Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients articles from May 2003

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients archives from May 2003

Letter from the publisher.
May 1, 2003... Over the past month we have looked at the many pictures of War. One of the earlier photos showed a group of Iraqi farmers standing jubilantly in a farm field atop a downed US Apache helicopter. The mood of the country in the US had changed...

California judge approves landmark warning on mercury use in dentistry.
May 1, 2003... For the first time anywhere, dentists will be required to post a warning about the dangers of mercury in their dental fillings. A California Superior Court judge has finalized the language for the warning to be posted in dentists' offices. ...

IUATLD announces the release of its updated website in three languages: English, Spanish and French.(International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease )
May 1, 2003... The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) has launched its revamped website in its three official languages: English, Spanish and French. "Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate with our members,...

Standard Process obtains organic certification.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Dr. Royal Lee, founder of Standard Process, was a firm believer that the whole foods used as the foundation for health should be organic, and therefore, Standard Process has always practiced organic farming. Recently, a new law has been...

Bee Pollen and antioxidant activity.
May 1, 2003... Beehive products have been used since ancient times as dietary supplements because of their perceived health-promoting effects in the human body. In modern times, this perception -- that beehive products promote health due to nutritionally...

FDA allows Selenium/cancer health claims.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... On February 21, 2003, the Food and Drug Administration authorized use of two health claims that were the subject of a petition to FDA by Wellness Lifestyles, Inc. (d/b/a American Longevity) on the labels and in the labeling of dietary...

Alcohol & fats.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans. The French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks...

Bees ease patient's burden.
May 1, 2003... Late in the day, three times a week, Virginia Proctor lies on her bed while friends and relatives take turns stinging her with honeybees. "I feel tense and my body gets really, really tight before we starting stinging," she said, looking...

Eczema & dermatitis. (Shorts).
May 1, 2003... Both dermatitis and eczema are viewed as skin inflammations caused by allergic reactions. Symptoms of dermatitis, also called contact dermatitis, include vesicles (blisters) during the acute phase, redness, edema, oozing, crusting, scaling, and...

Lymphatic system & exercise. (Shorts).
May 1, 2003... Unless something goes terribly wrong with it, the lymphatic system is pretty much disregarded and undervalued in US medicine. The lymph system includes lymph vessels and nodes, tonsils, adenoids, appendix, spleen, and the thymus gland. These...

Medicare fraud at UW. (Shorts).(University of Washington Medical School )
May 1, 2003... Since 1999, Seattle's University of Washington Medical School has been the focus of federal investigation for Medicare fraud. In that year UW repaid Medicare $3.6 million for improperly charging the system for experimental heart-transplant...

Growing mold problem. (Shorts).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... According to The Wall Street Journal (December 4, 2002), commercial insurers are following the lead of homeowner insurers and excluding mold coverage from their liability policies. Mold has been linked to several health complaints, ranging from...

Oolong tea & recalcitrant atopic dermatitis. (Shorts).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A Japanese study published in Archives of Dermatology (2001;137:42-43) reported that drinking oolong tea reduced itching and inflammation in people with recalcitrant atopic dermatitis. Oolong tea, also called brown tea, is less fermented than...

New psoriasis drug. (Shorts).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A new drug to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, called Amevive, gained FDA approval in January 2003. Amevive is manufactured by the biotechnology company Biogen, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Treatment with Amevive entails a weekly...

Psoriasis. (Shorts).
May 1, 2003... Psoriasis is a chronic, recurrent skin condition in which clearly-defined, raised plaques form. Although they do not tend to itch, these plaques look red and are covered with silvery scales that bleed easily. They usually appear on boney...

Women & stress. (Shorts).
May 1, 2003... A UCLA study, published in Psychological Review (2000 July: 107(3): 411-29), determined that females of many species, including human, react differently to stress than males. The researchers, led by Shelly E. Taylor, analyzed hundreds of...

Lactobacillus GG for prevention of childhood eczema. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... One hundred fifty-nine pregnant women who had at least one first-degree relative (or partner) with atopic eczema, allergic rhinitis, or asthma were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, Lactobacillus GG ([10.sup.10]...

High-dose folic acid for psoriasis. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Seven patients with long-standing psoriasis were given 20 mg of folic acid 4 times per day. Marked improvements were noted after 3-6 months of treatment. Three additional patients who had previously received methotrexate treatment for psoriasis...

Eating fish for a better pregnancy outcome. (Literature Review & Commentary).
May 1, 2003... The relationship between seafood consumption and risk of pre-term delivery and low birth weight was assessed in a prospective cohort study of 8,729 Danish pregnant women. The incidence of pre-term delivery was 7.1% among women who never...

