Sickle cell anemia is a serious condition in which the red blood cells can become sickle-shaped (that is, shaped like a "C").
Normal red blood cells are smooth and round like a doughnut without a hole. They move easily through blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Sickle-shaped cells don't move easily through blood. They're stiff and sticky and tend to form clumps and get stuck in blood vessels.
The clumps of sickle cells block blood flow in the blood vessels that lead to the limbs and organs. Blocked blood vessels can cause pain, serious infections, and organ damage. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/D.
Showing posts with label disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disease. Show all posts
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Education Not Medication
"There is no scientific proof of the safety or the effectiveness of drugs and/or vaccinations.
According to the journal, BMJ Clinical Evidence, about 2,500 drug treatments offered in conventional medicine produce the following results (including the latest drug killer,
Heparin):
1) 13 percent are beneficial to the patient
2) 23 percent are likely to be beneficial
3) 8 percent is a trade-off between benefits and harm
4) 6 percent are unlikely to be beneficial
5) 4 percent are likely to be ineffective or harmful, and
6) 46 percent have unknown effectiveness.
There is a 64% risk that the drug or the vaccine treatment you or your child receive will cause harm, will be ineffective or may have unknown side-effects.
The leading cause of death in America is not Cancer - NO!
It is not Heart Disease - NO! It is not diabetes - NO!
The leading cause of death in America is caused by pharma drugs -YES!
American does not need more medicine. What America needs is more education. That's right! Education not medication.
Education on how to maintain the alkaline design of the body and prevent ALL sickness and dis-ease!
Say NO TO ALL DRUGS! Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food, as stated by Hippocrates.
The safe and effective way to have health, energy and vitality is to simply maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet.
"Health is all about maintaining the delicate alkaline pH of the blood and tissues," states Dr. Robert O.
Young, of the pH Miracle Living Center.
According to the journal, BMJ Clinical Evidence, about 2,500 drug treatments offered in conventional medicine produce the following results (including the latest drug killer,
Heparin):
1) 13 percent are beneficial to the patient
2) 23 percent are likely to be beneficial
3) 8 percent is a trade-off between benefits and harm
4) 6 percent are unlikely to be beneficial
5) 4 percent are likely to be ineffective or harmful, and
6) 46 percent have unknown effectiveness.
There is a 64% risk that the drug or the vaccine treatment you or your child receive will cause harm, will be ineffective or may have unknown side-effects.
The leading cause of death in America is not Cancer - NO!
It is not Heart Disease - NO! It is not diabetes - NO!
The leading cause of death in America is caused by pharma drugs -YES!
American does not need more medicine. What America needs is more education. That's right! Education not medication.
Education on how to maintain the alkaline design of the body and prevent ALL sickness and dis-ease!
Say NO TO ALL DRUGS! Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food, as stated by Hippocrates.
The safe and effective way to have health, energy and vitality is to simply maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet.
"Health is all about maintaining the delicate alkaline pH of the blood and tissues," states Dr. Robert O.
Young, of the pH Miracle Living Center.
Friday, May 02, 2008
The Acid Nicotine In Tabacco and Chewing Gums Posion White Blood Cells
The acid nicotine, a component of tobacco smoke and chewing gums, can make the body more prone to out-fections and inflammation, a research team has found.The study, published in Cell Biology, was led by David Scott, a University of Louisville oral health researcher.
Scott's team found that nicotine affects the production of one type of white blood cells, one of the body's primary defenses against infection and dis-ease.
White blood cells are produced out of red blood cells and body cells and the cells mobilize in the bloodstream to maintain cleanliness in the blood plasma and interstial fluids of bacteria and yeast. The researchers learned that white bllod cells tainted with nicotine were less able to mobilize in order to collect bacteria and yeast than white blood cells not exposed to the acid nicotine.
The researchers determined that the acid nicotine suppresses an important cell function that helps mediate bacteria and yeast and, at the same time, increases levels of exotoxins and myctotoxins (acidic waste products from bacteria and yeast) that promote the biological transformation of healthy body cells and tissues.
"Both of these findings partially explain chronic tobacco users' increased susceptibility to bacterial infection and inflammatory diseases," said Scott.
Although nicotine has been known to affect the immune response, this is the first study to examine how nicotine affects production of bacteria-collecting cells in the bone marrow and their mobilization into the bloodstream.
According to Dr. Robert O. Young, a research scientist at the pH Miracle Living Center, "the acid nicotine from tobacco or nicotine chewing gums will poison and paralyze the white blood cells for up to five hours.
When white blood cells are poisoned and paralyzed they cannot perform their normal activity of helping to maintain fluid purity and alkalinity. This can then cause increased acidic cellular debris in the body fluids causing blood and lymphatic congestion leading to poor circulation, light headedness, dizziness, cold hands, cold feet, irritation, and inflammation.
If the white cells are suppressed on a regular basis by continued use of nicotine containing products this may lead to more serious acidic symptomologies such as ulceration and degeneration of the tissues and organs leading to heart dis-ease and cancerous conditions."
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The Key To Health, Energy and Fitness
The nation's 10 most expensive dietary and metabolic acid caused medical conditions cost about $500 billion to treat in 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The money paid for visits to doctor's offices, clinics and emergency departments, hospital stays, home health care and prescription medicines.Estimated spending for the 10 most expensive acid conditions are:
* Heart conditions $76 billion
* Trauma disorders $72 billion
* Cancer $70 billion
* Mental disorders, including depression $56.0 billion
* Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
$54 billion
* High blood pressure $42 billion
* Type 2 diabetes $34 billion
* Osteoarthritis and other joint diseases
$34 billion
* Back problems $32 billion
AHRQ, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works to enhance the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care in the United States. The data in this AHRQ News and Numbers summary are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a detailed source of information on the health services used by Americans, the frequency with which they are used, the cost of those services, and how they are paid.
We have more medicine and health care then any where in the world and yet rank number 37 in over all health as a people.
It is my personal belief that we as a Nation we need more education not medication!
I personally believe that lifestyle and dietary choice determines the quality and quantity of life. Sickness and disease and health and fitness is not something that you get it is something that you do with your daily lifestyle and dietary choices.
The pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet can
eliminate most if not all dis-ease off the planet.
It is based upon a scientific principle that the human body is alkaline by design and acidic by function.
The key to health, energy and fitness is to maintain the alkaline design of the body through an alkaline lifestyle and diet.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
ALTERED IMMUNITY & THE LEAKY GUT SYNDROME
The leaky gut syndrome is the name given to a very common health disorder in which the basic organic defect (lesion) is an intestinal lining which is more permeable (porous) than normal. The abnormally large spaces present between the cells of the gut wall allow the entry of toxic material into the bloodstream that would, in healthier circumstances, be repelled and eliminated.The gut becomes leaky in the sense that bacteria, fungi, parasites and their toxins, undigested protein, fat and waste normally not absorbed into the bloodstream in the healthy state, pass through a damaged, hyperpermeable, porous or ÒleakyÓ gut. This can be verified by special gut permeability urine tests, microscopic examination of the lining of the intestinal wall as well as the bloodstream with phase contrast or darkfield microscopy of living whole blood.
Why is The Leaky Gut Syndrome Important?
The leaky gut syndrome is almost always associated with autoimmune disease and reversing autoimmune disease depends on healing the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Any other treatment is just symptom suppression. An autoimmune disease is defined as one in which the immune system makes antibodies against its own tissues. Diseases in this category include lupus, alopecia areata, rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome, vitiligo, thyroiditis, vasculitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, urticaria (hives), diabetes and Raynaud's disease. Physicians are increasingly recognizing the importance of the gastrointestinal tract in the development of allergic or autoimmune disease. Understanding the leaky gut phenomenon not only helps us see why allergies and autoimmune diseases develop but also helps us with safe and effective therapies to bring the body back into balance.
Due to the enlarged spaces between the cells of the gut wall, larger than usual protein molecules are absorbed before they have a chance to be completely broken down as occurs when the intestinal lining is intact. The immune system starts making antibodies against these larger molecules because it recognizes them as foreign, invading substances. The immune system starts treating them as if they had to be destroyed. Antibodies are made against these proteins derived from previously harmless foods. Continue reading >>
More informations here:
- Live_blood Analysis
- Live_Blood_Analysis Darkfield Microscopy Courses
- dark field microscopy
- pleomorphism
- Günther Enderlein
more discussion: Forum· Addiction Forum · Ask the Doctors Forum · Ayurveda Forum · Ayurvedic & Thai Herbs Forum · Colon Cleansing Forum · Dental Forum · Diabetes Forum · Diet Forum · General Cleansing Forum · Hepatitis A, B. C Forum · Integrated Medicine Forum · Live Blood Analysis Forum · Ozone-Oxygen-Forum · pH - Alkaline - Acidity Forum · Weight Loss Forum
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Darkfield Microscopy
FUNGUS
The species specific understanding of, and difference between bacterial phase and fungal phase developments in blood pictures.
©Copyright 1997 by Michael Coyle, Petaluma, California, USA
(Explore Issue: Volume 8, Number 3)
Diseases of the skin, digestive organs, urogenitary tract, mouth, etc. are caused by the multiplication and spread of fungal microorganisms known as mycelia. Mycoses (fungal infections) range in degree from unnoticed to fatal. They are directly related to asthma and allergic alveolitis reactions. They are dealt with by the immune system and competition from other microbes or earlier developmental phases of their own cyclogeny.
Fungal infections can be classified as;
Superficial -- those that effect hair, skin, nostrils, genitals, and oral mucosa
Subcutaneous -- those which occur beneath the skin
Deep -- those which effect the internal organs, lungs, liver, bones, lymph, brain, heart, and urinary tract
These infections often occur in those on long-term antibiotic therapies, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressant drugs. This type of opportunistic infection is common in those with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, commonly known as AIDS, and also CFIDS (chronic fatigue syndrome).
Primitive bacterial varlents (thecits)
Some of these fungal forms are received from the environment, are transmitted sexually, or are transmitted through mother's milk (Candida albicans). Candida remains in non-virulent phases of development until the terrain allows for its progression into more complex pathogenic forms. The efficacy of many of the SANUM fungal remedies is based on the sexual activity of the particular species of microorganisms (and/or the benign effect altogether, through competition, on the terrain) which is initiated through the process of reinstalling the microbial flora in the body in it's apathogenic earlier phases of development.
