High Dose Vitamin C Therapies and Treatments

Licking Your Wounds: A substance in saliva may kill your pain

So goes the old saying: "Lick your wounds." Well it may not be such a bad idea. Human saliva has been found to harbor some antibacterial substances and wound regeneration compounds. More recently a substance in saliva has been shown to control pain as well.

A team of neurobiologists lead by Dr. Catherine Rougeot at the Pasteur Institute in France has discovered a substance in human saliva that has analgesic/pain killing properties some six times more potent than Morphine. Thisneuropeptide compound in saliva has been named opiorphin and may lead to the development of a new class of pain killers. Incidentally , the researchers found that this compound not only has analgesic properties, but may also harbor anti-depressant properties. The human body produces endogenousneuropeptides to control pain. They are morphine like compounds in three classes called enkephalins, endorphins and dynorphins. These naturally produced neuropeptides attach to opioid receptors in our nervous system to inhibit pain. Short acting they are broken down by two enzymes called ectopeptidases. Pharmaceutical companies have developed drugs that mimic these neuropeptides in such drugs as morphine, opium, Fentanyl, Dilaudid and others. However, these very powerful drugs come at a cost of side effects and addiction.

Administration of opiorphin does two things, one, it attaches to the opioid receptors much like our natural endorphins and similarly synthetic morphine-like compounds, but it also inhibits the ectopeptidase enzymes thus allowing the pain killer neuropeptides to act longer. Tests by the French researchers on rats demonstrated that when injected into rats with controlled pain stimulated conditions, 1 milligram ofopiorphin per kg of body weight achieved the same analgesic effect as 3 mg of Morphine. There also appears to be less of an addictive nature to this natural substance. These are all good properties when developing new drug therapy for pain management.

While it is possible to extract or harvest this neuropeptide from human saliva, it is not necessary as the substance is simple enough to synthesize in the lab. A purified version of opiorphin could lead to the development of opiorphin-based pain medication in the near future. These findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (vol 103, p 17979)

Golf Cart Injuries: They can be prevented

Golf Cart Injuries

by JP Saleeby, MD

MPH Emergency Medicine

A report conducted by physicians at the University of Alabama (UAB) focusing on injuries sustained on golf carts was published in the Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care in mid-2008.  The report studied the number of injuries occurring in golf cart accidents.  The numbers are surprising.  During a period between 2002 and 2005 there were reported some 48,000 golf cart accidents nationwide, that amounts to 1,000 accidents a month.  With the rise of golf carts use in America as a low cost, fun mode of transportation (specially with adolescents and teenagers) this has accounted for the rising number and projected higher numbers of future injuries and deaths. 

Half of the injuries that occur, happen off the golf course, on private roads, public property and public road systems.  Golf carts are not designed for road use and do not come with many safety features found on roadworthy vehicles.  Head injuries and fractures make up the greatest number of injuries as passengers and drivers are ejected from the vehicles or are apart of rollovers.  Highest rate of injuries occurred in boys 10- to 19-years of age and in those over 80 years old.  While there is little federal regulation and in most states there are no requirements or licenses for operators, it is no wonder there are such a high number of injuries and fatalities.  It makes common sense to guard against some basic misuse of golf carts. 

Children are not mature enough or experienced drivers to handle golf carts on public roads and should not be left to operate them without adult supervision.  Just today I grew concerned when a group of children (no older than 14 years of age) were clambering over a stalled golf cart.  One child was trying to push the golf cart up a hill and was in a very precarious position to have the heavy cart roll over her.  Some years ago a physician acquaintance of mine lost his adult daughter in a golf cart accident.  She was in the drivers seat on a golf course, with her 3-year old child in her lap.  As they were motoring along, the child grabbed the steering where and jerked it, causing the cart to roll over.  The woman was thrown from the golf cart, and landed on her neck.  She sustained a fatal cervical fracture and died moments later. 

On September 11th, 2010 three teenagers in Alabama suffered a golf cart accident.  The two girls and one boy were 15-years old and upon arrival to the trauma center the boy was listed as critical, the girls as serious but stable.  In March of this year another 15-year old boy was killed in the same community after falling off a golf cart.  Parents and guardians should keep children using golf carts off public roads and property, never let them drive unattended anywhere and keep the speeds limited (governored) to 15 miles or less.  Children under the age of 13 should probably refrain from driving golf carts.

References:

Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care:

June 2008 - Volume 64 - Issue 6 - pp 1562-1566

 

The Birmingham News (9/2010) 

 

Golf Cart Accident - Watch more Funny Videos

Forget those Crystals (REDUX)

With some recent patient encounters, I think it is fine time to revisit an article I penned back in 2002 at the dawn of my Saleeby Longevity Institute practice.  As I embark on another Primary Care - Integrative & Preventive medicine practice near Myrtle Beach, this needs to be said.  

