April 30, 2001 Research Update

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

C pneumoniae in the Arteries and Amount of Atherosclerosis

There really has been mounting evidence lately on the presence of an infectious etiology for CVD. The interesting thing is that, much like homocysteine, the evidence is all over and yet the lay public is blissfully unaware of another contributor to heart disease. The lifestyle changes designed to improve health will also improve the immune system and hopefully its ability to fight off invaders such as C. pneumoniae. Circulation -- Abstracts: Vink et al. 103 (12): 1613 http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/103/12/1613

Ascorbate Restores Vasodilation Impaired by Acute Hyperglycemia

Where do we start with this one? It's always good to see our old friend Vit C supported in the medical literature. In this study, Vit C protected against the vasoconstriction caused by high glucose levels in the bloodstream. This information can have a major impact on the risk of CVD in diabetics with poorly controlled blood sugar. A few things to take home...the glycosylation of proteins from high blood sugar has consistently shown to be a factor in aging and that the damage from these high blood sugar may in part be due to oxidative damage (which can be prevented or reduced with antioxidant therapy). Circulation -- Abstracts: Beckman et al. 103 (12): 1618 http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/103/12/1618

Electron-Beam CT in the Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease

This method of looking for plaquing of the coronary arteries appears to be reliable. Being non-invasive, it is much safer than many other diagnostic procedures being used to identify the plaquing. Of course, the question is, what are patients going to do when they get the results? There is so much information out there for slowing or even reversing heart disease; but they all require lifestyle changes that many are not willing to make. In the case of coronary artery disease, ignorance is NOT bliss... Electron-Beam Computed Tomography in the Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease: A Meta-analysis http://archinte.ama-assn.org/issues/v161n6/abs/ioi00476.html

Gene transfer of C elegans n3 fatty acid desaturase and fatty acids

At first this article sounds very technical. I'll try to boil it down and explain how scary the implications are and how far science will go to try to best nature. The desaturase enzyme that converts omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids is absent or weak in humans. That means that we need to maintain a 1:5-6 ratio of omega 6 to 3 fatty acids. However, with todays' junkie lifestyle, the numbers are closer to 1:20 or 30. So what does this article suggest? Change our lifestyle? Nope. Use a virus to give us the gene to produce the desaturase enzyme and produce a more optimal ratio. Pretty twisted if you ask me... PNAS -- Abstracts: Kang et al. 98 (7): 4050 http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/98/7/4050

US study highlights high levels of plastic compound in humans

This is an interesting article that brings to light a relatively important but overlooked aspect of health. Many practioners urge their patients not to use plastic containers and definately avoid heating anything in plastic containers due to the absorption of the plastics from the container. This absorption is confirmed in this study; with levels showing up in the blood and urine. These plastics are known to have an effect on human health; most notably on hormone levels. Some act as xenoestrogens and are believed to be a contributor to acceleration of puberty in females. bmj.com Josefson 322 (7289): 756b http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7289/756/b

Detection of Peanut Allergens in Breast Milk of Lactating Women

This theme has presented itself in several journals. I pull my hair out in frustration whenever a patient tells me that their pediatrician told them to stop nursing because of reactions in the infant. Always, always, check the mom's diet before making such a drastic decision. Detection of Peanut Allergens in Breast Milk of Lactating Women http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v285n13/abs/jbr10043.html

Public Citizen Urges FDA Not to Approve Tegaserod For IBS

There have been numerous attempts by the pharmaceuticals to tap into the irritable bowel syndrome market. The first attempt was pulled off the market for safety concerns (Glaxo Wellcome's Lotronex for diarrhea-dominant IBS). Tegaserod is the latest attempt to help with constipation-dominant IBS. It's a shame that all this money is spent on R&D when natural physicians have been doing well with IBS for years...

(article) Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration not to approve Novartis Pharmaceuticals' drug candidate tegaserod (Zelmac) as a treatment for the constipation-predominant form of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), citing the drug's "questionable efficacy" and "serious safety concerns." In August, the FDA issued the Swiss pharmaceuticals firm an approvable letter for tegaserod, with final approval conditioned on the submission of additional clinical data. FDA reviewers have estimated that tegaserod recipients were three times more likely to develop cysts than placebo recipients, Public Citizen asserts in the letter. It noted that in animal trials the compound "caused a statistically significant, dose-related increase in their incidence." In addition, the drug has not even been proven effective, Public Citizen maintains. "Only a minority of patients 'respond' to the drug and the absolute benefits conferred (compared to placebo) are not clinically significant," it said.

Dendritic cells express tight junction proteins and penetrate gut epithelial monolayers to sample bacteria

I realize that this is a long, technical title, but it is very interesting. I've talked quite frequently about intestinal bacteria and how important friendly bacteria are to our overall health. This study identified that portions of the nervous system extend down into the GI lumen to "taste" the bacteria present. This present two interesting scenarios. First, this gives yet another route by which abnormal flora in the GI tract can provide systemic effects; a concept that is still foreign in much of Western medicine. Next, this study suggests that this extension allows bacteria to penetrate into the body. More support for the clinical approach to use probiotics to maintain a protective layer along the GI tract.

Nature Immunology 2, 361 - 367 (2001) Penetration of the gut mucosa by pathogens expressing invasion genes is believed to occur mainly through specialized epithelial cells, called M cells, that are located in Peyer's patches. However, Salmonella typhimurium that are deficient in invasion genes encoded by Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) are still able to reach the spleen after oral administration. This suggests the existence of an alternative route for bacterial invasion, one that is independent of M cells. We report here a new mechanism for bacterial uptake in the mucosa tissues that is mediated by dendritic cells (DCs). DCs open the tight junctions between epithelial cells, send dendrites outside the epithelium and directly sample bacteria. In addition, because DCs express tight-junction proteins such as occludin, claudin 1 and zonula occludens 1, the integrity of the epithelial barrier is preserved.

ERT Does Not Reduce Alzheimer's Risk

I frequently have patients asking me if they should go on or stop taking HRT. My first question is to find out why the patient has an interest in taking it in the first place. Hot flashes? Vaginal dryness? Worried about heart disease or osteoporosis? Alzheimer's? The patient needs to answer this question for themselves and we can go from there. There are a myriad of ways to affect these symptoms (and that's exactly what they are) that do not involve drugs. I can list 15 things to do to lower your risk of heart disease that DO NOT increase your risk of breast cancer...

Arch Neurol 2001;58:435-440 The use of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) by postmenopausal women does not reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). Dr. David A. Drachman, of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, used the General Practice research Database in the UK, which includes prescription data, to identify 112,481 postmenopausal women who used ERT and an age-matched cohort of 108,925 women who had not used ERT. From these groups they conducted a nested case-control analysis of 59 women with newly diagnosed AD and 221 matched controls. "Among the 59 newly diagnosed cases of AD, 15 (25%) were current estrogen users, while among the controls, 53 (24%) were current users," the investigators report. After adjustment for body mass index and smoking, the odds ratio for AD in women who had used estrogen for at least 1 year was 1.18 compared with nonusers. When the authors combined past ERT users with current users, the odds ratio compared with nonusers 1.19. For those who used estrogen for at least 5 years, the odds ratio was 1.05. "Odds ratios were similar for estrogen recipients who received estrogens alone and recipients who received combined estrogen-progestin treatment," Dr. Drachman and colleagues note.