Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients back issues from February 2005:
ConsumerLab.com reports improvement in quality of SAMe supplements used for osteoarthritis and depression.
Feb 01, 2005 ... ConsumerLab.com announced that the quality of supplements made with SAMe (S-adenosyl-methionine), which is used to treat a range of conditions including joint pain and depression--seems to have improved in recent years. In 2000, ConsumerLab.com found that nearly half of the SAMe products ...
Attention seniors: it's never too late to start exercising; New book from National Institute on aging promises healthier golden years.(Book Review)
Feb 01, 2005 ... Studies have shown that starting a regular exercise program can greatly benefit the health and quality of the life of seniors of all ages and fitness levels. Many older adults, however, are either afraid to start exercising or are unsure how to begin. To get most out of a fitness program, ...
Hugh D. Riordan, MD (1932-2005).(Obituary)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Hugh D. Riordan, MD, 72, founder and director of the Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning International, Wichita, Kansas died on January 7, 2005. He suddenly collapsed from heart failure while working on the last volume of his trilogy, Medical Mavericks. Hugh was best ...
The great leap forward in marketing alternative health: why alternative health practitioners should do more to educate the public.
Feb 01, 2005; ... "What you cannot avoid, welcome," says an old Chinese proverb. The world would be wise to bear that in mind in its dealings with Alternative Health Care. The integration of this model will have a bigger impact on the world health practices than that of any previous emerging health care ...
Bastyr University.(Shorts)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Having completed 25 years of operation, Bastyr University continues to grow and expand. The university now offers undergraduate degrees in acupuncture and Oriental medicine, nutrition, herbal sciences, health psychology, and in exercise science and wellness. Graduate programs include ...
Breath control for stress.(Shorts)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Breath control exercises encourage relaxation and stress reduction. Yoga teacher Sandra Summerfield Kozak, MS (Mahasarasvati) has produced BreathSounds, a series of three CDs that provide timed music patterns to support a fixed inhalation and exhalation rate. This practice of controlled ...
CAM on the Internet.(Shorts)(Book Review)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Lillian R. Brazin, MS, AHIP, has written The Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine on the Internet to help consumers find reliable information. A librarian herself, she has listed and briefly described many sites (primarily North American) that she and her medical librarian ...
CDC survey of CAM use.(Shorts)(complementary and alternative medicine )
Feb 01, 2005; ... On May 27, 2004, the CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) issued a report that estimates the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among US adults. The report is based on 31,044 computer-assisted interviews of people over 18 years old who took part in the 2002 ...
Carctol.(Shorts)(herbal remedy for cancer treatment)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Carctol, an herbal remedy developed by Ayurvedic expert Dr. Nandlal Tiwari (Rajasthan, India), has produced 'astounding results' in cancer patients, according to Dr. Rosy Daniel, former medical director of the Bristol Cancer Help Centre (United Kingdom). She would like to see clinical ...
Heart defects & genetics.(Shorts)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Scientists have discovered a single gene (dubbed 'Tinman') that is responsible for heart development before birth and maintenance of the heart's electrical system after birth. This dual function helps to explain why some people with congenital heart abnormalities experience heartbeat ...
Kudzu & alcohol craving.(Shorts)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Animal research and empirical experiences indicate that kudzu, in combination with other herbs or nutrients, may reduce alcohol craving. Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is one of seven Chinese herbs in a Traditional Chinese Medicine formula known as 'drunkenness dispeller.' In 1991, David Lee, an ...
National Foundation of Alternative Medicine.(Shorts)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Since its founding by former congressman Berkley Bedell in January 1998, the National Foundation of Alternative Medicine (NFAM) has sent medical teams to visit over 110 clinics in 32 countries. Their mission is to locate new, low-cost, safe and effective treatments for treating cancer and ...
PET scans for Alzheimer's.(Shorts)(positron emission tomography )
Feb 01, 2005; ... Doctors at UCLA, who recently used Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan) to identify early-stage Alzheimer's in actor Charlton Heston, are trying to convince Medicare to reconsider its earlier decision to deny coverage for the procedure. Without PET, early-stage Alzheimer's can be ...
Water.(Shorts)(Book Review)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Nothing has a greater impact on health than the quality of drinking water. As Beatrice Trum Hunter states in her book Water and Your Health, "Water is an essential nutrient for every human being." Yet, people around the world are being exposed to harmful pathogens, toxic chemicals and ...
