When patients feel they might be having an adverse drug effect, doctors will very often dismiss their concerns, a new study shows.
In a survey of 650 patients, taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, who reported having adverse drug reactions, many said their physicians denied that the drug could be connected to their symptoms, Dr Beatrice Golomb of the University of California at San Diego and her colleagues found.
"Physicians seem to commonly dismiss the possibility of a connection," Golomb told Reuters Health. "This seems to occur even for the best-supported adverse effects of the most widely prescribed class of drugs... Clearly there is a need for better physician education about adverse effects, and there is a strong need for patient involvement in adverse event reporting.
"The best-known side effects of statins, which include widely prescribed drugs such as Lipitor and Zocor, are liver damage and muscle problems, although statins have also been tied to changes in memory, concentration and mood, among other problems.
Physician reaction to a potential side effect is crucial because the muscle problems can progress to a rare but potentially fatal condition called rhabdomyolysis if the drug isn't discontinued.
The researchers investigated the response of doctors to statin patients who believed they were having adverse drug reactions. In the great majority of cases, the patient, not the doctor, initiated the discussion...
The investigators were "surprised" at how frequently patients reported that their doctors dismissed their concerns, Golomb said. While her study wasn't designed to find out why, the researcher notes that while the pharmaceutical industry is sure to get the word out about a drug's benefits, there is "really no corresponding interest group to make sure that physicians learn about adverse effects."
Read The Full Article At Reuters...
Sunday, January 27, 2008
HERBS MORE HELPFUL THAN DRUGS FOR MENSTRUAL PAIN
A study involving nearly 3,500 women in several countries suggests that Chinese herbs might be more effective in relieving menstrual cramps than drugs, acupuncture or heat compression.
Australia-based researchers said herbs not only relieved pain, but reduced the recurrence of the condition over three months, according to the Cochrane Library journal.
"All available measures of effectiveness confirmed the overall superiority of Chinese herbal medicine to placebo, no treatment, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), OCPs (oral contraceptive pill), acupuncture and heat compression," said lead author Xiaoshu Zhu from the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney.
Click Here To Read The Full Article At Reuters...
Australia-based researchers said herbs not only relieved pain, but reduced the recurrence of the condition over three months, according to the Cochrane Library journal.
"All available measures of effectiveness confirmed the overall superiority of Chinese herbal medicine to placebo, no treatment, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), OCPs (oral contraceptive pill), acupuncture and heat compression," said lead author Xiaoshu Zhu from the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney.
Click Here To Read The Full Article At Reuters...
OVERWEIGHT WOMEN STRUGGLING TO BECOME PREGNANT
Obesity decreases the chances that a woman will get pregnant, and the more obese she is, the worse her prospects of conception, Dutch researchers said.
Researchers at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam looked at how obesity affects women who are still ovulating but having trouble with conception.
The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, included more than 3,000 couples between 2002 and 2004 in 24 hospitals in the Netherlands.
Dr Jan Willem van der Steeg and colleagues looked at the relationship between fertility in these women and their body mass index, a ratio of weight to height. Women with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese...
The researchers found that women with a BMI of 30 or higher had significantly lower probability of becoming pregnant naturally, compared with normal weight women who had BMIs of between 21 and 29.
"In the case of a woman with a BMI of 35, the probability of spontaneous pregnancy was 26 percent lower, and in the case of a woman with a BMI of 40, it was 43 percent lower," van der Steeg said in a statement...
"It is possible that obese women may have disturbed hormone levels, which decrease the chances of successful fertilization and implantation," he said.
Click Here To Read The Full Article At Reuters...
Researchers at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam looked at how obesity affects women who are still ovulating but having trouble with conception.
The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, included more than 3,000 couples between 2002 and 2004 in 24 hospitals in the Netherlands.
Dr Jan Willem van der Steeg and colleagues looked at the relationship between fertility in these women and their body mass index, a ratio of weight to height. Women with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese...
The researchers found that women with a BMI of 30 or higher had significantly lower probability of becoming pregnant naturally, compared with normal weight women who had BMIs of between 21 and 29.
