is tiny. The 86.7% vs 57.1% comparison rests on 15 and 14 lesions. By 12 weeks the authors themselves call vitamin C “non-inferior,” not better.[21]
It didn’t test DMSO. Every treated lesion got vitamin C in DMSO. The same group’s 2025 follow-up says “DMSO most likely served as a carrier” and that “DMSO alone was not evaluated.”[23]
It only covers low-risk lesions, nodular and superficial, and compares against a cream, not surgery.[21]
The paperwork is thin. The sponsor, Center for Biomedical Research, Inc., is the Boise firm listed as the authors’ affiliation. The trial was registered almost a year after it finished and has posted no results. It is listed as double-masked, though it compared a liquid with a cream, and the abstract doesn’t say how that was hidden.[22][21]
The follow-up isn’t peer reviewed. In 17 people with early squamous cell skin cancer, 15 of 27 lesions cleared at 12 weeks, with no control group. The preprint gives the basal cell trial’s registry number as its own.[23] A separate squamous cell listing from the same sponsor hasn’t been updated since 2023.[22]

That is a reason for a bigger trial, which is what the viral post said. It isn’t a reason to treat skin cancer at home. Skin cancers are diagnosed by biopsy, and only a biopsy afterward showed whether these lesions were gone.[21][3]

The other “cancer” trials in PubMed are older and odder. Three trials published in 1992-93 report that oral DMSO or allopurinol after surgery lengthened survival in stomach and colon cancer. All three come from one surgeon in Baghdad. They are among 14 trial papers, all by him alone, testing DMSO or allopurinol as “free-radical scavengers,” and in each, between a quarter and a third of the patients randomized were left out of the final analysis.[24][6] We found no later randomized trial testing DMSO for cancer survival.[6]

What DMSO is approved for: a bladder rinse

RIMSO-50, a 50% DMSO solution put into the bladder through a catheter, was approved in April 1978.[8][9] Its label limits it to “symptomatic relief of patients with interstitial cystitis,” a chronic bladder pain condition, and says it “has not been approved as being safe and effective for any other indication.”[7] FDA approved the first generic in July 2026.[8]

Even here the evidence is modest. In the 1988 crossover trial behind it, 53% of 33 people felt markedly better on DMSO vs 18% on saline.[26] In a 2021 Japanese placebo-controlled trial of 96 people, the symptom score improved 1.8 points more on DMSO, on a 20-point scale.[27] In a 2017 European trial, 57% of people assigned DMSO quit, citing pain, “intolerable garlic odor” and lack of effect.[28] A 2025 meta-analysis of 554 patients counted side effects in 37.6%.[29]

How DMSO got its legend, 1963 to 1980

1963-64, Oregon. Surgeon Stanley Jacob and Crown Zellerbach chemist Robert Herschler promoted DMSO as a drug. It made the front page of the New York Times in 1963, and Jacob’s 1964 paper called it “a new concept in pharmacotherapy.”[10][11]
1965, the halt. By then an estimated 100,000 people had used it, but “no well-controlled studies were conducted,” FDA later testified.[9] After lens changes in animal eyes, FDA ended clinical use with a Federal Register notice on November 25, 1965.[9][12] Limited testing was allowed again in 1966 and 1968, and FDA later said no eye damage had been found in people.[9]
1972, the review. A National Academy of Sciences panel found “no convincing evidence that DMSO has any effect in the treatment of osteoarthritis,” and most studies “of such poor quality as to be useless.”[9]
1978, one approval. FDA approved the bladder use. A scleroderma application filed the same year was turned down because the trials didn’t yet show it worked.[9]
1980, the TV moment. CBS’s 60 Minutes aired “The Riddle of DMSO” on March 23. The next day, Rep. Claude Pepper’s House aging committee held a hearing called “DMSO: New Hope for Arthritis?”[9] Jacob testified that DMSO had been a prescription drug in the Soviet Union since 1971.[9] FDA’s J. Richard Crout said: “There is no evidence that DMSO alters the course of any disease or is, in any sense, a miracle drug.”[9] He added that companies had lost interest, “presumably because of low profit potential,” since DMSO can’t be patented as a molecule.[9]