While I embrace some of CAM/ Alternative medicine, I say with caution that I do not do so wholly.  I am very very selective as to what I add to my allopathic repertoire of therapeutics and diagnostics.  I consider myself a practitioner of practical, sensible and sane medicine, staying away from the weird and granola as much as possible.  Enjoy.

Forget those crystals

A doctor looks at quackery

by J.P. Saleeby published in XPress Mountain Magazine (Asheville, NC) Vol. 9 / Iss. 9, 10/02/2002  

As an integrative medical practitioner, I keep my mind open to new modalities for evaluating illness and treating disease. My interest in and exploration of complementary or alternative medical therapies has led me to selectively incorporate into my practice some of what I've come across. For example, I embrace acupuncture for the diagnosis and treatment of certain disease states. Both traditional Chinese herbal medicine and Western herbs have also been quite helpful, producing successful outcomes for many of our patients.

But as one who subscribes to substantiated complementary medical practices while not turning my back on traditional allopathic medicine, I believe I have a license to be a critic.

Many self-proclaimed practitioners of "alternative medicine" prey on the gullible and ignorant. This fact hit home as never before when I attended and participated in a "Holistic Expo" in Atlanta a few weeks ago.

I was a guest speaker; my topic was the role of supernutrients in health and longevity. I also had a booth on the Expo floor to promote my dietary-supplement line and integrative practice in Savannah. But after viewing more than 160 vendor booths and reviewing the list of topics being presented, I was appalled.

To my amazement, the bulk of the "practitioners" present at this supposed health fair were charlatans, fakes and quacks. Even more astonishing was the number of visitors to the expo who were duped into believing that there was actually healing going on. Many of the vendors -- whom I view as entertainers, but certainly not as healers -- offered their services or wares for sale on the spot.

A typical "divine-psychic reading" could cost up to $35. A channeling session with crystals was $5 per minute. People were lining up for this!

I felt very uncomfortable and out of place amongst this group. To my immediate left were three "healers": one who would sketch your spiritual drawing, plus a psychic and a tarot-card reader. Across from me was a vendor for a distance-learning "institution" that offered "degrees" in nutrition, herbology, spiritual healing and reiki. To my right was a "massage therapist/channeler/healer" who on several occasions had his victims on a table where he would rub them rather aggressively and wave rocks and crystals over their head and chest.

Yet another booth offered "spontaneous healing" in which practitioners pranced around their victim, chanting and waving their hands in an effort to expel the evil forces causing disease. They also repeatedly showed a videotape of a nonsurgical way of extracting tumors from the body, seemingly through the skin, to promote instantaneous healing.

Others, both at booths and in the lecture hall, purported to be able to deliver unbelievable advice "channeled" from celebrities on the other side. Many claimed to be divine psychics, and one booth offered "aromatherapy" for people and pets. One Native American fellow in traditional garb spoke of "meeting your totem animal"; others talked about "sonic angel music" and "turbo tantra." One couple was selling "Chakra Life" -- a set of crystal balls in a wooden box that could supposedly diagnose illness. Still others offered means of "accessing the Akashic Records."

My astonishment at seeing such a large number of people interested in miraculous healing claims led me to some basic questions: Where did modern medicine go wrong that it encouraged people to accept or believe in such craziness? What have we done as physicians to push people to embrace such silly notions and odd alternative therapies? Why is the traditional physician despised by these people?

There is genuine dislike of allopathic medicine and its practitioners. The rhetoric one overhears at these booths is ridiculous but nonetheless embarrassing. Many complaints about medical doctors are based on misguided casual observations, anecdotal horror stories with a lot of "spin," or reports from those with an ax to grind. Some complaints are legitimate, I must admit, but they are never bad enough to warrant the alternative.

Have we sold our souls to the pharmaceutical companies, as has been charged? Have we been overly caught up in the pressures placed upon us by the current system of managed care? Have we been embittered by our feelings about governmental and private insurance reimbursements and medical-malpractice litigation? Whatever the answers, I still have faith in our ability to turn this trend around, salvage our reputations, and dissuade those seeking health from wasting their time and energy on quacks and charlatans.

As Libertarian editor Charles T. Sprading once said, "Knowledge consists in understanding the evidence that establishes the fact, not in the belief that it is a fact." And if we ignore our patients, we will only intensify this movement away from what we know to be effective medical care toward the circus of harmful "caregivers."

This is a call to those who are seeking healing and wellness. Don't give up on the medical establishment just yet. Despite the negative press, we still offer the best health/patient care around, with a proven track record. And despite widely disseminated misinformation, many of us do subscribe to and uphold our Hippocratic Oath. A few of us are even open-minded enough to realize that our allopathic education doesn't give us all the answers. We continuously seek new and better ways to take care of our patients. And the consequences of not giving us another chance could be devastating.