"In the case of a woman with a BMI of 35, the probability of spontaneous pregnancy was 26 percent lower, and in the case of a woman with a BMI of 40, it was 43 percent lower," van der Steeg said in a statement...
"It is possible that obese women may have disturbed hormone levels, which decrease the chances of successful fertilization and implantation," he said.
Click Here To Read The Full Article At Reuters...
CAESARIAN BIRTHS INCREASE DEATH RISKS
Women who are 'too posh to push' could be four times more likely to die in childbirth by opting for a caesarean section instead of natural birth, research has revealed.
A major study of more than 94,000 births found that women who had a planned caesarean section, favoured by celebrities... were putting themselves and their babies at increased risk of serious complications.
The research, published in the British Medical Journal online, found that the risk of maternal death was three to five times higher compared with natural deliveries. The risk of requiring a hysterectomy after a caesarean section was four times higher than for a natural birth and twice as high for being admitted to intensive care and needing a hospital stay of more than seven days.
For babies in a breech position, a caesarean section was safer but for those in a normal head-first position the risk of the baby dying or suffering serious problems was raised by one and a half times.
Experts said the study was a "reality check" that caesarean sections carry risks and are not 'just another delivery option'...
Click Here To Read The Full Article At The Telegraph...
A major study of more than 94,000 births found that women who had a planned caesarean section, favoured by celebrities... were putting themselves and their babies at increased risk of serious complications.
The research, published in the British Medical Journal online, found that the risk of maternal death was three to five times higher compared with natural deliveries. The risk of requiring a hysterectomy after a caesarean section was four times higher than for a natural birth and twice as high for being admitted to intensive care and needing a hospital stay of more than seven days.
For babies in a breech position, a caesarean section was safer but for those in a normal head-first position the risk of the baby dying or suffering serious problems was raised by one and a half times.
Experts said the study was a "reality check" that caesarean sections carry risks and are not 'just another delivery option'...
Click Here To Read The Full Article At The Telegraph...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
SEEDS OF DECEPTION - LIES ABOUT THE SAFETY OF GM FOODS
GM foods are coming to a store near you... Australian State Government departments are bowing to the market pressure to get these crops into the ground, and as silently and invisibly as possible onto the store shelves. Time to get informed?
In Seeds of Deception you will read internal memos by the US Food and Drug Administration scientists warning of toxins, allergies, and new diseases — all ignored by their superiors, including a former attorney for Monsanto. You will discover how industry studies are designed to avoid finding problems. And you will learn why the FDA withheld information from Congress after a genetically modified supplement killed nearly a hundred people and disabled thousands.
Seeds of Deception tells readers what the biotech industry doesn’t want them to know. After reading this book, everyone will understand that eating genetically modified food is gambling with their health.
THE AUTHOR: Jeffrey M. Smith has been involved with genetically modified foods for nearly a decade. He worked for non-profit and political groups on the issue and, in 1998, ran for the US Congress to raise public awareness of the health and environmental impacts of these products. Later, he was vice president of marketing for a GMO detection laboratory. Smith has a master’s degree in business administration, and lives with his wife in Iowa.
Click Here To See This Book At Amazon...
In Seeds of Deception you will read internal memos by the US Food and Drug Administration scientists warning of toxins, allergies, and new diseases — all ignored by their superiors, including a former attorney for Monsanto. You will discover how industry studies are designed to avoid finding problems. And you will learn why the FDA withheld information from Congress after a genetically modified supplement killed nearly a hundred people and disabled thousands.
Seeds of Deception tells readers what the biotech industry doesn’t want them to know. After reading this book, everyone will understand that eating genetically modified food is gambling with their health.
THE AUTHOR: Jeffrey M. Smith has been involved with genetically modified foods for nearly a decade. He worked for non-profit and political groups on the issue and, in 1998, ran for the US Congress to raise public awareness of the health and environmental impacts of these products. Later, he was vice president of marketing for a GMO detection laboratory. Smith has a master’s degree in business administration, and lives with his wife in Iowa.
