Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients articles from December 2004

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients archives from December 2004

Letter from the publisher.
December 1, 2004... Patients frequently ask me whether alternative medicine is being more widely accepted. Just looking at the magazine articles, new books, lectures, TV and radio shows, web sites, and food supplement purchases, one would think that alternative...

Mental Health Center awarded Ittleson Foundation grant.
December 1, 2004... The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester (New Hampshire, USA) was recently awarded a $40,000 Ittleson Foundation grant designated to support the agency's efforts to integrate naturopathic medicine among the array of treatments available...

Shaken baby conviction dropped.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A judge has ordered a new trial for a father convicted five years ago of shaking his 10-week-old son to death, citing problems with the autopsy. Minutes after the judge ordered the new trial, Alan Yurko pleaded no contest to manslaughter....

Metagenics enrolls almost 1,000 patients in US & Canada health challenge promotion.
December 1, 2004... As part of its ongoing mission to help improve health through nutrition, Metagenics, Inc. recently announced the winners of its second annual UltraMeal Challenge--a health challenge to promote healthy body composition (a healthy lean mass to...

ConsumerLab finds not all vitamin E products meet claims.
December 1, 2004... ConsumerLab.com announced recently that five vitamin E products failed to pass recent testing for having either too little vitamin E and/or for containing synthetic vitamin E when claiming to be natural. Vitamin E supplements accounted for $706...

Domestic violence prevention programs in health care settings are cost effective.
December 1, 2004... Programs that address domestic violence in health care settings can save victims' lives, improve health outcomes and prevent incidents of domestic violence from escalating. They also can save health care organizations money. These are among the...

Depleted uranium & congenital abnormalities.(Shorts)
December 1, 2004... Coalition bombs and shells containing depleted uranium (DU) have exposed the soil, water, and inhabitants of Iraq to "abnormally high levels of the artificial transuranic isotope 236U," according to field research performed by the Uranium...

Designer children.(Shorts)
December 1, 2004... In an essay for The Atlantic Monthly, Michael J. Sandel, who teaches political philosophy at Harvard University, raises moral questions about the use of medical and genetic enhancement to create exceptional children. He points out that some...

Erectile dysfunction.(Shorts)
December 1, 2004... Between 31 to 52% of American men experience erectile dysfunction (ED) ("the inability to achieve or maintain an erection firm enough for intercourse") at sometime during their life, according to Basic Health Publications User's Guide to...

Eye health.(Shorts)
December 1, 2004... The value of nutritional supplements for maintaining eye health finally hit mainstream with the National Eye Institute-supported Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) involving 4,757 people, age 55-80. The report, which was published in...

Food pyramid.(Shorts)
December 1, 2004... Every five years the US Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services choose a panel of scientists, responsible for determining national dietary guidelines. These guidelines dictate the content of food labels, school lunch programs,...

Integrating Complementary Medicine into mainstream healthcare.(Pathways to Healing)
December 1, 2004... Nancy Faass, MSW, MPH, has a special interest in complementary therapies and integrative medicine, and has been writing about these fields for eight years. "Data on chronic illness, recently analyzed by a team at Stanford, shows that almost...

Diet and exercise improve erectile function.(Literature Review & Commentary)
December 1, 2004... One hundred-ten obese men (body mass index of 30 or greater) aged 35 to 55 years, without diabetes, hypertension, or hyperlipidemia, who had erectile dysfunction (defined as a score of 21 or less on the International Index of Erectile Function...

Testosterone increases bone density in older men.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Forty-eight men aged 65 years or older (mean age, 71 years) with a serum testosterone level below the normal range for young adult men (< 12.1 nmol/L) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, either 1) testosterone enanthate,...

Does taking vitamins give kids asthma and allergies?(Literature Review & Commentary)
December 1, 2004... The association between use of vitamin supplements during the first six months of life and risk of developing asthma or food allergies during early childhood was assessed in a prospective cohort study of more than 8,000 children. After...

Preventing deep vein thrombosis on long airplane flights.(Literature Review & Commentary)
December 1, 2004... One hundred eighty-six people considered at high risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) who were undergoing a seven- to eight-hour plane flight were randomly assigned to receive Flite Tabs (Aidan, Tempe, Arizona) or placebo at a dose of two...

