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January 15, 2001 Research Update |
James Bogash, D.C. Mesa, AZ
info@lifecarechiro.com
www.lifecarechiro.com
Early Blooming: Girls Entering Puberty at a Younger Age
Although many people may look at this and sort of laugh, it is truly a scary course of events. I have been saying for quite some time now that the environmental estrogens and hormones in milk and other foods that children are exposed to will affect them. Early menopause has enormous social and health consequences. The earlier a female achieves menarche, the greater her risk of breast and endometrial cancer. This truly has some bad implications for long term health. CBSHealthWatch- Library - Early Blooming: Girls Entering Puberty at a Younger Age http://healthwatch.medscape.com/medscape/p/G_library/article.asp?RecID=230009& Channel=0
Antihypertensive Drug Therapies and the Risk of Ischemic Stroke
When I first read this title, I thought, "Another no-brainer--of course the risk will be lowered." Not so. Using antihypertensive therapies without a thiazide diuretic increased risk of stroke!! This was actually new news to me, although the study does indicate previous data that prompted this research. Of course, using exercise, antioxidants, whole grains, magnesium, calcium, potassium and other trace minerals can begin to lower blood pressure in many patients; all without increase risk of stroke. Antihypertensive Drug Therapies and the Risk of Ischemic Stroke http://archinte.ama-assn.org/issues/v161n1/rfull/ioi00071.html
Changes in Breast Density Associated With Use of HRT
It is well established that HRT will increase risk of breast cancer. It's protection against heart disease is tenuous at best. It slows, not prevents, progression of osteoporosis. Now, changes in breast density will make a mammogram more difficult to interpret. Couple this difficulty with an increase in breast cancer rates, and it continues to stump me why Premarin continues to be the #1 prescription drug in America. Changes in Breast Density Associated With Initiation, Discontinuation, and Continuing Use of Hormone Replacement Therapy http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v285n2/abs/joc01079.html
Conflict of Interest in the Debate over Calcium-Channel Antagonists
This review wonderful illustrates the problem with research today. "Money talks" is all too true, and the pharmaceuticals hold lots of it. The chiropractic profession has frequently been looked upon as unscientific by the medical community. The same holds true for natural therapeutics. Well, people in glass houses.... Special Article -- NEJM 1998; 338: 101-106 http://www.nejm.org/content/1998/0338/0002/0101
Low-Fat Diets
This link covers an editorial debate between several clinicians. One of the reasons I flagged this article is that Dr. Dean Ornish is one of these clinicians. If you are not familiar with him, he is a clinician who developed the "Reversing Heart Disease" program. But, even beyond that, he has documented and published his results to back up the efficacy of the program. Truly a pioneer in natural approaches to disease. Correspondence -- NEJM 1998; 338: 127-129 http://www.nejm.org/content/1998/0338/0002/0127.asp
Effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba in treating tinnitus
This study does not support the use of Ginko for treating ringing in the ears (tinnitus). This study does include a large number of patients, which will always improve the quality of a study. I do read these results with regret, but a few things need to be kept in mind. First, it is only one study, and one study does not establish or refute effectiveness. Next, we have to accept that herbs may not always be effective for the conditions that anecdotal cases suggest. bmj.com Abstracts: Drew and Davies 322 (7278): 73 http://bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/322/7278/73
Knee pain and osteoarthritis in older adults: a review
This article summarizes the high level of elderly persons afflicted with knee pain that affects their daily life. I will use this as an intro into the anecdotal success of chiropractic in many cases of knee pain. Because many cases of knee pain are actually not knee problems, but rather problems with the pedal foundation (feet) or hips, chiropractic can be very effective in relieving and preventing knee pain. There have been several patients who never would have developed knee pain if someone had noticed how flat-footed the patient was and recommended foot orthotics 10 years prior... Ann Rheum Dis -- Abstracts: Peat et al. 60 (2): 91 http://ard.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/60/2/91
Childhood Atopy Predicts Asthma Severity in Adulthood
Many problems in childhood that many people would consider "minor" or "normal" such as allergies and constipation, concern me a great deal with regards to long term health. This research supports this concern and strengthens the need to truly address allergies in children, not just medicate them, to maintain health in adulthood. This would mean addressing healthy intestinal flora, identifying and removing food allergies, avoidance of food preservatives and colors and adherence to healthy eating habits.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2000;162:2177-2181 Atopy in children with asthma appears to increase the risk of having more severe disease later in life, Australian researchers report in the December issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Rory Wolfe, of Monash Medical School, Prahran, Victoria, and colleagues sought to examine a number of relationships including whether "the presence of allergic features in childhood is a predictor of the subsequent course of asthma." The researchers followed a cohort of 378 asthmatic children from the age of 7 to 35 years at intervals of 7 years. Among items recorded were the presence of eczema or hay fever and sensitivity to rye grass or house dust mite. Having an atopic condition in childhood was associated with a higher risk of severe asthma in later life. For eczema, the odds ratio increased to 1.66, for hay fever, it was 1.39. A positive skin test result increased the odds ratio of severe asthma to 2.25. Conversely, greater severity of asthma in childhood was related to increased odds of having eczema and hay fever later in life. These findings, the researchers conclude, may "improve the clinician's ability to predict probable long-term outcomes in children with asthmatic symptoms."