Click Here To See This Book At Amazon...
Monday, January 21, 2008
LINK BETWEEN PSYCHOACTIVE MEDICATIONS AND VIOLENCE
Mind altering drugs may be the cause of violence among school children, according to some doctors and other experts. Millions of children are legally taking drugs similar to cocaine in schools every day.
The drugs are Ritalin, Prozac, and others.
Other shootings and violent acts at schools across the nation have been committed by children receiving psychiatric care, counseling, and drugs such as Ritalin, according to several groups.
At least two organizations claim that over-use of Ritalin is to blame for the escalating incidents of children committing acts of violence on other children.
Watch the documentary at YouTube...
The drugs are Ritalin, Prozac, and others.
Other shootings and violent acts at schools across the nation have been committed by children receiving psychiatric care, counseling, and drugs such as Ritalin, according to several groups.
At least two organizations claim that over-use of Ritalin is to blame for the escalating incidents of children committing acts of violence on other children.
Watch the documentary at YouTube...
LONG TERM USE OF CELL PHONES INCREASES BRAIN TUMOR RISK
This study evaluated brain tumour risk among long-term users of cellular telephones.
An association with acoustic neuroma was found in four studies in the group with at least 10 years’ use of a mobile phone. No risk was found in one study, but the tumour size was significantly larger among users. Six studies gave results for malignant brain tumours in that latency group. All gave increased odd ratios especially for ipsilateral exposure.
Results from present studies on use of mobile phones for 10 years give a consistent pattern of increased risk for acoustic neuroma and glioma. The risk is highest for ipsilateral exposure.
Read The Research At Occupational and Environmental Medicine...
An association with acoustic neuroma was found in four studies in the group with at least 10 years’ use of a mobile phone. No risk was found in one study, but the tumour size was significantly larger among users. Six studies gave results for malignant brain tumours in that latency group. All gave increased odd ratios especially for ipsilateral exposure.
Results from present studies on use of mobile phones for 10 years give a consistent pattern of increased risk for acoustic neuroma and glioma. The risk is highest for ipsilateral exposure.
Read The Research At Occupational and Environmental Medicine...
APPENDIX NOT AS USELESS AS ONCE THOUGHT
The human vermiform (“worm-like”) appendix is a 5–10 cm long and 0.5–1 cm wide pouch that extends from the cecum of the large bowel. The architecture of the human appendix is unique among mammals, and few mammals other than humans have an appendix at all. The function of the human appendix has long been a matter of debate, with the structure often considered to be a vestige of evolutionary development despite evidence to the contrary based on comparative primate anatomy.
The appendix is thought to have some immune function based on its association with substantial lymphatic tissue, although the specific nature of that putative function is unknown.
Based on...
In other words, the apendix is a storage house for the vital normal flora of the intestine. These stores can be called on in times of need to replace and replenish these necessary symbiotic microrganisms. Bad luck if some MD already chopped your appendix out on the basis that "you didn't need it anyway"?
Read The Research At Science Direct...
The appendix is thought to have some immune function based on its association with substantial lymphatic tissue, although the specific nature of that putative function is unknown.
Based on...
- Recently acquired understanding of immune-mediated biofilm formation by commensal bacteria in the mammalian gut,
- Biofilm distribution in the large bowel,
- Association of lymphoid tissue with the appendix,
- Potential for biofilms to protect and support colonization by commensal bacteria, and
- Architecture of the human bowel,
In other words, the apendix is a storage house for the vital normal flora of the intestine. These stores can be called on in times of need to replace and replenish these necessary symbiotic microrganisms. Bad luck if some MD already chopped your appendix out on the basis that "you didn't need it anyway"?
Read The Research At Science Direct...
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
IT'S OFFICIAL: ORGANIC FOOD REALLY IS BETTER
THE biggest study into organic food has found that it is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may help to lengthen people's lives.
