Guidelines For Antibiotic Use

Recognizing the urgent problem of antibiotic overuse, in 1998 the Centers for Disease Control and the Academy of Pediatrics have issued guidelines for when to use (and when not to use) antibiotics for the most common pediatric respiratory infections (Pediatrics 1998; 101:163--184). Ear infections, sinus infections, bronchitis, sore throats, and colds account for three fourths of all antibiotic prescriptions. These guidelines should not be rigidly adhered to for every child, but they do give a good general idea of when to avoid antibiotics.

Sore Throats

1. Strep throat is diagnosed with a Strep test, not by looking in the mouth.
2. Antibiotics should not be given for sore throats without a positive test for Strep or another bacterial infection.
3. One of the penicillins (not the newer, broad-spectrum antibiotics) is the best choice unless the child is allergic to it.

Bronchitis

1. Regardless of how long it lasts, bronchitis or a nonspecific cough illness in children rarely warrants antibiotics.
2. Occasionally, if the cough has lasted for more than 10 days and specific bacteria are suspected, one round of antibiotics may be worthwhile. Children with underlying lung disease (not including asthma) might also benefit from antibiotics when their diseases flare up.

Colds

1. Antibiotics should not be given for the common cold.
2. Thick, discolored nasal discharge is a normal part of a cold and is not a reason for antibiotics unless it lasts longer than 10 to 14 days.

Sinus Infections

1. Most children should not be given antibiotics for a sinus infection unless there are both nasal discharge and cough without any improvement after more than 10 to 14 days. If there is some improvement by day 10, antibiotics are probably not helpful.
2. Children with severe symptoms (facial swelling, facial pain, a fever over 103) may benefit from earlier treatment.
3. Use the most narrow-spectrum antibiotic possible.

Ear Infections

1. Not all ear infections are the same. Each ear infection should be classified as acute otitis media (AOM) or otitis media with effusion (OME). Most children with ear infections have OME -- fluid in the ear without signs of an acute middle ear infection. Half of young children with colds get OME. AOM is fluid in the ear accompanied by signs such as pus behind the eardrum, eardrum pain, distinct redness of the eardrum, or discharge from the ear. Ear pulling, runny nose, fussiness, and changes in sleep pattern can accompany either AOM or OME and do not establish a diagnosis of AOM.
2. Antibiotics are appropriate for AOM with documented fluid in the ear and clear signs of acute illness. The Ear Check Middle Ear Monitor is a good way to confirm the presence of fluid. A red eardrum without fluid is not AOM (or OME for that matter).
3. Short courses of antibiotics (as little as 5 days of standard antibiotics) are often sufficient for AOM in healthy children beyond the second birthday.
4. Antibiotics are not useful for the initial treatment of OME, although they may be worth a try if OME lasts for longer than 3 months. OME is important in that it reduces hearing when present, but antibiotics are not the solution.
5. Continued fluid in the ear found at an ear recheck after AOM is to be expected and does not necessitate another round of antibiotics, except in the less common situation where signs of acute infection are still present.
6. Preventive antibiotics should only be given after three or more separate cases of documented AOM in 6 months or four or more in 12 months.

Alan Greene MD FAAP

Does your child have sores in the mouth followed by a rash of tiny painful blisters on the hands and feet? Beware of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease

Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease (Coxsackievirus A16)

Introduction:
A miserable child who has lost interest in eating solids? Perhaps the child has hand-foot-mouth disease.

What is it?
Hand-foot-mouth disease is a common childhood illness featuring mouth sores, fever, and a rash. Similar-sounding “foot-and-mouth disease” is a disease of cattle and is not related to this condition.

Hand-foot-mouth disease is usually caused by a virus called coxsackievirus A16. However, many children with coxsackievirus A16 infections do not have all of the features of hand-foot-mouth disease. Some have no rash, some have no mouth sores, and some even have no fever. A variety of other viruses in the Enterovirus family can also cause hand-foot-mouth disease (the coxsackieviruses are enteroviruses).

Who gets it?
This disease is most common among young children but is seen with some frequency up until puberty. Adults can get it, but this is much less common. Once people have had coxsackievirus A16 they are generally immune, but they could get another case of hand-foot-mouth disease from one of the other, less common viruses. Most infections occur in the summer or early fall, with the peak between August and October in the northern hemisphere.

What are the symptoms?
Children with hand-foot-mouth disease usually start to feel crummy 3 to 7 days after they were exposed. Often, the first thing parents notice is their children’s decreased appetite for solids. Children may also have a fever and a sore throat. A day or two later, many children develop sores in the mouth. They begin as small red spots on the tongue, gums, or mucous membranes. They may blister or form ulcers.

A skin rash may also develop over a day or two, with flat or raised red spots. Unlike with many rashes, the spots are often found on the palms and soles. Also, it is common to have the rash on the buttocks. Often, the red spots will form tender blisters (although not on the buttocks). Unlike with chickenpox, the rash does not itch.

Usually the rash disappears and the child feels better within about 1 week.

How is it diagnosed?
Usually the diagnosis is made based on the history and physical exam. Lab tests are available for the coxsackieviruses and other enteroviruses, but they are not usually necessary. Hand-foot-mouth disease is sometimes confused with strep throat, which can also begin with a fever and sore throat. It is sometimes mistaken for chickenpox because they both have blisters. It might be confused with any of the childhood exanthems. Also, many children with hand-foot-mouth disease are diagnosed with ear infections because the eardrums may appear red.

How is it treated?
Antibiotics do not help with hand-foot-mouth disease. The important issues are pain relief and plenty of fluids. Cold liquids and popsicles can be soothing for a child’s sore throat.

How can it be prevented?
The viruses that cause hand-foot-mouth disease are present both in the stool and in the respiratory secretions. It can spread by fecal–oral transmission, droplet transmission, contact transmission, and by means of fomites. Hand cleansing—especially after diapering/toileting and before eating—can help reduce its spread. Children are often kept out of school or daycare for the first several days of the illness, but it is not clear this prevents others from becoming infected. Other children in the class are probably contagious even though they will never develop symptoms.

Can You Catch Hand-Foot-And-Mouth Disease Twice?

dr Greene: The incredible human body is equipped with an immune system that staggers the imagination. In ages past, explorers charted thrilling new lands. Today, one of the most exciting frontiers of discovery is the wondrous, intricate, complex immune system silently protecting us day and night.

Two types of defense against viruses predominate in the bloodstream: humoral immunity and cellular immunity. The humoral (or one might say 'liquid') immune system attacks viruses when they are loose in the body, either in the bloodstream or in bodily secretions. The cellular immune system attempts to destroy viruses once they have taken up residence inside the body's cells.

The humoral response consists of antibodies made to specific viruses. These antibodies remain present in the circulation and secretions, hopefully eliminating the virus and protecting against future infections. The more water soluble a particular virus is, the more effective the humoral response. A good example of this is the poliovirus. Polio vaccines (and other vaccines) work precisely because they so effectively stimulate specific antibody formation. When a person is re-exposed to polio, the virus is destroyed by antibodies before infection sets in.

The cellular response consists of certain white blood cells, such as cytotoxic lymphocytes or natural killer cells, which attack and destroy our own cells that have been invaded and altered by viruses. Some viruses, such as herpes, are 'sneaky' enough to hide in our cells without changing the way they look to the cellular immune system. These viruses can remain dormant within cells for years, only to re-emerge periodically when our humoral defenses are weak and allow the viruses to get loose in the circulation once again.

Hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome is a distinct viral illness. It produces blisters in the mouth in 90% of infected children and a characteristic rash primarily on the hands, feet, or buttocks in 64% of these children. Most children are cranky, with a sore throat, decreased appetite, and/or fever. The illness typically clears within a week.

Hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome was first reported in 1956, in Australia. As far as we know, it never occurred before that time. For the next 7 years it was reported, only occasionally, in pockets dotting the globe. By 1963, however, it became a common feature of childhood worldwide.

Hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome is caused by several different viruses, including coxsackieviruses A5, A9, A10, A16, B1, B3, enterovirus 71, foot-and-mouth disease virus, and herpes simplex. The vast majority of cases, however, are caused by coxsackievirus A16.

A child with a healthy immune system will form antibodies to whichever virus caused the infection. If your son is re-exposed to the same virus, he will probably not be re-infected. He is still susceptible, in varying degrees, to the other viruses. Since 1963, most children have had one case of hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome, caused by coxsackievirus A16.

There is one other snag. While most children clear their bodies of the virus within one week, coxsackievirus A16 occasionally succeeds in hiding inside children's own cells, like herpes. By eluding the cellular immune system, coxsackievirus A16 can cause chronic or recurring skin lesions. Healthy humoral immunity is able to keep these recurrences from being as severe as the initial episode.

Will your son catch hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome again? Probably not, but there are no guarantees. Who knows? In the next century, enterovirus 71 might become the major cause of hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome. Even so, the human immune system has a remarkable history of adapting to the ever-changing microscopic world around us.

Alan Greene MD FAAP
Source: dr Greene

Group B Coxsackieviruses (Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology)

The Blue Baby Syndromes

Did environment or infection cause a blood disorder in newborns?

