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Alternative Medicine in the News
March 2009 edition 17
published weekly
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Nairobi Fly once again
Another word or two on Nairobi Fly. Well, after last week's personal experience, it occurred to me that a child I saw last week, too, was a victim of NF. Blister-like, bite-like eruptions starting on the neck and face with intense itching which spread the infection and turned the skin raw and painful.
The first time I saw the child (pre-NF revelation!), his chin was a large open wound. From the mothers description, I then advised her she should consider this as a herpes eruption. And I treated it as such. After my NF realization, I called her back and gave the child some of the remedy. I haven't heard back from them yet, so I don't have further feedback. In any case, the child was already nearly 2 weeks into the disease, it would clear up soon regardless of whatever remedies I would give at this late date.
These events got me thinking - the infection of Nairobi Fly looks so very similar to herpes simplex (cold sores, genital herpes) and herpes zoster (shingles) and I predict that the remedy will be very effective in the treatment of herpes, particularly if it appears on the face, neck, lips, mouth, eyes, or upper chest.
So my request to anyone - if you can identify and capture the little bug, please do so, press it between some papers and bring it to our Abha Light Pharmacy. I can't say for certain that the bug I potentized last week is really NF. So I'd like to try again with a true specimen.
Anyone out there want to do a homeopathic proving of it?
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Diabetes drugs given 'too soon'
Good diabetes care is not just about medication. - Department of Health
news.bbc.co.uk
A study of 650 people in south west England found 36% were put on tablets within a month of being diagnosed, a Diabetes UK conference heard. But guidelines recommend first trying lifestyle changes to control diabetes.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said medication helps people to "manage their condition". The Royal College of GPs agreed diet and exercise should come first.
More than 400 people a day are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the UK.It is often associated with obesity, and attempts in recent years to screen people for the disease has increased the number of people being diagnosed.
In the latest study, researchers found that in many patients lifestyle management was not given a chance, despite being widely recognised as being the initial first "treatment".
Metformin is the first drug of choice, but more drugs can be added if that is not doing enough to control blood sugar levels.
The researchers found that 13% of participants were actually on two types of tablets within the first few weeks of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Study author Dr Rob Andrew, a senior lecturer at the University of Bristol, said they had not expected the figures to be quite so high. "When people are diagnosed, they're ready to make a lot of changes but
if you give them a tablet, you're saying it is not their lifestyle that
is the problem" says Dr Rob Andrew
"There is quite clear guidance that says when you're first diagnosed, you should have the opportunity to concentrate on lifestyle then if that doesn't work the next stage is metformin."
Balanced diet
He added that incentive payments to encourage GPs to reduce blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes, a lack of NHS resources for lifestyle support and a cultural attitude that people will not make the necessary changes are probably all to blame.
Simon O'Neill, from Diabetes UK, said they were concerned that in some cases medication seemed to be the first port of call.
"A healthy, balanced diet and doing physical activity should always be the foundation of good diabetes management.
"Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition - the longer a person has diabetes, the more likely they are to need tablets, and eventually insulin.
"Even if people are on tablets, medication should not simply replace diet and physical activity."
Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said there was probably a case of jumping in too quickly with pills. "It is a reminder for GPs and nurses managing newly diagnosed diabetes that lifestyle advice is the most important component." He added that in some areas of the country there was a lack of resources for supporting behavioural changes.
The Department of Health has defended its treatment of people with the condition. A spokeswoman said: "Prescribed medication is vital to enable many people with diabetes to manage their condition on a day-to-day basis and to reduce their risk of developing complications such as heart attack and stroke."
However, she stressed that "good diabetes care is not just about medication". "As the NICE guidelines recommend, people with type 2 diabetes should be encouraged to make lifestyle changes, such as healthy eating and increased physical activity, before starting medication," she said.
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Three things you can do to reduce your chances of cancer
www.wddty.com There are three simple things you can
introduce into your daily life that will dramatically reduce your
chances of getting most cancers.