The evidence from the £12m four-year project will end years of debate and is likely to overturn government advice that eating organic food is no more than a lifestyle choice
The study found that organic fruit and vegetables contained as much as 40% more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease, Britain’s biggest killers. They also had higher levels of beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc.
Professor Carlo Leifert, the co-ordinator of the European Union-funded project, said the differences were so marked that organic produce would help to increase the nutrient intake of people not eating the recommended five portions a day of fruit and vegetables. “If you have just 20% more antioxidants and you can’t get your kids to do five a day, then you might just be okay with four a day,” he said.
This weekend the Food Standards Agency confirmed that it was reviewing the evidence before deciding whether to change its advice. Ministers and the agency have said there are no significant differences between organic and ordinary produce.
Researchers grew fruit and vegetables and reared cattle on adjacent organic and nonorganic sites on a 725-acre farm attached to Newcastle University, and at other sites in Europe. They found that levels of antioxidants in milk from organic herds were up to 90% higher than in milk from conventional herds.
As well as finding up to 40% more antioxidants in organic vegetables, they also found that organic tomatoes from Greece had significantly higher levels of antioxidants, including flavo-noids thought to reduce coronary heart disease.
Leifert said the government was wrong about there being no difference between organic and conventional produce. “There is enough evidence now that the level of good things is higher in organics,” he said.
Click Here To Read More At The Times Online...
The evidence from the £12m four-year project will end years of debate and is likely to overturn government advice that eating organic food is no more than a lifestyle choice
The study found that organic fruit and vegetables contained as much as 40% more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease, Britain’s biggest killers. They also had higher levels of beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc.
Professor Carlo Leifert, the co-ordinator of the European Union-funded project, said the differences were so marked that organic produce would help to increase the nutrient intake of people not eating the recommended five portions a day of fruit and vegetables. “If you have just 20% more antioxidants and you can’t get your kids to do five a day, then you might just be okay with four a day,” he said.
This weekend the Food Standards Agency confirmed that it was reviewing the evidence before deciding whether to change its advice. Ministers and the agency have said there are no significant differences between organic and ordinary produce.
Researchers grew fruit and vegetables and reared cattle on adjacent organic and nonorganic sites on a 725-acre farm attached to Newcastle University, and at other sites in Europe. They found that levels of antioxidants in milk from organic herds were up to 90% higher than in milk from conventional herds.
As well as finding up to 40% more antioxidants in organic vegetables, they also found that organic tomatoes from Greece had significantly higher levels of antioxidants, including flavo-noids thought to reduce coronary heart disease.
Leifert said the government was wrong about there being no difference between organic and conventional produce. “There is enough evidence now that the level of good things is higher in organics,” he said.
Click Here To Read More At The Times Online...
THE SAFETY OF CHIROPRACTIC MANIPULATION OF THE NECK
There have been attempts by some chiropractic skeptics and some so-called expert advisory panels that suggest that chirorpactuc adjustment of the neck carries some unacceptable risks. These all faik to quote legitimate research. So here's some real reasearch to clarify the risks...
The objective of this study was to estimate the risk of serious and relatively minor adverse events following chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine...
They studied treatment outcomes obtained from 19,722 patients. Serious adverse events were defined as "referred to Hospital Accident and Emergency and/or severe onset/worsening of symptoms immediately after treatment and/or resulted in persistent or significant disability/incapacity"; and minor adverse events were defined as a “worsening of presenting symptoms or onset of new symptoms”.
Data were obtained from 28,807 treatment consultations and 50,276 cervical spine manipulations. There were no reports of serious adverse events...
Minor side effects with a possible neurologic involvement were more common. The highest risk immediately after treatment was fainting, dizziness or light-headedness. Up to 7 days after treatment, these risks were headache, numbness/tingling in upper limbs and fainting/dizziness/light-headedness.
Click Here To Read The Research Abstract At Spine Journal...
The objective of this study was to estimate the risk of serious and relatively minor adverse events following chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine...
