Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients articles from October 2005

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients archives from October 2005

Letter from the publisher.
October 1, 2005... A few months ago the newspapers announced that a university study of the herb Echinacea failed to show any effect on the prevention of colds. The researchers felt that the herbal community was misleading the public with claims that Echinacea...

Plant-based alternative therapies gaining momentum in America and around the world.
October 1, 2005... According to the Washington-based Institute of Medicine, a non-profit advisory group for health and science issues, 1 in 5 Americans now use some form of 'alternative' therapy, up from 1 in 50 in 1990. With almost daily news of dangers of...

New study shows fish oil supplementation benefits arthritic patients.
October 1, 2005... Nordic Naturals, Inc., a leading supplier of fish oil and essential fatty acid (EFA) supplements, has announced the results of a human trial showing beneficial effects of fish oil on pain, as well as symptom management in people with...

Court strikes ephedra ban; enjoins FDA from blocking ephedra sale.
October 1, 2005... On April 13, 2005, the US District Court, District of Utah, Central Division (Judge Tena Campbell presiding) ruled in Nutraceutical Corporation v. Crawford that FDA's February 2004 Final Rule banning all ephedrine-alkaloid dietary supplements...

Nattokinase, the "Japanese wonder" gets your blood pumping.
October 1, 2005... The Japanese live longer than us and have fewer problems with cardiovascular disease. Their excellent track record for heart health and longevity is partly due to their consumption of fish and seafood, but their overall well-being can also be...

Codex guidelines on dietary supplements: Weston A. Price Foundation action alert.
October 1, 2005... Action for US Consumers to Take to Maintain Access to Vitamin and Mineral Supplements "Codex" is a broad, rambling, quilt-like enterprise managed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission officially created in 1963 jointly through the World...

Mushroom immunutrition in Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS).
October 1, 2005... In the recently published edition of the Journal of Integrated Medicine (Online version), Dr. Jean Monro of the Breakspear Hospital outlines the impact of Coriolus versicolor supplementation as immunonutrition in thirty-six (36) Chronic Fatigue...

Acupuncture for Overactive Bladder.(Shorts)
October 1, 2005... A randomized, placebo-controlled trial, conducted by Sandra L. Emmons, MD, and Lesley Otto, MD, found that four weekly acupuncture treatments improved urge incontinence and bladder overactivity (Obstetrics & Gynecology, July 2005). At present,...

Cadmium & kidneys.(Shorts)
October 1, 2005... Swedish researchers discovered that renal tubular damage may occur at lower levels of exposure to cadmium than previously expected (Occup Environ Med 2000;57:668-672). When inhaled or ingested, the heavy metal cadmium tends to accumulate in the...

Calcium intake & kidney stones.(Shorts)
October 1, 2005... Recent studies offer conflicting advice about dietary calcium intake and its contribution to kidney stone formation. About 80% of all kidney stones are composed of calcium phosphate or calcium oxalate. The headline for a widely-publicized, 2005...

Kidney disease & diabetes.(Shorts)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Kumar Sharma, MD, at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Erwin Bottinger, MD, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York) have identified a protein that may explain why kidney disease is so common among people with...

Dietary supplement safety & efficacy.(Shorts)
October 1, 2005... "Benefits and Safety of Dietary Supplements," a 2004 white paper distributed by Metagenics, Inc., reviews the science and regulation of supplement use in the US. The paper was written by Miriam G. Zacharias, MS; Jeffrey Bland, PhD; Jeffrey...

EU court supplement decision.(Shorts)
October 1, 2005... On July 12, 2005, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg upheld the use of a 'Positives List' in the EU Food Supplements Directive. The Positives List narrowly defines which supplement forms may be marketed in European Union nations; only...

Prolonged labor & bladder fistula.(post term pregnancy)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... A bladder fistula commonly develops after days of labor; pressure from the baby produces a tear in the wall that separates the mother's bladder and vagina. This fistula results in uncontrolled leaking of urine from the vagina. Young teenage...

Kidney stone theory.(cause of kidney stones)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... What causes kidney stones is still a mystery. The most accepted theory says that kidney stones form where calcium oxalate crystals attach to injured cells in the kidney. However, research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (1...

Kidney transplants.(human leukocyte antigen)
October 1, 2005... Finding a compatible kidney donor may become a bit easier within the next few years for thousands of people waiting for transplants in the US. To increase the likelihood of a successful transplant, donor and recipient must have the same blood...

Calendar.(Calendar)
October 1, 2005... OCTOBER 1: THE HEALTH EQUATIONS BLOOD TEST EVALUATION with Lynne August MD in Brattleboro, Vermont. CONTACT: Health Equations, 800-328-2818; http://www.healthequations.com OCTOBER 1-2: DESIGNS FOR HEALTH presents OVERCOMING WEIGHT LOSS...