Just eating a
healthier diet, taking some exercise and limiting body fat can reduce
by one third your chances of developing 12 of the most common cancers,
and cut your risk of developing any cancer by 24 per cent.
These
lifestyle changes don't include quitting smoking, which can have the
most dramatic effect on cancer risk of all, says the American Institute
for Cancer Research.
The most startling effect is seen
with endometrial and esophageal cancers, which can be reduced by 70 per
cent and 69 per cent respectively.
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Pollen and lack of exercise can cause asthma
www.wddty.com
Researchers have this week got a step closer to understanding asthma, and have pinpointed two likely causes.
The
first is the modern lifestyle of most children, who sit for hours in
front of a tv or computer screen, and the second is pollen and mould.
Researchers
from Glasgow University reckon that children who sit in front of a
television double their risk of developing asthma. Not that the
television itself is to blame, it's simply that children aren't getting
outside to play and exercise, and so breathing fully.
In
a study of 3,000 children, who were tracked from birth to the age of 12
years, researchers found a direct relationship between the amount of
television watched and asthma. Those who watched television for two
hours or more a day were nearly twice as likely to develop asthma.
Sitting around may encourage shallow breathing where the lungs are not fully functioning, say the researchers.
In
the second study, researchers have found a direct link between the
disease and newborns whose first few months of life are during the late
spring or winter, when pollen or mould are at high levels.
Those
whose first months of life were in the late autumn or winter were three
times more likely to develop wheezing, often an early sign of asthma,
than those born in the high summer, after the pollen levels had fallen.
Researchers
examined the health of 514 children born between 1999 and 2000 in
California's Salinas Valley, where ambient mould levels began to
increase in November and December and pollen levels peaked in March and
April.
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B vitamins help keep vision sharp as we age
Archives of Internal Medicine
Following on from our news story last
week about how fruits and vegetables can help reduce vision loss in
older age, a new study has found that vitamins B6 and B12 can also help
preserve our eyesight as we get older.
Taking a
combination of vitamins B6 and B12 together with folic acid can reduce
the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Researchers
made the discovery when they gave supplements to a group of 5,442 women
aged 40 and older who already had heart disease or three other risk
factors for AMD.
Over a seven-year period, the women
were given either a placebo, or sugar pill, or the supplements. Those
who took the supplements reduced their risk of AMD by 34 per cent, and
of 'visually significant' AMD by 41 per cent.
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Vigorous Exercise May Help Prevent Vision Loss
ScienceDaily
There's another reason to dust off those running shoes. Vigorous exercise may help prevent vision loss, according to a pair of studies from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The studies tracked approximately 41,000 runners for more than seven years, and found that running reduced the risk of both cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
The research, which is among the first to suggest that vigorous exercise may help prevent vision loss, offers hope for people seeking to fend off the onset of eye disease.
"In addition to obtaining regular eye exams, people can take a more active role in preserving their vision," says Paul Williams, an epidemiologist in Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division who conducted the research. "The studies suggest that people can perhaps lessen their risk for these diseases by taking part in a fitness regimen that includes vigorous exercise."
A cataract, which is a cloudy opacity of the eye lens, is the leading cause of blindness. More than one-half of people in the U.S. over the age of 65 suffer from some form of cataracts. Age-related macular degeneration, which is damage to the retina, is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older white Americans, affecting 28 percent of people aged 75 and older.
The diseases have several known risk factors, such as sunlight exposure and diabetes in the case of cataracts, but few interventions. Now, it appears that vigorous cardiovascular exercise may be one way to derail the diseases.
To conduct the research, Williams analyzed data collected in the National Runners' Health Study, which he established in 1991 to determine the health benefits of running.
In this case, he followed approximately 29,000 male runners and 12,000 female runners for more than seven years. Of these people, 733 men reported being diagnosed with cataracts on a questionnaire filled out at the end of the study. Too few women reported cataracts to track.
