Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients articles from April 2003

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients archives from April 2003

Letter from the publisher.
April 1, 2003... On a cold and damp March day 20 years ago we launched a teeny newsletter which we audaciously named the Townsend Letter for Doctors. (The title change to Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients would not come until 1995). It was a bold...

CHI Institute presents conclusive studies proving healing effect of sound.
April 1, 2003... Recent studies are revealing how purring may be the secret to cats' nine lives. CHI Institute is the first to release studies that conclusively corroborate the healing results from infrasonic sound waves on humans and other animals. Recent...

Fast-melting CoQ10 tablet technology is subject of clinical trial.
April 1, 2003... Douglas Laboratories' fast-melting tablet technology for CoQ10 is highlighted in a clinical trial published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The trial consisted of a randomized, single-dose study of...

FDA implements Pearson decision; expands to foods.
April 1, 2003... On December 18, 2002, FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan announced a major initiative to make available more information concerning the effects of dietary supplements and foods on the prevention of disease. The decision is an abrupt departure from...

Biodynamics. (Shorts).(organic agricutulture)
April 1, 2003... Organic agriculture is known for its avoidance of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, but biodynamic agriculture and its certification system is even more stringent. Biodynamics grew out of a series of lectures by Austrian scientist and...

Gaia Herbs. (Shorts).(research og Gaia Herbs)
April 1, 2003... In August 2002, Gaia Herbs announced that it had completed Phase I of its multi-year Echinacen research study, funded by a National Institutes of Health grant. The study, under the direction of Dr. Xiping Wang, aims to develop horticulture,...

Meat inspections. (Shorts).
April 1, 2003... Microbiologist Garry McKee, PhD, who heads the US Food Safety and Inspection Service, is pushing slaughterhouses and meat-processing facilities to clean up their act. The 1993 E. coli outbreak at n Jack-in-the-Box shifted the agency's attention...

Nurse shortage. (Shorts).
April 1, 2003... US medical facilities have been experiencing a nurse shortage since the mid-1990s. The shortage is expected to become increasingly severe as aging baby boomers require more care. The American Hospital Association estimates that the national...

Nursing homes. (Shorts).
April 1, 2003... US consumers now have another tool for selecting a nursing home. In November 2002, the US government made information on the quality of care at the country's 17,000 nursing homes available to consumers. The information covers 10 quality...

Raw food diet for pets. (Shorts).
April 1, 2003... Some pet owners who sought an alternative to processed commercial pet foods have turned to the bone and raw food (BARF) diet, Numerous websites have testimonials from breeders and pet owners who have seen definite improvements in their animals'...

Scrapie transmission via vaccine. (Shorts).
April 1, 2003... At the 1946 National Veterinary Medical Association of Great Britain and Ireland Annual Congress, W. S. Gordon, PhD, presented evidence of scrapie transmission by way of a vaccine for louping-ill. Louping-ill is a viral disease spread by the...

Animal vaccinations & titer testing. (Shorts).
April 1, 2003... Taking pets to the vet for yearly vaccination boosters is considered by many to be the hallmark of responsible pet care. Over the past decade, however, some researchers as well as pet owners have begun to question whether yearly boosters are...

Gao Lian's spring-time prevention of liver disease. (Chinese Medicine Update).
April 1, 2003... Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, Daoist medicine, Gao Lian liver disease. preventive treatment In the first chapter of the Nei Jing Su Wen (Inner Classic, Simple Questions), it says that the superior doctor prevents...

Addressing human exposure to environmental toxins with Chlorella pyrenoidosa. (Medicinal Properties in Whole Foods).
April 1, 2003... Environmental factors are now generally believed to be involved in the causation of nearly all cancers. Further, the World Health Organization has estimated that environmental factors constitute 25-33% of global disease burden. Accordingly,...