They studied treatment outcomes obtained from 19,722 patients. Serious adverse events were defined as "referred to Hospital Accident and Emergency and/or severe onset/worsening of symptoms immediately after treatment and/or resulted in persistent or significant disability/incapacity"; and minor adverse events were defined as a “worsening of presenting symptoms or onset of new symptoms”.
Data were obtained from 28,807 treatment consultations and 50,276 cervical spine manipulations. There were no reports of serious adverse events...
Minor side effects with a possible neurologic involvement were more common. The highest risk immediately after treatment was fainting, dizziness or light-headedness. Up to 7 days after treatment, these risks were headache, numbness/tingling in upper limbs and fainting/dizziness/light-headedness.
Click Here To Read The Research Abstract At Spine Journal...
WOMEN'S HEALTH LIBERATION
Being a woman has become a medical procedure. I have a theory that because health care has largely been dominated by the male species, the female experience has become an issue of control.
Female infants receive more vaccines than their male counterparts despite the unknown long-term effects of the new cocktails being injected directly into the depths of the immune system, and in spite of the fact that some of them are irrelevant until the sexually active era - some 16 to 20 years later.
Pharmaceutical and cosmetics interests push the use of synthetic coatings, colorings and fragrances - all aimed to make the girl and then woman look and smell better than how they perceive themselves to currently be, a perception which is bolstered by the advertising and media imagery of the same interests.
The sooner a young woman can be placed on the contraceptive pill, the better – after all, it creates an easy contraceptive option for men, and despite known long-term vascular and tumor enhancing complications, is accepted as a medical attempt to control inconvenient menstrual symptoms, irritations and irregularities.
Conception is increasingly a controlled and artificially-assisted procedure, in spite of the fact that decreased fertility rates can be linked to the excessive exposure to zeno-estrogens - which have been released into the environment by man’s many chemical adventures. Pregnancy and birth are medical "pathologies" which require the cold, clinical and even surgical intervention of blokes in white coats at every possible juncture.
Depression relieving medications are too often prescribed to relieve the isolation and rejection inflicted on the feminine psyche by the male ego. Menopause is an unnecessary and unwelcome disease requiring a range of medications which increase the chances of the next stage of life being filled with even more debilitating struggles with cancer and stroke. And, when a woman receives the final insult of a cancerous diagnosis, she is once again confronted with a bunch of blokes hard-selling heroic, radical and often new but unproven experimental chemotherapeutic and immune destroying tinctures.
So, I ask the question: what will it take for the female movement to demand liberation from a masculine health care model? Is the time approaching when white coats will be burned instead of bras? But more essential in the quest for female health liberation will be the demand for personal choice and empowerment - you have the vote; you have (supposedly) equal opportunity in the workplace; you have numerous social and personal freedoms that would once have been shunned; now is the time to start to exercise your consumer rights in the health and wellness arenas.
Here are some guidelines for how this liberation might begin...
Click Here To Read The Full Article At Sight Magazine...
This Is An Excerpt From My Super Healthy Manual: Click Here To Find Out More...
Female infants receive more vaccines than their male counterparts despite the unknown long-term effects of the new cocktails being injected directly into the depths of the immune system, and in spite of the fact that some of them are irrelevant until the sexually active era - some 16 to 20 years later.
Pharmaceutical and cosmetics interests push the use of synthetic coatings, colorings and fragrances - all aimed to make the girl and then woman look and smell better than how they perceive themselves to currently be, a perception which is bolstered by the advertising and media imagery of the same interests.
The sooner a young woman can be placed on the contraceptive pill, the better – after all, it creates an easy contraceptive option for men, and despite known long-term vascular and tumor enhancing complications, is accepted as a medical attempt to control inconvenient menstrual symptoms, irritations and irregularities.
Conception is increasingly a controlled and artificially-assisted procedure, in spite of the fact that decreased fertility rates can be linked to the excessive exposure to zeno-estrogens - which have been released into the environment by man’s many chemical adventures. Pregnancy and birth are medical "pathologies" which require the cold, clinical and even surgical intervention of blokes in white coats at every possible juncture.
