April 23, 2001 Research Update

James Bogash, D.C. Mesa, AZ
info@lifecarechiro.com
www.lifecarechiro.com

Exposure to pets and atopy-related diseases in the first 4 years of life

More and more studies are showing a protective effects of pets on allergies in children. The sterile environment that we are raising our kids, with no pets, antibacterial-everything, over vaccination and antibiotic use with every snifle is altering the developing child's immune balance in an unhealthy way. Synergy : Allergy 56 (4), 307-312 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/Journals/content/abstracts/al/2001/56/4/abstract_all881.asp?journal=al&issueid=4954&artid=96063&cid=al.2001.1& ftype=abstracts

Ipriflavone in the Treatment of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

I've quite frequently expressed by views towards using whole foods whenver possible. Nature put certain compounds into our food that can interact positively with each other. By trying to isolate and mass produce the believed active ingredient we may be missing out on the interactions of these substances working together to achieve the best clinical response with the least amount of side effects. I firmly believe that soy is the same way--we are abusing the key components of soy. And remember that the approach to today's chronic diseases requires attacking the problem from all angles--not just one aspect. Ipriflavone in the Treatment of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v285n11/abs/joc01818.html

ERT and Ovarian Cancer Mortality in Women

Not only are we consistently beating down to perceived benefits to HRT, but the list of adverse effects continues to grow. First of all, menopause IS NOT A DISEASE!! You will not find it in any of the pathology books. Second, if you want to lower your risk of heart disease and osteoporosois there are many other ways to do this without increasing your risk for cancer. Estrogen Replacement Therapy and Ovarian Cancer Mortality in a Large Prospective Study of US Women http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v285n11/abs/joc01947.html

Insulin Resistance Syndrome

This is a wonderful review article covering one of the major health damaging effects of our time. A definate read for anyone not entirely clear on insulin resistance and its effect on our health. Insulin Resistance Syndrome - March 15, 2001 - American Family Physician http://www.aafp.org/afp/20010315/1159.html

Low-Energy Trauma Capable of Producing Significant Injuries

This article showed that up to 1/3 of patients in this study that sufferred relatively minor trauma sustained serious, life-threatening injuries. Now, while chiropractors do not typically deals with these types of patients, we do see patients everyday who were involved in relatively minor accidents and yet have significant levels of discomfort and injuries. This article just supports what chiros have been saying for decades.

J Am Coll Surg 2001;192:147-152 Low-energy trauma can produce significant injuries, and trauma physicians should be careful about dismissing patients with seemingly insignificant mechanisms of injury, according to a report published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. George C. Velmahos, from the Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center, in Los Angeles, and colleagues assessed the significant injuries of 110 patients who sustained ground-level falls, 95 patients who sustained low-level falls, and 96 patients who were found down with no evidence of significant trauma. More than a third of patients had significant injuries, 20 patients required admission to an intensive care unit, 14 required an operation, and 4 died, the authors state. The most common types of injuries were intracranial and skeletal. Nearly every patient received a CT scan, but only one quarter had abnormal CT findings.

Breastfeeding Linked to Increased Risk of Atopy and Asthma

This is one of those articles that the media will love to use to try to scare the heck out of mothers. However, much like the vitamin C research that shows an increase in DNA damage (further delving revealed that vitamin C also protects against more severe and damaging types of DNA damage...) one study does not set the standard in stone. While I can't think of a rationale as to why the use of a therapy deemed highly beneficial would show a negative relationship. It would be interesting to evaluate the diets of the mothers for potential allergens that the infant would be exposed to...

57th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Dr. Malcolm R. Sears from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada and colleagues assessed the impact of breastfeeding on the development of atopy and asthma by comparing data on 504 subjects who were breastfed for at least 4 weeks with data on 533 subjects who were not. Skin testing at age 13 revealed that breastfed subjects were significantly more likely than their counterparts to have a positive reaction to cat, dust mite, or any tested allergen. In fact, this effect was evident on repeat testing at age 21 years. In addition, breastfed subjects were more than twice as likely as their cohorts to have been diagnosed with asthma by 9 years of age. The effects of breastfeeding seen at 13 years of age were independent of maternal or paternal history of atopic disease, first born or non-first born status, and gender, the researchers note. However, at age 21 years the effects were most evident and significant in male subjects. "The majority of review papers and advice given says breastfeeding is good because it reduces your risk of developing allergy and asthma," Dr. Sears told Reuters Health. "However, the evidence is mixed and our study, which analyzes a New Zealand cohort, found just the opposite effect," he said. "Our study differs from previous studies in that the prior studies were short term and often looked at early childhood wheezing which often is not allergic-based," Dr. Sears pointed out. "We know that breastfeeding reduces the likelihood of infection; therefore it may have improved the outcome for infection-based wheezing," he explained.