---------------

(c) 2002

{http://www.mountainx.com/opinion/2002/1002saleeby.php}

Vita Sanus Nutraceuticals Still Going Strong

Heavy Metal Toxicity & Detoxification Protocols

Dr. Saleeby Interviewed in PracticeLink Magazine

Click on link below to read article on Relocation Shock:

http://www.readoz.com/data/issues/issue_1027092/1027092.pdf

Latest Stats on Cell Phone Use

A recent Article in Medical Economics discusses the recent trend in Cell Phone use, and after you read this you may want to read what I wrote some months ago about EMF Radiation and your health: http://docsaleeby4.blogspot.com/2010/01/electromagnetic-frequencies-and-your.html

It's not your imagination: everybody really is always on their cell phones

Jul 29, 2010 By: Ron Rajecki InfoTech Bulletin

Your patients increasingly are relying on their cell phones and wireless Internet via laptop computers instead of landlines and Internet connections via desktop computers.

Six in 10 American adults now go online wirelessly using either a mobile phone or a laptop with a wireless Internet connection (versus 51 percent in 2009), according to a recent telephone survey of 2,252 American adults by the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. The report also found that the use of non-voice data applications on cell phones has grown over the past year.

Compared with a similar point in 2009, cell phone owners are now more likely to use their mobile phones to:
• Take pictures (76 percent versus 66 percent)
• Send or receive text messages (72 percent versus 65 percent)
• Access the Internet (38 percent versus 25 percent)
• Send or receive email (34 percent versus 25 percent)
• Play games (34 percent versus 27 percent)
• Record a video (34 percent versus 19 percent)
• Play music (33 percent versus 21 percent)
• Send or receive instant messages (30 percent versus 20 percent).

"The growing functionality of mobile phones makes them ever-more powerful devices for on-the-go communications and computing," said Aaron Smith, research specialist and the author of the Pew Internet Project report. "Cell phones have become for many owners an all-purpose chat-text-gaming-photo-sharing media hub that is an essential utility for work and a really fancy toy for fun."

Among other findings of the survey:
• More than half (54 percent) of mobile phone owners participating in the survey said they have used their phone to send someone a photo or video, 20 percent reported watching a video on their phone, and 15 percent said they have posted a photo or video online from their mobile device.

• More than half of cell phone Internet users (55 percent) participating in the survey said they go online from their mobile phone every day.

• Most wireless laptop users participating in the survey said they go online wirelessly at home, and six in 10 wireless laptop users said they go online from multiple locations. Twenty percent of participants said they do so from home, work, and somewhere other than home or work.

• Fifty-five percent of those participating in the survey own a laptop computer, and 62 percent own a desktop machine.
Demographically, the survey found:

• Cell phone ownership is higher among African-Americans and Latinos than among whites (87 percent versus 80 percent), and African-American and Latino cell phone owners use a greater range of their phones’ features compared with white mobile phone users.

• Adults aged 18 to 29 years are avid users of mobile data applications, but adults aged 30 to 49 years are gaining fast. Adults in this older age group are significantly more likely to use their mobile device to send text messages, access the Internet, take pictures, record videos, use email or instant messaging, and play music in 2010 than they were in 2009.

(c) Medical Economics 2010

Subclinical Hypothyroidism Lecture (Pure Compounding 8/5/2010)

Dr. Saleeby to Talk

	Dr. Saleeby, MD Lecture on HRT On August 5th at 5:30 PM Dr. Saleeby will be speaking on Hypothyroidism and bioidentical HRT for thyroid at Pure Compounding Pharmacy in Myrtle Beach. This is a free lecture. All are invited, those that are interested may want to call and reserve a spot. http://pure-compounding.com/contactus.aspx

High Dose Vitamin C Gains Acceptance in Western Medicine

It is 3:00 PM on a typical mid-summer day when the call comes in over the EMS radio. A 9-year old boy suffering thermal burns is in rout to our Emergency Department; ETA 10-minutes. A very characteristic summertime event, as the report continues that the child was dousing a still smoldering pile of burning yard-trash with gasoline. The resultant flash back scorched his face, neck and hands. For the purposes of this article we will call him Jimmy. Jimmy arrives with 1st and 2nd degree burns to over 15% of his body surface area. We rush to stabilize him, administering morphine IV for pain control and boluses of Ringer Lactate IV solution according to the Parkland formula for fluid resuscitation. The burn team members on the other end of the phone at the regional Burn Center in Augusta are accommodating as usual, as we get ready to air transport this little fellow to their center. Jimmy does exceptionally well at the center, a week later he is discharged and I receive a report from the burn surgeons. To my utter amazement it includes details of the use of high dose intravenous Vitamin C infusions the day off and the days that followed his arrival.