Simplifying nutritional support in CFS/Fibromyalgia. (Highly Effective Treatments for Pain and Fatigue).
April 1, 2003... In last month's issue we talked about the causes of widespread nutritional deficiencies in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia CFS/FMS). These included poor quality diet and digestion (which can be helped dramatically with plant-based...

Safe flea control & organic labeling. (Health Risks and Environmental Issues).
April 1, 2003... Hippocrates may not have had the family pet in mind when he uttered, "Thy food shall be thy remedy," but his words apply to our furry friends just the same. Veterinarian, Dr. Robert Goldstein echoes this exact sentiment when he says, "Show me a...

Essential fatty acids for ADHD. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Forty-one children (aged 8-12 years) with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and specific learning difficulties (mainly dyslexia) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, an unsaturated fatty acid supplement or...

Making fat kids thin. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... One hundred seven obese children were prescribed one of two diets for approximately four months. The reduced-fat, low-calorie diet emphasized limiting high-fat, high-sugar, and energy-dense foods and increasing intake of grains, vegetables and...

Red pepper for heartburn. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Thirty patients with functional dyspepsia (patients with gastroesophageal reflux and irritable bowel syndrome were excluded) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, 2.5 g/day of red pepper powder (Capsicum annum) or placebo...

Preventing complications of coronary angiography with N-acetylcysteine. (Literature Review & Commentary).
April 1, 2003... One hundred twenty-one patients with chronic renal insufficiency (mean serum creatinine, 2.8 mg/dl; mean creatinine clearance, 23.3 ml/min) who were scheduled for coronary angiography were randomly assigned to receive N-acetylcysteine (NAC; 400...

Vitamins C and E prevent life-threatening complications in critically ill surgical patients. (Literature Review & Commentary).
April 1, 2003... Five hundred ninety-five (595) patients admitted to a surgical intensive care unit (ICU), 91% of whom were victims of trauma, were randomly assigned to receive antioxidant supplementation or no antioxidants (control group) during their stay...

Unsaturated fatty acids for Huntington's disease. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Seventeen patients with Huntington's disease were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, a supplement containing unsaturated fatty acids or a placebo. The dosage of unsaturated fatty acids was eight 1-g capsules per day; each...

Taurine enhances treatment of iron-deficiency anemia. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Fifty-one female university students with iron-deficiency anemia were treated with 325 mg/day of slow-release ferrous sulfate for 20 weeks. The women were grouped into pairs according to hemoglobin concentration, and the members of each pair...

Which oils are preferable for frying? (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Sunflower oil was less resistant than virgin olive oil to the oxidative changes induced by frying. Feeding fried sunflower oil to rats resulted in a significantly greater degree of lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes than did feeding fried...

Spring cleaning? What about intestinal parasites? (Phytotherapy Review & Commentary).
April 1, 2003... Spring is traditionally a time for cleaning. This was well-recognized by European herbalists who used a number of herbs as "spring tonics" or "spring cleansers." Many of these spring tonics provided much needed vitamins after a lengthy period...

Fall preventing effects of the Korean Martial art, TaeKwon-Do, in senior citizens.
April 1, 2003... Abstract Falls are a leading cause of death in the elderly. Associated with aging is a loss of muscular strength, flexibility and coordination. Regular exercise is widely believed to be of benefit for the elderly. To this end, various...

Chaos in the cortex: an unrecognized adrenal-immune disturbance in pets offers therapeutic insights for multiple human disorders.
April 1, 2003... Summary In thousands of cases spanning three decades, I have identified an unrecognized endocrine-immune disturbance as a major trigger of multiple disorders in dogs and cats, including allergies, epilepsy, viral diseases, inflammatory...

Breathing therapies for asthma: Buteyko and Eucapnic breathing training.
April 1, 2003... Breathing re-education and breathing-based therapies have begun to re-emerge as a means of helping asthmatics and others suffering from breathing disorders. Recent research studies on several breathing based therapies, show that asthmatics who...