Genistein reverses bone loss. (Literature Review & Commentary).
May 1, 2003... Ninety healthy postmenopausal women (aged 47-57 years) with osteopenia (bone mineral density [BMD] of the femoral neck of less than 0.795 g/[cm.sup.2]), were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, either 1) continuous...

Nutritional supplement effective against bipolar disorder. (Literature Review & Commentary).
May 1, 2003... Fourteen patients (aged 19-46 years) with a DSM-IV diagnosis of bipolar disorder, who were taking a mean of 2.7 psychotropic medications each, were treated for 6 months with a broad-based nutritional supplement (E.M. Power+), containing the...

Breast-feeding reduces risk of obesity. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A population-based sample of 32,200 Scottish children was studied at age 39-42 months. The prevalence of obesity (defined as body mass index [BMI] at or above the 95th percentile) was 9.1% in those who had been formula-fed and 7.2% in those who...

Vegetarian source of vitamin B12. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Feeding nori (dried purple layer, a commonly consumed seaweed) to vitamin B12-deficient rats significantly improved vitamin B12 status, as demonstrated by the elimination of methylmalonic acid from the urine and by a significant increase in...

Hawthorn (crataegus) effective against heart failure: double-blind study. (Literature Review & Commentary).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Two-hundred nine patients (mean age, 68 years) with chronic congestive heart failure (New York Heart Association [NYHA] class III) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, crataegus extract WS 1442 standardized to contain...

Psychodermatology. (Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary).
May 1, 2003... Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology describes the unity of mental, neurological, hormonal and immunological functions with its many potential applications. PNIE addresses the impact of cognitive images of the mind (whatever its elusive definition)...

The war on cancer.
May 1, 2003... The Abscopal Effect It is sometimes asserted, as a matter of dogma, that a local treatment cannot have any systemic effects. However, sometimes damaging or removing a tumor at one site will profoundly affect tumors at other locations in...

Phytotherapy for atopic dermatitis (eczema). (Phytotherapy Review & Commentary).
May 1, 2003... Introduction The treatment of skin disorders in phytotherapy draws heavily on traditional considerations. These can be represented as follows: * Skin disorders (other than outright infections or injury) are indicative of deeper...

Dramatic cure for depression: a case of red-tailed hawk. (Healing with Homeopathy).
May 1, 2003... [This is a fascinating case that also appeared in a recent issue of Homeopathic Links, an excellent international journal published in the Netherlands which we highly recommend to any serious student of homeopathy.) The Birds' Contribution...

The Chinese medical treatment of psoriasis. (Chinese Medicine Update).
May 1, 2003... Keywords: Psoriasis, dermatology; Chinese medicine, Chinese medical dermatology Psoriasis is a common chronic, recurring disease characterized by dry, well circumscribed, silvery, scaling papules and plaques of various sizes. It may vary...

The anthropology of hair loss. (Medical Anthropology).
May 1, 2003... Hair loss and related scalp disorders are novel conditions of civilization that can be reversed or prevented by taking into account our evolutionary background. In this column I'll look at some of the cross cultural and evolutionary factors...

Skin health, eczema, and preventative strategies.
May 1, 2003... As the eyes are the reflection of one's inner health...they are literally as we know a window into a person's vascular and neurological system as the only location in the body where the nerves and vessels can be seen without invasion. Yet, an...

The negative health effects of chlorine.
May 1, 2003... Summary Federal regulations require chlorine treatment of the water supplied to urban/suburban areas of America and much of Canada from surface sources such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers. That constitutes about 75% of water that...

Autoimmune disease and women.
May 1, 2003... The body normally protects itself through activation of the immune system. Sometimes however, the immune system becomes unable to distinguish the difference between normal cells and invading organisms and begins attacking itself. This abnormal...

Scleroderma -- a case study of autoimmunity. (Autoimmune Disease in Women).
May 1, 2003... Scleroderma is a chronic, degenerative condition that leads to over-production of collagen, excessive soft tissue calcification leading to hardening and tightening of the skin, and blood vessel deterioration. Systemic scleroderma is...

Correction.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... In the "Materials and Methods" section (Feb/March p. 73) I made an error regarding the amount of water the patient needed to drink for the Gastro-Test. Instead of: "the patient then drank one-to-two cups (approximately 240-480m1) of water and...

Follow-up report on the use of inositol hexaniacinate for the treatment of achlorhydria: is a vitamin B-3 dependency the cause of this patient's gastrointestinal symptoms?
May 1, 2003... Abstract The patient was previously treated with inositol hexaniacinate (IHN; 650mg three times daily for approximately two months) for chronic gastrointestinal symptoms due to achlorhydria. Approximately one month after discontinuing IHN,...