The flora that was installed then copulates with the pathogenic variety and shares the sexual information of the earlier phases, which, all things being equal (terrain modulation, removal of stressors, proper diet, lifestyle, etc.) causes the pathogenic form to convert or be reduced to the apathogenic variety. It is believed that the pathogens are also reduced in valence through the actual activity of the copulatory process.
The main causes of pathogenic albicans overgrowth are indiscriminate antibiotic application and dental inclusions from mercury tooth amalgams. Other factors include addictions to coffee, chocolate, drugs, unsafe sexual pratices, immuncompromisation, stress, chemicals, radiation, improper diet, etc.
The fungal overgrowth occurs because its natural competitors have been removed, in the case of antibiotic usage. In the case of dental amalgams or metals, it is due to decreased immunity from immunocompromisation. The candida also adsorbs the mercury in the gut, thereby serving the function of keeping it from moving deeper in the system, to some degree. A good inclusion in a program of remedies for alleviation of mercury toxicity in the nervous system and brain is broken cell wall chlorella, because not only is it similar to the fungus in that it adsorbs the mercury, but also carries it away. Continue reading >>
The species specific understanding of, and difference between bacterial phase and fungal phase developments in blood pictures.
©Copyright 1997 by Michael Coyle, Petaluma, California, USA
(Explore Issue: Volume 8, Number 3)
Diseases of the skin, digestive organs, urogenitary tract, mouth, etc. are caused by the multiplication and spread of fungal microorganisms known as mycelia. Mycoses (fungal infections) range in degree from unnoticed to fatal. They are directly related to asthma and allergic alveolitis reactions. They are dealt with by the immune system and competition from other microbes or earlier developmental phases of their own cyclogeny.
Fungal infections can be classified as;
Superficial -- those that effect hair, skin, nostrils, genitals, and oral mucosa
Subcutaneous -- those which occur beneath the skin
Deep -- those which effect the internal organs, lungs, liver, bones, lymph, brain, heart, and urinary tract
These infections often occur in those on long-term antibiotic therapies, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressant drugs. This type of opportunistic infection is common in those with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, commonly known as AIDS, and also CFIDS (chronic fatigue syndrome).
Primitive bacterial varlents (thecits)
Some of these fungal forms are received from the environment, are transmitted sexually, or are transmitted through mother's milk (Candida albicans). Candida remains in non-virulent phases of development until the terrain allows for its progression into more complex pathogenic forms. The efficacy of many of the SANUM fungal remedies is based on the sexual activity of the particular species of microorganisms (and/or the benign effect altogether, through competition, on the terrain) which is initiated through the process of reinstalling the microbial flora in the body in it's apathogenic earlier phases of development.
The flora that was installed then copulates with the pathogenic variety and shares the sexual information of the earlier phases, which, all things being equal (terrain modulation, removal of stressors, proper diet, lifestyle, etc.) causes the pathogenic form to convert or be reduced to the apathogenic variety. It is believed that the pathogens are also reduced in valence through the actual activity of the copulatory process.
The main causes of pathogenic albicans overgrowth are indiscriminate antibiotic application and dental inclusions from mercury tooth amalgams. Other factors include addictions to coffee, chocolate, drugs, unsafe sexual pratices, immuncompromisation, stress, chemicals, radiation, improper diet, etc.
The fungal overgrowth occurs because its natural competitors have been removed, in the case of antibiotic usage. In the case of dental amalgams or metals, it is due to decreased immunity from immunocompromisation. The candida also adsorbs the mercury in the gut, thereby serving the function of keeping it from moving deeper in the system, to some degree. A good inclusion in a program of remedies for alleviation of mercury toxicity in the nervous system and brain is broken cell wall chlorella, because not only is it similar to the fungus in that it adsorbs the mercury, but also carries it away. Continue reading >>
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
No More Heart Attacks or Strokes
Unlike most medical doctors, natural healers do not look to pharmaceutical companies as their first line of defense against heart disease. Instead, they turn to natural means of lowering risk.
If a patient has angina caused by acid bound cholesterol forming blockages to the heart, a cardiologist might use angioplasty to compress or remove the blockages, and prescribe a statin drug to lower cholesterol.
But in addition to the risks involved in the procedure itself, results are often temporary and the blockages return in a few short months because the main cause of the blockage has not been dealt with - dietary and metabolic acid. Acidic Statins also cause stage 4 acidic side effects, including severe muscle pain or weakness and sleep disturbances.
A natural healer would prescribe lifestyle and dietary changes to restore blood flow to the heart by naturally lowering acid bound cholesterol and decreasing acidic artery-clogging deposits. Below are the steps that a pH Miracle Life Coach might use to lower acidity and thus lower cholesterol levels to protect the body from heart attacks and strokes. I refer to this plan as the C.O.W.S. Plan which is an acronym which stands for a lifestyle and diet of chlorophyll, oil, oxygen, water, salt and sunshine. To be truly healthy you need to start eating like COWS.
1) Chlorophyll - A diet high in green vegetables and green fruits. I also recommend fresh green juices and liquid chlorophyll in alkaline water everyday. You can add the liquid chlorophyll to your green juices or green powders. A man, woman or child should drink at least 1 liter of green drink for every 25 kilos of weight or 50 pounds. I have created the first liquid chlorophyll fresh from alfalfa grass, without alcohol, chemicals or sugars that can be added to water, green drinks and green shakes. You can order this liquid green by calling 760-751-8321. It comes in a 4 ounce bottle and is 100% pure and organic.
2) Oil - I recommend at least 2 to 3 ounces or 100 to 150 mL of cold pressed omega 1, 3, 5, 6, and 9 oils.
My favorite is the avocado oil and the pomagranate oil.
I also recommend flax, hemp, pumpkin, olive, primrose.
sesame and borage oil.
3) Oxygen - The best way to increase oxygen is through exercise. The second best way to increase oxygen is with sodium, magnesium, potassium,calcium bicarbonate, and potassium hydroxide.
4) Water - The single most important thing that one can do is to drink more 9.5 alkaline pH water and at least 1 liter per 24 kilos of weight or 50 pounds.
The best drinking water is purified, alkalinize, and energized. You can learn more about the right kind of water to drink by going to our website at:
5) Salt - Without salt there would be no life. Salt is the catalyst of electron transport. It is what keeps your heart beating and energy flowing to every anatomical element that makes up every cell. I recommend eating at least 1 gram of salt for every
5 kilos or 10 pounds of weight. The best salt in the world is whole, unprocessed sea salts in a colloidal form. Such a salt exists and is called pHlavor by Young pHorever.
6) Sunshine - Just like salt without sunshine all life on earth would cease to exist. I recommend at least
1 hour of daily exercise and the best way to get 1 hour of exercise is while you are walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, running, playing tennis, rebounding, etc. outside in the sun. The sun releases photons which the body converts into electrical energy via the eyes and skin. This is a natural and effective way to energize the body.
The following are some additional ways to help keep your body and heart healthy from dietary and metabolic acids:
1) High fiber diet - A daily high-fiber intake would include five to ten grams of soluble fiber. This also helps to keep the bowel clear of undigested food and acidic toxins which are adsorbed and absorbed by the fiber. I would also recommend magnesium oxide with sodium bicarbonate in a product I call pHlush.
2) Co-Q-10 - Research has indicated that taking Co-Q-10 everyday may help to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
3) Nuts - All nuts, but especially walnuts and almonds, contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and soluble fiber. Studies have shown that people who eat nuts twice a week lower their risk of heart disease by 30 to 40 percent.
4) Plant Sterols - Sterols, which are found naturally in many plant foods, decrease the amount of acidic bound cholesterol absorbed by the body. The most important and the most powerful plant sterol of comes from green fruits and vegetables, such as avocado and broccoli.
5) Glutathione - the most powerful antioxidant for buffering dietary and metabolic acids that can make your heart weak. I would suggest 1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid glutathione every day to keep your heart and body healthy and strong.
Dr. Robert O. Young
Saturday, March 22, 2008
More Vitamin D in Childhood Cuts Later Diabetes Risk
(HealthDay News) -- Children who take vitamin D supplements may be less likely to develop type 1 diabetes later in life, according to researchers who analyzed the findings of five previously published studies.The researchers found that children who were given additional vitamin D were about 30 percent less likely to develop type 1 diabetes than children who didn't receive vitamin D supplements. The evidence also indicated that the higher and more regular the dose of vitamin D, the lower the risk of developing diabetes.
The findings were published online in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder, develops when insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the body's immune system, a process that begins in early infancy, according to background information in the review study.
The incidence of type 1 diabetes is increasing by about 3 percent a year, and it's estimated that new cases of the disease will have increased 40 percent between 2000 and 2010. People of European descent are most likely to have type 1 diabetes, which affects about two million Europeans and North Americans.
There's evidence that levels of vitamin D and exposure to sunlight, which prompts the body to make vitamin D, influence the risk of developing some types of autoimmune disorders.
The review authors noted that global rates of type 1 diabetes vary greatly, according to latitude and levels of sunlight. For example, a child in Finland is 400 times more likely than a child in Venezuela to develop type 1 diabetes.
The fact that pancreatic beta cells and immune cells carry receptors for the active form of vitamin D provide further proof of the link between vitamin D and type 1 diabetes, the review authors said.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about type 1 diabetes.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Pleomorphism
"Pleomorphism" is the term used to discribe the fact that some microorganisms can change form. At its most conservative sc ientists discovered in the last century that some fungi might in some conditions manifest as molds (filaments) and in other conditions manifest as yeasts (blobs).So "thrush" might be a mold (Monila [or a name very similar]) or a yeast (Candida) and it wasn't till about fifty years ago that they realised that Candidiasis and Moniliasis were the same disease. "morph" refers to shape/form.
"pleo", I have to look up
(at the office -can't find it on-line!)
The more radical pleomorphic "theory" of Enderlein imagines that there are really only two species of microorganism that transmogrify. One includes tuberculosis. The other includes the black mold "mucor". In this therory the most basic form are little white specks he called protids. When you are healthy, they help. When you are ill, they are the pathogen.
