Pregnant women who take a widely prescribed epilepsy drug give birth to children with lower average IQs, according to a study conducted by researchers from Emory University School of Medicine and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers conducted IQ tests on 258 children between the ages of two and three, all of whose mothers had been prescribed antiseizure medication from one of 25 epilepsy centers in the United States or United Kingdom between October 1999 and February 2004. A total of 53 children in the study had been born to mothers who had taken the best-selling drug valproate, marketed as Convulex, Depakene, Depakine, Epival or Stavzor.

Valproate is the second most popular antiseizure drug used to treat epilepsy. Prior research has linked its use by pregnant women to birth defects and slowed infant development.

Researchers found that the average IQ of children who had been exposed to valproate in utero was 92, significantly lower than the average of 100. In comparison, the average IQs of children prenatally exposed to the drugs carbamazepine, lamotrigine and phenytoin were all within two points of 100.

The researchers said that doctors should never prescribe valproate as a first choice to epileptic women of childbearing age.

"My thought is that if I make a mistake and the patient has a breakthrough seizure, I can change the medication and switch the patient to valproate," lead author Kimford J. Meador said. "If I put the patient on valproate as a first choice and the baby has cognitive impairment or a malformation, I can't repair that."

Epileptic women give birth to between 13,000 and 21,000 children each year.

Women currently taking valproate should not discontinue the drug without consulting a physician first, warned Eric Hargis of the Epilepsy Foundation.

Valproate is also used to treat bipolar disorder, depression, migraine and schizophrenia.

Sources for this story include: www.nytimes.com.

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[comment from Didi: Autism -a disease that did not exist 50 years ago- is on the rise in Kenya, too. Unfortunately this article makes no mention of the connection between drugs or vaccinations and the rise of autism. The mass media remains deathly silent on this growing evidence. They write about Autism and all other diseases as if there were no connections at all to the increasing invasion of drugs into our lives.]

The popular diabetes drug sitagliptin (marketed as Januvia) may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to study conducted by researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles and published in the journal Diabetes.

"Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease -- people often take the same drugs for many years, so any adverse effect that could over time increase the risk for pancreatic cancer would be a concern," said lead researcher Peter Butler. "A concern here is that the unwanted effects of this drug on the pancreas would likely not be detected in humans unless the pancreas was removed and examined."

Previous research has suggested that the diabetes drug Byetta might increase the risk of pancreatic inflammation (pancreatitis), a known risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Byetta and Januvia both act by enhancing the activity of a gut hormone known as glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1), thereby resulting in lower blood sugar.

Byetta manufacturer Amylin Corp. has insisted that the connection between Byetta and pancreatitis could be coincidence, since no mechanism to explain the correlation has yet been found. The new study suggests, however, that enhanced GLP-1 activity might itself be a risk factor for pancreatitis.

Researchers conducted the study on rats that had been genetically engineered to simulate the metabolism of humans with Type 2 diabetes, as well as their Islets of Langerhans. They treated 40 rats with either Januvia or a Januvia-metformin combination for 12 weeks.

The Islets of Langerhans are hormone-producing regions of the pancreas. Metformin is an older diabetes drug that is believed to have tumor-suppressing properties.

The researchers found that rats treated only with Januvia had significantly higher proliferation of beta cells in their Islets of Langerhans, while some developed pancreatic abnormalities or inflammation. Rats treated with both drugs did not exhibit this effect.

Beta cells produce the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin.

Sources for this story include: www.upi.com; www.sciencecentric.com.

The olive, or zaitoon in Arabic, is a sign of friendship and peace and it is a cure for over 60 diseases. According to religious beliefs, after the flood of Noah, the first plant seen was the olive tree. The olives, the olive oil and especially the olive leaves are full of nutrients, vitamins and healing. They contain anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-viral properties and many vitamins and nutrients.

The olive leaf itself is known for the treatment and curing of many diseases, including the much feared influenza virus. Olive leaf is good for fighting yeast infections, flu and virus, treating those with cardiovascular problems and lowering cholesterol. Even the twigs of the olive tree are used to clean the teeth with. This twig is called miswak in Arabic and it has many health benefits also.

The olive tree is found in Asia, Palestine, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Italy, North Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, California, Mexico, Peru, and parts of Australia. The olives are pickled and not eaten fresh from the tree. After picking the olives, you must remove the seeds and split them open. Then you soak them in salt for several days. After they are cured to lose their sour taste,they are then pickled in a water solution with lemon and hot chilies. Olives are a delicacy in all Arab countries.

The olive oil is used as a preservative on many foods such as tomato sauce, hot pepper sauces, fish, and many vegetables, such as stuffed eggplant. A favorite of many is the yogurt balls in olive oil. Olive oil is part of the Arab diet and used in many ways. Many Arabs have olive oil every morning for breakfast with humus, yogurt and dips. It is not only delicious, but extremely healthy.

Natural Health Remedies:
The olive oil will alleviate muscle pains. You can warm the olive oil slightly and rub it on the pain. It is also a treatment for hemorrhoids, leprosy, pleurisy, skin diseases, dandruff, eczema, psoriasis, alopecia and fungal infections including ringworm, and it increases sexual desire.

