May 28, 2001 Research Update

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

Management of Chronic Tension-Type Headache

This study compares tricyclic antidepressant medication with stress management and the combination of the two on tension-type headaches. They both proved "modestly effective." I'm sure there are many chiropractors out there that can blow away the numbers seen in this study. If a patient is willing to listen to the recommendations given (regarding management lifestyle to control cortisol, insulin and other hormones) along with trigger point therapy and manipulative therapy, I can pretty much guarantee 100% resolution of headaches. Just like everything else it's a multifactorial approach that HAS to have chiropractic to address the musculoskeletal component. Management of Chronic Tension-Type Headache With Tricyclic Antidepressant Medication, Stress Management Therapy, and Their C http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v285n17/abs/joc00604.html

Dietary cholesterol is secreted over several subsequent meals

This is truly a insightful article that may help us better understand how the food we take in can affect our overall health days after we eat. These researchers determined that, when the participants ate cholesterol, it took up to 48 hours for that cholesterol to show up in the bloodstream. Each sucessive meal "pushed" the cholesterol from the original meal into the bloodstream. This study shows that dietary constituents do not always show up directly in the bloodstream. Too many times mainstream medicine does not look beyond the most immediate meal. AJCN -- Abstracts: Beaumier-Gallon et al. 73 (5): 870 http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/5/870

Cholesterol from eggs increases the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL

It is very likely that all the press about eggs being fine for cholesterol levels was promoted and propelled by the egg industry. I've never been a great fan of eggs and this does have a tendency to solidify my opinions. However, egg whites are a very good source of high quality protein, along with whey, soy and certain rice proteins. If you do like eggs, try to eliminate the yolks and keep the whites. AJCN -- Abstracts: Weggemans et al. 73 (5): 885 http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/5/885

Metabolites of (+)-catechin, quercetin on monocyte adhesion to aorta

Flavonoids are substances found in nature, such as in certain fruits and teas. These substances were shown to lower the ability of monocytes to attach the the walls of arteries and cause damage that ultimately leads to atherosclerosis. AJCN -- Abstracts: Koga and Meydani 73 (5): 941 http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/5/941

Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes by Lifestyle Changes

Not that this article is any big shocker, but the real shocker would be if anyone actually started to pick up and promote this. This study evaulated lifestyle changes in patient with impaired glucose tolerance (Syndrome X). As mentioned in previous updates, the medical profession barely recognizes that this disease states exists, let alone move to prevent it. Original Articles -- NEJM 2001; 344: 1343-1350 http://www.nejm.org/content/2001/0344/0018/1343.asp

Understanding the burden of musculoskeletal conditions

I find it very interesting that, despite the fact that musculoskeletal conditions are so prevalant in the population, relatively few medical jounals touch on the topic. That may be because the medical profession has typically handled musculoskeletal problems poorly with little effect. I am biased in this regard, but I really feel that if everyone received chiropractic care for injuries and on a regular basis that the incedence of musculoskeletal conditions could be dramatically reduced. bmj.com Woolf and Åkesson 322 (7294): 1079 http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7294/1079

Cobalamin, folate, MMA, total homocysteine as B12 and folate markers

This study demonstrated that deficiency of B12 and folate is very common among the elderly, and is reduced by the use of multivitamins. The researchers used the functional status of the nutrients to assess the levels found in the blood. Too many times a serum folic acid or B12 levels are done and come back normal. The standard lab values are just short of worthless and the true status can be determined by other markers such as MMA and homocysteine. Then again, supplementation with these nutrients is much, much cheaper than running the tests...just take a good quality B12 vitamin (best formulations have at least 2000 mcg to avoid decreased intake with hypochlorhyrdria) with folic acid. Synergy : Journal of Internal Medicine 249 (5), 423-432 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/Journals/content/abstracts/jim/2001/249/5/abstract_jim819.asp?journal=jim&issueid=5458&artid=104084&cid=jim.2001.1& ftype=abstracts

'Safe' Blood Lead Levels Can Cause Cognitive Deficits

I've mentioned before that heavy metals are a seldom-sought after component of many of today's chronic diseases. This article suggests that, even at dosages generally considered "safe," that IQ suffers in suseptable children. Think of todays' "disordered" children with ADD and ADHD--could lead be a contributing factor? Vit C is known to reduce the absorption of lead from the GI tract--could todays' kids be absorbing more lead because the intake of Vit C from fresh fruits and veggies is at an all time low? Personally, the concept of having a "safe" level of most heavy metals is beyond me. "Safe", when it comes to the US Government, means that no obvious disease state occurs at that level of exposure.

Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting in Baltimore Lead can cause cognitive deficits in children even when blood levels are well below the officially sanctioned 10 µg/dL mark, according to study results presented Monday at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting in Baltimore. The concentration for defining lead intoxication has been lowered progressively from 60 µg/dL to 10 µg/dL over the past three decades, explained Dr. Bruce Lanphear from Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. But he described the choice of 10 µg as arbitrary, saying that it remains unclear whether lower levels are actually harmless. Dr. Lanphear and his associates measured blood lead levels during the first 5 years of life and IQ at 60 months in 276 children and adjusted their comparisons for factors with a recognized influence on child IQ (sex, birthweight, maternal IQ, in utero tobacco exposure, and so on). Dr. Lanphear reported that the mean blood lead level at 60 months was 6.1 µg/dL and the mean IQ was 90. The mean blood lead level rose from 1.9 µg/dL at 6 months of age to peak at 9.3 µg/dL at 24 months, when 33.8% of children had levels above the 10 µg/dL "safe" cutoff, Dr. Lanphear said. "There was a consistent inverse association between blood lead level and IQ," Dr. Lanphear noted, "which proved statistically significant beginning at 36 months of age." Overall, Dr. Lanphear said, there was a 5.7-point drop in IQ for each 10-µg/dL increase in blood lead level. But among children with lower lead levels, the effect of rising lead levels was more striking: an 11.5-point drop for those whose levels were initially below 10 µg/dL and more than a 15-point drop for children whose lead levels were initially below 5 µg/dL.