Interview with Monica Miller, FAIM's legislative affairs consultant, on 2004 bills to minimize due process abuse by the OPMC.(Townsend's New York Observer)(Office of Professional Medical Conduct)(Interview)
Feb 01, 2005; ... In January's column, I reported on bills passed by the New York Assembly and Senate late in the 2004 legislative session. Both bills would require the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) to observe due process in dealing with physicians allegedly providing 'substandard' medical ...
Naturopathic physician on her career choice: "no regrets".(Pathways to Healing)
Feb 01, 2005; ... When Pamela Snider, ND, was a college student, she wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life. First she majored in religious studies, then psychology, then biology. She volunteered at a women's health clinic. "Each of those fields offered something important, but wasn't really what I ...
When homeopathy is the best of naturopathic medicine: types of patients to consider first; Following in the footsteps of Dr. John Bastyr, quintessential N.D.(Healing with Homeopathy)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Naturopathic medicine has many diverse modalities, each of which, in their own right, offer significant potential for healing. There are specific cases, however, in which homeopathic medicine makes the most sense and is likely to be of most benefit to the patient. This is a good reason for ...
In god we trust, all others show data: a reply to the NCI director's "challenge vision".(The War on Cancer)(National Cancer Institute)
Feb 01, 2005; ... In a 2004 article, Andrew C. von Eschenbach, MD, the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), elaborated on his "challenge vision" for the National Cancer Program of the United States (Eschenbach 2004). Since the NCI has put forward a proposed budget of more than $6.2 billion ...
Eradicating Helicobacter pylori with garlic.(Literature Review & Commentary)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Two hundred-ten patients with Helicobacter pylori infection, as determined by gastric biopsies, were randomly assigned to one of seven treatment groups: 1) standard eradication treatment (lansoprazole, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin for 14 days), 2) standard treatment plus 1,000 mg/day of ...
Well done, wellness undone.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... A case-control study was conducted by interviewing 296 patients with colorectal cancer and 597 controls in Cordoba, Argentina, regarding their dietary habits. With respect to meat consumption, a preference for darkly browned meat surfaces was significantly associated with an increased risk ...
Nutritional support for vaccine recipients.(Literature Review & Commentary)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Twenty-two British adults with relatively low plasma selenium concentrations were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, 50 or 100 mcg/day of selenium or placebo for 15 weeks. All subjects received an oral live attenuated poliomyelitis vaccine after six weeks. Compared with ...
Vitamin E prevents radiation side effect.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Fifty-four patients with cancer of the oral cavity or oropharynx who were scheduled to undergo radiation therapy were randomly assigned, in double-blind fashion, to rinse their mouth with a solution containing either 400 mg of vitamin E or placebo before each irradiation session and again ...
Calcium enhances weight loss.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Thirty-two obese adults were randomly assigned to one of the following diets for 24 weeks: 1) a standard diet containing 400-500 mg per day of calcium, plus a placebo supplement, 2) a standard diet supplemented with 800 mg per day of calcium, or 3) a diet containing three servings per day ...
Loss of smell following use of intranasal zinc.(Literature Review & Commentary)
Feb 01, 2005; ... A 55-year-old man with previously normal taste and smell treated a cold with a 2% zinc gluconate spray (Zicam). He noticed immediate burning in the nose, as well as anosmia, and did not use the spray again. Tests of smell function performed 13 and 23 months after the incident demonstrated ...
Hibiscus tea for hypertension.(Literature Review & Commentary)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Ninety patients (aged 30-80 years; mean, 53 years) with untreated mild-to-moderate hypertension were randomly assigned to receive 500 ml of Hibiscus sabdariffa tea once a day before breakfast or 25 mg of captopril twice a day for 4 weeks. Hibiscus tea was prepared by adding 10 g of dry ...
Erratic eating leads to insulin resistance.(Literature Review & Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Nine lean, healthy women (aged 18-42 years) were randomly assigned to consume their normal diet on six occasions per day or to follow an irregular meal frequency pattern (three to nine meals per day) for two weeks. After a two-week washout period, each participant consumed the alternate ...
