Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients articles from July 2005

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients archives from July 2005

Letter from the publisher.
July 1, 2005... One month ago my medical school held a 30th year reunion which I declined to attend. I invented all the usual excuses: my son's college graduation was coming up; we had guests coming to visit, we needed to get spring cleaning done and the house...

Cancer & coping styles.(Shorts)
July 1, 2005... Urging cancer patients to have a positive mental outlook may do more harm than good. Dr. Jimmie Holland, a psychiatrist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, says that people have individual coping styles that help them get through...

Self-help booklet.(Shorts)(Cancer's Best Medicine)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Cancer's Best Medicine, a 48-page booklet by Mauris L. Emeka, explains what cancer cells need in order to thrive and, conversely, what kind of environment will inhibit their growth. A deficiency of pancreatic enzymes, specifically trypsin and...

EU Food Supplement Directive.(Shorts)
July 1, 2005... On 5 April 2005, the European Courts of Justice Advocate General issued recommendations that may prevent the current form of the European Union Food Supplements Directive from taking effect in August 2005. In response to the lawsuit brought by...

New food pyramid.(Shorts)
July 1, 2005... On April 19, 2005, the US government released a revised food pyramid on the web site www.mypyramid.gov. The new version consists of a pyramid, divided vertically by colored bands that run from the top of the triangle to its base. Each band...

The lymphatic system.(Shorts)
July 1, 2005... Although often ignored, the lymphatic system plays a crucial role in removing cellular waste and pathogens from the body. Like the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system circulates fluid. It collects interstitial fluid (extracellular fluid...

Poly-MVA.(cancer cells)
July 1, 2005... Poly-MVA is a commercially-available supplement aimed at preventing and treating cancer. It was developed by research scientist and dentist Merrill Garnett, head of Garnett McKeen Laboratories (Islip and Bohemia, New York). Dr. Garnett...

End-of-life & psychedelic research.(Shorts)
July 1, 2005... Two small studies are investigating the use of psychedelic substances in conjunction with counseling to alleviate anxiety and improve quality of life in terminal cancer patients. At present, pharmaceutical drugs are given to patients who...

Breast cancer & sugars.(Shorts)
July 1, 2005... A joint study performed by researchers from Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica and Harvard University found a correlation between high sugar intake and breast cancer. The study also looked at fat intake and found no evidence that a...

Tomato extract & prostate cancer risk.(Shorts)
July 1, 2005... A November 2003 study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, indicates that lycopene (a red-colored carotenoid) is not the only nutrient in tomatoes that lowers the risk of prostate cancer. Researchers from the University...

Step by step efforts win advances in integrated healthcare.(Pathways to Healing)
July 1, 2005... When people get together to plan advances in integrated healthcare, Sheila Quinn is likely to be there in a leadership role. A writer and organizer who strongly believes in bringing all the licensed disciplines fully into our healthcare system,...

Feverfew and cancer.(The War on Cancer)
July 1, 2005... Many readers know the feverfew plant (Tanacetum parthenium), a member of the Chrysanthemum family, sometimes called bachelor's buttons. This is a cheerful-looking perennial, with a profusion of white pompon-like blooms--like a shower of tiny...

Urea for liver cancer.(Literature Review & Commentary)
July 1, 2005... Eighteen patients with inoperable primary liver cancer and 21 with metastatic liver cancer were treated with oral urea over an 11-year period. The usual dose was 12-15 g/day in 6 divided doses per day, administered in syrup. In two patients...

Vitamin D for prostate cancer.(Literature Review & Commentary)
July 1, 2005... Fifteen patients who had had surgery or radiation therapy for prostate cancer a mean of 65 months previously, who were symptom-free but had experienced at least 3 consecutive increases in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values over a minimum of...

Folic acid and vitamin B12 prevent hip fractures.(Literature Review & Commentary)
July 1, 2005... Six hundred twenty-eight Japanese patients (mean age, 71 years) with residual hemiplegia at least one year after their first ischemic stroke were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, 5 mg/day of folic acid and 1,500 mcg/day of...