DHEA treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Dehydroepiandrosterone)
December 1, 2004... Twenty patients (aged 18-45 years) with chronic active inflammatory bowel disease (7 with Crohn's disease, 13 with ulcerative colitis) who had failed to respond to various medications were treated with 200 mg/day of dehydroepiandrosterone...

Iron for restless legs syndrome.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Twenty-five patients with end-stage renal disease who had symptoms of restless legs syndrome (RLS) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, a single intravenous infusion of iron dextran (1,000 mg) or placebo. Prior to...

Thyroid hormone requirements increase during pregnancy.(Literature Review & Commentary)
December 1, 2004... Nineteen hypothyroid women were observed before and throughout their pregnancies. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were measured every two weeks during the first trimester and monthly thereafter. The dose of levothyroxine was increased...

St. John's wort effective for somatoform disorders.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... One hundred seventy-three patients with somatization disorder, undifferentiated somatoform disorder, or somatoform autonomic dysfunction, but not major depression, were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, 300 mg of St. John's...

The war on cancer.
December 1, 2004... I regularly attend the annual meetings of both the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Cancer Control Society (CCS). Both are venerable institutions--ASCO now in its 40th year, CCS in its 32nd. Both events attract numerous...

Milk consumption leads to prostate cancer.(Web Page Potpourri)
December 1, 2004... I wish more people knew that consuming cow's milk products often results in prostate and other cancers. Yes, many who have had a "Milk is good for you" upbringing will be inclined to argue that point, but I'll make my case here, based primarily...

Correction notice.(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2004... In the October issue my column was given an incorrect heading. It should have read "Web Page Potpourri: Health Issues and the Election".

The impact of medical censorship on patient care: Part 4.(Townsend's New York Observer)
December 1, 2004... Abolish the American Cancer Society and distribute its shameful and colossal bank accounts to cancer patients. Nobody can point to a single major research development from the billions that have been given the society. That institution is...

Thyroid gland and the environment.(Health Risks and Environmental Issues)
December 1, 2004... Well-recognized thyroid expert, Broda Barnes, MD, estimated approximately 40% of the American adult population suffers from undiagnosed hypothyroidism. Subnormal thyroid function appears to be a risk factor for cancer. Iodine is a major...

Homeopathic treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy and prostatitis: Prescribing on the Sensation of the Chief Complaint.(Healing with Homeopathy)
December 1, 2004... The Patient Lon was a 35 year-old mortgage broker from Portland, Oregon, who came to our office in late 2000 with chief complaints of vertigo and benign prostatic hypertrophy and prostatitis. Attired in a black leather jacket and pants...

Tribulus for sexual dysfunction in men and women.(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)
December 1, 2004... Introduction Tribulus terrestris (puncture vine) is a prostrate, spreading herb particularly adapted to dry regions which produces a fruit with sharp, rigid spines (hence the common name). It is regarded as a problematic weed in some parts...

Peyronie's disease, varicocele & male sterility, and increasing sperm motility with Chinese medicine.(Chinese Medicine Update)
December 1, 2004... Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, Peyronie's disease, varicocele, male sterility, sperm motility ********** Peyronie's disease Peyronie's disease refers to fibrosis of the cavernous sheath of the penis leading...

Andropause: physiology and treatment.(Naturopathic Perspectives)
December 1, 2004... First described in the 1940's, andropause was the subject of an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (1) Not a new medical phenomenon, andropause (formerly known as male climacteric) has only recently garnered increased...

Natural therapies for the prostate gland: a scientific review of nutrient and herbal combinations that promote prostate health.(Therapeutic Nutrition)
December 1, 2004... The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that sits at the base of the male bladder, surrounding the prostatic urethra. As part of the reproductive system, this gland secretes seminal fluid, energizes sperm and provides for it a favorable alkaline...

Adrenal-thyroid-immune dysfunction as a cause of reproductive failure in pets: does a veterinary syndrome offer testing and treatment insights for infertility and miscarriages in humans?
December 1, 2004... As a clinical veterinarian, I repeatedly resolve infertility and miscarriages in dogs and cats by correcting a common but overlooked syndrome of hormonalimmune dysfunction originating with defective or deficient production of cortisol. The key...

Are buckwheat greens toxic?
December 1, 2004... The surprising answer is a clear and unequivocal YES. Due to the growing popularity of sprouts in general, and a widespread ignorance as to the toxic dangers posed by buckwheat greens specifically, many people are today suffering unnecessarily....