Magnesium and vitamin B6 for kidney stone prevention.(research)
October 1, 2005... One hundred forty-nine patients with longstanding recurrent idiopathic calcium oxalate and mixed calcium oxalate/calcium phosphate renal stones received 100 mg of magnesium oxide 3 times a day and 10 mg of pyridoxine once a day for 4.5 to 6...

Coenzyme Q10 for chronic renal failure.(research)
October 1, 2005... Ninety-seven patients (mean age, 48 years) with chronic renal failure (serum creatinine > 5 mg/dl), with a history of declining renal function for at least 12 weeks, were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, water-soluble...

Food allergy as a cause of nephrotic syndrome.(research)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Six children (aged 10-13 years) with steroid-responsive idiopathic nephrotic syndrome were studied. Prednisone was discontinued and a hypoallergenic elemental diet was given. After proteinuria had decreased to 500 mg per 24 hours or less on...

Vitamin D3 more potent than vitamin D2.(comparative analysis)
October 1, 2005... Twenty healthy male volunteers were randomly assigned to receive a single 50,000-IU dose of either vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) or vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Similar increases were seen in the serum concentration of the administered vitamins,...

Another reason to eat whole grains.(Literature Review & Commentary)
October 1, 2005... Alkylresorcinols (ARs) are a class of phenolic lipids present in high amounts in wheat bran and rye bran. The concentrations of ARs in whole wheat and whole rye are 320-1,430 mcg/g and 360-3,200 mcg/g, respectively, but these compounds are not...

Vitamin C prevents pregnancy complication.(supplementing research)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... One hundred-nine pregnant women living in Mexico City who were not taking vitamin supplements were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, 100 mg/day of vitamin C or placebo. Treatment was begun in the 20th week of gestation. The...

Bowls and boluses.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Forty graduate students attending a Super Bowl party were escorted in alternating order to one of two identical buffet tables on opposite sides of an adjoining room and were offered snacks before the game. The tables contained identical amounts...

Essential fatty acids for chronic lung disease.(supplementation with a mixture of fatty acids improved exercise capacity)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Eighty patients (mean age, 63 years) with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, 9 g/day of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (providing daily 760 mg of gamma-linolenic acid,...

Superior supplements innovative science.(Now Foods Corp.)
October 1, 2005... When it comes to the health and well-being of your patients, compromise simply isn't an option. Like you, they demand the best of the best. This is the very thinking that continually inspires our own team of scientists and PhDs. By integrating...

Where have all the food scraps gone? Gone to redworms, every one.(Web Page Potpourri)(Column)
October 1, 2005... Worms eat my garbage--specifically, my food scraps. Maybe after you review some of the resources in this column, you'll let worms eat yours, too. Earlier this year I held a workshop on vermicomposting at our new food co-op. (I'm not sure...

Is there a cancer conspiracy?(survey for cancer cure)
October 1, 2005... This summer, the American Cancer Society (ACS) published a telephone survey and found some disturbing trends. In particular, its pollsters discovered that 27% of Americans believe that a cure for cancer already exists "but it is being withheld...

"Think before you pink".(breast cancer awareness)
October 1, 2005... In 1969, President Richard M. Nixon declared war on cancer--intending to wipe out the disease in our generation. Despite billions of dollars financing this war, cancer has now become the number one killer of Americans under age 85, and of...

Organs, commodities, technologies.(Medical Anthropology)(Column)
October 1, 2005... With globalization and the information revolution, the human body has shifted to become a site of market economics and instantaneous access. Perhaps one of the best examples of this trend is the global exchange of organs. Numerous...

The emergence of AIDS in the US: interview with Roberto Giraldo, MD.(Michael Ellner)(Interview)
October 1, 2005... AIDS is a severe acquired immunodeficiency due to multiple, repeated, and chronic exposures to immunological stressor agents, with degenerative immunotoxic and/or immunogenic effects on immunocompetent cells and immunological chemical...

The link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease: The National Diabetes Education Program.
October 1, 2005... What is the significance of the link between diabetes and CVD? * CVD is a major complication and the leading cause of premature death among people with diabetes--about 65 percent of people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke. (1)...

Phytotherapy for recurrent kidney stones.(herbal treatment)
October 1, 2005... Introduction There is some debate as to whether commonly used herbs can help the passage of pre-existing large kidney stones. Given the advances with modern techniques of stone removal, this is probably now a hypothetical issue in most...

Effectively diagnosing and treating Candida.(skin fungal infections)
October 1, 2005... Everyone's immune system has strengths as well as weaknesses. Some people never get colds but have frequent bouts of athlete's foot or other skin fungal infections. Others never get fungal infections but tend to get colds. Many people seem to...

