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April 19, 2001 Research Update |
James Bogash, D.C. Mesa, AZ
info@lifecarechiropractic.com
www.lifecarechiropractic.com
Fluorescent Marker w/ Hand-Held Sensor Can Detect Breast Malignancy
We are starting to see many alternatives to mammograms; many of which have a much better false positive rate. Given the high number of false positives with mammograms and the psychological distress associated with this, any alternative that is at least as effective should be welcomed with open arms. However, we should never forget that prevention is much, much better, easier and cheaper than a cure...
(article) A breast cancer detection technique using a conjugated fluorescent marker that targets malignant cells may become a safer, cheaper and more accurate alternative to mammography. "We have come up with a way to detect the function of cancer enzymes as a method of cancer detection," said Dr. Britton Chance, who is a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "In other words, we are detecting cancer at the molecular level, but with a high discrimination." Tricarbo-cyanine, encapsulated in a peptide, is injected intravenously and accumulates in breast tissue. Enzymes in malignant cells degrade the peptide, releasing tricarbo-cyanine which fluoresces under an external red light source. The fluorescence can be imaged with a hand-held detector. The technique does not require a radiologist and "has outreach possibilities for underserved populations of women who can't get to a clinic or a hospital for an X-ray," said Dr. Chance at a news conference at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society on Wednesday. So far this approach has been tested in a group of 30 women and is now headed for phase II.
St. John's Wort Lowers Plasma Levels of Many Drugs
This issue has gained a surprising amount of press since it came out. A few things to consider here. First, St. John's Wort has been found to induce (speed up) the cytochrome P450 enzyme system which is required for detoxification. Many times in natural medicine this is a good thing...it's just that with concommittent use of pharmaceutical drugs (almost all of which the body views as a toxin and tries to get rid off) will clear the drug out of the body quicker. Second, in none of the articles highlighting this facet of Hypericin have I seen a note to the effect that many (if not all..) pharmaceutical drugs used for psychological issues ALSO effect cytochrome P450-some induced and some repressed.
(article) St. John's wort, through its induction of the enzyme cytochrome P450-3A4, can lead to markedly lower plasma levels of prescribed medications, reported Dr. George K. Dresser at the annual meeting here of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Dr. Dresser, of the University of Western Ontario, in London, and associates administered midazolam, a cytochrome P450-3A4-specific substrate, to 10 healthy volunteers before and after a 12-day treatment with St. John's wort 900 mg/day. They found that the herbal product decreased blood levels of orally administered midazolam by 60%. Dr. Dresser pointed out that midazolam is only one of many drugs metabolized by the cytochrome P450-3A4 enzyme. "You can expect that for as many as half of the drugs in common use, lower levels would result when they're taken with St. John's wort," Dr. Dresser told Reuters Health. Dr. Dresser recommends that physicians include in their patient histories the use of herbal products, particularly St. John's wort. "If you have a patient taking St. John's wort in whom you have titrated up the dose of a drug, and then that patient stops taking the St. John's wort, that can be dangerous," he said. In such an instance, blood levels of the drug could increase substantially. "Also," he added, "if you have a patient taking a drug like cyclosporin, where it's absolutely critical that they get the drug into their system, and this patient starts taking St. John's wort, that can be equally or more dangerous as the level of the drug falls." Dr. Dresser emphasized that "changes in St. John's wort use in patients needs to be carefully documented."
Green Tea Preparations Protect Skin From UV Radiation Damage
This article looks at topically applied green tea extract on UV associated skin damage. It would be interesting to see if oral preparations would have a similar effects. It has been shown previously that Vit C in high doses can raise the minimal erythemic dose (time to develop redness) and potentially protect against sunburn. Remember, a sunburn is basically inflammation caused by oxidative stress produced by the UV rays, and any therapy geared towards lowering inflammation and/or oxidative stress should have a protective effect.