It's rather wild. Hockstra (see below) cannot believe that microorganisms change their DNA. Me neither. T's not credible. But... something strange is going on. However, nobody has a handle on it.
One of the first scientists who talked about pleomorphism was Béchamp, a contemporary and rival of Pasteur. He called the little bodies he observed "microzymes".
It seems that there may be some rather special organelles... (the hourglass icon flashes now with each key stroke, save, and restart )
Not all the little white specks are microzymes. Most of them are fats.
Monday, March 17, 2008
No More Type I or Type II Diabetes!
I am so happy to share with you a pH Miracle case study for Type I Diabetes.
The story begins two months ago with a 6 year old child named Gabriel who was diagnosed with onset Type I Diabetes. Through Gabriel's parents I had the honor to meet and work with Gabriel to help him reverse this condition.
When I looked at Gabriel's live and dried blood he had all the markers for the condition he had been diagnosed with by his doctor - Type I diabetes.
The blood showed:
1) White spots on the red blood cells,
2) Targets in the center of the red blood cells,
3) Yeast cells, like candida in the blood plasma, and
4) A dark protein ring in the center of the coagulated blood, indicating bowel congestion.
I shared with Gabriel and his parents that diabetes starts in the bowel not in the pancreas. Balancing blood sugars has everything to do with restoring the alkaline pH of the small and large intestines by eliminating the congestion of undigested chicken, beef, pork and fish. I helped them understand that the major cause of diabetes in children is from protein not from sugar. I knew if Gabriel would clear his bowels of undigested animal proteins his blood sugars would normalize and "No More Diabetes!"
This is exactly what happened - Gabriel cleared his bowels and now has normal blood sugars and "No More Type I Diabetes!"
The following is Gabriel's story as told by his incredible Mother who had the insight and inspiration to look outside the medical box of current medical thought.
Dear Dr. Young,
Two months ago my husband and I were shocked when our family doctor informed us he thought our six year old son, Gabriel, had Type 1 Diabetes. The pediatric endocrinologist we were referred to was reasonably sure he had the disease .Although the specialist said we detected it early, he estimated that Gabriel would be insulin-dependent within six months. When we asked if there was anything we could do, the doctor assured us there was no way to prevent the onset of Type 1 Diabetes. We would just have to wait for the disease to run its course.
Our hearts were grieving for our precious son.
We immediately began learning all we could about Type 1 Diabetes. I am an R.N., and I have studied health alternatives and nutrition. I began scouring the internet and researching sources I have studied.
After considering many possibilities, Dr. Youngs's research seemed the most promising. Dr Young generously invited us to visit the research center as a case study for his microscopy course. He confirmed the Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis and started Gabriel on the pH Miracle Living Plan or the COWS Plan as outlined in his book, The pH Miracle for Diabetes.
The day we visited the pH Miracle Center, Gabriel began drinking what he calls "green power". We began the alkaline diet immediately. His blood sugar levels dropped to within normal range and have remained normal. Gabriel says he feels so much better. Overall, his flagging energy has returned to its previous vitality.
Gabriel now tells everyone he wants to be a doctor.
He wants to help other sick people like Dr. Young.
We thank God for the pH Miracle Living program which has been and answer to our prayers. Thanks to Dr.
Young's dedicated research, our mourning has been transformed into hope.
Gabriel's Mom
The key to reversing Type I diabetes is the healing of the small intestine and the intestinal villi or root system of the body. When we have a healthy small intestine we can build healthy red blood cells which can then build a healthy body.
Very few people realize that sugar is a waste product of cellular degeneration or breakdown, not a fuel for energy. Think about it for a moment when you consider a banana as it ripens or ferments - it becomes sweeter with the acid sugar - it is melting into sugar.
This is what is happening to the person doing diabetes.
He or she is melting into sugar.
When we clear the bowels of protein and begin to build blood with chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water and salt we can expect only one thing - incredible health and energy and "No More Diabetes!"
In fact, if more people understood the principals I teach there would be "No More Diabetes" of any type in the world today!"
The story begins two months ago with a 6 year old child named Gabriel who was diagnosed with onset Type I Diabetes. Through Gabriel's parents I had the honor to meet and work with Gabriel to help him reverse this condition.
When I looked at Gabriel's live and dried blood he had all the markers for the condition he had been diagnosed with by his doctor - Type I diabetes.
The blood showed:
1) White spots on the red blood cells,
2) Targets in the center of the red blood cells,
3) Yeast cells, like candida in the blood plasma, and
4) A dark protein ring in the center of the coagulated blood, indicating bowel congestion.
I shared with Gabriel and his parents that diabetes starts in the bowel not in the pancreas. Balancing blood sugars has everything to do with restoring the alkaline pH of the small and large intestines by eliminating the congestion of undigested chicken, beef, pork and fish. I helped them understand that the major cause of diabetes in children is from protein not from sugar. I knew if Gabriel would clear his bowels of undigested animal proteins his blood sugars would normalize and "No More Diabetes!"
This is exactly what happened - Gabriel cleared his bowels and now has normal blood sugars and "No More Type I Diabetes!"
The following is Gabriel's story as told by his incredible Mother who had the insight and inspiration to look outside the medical box of current medical thought.
Dear Dr. Young,
Two months ago my husband and I were shocked when our family doctor informed us he thought our six year old son, Gabriel, had Type 1 Diabetes. The pediatric endocrinologist we were referred to was reasonably sure he had the disease .Although the specialist said we detected it early, he estimated that Gabriel would be insulin-dependent within six months. When we asked if there was anything we could do, the doctor assured us there was no way to prevent the onset of Type 1 Diabetes. We would just have to wait for the disease to run its course.
Our hearts were grieving for our precious son.
We immediately began learning all we could about Type 1 Diabetes. I am an R.N., and I have studied health alternatives and nutrition. I began scouring the internet and researching sources I have studied.
After considering many possibilities, Dr. Youngs's research seemed the most promising. Dr Young generously invited us to visit the research center as a case study for his microscopy course. He confirmed the Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis and started Gabriel on the pH Miracle Living Plan or the COWS Plan as outlined in his book, The pH Miracle for Diabetes.
The day we visited the pH Miracle Center, Gabriel began drinking what he calls "green power". We began the alkaline diet immediately. His blood sugar levels dropped to within normal range and have remained normal. Gabriel says he feels so much better. Overall, his flagging energy has returned to its previous vitality.
Gabriel now tells everyone he wants to be a doctor.
He wants to help other sick people like Dr. Young.
We thank God for the pH Miracle Living program which has been and answer to our prayers. Thanks to Dr.
Young's dedicated research, our mourning has been transformed into hope.
Gabriel's Mom
The key to reversing Type I diabetes is the healing of the small intestine and the intestinal villi or root system of the body. When we have a healthy small intestine we can build healthy red blood cells which can then build a healthy body.
Very few people realize that sugar is a waste product of cellular degeneration or breakdown, not a fuel for energy. Think about it for a moment when you consider a banana as it ripens or ferments - it becomes sweeter with the acid sugar - it is melting into sugar.
This is what is happening to the person doing diabetes.
He or she is melting into sugar.
When we clear the bowels of protein and begin to build blood with chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water and salt we can expect only one thing - incredible health and energy and "No More Diabetes!"
In fact, if more people understood the principals I teach there would be "No More Diabetes" of any type in the world today!"
Friday, March 07, 2008
Testing Urine and Saliva pH
We are receiving many questions on howto best monitor the pH of the saliva and urine.
Here is how to test your own pH..........
The pH Miracle Living Acid/Alkaline Saliva and Urine Test:
1. First, upon waking test your saliva with the pHydrion paper. When you get out of bed, lick and wet the end of a pHydrion test strip with your saliva. Note the color change and write down the pH number.
Do this before brushing your teeth, drinking, smoking, or even thinking of eating any food.
The optimum saliva pH should be 7.2.
2. Next, test your first urine of the morning.
This is urine that has been stored in your bladder during the night that is ready to be eliminated when you get up. You need to pee on a strip of pHydrion paper, note the color change and write down the pH number.
The first urine should run optimally at 7.2 of greater.
If your first urine pH is lower than 7.2 you are deficient in alkaline buffers and need to move to a more alkaline diet rich in fresh green vegetables and fruits. If your first urine pH is higher than 7.2 your alkaline buffers are sufficient to neutralize the acidic foods and drinks you ingested the day before.
To increase urine pH which is a direct indicator of tissue pH take 3 tsp. of pHour salts in 4 to
6 ounces of purified water.
To balance the pH of the urine you need to move away from acidic foods and drinks and begin ingesting liberal amounts of electron rich green vegetables, low sugar fruits and healthy polyunsaturated fats. I call this way of eating and drinking the cows program which stands for chlorophyll, oil/oxygen, water and salts.
3. Next, test your second morning urine before eating any food. This number should be the pH of your second urine after you have eliminated the acid load from the day before.
The acids should be gone the second time you go to the bathroom so your urine pH should be ideally 7.2 or higher.
If the pH is lower than 7.2 then you are in a state of latent tissue acidosis and you are deficient in alkaline buffers such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium bicarbonate.
The lower pH is also indicative of a diet high in protein and an increase in acids from proteins including nitric, sulfuric, phosphoric and uric acids. Eliminate from the diet proteins from beef, chicken, turkey, pork and fish to normalize pH at 7.2 while eating liberal amounts of green foods and green drinks, healthy polyunsaturated fats and alkaline mineral salts, like pHour salts.
4. For breakfast eat an avocado soup, vegetable soup, the healing soup or drink some fresh almond milk or a fresh green drink. Wait five minutes and then check your urine and saliva again. Write these pH numbers down also. The pH numbers will go up from the first and second morning urine and saliva if you have sufficient alkaline reserves to buffer acids. If you do not then the pH numbers will show very little change or even go down from the early morning pH numbers.
5. Make sure you check your urine and saliva pH between meals, i.e., between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. The pH should always be between
7.2 to 8.4, right after meals and 7.2 a couple of hours after meals.
The five tests above show the following:
1. The efficiency of the digestive or alkaline buffering system to deal with what you ate the night before, i.e., the first and second AM urine and saliva pH.
These numbers will change from day to day if you are living an eating acidic. When you begin The pH Miracle Living Plan and start eating the COWS Plan you will see the pH of the urine and saliva become more constant and balanced at a pH of 7.2 or higher.