The best in phytotherapy in 2004: solving the Echinacea puzzle.(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)
Feb 01, 2005; ... The most well-known herbal product for infections is Echinacea. But recently Echinacea has suffered from well-publicized problems with poor product quality and ineffective clinical trials. Perhaps most important of all, the Echinacea market at the retail level has become crowded and ...
Web page potpourri: links, links, links! A column devoted to informative alternative health resources on the internet.
Feb 01, 2005; ... This column focuses on great web pages whose key content is their links to other sites. For those who maintain websites, I also include a few resources for managing links. Note that links pages may also be called portals, hotlists, or jumpstations. Diseases, Disorders and ...
Low back pain and biofeedback.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology describes the unity of mental, neurological, hormonal and immunological functions, addressing the impact of cognitive images of the mind (whatever its elusive definition) on the central nervous, endocrine and immune systems. It encompasses biofeedback and ...
Dialysis and biofeedback.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Severe hypotension symptoms are not infrequently seen during dialysis due to blood volume shifts. In this study, 157 standard and 158 biofeedback-controlled treatments were compared during two months of treatment of 16 hemodialysis patients. The percentage of hypotensive episodes fell from ...
Congestive heart failure and biofeedback.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Forty congestive heart failure patients were randomized to engage in one session of thermal biofeedback augmented by imagery of hand warming and muscle relaxation or to be conventionally handled controls. In the intervention group mean increases were: skin temperature 3.1[degrees]F ...
Hypertension and breathing.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Hypertension may respond to slow breathing exercises without changing medication. Seventeen resistant hypertensives practicing device-guided slow breathing for 15 min/d for 8 weeks reduced their office blood pressure 12.9/6.9 mmHg (p<0.01) and home pressures 6.4/2.6 mm Hg (p<0.05) without ...
Myocardial infarction and depression.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... This paper summarizes at least eight controlled studies confirming the presence of depression in about 19% of post-myocardial infarction patients, which increases their odds ratio for post-MI mortality 6.6-fold, odds for more frequent angina 2.3-fold and subsequent cardiac events 4.3-fold ....
Depression and yoga.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... In 28 mildly depressed volunteers age 18-29, Beck Depression Inventory scores fell from 12.8 to 3.9 and Spielberger Anxiety scores from 49.5 to 39.6 in the 13 subjects randomized to Iyengar yoga class 1 hour b.i.w. X 5 weeks vs. 15 controls on a wait-list (2p<0.001). There emerged a trend ...
Longevity and attitudes.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Of 660 individuals age [greater than or equal to]50 (322 women) completing the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement (OLSAR), median survival in those with positive attitudes on aging ("As I get older things are better than I thought they would be") was 22.6 years vs. 15.0 for ...
Longevity and optimism.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Eight hundred forty general medical Mayo Clinic patients, mean age 35, were divided at baseline into optimists (n=124), pessimists (n=197) or mixed (n=518) on the basis of their answers to 298 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory questions. 86% were available for follow-up 30 years ...
Illness and hostility.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Is hostility is a risk factor for other health behaviors (e.g., smoking and excessive alcohol use) and psychosocial health problems? In 251 Latino-Americans age 18-42, based on baseline index in the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, high hostility/irritability scores predicted 11-year risk ...
Survival and hostility.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... In 2,200 subjects, high college age hostility vs. low hostility carried a relative risk of 1.22 for being a smoker 30 years later (95% CI 1.05-1.41); 1.2 (1.03-1.39) for consuming >2 alcoholic drinks/d, 1.18 (1.03-1.34) for perception of low social support, 1.19 (1.08-1.32) for achieving ...
Hypertension and Qi gong.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Of 58 volunteers, systolic and diastolic blood pressures fell significantly (147 to 131 mmHg and 93 to 87 mmHg, respectively) (p<0.001) in those randomly assigned to Qi gong training for 10 weeks vs. routinely treated controls. Norepinephrine, metanephrine and epinephrine vs. baseline also ...
Cardiac death and stress.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... There were 23 male cardiac deaths in France on July 12, 1998, the day that the French won the World Soccer Cup championship, vs. a mean of 32.6 for the five days before and after (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.55-0.98). Myocardial infarction male mortality for July 12, 1997 showed no usual numbers ....