Men who ran more than 5.7 miles per day had a 35 percent lower risk of developing cataracts than men who ran less than 1.4 miles per day. The study also analyzed men's 10-kilometer race performances, which is a good indicator of overall fitness. The fittest men boasted one-half the risk of developing cataracts compared to the least-fit men.
A second study found that running appeared to reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration. In the study, 152 men and women reported being diagnosed with the disease. Compared to people who ran less than 1.2 miles per day, people who averaged between 1.2 and 2.4 miles per day had a 19 percent lower risk for the disease, and people who ran more than 2.4 miles per day had between 42 percent and 54 percent lower risk of the disease.
The studies are published in the January 2009 issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. They were supported in part by grants from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
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Microwave emissions from cell phone towers increase oxidative stress,
lower GSH and impair immune function
www.keephopealive.org
Conrad LeBeau
This is a special report on the adverse health effects of microwave radiation from cell phone towers. While the telecommunications industry has spent millions of dollars on short term studies that indicate no adverse health effects from cell phones or the cell phone relay towers, they have spend zero dollars to determine its immunological effects.
A few studies have measured the biological effects of microwave radio emissions from cell phone towers and find that they increase free radicals and oxidative stress, lower glutathione levels and cortisol levels. Photographs of red blood cells exposed to cell phone microwave signals show red blood cell aggregation that takes as much as 40 minutes to return to normal. The distorted red blood cells can impair oxygen delivery a condition known as hypoxia and lead to an increase in the pulse rate, possible seizures, HBP, strokes and heart disease.
Currently, there is no investigation on the effects of cell phone signals on impairing the body's immune response against viral, fungal and bacterial infections while empirical and anecdotal evidence grows that cell phone radiation may be degrading and impairing the immune system of millions of people worldwide. From the common cold to the flu, infections are lasting much longer than they use to from 10 days to several weeks or even months. Microwave radiation causes proteins to harden and accelerates the aging process. In plain English, millions of people using cell phones and being exposed 24/7 to microwave radiation are being slowly cooked. The long term damage may eventually become irreversible.
Internet sources report that there are over 100,000 cell phone relay towers in the US alone and they grow by the day. The following research done on rats exposed to the microwave frequencies of cell phones and cell phone towers demonstrates serious health implications for the human race.
GSM base station electromagnetic radiation and oxidative stress in rats.
Full Author Name: Yurekli, Ali Ihsan; Ozkan, Mehmed; Kalkan, Tunaya; Saybasili, Hale; Tuncel, Handan; Atukeren, Pinar; Gumustas, Koray; Seker, Selim. Yurekli AI, Ozkan M, Kalkan T, Saybasili H, Tuncel H, Atukeren P, Gumustas K, Seker S.
Electromagn Biol Med. 2006;25(3):177-88.
Tubitak-Uekae, EMC TEMPEST Test Center, Gebze-Kocaeli, Turkey.
"The ever increasing use of cellular phones and the increasing number of associated base stations are becoming a widespread source of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. Some biological effects are likely to occur even at low-level EM fields.
"In this study, a gigahertz transverse electromagnetic (GTEM) cell was used as an exposure environment for plane wave conditions of far-field free space EM field propagation at the GSM base transceiver station (BTS) frequency of 945 MHz, and effects on oxidative stress in rats were investigated.
"When EM fields at a power density of 3.67 W/m2 (specific absorption rate = 11.3 mW/kg), which is well below current exposure limits, were applied, MDA (malondialdehyde) level was found to increase and GSH (reduced glutathione) concentration was found to decrease significantly (p < 0.0001). Additionally, there was a less significant (p = 0.0190) increase in SOD (superoxide dismutase) activity under EM exposure."
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Self-healing: Brain repairs itself after a stroke
www.wddty.com
Our brain has the ability to repair
itself following a stroke. It can create new networks of arteries to
restore the blood supply to damaged tissue, often starved of oxygen, a
new study has discovered.