2. How well you treat yourself in general, i.e., how 'strong'
the salivary glands, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder and liver are in dealing with excess acidity. This is once again the AM urine and saliva pH. This number shows the overall state of your health, the condition of the alkaline reserve of your body which reflects the diet you have been eating over the last months and years.
This pH number stays rather constant and will only change after some work has been done in alkalizing and energizing the body as outlined in the pH Miracle books. Since the saliva and urine pH is an indicator of extracellular and interstitial pH, saliva and urine pH readings should never be below the pH of the sodium bicarbonate buffer system, 7.2. (See below).
The most accurate readings of saliva and urine pH is recorded immediately upon awakening--after sleeping at least five hours and before brushing your teeth.
It is during sleep that the body removes waste and is in an anabolic state restoring and replenishing the body.
For example, if you have a saliva or urine pH of 5.5 and only 5.6 after eating, you know that you are deficient in alkaline reserve and your body is devoid of the minerals necessary to process food properly -- your body cannot adequately respond to the physiological crisis of handling food or drink that is acidic.
3. The pH of your saliva and urine after you eat or drink gives you an indication of your alkaline mineral reserves and your body's ability to deal with the acid residues created from the digestion of that food or drink. It is normal for your pH number to increase after you eat or drink not stay static or decrease.
This once again indicates your inability to deal with acid, the deficiency of alkaline reserves and the buildup of latent tissue acidosis.
Even if you think of a food like an avocado or a lemon the pH of your saliva should increase by a whole point or ten times. This simple test indicates you have sufficient alkaline reserve minerals to pull into your alimentary canal to begin the alkaline buffering process.
The ideal urine and saliva pH pattern is 7.2 on awakening, 7.2 before eating and 7.2 to 8.5 following any alkaline meal or drink.
A simple test can be done at most any time of the day by eating a few almonds.
This will check the adequacy of the alkaline reserve of the body. When a healthy person with adequate alkaline reserves eats a few almonds, the saliva pH almost immediately goes up to a pH of 8.4.
The more acidic the food that is eaten, the more rapid the response of the alkaline reserve, and the higher the saliva pH should be following a meal.
4. The pH of the saliva and urine between meals should be kept in the basic range, pH 7.2 or higher.
After one eats, the stomach releases its necessary sodium bicarbonate to help alkalize the food. While doing this, it makes an equivalent amount of base or baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, that is picked up by the blood stream and delivered to the alkaline glands of the body, the saliva, the pancreas, the gallbladder, the pylorus glands in the stomach and the liver. The maximum amount of base in the blood and therefore in the urine and saliva occurs one to two hours after you eat.
This rhythm of the acid and base flow of the body is called by Frederick F. Sander, the Base-floods and the Base-tides of the Acid-Base household.
This information was first published in 1930, by Frederick F. Sander, a German scientist, in a book called, The Acid-Base Household of the Human Organism and its cooperation with the nail circulation and the rhythm of the Liver.
In his book he states that the body fluids and therefore the urine is most acid at 2:00 A.M.
(pH 5.0 to 6.8) in the morning (the base tide) and most alkaline at 2:00 P.M. (pH 7.0 to 8.5) in the afternoon (base flood).
'The ideal pH numbers depend on the time of day.
Plotted on a curve it looks like the double hump of the back of a camel. Two times a day the urine should be alkaline and that is the top of the humps and corresponds to 10 A.M. and 2 P.M., the alkaline tide after meals. During the rest of the day the pH should be between 6.8 and 7.2. This is optimal urine. The first urine in the morning should be more acidic because of the decalcification that takes place during the night in neutralizing excess acids.'
If all the acids generated in a day from digestion, respiration, metabolism, degeneration, emotions, and toxic environments are not all flushed out during the night they accumulate, day after day. The results are the expression of states of imbalance as the body desperately tries to maintain the alkaline fluid pH at 7.365. The day to day buildup of acids affects each of us differently depending on our genetics, lifestyle and diet.
I have found that acids settle in the weakest parts of the body and if not eliminated through the bowels, urinary system, lungs or skin, acids are then bound to fat and stored on our hips, thighs, stomach, breasts and brain. Bottom-line acids are the expression of all symptomologies and the direct cause of ALL sickness and disease.
Monitoring your saliva and urine pH puts the responsibility of caring for your health back into your hands. Measuring the saliva and urine pH guides your therapy and shows you how living, eating and drinking determines the quality and quantity of your life.
You should monitor your saliva and urine each day for at least 12 weeks or until you establish your balanced pH at 7.2. Once you have established a balanced saliva and urine pH at 7.2 or higher you can reduce the number of tests to once a day or
2 to 3 times a week.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Transformation phases (altogether 16) present themselves as follows:
Transformation phases (altogether 16) present themselves as follows:
1. Stage: Apathogen forms
Protit, prototype of the bacterium
Filium
Spermit
Symprotit
Mikrochondrit
2. Stage: Pathogen forms
Makrosymprotit
Makrochondrit
Sporoider Symprotit
Filitnetze
Mychit
Cystit
Thecit
Dioekothecit
Bacteria; Staebchen or Kokkenform
Streptokokken, staphylococci
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Leptotrichia buccalis
The apathogene development stage develops only, if the accordingly sour environment is given.
The two most important Symbionts are A) the Mucor Racemosus Fresen and b) the Aspergillus the Niger van Thieghem; in all their stages from the virus to the mushroom. T
he appropriate bacteria forms of these Cyklod are A) Leptotrichia buccalis Robin and b) Mycobakterium tuberculosis.
In the Chondrit area this as physiological and innocuous, even useful, Symbionten in the blood and fabric of healthy humans live. As soon as the biochemical equilibrium of humans changes however, the Chondrite ascends in the higher phases and/or valences and accepts thereby a pathogen character.
This applies to some civilization-dependent diseases. Recovery to lower valences takes place only on sexual way via nuclear fusion with sufficiently existing apathogen Chondriten. This procedure is blocked with ill humans.
Prof.Dr. Enderlein created for this purpose the Chondritpraeparat Chondritin, with which a recovery of the pathogen valences running as nuclear chain reaction is introduced. The Erythrocyte, normal way memory of the resting Symbionts, accepts the so-called Stechapfelform in these cases frequently.
Most loading factor for the Ur germ, or also the Endobiont or also Protit, is before-all-hires wrong the way of life and thinking, so that the Apathogen can to develop to the Pathogen and be able diseased disturbances to be released. From friends to enemies. The naturopathy is anxious to let from enemies again friends become. In addition the modulators are used.
A most important condition: the patient must help!!!
The Cyclogenie kept until today despite neglect by the training medicine persistent alive. Today she celebrates a considerable national due to the rapid development of the dark field diagnostics and therapy like international Renaissance.
Micro organisms can develop in the Erythrozyten or from the sources of infection devitale teeth (dead teeth), dental herd without life, root granulome (inflammatory fabric) and intestine to develop, of where from the blood is infected over well-known haematogen and lymphogen ways. Both is supposed the case. If the intestine with purposeful cleaning cures and different Therapeutica is reorganized and afterwards by sporen, viruses, bacteria and mushrooms is free, the blood values improve spontaneously!!!
Nevertheless still another further, in the plasma, must be accepted free germ development, as Enderlein, from Brehmer and Hafeli to have always stated. But the blood pH value is responsible primarily.
more information:
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/faq_live_blood_microscopy_1.htm
1. Stage: Apathogen forms
Protit, prototype of the bacterium
Filium
Spermit
Symprotit
Mikrochondrit
2. Stage: Pathogen forms
Makrosymprotit
Makrochondrit
Sporoider Symprotit
Filitnetze
Mychit
Cystit
Thecit
Dioekothecit
Bacteria; Staebchen or Kokkenform
Streptokokken, staphylococci
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Leptotrichia buccalis
The apathogene development stage develops only, if the accordingly sour environment is given.
The two most important Symbionts are A) the Mucor Racemosus Fresen and b) the Aspergillus the Niger van Thieghem; in all their stages from the virus to the mushroom. T
he appropriate bacteria forms of these Cyklod are A) Leptotrichia buccalis Robin and b) Mycobakterium tuberculosis.
In the Chondrit area this as physiological and innocuous, even useful, Symbionten in the blood and fabric of healthy humans live. As soon as the biochemical equilibrium of humans changes however, the Chondrite ascends in the higher phases and/or valences and accepts thereby a pathogen character.
This applies to some civilization-dependent diseases. Recovery to lower valences takes place only on sexual way via nuclear fusion with sufficiently existing apathogen Chondriten. This procedure is blocked with ill humans.
Prof.Dr. Enderlein created for this purpose the Chondritpraeparat Chondritin, with which a recovery of the pathogen valences running as nuclear chain reaction is introduced. The Erythrocyte, normal way memory of the resting Symbionts, accepts the so-called Stechapfelform in these cases frequently.
Most loading factor for the Ur germ, or also the Endobiont or also Protit, is before-all-hires wrong the way of life and thinking, so that the Apathogen can to develop to the Pathogen and be able diseased disturbances to be released. From friends to enemies. The naturopathy is anxious to let from enemies again friends become. In addition the modulators are used.
A most important condition: the patient must help!!!
The Cyclogenie kept until today despite neglect by the training medicine persistent alive. Today she celebrates a considerable national due to the rapid development of the dark field diagnostics and therapy like international Renaissance.
Micro organisms can develop in the Erythrozyten or from the sources of infection devitale teeth (dead teeth), dental herd without life, root granulome (inflammatory fabric) and intestine to develop, of where from the blood is infected over well-known haematogen and lymphogen ways. Both is supposed the case. If the intestine with purposeful cleaning cures and different Therapeutica is reorganized and afterwards by sporen, viruses, bacteria and mushrooms is free, the blood values improve spontaneously!!!
Nevertheless still another further, in the plasma, must be accepted free germ development, as Enderlein, from Brehmer and Hafeli to have always stated. But the blood pH value is responsible primarily.
more information:
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/faq_live_blood_microscopy_1.htm
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Many Prostate Cancers Will Not Need Treatment
(HealthDay News) -- One of the largest studies of its kind concludes that most older men with early prostate cancer do not shorten their survival odds if they adopt a "wait-and-see" approach to the disease.