The Soviet product lives on. Russia’s Dimexide is still registered, sold without a prescription as a 99% concentrate to dilute for compresses on the skin. Its Russian label lists angina, severe atherosclerosis, glaucoma, cataract, stroke and pregnancy as reasons not to use it, and warns that it boosts the effects of alcohol and insulin.[33]

Safety: what the FDA label and case reports say

Not for veins or muscles. The approved label reads “NOT FOR INTRAMUSCULAR OR INTRAVENOUS INJECTION.”[7] Two older people given IV DMSO for arthritis both showed hemolysis, the breakdown of red blood cells, and one became seriously ill. A 1983 report described IV DMSO hemolysis that looked like a transfusion reaction.[30] The viral thread says Carrie’s doctor plans an IV DMSO clinic.[2]
Transplant use is closely watched. Frozen stem cells are stored in DMSO and infused into patients. Infusing them has been tied to allergic, gut, heart and nerve reactions, with DMSO thought to be the main cause, and many centers wash it out first.[31] That is a medically supervised setting, not a wellness drip.
It carries other things in. That is why Pennsaid uses it.[32] It also means whatever is on your skin, or in the bottle, goes along. Industrial-grade DMSO “can contain dangerous impurities.”[10] The prescription label warns DMSO may strengthen other drugs, and Russia’s label names alcohol and insulin.[7][33]
Monitoring on the label. Because of animal lens findings, the label calls for eye exams before and during treatment. It adds liver, kidney and blood counts about every 6 months, warns of histamine release and allergic reactions, and says it may harm people with bladder cancer.[7]
Everyday effects. Garlic taste and breath for up to 72 hours, plus skin irritation. In the scleroderma trial, over a quarter on 70% DMSO quit with skin toxicity.[7][20]

What’s actually on the shelf

We pulled every over-the-counter product named “DMSO” on DailyMed, the federal label database: nine creams and gels, seven of them listed in 2026. None lists DMSO as an active ingredient. Their actives are menthol, camphor, capsaicin, lidocaine, methyl salicylate or arnica. Eight list DMSO as an inactive ingredient, and one, Easment DMSO Cream, lists no DMSO at all.[6] The DMSO liquids sold online for disease claims draw FDA letters. In 2021 FDA wrote to a seller of “DMSO Liquid 70/30,” and in March 2026 to a Houston company whose sites suggested DMSO and other products for cancer, autism, dementia and seizures.[34][35]

The newest registered study isn’t a big trial either. Leading Edge Clinic listed a 20-person pilot of compounded DMSO for tinnitus after COVID or COVID vaccination in May 2026, with no control group and no results yet.[36]

What about “over 2000 studies”?

PubMed has more than 43,000 records mentioning DMSO. That’s because labs use it every day to dissolve compounds and freeze cells, not because people were treated with it.[6] Of the 169 records PubMed tags as randomized trials, we classified each by hand. Thirty-five tested DMSO itself as a treatment in people. Seven were bladder trials, nine pain, five skin and wounds, and 14 came from the single Baghdad surgeon. None were in ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS or stroke.[6] On ClinicalTrials.gov, 8 of 183 studies test DMSO alone as a treatment, six of them for the bladder. None of the eight has posted results.[6]

Strengths and limits

What DMSO really has going for it. It is a real drug with one approved use backed by placebo-controlled trials.[7][26][27] It gets other drugs through skin well enough that an FDA-approved arthritis product relies on it.[13][32] Some small topical trials found less pain, and it is cheap and widely available.[17][18][33] The 1965 halt was driven by animal eye findings that didn’t appear in people, which helps explain why many feel it was treated unfairly.[9][10]

What it lacks. No trial in ALS or any other neurological disease, no well-blinded large trial showing benefit for arthritis, and no test of DMSO alone for cancer.[6][13][23] Our counts are lower bounds from public databases. Older or non-English trials may be missing.[6]

Bottom line

DMSO is not a hoax, and it is not a cure. It is an approved bladder treatment, a useful skin carrier and, at best, a modest topical pain reliever whose benefit is hard to separate from its smell.[7][13][17] For ALS there is nothing to weigh but stories, and the IV clinic mentioned in the viral thread is a route the only approved label rules out.[6][7][30] If you have ALS or skin cancer and want to try DMSO, tell your neurologist or dermatologist first. Don’t skip a biopsy or treatment you’ve been offered, and don’t use industrial-grade product.[21][10]

Jabbit is a private iPhone log built for injections, such as GLP-1s and TRT. If you track anything else you try alongside them, it keeps doses, dates and notes in one place.