By Roger P. Smith

Science can be a powerful tool for discovery and problem solving, but it can also be a messy, nonlinear process that does not provide all the answers. In such cases, people are forced to make the best decisions possible based on the available information, often erring on the side of caution—especially where public health is concerned. Whether or not those decisions are too conservative will often be the topic of long debate. One such example, involving drinking water standards and the health of newborns, has continued for more than half a century.

In 1987, the Journal of the American Medical Association reprinted, as part of its Landmark series, a case study originally published in 1945, accompanied by a commentary and a report of a new and fatal instance. The author of the original paper, Hunter Comly, was a pediatric resident in Iowa City when he described two examples of a previously unrecognized blood condition in infants. Called infantile methemoglobinemia, the affliction had as its main symptom cyanosis, or turning blue (thus the condition was also sometimes called blue baby syndrome). Cyanosis can also be a symptom of a congenital heart disease, so Comly felt that the two conditions might be confused.

In the congenital condition, called tetralogy of Fallot, a complicated structural defect allows blood returning from the body to the heart to be pumped out again without going to the lungs to be resupplied with oxygen. The hemoglobin in red blood cells turns red when iron in the molecule binds to oxygen; it turns bluish-purple when the oxygen is unloaded, which is why veins are bluish. With too much deoxygenated blood in the arteries, the skin turns from pink to blue (cyanosis comes from the Greek kyanos, meaning dark blue).

Alternatively, some chemicals can oxidize the iron in hemoglobin. The altered form, called methemoglobin, loses the ability to bind oxygen, and the pigment now changes to greenish brown or almost black. The human body contains enzymes to reverse methemoglobinemia, but only up to certain levels. After blood levels reach 15 percent, adults become visibly cyanotic. If more than half of the hemoglobin is converted, oxygen transport, particularly to the brain, is severely hampered, respiratory distress is likely, and death is possible.

In congenital heart disease the cyanosis is apt to improve if treated with oxygen, and if a sample of shed blood is shaken in air, it often becomes lighter and redder in color. Since methemoglobin does not bind oxygen, infants with that condition do not “pink up” on oxygen, and samples of shed blood exposed to air undergo little or no change in color.

The two conditions also look a little different. During the influenza epidemic of 1918, the word “heliotrope” was used to describe the color of the cyanosis of hypoxia, whereas the cyanosis of methemoglobinemia is often described as slate-gray. Simple laboratory tests are available to identify and quantify methemoglobin in blood, and infants with high levels of it respond rapidly to intravenous methylene blue—this blue dye turns the blue baby pink. When cyanosis develops post-partum, it is usually noticed first in the lips, spreading gradually to the nail beds of the fingers and toes, the face and then the whole body. Both congenital heart disease and methemoglobinemia tend to result in hypoxia and peripheral vasodilation, which may intensify the cyanosis.

Don’t Drink the Water
In the condition first described by Comly (now known as well-water methemoglobinemia), affected infants appeared healthy at birth and remained so through discharge. The cyanosis arose only after days, weeks or months in the home environment. What made Comly’s paper so noteworthy was the full explanation offered for the etiology of the disease—one that has been largely undisputed for 60 years.

He recognized that “the only significant change in the infant’s environment from hospital to farm home was in the water that was used to prepare the formula.” But what was the nature of the difference between hospital and home water? After the third episode of admission and treatment with methylene blue for one child, her father demanded to know exactly what “poison” in his well was responsible. Analyses of the water showed high levels of nitrate.

Inquiries to other physicians in the area about unpublished, similar cases turned up 17 more, with one fatality, suggesting that the condition was more common than suspected. As the number of physicians who reported seeing unexplained cyanosis in infants who had been fed powdered formula prepared with well water grew, measurements of the nitrate content of Iowa wells showed that more than half of the 91 wells initially sampled contained nitrate nitrogen in excess of 10 parts per million, and 20 contained more than 65 parts per million.

Those wells that tested high for nitrates were clearly undesirable from a public health standpoint. Most of them were old, shallow and dug rather than drilled, and they often had inadequate casings. Many were poorly covered so that surface runoff containing nitrate fertilizers or animal excreta rich in nitrates could enter freely. They were often found near barnyards, feedlots or pit privies, and some were contaminated with coliform bacteria. Although the wells served as the drinking water source for the entire family, only formula-fed infants were affected, and most were less than three months of age.

Subsequent independent surveys in midwestern states confirmed the initial results in Iowa. The most complete survey of all 48 states, plus what were then the territories of Alaska and Hawaii, was compiled in 1951 and identified 278 cases with 39 deaths. No cases were found in which wells contained 10 parts per million nitrate nitrogen or less, and only 2.3 percent of the cases involved wells with between 10 and 20 parts per million. Above 20 parts per million, the severity of the symptoms seemed to parallel the amount of nitrate present. Breastfed infants were never involved; neither were families who used municipal water supplies. No reports of cases prior to World War II were found. However, physician reporting was not mandatory for the condition, and the true number may have been much higher.

But by the time that report was published, the worst seemed to have passed, and the number of cases fell off steadily through the early 1950s. Today the disease has all but disappeared, with reports appearing only sporadically in the literature. Only two cases have been reported since the mid-1960s and none since 2000. Within 10 years the epidemic had waned as suddenly as it had appeared, without any preventive action having knowingly been taken. Whether it was because of public awareness, a massive improvement in rural drinking water quality, a trend toward breastfeeding or other factors may never be known.

Nitrates to Nitrites
Comly realized that he needed to explain the sensitivity of newborns to nitrates in order to complete the picture. He also needed an explanation for how biologically inert nitrate was responsible for oxidizing hemoglobin to methemoglobin. The most plausible candidate for the oxidizing agent was nitrite, which was known to be a potent generator of methemoglobin. To find it, he needed to look no further than the diverse normal microflora of the infant gut. Many common organisms found in the bowel were known to convert nitrate to nitrite; the nitrite could then be readily absorbed into the blood to do its damage.

In adults, however, ingested nitrates—more than 97 percent of which come from vegetables and other foods, not water—never come in contact with intestinal microflora, which are found largely in the colon. Nitrates are absorbed rapidly in the duodenum and excreted promptly in the urine. That led to a consideration of the second-most common finding in affected infants, namely evidence of gastrointestinal upset in the form of vomiting or diarrhea, things so usual as to excite little attention. A few infants who were tested were found to have high gastric pH in relation to adult values. Presumably the acidic milieu of the stomach and duodenum discourages microflora from invading the small intestine of adults. But if the pH were high enough in newborns, perhaps nitrate-reducing organisms could survive in the small intestine and come in contact with unabsorbed nitrate. This problem should be self-solving as infants mature, because acid production in their stomachs increases to adult levels by about six months of age. That coupled with a relative deficiency in the enzyme that reverses methemoglobin production in infant red blood cells could be enough to explain their sensitivity to nitrates. As Comly’s explanation stands, it is both complete and plausible, but a long way from scientifically proven.

Largely because of Comly’s recommendation, 10 parts per million of nitrate nitrogen quickly became the standard for potable water supplies in the U.S., and that maximum was reaffirmed in 1995 in the most recent review by the National Research Council. Unfortunately, nitrate removal from raw drinking water involves considerable expense. Conventional treatment processes are ineffective. A much more expensive process of ion exchange is the only one currently used. But those at risk—infants under three months of age—are one of the most vulnerable and emotionally charged groups in our population, one that all agree we would most like to protect.

A New Syndrome?
In the 1980s a new phenomenon seemed to appear, namely, a form of infantile methemoglobinemia associated with inflammatory bowel disease (including diarrhea, acidosis, infection and gastroenteritis), where exposure to excessive nitrates could not be clearly established. The first of these reports appeared around 1982. Over the course of a year the authors had seen 11 infants with the triad of methemoglobinemia, diarrhea and acidosis. All were under three months of age, and all lived in homes with municipal water supplies. Although infection was suspected in at least some of these cases, no common fecal pathogens were isolated.

In the same year, a report from Israel described a study of 58 infants, age one week to one and a half years, admitted to the hospital for acute diarrhea. Over 100 admitted infants without gastrointestinal disturbances served as controls. All were fed the same milk, food and water, which had been analyzed for nitrates and nitrites. The study excluded infants with confounding factors such as genetic defects or exposure to drugs or chemicals that generate methemoglobin. None of the affected infants was said to be cyanotic, and only 12 of the 58 had methemoglobin levels above 8 percent. However, infants with the more severe diarrhea seemed to have higher methemoglobin levels. The nitrate concentration of the drinking water was well under the U.S. standard, and the diet was unusually low in nitrates. There was no clear correlation of the degree of acidosis and methemoglobin levels.

The most seminal observation was that the affected infants had high blood levels of nitrate, and those levels did appear to parallel the degree of methemoglobinemia. Affected infants excreted several times more nitrate in their urine than they consumed in their diet. In the control group the urinary excretion of nitrate was about the same as the daily intake or only slightly higher. Previously, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had demonstrated nitrate production within the body in germ-free rats.