Four Portland Colleges collaborate in CAM education and research.(Pathways to Healing)
October 1, 2005... Portland, Oregon, is the only city in the United States that's the home of three different CAM educational institutions. They are: Western States Chiropractic College (WSCC), National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM), and Oregon College...

Rationale for creating the first "Un-Cereal[TM]".
October 1, 2005... The advent of agriculture about 10,000 years ago and the subsequent scale-up to mass feeding made possible by the Industrial Revolution solved problems of quantity but not quality. Average life span has increased paralleling these changes, due...

A burning issue.
October 1, 2005... Apart from a shark attack, being burned is about as terrifying as it gets. Excruciatingly painful, potentially fatal, burns are among the most horrific of all mutilating traumas. The good news is that a revolutionary new therapy is available...

A novel device reduces spoilage from aerobic bacterial growth in refrigerated apples.
October 1, 2005... Abstract Objective: To simultaneously assess the rate of aerobic bacteria, yeast-mold proliferation count in 2 red delicious apple sections from a parent apple specimen, with and without proximal exposure to a packet of Zeolite-coated...

Ice water & yarrow stop bleeding.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2005... I want to thank you for the excellent article by Bradford and Allen on Lyme Disease in the January, 2005 issue. Very well done and useful. Also, I noted the question on fibroids and adenomyosis in Dr. Tori Hudson's January 2005 article....

IV hydrochloric acid for bacterial infections.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2005... This is to report on intravenous hydrochloric acid infusions, one part per 1,000 in the treatment of bacterial infections. This treatment had been developed by Burr Ferguson, MD of Birmingham, Alabama in about 1925. Dr. Ferguson had been a...

Test your wisdom on teeth.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2005... What's your IQ when it comes to knowledge about your teeth? Take the True or False "Wisdom" Tooth Test: 1. Gum disease can affect other health issues in your body. 2. Losing teeth is a natural part of growing old. 3. Bleeding gums,...

A rebuttal of Dr. Gaby's Editorial on iodine.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2005... We would like to submit a rebuttal to Dr. Gaby's Editorial on iodine, published in the August/Sept. 2005 issue of Townsend Letter. Gaby questioned the safety and efficacy of orthoiodosupplementation in medical practice and also the validity of...

A doctor to be remembered.(Theodore E. Woodward)(Obituary)
October 1, 2005... July 11, 2005, marked the passing of Theodore E. Woodward, MD, former chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine for 27 years. He was both a skilled clinician and an accomplished researcher. One of...

Superfoods to transform your health.(Living Food for Health)(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... Living Food for Health by Dr. Gillian McKeith Published by Basic Health Publications, Inc. 8200 Boulevard East, North Bergen, New Jersey 07047 USA, 201-868-8336 Softcover, c.2005, $12.95 US, $20.95 Can. 188 pp. This clinical...

Powerful breathing techniques for healing.(The Miracle of the Breath)(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... The Miracle of the Breath by Andy Caponigro New World Library, 14 Pamaron Way, Novato, Georgia 94949 USA Softcover, c.2005, $15.95, 316 pp. Master of breath is master of life --Yoga saying Thousands of years ago,...

How do we deal with our limitations?(Twitch and Shout: A Touretter's Tale, Tourette's Syndrome: Finding Answers, Getting Help)(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... Twitch and Shout: A Touretter's Tale by Lowell Handler University of Minnesota Press, 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290, Minneapolis, Minnesota 5540-2520 USA Paper, 226 pages, 2004, ISBN 0-8166-445-9, 16.95 Tourette's...

A really useful resource.(A Physician's Guide to Natural Health Products That Work)(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... A Physician's Guide to Natural Health Products That Work by James A. Howenstine, MD Penhurst Books, Suite SJO 2086, 1601 NW 97th Ave., Miami, Florida 33102 USA; 877-496-0416 2002, 347 pp. ISBN 0-9705684-8-7 Seldom does a book...

The treatment of diabetic nephropathy with Chinese medicine.(Chinese Medicine Update)
October 1, 2005... Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, diabetic nephropathy ********** Chinese medical journals frequently carry reports on clinical trials for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy with internally administered Chinese...

Glycemic health and diabetic nephropathy: a nutritional supplement approach.(Therapeutic Nutrition)
October 1, 2005... Introduction As medical science reaches farther back in time to discover ultimate causes and to address primary prevention, it inevitably encounters the perplexity of multiple variables. Research is dominated by methods which study factors...

Renal failure mortality and depression.(research)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... In 147 long-term renal failure patients (110 survivors and 37 non-survivors) on dialysis, the presence of depression was the strongest predictor of death of all identified markers including clinical biochemical values and age. Baseline...