Nutrient combination for macular degeneration.(Literature Review & Commentary)
July 1, 2005... Ninety patients with atrophic (dry) age-related macular degeneration were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, one of three treatments for one year: 1) lutein 10 mg/day (an amount present in approximately 60 g of spinach); 2)...

Vitamin K improves artery health.(Literature Review & Commentary)
July 1, 2005... One-hundred-eight postmenopausal women (mean age, 55 years) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, one of the following for three years: 1) placebo, 2) a daily supplement containing 500 mg of calcium, 10 mg of zinc, 150 mg...

Intravaginal vitamin C for non-specific vaginitis.(Literature Review & Commentary)
July 1, 2005... One hundred women (mean age, 35 years) with non-specific vaginitis (NSV; bacterial vaginosis) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, vitamin C vaginal tablets (250 mg) or placebo once a day at bedtime for 16 days. The...

Iron deficiency a factor in ADHD.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The mean serum ferritin concentration was significantly lower in 53 French children (mean age, 9.2 years; range, 4-14) with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than in 27 age-matched controls without ADHD (23 vs. 44 ng/ml; p ...

Hospice for hoss-piss.(Literature Review & Commentary)
July 1, 2005... Some 23,296 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years participating in the Women's Health Initiative study were randomly assigned, based on hysterectomy status, to active treatment or placebo in either the estrogen plus progestin (E + P) or...

Cell phones and children.(Health Risks and Environmental Issues)
July 1, 2005... Cellular phones seek out a receiver by sending strong electromagnetic radiation several miles in all directions. This poses significant exposure levels to the brain since phone antennas are within an inch of the head. Other individuals in the...

Neurological apocalypse?(Colonic Chronicles)
July 1, 2005... Much research and volumes of data have been written on the subject of mercury and its neurotoxic effects, (1) both cumulative and acute. There are two forms of mercury: methyl mercury (organic) and inorganic (metallic). (2) There are also...

Chinese medicine & metastatic bone cancer.(Chinese Medicine Update)
July 1, 2005... Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, oncology, metastatic bone cancer ********** Metastatic bone cancer occurs when cancer cells from the original tumor area travel (or metastasize) through the body and move into the...

The cancer preventative activities of green tea and turmeric: a focus on human studies.(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)
July 1, 2005... Clinical trials of the use of antioxidant supplements, especially in the prevention of cancer, have yielded controversial and often confusing results. In contrast there is strong evidence emerging that plants, either in the diet or as...

Cancer: factors and prevention.(Ayurvedic Science Updates)
July 1, 2005... According to Ayurveda, Cancer is a disease of imbalance. Multiple potential factors create imbalances at the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical levels, leading to different kinds of concerns. The following factors have been shown to...

Beyond chemoprevention: nutraceuticals that abrogate or delay the onset of cancer and enhance conventional cancer treatments.(Therapeutic Nutrition)
July 1, 2005... Introduction Conventional cancer treatment has been in place for over 50 years with little change in the overall strategy. Resectable tumors are removed surgically, while remaining inoperable sites are treated with radiation, chemotherapy...

Strategies and treatments for managing metastatic cancer.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Bibliography)
July 1, 2005... Cancer/stress: Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Glaser R. Psychoneuroimmunology and immunotoxicology: implications for carcinogenesis. Psychosom Med 1999 May-Jun; 61(3):271-2. [Editorial] Stress alters lymphocyte responses, DNA repair mechanisms, and...

Lyme Disease Association & authors with Lyme promote Columbia University center on chronic Lyme.(Townsend's New York Observer)
July 1, 2005... Wednesday morning, May 18th, and Thursday evening, May 19th, the Lyme Disease Association (LDA) sponsored two events to heighten public awareness of the disease and help raise funds for a Lyme Disease Research Center at the Columbia University...

A liquid cartilage extract as an adjuvant to conventional treatment for the maintenance of a healthy angiogenic balance as well as the support of healthy hematocrit level and red blood cell count.
July 1, 2005... A New Perspective on Cancer The way we think of a disease has profound implications in terms of its treatment. The concept of cancer as a monolithic terminal illness raised the hope of "winning the war on cancer." This idea has led to the...