Frequently asked questions

Does DMSO work for ALS?: There is no trial evidence that it does. We found no DMSO study for ALS on ClinicalTrials.gov and no randomized ALS trial of DMSO in PubMed. The viral stories are individual accounts we can’t check. ALS varies: in a database of 3,132 trial patients, a quarter showed no decline over six months without any special treatment, which is why single stories can’t show a drug works.
Does DMSO help arthritis or joint pain?: The evidence is mixed and weaker than its reputation. Two small German trials of DMSO gels found less pain than a plain gel. But in the two largest knee arthritis trials, run for the Pennsaid diclofenac solution, 45.5% DMSO on its own did no better than a placebo containing 2.3% DMSO. DMSO’s smell and skin warmth make it hard to blind a trial, which tends to flatter it.
Did DMSO with vitamin C cure skin cancer in a trial?: One small trial found 30% vitamin C dissolved in DMSO cleared 13 of 15 low-risk basal cell lesions after 8 weeks, against 8 of 14 with imiquimod cream. By 12 weeks the authors call it non-inferior, not superior. DMSO alone wasn’t tested, the comparator wasn’t surgery, and the authors’ own follow-up calls DMSO “most likely” a carrier for the vitamin C.
What is DMSO approved for?: In the U.S., one use: a 50% solution put into the bladder to relieve interstitial cystitis, approved as RIMSO-50 in 1978. A generic version was approved in July 2026. It is also used to freeze stem cells and as an ingredient that helps other drugs, such as Pennsaid’s diclofenac, through the skin.
Is DMSO safe to put on your skin?: Skin use is the best-studied route. Common effects are garlic breath and taste, skin irritation, redness and itching; in one trial over a quarter of people on 70% DMSO stopped for skin toxicity. The bigger issue is what it carries: DMSO pulls other chemicals through the skin, including impurities in industrial-grade product and anything on your skin. The prescription label warns it may boost other drugs.
Is IV or oral DMSO safe?: The only FDA-approved DMSO product says it is not for intravenous or intramuscular injection. IV DMSO given for arthritis has caused red-blood-cell breakdown (hemolysis), and when frozen stem cells stored in DMSO are infused, reactions from nausea to heart and nerve problems are blamed mainly on the DMSO. No product is approved for drinking DMSO.
Why isn’t there better research on DMSO?: Partly money: DMSO can’t be patented as a molecule, and FDA testified in 1980 that drug companies lost interest for that reason. Partly method: its odor makes true blinding hard. And partly history: FDA halted testing in 1965 over eye changes in animals, which advocates still see as suppression. None of that turns anecdotes into evidence.