Maitake.(mushroom)
April 1, 2003... Introduction One powerful ally in the battle against cancer and many other diseases is derived from the maitake (my-TAH-key) mushroom. So impressive is the science behind Maitake that one of the world's most respected cancer institutes was...

Complementary treatment of Chronic Digestive Disorders with Malabsorption Syndrome using HSOs.(homeostatic soil organisms)
April 1, 2003... Chronic Digestive Disorder with Malabsorption Syndrome is considered by some to be resistant to conventional clinical therapies. Until recently, only palliative methods had been developed, which proved toxic when administered over prolonged...

Cell extracts: a natural approach to chronic fatigue syndrome.
April 1, 2003... Introduction to CFS Despite an always increasing medical and technical knowledge, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remains an elusive pathology. Unfortunately, there is no simple test for CFS and diagnosis still relies on clinical evaluation...

Petadolex for the treatment of headache: a profile of a special butterbur extract; pharmacology, safety, and clinical aspects.
April 1, 2003... Introduction Petasites hybridus is a perennial shrub native to Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia. It is also known under its common name butterbur. The use of preparations from Petasites species in folk medicine has a long...

You can reduce stress--lose weight--detoxify--stop smoking--increase energy with living foods.
April 1, 2003... Since 1960, hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world have improved their health remarkably by following the 100% vegan wheatgrass and living foods program developed by Dr. Ann Wigmore of Boston, USA. People with health problems such...

Immune Modulation: maintain or regain good health through our own immune function.
April 1, 2003... The marvels of technology teach us more and more everyday about how the human immune system works and how important the immune system is to the integrated systems of our bodies. This look at actual patient history, the history of immunology how...

Mechanism of action of chelation. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Editor: Your latest issue and a telephone call from my colleague and friend Dr. Curt Maxwell in Mexico brought me back to finish the things I started. Dr. Maxwell has a copy of every issue of TLfDP and I have many fine memories of staying...

Healing is real in the middle of the Israeli Desert. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Editor: There is an Oasis of Peace through Healing. Two cases of extraordinary recovery will be delineated: Centered mostly in the southern part of the Israeli Desert, this community, called the Black Hebrew Israelites is located in...

Angry with sorting through the junk published in TLfDP. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Editor: In the February issue, naturopathic students Johnson and Teta selectively cite data supporting a healthful role for some sources of saturated fatty acids. While the title of their piece, "The Healthy Side of Saturated Fats" might...

Fasting as a cure for PMS and menopause symptoms. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Editor: This article is written from my clinical and personal experience with fasting that I gained while directing an wholistic 7, 10, 14 and 21-day fasting program for the past 8 years at the Samui Dharma Healing Center in Koh Samui,...

Artemisinin and oxidative therapies. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Editor: I have received many inquiries from physicians about the use of Artemisinin therapy since my article appeared in the Townsend Letter's December issue. The herb Artemisinin is not only the drug of choice for Malaria worldwide but is...

Francis M. Pottenger, MD and "The Hazards of a Health Fetish". (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Editor: The impact of quoted work is often influenced by the reputation of the person quoted. But what makes a reputation, in particular that of a person who died many years ago? Certainly in part, the accuracy and importance of the...

The Institute of Medicine review of SV40 contamination of polio vaccine and cancer. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Editor: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) just released its report on the possible relationship between SV40, known to have once contaminated the polio vaccine, and cancer. The committee got a lot right in this mostly excellent review in...

Sokoloff's approach to high triglycerides. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Editor: In about 1967, there was some comment in an AP report that had national distribution. It was putting down the idea that vitamin C would prevent a heart attack or a stroke. This news report said that this erroneous report was...

Ginkgo for prevention of high altitude illness. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Editor: It was a pleasure to read Tim Batchelder's excellent article called "High Altitude Adaptation, Coca Use and Health in the Andes" in the January 2003 edition of the Townsend Letter. Readers who are planning to travel to a high...

