July 2, 2004 Research Update

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

Dietary fatty acids affect plasma markers of inflammation

I find it ironic that for decades, mainstream medicine did not think that diet had much to do with the disease process. And the idea that a diet could be "pro" or "anti-inflammatory" was just short of malpractice. This article looks into the different pro-inflammatory effects of several types of fat and their effect on markers of inflammation like fibrinogen and CRP. As expected, trans and saturated fats had a negative effect. Stearic acid, which is found in milk chocolate and cocoa butter, did raise levels of fibrinogen.

AJCN -- Abstracts: Baer et al. 79 (6): 969

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Low plasma vitamin B-6 concentrations and modulation of coronary artery disease risk

While the drug companies spend millions in research to find a drug that lowers CRP levels....

AJCN -- Abstracts: Friso et al. 79 (6): 992

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Low antioxidant vitamin intakes are associated with increases in adverse effects of chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Many oncologists are fearful to use antioxidants during chemotherapy, since many of these drugs are designed to kill rapidly dividing cells via oxidative stress and the theory is that antioxidants would lower the efficacy of the treatment. This just does not hold up in the research, and antioxidant supplementation, just like in this study, does nothing but help the treatment.

AJCN -- Abstracts: Kennedy et al. 79 (6): 1029

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Dehydroepiandrosterone and allopregnanolone protect sympathoadrenal medulla cells against apoptosis via antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins

Before your eyes glaze over from the long title--this one is important. DHEA and allopregnanlone are produced in part by the adrenal glands. However, under times of stress, the production goes down so the adrenals can produce more cortisol to help the body deal with the stress. This study finds that these two compounds actually protect the cells of the adrenal gland. So--more stress means less protection to the cells that produce compounds that protect themselves. Kind of convoluted, huh? This would definately suggests that adrenal support during times of stress is critical to long term ability of the adrenals to do their job.

PNAS -- Abstracts: Charalampopoulos et al. 101 (21): 8209

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Flavanol-rich cocoa induces nitric-oxide-dependent vasodilation

Now isn't this just wonderful news to many of us out there... Cocoa is known to have a higher flavonoid content then tea or red wine. However, the article does point out two important factors--"dutching" of chocolate reduces flavonoid levels, and the milk in milk chocolate binds up the flavonoid, lowering their effectiveness. Stick with dark chocolate.

Entrez PubMed

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Effects of white and red wine on endothelial function in subjects with coronary artery disease

Along those same lines... The research is strongly in support of flavonoids found in cocoa, tea and red wine when he comes to keeping our blood vessels healthy.

Effects of white and red wine on endothelial function in subjects with coronary artery disease - Intern Med J, Vol 34, Issue ..

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Cadmium Exposure and Distal Forearm Fractures

I remember an elderly patient of mine awhile back. She was scheduled for carpal tunnel surgery and I had run a hair analysis on her looking at whether heavy metals may be contributing to the nerve issues. She had been a smoker for many years and the results came back very high in cadmium. She had been dealing with high blood pressure and severe osteoporosis (she had already had multiple hip replacements) as well. These were all hallmarks of cadmium toxicity. I referred her out to a physician doing IV chelation, but her surgeon would not perform her surgery until the cadmium issue was put to rest via a letter from me saying it was not relevant to her surgery. Her friend/home care nurse was livid and could not see how cadmium fit into her clinical picture. This article, in the highest blood levels of cadmium, showed almost a NINE times risk of forearm fracture. The patient ultimately had the surgery and never followed through with the chelation due to the ignorance of one nurse. Who knows how this patient's overall health would have improved had she done the chelation?

Cadmium Exposure and Distal Forearm Fractures*

Suppressed Bone Turnover by Long-Term Bisphosphonate Treatment Accumulates Microdamage but Maintains Intrinsic Material Properties in Cortical Bone of Dog Rib

Sorry for the long title, but this article adds more weight to the concern (in my book, at least) of what exactly biphosphonates (i.e. Fosamax) do to bone. This study found that microdamage in bone that occurs with everyday use (this damage and healing is what builds stronger bones with weight bearing exercise) is NOT fixed on these drugs but just kind of hangs around. In compensation, however, the bones get thicker. This is were the idea that denser is not always better has some viabiliy. Are thicker bones that cannot respond well to certain forces placed them really better?

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Prevalence of Prostate Cancer among Men with a PSA Equal or less than 4.0 ng/ml

Remember studies like this when the American Cancer Society puts out their propaganda about "prevention" of prostate cancer by getting your PSA levels checked. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY, 100% NOT PREVENTION!! And this study proves it yet again. The PSA levels in 15% patients with prostate cancer in this study were normal. To me, this means that the PSA is not effective in identifying prostate cancer. Now, I do feel it can be used as a baseline that can then be checked in subsequent years for changes. In summary--prevention via good diet, lots of lycopene containing fruits, high intakes of cruciferous veggies to modulate the breakdown of estrogen (yes..I said estrogen) and maintenance of a healthy body weight.

NEJM -- Prevalence of Prostate Cancer among Men with a Prostate-Specific Antigen Level <=4.0 ng per Milliliter

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Oxidative Capacity, Lipotoxicity, Mitochondrial Damage in Type 2 Diabetes

It's always nice to have articles vailidating a multi-pronged approach to treating chronic diseases. While paying attention to the glycemic indices of a diet, it is also important to provide a multitude of compounds from foods that lower oxidative stress. In this review, oxidative stress was noted to be a contributing factor to onset of diabetes by affecting mitochondrial function. Basically, insults to the body (or, normal everyday living without the nutrients to protect our cells) will result in an increase in the machinery of our cells to defend against the insults. The mitochondria of our cells will produce more energy but, as a power station producing electricity, more "smoke" will be produced along with the extra electricity. Without protection (in the form of antioxidants, protective enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, etc...) from the "smoke" (i.e. free radicals, oxidative stress) the "smoke" will turn around and damage the mitochondria. More damage to the mitochondria means the cell will no longer function optimally.

Diabetes -- Abstracts: Schrauwen and Hesselink 53 (6): 1412

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