As is often the case, these two reports opened the floodgates. Between 1983 and 1996 reports of more than 90 cases came out in the medical literature, and then, maddeningly, the reports stopped appearing, just as they had with well-water methemoglobinemia 50 years before.

In 1999, Alex Avery of the Center for Global Food Issues at the Hudson Institute and his colleagues offered an ingenious explanation of the etiology after an analysis of some seemingly unrelated literature on inflammatory bowel disease. Noting that the earlier Israeli study strongly suggested that nitrites produced in the body were responsible for the methemoglobinemia and that their end product, nitrates, were elevated in urine and blood, they suggested the involvement of endogenous production of nitric oxide from arginine. The importance of nitric oxide as a normal biological mediator in a number of physiological processes has only recently been recognized. In solution, nitric oxide exists in equilibrium with nitrite. There is some published evidence to suggest that certain viral or bacterial infections of the bowel cause an increase in nitric oxide levels in human colonic epithelial cells. Although these studies were focused on explaining the pathologic changes in the bowel, they offer a possible explanation for the methemoglobinemia. That explanation, however, does not yet suggest why infants may be more susceptible.

At a Standstill
Few pursuits are more frustrating to the biomedical scientist than attempts to investigate diseases of very low incidence. It is a mixed blessing that both episodes of infantile methemoglobinemia ended spontaneously, because at this juncture no further elucidation of either is in sight. Try as we might, we face formidable obstacles in studying diseases that no longer exist and for which there are no satisfactory animal models. Nor is there any incentive to carry out such studies.

The hypothesis that Avery has offered for the etiology of the endogenous disease is, of course, incompatible with the exogenous well-water nitrate hypothesis. If Comly was wrong, exogenous nitrates were a red herring, and the drinking water standard for nitrate has been set at an unnecessarily low level. Communities may have incurred needless expense in pursuing nitrate removal. However, the evidence for the involvement of well-water nitrate in the first miniepidemic is at least as strong, if not stronger, than the evidence for the involvement of gastrointestinal infections in the second. The clear dose-response relationship between the well-water nitrate content and the severity of the methemoglobinemia, and the logical explanation for the sensitivity of infants to nitrate, support the etiology proposed for the first episode, but their equivalents are lacking for the second.

Science is simply not always able to provide neat and clean answers, and in order to protect the public, expensive policy decisions must sometimes be made based on whatever facts are known. We seem to be forced to the conclusion that an exceedingly rare toxic condition, methemoglobinemia in infants, is linked to two episodes of exposure to endogenous nitrite, but generated by two entirely different mechanisms. More improbable still is that both episodes suddenly appeared and then spontaneously resolved over the space of a dozen years, each in the second half of the 20th century. As Sherlock Holmes famously remarked to Dr. Watson, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” It also may be, in a way, a vindication of the now 50-year-old drinking water standard for nitrate.

Source: American Scientist

Nutritional Breakthrough New Medical Discovery Baffles Scientific Community (press release)

By: NaturalNews, citizen journalist

Life threatening illnesses like Cancer, Diabetes, High Cholesterol, Arthritis, High Blood, Pain, Viral and Bacteria Infections, Flu, Heart Ailments, Depression, Weight, Multiple Sclerosis, Skin Ailments and many other serious and debilitating diseases are victimising the entire community at an alarming rate.

For the first time in history, the Delicious All-Natural Disease Fighting Mangosteen juice has become available to the world in a commercial form. Many people report a burst of energy, improvement in their digestive system, lower blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes numbers, relief from arthritis, inflammation and pain when first using the Mangosteen juice. The Xanthones (powerful antioxidants) in the Mangosteen juice starts working immediately by building up your immune system. Drink plenty of water during the day to help eliminate the toxins circulating in your body.

This particular brand of mangosteen juice, a category creator, like coca cola now holds a 20 year global patent. Scientific research proves that Xanthones found in the Mangosteen fruit may assist in the healing and prevention of various illnesses and diseases, and may slow down the aging process. Mangosteen can benefit your entire body in any way the body needs it to, with its powerful antioxidant properties. Mangosteen is a Natural shortcut to better health. Make no mistake, mangosteen fruit is the only product in the world that can legally contain the "whole fruit" of the Mangosteen. This includes the outer rind, which has most of the beneficial antioxidants. Other companies can not legally use the "whole fruit," so don't be fooled by the imitations.



Mangosteen is listed with more than 138 separate health benefits. There is no other source known to man which has a higher concentration of Xanthones than the powerful Mangosteen. We are all forced to breathe in "Free Radicals", like cigarette smoke, pollution, toxic chemicals, etc., which attacks and damage our "good cells". That damage can lead to life-threatening diseases. Starting at age 25, our body tends to produce more free-radicals and fewer antioxidants, potentially leading towards mental and physical decline.

It is important to take in more antioxidants which are found in the mangosteen fruit to maintain a more youthful balance, and to manage your current health condition. Xanthones found in the whole Mangosteen is a "free radical's" worst enemy. Why? Because the powerful Xanthones fight "free radicals" to eliminate them from your body, and start repairing damaged cells. (Because of the complexity of organ transplants, mangosteen juice is not recommended for organ recipients.

The Xanthones in the Mangosteen may prevent the onset of serious illnesses and diseases – think about it, Mangosteen may be getting rid of a tumor or the start of a serious disease that you didn't even know was forming. Unfortunately, many of us do not go to the doctor until there is severe bleeding or pain, and, at that time, it might be too late. Prevention of serious illnesses and diseases is the Key to great health.

Due to the amazing, life altering impact that Xanthones have been proven to bring and provide to the human body, there has been a vast amount of renewed interest by Doctors and Scientists. Mangosteen is a precious fruit that only grows twice a year and is known as the "Queen of Fruit" to the Islanders.

WHY HAVEN'T WE HEARD ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF MANGOSTEEN? It is not in the best interest of the pharmaceutical companies to let this information be known that natural remedies, such as the Mangosteen juice may aid and assist in the prevention of "killer diseases". These companies take in billions of dollars every year from selling prescription drugs - hmmm? Mangosteen will not interfere with any medication you may be taking – it's as safe as drinking apple or orange juice, and with no side effects. Mangosteen is great for all ages, from 1 to 100 years old.

The Whole Mangosteen fruit juice is not available in retail stores and can only be purchased from our supplier. There is no price for life – A serious illness or disease could cost you a lot more – maybe your life! Give mangosteen juice a try and get your body healthy. I'll look forward to your Mangosteen testimonies.

Xanthones are not designed to treat, mitigate or cure any illness but to give the body what it needs to support its' own optimal health. Tens of thousands of lives have been changed by this information. Cell to cell communication is literally how we survive, and Mangosteen gives our body the best chance to heal and repair itself.

Dynamic Health Mangosteen Gold- 100% Pure Organic Certified Mangosteen Juice, 32-Ounce Bottle

Mangosteen, the X-factor (The Next Generation of Health Supplement)

Growth Hormone: The Secret of Youth or a Cautionary Tale?

By Bonnie Desimone

SIXTEEN years ago, a small-scale study of human growth hormone therapy among older men opened a large debate in the medical community over whether it could stave off physical decline.

Since then, the arguments on both sides have become only more passionate. Demands for prescriptions have increased, as has online demand for both legitimate and fraudulent forms of the product, known as HGH -- eventually growing into an estimated $1 billion global market.

Because evidence shows potentially harmful side-effects, most mainstream doctors caution against using HGH, except in strictly delineated cases. Other doctors say it is an effective anti-aging weapon.

''This is an experiment going on with unsuspecting people who are living on the hope that this will somehow help them retain their youth and vigor,'' said Dr. Robert N. Butler, a professor of geriatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Like many experts, Dr. Butler contends that proper nutrition and regular exercise, especially strength training, will yield equal or better results in building muscle mass and increasing well-being among older patients without the pitfalls of HGH, which can cost up to $20,000 a year and is rarely covered by insurance.

Yet doctors like Dr. Eric Braverman, director of PATH Medical, a center for integrative medicine in New York, defend the use of HGH at low, carefully supervised levels. One of his patients, an 82-year-old retired executive from Long Island, who requested anonymity for privacy reasons, said that daily HGH injections over the last 13 months had repaired some of the damage he incurred from congestive heart failure and overmedication for high-blood pressure.

''I can't walk fast, but I can walk 40 blocks now with no trouble,'' he said. ''I've had virtually no side-effects.''

Dr. Braverman predicts that HGH will become more widely prescribed. ''I am convinced that it is a core dimension in dealing with the effects of aging,'' he said. ''I have hundreds of patients with experience, and it's rare that they have side-effects. The real danger is that these things are being sold over the Internet.''

On that issue, both sides agree.

Human growth hormone is produced and released by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. The hormone stimulates the liver to produce insulin-like growth factor, or IGF-1. That substance, in turn, spurs normal growth in bones and tissues.

HGH has long been prescribed for children whose growth is affected by kidney disease or other conditions. The hormone has also been used to treat muscle-wasting diseases caused by AIDS.

Growth hormone was harvested from cadavers until the mid-1980's, when researchers began to synthesize it using recombinant DNA technology. Although the process was expensive, it opened up more commercial and black-market opportunities.