References

X trending story: “Personal Stories Highlight DMSO Recoveries from ALS and Injuries,” last updated October 17, 2026, 7:59 PM ET (summary includes the bulbar-ALS and terminal-ALS anecdotes and “A trial also showed DMSO with vitamin C clearing skin cancer lesions better than standard treatment”). https://x.com/i/trending/2111606211825095111. Checked October 19, 2026.
@MidwesternDoc (A Midwestern Doctor, about 405,000 followers), October 17, 2026, 3:44 PM ET: Carrie, with bulbar ALS, “tried DMSO and her speech, breathing, mobility, and even her smile started coming back”; “Over 2000 studies show DMSO treats conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to … paralysis, strokes”; “her doctor is setting up an IV DMSO clinic”; a physician “estimates roughly 80% of what people see neurologists for goes away with it.” About 120,000 views. Reply in the same thread, 3:44 PM ET: Todd “had terminal ALS”; “DMSO stopped his breathing crisis in 3 days”; “8 months later his ALS doc says his breathing improved” (about 8,600 views). Both are accounts by the poster; Jabbit did not verify them. https://x.com/MidwesternDoc/status/2111543979841818723 · https://x.com/MidwesternDoc/status/2111543987265819043. Checked October 19, 2026.
@Rainmaker1973 (Massimo, about 4.4 million followers), October 17, 2026, 10:35 AM ET: “A 30 percent vitamin C solution dissolved in DMSO cleared 86 percent of basal cell skin cancer lesions within eight weeks in a clinical trial … Larger trials are still required before the approach can be adopted as standard care.” About 305,000 views, 8,011 likes and 6,322 bookmarks when checked. https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/2111466008993300622. Checked October 19, 2026.
@MakisMedicine (William Makis MD, about 693,000 followers), October 17, 2026, 4:22 PM ET, quoting the post above: “I would combine this (DMSO + Vitamin C Solution) with Ivermectin cream and research that combination!” About 117,000 views. https://x.com/MakisMedicine/status/2111553466879361263. Checked October 19, 2026.
Jabbit counts of English posts on X (reposts excluded) with “DMSO” or “dimethyl sulfoxide,” X API recent-counts endpoint, October 13, 03:00 UTC to October 20, 00:00 UTC (October 12, 11 PM to October 19, 8 PM ET), by UTC day: 698, 764, 529, 592, 745, 848, 601; 4,777 total. Of these, 2,879 used the wording of one copy-paste reply (“My mother is a cancer survivor …”) pointing readers to an account selling a “protocol” that includes DMSO, ivermectin and fenbendazole. The rest rose from 171 and 177 a day on October 13–14 to 457 on October 18. 410 were original posts rather than replies (32 to 86 a day). Daily figures in the data file. Checked October 19, 2026.
Jabbit data file: hand classification of all 183 ClinicalTrials.gov studies that mention DMSO by the role DMSO plays; of all 169 PubMed records tagged as randomized controlled trials that mention DMSO (35 test DMSO itself in people); and a DailyMed scan of DMSO prescription, veterinary and over-the-counter labels, plus the X counts. Built October 19, 2026. https://jabbitapp.com/research/sources/dmso-ctgov-pubmed-dailymed-2026-10-19.json. Checked October 19, 2026.
RIMSO-50 (dimethyl sulfoxide irrigation, USP), 50% w/w, prescribing information, Mylan Institutional, revised March 2021, DailyMed set 58b25d79-78f2-4953-b0c6-61658dc4ef0d (NDA 017788): indicated “for symptomatic relief of patients with interstitial cystitis”; “has not been approved as being safe and effective for any other indication”; “NOT FOR INTRAMUSCULAR OR INTRAVENOUS INJECTION”; lens changes in monkeys, dogs and rabbits, so eye exams before and during treatment; liver, kidney and blood counts about every 6 months; may release histamine; may be harmful to patients with urinary tract cancer; garlic-like taste and breath odor for up to 72 hours; teratogenic in animals at high doses. No boxed warning. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=58b25d79-78f2-4953-b0c6-61658dc4ef0d. Checked October 19, 2026.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Drugs@FDA via the openFDA drugsfda endpoint: RIMSO-50, NDA 017788, original approval April 4, 1978; dimethyl sulfoxide irrigation 50%, ANDA 220173 (Pharmobedient), approved July 7, 2026, label on DailyMed set 8f699de6-9d09-48da-9d95-4001d7008587 (distributed by Renova). https://open.fda.gov/apis/drug/drugsfda/ · https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8f699de6-9d09-48da-9d95-4001d7008587. Checked October 19, 2026.