In fact, most such patients will die of other causes or they simply won't develop any complications from the cancer, the researchers found.
"Many elderly men with lower risk cancer may do well with conservative management," concluded study author Grace Lu-Yau, a cancer epidemiologist at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and an associate professor at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and School of Public Health.
"Each patient facing a treatment decision has to ask himself what is the potential survival benefit of various treatments and the potential side effects of various treatments, then compare this potential risk of side effects with the potential risk of cancer complications if the cancer is left untreated -- and ask themselves which treatment option is their personal preference," Lu-Yau said.
She presented the findings to reporters at a special teleconference Tuesday, part of the 2008 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium taking place in San Francisco.
The question of whether to treat or not treat prostate cancer has long absorbed experts.
Although one in six men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, many of the malignancies are slow-growing, and there is currently no reliable way to identify which men will benefit from treatment. Better knowledge of the natural history of the disease (i.e., what happens without any treatment) would help guide treatment decisions, Lu-Yau said.
This study is one of the first to look at the natural history of prostate cancer since PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood testing has become commonplace. PSA tests can detect a prostate cancer six to 13 years earlier than previous methods.
Lu-Yau and her colleagues looked at data on more than 9,000 men with Stage I or II prostate cancer diagnosed between 1992 and 2002 who did not undergo treatment. The mean age of participants was 77 years.
Seventy-two percent of these men died of other causes or didn't have enough cancer progression to warrant surgery or radiation, the researchers found. For the remaining 2,675 men who did receive treatment, the median time between diagnosis and start of therapy was more than 10 years.
Not surprisingly, men with less aggressive disease survived longer than those with more aggressive tumors.
"For elderly men with localized prostate cancer, the potential survival benefit for treatment is most likely modest, therefore it is very critical to weigh the risk of having side effects of various treatments with the risk of developing cancer-related complications down the road," Lu-Yau said. "The majority of patients will die of other causes or remain alive without significant major complications."
A second study presented at the conference found that giving salvage radiation therapy (SRT) to men whose PSA levels rise after having their prostate removed can reduce their risk of dying from the cancer by more than 60 percent.
SRT is typically given only after a recurrence, not after an initial diagnosis of prostate cancer, noted study lead author Dr. Bruce Trock, associate professor of urology, epidemiology, oncology and environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Existing studies have either not been large enough or long enough in duration to determine if SRT prolongs survival.
In this retrospective analysis of 635 men who had experienced a recurrence after having their prostate removed, 62 percent of those who did not receive any salvage therapy were still alive after 10 years, versus 86 percent of those who received SRT and 82 percent of those who received SRT plus hormone therapy.
Men whose PSA doubling time (the amount of time it took for PSA levels to double from when in first becomes detectable) was six months or less had the greatest benefit.
"If another study was able to replicate our data, it could lead to clinical trial that would eventually support a way to determine who should get immediate adjuvant radiation and who could wait until the time of recurrence to have SRT," Trock said. "The question is, could a benefit be achieved in some of these men if you waited to see whether they recurred or not?"
More information
There's more on prostate cancer at U.S. National Cancer institute.
In fact, most such patients will die of other causes or they simply won't develop any complications from the cancer, the researchers found.
"Many elderly men with lower risk cancer may do well with conservative management," concluded study author Grace Lu-Yau, a cancer epidemiologist at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and an associate professor at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and School of Public Health.
"Each patient facing a treatment decision has to ask himself what is the potential survival benefit of various treatments and the potential side effects of various treatments, then compare this potential risk of side effects with the potential risk of cancer complications if the cancer is left untreated -- and ask themselves which treatment option is their personal preference," Lu-Yau said.
She presented the findings to reporters at a special teleconference Tuesday, part of the 2008 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium taking place in San Francisco.
The question of whether to treat or not treat prostate cancer has long absorbed experts.
Although one in six men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, many of the malignancies are slow-growing, and there is currently no reliable way to identify which men will benefit from treatment. Better knowledge of the natural history of the disease (i.e., what happens without any treatment) would help guide treatment decisions, Lu-Yau said.
This study is one of the first to look at the natural history of prostate cancer since PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood testing has become commonplace. PSA tests can detect a prostate cancer six to 13 years earlier than previous methods.
Lu-Yau and her colleagues looked at data on more than 9,000 men with Stage I or II prostate cancer diagnosed between 1992 and 2002 who did not undergo treatment. The mean age of participants was 77 years.
Seventy-two percent of these men died of other causes or didn't have enough cancer progression to warrant surgery or radiation, the researchers found. For the remaining 2,675 men who did receive treatment, the median time between diagnosis and start of therapy was more than 10 years.
Not surprisingly, men with less aggressive disease survived longer than those with more aggressive tumors.
"For elderly men with localized prostate cancer, the potential survival benefit for treatment is most likely modest, therefore it is very critical to weigh the risk of having side effects of various treatments with the risk of developing cancer-related complications down the road," Lu-Yau said. "The majority of patients will die of other causes or remain alive without significant major complications."
A second study presented at the conference found that giving salvage radiation therapy (SRT) to men whose PSA levels rise after having their prostate removed can reduce their risk of dying from the cancer by more than 60 percent.
SRT is typically given only after a recurrence, not after an initial diagnosis of prostate cancer, noted study lead author Dr. Bruce Trock, associate professor of urology, epidemiology, oncology and environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Existing studies have either not been large enough or long enough in duration to determine if SRT prolongs survival.
In this retrospective analysis of 635 men who had experienced a recurrence after having their prostate removed, 62 percent of those who did not receive any salvage therapy were still alive after 10 years, versus 86 percent of those who received SRT and 82 percent of those who received SRT plus hormone therapy.
Men whose PSA doubling time (the amount of time it took for PSA levels to double from when in first becomes detectable) was six months or less had the greatest benefit.
"If another study was able to replicate our data, it could lead to clinical trial that would eventually support a way to determine who should get immediate adjuvant radiation and who could wait until the time of recurrence to have SRT," Trock said. "The question is, could a benefit be achieved in some of these men if you waited to see whether they recurred or not?"
More information
There's more on prostate cancer at U.S. National Cancer institute.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Heart Attack Seldom Leads to Healthier Diet
(HealthDay News) - Having a heart attack is apparently not sufficient reason for most people to change to a heart-healthy diet, a new study finds.
"We found that diet quality is poor after a coronary heart disease event," said study author Dr. Yunsheng Ma, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in Worcester.
But he warned that patients' failure to eat healthier puts them at risk for another cardiac event.
"Coronary heart disease [CHD] is the number one cause of mortality in Americans," the study noted. An estimated 13 million Americans have survived a heart attack or have coronary heart disease symptoms, the researchers added.
The findings are published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
In the study, Ma's team surveyed 555 patients averaging 61 years of age, 60 percent of whom were men. All of the participants were diagnosed with coronary heart disease and had already experienced a heart attack, angina or arrhythmia. The researchers queried the patients on their diets one year after they had undergone coronary angiography linked to some kind of coronary event.
According to the researchers, only 12.4 percent of the patients met the recommended consumption of vegetables. Similarly, only about 8 percent met daily fruit intake recommendations and just 8 percent were getting a heart-healthy amount of cereal fiber. Little more than 5 percent were limiting their intake of dangerous trans fats to recommended levels, the team said.
Compounding this, the researchers found that worst diets were associated with smoking and obesity. Poor diets were also closely correlated with lower levels of education.
Research has confirmed that fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with a lowered risk of heart disease, the researchers noted. The American Heart Association currently recommends "an overall healthy diet" that is rich in fruits and vegetables, high-fiber foods and limited amounts of saturated fat and trans fats, with an eye to maintaining a healthy weight.
The study concluded that "it may be helpful for physicians and health-care providers to refer CHD patients to behavioral interventions that include both diet and physical activity components, such as cardiac rehabilitation." Rehab by itself might not be enough, the study adds, urging consultation with registered dieticians to learn about how to make the necessary changes in diet.
Ma said that currently about 80 percent of patients do not go to rehabilitation after a coronary heart disease event such as angina, arrhythmia or heart attack. But even if patients do enter rehabilitation, many of these programs do not include dietary modifications, he added.
Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, of Tufts University, helped craft the American Heart Association's dietary recommendations. She questioned whether the new study produced truly conclusive results, noting that the study subjects may have under-reported their consumption of unhealthy foods.
That's because the participants' mean calorie intake was a relatively healthy 1,775 calories but their average body-mass index was 30, which is in the obese range, Lichtenstein noted.
She said that instead of trying to calculate the exact amount of fat or saturated fat in their diet, it may be easier for people to simply concentrate in the types of healthy foods they should be eating -- items such as fruits, vegetables, grains, beans and fish. Americans have a wide range of such foods to choose from, so "it is easier now to consume a diet consistent with a heart-healthy pattern than it's ever been before," Lichtenstein said.
More information
There's more on heart-healthy eating at the American Heart Association.
"We found that diet quality is poor after a coronary heart disease event," said study author Dr. Yunsheng Ma, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in Worcester.
But he warned that patients' failure to eat healthier puts them at risk for another cardiac event.
"Coronary heart disease [CHD] is the number one cause of mortality in Americans," the study noted. An estimated 13 million Americans have survived a heart attack or have coronary heart disease symptoms, the researchers added.
The findings are published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
In the study, Ma's team surveyed 555 patients averaging 61 years of age, 60 percent of whom were men. All of the participants were diagnosed with coronary heart disease and had already experienced a heart attack, angina or arrhythmia. The researchers queried the patients on their diets one year after they had undergone coronary angiography linked to some kind of coronary event.
According to the researchers, only 12.4 percent of the patients met the recommended consumption of vegetables. Similarly, only about 8 percent met daily fruit intake recommendations and just 8 percent were getting a heart-healthy amount of cereal fiber. Little more than 5 percent were limiting their intake of dangerous trans fats to recommended levels, the team said.
Compounding this, the researchers found that worst diets were associated with smoking and obesity. Poor diets were also closely correlated with lower levels of education.
Research has confirmed that fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with a lowered risk of heart disease, the researchers noted. The American Heart Association currently recommends "an overall healthy diet" that is rich in fruits and vegetables, high-fiber foods and limited amounts of saturated fat and trans fats, with an eye to maintaining a healthy weight.
