Are We Being Lied To?  Why Haven't We Heard About This Before?

Just two months ago I became aware of the science of Transfer Factors.  Have you ever heard of this?  Well, me either and I am not happy about it!  With all the illnesses and medical condition people are experiencing in today's world, all we hear about is pharmacutical treatments that are available but never a natural scientific way or method of treating our conditions.  Well if your like me and try to stay away from pharma drugs, then you must read this.  I dug this info up from Wikipedia and have provided the link aswell.  Enjoy the read!

Transfer factors are essentially small immune messenger molecules that are produced by all higher organisms.^[1] They are an ancient part of the immune system and represent "an archaic dialect in the language of cells.  Tranfer Factors are derived from cow colostrum or chicken egg yolk which is marketed as an oral dietary supplement under the same name citing claims of benefit to the immune system. 

Transfer Factor History:

In 1942, Merrill Chase discovered that cells taken from the peritoneum of Guinea pigs that had been immunized against an antigen could transfer immunity when injected into Guinea pigs that had never been exposed to the antigen; this phenomenon was the discovery of cell-mediated immunity. Subsequent research attempted to uncover how the cells imparted their effects. Henry Sherwood Lawrence, in 1955,^[4]discovered that partial immunity could be transferred even when the immune cells had undergone lysis - indicating that cells did not need to be fully intact in order to produce immune effects.^[7] Dr. Lawrence went on to discover that only the factors less than 8000 Daltons were required to transfer this immunity; he termed these to be "transfer factors".^[4]

The history of cellular derived transfer factor as a treatment effectively ended in the early 1980s. While the research world was initially excited by the discovery of Dr Lawrence and the possibility that a small molecule could effect the immune system, the concept of small molecules having such profound biologic effect had not been proven.^[8] Despite several successes in using transfer factor to treat human disease and uncover immune effects, one then-prominent researcher was exposed for falsifying data related to his work on transfer factor and guinea pigs; effectively casting all of transfer factor science in a negative light.^[8] This scandal was followed shortly thereafter by the discovery of the Interleukin-1 alpha molecule and thus attention further shifted towards research on interleukins. By 1973, it was discovered that blood products could harbor viruses such as hepatitis A, indicating that transfer factor treatments derived from human or cow blood cells had the potential to transmit these diseases. With the eventual discovery of HIV/AIDS as an additionalblood-borne disease most researchers viewed a product derived from blood as an unsafe treatment since screening for hepatitis B and HIV/AIDS would not be developed until after 1985.^[9] Some studies using transfer factor have been conducted after the discovery of HIV/AIDS, but almost all have been outside of the United States.

Most recently, transfer factor has been harvested from sources other than blood, and administered orally, as opposed to intravenously. This use of transfer factors from sources other than blood has not been accompanied by the same concerns associated with blood-borne diseases, since no blood is involved. Transfer factor based nutritional supplements have become extremely popular throughout the world.

To communicate between cells, the immune system employs hormone-like signal substances; transfer factors are one class of such immune system communication substances. Transfer factors include both inducer/helper functions (Inducer Factors) and regulator functions (Regulator Factors)—historically called "suppressor functions".^[10] The Inducer Factors translate an apparently mature immune response from the donor to the recipient. Regulator Factors help control overreactions and limit allergies and autoimmune conditions. Transfer factors have been shown to induce an immune response in less than 24 hours.^[10] Transfer factors are not species-specific, thus transfer factors produced by a cow's immune system are just as effective in humans as they are in the cow.  Henry Sherwood Lawrence discovered that blood cells could 'transfer' antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity even after the cells had undergone lysis.^[4] This lymphocyte product is sometimes referred to as "dialyzable leukocyte extract" in the scientific literature due to being an extract from white blood cells undergoing dialysis to remove all molecules larger than ~5000 Daltons.^[11] Studies on cellular transfer factor have involved mostly animal models and small human clinical trials. These studies have demonstrated preliminary evidence of immune modulation as well as some clinical benefits in a handful of diseases, but the studies not been assessed beyond primary sources and the trials should only be considered pre-clinical.

Transfer factors derived from cow colostrum and/or chicken eggs yolks are used predominantly today.  Long-term oral administration of colostrum-derived transfer factors has been shown to be safe. The orally available transfer factor is not obtained from humans nor from blood products of any mammal or animal and thus does not carry the presumed risks of contracting blood borne or animal tissue derived diseases. Retailers of dietary supplement transfer factors advice against use by those with an organ transplant or women that are pregnant. 

Colostrum/egg derived transfer factors have been promoted as a treatment for a large number of diseases and health concerns but have not been proven in clinical studies.^[5][20][21] The United States Food and Drug Administration regulates transfer factors as a dietary supplement,^[20] and therefore, sellers of transfer factor products cannot claim that the supplements diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Despite the FDA's regulation of claims made by sellers of transfer factor products, many users have made anecdotal claims of improvement in diseases such as gout, breast cancer, SLE, asthma, kidney insufficiency, endometriosis, uterine cysts, stroke, COPD, high blood pressure, and other conditions—though no clinical studies have provided any verification of these claims.Transfer Factor