A novel combination of plant extracts with promising anti-prostate cancer activity.
December 1, 2004... Introduction Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. The causes of this disease are not well understood, but prostate cancer is clearly associated with age, making it seem like an almost inevitable affliction for older men. (1)...

Is your patient exercising too hard to be healthy?
December 1, 2004... Abstract Context: Aerobic exercise is a documented and well-accepted measured to decrease incidence of degenerative disease, increase quality of life, and extend lifespan. However, exercising above anaerobic threshold is known to increase...

Patients can change lifestyle.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Editor: I found the interview with Jonathan Bernstein, MD in BookCorners (Aug/Sept 2004) to be very objectionable because he basically says that patients are unable to change their lifestyle. Therefore he proposes putting them all on 4...

Chelate lead instead of drug therapy for hypertension.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Editor: As usual, I very much enjoy and appreciate the Townsend Letter. In the August/September 2004 issue you had interesting disclaimers about exploring alternatives in the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease and angina....

Colonic treatment.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Editor: I was overjoyed to read Dr. Thomas Dorman's article entitled "Colonics" in your July issue. It is a healing modality that is becoming very popular for good reason: the bowel is the main organ of elimination and the first line of...

Benfotiamine and allithiamine should be differentiated.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Editor: I read the response of Dr. Nibber to my original letter (Townsend Letter August/September 2004) with interest. Both my letter and the response raise some important issues that go beyond the mere fact of whether blood concentrations...

Amino acids are key for anxiety disorders.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Editor: I read the October issue of Townsend Letter with great interest, especially the information regarding supplements used for anxiety disorders. I was amazed that no one went into detail on all of the research over the past 20 years...

To operate or not: alternatives to surgery for hip fractures--a well-kept secret.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Editor: If a non-surgical solution to an impacted femur neck hip fracture exists, why is it that no one seems to know about it? Why are patients--particularly in today's cost-contained healthcare environment--rushed to surgery instead of...

Expensive healthcare that doesn't work.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Editor: I read with dismay the review (Oct. 2004 TLfDP) of "Health Care Meltdown: Confronting the Myths and Fixing our Failing System," by Robert LeBow MD. The reviewer, Pat Johnson, made a number of assertions that I found entirely wrong....

Preventing prostate cancer.(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting men in Western Societies. Nearly 200,000 men in the United States are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, of whom nearly 40,000 die from the disease. While the cause of prostate...

Turning the tide against the prosecution of innovative medicine.(Guest Editorial)
December 1, 2004... How many more doctors and alternative practitioners will be dragged before their medical boards and disciplined before we take action and form a coalition to end this persecution of advanced medicine forever? Every year a new study comes out,...

Re-examining Circumcision.(BookCorners)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Doctors Re-examine Circumcision by Thomas J. Ritter, MD and George C. Denniston, MD NOCIRC-PA, PO Box 103, Mountville, Pennsylvania 17554 USA; 717-285-2839 Softbound, ISBN 0-9711878-0-0, c. 2002, $11.95 Although circumcision...

Hope and healing.(BookCorners)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Coyote Healing: Miracles in Native Medicine by Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, PhD; Foreword by Larry Dossey, MD Bear & Company, One Park St., Rochester, Vermont 05767 USA www.InnerTraditions.com Softcover, 2003, $16.00, 233 pp. ...

Introduction to oxygen therapies.(BookCorners)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Oxygen to the Rescue by Pavel I. Yutsis, MD Basic Health Publications, 8200 Boulevard East, 25G, North Bergen, New Jersey 07047 USA; 201-868-8336 Softbound, ISBN 1-59120-007-5, c. 2003, 167 pp., $14.95 In Russia, where Pavel...

Holistic approach to Syndrome X.(BookCorners)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Nutritional Factors for Syndrome X by Stephen Holt, MD, Jonathan V. Wright, MD, T.V. Taylor, MD and Fraser G.S. Holt Wellness Publishing, 105 Lock Street, Suite 405, Enterprise Development Center, NJIT, Newark, New Jersey 07103 USA ...

Lyme Disease Update: science policy & law.(Book Notice)
December 1, 2004... The peer reviewed science behind chronic Lyme disease in a concise format, along with the steps that have been taken by activists and governments across the country who are fighting the war against the most prevalent vector-borne disease in...