The catalyst for the HGH debate was a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1990. A dozen healthy men, ages 61 to 81, were given HGH injections for six months. Among the results: lean body mass increased and body fat decreased; and blood sugar and blood pressure increased. An accompanying editorial called the study ''an important beginning,'' but raised ethical questions and said more research was needed.

In 2003, The New England Journal of Medicine published an editors' note deploring the use of that 1990 study in ''potentially misleading e-mail advertisements.''

Recent studies have confirmed that the hormone can benefit people with HGH deficiencies, but doctors disagree on how to define and test that condition. The hormone is only effective by injection, doctors agree. It can increase lean body mass and bone density, and improve mood.

HGH doesn't necessarily increase strength, however, and can raise the risk of diabetes and cause swelling, carpal tunnel syndrome and muscle pain. Some researchers fear that HGH could promote tumor growth but no direct causal link to cancer has been established, said Dr. Evan Hadley, director of the Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology Program at the National Institute on Aging.

Dr. Hadley said that research is being conducted as to whether HGH could help stabilize or reverse declining cognitive function.

In cyberspace, HGH is promoted as a way to shed weight, build muscle, smooth wrinkles, promote healing, relieve chronic pain and restore youthful energy.

These promises can be seductive for maturing baby boomers. ''Their expectations of physical activity are much, much higher,'' said Dr. Paul Y. Takahashi, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Many supplements advertised online do not contain any growth hormone, falsely claim to stimulate its production or come with unsubstantiated statements about its benefits.

Heather Hippsley, a lawyer and assistant director of the division of advertising practices at the Federal Trade Commission, said the agency was trying to combat fraudulent marketers by sending warning letters to Web sites and getting misleading infomercials off the air.

Last year, the agency obtained a federal court order compelling two Florida companies to pay up to $20 million to consumers who had bought HGH ''enhancers'' online.

The debate over HGH therapy escalated last fall as several prominent researchers published a commentary in The Journal of the American Medical Association charging that most prescriptions for HGH in the United States may be illegal. They wrote that the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibits prescribing HGH to treat anti-aging in the broad sense, as opposed to specific hormone deficiencies resulting from pituitary disease.

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, an advocacy group that says it has more than 17,000 doctor members, wrote a response on its Web site: ''At no time has Congress evinced any intent to restrict ethical physicians from prescribing HGH to mature or elderly adults for medical reasons within their sound judgment.''

Amid the crossfire, most mainstream doctors advise caution. Dr. Takahashi wrote an article for the Mayo Clinic's Web site outlining the risks and approved uses of HGH, concluding that ''more study is needed.''

Conservative approaches to HGH therapy are being influenced by an evolution of thought on estrogen replacement therapy, Dr. Takahashi said. Once viewed as a remedy for postmenopausal changes, estrogen is now linked to increased cancer risk.

''We learned a lot from that experience,'' he said. ''It's possible that human growth hormone could allow people to be a little bit better for a little bit longer. The question is, at what price? I think it could be a pretty high price.''

Source: The New York Times

Vaccines don't cause autism - now can we move on? asks Stanford Medicine special report

By Rosanne Spector

As the spring Stanford Medicine special report on vaccination rolled off the press, the judges working for the U.S. Vaccine Injury Compensation Program ruled on three test cases, deciding against parents’ claims that vaccines had caused their children to develop autism. The Feb. 12 decision virtually eliminates any grounds for granting compensation in the roughly 5,000 remaining claims of vaccine-induced autism. What else is there to say?

Plenty, as you’ll read in the special report, “Hot shots: Vaccines under the gun.” The polarized battle between vaccine opponents and advocates that threatens to destroy hard-won public health gains isn’t ending any time soon. And while vaccine advocates receive hate mail and even death threats, infectious diseases are making a comeback in wealthy nations where many citizens have taken for granted the absence of these scourges.

In Britain, for instance, MMR vaccination is down and measles cases are surging, with 1,348 measles cases in England and Wales last year. In 1998 there were just 56 cases. In the United States, the number of cases is still small, but is rising.

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, a long-time vaccine advocate, leads off the report with a letter to readers underscoring why she believes vaccines save lives. “Widespread measles vaccination has resulted in a drop of measles incidence [in the United States] from 894,134 cases in 1941 to 44 cases in 2002,” she writes. “Yet sadly in 2008, there was a disturbing turnaround: 135 people were infected with measles during one of the largest outbreaks in over a decade. Two-thirds of the infected had purposely not been vaccinated, often due to fears about the vaccine.”

Source: Stanford Medicine

Unknown causes of purple-red rash over the body might be a symptom of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)

Private HealthCare UK

Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is an autoimmune disease affecting platelets. Many people have no symptoms. If symptoms occur they can range from mild bruising to severe bleeding. In children it usually goes away without any treatment in 6-8 weeks. In adults it is usually a lifelong condition. Treatment may or may not be necessary and may include steroids, immunoglobulin and surgery.

Understanding platelets
Platelets are tiny particles in the blood and help blood to clot when we cut or injure ourselves. They are produced inside bone, in the bone marrow. They are then released in the bloodstream and travel through the body for about seven days before they are removed by the spleen. The spleen is an organ that lies at the top of the abdomen under the left ribs.

A normal number of platelets in a blood test is between 150 and 400 x 109 per litre. If you have too many platelets, your blood will clot too easily. If you do not have enough platelets, you may bruise and bleed more easily.

What is ITP?
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune disease involving platelets. Autoimmune disorders are when the body produces a protein (antibody) that attaches itself to, and damages, another part of the body. In ITP, the antibodies are produced against platelets. Once the antibodies have attached to platelets, the platelets do not work as well. They are also removed more quickly by the spleen because they are abnormal.

* Idiopathic means that there is no detectable underlying cause yet found.
* Thrombocytopenic means not enough platelets (thrombocyte is another name for platelet).
* Purpura is a purple-red rash over the body.

Although the cause of ITP is not clear, it is known to be something to do with the immune system. Therefore the disease is increasingly being called 'immune thrombocytopenic purpura' - which is still shortened to ITP.

ITP is quite different in children and adults and should be considered separately.

ITP IN CHILDREN

How common is ITP in children?
ITP occurs in about 5 in 100,000 children. It is three times more common in girls than in boys.

What are the symptoms?

• Most children will not have any symptoms.
• Those that do develop symptoms have bruising and purpura, and some have bleeding such as nose bleeds. It usually appears quickly, over 1-2 days. The condition often occurs about 2-3 weeks following an infection (often a common viral infection), or occasionally following an immunisation. The symptoms disappear over 6-8 weeks in most cases.
• Very occasionally, it may cause severe bleeding which requires emergency treatment.
• The platelet levels in about 1 in 10 affected children does not ever return to normal which means that they have developed chronic (persistent) ITP.

So, what seems to happen in children with ITP is that the immune system is triggered to produce antibodies against the platelets by an infecting virus or other germ. In most cases, this is a temporary 'immune reaction' that lasts several weeks only, and then symptoms go. But, in a minority of cases, once the immune reaction is triggered, the immune system continues to be faulty and the condition persists into chronic ITP.

How is ITP diagnosed?
ITP is diagnosed by a blood test called a full blood count. This test shows that there are less platelets than normal. The laboratory will also have a look at the blood under a microscope.

Sometimes other tests will be needed to make sure that the low number of platelets is not due to something else. (There are various other causes of a reduced number of platelets.) Rarely, this involves taking a sample of bone marrow.

What is the treatment?
Most children will not need any treatment, even if the number of platelets is very low. The decision to treat is usually based on whether your child has serious bleeding or very pronounced bruising and purpura. If the symptoms are mild, usually there will be no need for treatment. Your child will need to have the full blood count repeated on a few occasions to check that the platelet numbers are stable and that the rest of the blood cell counts are remaining normal. If your child has bleeding and more severe bruising or purpura, treatment may be considered. The aim of treatment is to improve symptoms and increase the number of platelets.

If treatment is needed then the decision on what treatment to use can be difficult. This is because there have not been many studies done to test the treatments against each other. The options for treatment include:

• Prednisolone. This is often the first type of treatment tried. It is a steroid medication and is taken as syrup or tablets. This may be given as a high dose over a short period of time (four days) or as a lower dose for a longer time (two weeks). Prednisolone has been shown to increase the number of platelets quickly in about 3 in 4 children with ITP.

• Other steroid options. High dose methylprednisolone or high dose dexamethasone. These are other types of steroid drugs that have also been shown to be effective in differing degrees. However, dexamethasone is not often used in children.

• Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). This is an injection of a protein into the bloodstream and has been shown to work well in about 8 in 10 children in increasing the number of platelets. It is not usually used as the first option because it involves an injection, can cause quite a lot of side effects, and is quite expensive. It may be used as an emergency treatment if your child has severe bleeding or needs surgery.

• Anti-D immunoglobulin. This is another type of protein that is also effective and causes less side effects than IVIg. It can only be given to children whose blood group is RhD positive.