Olive oil is great for the complexion as it makes it glow. When it is mixed with salt, the mixture can be used as a remedy for gum and teeth problems. Olive oil provides protection from poisons, helps in the digestions process, expels worms and makes the hair shiny and beautiful. Olive oil is also great for anti-aging and longevity.

Olive oil is a good treatment on boils, rashes, itching, mouth ulcers, allergic dermatitis, scars, boils and small pox. The olives them self, are used to rid the body of constipation and the leaves are smashed to rid excess perspiration. Ear aliments are alleviated by using the juice of the leaves mixed with honey. Olive oil used in the eyes will relieve inflammation.

Some doctors also recommend olive oil for the treatment of epilepsy. Olive oil is a good diuretic and therefore very good for the ridding of kidney stones. Olive oil will heal sinus problems and if mixed with barley water will rid the body of constipation.

It is stated, but not proven, that olive oil rids the body of gall bladder stones. It is good for intestinal inflammations and distress. Olive oil is also good for excess acidity and gas. It has been noted that people who take regular amounts of olive oil do not suffer from colds and the flu as much.

Buying cold pressed olive oil is not a simple matter. There are numerous grades of olive oils. It can be as difficult as choosing a fine wine. Many companies sell many oils, but choosing the right one at the right price is the task. Always look for a deep rich green color and it must be cold pressed. To cook with olive oil, you need to have virgin olive oil not extra virgin olive oil.

Virgin olive oil is pressed twice, but still needs to be cold pressed. The grades of oils depend on the country and the type of tree. All oils should be kept in a dark cool place and kept out of the sunlight. Olive oil remains good for six months after opening the bottle or can.

http://greekfood.about.com/od/greek...
http://www.missionislam.com/health/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil

Vitamin B12 deficiency is a common problem that is often overlooked, but once a doctor FINDS vitamin B 12 deficiency in a patient, it's likely that the person will STILL suffer from their symptoms even AFTER treatment because most doctors, historically, give too low of a dose to correct the symptoms that occur in vitamin B12 deficiency.

There are many pitfalls along the road to getting a diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency and the vast majority of those suffering from this problem get overlooked by western medicine. But when someone actually GETS a diagnosis, the patient is STILL likely to not benefit from supplementation because the clinician will most often not give enough of the vitamin to make a difference in how the patient feels. When a patient has vitamin B12 deficiency, doctors most often give a 'standard' dose of 1000 micrograms per day for treatment. While some people will respond to this dose and feel better, researchers believe that this dose may be WAY too low in a large subset of patients who need much higher doses in order to feel better.

"The lowest dose of oral cyanocobalamin [a form of vitamin B12] required to normalize mild vitamin B12 deficiency is more than 200 times greater than the recommended dietary  allowance" 'Cyanocobalamin Supplementation in Older People With Vitamin B12 Deficiency'

It's rare that studies on vitamin B12 actually look at the SUBJECTIVE feelings of a patient in order to determine need for therapy; most rely on OBJECTIVE markers such as blood levels, but it seems that the more reliable and effective determination of the need for vitamin B12 therapy is sense of well-being. One study took people complaining of fatigue who had NORMAL vitamin B12 levels and gave them increasingly higher doses of vitamin B12 until they simply felt better. They then repeated the vitamin B12 levels and found that the patients with the highest vitamin B12 levels scored the best on a mental and emotional questionnaire. There are Almost No doctors who continue to INCREASE the dose of a therapy based on a patient's feelings of well-being when blood tests show normal levels, but other studies also confirm that this may be EXACTLY the way vitamin B12 deficiency SHOULD be treated.

In fact, some studies showed that it required up to 9000 micrograms per day (9mg) in order to achieve the 'maximum feeling of well-being' as reported by patients REGARDLESS of their vitamin B12 level! That's 9 times higher than the standard dose that doctors give in order to correct deficiency. But that seemingly 'megadose' of 9000 micrograms per day was used specifically for the treatment of fatigue; vitamin B12 has been used in doses up to 40 milligrams per day, that's 40,000 micrograms per day, in order to treat or to delay progression of nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. The vast majority of these studies ALSO showed that almost no one had any ill effects from such high doses, so it's undeniable that this vitamin is safe in doses much higher than the 'standard' 1000 micrograms per day.

Doctors, however, generally want to find the lowest dose that corrects the deficiency as determined by blood levels. In the case of vitamin B12 deficiency, since extremely high doses have been repeatedly shown to be safe, correcting DEFICIENCY should not be the ultimate goal, but correcting the SYMPTOMS that brought the patient into the doctor's office to begin with should be. Unfortunately, individualizing care and giving different doses to individual patients who may need more than the standard dose is not what occurs in actual practice the majority of time. This leaves tens of thousands across the nation still suffering from fatigue because the 'standard practice' in vitamin B12 deficiency is to look at laboratory testing and not the most important part of the equation- whether a patient actually feels better.

Resources:
1)http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/co...
2)http://www.thorne.com/media/chronic...
3)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...