U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee on Aging. “DMSO: New Hope for Arthritis?” Hearing, March 24, 1980, chaired by Rep. Claude Pepper. Comm. Pub. No. 96-232. Includes the transcript of the CBS 60 Minutes segment “The Riddle of DMSO,” aired the night before; Stanley Jacob’s statement that DMSO “is prescriptive in the Soviet Union and has been since 1971”; testimony that “you can’t have a double blind test. The odor … is so distinctive that it is impossible to disguise a placebo”; a scleroderma investigator’s one-hand study, in which by 6 months “the untreated hand was beginning to show” improvement; and FDA Bureau of Drugs director J. Richard Crout: first human IND 1963; “By 1965 an estimated 100,000 patients had received the drug. No well-controlled studies were conducted”; FDA’s November 25, 1965 Federal Register statement ending clinical use over lens changes in animals; partial relaxations in 1966 and September 1968; the National Academy of Sciences review (“no convincing evidence that DMSO has any effect in the treatment of osteoarthritis”; most studies “of such poor quality as to be useless”); the 1978 interstitial cystitis approval to Research Industries Corporation; “There is no evidence that DMSO alters the course of any disease or is, in any sense, a miracle drug.” https://centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/quackwatch/casewatch/hearings/96-232.pdf. Checked October 19, 2026.
Jarry J. “DMSO Is Not a Cure-All. But the FDA’s Panic Over It Birthed a Myth.” McGill University Office for Science and Society, November 17, 2023 (Crown Zellerbach chemist Robert Herschler and Oregon surgeon Stanley Jacob; New York Times front page in 1963; six research licenses in 1964; FDA’s November 1965 telegrams and recall of unused supplies; in the osteoarthritis review, higher-concentration trials were negative; industrial-grade DMSO “can contain dangerous impurities” that it can carry through the skin). https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-history/dmso-not-cure-all-fdas-panic-over-it-birthed-myth. Checked October 19, 2026.
Jacob SW, Bischel M, Herschler RJ. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO): a new concept in pharmacotherapy. Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. 1964;6:134-135. PMID 14135298. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14135298/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Rubin LF, Mattis PA. Dimethyl sulfoxide: lens changes in dogs during oral administration. Science. 1966;153(3731):83-84. doi:10.1126/science.153.3731.83. PMID 5938422. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5938422/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Pennsaid (diclofenac sodium topical solution) 1.5% w/w prescribing information, DailyMed set 4732a181-9fe0-49b4-b486-e2da9ad66e31 (NDA 020947): contains “dimethyl sulfoxide USP (DMSO, 45.5% w/w)” as an inactive ingredient; section 14, Study I: 12-week change in WOMAC pain, Pennsaid −6.0 (n=154), “topical placebo (2.3% DMSO with other excipients)” −4.7 (n=155), “topical vehicle solution (45.5% w/w DMSO with other excipients)” −4.7 (n=161); physical function −15.7, −12.3, −12.1; animal lens findings with DMSO. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=4732a181-9fe0-49b4-b486-e2da9ad66e31. Checked October 19, 2026.
Simon LS, Grierson LM, Naseer Z, et al. Efficacy and safety of topical diclofenac containing dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) compared with those of topical placebo, DMSO vehicle and oral diclofenac for knee osteoarthritis. Pain. 2009;143(3):238-245. doi:10.1016/j.pain.2009.03.008. PMID 19380203 (775 people, five arms, 12 weeks; the DMSO vehicle was no more effective than placebo). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19380203/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Bookman AA, Williams KS, Shainhouse JZ. Effect of a topical diclofenac solution for relieving symptoms of primary osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ. 2004;171(4):333-338. doi:10.1503/cmaj.1031793. PMID 15313991 (pain change −3.9 on diclofenac solution vs −2.5 on the DMSO vehicle and −2.5 on placebo; first author’s affiliation listed as Dimethaid Health Care, the product’s developer). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15313991/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Brien S, Prescott P, Bashir N, et al. Systematic review of the nutritional supplements dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2008;16(11):1277-1288. doi:10.1016/j.joca.2008.03.002. PMID 18417375 (four DMSO trials; possible unblinding from the odor; no definitive conclusion). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18417375/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Eberhardt R, Zwingers T, Hofmann R. DMSO in patients with active gonarthrosis. A double-blind placebo controlled phase III study [in German]. Fortschr Med. 1995;113(31):446-450. PMID 8529985 (112 people, 25% DMSO gel vs gel base for 3 weeks; less pain on loading, p=0.019). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8529985/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Kneer W, Kühnau S, Bias P, Haag RF. Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) gel in treatment of acute tendopathies. A multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized study [in German]. Fortschr Med. 1994;112(10):142-146. PMID 8194818 (157 people with acute shoulder or elbow tendon pain, 10% DMSO gel vs gel base for 14 days; 44% vs 9% pain-free). