Guest guest Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 " HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch HSI e-Alert - Combo Mambo Wed, 04 May 2005 06:59:00 -0400 HSI e-Alert - Combo Mambo Health Sciences Institute e-Alert **************************************************** May 04, 2005 Dear Reader, When I see mainstream reports that unfairly attack the use of complementary and alternative healthcare methods, normally I get peeved. Or angry. Or sometimes very angry. But not this time. This time it's just too laughable to get angry. ----------- Mixing in the herbs ----------- We'll start with the rational and then move on to the ridiculous. The May 2005 issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases carries a study from a UK team of researchers who examined herbal treatment use among arthritis patients. Their goal was to determine if potentially harmful interactions might be risked by combining herbs with conventional rheumatological drugs. And so far I'm with them 100 percent. I'm all for research that will add to our knowledge of the parameters of alternative therapies. More than 230 rheumatology outpatients completed questionnaires about their use of conventional drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) medications and herbal treatments during the prior six months. The subjects were also asked if they were aware of potential adverse interactions and if they had sought advice from a healthcare professional before using the herbal and OTC remedies. The results: * Nearly 45 percent reported using herbal and/or OTC treatments. * Eleven percent reported taking remedies that might interact with conventional drugs. * Of 120 subjects who were taking disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), five were also taking Echinacea. (According to the researchers, this combination increases the risk of hepatotoxicity; toxicity to the liver.) * Of 238 patients who were taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids, 24 were also taking ginkgo biloba, garlic or devil's claw. (According to the researchers, this combination increases the risk of bleeding disorders.) * A total of 26 patients were determined to be at risk of harmful interactions. All but two of them were unaware of the risks, and only 10 had sought advice from doctors or healthcare professionals before starting an herbal treatment. In their conclusions the researchers write: " Healthcare workers should remember to be particularly vigilant to ask about herbal remedies when taking a drug history. " I agree with that and would add that patients who use herbal products should be just as vigilant when it comes to alerting their doctors about herbal use. But this is where I part ways with the UK team. ----------- Laying blame ----------- Let's start with the researchers' concern that taking ginkgo biloba, garlic or devil's claw with NSAIDs increases the risk of bleeding disorders. The likelihood that any of those three herbals taken alone in appropriate doses would cause bleeding disorders is very small. But NSAIDs? They're notorious for prompting gastrointestinal problems, including bleeding. Take the NSAIDs out of the picture and you're probably fine. And yet the researchers make the herbals sound like culprits that will trigger all the problems. Echinacea gets singled out for this special mention: " Echinacea may be hepatotoxic and exacerbate this adverse effect of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). " A little research reveals similar warnings about the danger of liver toxicity with Echinacea. And yet an American Botanical Council report published in March 2005 states, " There is no credible evidence that Echinacea preparations cause hepatotoxicity. " DMARDs, however, CAN prompt hepatotoxicity and quite a bit more. Here are a few quotes from the warning flyer for methotrexate, the generic name for a common DMARD: * " Patients should be closely monitored for bone marrow, liver, lung and kidney toxicities. " * " Deaths have been reported with the use of methotrexate in the treatment of malignancy, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis. " * " Methotrexate-induced lung disease is a potentially dangerous lesion, which may occur acutely at any time during therapy and which has been reported at doses as low as 7.5 mg/week. It is not always fully reversible. " * " Severe, occasionally fatal, skin reactions have been reported following single or multiple doses of methotrexate. " * " Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and other tumors have been reported in patients receiving low-dose oral methotrexate. " One word: Yikes! Given these warnings, the idea that the addition of Echinacea might be responsible for prompting a serious adverse side effect is laughable. If you happen to be taking Echinacea and add some methotrexate, THEN you've got problems. ----------- How's that again? ----------- The UK study was sent to me by a colleague who noticed that in spite of the study's frequent references to elevated risks when herbs are combined with drugs, apparently none of the subjects actually experienced any adverse interactions over a period of six months. You would think that would be noted in the study, but it's not. Meanwhile, here's how Reuters Health headlined a report about this study: " Herbal Remedies for Arthritis Can Be Risky. " Did I say I wasn't angry? Well, I'm laughing at the absurdity of it all, but that headline...yep, that makes me angry. **************************************************** ....and another thing Are you addicted to e-mail? According to a study underwritten by computer maker Hewlett Packard, the temptation to constantly check e-mail can have a drug-like effect. The study was conducted by University of London (UL) researchers who enlisted 1,100 subjects. Half the subjects said they answer e-mails " instantly, " and about 20 percent confessed that e-mail distracts them from meals and other social situations. But is constant e-mail checking really a problem? That depends on how may points you can spare from you IQ. According to test results carried out by the UL team, incoming phone calls combined with the constant checking of e-mail and phone messages can dumb you down. In fact, the average person's IQ may be reduced by as much as 10 points during crunch periods when these distractions pile up. That's comparable to missing a full night of sleep. Even more surprising: People under the influence of marijuana experience only a four-point drop in IQ. So if you find yourself staring at shiny objects, lost in thought, it might be a signal that it's time to go easy on the e-mail. To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson Health Sciences Institute **************************************************** Sources: " Use of Herbal Remedies and Potential Drug Interactions in Rheumatology Outpatients " Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Vol. 64, No. 5, May 2005, ard.bmjjournals.com " Herbal Remedies for Arthritis Can Be Risky " Reuters Health, 4/14/05, abcnews.com " Warnings " Rheumatrex (Methotrexate Sodium Tablets), rheumatrex.info " Emails More Damaging than Cannabis " Iain Thomson, VNUNet, 4/22/04, vnunet.com *************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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