The study concluded that "it may be helpful for physicians and health-care providers to refer CHD patients to behavioral interventions that include both diet and physical activity components, such as cardiac rehabilitation." Rehab by itself might not be enough, the study adds, urging consultation with registered dieticians to learn about how to make the necessary changes in diet.
Ma said that currently about 80 percent of patients do not go to rehabilitation after a coronary heart disease event such as angina, arrhythmia or heart attack. But even if patients do enter rehabilitation, many of these programs do not include dietary modifications, he added.
Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, of Tufts University, helped craft the American Heart Association's dietary recommendations. She questioned whether the new study produced truly conclusive results, noting that the study subjects may have under-reported their consumption of unhealthy foods.
That's because the participants' mean calorie intake was a relatively healthy 1,775 calories but their average body-mass index was 30, which is in the obese range, Lichtenstein noted.
She said that instead of trying to calculate the exact amount of fat or saturated fat in their diet, it may be easier for people to simply concentrate in the types of healthy foods they should be eating -- items such as fruits, vegetables, grains, beans and fish. Americans have a wide range of such foods to choose from, so "it is easier now to consume a diet consistent with a heart-healthy pattern than it's ever been before," Lichtenstein said.
More information
There's more on heart-healthy eating at the American Heart Association.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Folic Acid May Help Prevent Premature Birth
(HealthDay News) -- Long known to help prevent birth defects, folic acid may also help prevent premature births, new research suggests.
In a large study that included almost 40,000 women, a team of U.S. and Irish researchers found that women who took folic acid supplements for a year or longer before conception had a 70 percent decreased risk of preterm birth between 20 and 28 weeks of gestation.
"There have been all sorts of protocols, lifestyle interventions and medications tested, and nothing has made a difference in preterm births, so this is a really exciting study," said Dr. Katharine Wenstrom, president of the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Wenstrom said it's likely that folic acid is regulating certain genes that malfunction to cause early labor. "Now that we know that folic acid makes a huge difference, researchers can look at the different reactions that folic acid causes and see which might be related to preterm labor," she said.
A premature birth is one that occurs before 37 weeks' gestation, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Improved medical knowledge and technology have made survival for these small infants more likely -- of babies born at 28 weeks or after, 90 percent are expected to survive, according to the NIH.
But the earlier a baby is delivered, the greater the risk of serious complications, including bleeding in the brain, infection, delayed growth and intestinal problems, according to the NIH.
The new study included 38,033 women pregnant with one baby. Women who had known pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia or high blood pressure, and women pregnant with babies with known chromosomal or other birth defects weren't included in the study.
A baby's gestational age was determined by ultrasound between 10 and 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Folic acid supplementation history was reported to the researchers by the women.
The researchers found that women who took a folic acid supplement for at least a year prior to becoming pregnant reduced their risk of preterm delivery between 20 and 28 weeks of gestation by 70 percent. A year of folic acid supplementation dropped the risk of delivering during weeks 28 through 32 by 50 percent, according to the study.
"This study saw a huge decrease in spontaneous preterm delivery for women who took folic acid for one year prior to conception. Now we can add prevention of prematurity to the mix of reasons for all women to take an additional folic acid supplement," said Dr. Alan Fleischman, senior vice president and medical director of the March of Dimes.
Results of the study were to be presented Thursday at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine annual meeting, in Dallas. Fleischman noted that the current findings are preliminary and need to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
In the meantime, Wenstrom said she believes that everyone -- both male and female -- should take a daily folic acid supplement in addition to a multivitamin containing folic acid.
"Cereal and grain products are fortified with folic acid, but the level of fortification isn't optimal. Folic acid influences so many things. It reduces the risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and it prevents birth defects," she said. "It's a simple preventive measure for a variety of severe problems."
The March of Dimes recommends that women take 400 micrograms daily of folic acid before becoming pregnant, and continuing to take folic acid throughout the pregnancy.
More information
To learn more about folic acid and pregnancy, visit the March of Dimes.
In a large study that included almost 40,000 women, a team of U.S. and Irish researchers found that women who took folic acid supplements for a year or longer before conception had a 70 percent decreased risk of preterm birth between 20 and 28 weeks of gestation.
"There have been all sorts of protocols, lifestyle interventions and medications tested, and nothing has made a difference in preterm births, so this is a really exciting study," said Dr. Katharine Wenstrom, president of the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Wenstrom said it's likely that folic acid is regulating certain genes that malfunction to cause early labor. "Now that we know that folic acid makes a huge difference, researchers can look at the different reactions that folic acid causes and see which might be related to preterm labor," she said.
A premature birth is one that occurs before 37 weeks' gestation, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Improved medical knowledge and technology have made survival for these small infants more likely -- of babies born at 28 weeks or after, 90 percent are expected to survive, according to the NIH.
But the earlier a baby is delivered, the greater the risk of serious complications, including bleeding in the brain, infection, delayed growth and intestinal problems, according to the NIH.
The new study included 38,033 women pregnant with one baby. Women who had known pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia or high blood pressure, and women pregnant with babies with known chromosomal or other birth defects weren't included in the study.
A baby's gestational age was determined by ultrasound between 10 and 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Folic acid supplementation history was reported to the researchers by the women.
The researchers found that women who took a folic acid supplement for at least a year prior to becoming pregnant reduced their risk of preterm delivery between 20 and 28 weeks of gestation by 70 percent. A year of folic acid supplementation dropped the risk of delivering during weeks 28 through 32 by 50 percent, according to the study.
"This study saw a huge decrease in spontaneous preterm delivery for women who took folic acid for one year prior to conception. Now we can add prevention of prematurity to the mix of reasons for all women to take an additional folic acid supplement," said Dr. Alan Fleischman, senior vice president and medical director of the March of Dimes.
Results of the study were to be presented Thursday at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine annual meeting, in Dallas. Fleischman noted that the current findings are preliminary and need to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
In the meantime, Wenstrom said she believes that everyone -- both male and female -- should take a daily folic acid supplement in addition to a multivitamin containing folic acid.
"Cereal and grain products are fortified with folic acid, but the level of fortification isn't optimal. Folic acid influences so many things. It reduces the risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and it prevents birth defects," she said. "It's a simple preventive measure for a variety of severe problems."
The March of Dimes recommends that women take 400 micrograms daily of folic acid before becoming pregnant, and continuing to take folic acid throughout the pregnancy.
More information
To learn more about folic acid and pregnancy, visit the March of Dimes.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Little Regular Exercise Extends Men's Lives
(HealthDay News) -- Even a moderate amount of exercise can dramatically prolong a man's life, new research on middle-aged and elderly American veterans reveals.
The government-sponsored analysis -- the largest such study ever -- found that a regimen of brisk walking 30 minutes a day at least four to six days a week was enough to halve the risk of premature death from all causes.
"As you increase your ability to exercise -- increase your fitness -- you are decreasing in a step-wise fashion the risk of death," said study author Peter Kokkinos, director of the exercise testing and research lab in the cardiology department of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
That conclusion applies more or less equally to white and black men, regardless of their prior history of cardiovascular disease. According to Kokkinos, that may be because the veterans in the study all received the same level of care, regardless of income.
This evened the playing field, he said, giving him "great confidence" in the results, which will be published in the Feb. 5 issue of Circulation and were released online Jan. 22.
In the study, Kokkinos and his team reviewed information gathered by the VA from 15,660 black and white male patients treated either in Palo Alto, Calif., or in Washington, D.C.
The men ranged in age from 47 to 71 and had been referred to a VA medical facility for a clinically prescribed treadmill exercise test sometime between 1983 and 2006. All participants were asked to run until fatigued, at which point the researchers recorded the total amount of energy expended and oxygen consumed.
The numbers were then crunched into "metabolic equivalents," or METS. In turn, the researchers graded the fitness of each man according to his MET score, ranging from "low-fit" (below 5 METS) to "very-high fit" (above 10 METS).
By tracking fatalities through June 2007, Kokkinos and his colleagues found that for both black and white men it was their fitness level, rather than their age, blood pressure or body-mass index, that was most strongly linked to their future risk for death.
Every extra point in MET conferred a 14 percent reduction in the risk for death among black men, and a 12 percent reduction among whites. Among all participants, those categorized as "moderately fit" (5 to 7 METS) had about a 20 percent lower risk for death than "low-fit" men.
"High-fit" men (7 to 10 METS) had a 50 percent lower risk, while the "very high fit" (10 METS or higher) cut their odds of an early death by 70 percent.
"The point is, it takes relatively little exercise to achieve the benefit we found," noted Kokkinos. "Approximately two to three hours per week of brisk walking per week. That's just 120 to 200 minutes per week. And this can be split up throughout the week, and throughout the day. So it's doable in the real world."
Alice H. Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Lab at Tufts University's USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in Boston, agreed.
"What this finding demonstrates is that levels of physical activity that should be achievable by anyone can have a real benefit with respect to risk reduction," she said.
"What's really important to understand is that you don't need special clothes, special memberships, special equipment," added Lichtenstein, former chairwoman of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee. "It's something everyone can engage in. And although we don't know from this research that this applies to women as well, there's no reason to suspect that it wouldn't."
More information
There's more on physical fitness at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The government-sponsored analysis -- the largest such study ever -- found that a regimen of brisk walking 30 minutes a day at least four to six days a week was enough to halve the risk of premature death from all causes.
"As you increase your ability to exercise -- increase your fitness -- you are decreasing in a step-wise fashion the risk of death," said study author Peter Kokkinos, director of the exercise testing and research lab in the cardiology department of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
That conclusion applies more or less equally to white and black men, regardless of their prior history of cardiovascular disease. According to Kokkinos, that may be because the veterans in the study all received the same level of care, regardless of income.
This evened the playing field, he said, giving him "great confidence" in the results, which will be published in the Feb. 5 issue of Circulation and were released online Jan. 22.
In the study, Kokkinos and his team reviewed information gathered by the VA from 15,660 black and white male patients treated either in Palo Alto, Calif., or in Washington, D.C.
The men ranged in age from 47 to 71 and had been referred to a VA medical facility for a clinically prescribed treadmill exercise test sometime between 1983 and 2006. All participants were asked to run until fatigued, at which point the researchers recorded the total amount of energy expended and oxygen consumed.