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8194818/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Zuurmond WW, Langendijk PN, Bezemer PD, et al. Treatment of acute reflex sympathetic dystrophy with DMSO 50% in a fatty cream. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 1996;40(3):364-367. PMID 8721469 (32 people; both groups improved, DMSO more on the dystrophy score). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8721469/ · Perez RSGM, Zuurmond WWA, Bezemer PD, et al. The treatment of complex regional pain syndrome type I with free radical scavengers: a randomized controlled study. Pain. 2003;102(3):297-307. PMID 12670672 (146 people, DMSO 50% vs N-acetylcysteine, no overall difference). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12670672/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Williams HJ, Furst DE, Dahl SL, et al. Double-blind, multicenter controlled trial comparing topical dimethyl sulfoxide and normal saline for treatment of hand ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis. Arthritis Rheum. 1985;28(3):308-314. doi:10.1002/art.1780280311. PMID 3884019 (84 people, 2% or 70% DMSO vs saline: no significant differences; “Over one-quarter of the patients treated with 70% DMSO were withdrawn for significant skin toxicity”). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3884019/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Burke B, Bailie JE. Randomized trial of topical ascorbic acid in DMSO versus imiquimod for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma. Biomed Pharmacother. 2022;148:112710. doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2022.112710. PMID 35217280 (25 patients, 29 biopsy-confirmed lesions; 30% ascorbic acid in 95% DMSO twice daily for 8 weeks vs imiquimod; complete resolution 13/15 vs 8/14 lesions, p<0.05; “superior at 8 weeks, and non-inferior at 12 weeks”; low-risk nodular and superficial lesions; authors at the Center for Biomedical Research, Inc., Boise, Idaho). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35217280/. Checked October 19, 2026.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04279535, “Topical Ascorbic Acid for Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma”: sponsor Center for Biomedical Research, Inc. (industry); started March 1, 2018, completed March 1, 2019, first submitted February 19, 2020; 25 enrolled; listed as randomized and double-masked; no results posted. NCT05932511 (squamous cell, same sponsor): 15 estimated, no control arm listed, status unknown, last updated August 2023, no results. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04279535 · https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05932511. Checked October 19, 2026.
Miller, Ward, Morgan, Burke. Topical ascorbic acid in DMSO for squamous cell carcinoma in situ, medRxiv preprint posted October 16, 2025, not peer reviewed. doi:10.1101/2025.10.13.25337920 (open-label, no control group; 19 enrolled, 17 analyzed with 27 lesions; 15 of 27 (56%) cleared at 12 weeks; 16 of 17 people avoided excision, with leftover lesions treated by freezing; “DMSO most likely served as a carrier”; “DMSO alone was not evaluated”; registration given as NCT04279535, the basal cell trial’s number). https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.13.25337920. Checked October 19, 2026.
Salim AS. Oxygen-derived free-radical scavengers prolong survival in colonic cancer. Chemotherapy. 1992;38(2):127-134. PMID 1591947 (198 randomized, 144 evaluable) · Salim AS. Oxygen-derived free-radical scavengers prolong survival in gastric cancer. Chemotherapy. 1992;38(2):135-144. PMID 1591948 (228 randomized, 160 evaluable) · Salim AS. Scavengers of oxygen-derived free radicals prolong survival in advanced colonic cancer. Tumour Biol. 1993;14(1):9-17. PMID 8493453 (306 randomized, 193 evaluable). All single-author, University Department of Surgery, Medical City, Baghdad; oral DMSO or allopurinol vs no scavenger after surgery. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1591947/ · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1591948/ · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8493453/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Bedlack RS, Vaughan T, Wicks P, et al. How common are ALS plateaus and reversals? Neurology. 2016;86(9):808-812. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000002251. PMID 26658909 (PRO-ACT trial database, 3,132 people: 25% had no decline over 6 months, 16% over 12 months, 7% over 18 months; reversals of 4 or more points lasting 12 months were under 1%; such stability “should not be interpreted as an ALS treatment effect”). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26658909/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Perez-Marrero R, Emerson LE, Feltis JT. A controlled study of dimethyl sulfoxide in interstitial cystitis. J Urol. 1988;140(1):36-39. PMID 3288775 (33 people, crossover vs saline; 53% vs 18% markedly improved by their own report, 93% vs 35% objectively improved). