The use of enzymes derived from bacteria, fungi, plants or animals is a very old method to treat e.g. inflammations, wounds and cancer. The sap of the fig tree, the pulp of the papaya fruit, crushed pineapple or aloe leafs, all contain large quantities of protein-splitting enzymes (= Proteolytic enzymes) and have been used by old cultures in Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe to treat e.g. wounds, worm infections or joint pains.

The discovery, that a mixtures of different Proteolytic enzymes, carefully isolated from plants and animals, acts as a remedy is finally the merit of two outstanding men:

Max Wolf & Karl Ransberger

Prof. Dr. med. Max Wolf

Wolf was born 1882 in Vienna, Austria. He left his country as a young man and studied medicine in New York. Through his researches, Wolf became attentive of the key function of enzymes in living processes. The publications by his friend Ernst Freund in Vienna increased his interest for enzymes. This Viennese researcher has observed that the blood serum of healthy individuals is able to destroy tumour cells, whereas this phenomenon is no longer seen in serum of cancer patients. Freund calls this substance “normal substance” and the reaction “Freund-Kaminer” reaction and published these observations 1934. But his colleagues at the university did not recognize the importance of these results.

The geniality of Max Wolf was that he understood the potential capacity of this new finding. He was convinced that this discovery could be the start for a new therapy in cancer. Soon it was clear that some of the missing substances in cancer patient’s blood are enzymes. Max Wolf founded the “Biological Research Institute” and engaged the well known cell biologist Helen Benitez as his collaborator. The enzyme combination was optimised during the course of a long series of experiments. Soon it was unambiguous, that enzymes preparations have befit in acute and chronic inflammation, oedemas and viral infections.

Dr. Karl Ransberger

Ransberger was born 1931 in Rosenheim, Bavaria and went to USA immediately after the end of the World War II. where met Max Wolf. Karl Ransberger, a young student of biology, was fascinated from this new therapy developed by Max Wolf. He returned to Germany, and together with Max Wolf, they founded the “Medical Enzyme Research Foundation”.

Karl Ransberger was absolutely convinced that Enzyme Therapy, a therapy nearly without side effects, would bring new chances for patients with incurable diseases. With enthusiasm he propagated this new therapy, and even conservative medical professors from different universities in Europe became interested in this new method. Since 1965 Dr. Karl Ransberger worked with over 500 medical doctors and scientists throughout Europe and America, focusing on experimental and clinical research on the evaluation of enzyme therapy in fighting against cancer and inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Karl Ransberger’s enthusiasm and steadfastness made its possible, that nowadays many people world wide have the chance to get a therapy with nearly no side effects, which can be taken alone or in combination with traditional therapies to cure or to reduce progression of many different chronic incurable diseases.

Today enzyme preparations are used world wide for acute and chronic inflammations, injuries, age related diseases, viral infection and cancer.

Prof. Dr. Carl Steffen,

Head of the Institute of Immunology at the University of Vienna from 1970 to 1989 investigated the influence of Enzyme-Therapy on arthritis in animal models. In his institute, one of the important functions of enzyme therapy – the reduction of immune complexes, was discovered in 1980. Immune complexes in blood are accompanied with a number of different diseases like polyarthritis or glomerulopathies

Prof. Dr. Dr. Heinrich Wrba,

Head of the Cancer Research Institute at the University of Vienna from 1967 to 1999 was neither willing to introduce Enzyme-Therapy in cancer therapy nor was interested to start new investigations with these preparations at the beginning. He gave the tablets he got from Karl Ransberger to an old lady with swollen legs and forgot about the therapy. 3 month later, he met this lady once more and she was enthusiastic about the enzyme therapy, because the oedema in her legs disappeared and she could walk like she has never done since 5 years. Prof. Wrba now started to give Enzyme preparations to female patients after oncological breast surgery to prevent lymphedema. This treatment was rather successful. He found, that Enzyme therapy in patients in late stage of cancer with nearly no chance of healing, improves their quality of life. Prof. Wrba treated also patients with pleural effusion due to lung cancer with enzymes and observed a reduced adhesion of cancer cells on the peritoneum. This observation caused the start to investigate the influence of enzyme therapy on adhesion molecules, molecules responsible for cancer cell outgrowth and metastatic development. A number of clinical studies in different hospitals in Europe followed these observations. Now, the influence of Enzyme therapy on metastatic development is well accepted.

Prof. Dr. Otto von Rokitansky

A well known gynaecologist in Vienna treated his patients after breast surgery with enzymes and observed a reduced metastatic development. These new findings (1975) were the start for a number of successful clinical studies with enzyme therapy as additive therapy in breast tumor patients in Europe.