High Dose Vitamin C? In my 17 years of practicing traditional Western Medicine, I thought I would never see the day when a “vitamin” was a mainstay of care in a critically injured patient. Research has proven the utility of this vitamin in reducing capillary leakage and reducing fluid loss, enhancing healing and reduction in scar formation. While trained as an allopath my interests have in the past decade and a half been leaned towards the alternative. My approach in my private practice is integrative. By integrative I refer to my allopathic trained as a medical doctor (MD) but subscribing to selected, evidence based alternative or complementary diagnostics and therapeutics. Shying away from the temptations of polypharmacy and pill pushing for a more holistic and natural approach. With the advent in recent years of higher doses of Vitamin D3 replacement being prescribed by American physicians it was only a matter of time before other “nutritional” therapies caught on. I cheer on the embracing of these therapies.

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid or ascorbate, is a carbohydrate compound closely related to and derived from the glucose molecule. Glucose is a simple sugar that is used by most living organisms as a fuel for cellular energy. Vitamin C remains one of the most important nutrients we as humans rely on for good health whether we know it or not.

Vitamin C was first identified by a Hungarian scientist named Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, MD, PhD in 1926, while conducting research on the chemical process that causes fruits and vegetables to turn brown. He succeeded in isolating a white crystalline substance from the adrenal gland of cows, which he referred to as Cx11. He later isolated these same crystals from the juice of potatoes and cabbages renaming it hexuronic acid. Finally, in 1932 after producing the first pure crystals of vitamin C, Dr. Gyorgyi bestowed the name ascorbic acid to the substance in recognition of its role in preventing scurvy. The Latin word, ascorbic means "without scurvy". Scurvy, a rather horrible disease, results in defective collagen synthesis leading to defective dentine formation, hemorrhaging into the gums, and loss of teeth. Hemorrhaging is a hallmark feature of scurvy and can occur in any organ not just the gums. Hair follicles are one of the common sites of cutaneous bleeding. Bony changes are usually observed in the very young. Scurvy was first described by the Egyptians as early as 1500 BC, and struck the crew of Magellan's around-the-world journey in 1519-22. A British report in c.1600 indicated that in the previous 20 years some 10,000 mariners had suffered the disease. Seafarers were often susceptible due to poor dietary intake of Vitamin C on their long voyages. In 1747 as the HMS Salisbury sailed from England to the Plymouth Colony, James Lind the ship's physician performed a simple experiment to determine the cause of this disease, it was one of the first controlled scientific studies using fresh citrus fruit in some sailors and having a control population that ate citrus-free meals. The ingestion of limes and oranges saved those sailors from scurvy. Consequently, British sailors during WWII were often referred to affectionately as “limeys” for their now notably historic consumption of this fruit while at sea.

Unfortunately for humans, we do not possess the ability to manufacture their own Vitamin C. And by definition a vitamin is a substance necessary for survival that must be taken in from the outside (ingested exogenously). Plants and most animals possess an enzyme called gluconolactone oxidase (GLO) that allows them to readily convert glucose into Vitamin C. Humans have somehow lost the ability to do what virtually every other life form on earth can do with ease during our evolutionary development by losing the ability to make GLO and requiring ingestion of Vitamin C containing foods. In actually GLO is the 4th enzyme in the pathway to converting glucose to Vitamin C and the only one we humans are missing. Besides ourselves, three other species of mammals do not make this vitamin and they include the gorillas, guinea pigs and the fruit bats. Why these four mammalian species lost this ability is poorly understood.

The reasons why Vitamin C is important are many. It offers Antioxidant protection. Vitamin C protects us from the ravages of free radical damage that can destroy cell membranes, damage DNA and lead to the development of degenerative diseases, cancer and pre- mature aging. In addition to helping the body utilize folic acid, Vitamin C helps in the recycling process of other anti-oxidants such as Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, alpha Lipoic Acid and Glutathione. Antioxidants are the key to maintaining health and longevity. They are at the root of all degenerative diseases. Did you know that some animals utilize Vitamin C as a “stress hormone”? In goats for example their serum levels of Vitamin C jump exponentially when under physical stress. A goat will on an average day will produce between 5 and 15 grams of ascorbate. Interestingly, that same goat, if under stressed, will produce 5 - 10 times its baseline levels of ascorbic acid. Evolution has conditioned this animal to increase production in times of need. Some have referred to this vitamin in these animals as “the other stress hormone” after cortisol.

Vitamin C is crucial in collagen production. Vitamin C helps in the manufacture of collagen, the basic cellular "cement" that keeps muscles, tendons, bones, teeth, skin and arteries healthy and strong and aids in the repair of blood vessels and broken bones. The amino acids Lysine, Glycine, Proline when combined with Vitamin C make collagen. Zinc is an important mineral in this pathway as well. So without adequate dietary intake of Vitamin C and Zinc skin and tissue repair is hindered. Vitamin C and the mineral Zinc are the two co-factors crucial in the enzymatic production of collagen and hence the particular importance in the use of Vitamin C in full thickness burn victims of late.