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3288775/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Yoshimura N, Homma Y, Tomoe H, et al. Efficacy and safety of intravesical instillation of KRP-116D (50% dimethyl sulfoxide solution) for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome in Japanese patients. Int J Urol. 2021;28(5):545-553. doi:10.1111/iju.14505. PMID 33580603 (96 people; symptom index −5.2 vs −3.4 on placebo, difference −1.8, 95% CI −3.3 to −0.3). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33580603/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Tutolo M, Ammirati E, Castagna G, et al. A prospective randomized controlled multicentre trial comparing intravesical DMSO and chondroïtin sulphate 2% for painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis. Int Braz J Urol. 2017;43(1):134-141. PMID 28124536 (36 people; 57% of the DMSO group withdrew, citing pain, “intolerable garlic odor and lack of efficacy”; stopped early). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28124536/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Li HR, Shen SH, Gao XS, et al. The efficacy and safety of dimethyl sulfoxide into the bladder for the treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurourol Urodyn. 2025;44(5):1036-1046. doi:10.1002/nau.70036. PMID 40205912 (5 randomized trials and 9 other studies, 554 patients; adverse events in 37.6%). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40205912/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Yellowlees P, Greenfield C, McIntyre N. Dimethylsulphoxide-induced toxicity. Lancet. 1980;2(8202):1004-1006. PMID 6107630 (two elderly people given intravenous DMSO for arthritis; one became seriously ill; both showed hemolysis and enzyme changes) · Samoszuk M, Reid ME, Toy PT. Intravenous dimethylsulfoxide therapy causes severe hemolysis mimicking a hemolytic transfusion reaction. Transfusion. 1983;23(5):405. PMID 6623613. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6107630/ · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6623613/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Shu Z, Heimfeld S, Gao D. Hematopoietic SCT with cryopreserved grafts: adverse reactions after transplantation and cryoprotectant removal before infusion. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2014;49(4):469-476. doi:10.1038/bmt.2013.152. PMID 24076548. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24076548/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Marren K. Dimethyl sulfoxide: an effective penetration enhancer for topical administration of NSAIDs. Phys Sportsmed. 2011;39(3):75-82. doi:10.3810/psm.2011.09.1923. PMID 22030943 (author affiliated with Covidien, then Pennsaid’s marketer). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22030943/. Checked October 19, 2026.
Dimexide (dimethyl sulfoxide) 99% concentrate for solution for external use, Tatkhimfarmpreparaty (Kazan, Russia), registration ЛП-№(004384)-(РГ-RU) of January 23, 2024; sold without prescription; ATC M02AX03; for external use in compresses and rinses; contraindications include angina, severe atherosclerosis, glaucoma, cataract, stroke, pregnancy and children under 12; “increases absorption and enhances the action of ethanol and insulin.” Vidal Russia drug reference. https://www.vidal.ru/drugs/dimexid__18456. Checked October 19, 2026.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Online advisory letter to The Underground Cure, April 28, 2021 (products including “DMSO Liquid 70/30” marketed with disease claims are unapproved new drugs). https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/underground-cure. Checked October 19, 2026.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Online advisory letter to M83 Ministries LLC, March 5, 2026, reference #723496, “RE: M83, DMSO, CDS, CDS Chloride Dioxide, and P107 Neuroplastic Fuel” (websites suggest the products “treat or prevent autism, cancer … COVID-19, dementia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, seizures”; unapproved new drugs; 30 days to correct). https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/m83-ministries-llc-online-advisory-letter. Checked October 19, 2026.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07567274, “Single-Arm Pilot Study of Compounded DMSO-Based Dual-Route Therapy for Refractory Subjective Tinnitus in PASC and Post-COVID-19 Vaccine Injury”: sponsor Leading Edge Clinic; first submitted May 1, 2026; 20 estimated; no control group; primary completion estimated July 2026; no results posted. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07567274. Checked October 19, 2026.

This page explains FDA labels and records, trial registries, published studies and public posts. It is not medical advice and not a dosing guide. DMSO is FDA-approved only as a bladder instillation for interstitial cystitis, under a prescriber’s care. Decisions about trying, dosing or stopping any treatment belong with your doctor. The registry, PubMed and label counts are Jabbit’s own; their inputs are cited above.