A modern scientific perspective on Prof. Dr. Enderlein's concept of microbial life cycles.
May 1, 2003... Summary In 1925, German zoologist Prof. Dr. Gunther Enderlein published his concepts of microbial life cycles based on blood analysis observations in the book The Life Cycle of Bacteria (Bakterien Cykiogenie). (1) He theorized that the...

Why is Iridology so misunderstood?
May 1, 2003... Note -- There are 3 groups of people this article is directed to. First are critics who have no real understanding of Iridology, but have negative opinions. Second are Iridologists who have not been exposed to, or are resistant to updated...

Metabolic balancing the key to effective weight control.
May 1, 2003... If you have patients who are struggling with weight loss, you understand there's a lot more to losing weight than just restricting calories or certain food groups. Your patients are most likely on diets similar to those put forth by Drs....

Lecture to general session American Osteopathic college of dermatology mid-year meeting, March 2002.
May 1, 2003... Our first speaker comes to us from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He is the founder of Loma Lux. He went to Indiana University School of Medicine and is practicing dermatology in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Steven Smith will be...

Foods that cause Arthritis pain. (Letters to the Editor).
May 1, 2003... Editor: Ed Wendlocher, founder and president of the Arthritis Help Centers, Inc., suffered from arthritis for many years until he discovered his sensitivity to various foods. He promoted clinical studies that resulted in several booklets,...

Finding sources of airborne health hazards in buildings. (Letters to the Editor).
May 1, 2003... Editor: When it is difficult to find causes of presumably environmental illness associated with a building, such as a school, home or office building, there are some strategies which can be of help. A few of them are listed below. 1....

Crohn's disease successfully treated with acupuncture and herbal medicine. (Letters to the Editor).
May 1, 2003... Editor: My name is Karen Henman. I was 28 years old when I first consulted with Colet Lahoz at the East West Clinic. I heard her speak at the regional conference sponsored by the Crohn's and Colitis foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota. I...

Dr. F.R. Klenner's protocol for MS. (Letters to the Editor).
May 1, 2003... Editor: Since the publication of my article "Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Injectable Vitamin B1 and Liver Extract" in the TLfDP in the Feb/March 2000 issue, I have received hundreds of calls from doctors and patients wanting more...

Re: the nurses study and "estrogen" and "progesterone". (Letters to the Editor).
May 1, 2003... Editor: What was proven was that PremPro -- a combo of horse-urine derived, nonhuman, conjugated [waste) estrogens in a fixed ratio to a non-human progestin [rather than the natural human molecule of progesterone) resulted in a small but...

NEJM vitamin a study flawed. (Letters to the Editor).
May 1, 2003... Editor: Health editors, before you do a story on the NEJM study on vitamin A, please consider the following: 1. The study was conducted in Sweden 2. The men are not taking supplements (the high vitamin A was attributed to eating a...

Hepatitis-C treatment. (Letters to the Editor).
May 1, 2003... Editor: I turned sixty this year. I was not sure I would be here for the big day, however here I am, alive and well. The reason I did not know was that I, like so many of us, am living with Hepatitis C. The first time I knew something was...

Iodine supplementation markedly increases urinary excretion of fluoride and bromide. (Letters to the Editor).
May 1, 2003... Editor: While the debate continues, regarding benefits and adverse effects of fluoridation of our water supply and bromination of our food supply, what can one do to minimize the toxic effects of these 2 halides? One approach in decreasing...

MediHerb Wormwood Complex -- now available.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Now available from MediHerb, Wormwood Complex, a unique and natural solution for effective gastrointestinal support. Wormwood Complex is a synergistic herbal formula containing wormwood, Black Walnut hulls, Stemona root and Clove Bud essential...

Who killed Alan Yurko: his father or his doctors? (Editorials).
May 1, 2003... In 1999, Alan R. Yurko was convicted in a Florida court of killing his two-and-a-half month old baby, AlanYurko, by vigorously shaking his head, resulting in subdural bleeding. He was sentenced to life-plus-ten-years in prison. Prior to being...

When herbal medicine turns nasty. (Editorials).
May 1, 2003... The recent death of another athlete, this time a baseball player, from adverse effects of excess ephedra has created a media frenzy to ban ephedra. Feeling the heat, the FDA is caught between its intended obligation to regulate medicine and its...

Immune Modulation maintain or regain good health through our own immune function.
May 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,...

Marketing, not Health. (Book Corners).(Food Politics, How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Food Politics, How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Dr. Marion Nestle University of California Press, Berkeley, California 94720 USA 457 pages, 2002, hardcover, $29.95 "As an academic nutritionist," writes...