• Platelet transfusions. In a life threatening situation your child may be given a transfusion of platelets at the same time as being treated with steroids and IVIg. This only helps to increase the number of platelets for a short time as the transfused platelets also get attacked by the antibody that the body has produced and are destroyed by the spleen.

• Other drugs. A number of other drugs are being trialled. These are not routinely recommended as not enough information is known yet about their use and side effects.

• Surgery to remove the spleen (splenectomy). This is very rarely done in children with ITP. It is only really considered as an option if your child has life threatening bleeding or severe chronic disease that is affecting their day to day functioning.

In chronic ITP, usually no treatment is needed but your child will need to have regular blood tests and specialist review. If they have an injury or are involved in an accident you will be advised to take them to your local hospital emergency department for review. If the disease is severe, then the treatments outlined above may be considered.


ITP IN ADULTS

How common is it?
In adults, ITP occurs in about 6 in 100,000 people. It is more common in women and predominantly occurs in women of child bearing age. It may also be seen more often in the elderly.

What are the symptoms?
In adults, ITP comes on gradually and it usually does not follow a viral illness. It is not really known what causes the disease. The symptoms may vary a lot. You may have no symptoms, purpura, mild bruising or bleeding, or severe bleeding. Unlike ITP in children, most adults with ITP will always have a low number of platelets. This is called chronic ITP.

How is it diagnosed?
Because most adults with ITP do not have any symptoms, ITP is usually diagnosed on a routine blood test that has been done for other reasons. The full blood count shows a lower number of platelets than normal. The laboratory will also look at your blood under a microscope.
Sometimes, usually in those over 60 or if your symptoms are unusual, a sample from your bone marrow (the inside of the bone) may be necessary. Low platelet numbers can be due to other causes such as medication, lupus, viral infections or other diseases. It may be necessary for you to have some additional tests to check for these.

What is the treatment?

• Like children, most adults with ITP do not require active treatment unless they have significant symptoms or need to undergo surgery for any reason, including dental work. It is important to have adequate platelet levels before surgery in order to minimise the risk of severe bleeding during the procedure.
• If treatment is needed, then the first treatments that tend to be used in an adult with ITP are usually steroids or IVIg. Both of these treatments increase the platelet count in about 2 or 3 people in 4. Usually though, this improvement is only temporary and the platelet numbers return to a low level after a few weeks.
• Surgery to remove the spleen (splenectomy) is used more often in adults than children. It is more likely to result in a longer lasting normal number of platelets. About 2 in 3 people with ITP who have a splenectomy will have a normal long lasting number of platelets. However, splenectomy is not without possible complications. As the spleen is responsible for fighting certain types of infection, people who have had their spleen removed are more at risk of some serious infections. For this reason, you will need to have some extra vaccinations and may be advised to take antibiotics every day.

If the above measures do not work, then there are several other treatment options. For example, you may be given another trial of steroids or IVIg. Anti-D immunoglobulin can also be used in adults and has been shown to increase platelet numbers in up to 9 in 10 people. Other treatments that may be used include danazol and medications to suppress the immune system such as azathioprine or ciclosporin. There are many other treatments that are sometimes used if all other measures have not been successful. A number of new treatments and drugs are currently being trialled to see how well they work in ITP.

What if I am pregnant?
A low number of platelets in pregnancy is quite common. It can be difficult to know if your platelet count is low due to the pregnancy or due to ITP. If you have no symptoms and the number of platelets is not too low, then you may just be monitored. If the number of platelets needs to be increased, then steroids or IVIg can be used. A platelet count greater than 50 x 109 per litre is generally considered safe for a normal vaginal delivery. A count greater than 80 x 109 per litre is generally considered safe for a caesarean section. Your specialist will advise in your own particular situation.

It is very unlikely that your low number of platelets will cause any problems to your newborn baby. After they have been born, their platelet level will be checked and if it is low, they will be monitored carefully. If they need treatment, IVIg can be used.

What is the outlook (prognosis) of ITP in adults?
In adults, the outcome is very variable depending on the severity of symptoms. Most people do not need any treatment. If treatment is needed, the response to treatment varies from person to person.

Source: Private HealthCare UK

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. EMIS has used all reasonable care in compiling the information but make no warranty as to its accuracy. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.

Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura Medical Guide

Chinese Herbal Medicine for Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

Coffee as a Health Drink? Studies Find Some Benefits

By Nicholas Bakalar

Coffee is not usually thought of as health food, but a number of recent studies suggest that it can be a highly beneficial drink. Researchers have found strong evidence that coffee reduces the risk of several serious ailments, including diabetes, heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver.

Among them is a systematic review of studies published last year in The Journal of the American Medical Association, which concluded that habitual coffee consumption was consistently associated with a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. Exactly why is not known, but the authors offered several explanations.

Coffee contains antioxidants that help control the cell damage that can contribute to the development of the disease. It is also a source of chlorogenic acid, which has been shown in animal experiments to reduce glucose concentrations.

Caffeine, perhaps coffee’s most famous component, seems to have little to do with it; studies that looked at decaffeinated coffee alone found the same degree of risk reduction.

Larger quantities of coffee seem to be especially helpful in diabetes prevention. In a report that combined statistical data from many studies, researchers found that people who drank four to six cups of coffee a day had a 28 percent reduced risk compared with people who drank two or fewer. Those who drank more than six had a 35 percent risk reduction.

Some studies show that cardiovascular risk also decreases with coffee consumption. Using data on more than 27,000 women ages 55 to 69 in the Iowa Women’s Health Study who were followed for 15 years, Norwegian researchers found that women who drank one to three cups a day reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 24 percent compared with those drinking no coffee at all.

But as the quantity increased, the benefit decreased. At more than six cups a day, the risk was not significantly reduced. Still, after controlling for age, smoking and alcohol consumption, women who drank one to five cups a day — caffeinated or decaffeinated — reduced their risk of death from all causes during the study by 15 to 19 percent compared with those who drank none.

The findings, which appeared in May in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest that antioxidants in coffee may dampen inflammation, reducing the risk of disorders related to it, like cardiovascular disease. Several compounds in coffee may contribute to its antioxidant capacity, including phenols, volatile aroma compounds and oxazoles that are efficiently absorbed.

In another analysis, published in July in the same journal, researchers found that a typical serving of coffee contains more antioxidants than typical servings of grape juice, blueberries, raspberries and oranges.

“We were surprised to learn that coffee quantitatively is the major contributor of antioxidants in the diet both in Norway and in the U.S.A.,” said Rune Blomhoff, the senior author of both studies and a professor of nutrition at the University of Oslo.

These same anti-inflammatory properties may explain why coffee appears to decrease the risk of alcohol-related cirrhosis and liver cancer. This effect was first observed in 1992. Recent studies,published in June in The Archives of Internal Medicine, confirmed the finding.

Still, some experts believe that coffee drinking, and particularly caffeine consumption, can have negative health consequences. A study published in January in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, for example, suggests that the amount of caffeine in two cups of coffee significantly decreases blood flow to the heart, particularly during exercise at high altitude.

Rob van Dam, a Harvard scientist and the lead author of The Journal of the American Medical Association review, acknowledged that caffeine could increase blood pressure and slightly increase levels of the amino acid homocysteine, possibly raising the risk for heart disease.

“I wouldn’t advise people to increase their consumption of coffee in order to lower their risk of disease,” Dr. van Dam said, “but the evidence is that for most people without specific conditions, coffee is not detrimental to health. If people enjoy drinking it, it’s comforting to know that they don’t have to be afraid of negative health effects.”

Source: The New York Times

Red meat consumption doubles risk of colon cancer, says study; is it time to go vegetarian yet?

By: Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows a doubling of the risk of colon cancer for people who are heavy consumers of red meat. More specifically, it shows that the risk doubles compared to those who consume smaller quantities of red meat. But how does this compare to people who consume no red meat at all?

This is conjecture, but I'm willing to bet that heavy consumers of red meat probably have quadruple the risk (or more) of colon cancer compared to vegetarians or people who consume no red meat. By the way, you don't have to be a vegetarian to boycott red meat. You can still be a consumer of other sources of animal protein (fish, seafood, etc.) while avoiding red meat.

There are plenty of health reasons to avoid eating red meat, and a higher risk of colon cancer is just one of them. The saturated animal fat found in red meat products contributes to heart disease and atherosclerosis. In addition, red meat can contain contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides and undesirable environmental pollutants that tend to collect in the fat tissues of cows, which are absorbed into your body when you eat cow fat. And you can't eat red meat without getting some animal fat.

Then, of course, there's what I call the vibration of red meat, which concerns the homeopathy of the meat, or the environment in which the cow was raised. Was it a natural environment? Did the cow have access to open fields, sunlight and clean water? Or was this a cow raised as part of a slaughterhouse operation, produced for the sole purpose of generating profits? If you eat cows' meat that has undergone that kind of experience, you are consuming a product that is tainted with the negative experience of the animal from which it came.

There are a lot of negative effects associated with the consumption of red meat, and this is why more and more people are now giving up red meat and moving to healthier foods like fish, free-range chicken, or better yet, plant-based proteins like spirulina or soy products like soy milk and tofu. This is where you'll get your best protective effect and disease prevention, and you will be helping protect the environment at the same time. After all, it's far less stressful on the environment to produce food as plants than as animals.