The numbers were then crunched into "metabolic equivalents," or METS. In turn, the researchers graded the fitness of each man according to his MET score, ranging from "low-fit" (below 5 METS) to "very-high fit" (above 10 METS).
By tracking fatalities through June 2007, Kokkinos and his colleagues found that for both black and white men it was their fitness level, rather than their age, blood pressure or body-mass index, that was most strongly linked to their future risk for death.
Every extra point in MET conferred a 14 percent reduction in the risk for death among black men, and a 12 percent reduction among whites. Among all participants, those categorized as "moderately fit" (5 to 7 METS) had about a 20 percent lower risk for death than "low-fit" men.
"High-fit" men (7 to 10 METS) had a 50 percent lower risk, while the "very high fit" (10 METS or higher) cut their odds of an early death by 70 percent.
"The point is, it takes relatively little exercise to achieve the benefit we found," noted Kokkinos. "Approximately two to three hours per week of brisk walking per week. That's just 120 to 200 minutes per week. And this can be split up throughout the week, and throughout the day. So it's doable in the real world."
Alice H. Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Lab at Tufts University's USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in Boston, agreed.
"What this finding demonstrates is that levels of physical activity that should be achievable by anyone can have a real benefit with respect to risk reduction," she said.
"What's really important to understand is that you don't need special clothes, special memberships, special equipment," added Lichtenstein, former chairwoman of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee. "It's something everyone can engage in. And although we don't know from this research that this applies to women as well, there's no reason to suspect that it wouldn't."
More information
There's more on physical fitness at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Saturday, December 29, 2007
Pesticides May Cause Asthma Among Farm Women
(HealthDay News) -- Farm women who come in contact with some widely used pesticides may have an increased risk of developing allergic asthma, a new study suggests.
However, the risk of developing non-allergic asthma does not increase for women exposed to pesticides, according to the study authors.
"Women who apply pesticides on farms were 50 percent more likely to have allergic asthma, although this was not true for non-allergic asthma," said study author Jane Hoppin, a staff scientist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C. "Also, women who grew up on farms were protected against allergic asthma and that protection was evident whether or not you applied pesticides."
The findings are published in the January issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, non-allergic asthma is caused by factors not related to allergies. But allergic asthma -- the most common form of asthma, affecting more than 50 percent of the 20 million asthma sufferers in the United States -- is characterized by symptoms that are triggered by an allergic reaction. Some typical triggers for allergic asthma include dust mites, pet dander, pollen and mold.
Experts already knew that growing up on a farm minimizes the risk of allergic disease, that pesticides have been associated with respiratory symptoms in farmers, and that farmers are at increased risk for respiratory diseases -- including asthma -- due to exposure to grains, animals, dust and other factors.
Little research, however, has delved into respiratory risk factors for farm women.
Hoppin and her colleagues examined data on 25,814 such women in North Carolina and in Iowa who are participating in the Agricultural Health Study, a large government-funded look at the effects of environmental, occupational and other factors on the health of the agricultural population.
"This is the largest study of farmers and their families in the world, so it gives us an opportunity to look at diseases that haven't been well characterized," Hoppin said.
The women reported whether or not they had been diagnosed with asthma and were then divided into two groups: those with atopic (allergic) asthma and those with nonatopic (non-allergic) asthma.
More than half the women in the study had used or been exposed to pesticides. Sixty-one percent of the women were raised on a farm, which protected against allergic asthma and, to a lesser extent, non-allergic asthma. Using pesticides was associated almost solely with allergic asthma, increasing the risk almost 50 percent, the study found.
The association between pesticide use and allergic asthma was strongest among women who had grown up on a farm. But because of the protective effect of having grown up in an agricultural setting, these women still had a lower overall risk of allergic asthma than women who did not grow up on a farm.
Women who were raised on farms but did not use pesticides had the lowest overall risk of allergic asthma, compared with women who neither grew up on farms nor applied pesticides.
Some less commonly used pesticides such as parathion were associated with triple the risk of allergic asthma. Some more commonly used pesticides such as malathion were also associated with a higher risk, the researchers said.
Other experts said the study findings were far from clear-cut.
"It's a little bit confusing," said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "I would expect that there would be more allergic asthma in anybody who grew up on a farm, but that's not exactly what they're saying. Also, it's difficult to separate farm work from pesticide use. I would need to see more data before coming to the same conclusions as the authors of the article did."
Because Hoppin's analysis was "cross-sectional," it can't show a cause and effect. "But given what we see in animals, it suggests that we should do a prospective analysis where we can then say pesticide use preceded asthma or asthmatic symptoms. That's really the next step," she said.
Hoppin said she and her colleagues are in the process of planning that next study.
More information
To learn more about asthma, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
However, the risk of developing non-allergic asthma does not increase for women exposed to pesticides, according to the study authors.
"Women who apply pesticides on farms were 50 percent more likely to have allergic asthma, although this was not true for non-allergic asthma," said study author Jane Hoppin, a staff scientist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C. "Also, women who grew up on farms were protected against allergic asthma and that protection was evident whether or not you applied pesticides."
The findings are published in the January issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, non-allergic asthma is caused by factors not related to allergies. But allergic asthma -- the most common form of asthma, affecting more than 50 percent of the 20 million asthma sufferers in the United States -- is characterized by symptoms that are triggered by an allergic reaction. Some typical triggers for allergic asthma include dust mites, pet dander, pollen and mold.
Experts already knew that growing up on a farm minimizes the risk of allergic disease, that pesticides have been associated with respiratory symptoms in farmers, and that farmers are at increased risk for respiratory diseases -- including asthma -- due to exposure to grains, animals, dust and other factors.
Little research, however, has delved into respiratory risk factors for farm women.
Hoppin and her colleagues examined data on 25,814 such women in North Carolina and in Iowa who are participating in the Agricultural Health Study, a large government-funded look at the effects of environmental, occupational and other factors on the health of the agricultural population.
"This is the largest study of farmers and their families in the world, so it gives us an opportunity to look at diseases that haven't been well characterized," Hoppin said.
The women reported whether or not they had been diagnosed with asthma and were then divided into two groups: those with atopic (allergic) asthma and those with nonatopic (non-allergic) asthma.
More than half the women in the study had used or been exposed to pesticides. Sixty-one percent of the women were raised on a farm, which protected against allergic asthma and, to a lesser extent, non-allergic asthma. Using pesticides was associated almost solely with allergic asthma, increasing the risk almost 50 percent, the study found.
The association between pesticide use and allergic asthma was strongest among women who had grown up on a farm. But because of the protective effect of having grown up in an agricultural setting, these women still had a lower overall risk of allergic asthma than women who did not grow up on a farm.
Women who were raised on farms but did not use pesticides had the lowest overall risk of allergic asthma, compared with women who neither grew up on farms nor applied pesticides.
Some less commonly used pesticides such as parathion were associated with triple the risk of allergic asthma. Some more commonly used pesticides such as malathion were also associated with a higher risk, the researchers said.
Other experts said the study findings were far from clear-cut.
"It's a little bit confusing," said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "I would expect that there would be more allergic asthma in anybody who grew up on a farm, but that's not exactly what they're saying. Also, it's difficult to separate farm work from pesticide use. I would need to see more data before coming to the same conclusions as the authors of the article did."
Because Hoppin's analysis was "cross-sectional," it can't show a cause and effect. "But given what we see in animals, it suggests that we should do a prospective analysis where we can then say pesticide use preceded asthma or asthmatic symptoms. That's really the next step," she said.
Hoppin said she and her colleagues are in the process of planning that next study.
More information
To learn more about asthma, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Oxy-Powder® Complete Cleansing System$147.75 Complete Cleansing System with Livatrex™, Oxy-Powder®, Latero-Flora™, and two bottles of ParaTrex®. |
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Brain Center May Link Addiction, Mental Illness
(HealthDay News) -- Developmental problems involving a walnut-shaped part of the brain called the amygdala -- linked to fear, anxiety and other emotions -- may explain why mental illness and addiction often appear together, researchers say.
Many kinds of addiction -- such as those for alcohol, drugs and nicotine -- occur in people with various kinds of mental illness, including depression, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders, according to background information in an American Psychological Association news release about the Indiana University study.
Two to five of every 10 anxious or depressed people, and four to eight of every 10 people with schizophrenia, biopolar disorder or antisocial personality, also have some form of addiction, according to epidemiological data.
In this study, published in the December issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, the researchers compared the behavior of adult rats whose amygdalas were surgically damaged in infancy and adult rats with intact amygdalas.
Rats with the damaged amygdalas showed less fear and caution than normal and were significantly more sensitive to cocaine after just one exposure to the drug. Rats with damaged amygdalas that received repeated cocaine injections developed "even stronger expressions of the enduring changes in behavior -- suggesting an overall hypersensitivity to the addictive process," the researchers noted.
Since both groups of rats were raised in the same controlled conditions, the damaged amygdala was the likely cause of the impaired fear behavior, as well as the heightened drug response, in the one group of rats, the study authors concluded.
In humans, disease and interactions between genetic and environmental factors can alter amygdala function or change the way it's connected to the rest of the brain during childhood and adolescence.
"Early emotional trauma, paired with a certain genetic background, may alter the early development of neural networks intrinsic to the amygdala, resulting in a cascade of brain effects and functional changes that present in adulthood as a dual-diagnosis disorder," lead author Dr. Andrew Chambers explained in a prepared statement.
More information
The (U.S.) National Alliance on Mental Illness has more about dual diagnosis of substance abuse and mental illness.
Many kinds of addiction -- such as those for alcohol, drugs and nicotine -- occur in people with various kinds of mental illness, including depression, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders, according to background information in an American Psychological Association news release about the Indiana University study.
Two to five of every 10 anxious or depressed people, and four to eight of every 10 people with schizophrenia, biopolar disorder or antisocial personality, also have some form of addiction, according to epidemiological data.
In this study, published in the December issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, the researchers compared the behavior of adult rats whose amygdalas were surgically damaged in infancy and adult rats with intact amygdalas.