Infections--Part 2: prostatitis, UTIs and sinusitis.(Highly Effective Treatments for Pain and Fatigue)
December 1, 2004... Chronic Bladder Infections Although we will be discussing some unusual infections in upcoming columns, CFIDS/FMS patients also get more of the day-to-day variety of infections. These include urinary tract (bladder) infections (UTIs),...

Land of the lost colons.(Colonic Chronicles Presents ...)
December 1, 2004... Psychological Testing for Constipation? A woman in her late 30s was sitting before me. It was her first appointment and during the session I asked her some of the usual queries to help my evaluation. "Why would you consider coming in for...

Evolutionary and cultural factors in men's health.(Medical Anthropology)(Column)
December 1, 2004... This month, I am writing from Paris as part of a meeting on medical communications in Geneva. In traveling, I have given some thought to different cultural and environmental variables that affect men's health globally. Numerous French...

Treating impotence with acupuncture.(Acupuncture and Moxibustion)
December 1, 2004... Keywords: Chinese medicine, acupuncture-moxibustion, sexual dysfunction, impotence ********** In issue #9, 2003 of Gan Su Zhong Yi (Gansu Chinese Medicine), Qiu Lian-li of the Gansu Provincial Chinese Medical School in Lanzhou...

Prostate cancer and screening.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)
December 1, 2004... Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology describes the unity of mental, neurological, hormonal and immunological functions, addressing the impact of cognitive images of the mind (whatever its elusive definition) on the central nervous, endocrine and...

Supplement reliability.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Samples of supplements purchased at pharmacies and specialty stores were sent for independent chemical analysis. Vitamin E (7 samples) and selenium (5) were within a range of -41% to +57% and -19% to +23% of the stated dosage, respectively....

Stress and physiological and psychological disorders.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)
December 1, 2004... Deviations from emotional and physiological homeostasis in humans occur under episodic, chronic, or traumatic stress experiences and these dysregulations can provoke emotional and physical disturbances that result in tension-related psychiatric...

Impotence and hypnosis.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Of 79 men in whom clinical and laboratory examinations revealed no organic cause for their impotence; 20 men received testosterone, 21 received trazodone, 20 underwent hypnosis and 18 served as placebo controls. They were assessed by interview...

Factors in impotence.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Massachusetts Male Aging Study found a 52% incidence of mild, moderate and complete impotence in 1,290 men age 40-70. At age 70, only 30% of men were not impotent. Age was the strongest associated factor with impotence (p<.0001). Compared...

Impotence and depression.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)
December 1, 2004... In another study from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study (age 40-70, 71% high school graduates, 78% employed, 75% married) of 1,709 men were studied from 1986 to 1989. The incidence of impotence (erectile dysfunction) was 25% for the 40-44 age...

Sexual behavior.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)
December 1, 2004... The effects of nine months of aerobic exercise on aerobic work capacity (physical fitness), coronary artery disease risk factors, and sexuality were studied in 78 sedentary but healthy men, mean age 48. The men exercised in supervised groups 60...

Dysthymia and testosterone.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)
December 1, 2004... A decline in hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis function is often seen in elderly men, and dysthymic disorder is common. Symptoms of both HPG axis hypofunction and dysthymic disorder include dysphoria, fatigue, and low libido. Total...

Calendar.(Calendar)
December 1, 2004... NOVEMBER 29-DECEMBER 4: APPLYING FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE IN CLINICAL PRACTICE @ Hyatt Regency Tampa in Tampa, Florida. Spend a week with Jeffrey Bland, PhD, and other leading experts on functional medicine, the science-based healthcare approach...

Four major health problems in women.(Women's Health Update)
December 1, 2004... Depression in Women Unipolar major depression is the most common psychiatric condition seen by primary care physicians, and most epidemiologic studies have shown that it is more prevalent in women than in men. Depressive disorders affect...

Nutritional influences on benign prostatic hyperplasia.(Nutritional Influences on Illness)
December 1, 2004... Amino Acids Double-blind studies have found the combination of L-glutamic acid 530 mg, L-alanine 200 mg and glycine 90 mg, taken 3 times daily, to have some therapeutic efficacy. Subjective improvement, reduction in residual urine and...