Health and temperament.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Temperament, an expression of innate biological endowment, provides a more global portrayal of an organism than an aggregate of separate characteristics alone. Of 172 students, irritable-demanding-moody temperament types had the greatest 30-year risk of premature disease and mortality; ...
Longevity and self-perceptions.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Six hundred sixty subjects >50 years of age were followed up to 23 years after their self-perceptions of aging were determined at baseline. After all adjustments, a more positive self-perception about aging was linked to increased longevity of 7.5 additional years (p<0.004) compared to ...
Coronary artery disease and social isolation.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Social isolation has been linked to poor survival in patients with coronary artery disease. In 430 CAD patients, 4-year relative risk for cardiac death was 2.43 (p=.001) and risk for death from any cause was 2.11 in those with [less than or equal to]3 people in their social support network ...
Atherosclerosis and meditation.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Psychosocial stress influences the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is a valid surrogate measure for coronary atherosclerosis, is a predictor of coronary outcomes and stroke and is associated with psychosocial stress factors. Sixty ...
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and prayer.(Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary)
Feb 01, 2005; ... In this double-blind controlled trial of distance healing in 40 patients with advanced AIDS, subjects were pair-matched for age, CD[4.sup.+] count and number of AIDS-defining illnesses and randomized to receive either 10 weeks of distance healing (DH) treatment or to a ...
The naturopathic approach to adrenal dysfunction.(Naturopathic Perspectives)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Throughout 'alternative' medical circles many practitioners address the condition known as "adrenal fatigue." Like many other functional medical approaches, the concept of adrenal fatigue is gaining more and more attention, with good reason as our society continues to push harder and ...
The anthropology of place: searching for home.(Medical Anthropology)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Achieving health is perhaps more than anything else a matter of finding a sustaining environment to call home. However, America and many other industrialized countries are in the midst of a "housing crisis" in which the definition of home for many has shifted from an easily obtained ...
Orthomolecular treatment of anxiety disorders.(Best of Naturopathy)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Introduction Anxiety disorders are life altering psychiatric conditions that severely impair the quality of life of those suffering from them. They are the most common psychiatric disorders in the United States, (1) and are characterized by numerous somatic symptoms, such as ...
An in-office evaluation of four dietary supplements on natural killer cell activity.(Best of Naturopathy)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Abstract: The natural killer (NK) cell activity blood test is useful in predicting the prognosis of a cancer patient. The purpose of this in-office, nonrandomized open-label trial was to determine whether four different dietary supplements commonly sold in health food stores and ...
Epistemology of naturopathic medicine: toward a model of clinical investigation culminating in transformative experience.(Best of Naturopathy)
Feb 01, 2005; ... <Pre> When we understand that man is the only animal who must create meaning, who must open a wedge into neutral nature, we already understand the essence of love. Love is the problem of an animal who must find life, create a dialogue with nature in order to experience his own being ....
School children at increased aspartame risk.(Letters to the Editor)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Editor: I fully endorse Dr. Roberts' (October 2004) frightening scenario of increasingly dangerous chemicals, such as Aspartame, being used in children's drinks and foodstuffs in an effort to combat obesity. Unfortunately, no alternative to this dilemma is generally proposed. I ...
Aspartame risk.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Editor: In the October 2004 issue, you published yet another letter on aspartame risk by H.J. Roberts. I have read several of his articles carefully and I sent off for his audiotapes about 10 years ago. His evidence in both the tapes and articles seemed excessively thin, ...
Reflections on civil inaction: the need for input about toxic exposure by corporate-neutral physicians.(Letters to the Editor)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Editor: The unsuccessful legal suit by Jan Schlichtman involving chemical pollution of community water, recounted in the film A Civil Action, warrants related observations believed to have national public health significance. They encompass the experience of a nongranted ...
Critique of negative vitamin E study.(Letters to the Editor)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Editor: On November 10, 2004, Dr. Andrew Hopner of Johns Hopkins Hospital was at the American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans. He had read a report on vitamin E that was to be published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. He had not done a trial but had reviewed the ...
Grapefruit seed extract antibiotic activity is due to preservative compounds.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
Feb 01, 2005; ... Editor: The ubiquitous and widespread usage of grapefruit seed extract (GSE) within the health food industry, including its use by supposedly knowledgeable practitioners, is an issue of serious concern for me as a herbalist, researcher and clinician. GSE in various forms is used ...