Seizure inducing aspartame added to anti-seizure drugs

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Seizure inducing aspartame added to anti-seizure drugs

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2008/07/17/seizure_inducing_aspartame_added\

_to_antiseizure_drugs.htm

 

The Pacific Epilepsy Society in affiliation with the Epileptic Foundation of

Maui has completed a seven year study on Epilepsy and Seizures, finding that

epilepsy is at an all time high in Hawaii and the western states and Pacific

Ocean Territories. There has been a100% increase over the two previous years.

Dr Glenn Mabson of the Epileptic Foundation of Maui believes the reason for the

increase is a change in formulation of several of the major anti-seizure drugs:

" The most profound reason for the spectacular increase in seizures is the

inclusion of the drug ASPARTAME in with the new larger sized anti-seizure drugs:

DILANTIN, DEPACOTE, TEGRATOL and several others produced by major pharmaceutical

corporations. In 2007 the manufacturer of Dilantin changed the description of

the 100 mg. Dilantin, changed the 100 mg white capsule with red stripe to a much

larger white capsule, orange on one end, which contains 100 mg of the drug, plus

aspartame. 150 people who took the new Dilantin capsule found the seizure rate

increased in every case. The Chemical Pharmaceutical Engineer employee, in fear

of his job would not reveal his name, but said they were adding aspartame. "

 

Glenn Mabson, PhD., CEO - Epileptic Foundation of Maui

Dr. Allen Stein, Neurosurgeon, President of the Epilepsy Foundation of Hawaii (a

separate organization from the above) is sympathetic to the makers of ASPARTAME

and routinely prescribes these drugs. I believe this contributes to the increase

of epilepsy in these areas. "

 

Aspartame Disease - An ignored epidemic

 

What is aspartame - known to induce seizures - doing in a capsule of

anti-seizure medicine? It can't be there for its sweet taste, because capsules

are swallowed whole. Could someone be drumming up business for more medication

by adding stuff that causes people to need more?

Betty Martini of Mission Possible, the international anti-aspartame campaign

group, has interviewed Dr Mabson:

- - -

INTERVIEW WITH DR. MABSON

by Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum

MARTINI: How did you get started in this investigation, and why, Dr. Mabson

MABSON: From 1999 to 2007 The Epileptic Foundation of Maui conducted a survey on

the number of people in Maui suffering from the three most prevalent types of

epileptic seizures:

 

(1) Absence

(2) Complex-partial

(3) Grand Mal Seizures.

4,975 victims from a Maui Population of 130,000 suffered from one of these types

of seizures. Seniors over 65 and children 12 or less had increased epileptic

seizures. The count for the entire state of Hawaii is over 28,000 seizure

victims.

In an effort to determine the most effective medication it was discovered that

well over 50% of the victims consumed medications containing aspartame. We

inquired as to what anti-seizure medications were mostly prescribed to control

their seizures. Dilantin, Tegratol and Depacote contained most aspartame amount

among the 22 most utilized anti-seizure medications.

In 2007 the [manufacturer of] Dilantin changed the 100 mg white capsule with red

stripe to a much larger white capsule, orange on one end, which contains 100 mg

of the drug, plus aspartame. 150 people who took the new Dilantin capsule found

the seizure rate increased in every case.

Impaired vision and thinking, and it is suspected glaucoma [were found] in fifty

patients who never had visual problems prior to taking the new Dilantin capsule.

We suspected this was an experiment out of control. A manufacturer of Dilantin

then confirmed aspartame is in the drug.

MARTINI: Were there any deaths having to do with aspartame?

MABSON: Dr. Allen Stein, Neurosurgeon, has been prescribing aspartame to

patients in large quantities with negative results, in some cases. [There were]

as many as 150 highly suspected deaths. He is president of the Epilepsy

Foundation of Hawaii.

MARTINI: What is the difference between your organization and Stein's?

MABSON: A big and important difference: The Epileptic Foundation of Maui (EFM)

provides first aid to epilepsy victims, hands on help, with a 24/7 Help Line 1

888-919-9444. We have trained more than 5000 parents, Maui Police, Department of

Public Safety, IRS, Hawaii Business and Public Schools at no cost! We provide

immediate, practical, lifesaving care to seizure victims.

This is very personal to me. I have traumatic epilepsy from torture during 18

months as a civilian prisoner of war in Viet Nam. Over 50 dedicated volunteers

carry out this public service. We take no money from aspartame makers.