Prof. Dr. Adreana Sakalova

Head of the institute of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine, University of Bratislava (Slovakia) started 1989 to treat Multiple Myeloma patients with enzyme preparations in additional to standard chemotherapy. The reason for such a treatment was that patients with Multiple Myeloma often suffer from infections. Beside the fact, that the number of infections per year was reduced, Sakalova found at first a significant prolongation of remission time and finally a prolongation of survival of Multiple Myeloma patients, treated with enzyme therapy additionally to chemotherapy. The results were published 2001.

Dr. Lucia Desser

Started 1989 her research on enzymes at Institute of Cancer Research, University of Vienna (Prof. Dr. H. Wrba). She is a biologist, and her research was concentrated on cancer development, growth factors and cytokines. When she started enzyme research, she wanted to understand how enzyme therapy works and why Enzyme therapy is beneficial in so many different diseases like cancer, Rheumatoid Arthritis, or Herpes Zoster. In cooperation with Dr. Eva Zavadova from Praha she investigated the influence of enzyme therapy on cytokine synthesis and immune surveillance by in vitro experiments, in animal models and in humans. Desser developed a new concept how enzyme therapy works. Step by step, the evidence was accumulated – now, we understand how enzyme therapy works and why Enzyme Therapy has so many benefits in different diseases.

Today, we can say that additive treatment with enzyme preparations is beneficial in

• Acute inflammations, chronic inflammations like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis,
• Multiple Myeloma, Colon Cancer, Breast Cancer,
• Viral infections like Herpes zoster, Herpes labialis, Hepatitis,
• Lymph edema and
• Injuries
• Nearly free of side effects.

In most cases, these results are proved by GCP clinical studies.

In following table should demonstrate the knowledge about enzyme therapy, which grows up, year by year:

History of Enzyme-Therapy:

1966	Cancer	Wolf, M. Anwendung proteolytischer Enzyme bei der Behandlung metastasierter Melanomalignome? Munch Med Wochenschr, 108: 1614-1617, 1966.
1967	Edema	Weisskirchen, H. and el Salamouny, A. R. [Treatment of post-traumatic and postoperative swellings with proteolytic enzymes]. Med Welt, 52: 3211-3212, 1967.
1974	Herpes zoster	Bartsch, W. Zur Therapie des Zosters mit proteolytischen Enzymen. Der informierte Arzt, 2: 2-7, 1974.
1975	Bacterial Infections	Rodeheaver, G., Marsh, D., Edgerton, M. T., and Edlich, R. F. Proteolytic enzymes as adjuncts to antimicrobial prophylaxis of contaminated wounds. Am J Surg, 129: 537-544, 1975.
1975	Pleural effusion	Titscher, R. and Wrba, H. Lokaltherapie des malignen Pleuraergusses – neue Beobachtungen und Ergebnisse. Österr Zschr Onkol, 2: 24-25, 1975.
1979	Rheumatoid arthritis	W. Werk and I. Hoerger. The clinical and laboratory course of RA patients after treatment with the fibrinolytic and thrombolytic agent Wobenzym. In: Progress in chemical fibrinolysis and thrombolysis, edited by Davidson, 1979, p. 199-204.
1979	Wound healing	W. Werk. Ein Polyenzympräparat zur Beschleunigung der Narbenbildung. Proktologie 3, 1979.
1979	Wound healing	Udod, V. M. and Storozhuk, V. T. [Treatment of suppurative diseases of soft tissues with proteolytic enzyme, papain]. Klin Khir, 37-38, 1979.
1983	Thrombophlebitis	H. Mahr. Zur Enzymtherapie entzündlicher Venenerkrankungen, der tiefen Beinvenenthrombose und des postthrombotischen Syndroms. Erfahrungsheilkunde 32 (3):117-121, 1983
1983	Breast tumors	Rokitansky, O. 15 Jahre operative Behandlung des Mammakarzinoms mit adjuvanter Enzymtherapie. EHK, 3: 115-116, 1983.
1986	Prostatitis	Ruggendorf, E. W., Burghele, A., and Schneider, J. Behandlung der chronischen abakteriellen Prostatitis mit hydrolytischen Enzymen. Der Kassenarzt, 26: 43, 1986.
1988	Metastatic formation	Batkin, S., Taussig, S. J., and Szekerezes, J. Antimetastatic effect of bromelain with or without its proteolytic and anticoagulant activity. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol, 114: 507-508, 1988.
1988	Artherio sclerosis	Denck, H. Therapie von Gefäßerkrankungen mit Enzympräparaten. In MEF (ed.), Therapie von gefäßerkrankungen mit Enzympräparaten, pp. 31. München: Medipharma Relations, 1988.
1988	Dental surgery	Vinzenz, K. Orale Enzymgabe bei operativer Zahnentfernung im Kieferbereich. In MEF (ed.), Systemische Enzymtherapie, pp. 23-24. München: Medipharma Relations, 1988.
1989	Inflammation	Barabanov, L. G. [Functional indices of the hypophysis, gonads and adrenal cortex during the treatment of patients with gonorrheal inflammation of the scrotal organs using proteolytic enzymes]. Vestn Dermatol Venerol, 46-48, 1989.
1990	Radiotherapy	F. Beaufort Reduction of radiation side-effects by hydrolytic enzymes Therapeutikon, 4 (10), 1990, 577-580
1990	Bleomycin	Schedler, M., Lind, A., Schatzle, W., and Stauder, G. Adjuvant therapy with hydrolytic enzymes in oncology: a hopeful effort to avoid bleomycin induced pneumotoxicity? J Cancer Res Clin Oncol, 116: 1990.
1990	Multiple sclerosis	U. Baumhackl and S. Fördermair. Enzymtherapie bei Multipler Sklerose. Allgemeinmedizin 19 (4):169-172, 1990
1991	Escherichia coli	Mynott TL, Chandler DS, Luke RK. Efficacy of enteric-coated protease in preventing attachment of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and diarrheal disease in the RITARD model. Infect Immun 1991 Oct;59(10):3708-14
1993	Sinusitis	R. Wohlrab. Enzymkombinationspräparat zur Therapie der Sinusitis acuta. Der Allgemeinarzt 15 (2):104-114, 1993.
1996	Urinary tract inf..	K. Kerbl. Enzymtherapie bei chronisch abakterieller Prostatitis. In: Systemsiche Enzymtherapie: Aktueller Stand und Fortschritte, edited by H. Wrba, H. W. Kleine, K. Miehlke, F.-W. Dittmar, and E. R. Weissenbacher, München:Medizin Verlag, 1996, p. 67-69.
1996	Chlamydia inf.	I. Mikazans. The use of Wobenzym to increase the pharmacotherapy Effeciency in Disease caused by Clamydia Trachomatis. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venerology 7 (2):195-196, 1996.
1996	Spontaneous abortion	Ransberger, K., Dittmar, F. W., Kunze, R., and Stauder, G. Use of hydrolytic enzymes for the prophylaxis of spontaneous abortion in pregnant women with habitual idiopathic abortion in their anamneses. U S , 3 pp , 5505942, 04 09 96, (Mucos Pharma Gmbh and Co ), 1996.
1996	Mastopathy	Rammer, E. and Friedrich, F. [Enzyme therapy in treatment of mastopathy. A randomized double-blind clinical study] Enzymtherapie zur Behandlung der Mastopathie. Eine randomisierte doppelblinde klinische Studie. Wien Klin Wochenschr, 108: 180-183, 1996.
1997	Hepatitis B	Romanova, S. V., Shabunina, E. I., Pereslegina, I. A., and Tolkacheva, N. I. Influence of WobenzymR therapy on immune and metabolic parameters in children with chronic hepatitis B. Int J Immunother, 17: 99-100, 1997.
1998	Multiple Myeloma	Sakalova, A., Dedik, L., Gazova, S., Hanisch, J., and Schiess, W. Survival analysis of an adjuvant therapy with oral enzymes in multiple myeloma patients. Br J Haematology, 102: 353-353, 1998.
1999	Diabet. angiopathy	Sabadosh, R. V. The efficiacy of Wobenzym in the treatment of intravascular disseminated blood coagulation syndrome in diabetic angiopathy of lower extremities. Klinichna Khirurhiia, 1: 16-18, 1999.
2000	Uveiitis	Porubska-M Our first experience with utilisation of hydrolytic enzymes in anterior uveitis. Rheumatologia. 2000; 14/2 (65-69)
2000	Colorectal cancer	Popiela, T., Kulig, J., Kéek, S., Wachol, D., Bock, P. R., and Hanisch, J. Double-blind pilot-study on the efficacy of enzyme therapy in advanced colorectal cancer. Przegl Lek, 57 Suppl 5: 142-142, 2000.
2001	Glomerulo-nephritis	Paczek-L; Wood-G; Stauder-G; Heidland-A Enzyme therapy in diabetic nephropathy: Experimental and initial clinical data. International-Journal-of-Immunotherapy. 2001; 17(2-4): 87-92
2003	Gout	Mukhin, I. V. and Nikolenko, V. I. [Experimental systemic enzyme therapy of gouty and primary glomerulonephritis]. Eksp Klin Farmakol, 66: 32-35, 2003.