They also have the ability to
dilate at critical points around the head in order to maintain a
constant delivery of new blood cells.
Neurosurgeons
recognise that the hours following a stroke are critical as brain
tissue may die if it is starved of oxygen and nutrients.
Lead
researcher David Kleinfeld from the University of California, San
Diego, commented: "Vessels on the surface of the brain have a mesh-like
architecture. One consequence of that is that it operates like a grid
system that redistributes 'current flow as you need'".
(Source: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 2009; published online 28 January 2009; doi:10.1038/jcbfm.2008.166).
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Virus 'triggers child diabetes'
www.news.bbc.co.uk
A common virus may be the trigger for the development of many cases of diabetes, particularly in children, UK researchers have reported.
Signs of enteroviruses were found in pancreatic tissue from 60% of children with type 1 diabetes, but in hardly any children without the disease.
They also found that 40% of adults with type 2 diabetes had signs of the infection in insulin-producing cells.
The study published in Diabetologia raises the possibility of a vaccine.
Although genetics is known to play a fairly substantial role in a person's risk of developing diabetes, environmental factors must also be involved and the idea of a viral cause of diabetes has been considered for decades.
The latest study was made possible by a pathologist in Glasgow who for 25 years collected tissue samples from children across the UK who had died less than 12 months after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Dr Alan Foulis believed that enteroviruses - a common family of viruses which cause symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea - would be present but until recently the technology was not sensitive enough to detect them.
Along with colleagues from the south west-based Peninsula Medical School and the University of Brighton, he has now been able to look for evidence of the enteroviruses in tissue samples routinely taken during autopsy in 72 children and compare that with samples from 50 children without the condition.
In those with diabetes who had signs of the virus, it was specifically found in the insulin-producing beta cells.
Immune trigger
The researchers suggest that, in children with a genetic predisposition to type 1 diabetes - an autoimmune disease in which beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed - enterovirus infection can trigger the immune reaction that kicks off the disease process.
With type 2 diabetes - the type often linked to obesity in adults - the researchers speculate that the infection affects the ability of the cells to make insulin, which in combination with the greater demand for insulin in obese people, is enough to set off the disease.
The next steps to identify the viruses and find out what they are doing to the infected beta cells will be hugely exciting and will take us a step closer to preventing type 1 diabetes
Dr Iain Frame, Diabetes UK
At the same time, a separate study, published in Science, by researchers at Cambridge University, found four rare mutations in a gene which reduce the risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
It also backs the viral theory because the gene in question is involved in the immune response to infection with enteroviruses.
There are 100 different strains of enterovirus, so although the results open the way for the development of a vaccine, researchers still have to pin down which types are involved.
The study's author, Professor Noel Morgan from the Peninsula Medical School, said the results showed the underlying infection with enteroviruses was not a "rare event".
"The next stages of research - to identify which enteroviruses are involved, how the beta-cells are changed by infection and the ultimate goal to develop an effective vaccine - will lead to findings which we hope will drastically reduce the number of people around the world who develop type 1 diabetes, and potentially type 2 diabetes as well," he added.
Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, said the study was "a big step forward" in understanding the potential triggers for the disease.
"We've known for some time that type 1 diabetes cannot be explained by genetics alone and that other, environmental triggers may also play a part.
Karen Addington, chief executive of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, who funded the research, said the findings were important as the incidence of type 1 diabetes is increasing every year and there is currently no way to prevent it.
"Type 1 diabetes is a life- threatening condition that requires a life-time of painful finger prick blood testing and insulin injections," she pointed out.
[comment by Didi: If a virus is the cause of diabetes, then homeopathy & natural medicine can address that with a detoxing programme]
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Medical Disclaimer:
The information contained within does not take the place of medical diagnosis or
prescription. See your health care provider in case of sickness.
Editorial Disclaimer: Publication of these articles are to promote food for thought. The opinions expressed in these articles may not be the opinion of editors.
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