Intravenous magnesium for acute myocardial infarction: the controversy continues. (Editorial).(Editorial)
April 1, 2003... In the 1980s and early 1990s, at least seven small, randomized, placebocontrolled trials demonstrated that intravenous administration of magnesium within several hours of the onset of acute myocardial (AMI) infarction could significantly reduce...

Metagenics position on medical foods labeling. (Guest Editorials).
April 1, 2003... In the October 2002 issue of Alternative Medicine Review, an editorial entitled "The FDA, Medical Foods and Patents" by Mr. Al Czap, describes a portion of the law that governs the medical foods category. Mr. Czap correctly references 21 Code...

An open letter from the CAM doctors in Wisconsin. (Guest Editorials).
April 1, 2003... The purpose of this document is to inform the public, the legislature and other government officials that certain employees of the Department of Regulation and Licensing (DORL) and members of the Wisconsin State Medical Examining Board (MEB)...

A landmark book. (Bookcorners).(Fast Food Nation, the Dark Side of the All-American Meal)(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... Fast Food Nation, the Dark Side of the All-American Meal By Eric Schlosser Perennial, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 10 East 53 St., New York, New York USA Quality paperback, $13.95 USA/$21 Canada; black/white photographs, 383...

Allergy/immune dysfunction or what's in a name? (Bookcorners).(Hay Fever)(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... Hay Fever by Dr. Jonathan Brostoff and Linda Gamlin Healing Arts Press, One Park St., Rochester, Vermont 05767 USA; www.InnerTraditions.com 1993, 2002, Quality paperback, $14.95US/$23.95Canada, 355 pp Somehow, the description...

CAM guru fails the test. (Bookcorners).(Eating Well For Optimal Health)(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... www.PowerHealth.net Eating Well For Optimal Health by Andrew Weil, MD Quill Books, 2000 America's best known medical advocate of alternative medicine espouses his ideas of what healthy eating should be for all people in this...

Shapeshifting from two perspectives. (Bookcorners).(Shaman, M.D.)(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... Shaman, M.D. by Eve Bruce, MD Destiny Books, One Park St., Rochester, Vermont 05767 USA; www.InnerTraditions.com Softbound, ISBN 089281976-6, c. 2002, 185pp., $14.95 Cosmetic surgeon Eve Bruce, MD, says that when people come...

Outreach medicine. (Bookcorners).(September 11, 2005)(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... September 11, 2005 by Majid Ali, MD Aging Healthfully, Inc. 140 West End Ave. Suite 1H, New York, New York 10023 USA 800-633-6226 2002, Softcover, $17.00, 222 pp. Much has been written about the many ways that fellow...

Homeopathic pet care. (Bookcorners).(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs by Don Hamilton, DVM North Atlantic Books, P.O. Box 12327, Berkeley, California 94712 USA Softbound, ISBN 1-55643-295-X. c. 1999, 482 pp, $25 US/$38.95 CAN Don Hamilton, DVM, began using...

Dispelling myths about Homeopathic treatment. (Healing with Homeopathy).
April 1, 2003... A Mind-Boggling Kind of Medicine Homeopathy is unlike any other form of medicine. A single homeopathic medicine treats all of the symptoms of the patient, not only the chief complaint. The effect of one dose can last for months, or even...

Metaphysical fitness and Ayurvedic medicine. (Medical Anthropology).
April 1, 2003... Better understanding of alternative medicine including medicines from other cultures, involves rethinking the basis for our understanding of medicine, health and fitness in Western society and how this colors our perception of other medical...

What are herbal approaches to treating memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease? (Ask the Herbalist).
April 1, 2003... Dementia is a decline in mental functioning in which memory, thinking, judgement and the ability to concentrate are impaired. There also may be a change in personality. Dementia can develop suddenly when a severe injury, disease, or toxin...

Senior health and social engagement. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).
April 1, 2003... Early findings on various forms of social engagement and their benefits for individual health have been promising. The largest and strongest body of evidence is currently available for social contacts and relationships, whereas fewer studies...