Interim Clinical Study results for a supplement for cancer risk reduction.(New Supplement Research)
July 1, 2005... Background In 1998, two cancer research colleagues [Jerome B. Block, MD, and Steven Evans, MS] became convinced that the peer-reviewed literature strongly supported the role of various nutraceuticals in cancer risk reduction. (1,2) As a...

The Beljanski Approach: outside the box.(Mirko Beljanski)
July 1, 2005... The job of the physician is to alleviate and, if possible, eradicate disease. However, accomplishing this is often very difficult as most treatments for cancer also come with significant adverse effects, often making it impossible to truly...

Manuscript requirements.
July 1, 2005... * All submissions must be typewritten, double-spaced with pages numbered and mailed flat. Word file on disk or CD preferred with hard copy of manuscript and original photos, charts and/or graphs. Disks will not be returned unless specified....

Standard Process' wellness program receives national recognition.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... As a company in the nutritional supplement market, Standard Process[R] feels it is extremely important to promote good health and nutrition to everyone, including its employees. Because of this, the company provides a comprehensive wellness...

Mobile phones increase tumor risk, study says.
July 1, 2005... Ten or more years of mobile phone use increases the risk of developing acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor on the auditory nerve, according to a study released in October, 2004 by Sweden's Karolinska Institute. The risk was confined to the...

Vitamins, cancer and hope.
July 1, 2005... Chemotherapy and radiation are standard but even with them, one-third of cancer patients die in five years. Can we improve these therapies? Dr. Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD, (1) a physician who had earned his PhD in vitamins and is the author of...

Qigong for cancer: self-healing practice.
July 1, 2005... Qigong (pronounced Chee Gung) has been said to be one of the most powerful healing traditions ever developed in human history. It is China's 3000-4000 year-old system of self-healing, which integrates simple focused movements or Qigong allows...

Unmasking the imposter: effective, predictable treatment for symptom sets known as TMJ, FM and more.(temporomandibular joint disorders)
July 1, 2005... TMJ problems have long been called the "Great Imposter" since they have been related to a myriad of symptoms and conditions throughout the body. Evidence now strongly suggests that TMJ disorders are not the "Great Imposter" but rather, a key...

A proposed embargo: Roberts' response.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Editor: I am grateful for the forum that the Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients has provided me over many years concerning issues in contemporary medical and nutritional practice I consider important. They derived from personal...

A shocking report from Japan is received without a murmur in the Western World.(Letters to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Editor: In 1997, a report was published by Harumi Okuyama, et al, in "Progress in Lipid Research," Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 409-457 that presented overwhelming evidence that linoleic acid (predominantly in vegetable oils) was not only...

Case report: pancreatic cancer.(Letters to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Editor: Survival rates for cancer of the head of the pancreas are poor. Unresectable patients live about 6 months. (1) During the past few years I have been involved in the care of a patient with pancreatic cancer. The patient has had...

Pantethine: potential treatment for Parkinson's disease.(Editorials)
July 1, 2005... Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological disease that results from the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra. Symptoms include tremor, rigidity, slowing of movement, impaired balance and coordination, and...

Research evidence for preventing and reversing cancer.(Fight Cancer with Vitamins and Supplements: A Guide to Prevention and Treatment)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Fight Cancer with Vitamins and Supplements: A Guide to Prevention and Treatment by Kedar N. Prasad, PhD and K. Che Prasad, MD Healing Arts Press, One Park Street, Rochester, Vermont 05767 USA; www.InnerTraditions.com Softcover,...

Queck-busting.(Quecksilber: the Strange Story of Dental Amalgam )(Video Recording Review)
July 1, 2005... Quecksilber: the Strange Story of Dental Amalgam (DVD) by Robert Gammal, BDS, FACNEM (dent) Bio Compatible Dentistry +61-2-9264-5195; info@quecksilber.net DVD, 58 min.; c. 2004; $25 (Australian) (paypal accepted) On the list of...

