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Strokes, Paralysis, Neuropathy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS & More — The Over-the-Counter Substance Being Used to Help Heal the Nervous System
This blog is a synopsis of A Midwestern Doctor’s article, “DMSO is a Miraculous Therapy for Neurological Diseases,” published September 26, 2026. For the full research, references, case reports and protocols, please read the original article.
DMSO and the Nervous System: What Decades of Overlooked Research Suggest
Dimethyl sulfoxide, better known as DMSO, is an inexpensive compound that has been studied for decades for its unusual ability to penetrate tissues, reduce inflammation, influence circulation, protect cells, and carry other substances across biological barriers.
Its only FDA-approved use in the United States is for interstitial cystitis. Yet an extensive body of experimental, clinical and veterinary literature has explored DMSO for a much broader range of conditions.
A Midwestern Doctor has spent months reviewing this literature, including approximately 4,500 studies and 1,000 reader reports related to neurological conditions, and argues that DMSO deserves far more attention than it currently receives.
Why DMSO may be particularly valuable in neurology
The nervous system is exceptionally vulnerable to loss of circulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, swelling and cellular injury.
The research reviewed by A Midwestern Doctor suggests DMSO may act through several mechanisms at once, including:
* reducing inflammation and oxidative stress
* improving microcirculation and blood flow
* reducing tissue swelling
* crossing the blood-brain barrier
* protecting cells during periods of reduced oxygen supply
* influencing platelet aggregation and clot formation
* reducing nerve pain
* helping damaged nerve membranes reseal
* supporting nerve regeneration
* affecting abnormal protein aggregation
* helping injured but still-living neurological tissue regain function
This combination of effects may explain why DMSO has been studied across so many seemingly unrelated neurological disorders.
Stroke and brain injury
One of the largest areas of DMSO research involves stroke, traumatic brain injury and increased intracranial pressure.
The article reviews human and animal studies in which DMSO was associated with reduced brain swelling, improved cerebral blood flow and protection of tissue surrounding an injury.
It also describes clinical reports of improved neurological recovery following ischemic stroke, brain hemorrhage and severe head trauma, particularly when DMSO was used early.
Spinal cord injury and paralysis
DMSO has also been studied extensively in spinal-cord injury.
Animal research reviewed in the article reports reduced swelling and tissue damage, preservation of nerve fibers, nerve regrowth and improved return of movement.
Human and veterinary cases are also described in which neurological function returned after severe spinal injuries, including cases in which treatment began long after the original injury.
Nerve damage and neuropathic pain
The article presents substantial research on peripheral nerve injury and chronic nerve pain.
DMSO has been studied for its ability to:
* support regeneration of damaged peripheral nerves
* improve nerve conduction
* reduce scarring around injured nerves
* reduce inflammatory and neuropathic pain
* influence the small nerve fibers involved in chronic pain transmission
Clinical research has examined DMSO for conditions including:
* complex regional pain syndrome
* trigeminal neuralgia
* post-herpetic neuralgia
* carpal and other compression neuropathies
* peripheral neuropathy
* Bell’s palsy
* spinal and radicular pain
Back, neck and spinal pain
DMSO has also been investigated in people with disc disease, sciatica, cervical radiculopathy and chronic spinal pain.
Studies reviewed in the article report reductions in pain and disability, and Eastern European protocols have used DMSO alongside physical therapy, local anesthetics and iontophoresis.
The author also includes hundreds of reader accounts describing improvement in chronic back pain, sciatica and neck pain.
Neurodegenerative diseases
The article also reviews research involving:
* Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
* Parkinson’s disease
* ALS
* multiple sclerosis
* Huntington’s disease
* prion and other protein-misfolding disorders
DMSO’s effects on circulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, cellular energy, protein aggregation and nerve repair are proposed as reasons it may benefit these conditions.
The article includes animal research, human studies and numerous reports of neurological improvement.
Cognitive function, stress and psychiatric disorders
Older research also explored DMSO for cognitive impairment, chronic stress and psychiatric illness.
Studies cited by the author include reports of improvement in memory, cognition, mood, anxiety and depression.
One proposed mechanism involves cerebral circulation. Chronic stress can reduce blood flow to the brain, while DMSO appears to improve circulation and counter some of the inflammatory and oxidative effects associated with chronic stress.
Eyes, ears and sensory nerves
Because the retina and auditory system are closely connected to the nervous system, DMSO has also been studied for:
* tinnitus
* hearing loss
* retinal disease
* macular degeneration
* visual impairment
* loss of smell and taste
The article includes both clinical studies and numerous patient reports describing improvements in vision, hearing and tinnitus.
The larger picture
A central theme of A Midwestern Doctor’s article is that many neurological diseases may share underlying mechanisms such as:
* impaired microcirculation
* chronic inflammation
* oxidative stress
* abnormal protein aggregation
* excessive sympathetic nervous system activity
* dysfunctional nerve signaling
* injured but dormant cells that remain alive but no longer function normally
Because DMSO appears to influence many of these processes simultaneously, the author argues that this may explain why its effects have been reported across such a broad range of neurological conditions.
For anyone who wants the detailed studies, case reports, mechanisms, dosing information and condition-specific protocols, A Midwestern Doctor’s The Forgotten Side of Medicine contains the full discussion.
Read A Midwestern Doctor / The Forgotten Side of Medicine:
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