News reports tout the importance of Vitamin C in cardiovascular health. Vitamin C benefits heart conditions of all kinds. It has been found to normalize blood pressure, reducing cholesterol and repairing arterial walls. In fact, there are researchers that believe cardiovascular disease is in reality the early stages of scurvy and can be prevented with a vitamin protocol centering on high doses of Vitamin C. This was the belief of two-time Nobel Prize laureate Linus Pauling. Dr. Pauling dedicated much of his life’s work to research on Vitamin C. His own personal daily intake was huge, and who am I to disagree with such a great mind. His theories continue today by other luminaries in medicine and science. Vitamin C does not allow Low Density Lipoprotein (the “bad” cholesterol) to oxidize. It is the oxidation of this "bad" cholesterol that produces plaques on our artery walls and results in coronary artery disease. Vitamin C's effects on the cardiovascular health may soon be revealed in ongoing studies to play a bigger role than some very powerful drugs the medical establishment is currently using as first line medication.

The immune system is not to be overlooked, for ascorbic acid plays a major role. Vitamin C aids white blood cells that attack and destroy everything from cancer cells, viruses, bacteria, to parasites of all kinds. It also controls the release of histamine, a sometimes undesirable side effect of our immune system at work. There are cancer treatment protocols using very high doses of IV Vitamin C. My experience has been with its use in the Myers’ Cocktail infusions.

Since we all lack the GLO enzyme we cannot provide ourselves with the antioxidant protection and other benefits that Vitamin C was designed to provide. We have no way of self-regulation. Antioxidant experts from researcher Linus Pauling to Cellular Health author Dr. Matthias Rath (who discovered the Lp(a) risk factor for heart disease) recommend a rather high oral dosage each day to fully support and aid the immune system and optimize health. Such high doses should first be discussed with a knowledgeable nutritionally minded physician. Doses that exceed oral intake tolerability can be administered intravenously on a set schedule depending on the body’s needs.

By using the bowel tolerance test (or Ascorbic Acid Flush test) everyone can determine his or her own necessary level of Vitamin C and tolerability. This amount is different for each individual and may change depending on the health and stress of that person. If you are stressed by some sort of acute illness such as a cold, conducting the same test rapidly can be achieved by increasing the dose of Vitamin C. Under stress the bowels will tolerate greater doses of the vitamin. I routinely order and advise patients on optimal doses using the Ascorbic Acid flush test. Those patient with Iron metabolism problems such as Hemochromatosis or a blood disorder called Thalassemia need to exert caution for Vitamin C greatly increases iron absorption and this can be harmful in these individuals.

Conversely high doses of Vitamin C can hinder the absorption of Ginseng if taken together. High dose Vitamin C increases serum levels in the concomitant use of the drug Acetaminophen (Tylenol). High levels of Tylenol especially in an individual with liver disease can be harmful. There are reports that high dose Vitamin C inhibits effect of statin (HMG-CoA reductase) drugs such as Zocor, Mevacor and Lipitor. These lipid lowering drugs are used quite commonly in our society. High dose Vitamin C may also reduce the blood thinning effects of warfarin (Coumadin) and that is important for those people taking that medication to be aware.

Before embarking on high dose Vitamin C usage, it is important to determine your personal needs and the correct preparations, dosing schedule and adjunct supplements that need to be taken. Therefore consultation with a nutritionally minded physician is recommended and imperative. Oh, and in closing, Jimmy is doing just fine these days with the most minimal of scars following his accident.

-JP Saleeby, MD is an Emergency Room physician and Integrative Practitioner; he is a medical writer and blogger. Dr. Saleeby has recently relocated to the Myrtle Beach area to open a dedicated Natural Medical practice with other complementary medicine healers.

**To be published in an upcoming edition of Myrtle Beach Quarterly

Vitamin C reduces the risk of heart attack in patients with elevated CRP.

Vitamin C reduces the risk of heart attack in patients with elevated CRP.

Block G, Jensen CD, et al: Vitamin C treatment reduces elevated C-reactive
protein. Free Radical Biol Med: 2009 Jan 1;46(1):70-7.
University of California, Berkeley, 94720, USA.

Abstract from the NIH:

Plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory biomarker that predicts
cardiovascular disease. Lowering elevated CRP with statins has reduced the
incidence of cardiovascular disease.

