DCA, which is short for dichloroacetate acid, belongs to the family of chloroacetic acids. Coming from a methyl group, it has 3 hydrogen atoms of which 2 are replaced with chlorine atoms. This acidic chemical compound has salt properties, which are potassium dichloroacetate and sodium dichloroacetate, and these are known as dichloroacetates. These are being studied as potential cancer treatment. There has been much debate over the use of DCA for cancer since it is highly destructive and corrosive to the mucous membrane tissues and the respiratory tract.

Despite the fact that DCA cannot be patented, there are some individuals that have filed for a patent for cancer treatment purposes. The industry in pharmaceutics is not supporting the patent of DCA as a drug. There have been raised concerns that the lack of property protection from large and intellectual groups will lessen the economic incentive to gain the interest of pharmaceutical industry. In turn clinical studies and experiments of dichloroacetate acid may not receive proper funding. However, there are other existing funding sources from government organizations, like the FDA, and private charities. Because of the lack of funds, solicitations have been raised online. A total amount of more than $800,000 has been raised, which is adequate to finance the second phase of clinical study. This clinical experiment is used to apply for a drug patent to utilize DCA for cancer remedy or treatment.

An announcement in 2007 has been made claiming that dichloroacetate acid has been safely treated in patients for years. However, limited medical literature suggested that there have been side effects with the use of DCA. These include disturbances in the gait, numbness, and pain in a few patients. A previous clinical study involved the use of DCA to treat MELAS patients. This disease is one form of lactic acidosis, which is genetically inherited. The controlled treatment is 25 milligrams/kilogram/day. However, this was ended early on because it resulted in excessive toxicity in the peripheral nerve. DCA may also have sedative or anxiolytic side effects.

The studies that have been done on animal subjects suggested that the experienced neurotoxicity and neuropathy while on chronic treatment of DCA might be somewhat due to thiamine depletion. Since the rat subjects are supplemented with thiamine, these effects are lessened. Despite this discovery, current clinical studies revealed that there is still an occurrence of peripheral neuropathy during the chronic treatment of dichloroacetate acid, even if it has been co-administered with oral thiamine. Another experiment reported that the treatment of 50 milligram/kilogram/day of DCA have resulted to lethargy and unsteady gait in 2 patients. The first patient experienced the symptoms 1 month after the treatment, while the second patient experienced it after 2 months. Consciousness and steady gait are regained after stopping the administration. However, the potentials of sensory-nerve functions have not been recovered within 1 month.

While there are reports regarding the possible harm of dichloroacetate acid, there are still attempts to buffer down the acidity of the compound. There are several manufacturers that are coming up with their own DCA products. If you want to use DCA for cancer treatment, you can find a handful of websites that are selling the product. Not only are these online manufacturers supplying sodium dichloroacetate, they are also providing information regarding DCA. One of your online sources is Better DCA.