It takes 10 acres to produce the same amount of red meat protein as it does to produce one acre of soy beans. And producing spirulina yields a tenfold increase over the production of soybeans. So think about it: one acre of farmland used to produce spirulina can produce 100 times as much protein as beef and red meat. That will be very important to realize as our world population grows and it becomes increasingly difficult to produce the protein required by the population.

How to make the transition away from red meat

These are all reasons to avoid an animal-based diet and pursue a plant-based diet. Many people reading this are already following a plant-based diet, but some of you who might be considering making the change probably aren't sure exactly how to do it.

Perhaps you want to merely reduce your consumption of red meat but not give it up completely yet, which is fine, since that's the way all of us ex-meat-eaters got into plant-based diets to begin with. Few people ate more meat than I did because I grew up in an environment where we had all the red meat we wanted at no charge (my grandfather was a cattle rancher). We had a freezer full of red meat at all times, and we could have as much hamburger, steak or other cuts of meat as we wanted. I consumed large quantities of red meat for nearly 30 years.

I found the transition away from red meat to be difficult at first. I started consuming less of it and eating other meat alternatives, and pretty soon I began to view red meat in a different way, because if you eat less of it, you eventually start to lose your appetite for it. And within less than a year, any time I would see red meat at the grocery store, it would gross me out. I look at it and I realize what it is: a chunk of flesh sliced off the carcass of a living creature that has been ground up and stuffed into a box. Usually there's some blood running around in the container as well. Every time I would look at that I would get grossed out and think to myself, "Gee, is this really what I want to eat for the rest of my life? This sliced up chunk of a dead cow?" And the answer was, "No." So it didn't take very long before I didn't want any red meat, and now I can't imagine eating it.

That's one way to get rid of red meat in your diet, but there are many other ways and I encourage you to experiment and see how you'd like to approach it. But the bottom line on red meat is that there is an increasing body of evidence supporting the notion that you can prevent cancer by pursuing a plant-based diet. If you want to be healthy, it's time to join the vegetarians. Maybe even join the vegans, if you have the courage.

Think about limiting or eliminating your consumption of red meat and instead nourish your body with the phytonutrients, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals and even the living energy of plants. That's how you'll be the healthiest you can be.

Glucosamine-like supplement inhibits multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes

By University of California, citizen journalist

(NaturalNews) A glucosamine-like dietary supplement has been found to suppress the damaging autoimmune response seen in multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes mellitus, according to University of California, Irvine health sciences researchers.

In studies on mice, Dr. Michael Demetriou and colleagues with the UC Irvine Center for Immunology found that N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), which is similar but more effective than the widely available glucosamine, inhibited the growth and function of abnormal T-cells that incorrectly direct the immune system to attack specific tissues in the body, such as brain myelin in MS and insulin-producing cells of the pancreas in diabetes. Study results appear on the online version of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

"This finding shows the potential of using a dietary supplement to help treat autoimmune diseases," said Demetriou, an assistant professor of neurology, and microbiology and molecular genetics. "Most importantly, we understand how this sugar-based supplement inhibits the cells that attack the body, making metabolic therapy a rational approach to prevent or treat these debilitating diseases."

The UC Irvine study defines how metabolic therapy with the sugar GlcNAc and other related nutrients modifies the growth and autoimmune activitiy of T-cells. Virtually all proteins on the surface of cells, including T-cells, are modified with complex sugars of variable lengths and composition. Recent studies have shown that changes in these sugars are often associated with T-cell hyperactivity and autoimmune disease.

In mouse models of both MS and type 1 diabetes, Demetriou and colleages found that GlcNAc prevented this hyperactivity and autoimmune response by increasing sugar modifications to the T-cell proteins. This therapy normalized T-cell function and prevented development of paralysis in MS and high blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes.

This study comes on the heels of others showing the potential of GlcNAc in humans. One previous clinical study reported that 8 of 12 children with treatment-resistant autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease improved significantly following two years of treatment with GlcNAc. No significant adverse side effects were noted.

"Together, these findings identify metabolic therapy using dietary supplements such as GlcNAc as potential treatments for autoimmune diseases." Demetriou said. "Excitement for this treatment strategy stems from the novel mechanism for affecting T-cell function and autoimmunity and the availability and simplicity of its use. However, additional studies in humans will be required to assess the full potential of this therapeutic approach."

Autoimmune diseases such as MS and type 1 diabetes mellitus result from poorly understood interactions between inherited genetic risk and environmental exposure. MS results in neurological dysfunction, while uncontrolled blood glucose in type 1 diabetes can lead to damage of multiple organs.

Ani Grigorian, Sung-Uk Lee, Wenqiang Tian, I-Ju Chen and Guoyan Gao of UC Irvine and Richard Mendelsohn and James W. Dennis of the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute in Toronto participated in the study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Wadsworth Foundation and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

Source: Natural News

Scorpion Venom May Help Treat Brain Cancer

By DAN CHILDS
ABC News Medical Unit
Aug. 11, 2008

Chemical May One Day Be Used to Seek Out, 'Paint' Brain Tumors

The sting of the Giant Yellow Israeli Scorpion packs a painful punch. Its venom contains a potent cocktail of neurotoxins that places an animal or human victim in excruciating agony.
Preliminary results of vaccine seem promising in patients with brain tumors.

It's not the first place most would think to look for a weapon against cancer. But doctors and researchers report that a particular component within this dangerous mix may be able to seek out brain tumor cells. And one researcher, as reported by ABC affiliate KOMO-TV in Seattle, hope that doctors will one day be able to use this property to "paint" tumors for a surgeons to see.

"Right now it is difficult for a surgeon to be able to distinguish a brain tumor from the normal brain tissue around it," says Dr. James Olson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He says that this situation often presents today's brain surgeon with an unenviable decision: choose either to cut aggressively, potentially damaging healthy brain tissue, or cut conservatively and run the risk of leaving tumor cells behind.

Enter T-601, the synthetic version of a chemical first found in the scorpion's sting. Neurobiologist Harold Sontheimer of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who was the first to explore the medical potential of this chemical, found that it was able to pass into the brain unobstructed. That's a feat for most chemicals, as the membrane that separates the brain from the bloodstream (known as the blood-brain barrier) is notoriously impermeable.

For the scorpion, this property if its venom ensures a quick kill of its unfortunate prey. But subtract the poisonous components from the venom, and you have a perfect vehicle for penetrating the brain.

What's more, researchers have found that this chemical seeks out and binds to brain tumor cells.

Olson says these properties make T-601 a perfect candidate for helping doctors distinguish the borders of brain tumors.

"The scorpion has had millions of years to optimize this chemical that crosses into the brain to damage its prey," he says. "It would have cost drug companies hundreds of millions of dollars to develop something like this."

It's not the first time researchers have eyed this compound as a potential cancer fighter. In 2006, Dr. Adam Mamelak, a neurosurgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, sought to exploit these properties by using the chemical to carry tiny bits of radioactive material into the brains of patients who had gone through surgery to have brain tumors called gliomas removed.

The idea was that the chemical would seek out the remaining bits of brain cancer, latch onto them, and destroy them. Preliminary trials in humans showed some success.

And Mamelak says Olson's approach may hold promise where other tagging techniques have failed. "This method has been tried with antibodies for man years with less success due to the large size of antibodies," he notes.

But he adds that there could still be a long way to go before such approaches become a fixture in the clinical setting.

"Unfortunately, while this technology is 'sexy' and visually appealing, it is unlikely to have much impact on cancer treatment in the near future," Mamelak says.

Shedding Light on Brain Tumors

Still, other experts in the area of brain research say Olsen's technique represents an exciting step toward better brain tumor removal.

"This is a very exciting development in the field of tumor cell markers, which can be used to improve a surgeon's ability to identify and remove tumors with surgery," says Dr. Allen Sills, executive director of the Memphis Regional Brain Tumor Center and associate professor of neurosurgery at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. "A more complete removal of the tumor has been shown to clearly result in longer survival for patients with all forms of brain tumors and may offer hope for curing some types of tumors."

Considering the grim prognosis that often accompanies such tumors, the prospect of longer survival is a welcome one. For the roughly 17,000 Americans who face a glioma diagnosis each year, life expectancy is generally measured in months. On average, fewer than one in 10 is alive after two years. After five years, the figure is more like one in 30.

The dire situation of these patients has led to other novel approaches to differentiate cancerous cells in the brain from healthy ones.

"Several agents are in, or have been in, clinical trials in Europe," says Dr. Gene Barnett, professor and director, of the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute. "What all of these techniques have in common is that they should -- and do, for those that have been scientifically tested -- help the surgeon do more complete surgery. More complete surgery may translate to better, longer survival for patients with malignant brain tumor, as long as the surgery can be done safely."

Hurdles Remain

Despite hope and continued development of T-601, however, clinical applications are likely years away.