J Am Acad Dermatol 2001;44:425-432 Topically applied extracts from green tea appear to reduce the number of sunburn cells and protect epidermal Langerhans cells from damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Dr. Craig A. Elmets, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues used extracts from green tea or one of its constituents to treat areas of the skin in six healthy volunteers. Using concentrations of the green tea preparations that ranged from 1% to 10%, the researchers applied the preparations to the backs of their subjects 30 minutes before exposing the treated areas to a "2 minimal erythema dose solar stimulated radiation." The green tea extracts cause the erythema response to UV radiation to be inhibited, in a dose-dependent manner, the researchers report. The 10% solution offered almost complete protection at 48 and 72 hours, while the 2.5% solution "was found to provide excellent protection, and in some subjects even a 0.5% solution was able to produce a significant reduction in the sunburn response," Dr. Elmets' group found. The polyphenolic fractions that were the most efficient at inhibiting erythema were (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate and the (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate, however, there was little effect from (-)-epigallocatechin and (-)-epicatechin, according to the report. In addition, using the green tea extracts also reduced DNA damage, formed after UV radiation. "In an era in which the incidence of the adverse effects of UV radiation is rising at an alarming rate, the introduction of green tea preparations and other natural chemopreventive agents may prove to be a new alternative for protection from exposure to UV radiation," Dr. Elmets and colleagues conclude.
Oxidant stress in allergic asthma measured w/ urinary F2-isoprostane
I know this article appears to be a highly technical one (and it is...), but the take home message is that any asthmatic (in particular those with associated allergies) should be on a strong antioxidant regimen. Oxidative stress in asthmatics can be a major contributing factor for symptoms, and too many times patients are not given the advice to work on the inside out. Most patients get the "get rid of the pets, wash the linens, use an air cleaner" recommendations, but few really get comprehensive recommendations that will approach the problem from all angles. Synergy : Clinical & Experimental Allergy 31 (3), 387-390 http://www.lifecarechiropractic.com/researchUpdateMar22-2001.html
Common allergy tests in infants with cow's milk allergy
This is a very interesting article that highlights the frustration physicians that use functional medicine experience in dealing with mainstream physicians. I very frequently hear of my patients going to an allergist for allergy tests, to be told that they were allergic to dust, pollens and molds. It is the rare occurence when food allergies are even taken into consideration. And even when they are, "traditional" tests are used. As far as I'm concerned, many of the usual tests run for allergies are just short of worthless. Sure, they may identify the potential for anaphalaxis, but for the patients experiencing chronic sinusitis, fatigue and muscle aches they do not give us the info we need. Elimination of a potential allergen for at least two weeks (so allergies may take up to 12 days to show a response!!) and reintroduction of that substance is the gold standard by which other tests are judged. This article points out that most of the other tests fail miserably... Synergy : Clinical & Experimental Allergy 31 (3), 423-429
Effect of vitamin C on neutrophil function after high-intensity exercise
This study used 2g of Vit C for one week in runners to determine if Vit C could alter the reduction in neutrophil function commonly seen in long distance runners. No difference was seen. However, there are two issues with this study. First of all, it was small (10 runners), and 2g of Vit C may be way too low of a dose for this application. I recommend 1-2g/day for the average person, and the amount of oxidative free radical production occurring in a long distance runner is very high. I would like to see if intakes on the range of 3-6g/day would make an impact. Synergy : European Journal of Clinical Investigation 31 (3), 258-263 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/Journals/content/abstracts/eci/2001/31/3/abstract_eci797.asp?journal=eci&issueid=4913&artid=95371&cid=eci.2001.1& ype=abstracts
Na+/H+ exchanger w/ hyperinsulinemia in borderline hypertensive rats
Here is another article (albeit a rat study) that begins to dispell the idea of most cases of hypertension being "essential." Hyperinsulinemia is slowly appearing as a potential culprit in the development of this previous unknown etiology disease. Synergy : European Journal of Clinical Investigation 31 (3), 193-200 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/Journals/content/abstracts/eci/2001/31/3/abstract_eci808.asp?journal=eci&issueid=4913&artid=95381&cid=eci.2001.1& ftype=abstracts
Mortality Lower Among Immigrants Than Those Born in the US
Do we need any more evidence that our lifestyle here in the US is killing us? American Public Health Association - APHA - Singh and Siahpush abstract http://www.apha.org/journal/abstracts/mar01/ab2mar01.htm
Treatment of obesity: to focus on high risk abdominally obese patients
I've never really been a big fan of using body mass index (BMI) to assess one's risk of obesity related diseases. This article addresses the much higher utility of using the waist to hip ratio to determine a high risk obese patient. The abdominal/visceral adipose tissue appears to be much more harmful than fat distributed elsewhere on the body; it is for this reason that the waist to hip ratio is a good option over BMI. bmj.com Després et al. 322 (7288): 716 http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7288/716
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/Journals/content/abstracts/eci/2001/31/3/abstract_eci808.asp?journal=eci&issueid=4913&artid=95381&cid=eci.2001.1&
ftype=abstracts