Stress and magnesium.(research on risk of cardiovascular damage)
October 1, 2005... Stress intensifies release of catecholamines and corticosteroids that increase acute survival of normal animals when their lives are threatened. In the presence of magnesium deficiency, stress paradoxically increases risk of cardiovascular...

Mutual aggravation of magnesium and stress.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Magnesium is depleted under stress through catecholamine-stimulated lipolysis; free fatty acids mobilize tissue magnesium, exceeding the renal threshold and leading to increased excretion. Mineralocorticoids directly increase magnesium renal...

Uremia, protein and meditation.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Clinical observations were made in five Buddhist monks with chronic renal failure on a low protein diet. The monks meditated 3-4 times a day and consumed only one meal with estimated protein intake 15-19 g a day. Renal function remained stable...

Social support and advanced renal disease.(utcomes and improved survival)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Social support is a concept recognizing patients exist to varying degrees in networks through which they can receive and give aid, and in which they engage in interactions. Social support can be obtained from family, friends, coworkers,...

Hypertension, oxidative stress and renal function.(Hypertension associated with elevated reactive oxygen species)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Hypertension is associated with elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and frequently with impairment of endogenous antioxidant mechanisms. Experimental manipulation of the redox state in vivo shows that ROS can cause hypertension. During the...

Alexithymia in dialysis patients.(psychosocial research)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The relationship between alexithymia and psychosocial factors was studied in 72 peritoneal dialysis patients. The 72 patients had significantly higher scores on alexithymia and anxiety than did 73 healthy volunteers. The alexithymia scores were...

Stress, hypertension and renal disease.(psychosocial research)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... It is well accepted that psychosocial stress contributes to the pathogenesis of renal disease, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The molecular mechanisms by which psychosocial events contribute to cellular dysfunction have hitherto been...

Attitudes, emotions and renal function.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)
October 1, 2005... Harold Wolff, one of the "fathers" of stress research, showed in the 1950s that there was a measurable change from normal in renal handling of fluid and electrolytes dependent on the attitude and emotional state of his patients. Episodes of...

Beyond Tarentula hispanica: brown recluse spider for a child with oppositional-defiant disorder.(Healing with Homeopathy)
October 1, 2005... An Overview of the Homeopathic Spider Medicines [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One of the main criteria that we use to select a medicine for a patient is the kingdom: animal, plant, or mineral. The category of nosodes (medicines made from the...

The dysox model of renal insufficiency and improved renal function with oxystatic therapies.(Oxygen Homeostasis)
October 1, 2005... In this column, we cite a large body of our previously published histopathologic and biochemical findings (1-14) concerning renal insufficiency to provide a framework of reference for presenting the dysox model of renal insufficiency,...

Chronic nephritis & acupuncture.(Acupuncture and Moxibustion)
October 1, 2005... Keywords: Chinese medicine, acupuncture, nephrology, chronic nephritis ********** Chronic nephritis is also known as chronic nephritic-proteinuric syndrome and chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN). Chronic glomerulonephritis is more aptly...

Optimized microcirculation: the key to sustainable whole body health.(Naturopathic Perspectives)
October 1, 2005... The human body is comprised of over 50 trillion cells each with specific nutrient and oxygen requirements delivered at the tissue level via microcirculation. It is estimated that every cell within the body is no further than 50 micrometers from...

Calendar.(Calendar)
October 1, 2005... SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 2: EUROPEAN MASTERS IN AESTHETIC & ANTI-AGING MEDICINE @ Palais des Congres in Paris, France. Practical applications in cosmetic dermatology, aesthetic surgery, and anti-aging practice. CONTACT: EuroMediCom, +33(0)1 56 83...

Antioxidants reduce side effects in ovarian CA patients on adriamycin/cytoxin.(Women's Health Update)
October 1, 2005... Sieja K, Talerczyk M. Selenium as an element in the treatment of ovarian cancer in women receiving chemotherapy. Gynecol Oncol 2004;93:320-7. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sixty-two women with ovarian cancer received chemotherapy (cisplatin...

Black cohosh, breast cancer and interactions with conventional cancer treatment.(Women's Health Update)
October 1, 2005... Rockwell S, Liu Y, Higgins S. Alteration of the effects of cancer therapy agents on breast cancer cells by the herbal medicine black cohosh. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2005;90(3):233-239. This in vitro study used common mouse breast cancer...

The influence of dietary minerals on calcium oxalate kidney stones.(Nutritional Influences on Illness)
October 1, 2005... Calcium About 30 to 50% of patients with kidney stones have idiopathic hypercalciuria (excessive urinary calcium). Calcium restriction is usually not indicated, however, as: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1. Chronic high calcium intake...