"A big problem is that the fluorescent dyes that Olson used are not FDA-approved and most are very toxic," Mamelak says. "There are basically very few such dyes that are approved, with relatively little incentive due to the costs of toxicity testing to make this approach financially feasible."

But what if the potential of this chemical could be fully harnessed? Olson says that the chemical may be used not only to detect brain cancer cells, but for early detection of other cancers as well.

"We're learning that many kinds of cancer may be able to be detected using tumor paint," Olson says, noting that in the scenario he imagines, a patient could take a tumor paint pill the night before seeing a doctor. Once this patient arrives at the doctor's office, the doctor could perform a simple scan that could detect even small cancer cells early.

For now, such a scenario remains largely theoretical. Still, Olson continues his research. He is currently planning a trip to Australia to work with a toxin and venom group there to see what other venoms may have the same type of therapeutic potential.

"When this idea was proposed to the National Cancer Institute, it was perceived as highly speculative and ambitious," Olson says. "The families of patients have paid for all this research.

"I think it is a beautiful gift, not only to those who have brain cancer, but as a prospective test for all cancer, if this bears fruit."

Source: ABC News

It's Not a Tumor, It's a Brain Worm

By LAUREN COX
ABC News Medical Unit
Nov. 24, 2008

Doctor Surprised to Find a Worm Living Inside a Woman's Brain

Late last summer, Rosemary Alvarez of Phoenix thought she had a brain tumor. But on the operating table her doctor discovered something even more unsightly -- a parasitic worm eating her brain. Doctors say the worm could have come from eating tainted food.

Alvarez, 37, was first referred to the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix with balance problems, difficulty swallowing and numbness in her left arm.

An MRI scan revealed a foreign growth at her brain stem that looked just like a brain tumor to Dr. Peter Nakaji, a neurosurgeon at the Barrow Neurological Institute.

"Ones like this that are down in the brain stem are hard to pick out," said Nakaji. "And she was deteriorating rather quickly, so she needed it out."

Yet at a key moment during the operation to remove the fingernail-sized tumor, Nakaji, instead, found a parasite living in her brain, a tapeworm called Taenia solium, to be precise.



"I was actually quite pleased," said Nakaji. "As neurosurgeons, we see a lot of bad things and have to deliver a lot of bad news."

When Alvarez awoke, she heard the good news that she was tumor-free and she would make a full recovery. But she also heard the disturbing news of how the worm got there in the first place.

Nakaji said someone, somewhere, had served her food that was tainted with the feces of a person infected with the pork tapeworm parasite.

"It wasn't that she had poor hygiene, she was just a victim," said Nakaji.

Pork Tapeworms a Small, But Growing Trend

"We've got a lot more of cases of this in the United States now," said Raymond Kuhn, professor of biology and an expert on parasites at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. "Upwards of 20 percent of neurology offices in California have seen it."

The pork tapeworm has plagued people for thousands of years. The parasite, known as cysticercosis, lives in pork tissue, and is likely the reason why Jewish and Muslim dietary laws ban pork.

Kuhn said whether you get a tapeworm in the intestine, or a worm burrowing into your brain can depend on how you consumed the parasite.

How Humans Get Worms

Eat the parasite in tainted meat and you'll end up eating the larvae, called cysts. Kuhn said in that case, a person can only end up with a tapeworm.
rosemary alvarez

"You can eat cysts all day long and it won't get into your brain," said Kuhn. Instead, the larvae go through the stomach and mature in the intestine.

"When it gets down into their small intestine, it latches on, and then it starts growing like an alien," said Kuhn.

Once there, the tapeworm starts feeding and gets to work. A single tapeworm will release 50,000 eggs a day, most of which usually end up in the toilet.

"They can see these little packets pass in their feces," said Kuhn. "And ... sometimes people eat the eggs from feces by accident."

Kuhn said it is then feces-tainted food, and not undercooked pork, that leads to worms burrowing into the brain.

Unlike the cysts, the eggs are able to pass from the stomach into the bloodstream. From there, the eggs may travel and lodge in various parts of the body -- including the muscle, the brain or under the skin -- before maturing into cysts themselves.

According to Kuhn, who has traveled to study this parasite, cysticercosis is a big problem in some parts of Latin America and Mexico where health codes are hard to enforce and people may frequently eat undercooked pork.

As people travel across the border with Mexico for vacation and work, Kuhn said so does the tapeworm. One person infected with a parasite, who also has bad hand washing habits, can infect many others with eggs.

"These eggs can live for three months in formaldehyde," said Kuhn. "You got to think, sometimes, a person is slapping lettuce on your sandwich with a few extra add-ons there."

Getting the Worms Out

Dr. Christopher Madden, an assistant professor in the University of Texas Southwestern department of neurological surgery in Dallas, has operated on a number of these cysts himself. He said not every worm needs to be surgically removed; those whose location is not an immediate threat to the patient's health can be treated with medications that cause the worms to die.

But when the cysts are in problematic locations, as was the case for Alvarez, an operation is necessary. Fortunately, the long-term prognosis for most patients is positive.

"Most patients we see actually do very well with medicines and/or surgery to take out a large cyst," Madden said.

Alvarez is not alone in accidentally eating tainted food, but Nakaji rarely sees cases so severe that people require surgery. Nakaji said he only removed six or seven worms in neurosurgery this year.

"But lodging in the brain stem is bad luck," he said.

Nakaji said other parts of the brain have more "room" or tissue to expand around a growing cyst. However the brain stem, which is crucial to life, is only the width of a finger or two.

"She could have recovered," said Nakaji. "But if the compression lasted for long enough, she could have been left permanently disabled or dead."

Source: ABC News

10 Cosmetic Procedures You Should Avoid

By DAN CHILDS
ABC News Medical Unit

A recent report suggests that despite worries over an economic downturn, Americans are still spending money on procedures intended to make them look better. The annual report, issued last week by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, showed that the number of cosmetic procedures performed continued its steady rise last year to a total of nearly 12 million.

"The report tells me Americans are devoted to looking and feeling their best," ASPS president Dr. Richard A. D'Amico said in a statement on the report. "High demand continues for less invasive and relatively less expensive procedures, but there were also promising rebounds in some surgical procedures."

But while consumers continue to flock to doctors in the hopes of improving their appearance, plastic and cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists say there are a number of procedures of which consumers should be especially wary.

The entries listed here represent 10 cosmetic procedures that -- for most people, at least -- are least likely to offer results that justify their risks.

A Jab to Dissolve Fat? Mesotherapy and Lipodissolve

Several cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists agree that if there is one procedure to avoid when shopping for a slimmer look, it's one called lipodissolve -- a shot that is purported to dissolve away stubborn fat deposits.

"There is really not a single scientific study to show that it definitely works," said Dr. Malcolm Roth, director of plastic surgery at Maimondes Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. "Are these chemicals safe when injected into fat? And what happens to this fat? Where does it go?

And Dr. Carolyn Jacob, a board certified dermatologist in Chicago, calls lipodissolve the most ill-advised treatment available today.

"This is a non-FDA approved use of a material called lipostabil, which can dissolve fat and other structures," she said. "However, it can cause pain, swelling, hard lumps, ulceration of the skin, and contour irregularities."

"None of the pharmaceuticals used for injection are FDA approved," said Dr. Susan Kaweski at the Aesthetic Arts Institute of Plastic Surgery in San Diego. "There have been no double-blinded studies revealing the mechanism of diffusion of solutions following injection, the precision and control of fat destruction by the chemicals or the long- and short-term effects of the drugs."

Despite the dangers of the procedure, the growing number of clinics offering lipodissolve is a testament to its continued legal status in the United States. Still, the procedure is banned for cosmetic purposes in Brazil and other countries.

"Most physicians performing this procedure do not have training in liposuction, plastic surgery or dermatologic surgery," Jacob says. "Even dentists are doing it."

A Sexier Step: Cosmetic Foot Surgery

Those who desire cosmetic surgery from top to toe should be no strangers to cosmetic foot surgery -- a collection of surgical and minimally invasive procedures designed to yield a sexier foot.

Despite the continued popularity of these procedures, which involve everything from filler injections to round out angles to total surgical reshaping of the foot, doctors have been warning consumers away from cosmetic foot surgery for years.

"The public needs to be aware of the risks associated with these procedures," said the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society President Dr. Glenn B. Pfeffer. "Women need to know what they are getting into."

He noted that the trend toward the practice of cosmetic surgery raises serious concern when one considers the risks of surgery on painless feet. "Complications can include infection, nerve injury, prolonged swelling of a toe, and even chronic pain with walking," Pfeffer said.

Not surprisingly, the sector of consumers that tends to be the most enthused at the prospect of better-looking feet are women who hope to adorn their feet with the latest in strappy, high-heeled fashions.

And the procedures involved run the gamut from filler injections to full-blown surgery to reshaping the foot. The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society noted that surgery to shorten the toes or narrow the feet are favorite options in this category. Some practitioners will also inject the fat pad of the feet with collagen or other substances -- again, solely to change the appearance of the feet.

Permanent Filler Injections

Injectable fillers, simply put, are special gels that are injected into the skin to plump up lips, push out wrinkles and fine lines -- in short, "fill out" spaces in the face where a bit of extra volume is needed.