Increased Physical Activity Tied to Asthma in Children

Man, it sure is "debunk preventative medicine" day! Once again we have an article that suggests that an activity previously thought of as a good thing may have some negative aspects. Something to remember before you run out to stop your child from playing hard...high levels of physical activity will increase metabolism and increase the demand for antioxidants. With today's child eating a diet very low in certain antioxidants, an increase in activity is a prescription for chronic disease... 57th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Overall, 9.1% of white children and 12.5% of black children had asthma diagnoses. The researchers found that yearly physical activity was significantly higher in asthmatic than non-asthmatic children. Multivariate analysis adjusting for race, gender, birth weight, body mass index, percent body fat, and physical activity revealed that only physical activity was significantly related to the prevalence of asthma. However, separate analysis for each race failed to identify a significant association in black children. "There has been concern brewing about the increasing prevalence of asthma in children in this country," Dr. Ownby noted in an interview with Reuters Health. One theory, he said, "had been that because children weren't playing as hard as they used to, they weren't expanding their lungs as much and thus they were at a higher risk of developing asthma." However, "we found just the opposite was true," he said. Dr. Ownby's team used metabolic equivalents (mets) to quantify the various levels of physical activity. One met was equal to sitting quietly. Standardizing physical activity "allowed us to compare judo class with soccer practice or ballet," Dr. Ownby explained. "I think this study will stir up some controversy because several people have been preaching [the conventional wisdom] based on pretty shaky data or data extrapolated from other countries," Dr. Ownby noted. "As far as we know, our study is one of the most detailed studies investigating this issue in the United States." Dr. Ownby believes that a "diagnostic bias" may explain the current findings. "The children who are more physically active may be more likely to have the symptoms of asthma and therefore be more likely to get diagnosed," he said.

More Evidence Supports Infectious Cause of Childhood Leukemia

Here we see another example of the theory that many of today's chronic diseases (in which I classify cancer...) have multiple etiologies. Infectious origins have been suggested for many diseases, including heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. This study looks at the exposure of children in Scotland to servicemen during WWII and the subsequent increase in leukemia in this population. Leading a healthier lifestyle will lower your risk of many types of diseases as well as boost your immune system at the same time. Could it be that this boost in immune function is actually the route by which healthier lifestyles lower the risk of certain diseases?

Lancet 2001;357:858 UK investigators have documented a significant increase in childhood leukemia deaths in an isolated rural population exposed to servicemen stationed nearby during World War II. The findings support the theory, they say, that an infectious agent is responsible for childhood leukemia. Drs. Leo J. Kinlen and A. Balkwill, both of the University of Oxford, examined death registries for two complete cohorts from Orkney and Shetland, in Scotland. The first cohort consisted of all 8574 children up to age 14 living on those two islands in 1941, plus 3690 children born there between 1941 and 1945. The postwar cohort consisted of 6478 children born in Orkney and Shetland from 1946 to 1955. During the war, up to 60,000 servicemen were stationed on the two islands, with an additional 40,000 stationed aboard a ship near Orkney. Local residents numbered fewer than 45,000. The researchers documented a 3.6-fold increase in leukemia deaths in the wartime group, whereas in the postwar cohort, followed until 1970, there was no increased risk of leukemia compared with age-specific leukemia mortality rates for Scotland. Drs. Kinlen and Balkwill explain that there was a great deal of contact between local people and servicemen during wartime "through regular social events, servicemen buying local produce, and local people working for army camps." In addition, they note, "outside populations consisted almost wholly of adults, which points to their relevance in the transmission of the infection underlying childhood leukemia." "Childhood leukemia must be a rare response to the underlying infection," they suggest, adding that the agent or agents involved have yet to be determined.

Extended-Release Niacin Safe for Diabetics W/ Hypercholesterolemia

There has been some concern in the past with regards to the safety of using niacin with diabetics. This study evaulated a 1 and 1.5 gram dose of extended release niacin in diabetics. These dosages of typically much lower than has been used in other studies (typically 2-3 grams are used); however, these patients were already on additional cholesterol-lowering medications and this may be the reason for the lower dose used. Overall, the results were favorable, with the 1.5 gram dose having some effect on glycemic control. Both dosages were very effective in increasing HDL levels.

50th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology Diabetics with poorly controlled cholesterol levels despite statin therapy can be safely given extended-release niacin. The combination significantly improves the lipid profile without adversely affecting glycemic control, Texas researchers reported . In the past, niacin has been shown to worsen glycemic control in diabetics, Dr. Gloria L. Vega of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas said, even though niacin corrects the lipid abnormalities typically seen in diabetes. In her presentation to conference attendees, Dr. Vega described how she and her colleagues tested extended-release niacin (Niaspan, Kos Pharmaceuticals, Miami) in 148 diabetics with abnormal lipid profiles, many on statin therapy, in a 16-week trial. The researchers compared the effects of 1 gm and 1.5 gm extended-release niacin with placebo. Dr. Vega reported that 1 gm extended-release niacin increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels 19% and 1.5 gm increased them 24%, while placebo had no significant effect. Levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol did not change significantly with either placebo or 1 gm niacin, while they dropped 8% with the 1.5 gm dose. Triglyceride levels dropped 24% and 29% for patients on 1 gm and 1.5 gm extended-release niacin, respectively. Fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels did not change during the study in the placebo and 1 gm arms of the study, but patients on 1.5 gm niacin had a worsening of glycemic control. "We are very excited about this study," Dr. Vega told Reuters Health. "Extended-release niacin can be incorporated into the treatment regimen of diabetics....It can be used with statin therapy or triglyceride-lowering drugs....There was no increase in liver enzymes and no increased weakness" during the study period, she added. "Certainly you are not going to take a patient with poor glycemic control and try this," Dr. Vega said. "But most physicians are not aware that niacin can effectively increase HDL....Niacin has a bad reputation in terms of glycemic control, but you can control that with drugs rather than discontinue the niacin," she asserted.