MARTINI: So what does Stein's organization do?

MABSON: It sells books and some outdated documents, but provides no personal

service.

MARTINI: In what journals have you published?

MABSON: Among many others, the following: Neurology 48:621. Hamburg University

News 2003, Strouseburg on Epilepsy Vol 2 pp 5, 6, 7 & 8 Savic, International.

Athurer lnternational Epilepsy Research 26:245 2002: Long Term Follow-up After

Temporal Lobe Resection for Lesions Associated With Choric Seizures

- - -

Betty Martini notes: " It has been known for three decades that aspartame is a

seizure triggering drug. In a 52 week aspartame oral toxicity study done in 1972

on 7 infant monkeys, 5 had grand mal seizures and 1 died. Martini adds that " the

FDAs 1995 list of 92 documented aspartame related side effects from 10,000

citizen complaints named 4 types of seizures, death, blindness, sexual

dysfunction and a long list of neurological injuries. " (You can download the

list as a PDF document.) And finally, " Dr. Richard Wurtman testified against

aspartame to Congress. He told UPI investigator Gregory Gordon that he was

threatened by the VP of G D Searle Co, aspartame producer, that his funding

would be killed if he studied aspartame seizures. Wurtman speaks no more against

aspartame but he left quite a paper trail. " (Read the UPI Investigative Report

from 1987.)

Mrs. Barbara Metzler tells about her daughter Julia: " In April 1986 Julia was

completing her graduate studies, was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. A

neurologist in Pennsylvania was treating her with medication he deemed

appropriate, but without success. I learned Dr. Richard Wurtman of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology was doing research into a possible link

between epileptic seizures and aspartame. (NutraSweet). It occurred to me that

aspartame may have triggered her problems, since I experienced that beverages

sweetened with aspartame gave me classic migraines. I spoke to my daughter's

many friends, and they watched her carefully and reported individually that she

had peculiar episodes shortly after they saw her drink diet soda. So I wrote to

Dr. Wurtman and he replied:

Thank you for writing to us about your daughters condition that may very well be

associated with NutraSweet.

He requested that I send him specific information about Julie's neurological

problems, then arranged for her to be evaluated at Beth Israel Hospital in

Boston. Her evaluation included 3 days of monitoring with EEG telemetry as well

as neuropsychological testing.

When the testing was completed, my daughter was told that she had been

misdiagnosed by her Pennsylvania neurologist and that she did not have temporal

lobe epilepsy at all. She was advised to stop her medication and to stop

drinking diet soda. She listened, and little by little, her bizarre problem

disappeared. To watch her recover was an incredible experience! Twelve years

later, she tried diet soda again and she had the same severe reaction. She quit

the diet soda sweetened with aspartame and never had a problem again. "

Dr. Ralph Walton, asked by Betty Martini to comment on the Maui study, said: " We

have known for many years that aspartame lowers the seizure threshold. To

combine an anticonvulsive with aspartame to make seizures more likely is

outrageous. "

Washington Consumer Attorney James Turner, who fought to prevent aspartame

approval commented on the Epileptic Foundation of Maui's study:

" This study has confirmed that aspartame triggers both seizures and epilepsy,

but this isn't news to me. In 1986 I was the attorney for the Community

Nutrition Institute who petitioned FDA to ban aspartame for that exact reason.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had surveyed 80 people

who experienced seizures after consuming aspartame. The petition of the

Community Nutrition Institutes said:

These 80 cases meet the FDA's definition of an imminent hazard to the public

health, which requires FDA to expeditiously remove a product from the market. "

Dr. Kenneth P. Stoller, President of the International Hyperbaric Medical

Association adds: " When large amounts of unopposed phenylalanine (1/3rd of the

aspartame molecule) hits the brain it causes serotonin levels to crash, which

lowers the seizure threshold, and in many cases causes frank seizures. This

information has been known since the 1970s when the original research was done

on monkeys, but [it was] kept from the FDA by the then owner of the patent G. D.

Searle. This is why the FDA called the US attorney to convene a grand jury

against Searle. The lawyers representing Searle then bought the US Attorney who

left the case to his assistant. The Grand Jury was allowed to expire and the

assistant was then hired by the same law firm - his reward for killing the Grand

Jury. "