Depression relieving medications are too often prescribed to relieve the isolation and rejection inflicted on the feminine psyche by the male ego. Menopause is an unnecessary and unwelcome disease requiring a range of medications which increase the chances of the next stage of life being filled with even more debilitating struggles with cancer and stroke. And, when a woman receives the final insult of a cancerous diagnosis, she is once again confronted with a bunch of blokes hard-selling heroic, radical and often new but unproven experimental chemotherapeutic and immune destroying tinctures.
So, I ask the question: what will it take for the female movement to demand liberation from a masculine health care model? Is the time approaching when white coats will be burned instead of bras? But more essential in the quest for female health liberation will be the demand for personal choice and empowerment - you have the vote; you have (supposedly) equal opportunity in the workplace; you have numerous social and personal freedoms that would once have been shunned; now is the time to start to exercise your consumer rights in the health and wellness arenas.
Here are some guidelines for how this liberation might begin...
Click Here To Read The Full Article At Sight Magazine...
This Is An Excerpt From My Super Healthy Manual: Click Here To Find Out More...
CHILD DRUGS LINKED TO HEART ATTACK
Children as young as five have suffered strokes, heart attacks, hallucinations and convulsions after taking drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Documents obtained by The Australian reveal that almost 400 serious adverse reactions have been reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, some involving children as young as three.
Cases include the sudden death of a seven-year-old, and a five-year-old who suffered a stroke after taking Ritalin. Children also experienced heart palpitations and shortness of breath after taking Dexamphetamine.
Others taking Ritalin or Dexamphetamine – the two most commonly used ADHD drugs – experienced hair loss, muscle spasms, severe abdominal pain, tremors, insomnia, severe weight loss, depression and paranoia.
Almost 60 of the adverse-reaction reports dating back to 1980, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, involved children under the age of 10…
The US Food and Drug Administration is reviewing 90 studies to determine whether ADHD drugs were linked to the deaths of 25 people, including 19 children, between 1999 and 2003.
The drugs were also associated with 54 cases of cardiovascular episodes, including heart attacks, strokes and serious heartbeat disturbances…
Others warned that the number of adverse reactions may be much higher because the TGA excludes reports where the cause of side effects is "unclear". Shelley Wilkins, executive director of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, which lobbies against the use of psychiatric medication on children, said many side effects were not reported.
"There is no mandatory reporting in Australia for adverse side-effects for psychiatric drugs," she said. "This needs to be rectified immediately so we can see the true extent of the damage being done."
Click Here To Read The Full Article at The Australian...
To Learn About My DVD Program Which Gives You Many Natural Strategies For Managing ADHD Click Here...
Documents obtained by The Australian reveal that almost 400 serious adverse reactions have been reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, some involving children as young as three.
Cases include the sudden death of a seven-year-old, and a five-year-old who suffered a stroke after taking Ritalin. Children also experienced heart palpitations and shortness of breath after taking Dexamphetamine.
Others taking Ritalin or Dexamphetamine – the two most commonly used ADHD drugs – experienced hair loss, muscle spasms, severe abdominal pain, tremors, insomnia, severe weight loss, depression and paranoia.
Almost 60 of the adverse-reaction reports dating back to 1980, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, involved children under the age of 10…
The US Food and Drug Administration is reviewing 90 studies to determine whether ADHD drugs were linked to the deaths of 25 people, including 19 children, between 1999 and 2003.
The drugs were also associated with 54 cases of cardiovascular episodes, including heart attacks, strokes and serious heartbeat disturbances…
Others warned that the number of adverse reactions may be much higher because the TGA excludes reports where the cause of side effects is "unclear". Shelley Wilkins, executive director of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, which lobbies against the use of psychiatric medication on children, said many side effects were not reported.
"There is no mandatory reporting in Australia for adverse side-effects for psychiatric drugs," she said. "This needs to be rectified immediately so we can see the true extent of the damage being done."
Click Here To Read The Full Article at The Australian...
To Learn About My DVD Program Which Gives You Many Natural Strategies For Managing ADHD Click Here...
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