WDDTY e-News Service - 10 June 2004

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WDDTY e-News Service - 10 June 2004

Sat, 12 Jun 2004 03:19:21 +0100

 

WHAT DOCTORS DON’T TELL YOU - E-NEWS BROADCAST No. 86 - 10 June 2004

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VACCINES: New link to autism suggested

 

As 'maverick MMR doctor' Andrew Wakefield waits for his hearing before the UK's

General Medical Council, new research from Columbia University bolsters his

claims of a potential link between vaccines and autism.

 

Not surprisingly, the mercury-based preservative thimerosal has again been

fingered as the bad guy after it caused autism-like damage in the brains of

laboratory mice.

 

The mice had been specially bred to have a vulnerability to immune system

disorders, and lead researcher Dr Mady Hornig says that thimerosal may cause

autism and other conditions in children whose immune systems are already

compromised.

 

The findings, though welcome, raise two concerns: if thimerosal has been the

problem all along, the MMR vaccine is not the culprit, as it doesn't contain any

of the preservative. Thimerosal is found only in the DTP (diptheria, tetanus

and whooping cough) jab, in the heptatis B vaccine and in some flu inoculations.

There also has to be a question-mark, on both ethical and scientific grounds,

over the use of mice or any other laboratory animal in the name of medical

research. The latter, which will interest the GMC more, is a valid concern

after several medical studies discovered that animal testing tells us virtually

nothing about disease and prevention in humans.

 

Nonetheless, concerns have been raised about thimerosal in vaccines so many

times now that you'd think it would be removed, if only as a PR exercise. The

answer goes back to the real, underlying drive of modern medicine: money.

 

Mercury-free vaccines have a far shorter shelf life, and the health authorities

and drug companies are concerned about the costs involved in constantly

replenishing supplies. The process of removing mercury from existing stocks is

also high.

 

As it is, mercury - one of the most toxic substances known to man - has been put

in vaccines since the 1930s to a level of one part per 10,000. Its use has been

stoutly defended by the US's Institute of Medicine, the UK's Committee on Safety

of Medicine, Europe's Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products, and by

the World Health Organization.

 

After all, think of the cost if it was found not to be safe.

 

(Source: Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication;

10.1038/sj.mp.4001522).

 

 

FRUIT AND VEG? They're bad for you, of course

 

Zealous trading standards officials in Shropshire and Swindon are taking the

Tesco supermarket chain to court after labels were discovered in the fruit and

vegetable department that claimed the foods could help prevent cancer.

 

Trading standards claim the labels flout UK laws that govern health claims for

products and foods. The law is clear enough: no claim of health benefits can be

made for any food or supplement unless it has been scientifically proven.

 

The trouble for our trading standards boys is there is a stack of evidence to

suggest that fresh fruits and vegetables can help prevent cancer. It's also

part of the government's health advice to the nation, so it will be interesting

to see how the same government can uphold an action that attacks its own policy.

 

Not that facts trouble the trading standards folk overmuch. We ourselves have

on several occasions fallen foul both of the trading standards authorities and

the Advertising Standards Association (ASA) over claims we've made in our

leaflets about short-comings in the medical establishment.

 

We've then been asked to supply evidence to support our claims, which we've done

by the truck-load. There's never a hearing, we don't know who decides on the

case, but every time we lose without recourse to appeal. We're then asked to

remove the offending paragraphs, and the verdict is posted on the ASA website.

Medicine can sleep undisturbed in its collective beds once again.

 

Personally, I don't fancy Tesco's chances.

 

 

MALARIA DRUG: Join the queue

 

Lariam, the world's most powerful anti-malarial, is a firm favourite with all of

us here at WDDTY.

 

It's always in the news, and never for the right reasons. The latest to fall

victim are six American soldiers who have been diagnosed with permanent brain

damage after taking the drug while on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

The American drug watchdog, the Food and Drug Administration, last year warned

that Lariam (mefloquine) is linked to suicide, while psychiatric and

neurological side effects have been reported to last long after it has been

taken.

 

The Pentagon has announced a new safety study of the drug. It shouldn't have to

look too hard. A six-year-old girl died in an English hospital after taking the

drug while on holiday in Nigeria, while 300 Britons launched a class-action suit

after they suffered severe and long-term effects, such as hallucinations,

anxiety attacks, seizures and sever mood swings.

 

British Airways has issued a warning to all staff about taking the drug, while

doctors have reported that many patients have refused prescriptions for it.

 

So if all these people know this about the drug, why is the US military still

dishing it out to its soldiers?

 

 

 

STATISTIC OF THE WEEK

 

The average time patients in the USA are allowed to speak before their doctor

interrupts: 18 seconds.