We investigated whether vitamin C or E could reduce CRP. Healthy nonsmokers
(N=396) were randomized to three groups, 1000 mg/day vitamin C, 800 IU/day
vitamin E, or placebo, for 2 months. Median baseline CRP was low, 0.85 mg/L. No
treatment effect was seen when all participants were included. However, a
significant interaction was found, indicating that treatment effect depends on
baseline CRP concentration. Among participants with CRP indicative of elevated
cardiovascular risk (> or =1.0 mg/L), vitamin C reduced the median CRP by 25.3%
vs placebo (p=0.02) (median reduction in the vitamin C group, 0.25 mg/L, 16.7%).
These effects are similar to those of statins. The vitamin E effect was not
significant. In summary, treatment with vitamin C but not vitamin E
significantly reduced CRP among individuals with CRP > or =1.0 mg/L. Among the
obese, 75% had CRP > or =1.0 mg/L. Research is needed to determine whether
reducing this inflammatory biomarker with vitamin C could reduce diseases
associated with obesity. But research on clinical benefits of antioxidants
should limit participants to persons with elevations in the target biomarkers.

Evidenced Based Medicine's Pitfall

Failure. The word failure is my son's new child-acceptable expletive, taking presidency over the word "snap" used extensively last year. My 10-year old son uses this word repeatedly throughout the day when things just don't come out as expected or there is a serious breakdown or injury on America's Funniest Home Video show. Anyway, I can't think of a more appropriate word than "failure" when it comes to a study published in the Cochrane Reviews on June 16, 2010.

Cabello JB, Burls A, Emparanza JI, Bayliss S, Quinn T. Oxygen therapy for acute myocardial infarction. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010, Issue 6. Art. No.: CD007160. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007160.pub2 is a trial which studied O2 therapy in AMI patients and had a unusual conclusion: There is no conclusive evidence from randomised controlled trials to support the routine use of inhaled oxygen in patients with acute AMI. A definitive randomised controlled trial is urgently required given the mismatch between trial evidence suggestive of possible harm from routine oxygen use and recommendations for its use in clinical practice guidelines.

WHAT? FAILURE? This is so counter intuitive, I mean in my 17-year EM career O2 therapy is the mainstay and initial therapeutic used for our "chest pain" complaint patients and for years and hundreds of examples, I was witness to its ameliorating effects. Now some online journal is telling me otherwise? What gives? Well the authors are quick to point out that a large trial(s) needs to be performed to further evaluate this report. In this small study (n=387) 14 patients died and three times the number of fatalities occurred in those receiving oxygen therapy. There are probably a number of confounding factors that resulted in the outcome as it is. Here is one shining example of recent reports of how "evidence based medicine" (EBM) practice is flawed. Caveat Emptor! Anyone who buys into the 100% undeniable and infallibility of EBM needs to beware.


source: http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab007160.html

Health Benefits of Sesame Seed Oil

Sesame Seed Oil

By JP Saleeby, MD

The cultivation of sesame (Sesamum indicum) seed and the oil derived go back hundreds of years. Sesame seed oil was one of the first oils ever pressed from seeds and it has been traced back to the Assyrians prior to 600 BC. The Assyrians as well as the Hindus that followed used the oil as a food source, a medicinal salve and as an oil to burn in their votive lamps. The oil itself has many uses, in antiquity as well in present day. It is used in industry as a solvent in injectable drugs and IV solutions. It is used in cosmetics and as a natural insecticide against weevil attacks of some grains. Lower grades of the oil are used in paints, lubricants and soaps. Higher grades of sesame oil are used as a culinary oil for cooking and seasoning. And of course sesame seed oil is used in alternative medicine applications, especially in Ayurvedic medicine.

Sesame oil is a good source of vitamin E as well as vitamin B6. Copper and magnesium are also present as is iron, zinc and calcium. Unlike most other oils, sesame (and olive oil) is temperature stable and does not smoke when used to cook in high heat. Additionally, it keeps well at room temperature for months to years without going rancid, as a polyunsaturated (omega-6 fatty acid high content) oil, much like olive oil (but olive is a monounsaturated oil predominantly omega-9). The stability of sesame oil is in part due to its content of sesamol, sesamiline (a glycoside) and sesamine (a complex cyclic ester) which are naturally occurring antioxidant and preservatives.

There is an old Ayurvedic medical practice called oil pulling in which oil is swished in the mouth for 10 minutes or more and said to pull toxins out of your system. Sesame oil is one of only two oils recommended for this therapy. It is also used as a mouthwash to kill harmful oral bacteria and frequently used by massage therapist as a preferred oil in therapeutic massage for its healing properties.

The topical and oral administration of sesame oil is said to treat many disorders such as poor circulation, GI problems, fatigue, inflammation, pain and as an antimicrobial. Due to the presence of lignans it has phytoestrogen properties as well that are helpful in premenopausal women. In modern studies it has shown anti-bacterial effects and in two rather recent studies has anti cancer effects. Maybe that is the reason it has been referred to as the Queen of Oils. Rather inexpensive and full of uses, daily oral ingestion and topical use can enhance wellbeing. I prefer mine in Oriental cuisine and as a base in home made humus (Tahini is a sesame paste heavy with oil and a main ingredient in this tasty dip). But don't go away thinking that you get enough on a sesame seed bun at McDonalds.