Most of the fillers that are on the market today are temporary -- that is, after a certain amount of time they are absorbed into the body and the results are lost. This group of fillers includes the natural filler collagen, as well as a number of newer gels such as hyaluronic acid.

But some fillers are designed to stick around in the body for longer periods of time. These fillers, appropriately termed permanent fillers, include liquid silicone and the product known as Aquamid.

Though tantalizing to some consumers who would prefer to pay for fillers once rather than shell out for repeat procedures, such fillers have also been known to lead to a number of complications, including irreversible binding with tissues and a tendency to "drift," which can lead to a distorted appearance.

Roth said that the problems become even more severe in the event of a botched job.

"I do not do permanent fillers," Roth said. "Even with temporary fillers, once it's injected, even though it's going to go away, you're stuck with unsatisfactory results until it goes away. Permanent fillers don't go away."

But despite widespread disapproval among cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists, many consumers still seek out permanent filler injections.

"Silicone is still being used by some practitioners," Roth said. "I have seen three people in the last year who had silicone injections administered by nonphysicians."

Injection for Breast Augmentation

What if getting bigger breasts was as simple as getting a shot?

The idea is not a new one, and it stands to reason that pumping the breasts full of fat or fillers would offer an alternative to breast implant surgery -- all without the scars.

Traditionally, doctors performing such procedures have used the fat harvested from other areas of the body, such as the buttocks and thighs. By purifying this fat and reinjecting it into the breasts, they say, they can offer their patients a safe enhancement using the body's own spare materials.

But in reality, the procedure is not nearly as simple as it appears.

"On the surface, the concept of using liposuction to remove unwanted fat from one's own thighs and buttocks, and then injecting it into the breasts to make them larger, has appeal," the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery noted in a past statement on the procedure. "However, aesthetic surgeons certified in plastic surgery have long maintained that injection of fat, or any substance, into or behind the breast tissue can be potentially dangerous."

Dangerous, because there exists the potential for the reinjected fat to calcify, creating a scarred mass buried within the breast tissues. These calcifications can either mask or mimic the presence of breast cancer. And since between 7 and 14 ounces of fat are needed for the enlargement of a breast, there is no shortage of relocated fat to make the detection of breast cancer difficult, or even impossible.

More recently, a procedure referred to as the "boob jab" has made headlines by using artificial fillers to accomplish the same goal of bigger breasts. Specifically, the procedure requires the injection through the armpit of a temporary filler called Macrolane directly into the breast.

The procedure costs $4,000, and the results are temporary. And some doctors worry that this technique, too, could make it more difficult for current screening tests to detect breast cancer.

Cosmetic Leg Lengthening Surgery

How far would you go for a few more inches of height? For some, the quest for a more impressive stature leads them to a painful procedure that involves breaking both legs -- and using devices with screws attached to their legs to gradually extend their bones.

It's an extreme procedure to be sure. Yet, the technique is widely known in China and other Asian countries, where young professionals seek out the procedures to give themselves an edge in the business world.

But the procedure is also well known in the United States. Robert Rozbruch, the director of the Institute for Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction in New York, told ABC News that he does not approve of leg lengthening for cosmetic purposes as a new cosmetic surgery trend. And the patients who come to his center can only receive the surgery after extensive psychological testing.

"Orthopedic surgeons don't do cosmetic surgery," Rozbruch told ABC News. "It's not in our normal routine. We do this for a guy who is maybe [5 foot 2] or [5 foot 3] and well adjusted but being short is something that is very disturbing to them. When you talk to them you can feel the pain they go through."

But the results don't come cheap. Costs of the procedure generally top out at $120,000. For an average height gain of 3 inches, that's $40,000 per inch.

For those of a very short stature, the results may be worth the price tag and the pain. But Roth said the procedure is a poor choice if vanity is the main motivation.

"For purely cosmetic surgery purposes, I certainly would never let somebody in my family have that done," Roth said.

Buttock Implants

While many people hit the gym and suffer through crash diets to attain a smaller behind, there are others who actually seek out surgical solutions for a larger, rounder butt.

For these people, cosmetic surgery can offer buttock implants. Unlike breast implants, which are filled with either silicone gel or saline, buttock implants are solid slabs of silicone, positioned beneath the fibrous lining of the buttock muscles.

The result is a rounder, more voluminous rear end. But this result comes at a price for many patients.

"We don't really have the same demand for buttock implants in our part of the world as you see elsewhere," Roth noted. "And that may be a good thing. There is a high rate of problems with these implants."

Among these problems is an increased risk of infection. This is because in order to hide the incision from plain view, surgeons will often place it between the buttocks, perilously close to the anus and the germs that reside there.

And even after the incisions have healed, the implants are situated in an area of the body that endures its share of daily abuse.

"Just logically, if you think about what you're doing -- putting an implant into an area that you sit on -- it stands to reason that there is a very significant rate of problems with these devices," Roth said.

Made Up for Life: Tattooed Makeup

While many women may dream of skipping their makeup routine in the morning, for those who opt for permanently tattooed makeup, the reality can be more like a nightmare than anything else.

"I have had more than my share of patients who ask me to remove the permanent makeup tattoo that someone else gave them, and I will tell you that they're difficult to take away," Roth said.

Much of this difficulty in removing these tattoos is owed to the fact that the areas that are tattooed are some of the most delicate tissues of the face -- namely, the inner folds of the eyelids and the lips. And even with today's complement of high-tech tattoo removal lasers, there is never a guarantee that the tattoos will disappear completely.

This is especially bad news for those who have received botched jobs from untrained practitioners. But even for those who get what they want in the short term, their long-term satisfaction with the job may still be in question.

"If you don't like the results, you may still be stuck with them. And even though you might like the result in the short term, fashions change."

Extreme Facial Procedures

As the images of more than a few celebrities can attest, extreme facial procedures can have a dramatic impact on one's appearance -- and not always in a good way.

Dr. Gregory H. Branham, associate professor and chief of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Washington University in Saint Louis, said he treats a number of patients who want a revision of previous work done on their faces. Sometimes, he said, this previous work involved facial liposuction in which the natural fat pads of the face are sucked out. While these patients likely hoped for a sexier, more angular appearance, what they usually got was a hollow, "Cruella deVille" kind of look.

Another procedure he sees regularly is the skin lift -- a relic of 1970s-era cosmetic surgery in which the skin was pulled taut to eliminate wrinkles.

"While I do not perform these procedures I have seen patients come into my practice with broken or failed sutures that are extruding and need to be retrieved," Branham said. "I have not seen good long-term results with these, and they are generally quite expensive when you compare them to a conventional face-lift or even a mini-lift that is a surgical procedure with more promise of a longer lasting result."

But the ravages of bad facial procedures are not confined to surgery alone. Another extreme facial procedure, the CO2 laser peel, leaves patients with a scabby, red face that takes weeks to heal. While these patients eventually enjoy a smoother complexion once the healing is over, there are a number of alternative procedures available today that can give much the same result -- without the intense pain and downtime.

Combination Mastopexy/Breast Implant

What do you get when you combine two tried-and-true plastic surgery techniques in a single operation?

If the procedures in question are a breast lift, or mastopexy, and a breast augmentation, the chances are decent that you could get more complications than you bargained for.

"A mastopexy, or breast lift, with simultaneous breast augmentation [has] one of the highest sources of malpractice suits," said Dr. Henry Kawamoto, clinical professor of plastic surgery at UCLA and director of the UCLA Craniofacial Clinic.

The reason for all the problems is clear when the aim of each procedure is considered. While mastopexy is often aimed at breast reduction -- essentially tightening up the tissues of the breast to eliminate a flabby, loose appearance -- the aim of breast augmentation is the exact opposite.

So while surgeons performing both procedures may start by removing the excess skin on the breasts during the mastopexy operation, they may find themselves stretching the remaining skin in order to accommodate the breast implants that they put in later.

Aside from the complications that arise due to the combination of the two procedures, patients also face the normal risks that go with each individual surgery -- risks that include the possibility of infection, implant exposure, asymmetry of the breasts, loss of nipple sensation, the inability to breast-feed, healing problems and other complications.

Any Procedure by Untrained Hands

With the explosion in the popularity of cosmetic surgery in the past two decades has come another explosion in the number of people who are willing to perform these operations.

But not every doctor has the training necessary to perform these procedures. Indeed, many of the proprietors for whom cosmetic procedures represent a lucrative part of their business do not even hold a medical degree.

"Probably everyone has heard of the itinerant practitioner who performs procedures in a hotel room for bargain basement prices and then is nowhere to be found when complications arise," Branham said.

So what is the key to avoiding such practitioners? Do your homework, said Branham -- and don't rush into surgery before you know everything you need to about your surgeon.

"You should see the doctor ahead of time and not the day of the procedure except in unusual circumstances," Branham said. "This allows you the time and opportunity to check out the doctor and his or her credentials and see the facility for yourself without the stress of an imminent procedure."

And when in doubt, don't go through with the procedure.

"We have a saying," Roth said. "You never regret the operation you don't do."

Source: ABC News