Rats with the damaged amygdalas showed less fear and caution than normal and were significantly more sensitive to cocaine after just one exposure to the drug. Rats with damaged amygdalas that received repeated cocaine injections developed "even stronger expressions of the enduring changes in behavior -- suggesting an overall hypersensitivity to the addictive process," the researchers noted.
Since both groups of rats were raised in the same controlled conditions, the damaged amygdala was the likely cause of the impaired fear behavior, as well as the heightened drug response, in the one group of rats, the study authors concluded.
In humans, disease and interactions between genetic and environmental factors can alter amygdala function or change the way it's connected to the rest of the brain during childhood and adolescence.
"Early emotional trauma, paired with a certain genetic background, may alter the early development of neural networks intrinsic to the amygdala, resulting in a cascade of brain effects and functional changes that present in adulthood as a dual-diagnosis disorder," lead author Dr. Andrew Chambers explained in a prepared statement.
More information
The (U.S.) National Alliance on Mental Illness has more about dual diagnosis of substance abuse and mental illness.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Statins Can Boost Brain Hemorrhage Risk After Stroke
(HealthDay News) -- Some people taking statins after a stroke might face an increased risk of having a brain hemorrhage, a new study suggests.
But the risk of this life-threatening condition needs to be balanced against the benefit of statins in lowering the overall risk of a second stroke and heart attack, experts stress.
"There is a small but significant increased risk of brain hemorrhage among people who have had a previous stroke who take Lipitor, especially among those who have had a previous brain hemorrhage," said lead researcher Dr. Larry B. Goldstein, director of the Duke Center for Cerebrovascular Disease and the Duke Stroke Center at Duke University Medical Center. "If you don't have a history of stroke, then none of this matters."
Based on these findings, patients who have had a hemorrhagic stroke should not receive a statin to lower cholesterol, Goldstein said. "Having had a brain hemorrhage within the prior one to six months, one should be very cautious about starting a patient on a statin," he noted.
The report is published in the Dec. 12 online edition of Neurology.
In the study, Goldstein's group analyzed data from the Stroke Prevention with Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial. In SPARCL, 4,731 people received 80 milligrams of Lipitor daily or placebo.
All those in the trial had had a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA) one to six months before entering the SPARCL trial. None of the participants had a history of heart disease.
During an average of 4.5 years of follow-up, people taking Lipitor had a 16 percent reduction in second strokes and significant reductions in heart attacks. However, further analysis found an increase in the risk of brain hemorrhage.
Among those taking Lipitor, 2.3 percent had a hemorrhagic stroke compared with 1.4 percent of those taking placebo. On the plus side, there was a 21 percent reduction in ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, among those taking Lipitor, Goldstein noted.
Other factors that increased the risk of brain hemorrhage included being older, having had a previous hemorrhagic stroke, being male and having high blood pressure. In fact, people with severe high blood pressure had more than six times the risk of hemorrhagic stroke compared with people with normal blood pressure.
For most patients, statins such as Lipitor do help prevent strokes and heart attacks, Goldstein said. "For patients who have not had a stroke or TIA within the past six months -- there is no risk of hemorrhage," he said.
One expert agreed that patients who have had a hemorrhagic stroke should probably not be given statins.
"If there is any message that neurologists' will take home from this paper it is that 'I'm going to be a little more pensive about using statins in someone who has presented with a hemorrhage to the brain,'" said Dr. Wade Smith, director of the Neurovascular Service at the University of California, San Francisco.
Smith noted that the most important factor in preventing a second stroke is controlling blood pressure. "We as doctors and as patients need to be very aggressive about making our blood pressures normal after stroke," he said. "That's the most effective way of preventing a second stroke."
Another expert said the doses of Lipitor given in the trial were much higher than most people take.
"It is important to note that most patients on statins are on a much lower dose than that in the SPARCL study," said Dr. Majaz Moonis, director of the stroke prevention clinic at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. "In our own two independent retrospective study analyses including about 2,500 patients on lower doses of statins, more in line with what patients take, there was no evident increase risk of hemorrhage," he added.
Dr. Eric Smith, associate director of the Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, thinks statins shouldn't be used in patients who have had a hemorrhagic stroke.
"In my practice, when I see a patient with hemorrhagic stroke, I don't consider that to be an indication for starting a statin, based on the results of this trial," Smith said.
However, for patients who have had a hemorrhagic stroke and are at risk of having a heart attack, Smith does use statins, but at substantially lower doses than were used in SPARCL.
"I start with a low dose and see if that will get cholesterol down to the target level," Smith said. "When I reach the target level, I stop."
More information
For more on stroke, visit the American Stroke Association.
But the risk of this life-threatening condition needs to be balanced against the benefit of statins in lowering the overall risk of a second stroke and heart attack, experts stress.
"There is a small but significant increased risk of brain hemorrhage among people who have had a previous stroke who take Lipitor, especially among those who have had a previous brain hemorrhage," said lead researcher Dr. Larry B. Goldstein, director of the Duke Center for Cerebrovascular Disease and the Duke Stroke Center at Duke University Medical Center. "If you don't have a history of stroke, then none of this matters."
Based on these findings, patients who have had a hemorrhagic stroke should not receive a statin to lower cholesterol, Goldstein said. "Having had a brain hemorrhage within the prior one to six months, one should be very cautious about starting a patient on a statin," he noted.
The report is published in the Dec. 12 online edition of Neurology.
In the study, Goldstein's group analyzed data from the Stroke Prevention with Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial. In SPARCL, 4,731 people received 80 milligrams of Lipitor daily or placebo.
All those in the trial had had a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA) one to six months before entering the SPARCL trial. None of the participants had a history of heart disease.
During an average of 4.5 years of follow-up, people taking Lipitor had a 16 percent reduction in second strokes and significant reductions in heart attacks. However, further analysis found an increase in the risk of brain hemorrhage.
Among those taking Lipitor, 2.3 percent had a hemorrhagic stroke compared with 1.4 percent of those taking placebo. On the plus side, there was a 21 percent reduction in ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, among those taking Lipitor, Goldstein noted.
Other factors that increased the risk of brain hemorrhage included being older, having had a previous hemorrhagic stroke, being male and having high blood pressure. In fact, people with severe high blood pressure had more than six times the risk of hemorrhagic stroke compared with people with normal blood pressure.
For most patients, statins such as Lipitor do help prevent strokes and heart attacks, Goldstein said. "For patients who have not had a stroke or TIA within the past six months -- there is no risk of hemorrhage," he said.
One expert agreed that patients who have had a hemorrhagic stroke should probably not be given statins.
"If there is any message that neurologists' will take home from this paper it is that 'I'm going to be a little more pensive about using statins in someone who has presented with a hemorrhage to the brain,'" said Dr. Wade Smith, director of the Neurovascular Service at the University of California, San Francisco.
Smith noted that the most important factor in preventing a second stroke is controlling blood pressure. "We as doctors and as patients need to be very aggressive about making our blood pressures normal after stroke," he said. "That's the most effective way of preventing a second stroke."
Another expert said the doses of Lipitor given in the trial were much higher than most people take.
"It is important to note that most patients on statins are on a much lower dose than that in the SPARCL study," said Dr. Majaz Moonis, director of the stroke prevention clinic at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. "In our own two independent retrospective study analyses including about 2,500 patients on lower doses of statins, more in line with what patients take, there was no evident increase risk of hemorrhage," he added.
Dr. Eric Smith, associate director of the Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, thinks statins shouldn't be used in patients who have had a hemorrhagic stroke.
"In my practice, when I see a patient with hemorrhagic stroke, I don't consider that to be an indication for starting a statin, based on the results of this trial," Smith said.
However, for patients who have had a hemorrhagic stroke and are at risk of having a heart attack, Smith does use statins, but at substantially lower doses than were used in SPARCL.
"I start with a low dose and see if that will get cholesterol down to the target level," Smith said. "When I reach the target level, I stop."
More information
For more on stroke, visit the American Stroke Association.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Evidence of TB Found in 500,000-Year-Old Fossil
(HealthDay News) -- The oldest evidence of tuberculosis has been discovered in a 500,000-year-old human fossil from Turkey, a finding that contradicts the widely held belief that the disease emerged only several thousand years ago, according to a team of international researchers.
The discovery, made during investigation of the new specimen of the human species Homo erectus, lends support to the theory that dark-skinned people who migrated northward from low, tropical latitudes produced less vitamin D, which can have a negative effect on the immune system and the skeleton.
People with dark skin produce less vitamin D because the skin pigment blocks ultraviolet light from the sun.
"The production of vitamin D in the skin serves as one of the body's first lines of defense against a whole host of infections and diseases. Vitamin D deficiencies are implicated in hypertension, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease and cancer," John Kappelman, a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin and a member of the international team, said in a prepared statement.
This specimen, believed to be a male, had a series of small lesions etched into the bone of the cranium. The shape and the location of the lesions are characteristic of a form of TB that attacks the lining of the brain.
The findings are published in the Dec. 7 issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Before antibiotics were available, doctors prescribed plenty of sunshine and fresh air for TB patients.
"No one knew why sunshine was integral to the treatment, but it worked. Recent research suggests the flush of ultraviolet radiation jump-started the patients' immune systems by increasing the production of vitamin D, which helped to cure the disease," Kappelman said.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about tuberculosis.
The discovery, made during investigation of the new specimen of the human species Homo erectus, lends support to the theory that dark-skinned people who migrated northward from low, tropical latitudes produced less vitamin D, which can have a negative effect on the immune system and the skeleton.
People with dark skin produce less vitamin D because the skin pigment blocks ultraviolet light from the sun.
"The production of vitamin D in the skin serves as one of the body's first lines of defense against a whole host of infections and diseases. Vitamin D deficiencies are implicated in hypertension, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease and cancer," John Kappelman, a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin and a member of the international team, said in a prepared statement.
This specimen, believed to be a male, had a series of small lesions etched into the bone of the cranium. The shape and the location of the lesions are characteristic of a form of TB that attacks the lining of the brain.
The findings are published in the Dec. 7 issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Before antibiotics were available, doctors prescribed plenty of sunshine and fresh air for TB patients.
"No one knew why sunshine was integral to the treatment, but it worked. Recent research suggests the flush of ultraviolet radiation jump-started the patients' immune systems by increasing the production of vitamin D, which helped to cure the disease," Kappelman said.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about tuberculosis.
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