© 2010

References:

http://www.cidpusa.org/sesame_seed_oil.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_oil

Selective growth inhibition of human malignant melanoma cell line by Sesame Oil in Vitro: Malignant melanoma cells would not replicate in sesame oil: Prostaglandins, Leukatrines and Essential Fatty Acids; vol 46: 145, (1992)

Oleic acid found to reduce serum cholesterol levels: Effects of increasing dietary palmitoleic acid compared with palmitic and oleic acids on plasma lipids of hypercholesterolemic men: Journal of Lipid Research; vol 35: 656 (1994)

Sesame Oil significantly more effective in relief of dry nasal membranes than isotonic sodium chloride: Archives of Otolaryngology; vol 127: 1353, (Nov. 2001)

The effect of sesame oil mouth-rinse on the number of oral bacteria colony types; Maharishi Int’l University of Management, Fairfield Iowa, 1992

Oil in the Gulf, Methyl-murcury in Japan: Lessons to be learned

As our attention focuses with the intense media coverage of the BP crude oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico we need not forget some other industrial disasters. With a recent legal settlement that spans a half-century there comes some compensation to survivors of methyl mercury poisoning in Minamata Japan first discovered in the 1950's.

-----------------

Agreement reached to settle Minamata suit

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2010/03/31

KUMAMOTO--A group of 2,123 uncertified victims of Minamata mercury poisoning agreed Monday with three defendants--the state, the Kumamoto prefectural government and Chisso Corp., the company that discharged mercury into the sea--to accept a Kumamoto District Court proposal to settle their damages suit.

The deal offers a lump-sum payment of 2.1 million yen ($22,700) and monthly medical allowances to each plaintiff, along with an additional fund of 2.95 billion yen for the group.

A formal settlement is expected by the end of the year, after a third-party panel determines whether each plaintiff should be covered by the settlement. Should some not be covered, the group will compensate them from its fund.

A relief law enacted last year means that the government will provide similar levels of relief to other patients, totalling nearly 40,000, who are not officially recognized and not part of the suit.

Symptoms of Minamata Disease [methyl-mercury poisoning] include numbness in the limbs, cramps, and problems with speaking, vision and hearing. The disease can also affect fetuses in the womb.

Ref: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201003300438.html


this photograph succinctly illustrates the effect of Minamata disease on the human body
this historic photograph is of Tomoko Uemura's crippled hand, a victim of mercury poisoning in Japan (d. 1977) Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease#cite_note-3
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The pathology of methylmercury poisoning (Minamata disease)
Journal of Neuropathology, 06/15/10

Eto K et al. – This report provides a brief research history and overview of the pathological changes of MD, and also presents representative cases of adult, infantile and fetal forms of MD among the 450 MD–related autopsy cases in Kumamoto Prefecture.

The pathology of methylmercury poisoning (Minamata disease)

The 50th Anniversary of Japanese Society of Neuropathology

Komyo Eto, ¹ Masumi Marumoto ² and Motohiro Takeya ³

¹ Health and Nursing Facilities for the Aged, Jushindai, Shinwakai, ² Pathology Section, Department of Basic Medicine, National Institute for Minamata Disease, and ³ Department of Cell Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan

Correspondence to Komyo Eto, Director, Health and Nursing Facilities for the Aged, Jushindai, Shinwakai, 272 Ikura Kitakata, Tamana City, Kumamoto 865-0041, Japan. Email: shinwa@drive.ocn.ne.jp

ABSTRACT

Methylmercury (Me-Hg) poisoning (Minamata disease: MD) is one of the most severe types of disease caused by humans to humans in Japan. The disease is a special class of food-borne methylmercury intoxication in humans as typified by the outbreak that began in 1953 in Minamata and its vicinity in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. There are 450 autopsy cases in Kumamoto and 30 autopsy cases in Niigata Prefecture related to MD in Japan. Two hundred and one cases in Kumamoto and 22 cases in Niigata showed pathological changes of MD. This report provides a brief research history and overview of the pathological changes of MD, and also presents representative cases of adult, infantile and fetal forms of MD among the 450 MD-related autopsy cases in Kumamoto Prefecture.

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Received 18 February 2010 and accepted 8 March 2010.

Treasure every moment on planet Earth

To realize the value of a sister/brother, ask someone who doesn’t have one.
To realize the value of ten years, ask a newly divorced couple.
To realize the value of four years, ask a graduate.
To realize the value of one year, ask a student who has failed a final exam.
To realize the value of nine months, ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.
To realize the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of one week, ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of one minute, ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.
To realize the value of one-second, ask a person who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have.