Sick care or healthcare? (Book Corners).(From Here to Longevity)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... From Here to Longevity by Mitra Ray, PhD with Patricia Cannon Childs Shining Star Publishing, P.O. Box 85821, Seattle, Washington 98145-0821 USA; www.fromheretolongevity.com Softbound, ISBN 0-9714342-0-4; c. 2002; 373 pp; $19.95...

Holistic technology for the 21st century. (Book Corners).(The Handbook of Rife Frequency Healing: Holistic Technology for Cancer and Other Diseases)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... The Handbook of Rife Frequency Healing: Holistic Technology for Cancer and Other Diseases by Nina Silver, PhD Center for Frequency Education, P.O. Box 952, Stone Ridge, New York 12484 USA; 845-687-0963 Softcover, 2001, 448 pp,...

No more surgery! (Book Corners).(Healing Fibroids: A Doctor's Guide to A Natural Cure)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Healing Fibroids: A Doctor's Guide to A Natural Cure by Allan Warshowaky, MD and Elena Oumano, PhD Simon & Schuster, Inc., Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 USA Paperback, 2002, $14US/$21.50...

A 21st century paradigm shift. (Book Corners).(Detoxify or Die)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Detoxify or Die by Sherry Rogers, MD Sand Key Company, Inc., P.O. Box 40101, Sarasota, Florida 34242 USA; 888-846-6687; www. prestigepublishing.com Quality paperback, 2002, $22.95, 409 pp. The author's title suggests a...

Curing the incurable: Levy Vitamin C text book to change the practice of medicine. (Book Corners).(Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins: Curing the Incurable)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins: Curing the Incurable by Thomas Levy, MD, JD Published by Xlibris Corporation 1-888-795-4274 Orders@Xlibris.com 451 pages, ISBN: 1-4010-6964-9 (Hardcover); 1-4010-6963-0 (Softcover)...

Credibility and trust two important success words. (Office Experience Impacts Your Success).
May 1, 2003... Whether you have a flourishing practice or company, or perhaps you are starting a business, there are two important words to keep in mind: credibility and trust. Your clientele must be able to trust you and your business. Credibility comes...

"Frankenfish" await FDA approval. (Health Risks and Environmental Issues).
May 1, 2003... The benefits of wild caught salmon compared to the health and environmental risks of farmed fish was presented in "Wild Salmon Don't Do Drugs," TLfDP #235/236, Feb/Mar issue. This discussion will highlight additional threats from biotechnology...

Jump-starting your body's energy furnaces: the importance of nutrition in fatigue and pain. (Highly Effective Treatments for Pain and Fatigue).
May 1, 2003... Part 3 In previous columns, we have looked at the role that ordinary dietary nutrients play in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia (CFS/FMS). Other nutrients that affect the body's production of energy at the cellular level (in the...

Acupuncture & osteoporosis. (Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
May 1, 2003... With recent revelations in the news about the possible dangers of long term Hormone Replacement Therapy, many women are searching for other possible methods of preventing osteoporosis and other degenerative diseases related to hormonal decline...

How vital nutrients function together to improve health. (Medicinal Properties in Whole Foods).
May 1, 2003... "Functional foods," "nutraceuticals," "designer foods" and "medicinal foods" are terms that describe foods, and key ingredients isolated from foods, that have non-nutritive or tertiary functional properties. Researchers, healthcare...

Calendar.
May 1, 2003... APRIL 19-20: CHELATION CERTIFICATION INSTRUCTION PROGRAM presented by Majid All, MD @ the Institute of Integrative Medicine in New York, New York. Upon completion participants will be allowed to sit for the Certification Examination on May llth...

Women and skin conditions. (Women's Health Update).
May 1, 2003... If you observe a middle-aged woman with great skin, here are the possible beneficial influences: She's lived in a rainy climate her whole life; she grew up in the fog; she protects herself from the sun; she's had good nutrition her whole life;...

Treating eczema with nutrients. (Nutritional Influences on Illness).
May 1, 2003... Vitamin C In a randomized, double-blind, crossover study, significant symptomatic improvement was found in 10 severely affected patients aged 3 to 21 years following 6 months of supplementation with 50 to 75 mg/kg of slow-release vitamin...

Benfotiamin.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Every second of every day, your body's fundamental structural components are being slowly warped by the formation of Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGE).* AGE form when the body's proteins, lipids, and DNA react with the sugar in your blood,...

Ortho * escienium.(Ortho.Selenium dietary supplement from AOR)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Selenium is a key mineral in supporting normal cellular growth and differentiation.* In the last decade new science has revealed that key biological metabolites underlie the nutrient's effects in the body. * This has allowed researchers to...