Longevity and gardening. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).
April 1, 2003... Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease equal in importance to smoking, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Aerobic exercise is of greatest importance for CAD, with intensity >60% of maximum capacity needed to...

More gardening. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... In 863 Dutch men and women age 65-84 with established hypertension, the quartile of lowest physical activity had significantly higher blood pressures than the highest quartile after controlling for age, sex and weight. The most significant...

Cardiovascular disease/pets. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).
April 1, 2003... In 5,740 participants attending a free screening clinic at a Melbourne institute, BP, plasma cholesterol and triglyceride values were compared in 786 pet owners and 4,960 non-owners. Pet owners had significantly lower systolic blood pressures...

Hypertension/pets. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The effect of the presence of a friendly animal on children's blood pressures and heart rates while resting and their cardiovascular responses to verbalization were examined. The presence of a dog resulted in lower BP both while the children...

Myocardial infarction/pets. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... In 92 hospitalized MI patients, 78 were alive one year later. Of 39 having no pets at home, 28 were alive and 11 deceased (72% living); of 53 having pets, 50 were living and 3 deceased (94% living) (p Friedmann E et al. Animal companions and...

Myocardial infarction/pets. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).
April 1, 2003... Social support and pet ownership, a nonhuman form of companionship, have both been associated with increased coronary artery disease survival: 424 subjects were randomly selected from patients attending participating Cardiac Arrhythmia...

Physiological responses/companions and pets. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).
April 1, 2003... Autonomic responses were measured while 45 adult women performed a standard experimental stress task in the laboratory with only the experimenter present and 2 weeks later at home in the presence of a female friend, pet dog, or neither. Results...

Absenteeism/shift work. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).
April 1, 2003... Sleep quality and sleep hygiene improved significantly in police officers after changing from rotating to permanent shifts. There was also improved psychological sense of well being. Absentee rates fell from 1,400 hours/6 months on rotating...

Dying/choice. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The number of deaths recorded at Yale-New Haven hospital has remained quite steady at about 75 per month for the past four years. In January 2000 there were 123 deaths, more than 5 standard deviations above the average (p Sinard JH. Y2K...

Hysterical aphonia & electroacupuncture. (Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
April 1, 2003... Keywords: Conversion disorders, hysterical aphonia, Chinese medicine, Chinese medical psychiatry, electroacupuncture In Western psychiatry, so-called hysterical aphonia is classified as a conversion reaction. In Chinese medicine, it is one...

All physicians seeking a patient-productive challenge, here it is! (News and Views Hot off the Wire).
April 1, 2003... Often one of the more important benefits enjoyed at a medical conference has little to do with the formal program. What proves to be super-useful on Monday morning is as apt to result from a lively post-presentation debate with fellow attendees...

Build yourself as an expert and gain media exposure.
April 1, 2003... If you have written a book, published a research study or article, given a speech or presentation, developed a program, or gained specific expertise, you are considered an expert. And, as an expert, you might be the next quoted or featured...

Calendar.
April 1, 2003... MARCH 15: PERSONALIZED METABOLIC NUTRITION SEMINAR taught by Dr. Harold J. Kristal in Portland, Oregon at National College of Naturopathic Medicine. This seminar teaches health professionals the theory and practice of Metabolic Typing, a...

Clinical practice support. (Women's Health Update).
April 1, 2003... Guidelines for Osteoporosis Screening Half of all postmenopausal women will have a fracture in their lifetime, 25% will experience a vertebral deformity, and 15% will endure a hip fracture. The incidence of fractures can be decreased by...

Myopia (nearsightedness) and diet. (Nutritional Influences on Illness).
April 1, 2003... Undernutrition Several studies have investigated the relationship between body stature as an index of nutritional status and myopia. While the findings are conflicting, by far the largest study reviewed the data of over 100,000 consecutive...