Dr. Saleeby to talk about bioidentical thyroid HRT

Dr. Saleeby is to talk and present a PowerPoint presentation in August 2010 at Pure Compounding Pharmacy in Myrtle Beach. For more details and to reserve a spot for this free lecture please visit: http://pure-compounding.com/contactus.aspx

Dr. Saleeby will discuss natural versus synthetic hormone replacement, choices you have with T4 alone and in combination with T3 (both synthetic and natural), sustained release preparations, Armour thyroid and others.

A brief lay-persons review of thyroid hormones, the hypothylamic-thyroid axis and the pharmacology and pathophysiology of hypothyroidism will also be discussed.

In the News

Week's Best Articles: Integrative Medicine

May 26, 2010 - June 2, 2010 This week's most-read articles by US physician subscribers

Hidden hazards in fruits and veggies

Washington Post (AP) 06/01/2010

10 minutes of exercise, hour-long effects

The Seattle Times 06/01/2010

Anti-aging supplements may be best taken not too late in life

EurekAlert 05/25/2010

Memantine for the Treatment of Migraine

U.S. Pharmacist 05/25/2010

The "broken heart sydrome": you’re likely to have it only once!

Singapore Medical Journal 05/28/2010 Influence of Ghrelin and Growth Hormone Deficiency on AMP-Activated Protein Kinase and Hypothalamic Lipid Metabolism Journal of Neuroendocrinology 05/28/2010 Resveratrol regulates human adipocyte number and function in a Sirt1-dependent manner American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 05/27/2010 Cellular Aging Reflected by Leukocyte Telomere Length Predicts Advanced Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 05/28/2010

Joint Integrative Medicine Practice coming to Conway, SC

Joint Practice coming soon to Conway, SC

Dr. Melody Iles PhD, ND is a naturopathic doctor offering natural health consultations and has been in practice for some time in downtown Conway. She will be joined by JP Saleeby, MD (integrative and general medicine) in July at a new location in Conway.

Link to Dr. Iles' web site: www.natural-health.cc

Link to Dr. Saleeby's web site: www.saleeby.net

New practice web site: www.SCWellness.net

Dr. Saleeby to join practice officially August 1st, 2010. New patients are encouraged to make appointments soon.

Colognes & Perfumes can affect Sex Hormones

"Secret" Ingredients Damage Sperm

By Denny Watkins

The "secret" ingredients that give colognes their particular scents could also be damaging sperm, according to a study by the nonprofit consumer advocate Environmental Working Group.

Researchers analyzed the chemical composition of 17 perfumes and colognes and discovered that many scented products contain compounds that have the potential to interact with hormones. One chemical, a solvent called diethyl pthalate, was found in 12 products and was linked to sperm damage in a 2006 Harvard study. Sperm damage can lower fertility.

What's more, DEP is just one of 12 different hormone-disrupting compounds found in the colognes. Georgio Armani's Acqua di Gio, for example, contains seven compounds that interact with either estrogen or androgen (female and male hormones) or both, according to the study.

"We don't know how harmful repeated use of these colognes and perfumes are, because the emphasis in the industry is not on long-term testing," says study author Dr. Olga V. Naidenko.

"While infrequent use could be fine, because the same chemicals show up in many different products, over time they can build up in your body and have bad effects," she says.

The EWG's study aimed to determine how many chemicals are used in colognes that are not listed on the label. Fragrance manufacturers can skirt some rules about listing the contents of their products because the formulas for a particular scent are trademarked and considered proprietary knowledge.

The colognes and perfumes tested were a random sampling of products the average consumer might find at a department or drugstore.

A fragrance by American Eagle Outfitters called AE77 had the most undisclosed ingredients with 24 chemicals, followed by Chanel Coco with 18 unlisted ingredients. Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue had the fewest unlisted ingredients, containing just seven.

While DEP is used as a solvent in the fragrances, other unlisted ingredients seem to help create the cologne's particular scent -- but that doesn't mean they're harmless. The study describes two synthetic musks, galaxolide and tonalide, as interfering with estrogen and androgen. Galaxolide has also been found in the umbilical cords of newborn babies, proving that newborns are exposed to the chemicals in the womb.

EWG is pushing for greater regulation of scented products.

"First, we'd like to see every ingredient listed on the label, because people should know what's going on or in their bodies," Naidenko says. "The next step is to make sure the ingredients used have been thoroughly tested to determine their safety."

The EWG maintains a database of cosmetics and personal care products with hazard ratings.

[editors note: For years I have been warning about environmental compounds affecting sex hormones and sex hormone receptors (environmental estrogen modifiers for example) and I shy away from house air fresheners (Glade, Febreze), fragrances and other non-therapeutic chemicals when at all possible. Stick with natural extracts when you can (sandalwood, lavender). For my bHRT patients, this article rings true, that often the good we do in medicine is thwarted by inadvertent actions at attempts at hygiene and glamour.]

Source: http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/mens-sexual-health/cologne-chemicals-damage-sperm