 

 

 

PAIN RELIEF: Capsaicin is hot stuff

 

Capsaicin is a popular cream for pain relief - and a new review suggests it

works. It's available by prescription in the UK (although you can find it in

small doses in creams available in the stores), and as an over-the-counter

remedy in the USA.

 

Researchers reviewed the findings of six studies that involved a total of 656

patients and found that it was far more effective a pain-reliever than a

placebo, or sugar pill. They also thought it was a useful therapy for those who

get no relief from standard painkillers.

 

Capsaicin, which is derived from chilli peppers, is typically used to relieve

pain from neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid

arthritis.

 

It's not without its side effects, however, which include sensations of burning,

stinging, and respiratory irritation if inhaled.

 

(Source: British Medical Journal, 2004; 328: 991-4).

 

 

 

 

READERS' CORNER

 

Dry eye: Your helpful suggestions continue to flood in for the woman who's had

to give up wearing contacts lenses because of dry eye syndrome. One sufferer

has found relief from transcendental meditation (an interesting example of the

mind/body link) and acupuncture. Another makes the very obvious suggestion (but

worth making, nonetheless) that our sufferer should be drinking plenty of water

- around two litres a day, at least - as the eyes are the first to dry up if a

person is dehydrated. One reader wonders if inhaled steroids are at the root of

the problem, as she's researched the whole area and has found some association.

Another reader, who was also diagnosed with dry eye syndrome, eventually

discovered that she was hypothyroid. Several natural remedies failed to remedy

the condition, and so she started taking thyroxine.

 

 

Hashimoto's disease: Several have come to the aid of the reader who wanted to

know more about Hashimoto's disease. One fellow sufferer says the key is to

find a sympathetic doctor who doesn't just want to put you on thyroxine.

Supplementation with T3 and T4 is important, but it's not easy getting the

balance right, she says. Alternatives include giving up gluten, dairy, sugar,

taking probiotics, taking digestive enzymes, easy exercise like yoga,

acupuncture, B vitamin supplements, astralagus, triphala and eating plenty of

fresh fruits and vegetables. Several readers were concerned by our reference

last time to a possible association between thyroxine and eye damage. We'll

come back to you on that.

 

 

Microbial overgrowth: Then there was the reader who was looking for a natural

broad-spectrum anti-microbial to treat pathogenic overgrowth in the small

intestine in her dog. One reader suggests an aloe vera drinking gel, which acts

as an anti-microbial that can be taken by animals.

 

 

Hep B vaccine: Hope too for the midwife who doesn't want to take the Hep B jab.

One health visitor says she's avoided having the vaccine for 20 years. The

health authorities finally caught up with her, but accepted her statement that

the vaccination is less well absorbed in those aged over 40. Observe all

hygiene precautions, and you could try a homeopathic nosode.

 

 

Any other business: Nutritional values in food have dropped by 25 per cent

since 1940, says one reader. Intensive farming has stripped the soil of its

minerals a long time ago, and fertilization has replaced just three common

minerals, a fact known by the US Congress since 1936. . .prickly heat (and itchy

skin, thrush etc.) may be a symptom of candida overgrowth. Try an anti-candida

diet, so cut out sugars, simple carbohydrates, and remove fruit - and especially

bananas - for a while. . .with hayfever season upon us (certainly for us in the

West), the Bowen technique may help relieve symptoms, says one reader, who is

presumably a Bowen practitioner. . . Threadworms can be treated by eating only

halal or kosher meat as any bacteria is drained out with the blood.

 

 

 

Readers' health queries

 

Bacterial vaginosis: One reader suffers from this condition at least once a

month, usually around the time when she should have her period. Since she had a

coil fitted four months ago, she has not had a period. Is bacterial vaginosis

sexually transmitted, she wonders? Are there any alternative therapies to the

antibiotics she has to take every month?

 

 

Warts: Any suggestions for getting rid of warts on the hands?

 

 

Eczema and psoriasis creams: Any safe creams for one reader's psoriasis and her

18-month-old son's eczema? She's been recommended a cream that contains

parabens, and she is concerned that this may not be safe.

 

 

Premature menopause: One woman's menopause started at the age of 30. She is

having acupuncture, and is also taking Chinese herbs and a vitamin B complex.

Anyone with other tips?

 

 

The pill: One woman's sister-in-law has been advised to start taking the pill

as her mother has ovarian cancer. Presumably the gynaecologist thinks that she,

too, is a candidate. She has one child, and would like to have more at some

stage. She's heard that there's a link between the pill and breast cancer, and

is worried about this. She feels she is hormonally well balanced, and doesn't

want to take the pill if at all possible. Any advice would be welcome.

 

 

 

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