***Are We Overprescribing Antireflux Medications for Infants With Regurgitation?***
I still remember vividly the first time I had a patient come in and say their newborn was place on acid suppressive therapy for reflux. I was dumbfounded. I knew pediatricians have a tendency to be a little off when it comes to medical research, but suppress a normal function as vital as digestion in an infant is just unthinkable. Or at least it was then...now, it seems like every body knows someone who's baby is on this stuff. The real kicker is that any spitting up is likely going to be related to food allergies, and NOT "too much acid." The dangers of NOT addressing the cause of the problems coupled with the dangers of suppressing a natural antibiotic like stomach acid are many. Thankfully, I'm not the only one who's noticed. These authors ran a study looking at acidity in a group of infants on acid suppressive therapy and found that only 8 of 44 infants actually met the criteria for acid reflux.
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***Phosphatidylcholine for Steroid-Refractory Chronic Ulcerative Colitis***
Phosphatidylcholine is an important component of our cell wells; without adequate levels, the cell cannot effectively communicate messages from inside of the cell to outside. Healthier communication means healthier cells. In this particular study, the authors use PC to see if it could more effectively help patients with UC come off of their steroids. While this was a small study, a 40% better response w/ the use of PC is a pretty exciting result. Couple this with other dietary changes and anti-inflammatory compounds like fish oil and it is likely to provide a very effective natural approach to inflammatory bowel disease.
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***Effect of high-dose gamma-tocopherol supplementation on biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with coronary artery disease***
There has been much controversy lately over Vit E and heart disease. I've addressed this in past issues of the Updates, but suffice it to say that I feel this scare against Vit E has been perpetuated by physicians who don't really understand how Vit E works. One of the concerns with these studies is that they used to synthetic form of Vit E instead of the natural, RRR-tocopherol form. Well, in this study we see that 2 years of relatively high dosages of RRR-tocopherol lowered markers of oxidative stress but had no impact on the thickening of the carotid arteries.
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***Down-regulation of adhesion molecules and other inflammatory biomarkers after moderate wine consumption in healthy women: a randomized trial***
We've all heard that red wine is good for you in moderation, but occasionally we get reminders of just how good. Resveratrol is the compound present in red wine and peanuts that has been targeted as the main component. There has been much research lately on resveratrol's effects on the Sirtuin family of genes. This family of genes plays a very important role in how the body benefits from calorie restriction without nutrient restriction. It is very likely that resveratrol's effects on these genes can mimic calorie restriction, providing a very broad range of healthy benefits.
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***Association between Hypothyroidism and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth***
Talk about the complicated web that makes up our physiology!! In this small study, it was determined that 54% patients with hypothyroidism due to autoimmune thyroiditis had small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SMBO). So what are the connections? First, we know that anti-secretory therapy for ulcers leads to bacterial overgrowth as well. Then, we know that SMBO has been linked to fatty liver (at first seems like a stretch, but SMBO will lead to leaky gut, allowing larger molecules to get absorbed and head straight to the liver, where the liver now has to deal with the burden). We also know that a large percentage of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis have celiac disease, which further disrupts the integrity of the GI tract. So, we end up with an upregulation of the immune system as a result of the leaky gut, increasing our likelihood of an autoimmune condition. This can be a perfect example of a feed forward cycle, where an initial disruption in physiology leads to other problems, with these "other problems" feeding back into the cycle and making the initial disruption worse!!
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***Low vitamin B-12 status and risk of cognitive decline in older adults***
Supplementation with B12 and folic acid is a very inexpensive approach with high safety and many potential benefits. The problem is that many physicians still use serum B12 to assess status, and while this is a good marker of on the spot B12, it does not really give a good picture of functional status of B12. Personally, I always look at a patient's MCV (mean corpuscular volume) level on a standard CBC. While most labs don't consider it normal until it passes 100, I don't like to see this value much past the lower 90s. In this study, I think what was surprising was just how much of an effect B12 had on cognitive decline. Higher levels of MMA or homocysteine (markers of functional B12 status) led to a 50% greater risk of congitive decline. That's a massive difference.
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***Dietary glycemic load, added sugars, and carbohydrates as risk factors for pancreatic cancer***
While I have not seen any recent epidemiological studies, my own personal experience tells me that the number of patients w/ pancreatic cancer is increasing. And, of all the cancers, this is high on the list of the nastiest. So, anything we can find that increases risk is important. This study looked at sugar intake and found definite links between high intakes of fructose and sucrose intake and pancreatic cancer.
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***Adipogenesis is inhibited by brief, daily exposure to high-frequency, extremely low-magnitude mechanical signals***
While this is a mice study, it raises some very interesting questions. We know that whole body vibration has been shown to be effective for increasing bone density as well as increasing lean body mass. Given that both adipocytes and osteoblasts share a common stem cell precursor, it looks, from this study, that vibration causes a precursor cell to produce a bone cell instead of a fat cell. Might it be that exercise merely vibrates the stem cell, resulting in many of the positive effects of WBV? If this is so, what does this portend for our current generation of sedentary teenagers when they get older? More fat, less bone?
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***Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community***
While none of this should come as a surprise, it still has not been widely accepted as a factor in addressing hyperactivity disorders. And there is NO downside to feeding your children less processed foods, so the idea of trying every child w/ some degree of hyperactivity on a less processed diet should be mainstream.
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***Relation of cognitive activity to risk of developing Alzheimer disease***
Wow.."use it or lose it?" Where have we heard that before? It is likely that using your brain increases blood flow to the brain. Increased blood flow equals increased nutrients and better energy generation w/ less oxidative stress. So, the bottom line is that you should continue to read Research Updates if you want to avoid Alzheimers...
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James Bogash, DC and Amy Strock, DC
1830 S. Alma School Rd, Bldg 7, Ste 135, Mesa, AZ 85210
(Alma School Road, just south of the Superstition Freeway/Highway 60)
Chiropractic Health Care Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert & Tempe, Arizona
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