Reforming the cancer industry.(CancerGate)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... CancerGate by Samuel S. Epstein, MD Baywood Publishing, Inc., Amityville, New York 11701 USA; 631-691-1270; fax 631-691-1770; toll-free order line 800-638-7819; E-mail: baywood@baywood.com; website: http://baywood.com Also available...

Popular botanical medicines and cancer drug interactions: a review.(Naturopathic Perspectives)
July 1, 2005... The use of so-called Complementary and Alternative medicines (CAM) continues to grow, and is currently at its zenith since its resurgence onto the medical horizon. The use of natural and 'alternative' medicines is utilized by more patients and...

Electromagnetic fields, health and evolution.(Medical Anthropology)
July 1, 2005... In today's world we are increasingly surrounded by an electromagnetic cloud created by the technologies that we use. While debate continues about the physical effects of exposure to human generated electromagnetic fields, an increasing body of...

Homeopathic treatment for pervasive developmental disorder.(Healing with Homeopathy)(Excerpt)
July 1, 2005... (This case is excerpted from our new book, A Drug-Free Approach to Asperger Syndrome and Autism: Homeopathic Care for Exceptional Kids.: Edmonds, Washington: Picnic Point Press. 2005) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Paolo: Free Trogs and...

Friendly SBOs: the ideal biological therapy for immunological unresponsiveness and stubborn fungal infections that underlie dysbiosis.(Quantum Medicine Update)
July 1, 2005... Drug-resistant infections continue to emerge, infecting an increasing number of individuals. Using the amazing powers of the immune system as a therapeutic agent yields the greatest health benefits. Resistant to all natural medicines and drugs,...

The cancerization/de-cancerization dynamics of the dysox model of cancer (cancer, oxygen, and pantotropha, Part II).(Oxygen Homeostasis)
July 1, 2005... Altering the Behavior of Cancer Cells: Fermentative-to-Respiratory (FTR) Shift. A cancer cell, like T. pantotropha, is also a metabolic two-timer, but with a difference: it survives in the presence of oxygen, but thrives in its absence. The...

Survival of the individual practitioner depends on the strength of the profession.(Holistic Marketing)
July 1, 2005... The Integrative Health Doctor is an endangered species. Each day the numbers of patients increase who want the services of qualified alternative physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and others at that level of expertise for their health...

Having a healthy pregnancy.(Highly Effective Treatments for Pain and Fatigue)
July 1, 2005... Many patients and practitioners ask about whether CFS and Fibromyalgia patients can handle getting pregnant. Generally, they actually usually do better during pregnancy. This may occur in part because of increased estriol and other hormones...

Relieving nausea in chemotherapy patients.(Acupuncture and Moxibustion)
July 1, 2005... Over 175,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. While many women combine it with various complementary and alternative therapies, the most prevalent treatment for breast cancer is still chemotherapy....

Web page potpourri--checklists: a column devoted to informative alternative health resources on the internet.
July 1, 2005... Checklists are sometimes called punch lists, or "to-do" lists; they can be great productivity tools. Included below are web-based checklists for a wide variety of needs, ranging from medical to pure recreation. Some tools are also included to...

Calendar.(Calendar)
July 1, 2005... JUNE 24-26: LOOMIS INSTITUTE OF ENZYME NUTRITION presents Loomis Digestive Health Specialist Program (Seminar 1) in Baltimore, Maryland. Also, OCTOBER 14-16 in Chicago, Illinois. CONTACT: 800-662-2630; fax 608-273-8110; info@loomisenzymes.com;...

Research news in women's health.(Women's Health Update)
July 1, 2005... Thyroid Function and Soy Concerns about the possible goitrogenic effects of soybean isoflavones abound. These concerns are based primarily on in vitro research, (1) animal studies, (2) and older reports of goiter occurring in infants who...

Adjunctive nutrition during cancer chemo- and radiation therapies.(Nutritional Influences on Illness)
July 1, 2005... Simply manipulating nutritional factors appears to be a powerful method of preventing the establishment of many cancers. Once a person has developed advanced cancer, nutritional interventions can often play an adjunctive role to more aggressive...