Will Neuropathy Diagnosis Go Over The Fiscal Cliff

 Today's post comes from the Neuropathy Association E-news letter for November 2012 (see link below) and highlights a potentially very difficult time for neuropathy patients in the United States. Hopefully solutions can be found, now that plunging off the fiscal cliff has been temporarily averted but these sort of spending cuts are just the sort that will remain on the statute books irrespective of macro decision making in Washington. Not that EMGs are the be all and end all of neuropathy testing (a patient's account of symptoms is more often than not enough to confirm diagnosis) but EMGs and the like are useful tools in establishing the extent of neuropathic damage and certainly in measuring its progress. If you are living in the USA it may well be worth reading and supporting this  campaign by the Neuropathy Association.

 

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
Tina Tockarshewsky November 2012

Dear Friend,

A clear and present danger for our community is now upon us, and your support is essential.

It was recently announced in the 2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that reimbursement payments to physicians for needle electromyography (EMG) tests and nerve conduction studies (NCSs) will be severely reduced by 30%-70% beginning on January 1, 2013. EMG and NCSs are the primary diagnostic tools for peripheral neuropathy as well as other neuromuscular diseases like ALS, MS, and Parkinson’s. Implementing these cuts will deny millions access to proper diagnosis and care.

We are hearing from many physicians that they will no longer be able to afford to practice neuromuscular medicine...and many currently in practice will simply stop seeing Medicare patients!

This Neurological Fiscal Cliff Will Hurt Neuropathy Patients!

 

This is a crisis unlike any we have ever known before…and is a potential game changer for ALL patients and medical professionals working with the neuropathy community. Early diagnoses will be reduced and misdiagnoses will increase. Patient access and care will suffer, exacerbating the challenges already facing neuropathy patients.

A 2010 poll by The Neuropathy Association showed that many patients already face significant delays in diagnosis, during which irreparable nerve damage continues:

 

Two Ways You Can Help

First: In the coming days, we will announce a process for contacting members of Congress and posting comments on these proposed changes on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website. Please watch your emails for this announcement and respond immediately. Please also know that we are working with our medical professional society partners to respond to this crisis.
And keep in mind that other insurers follow Medicare’s actions. So, even if you are not on Medicare, this change has the potential to impact everyone in the neuropathy community.

Second: Support our year-end fundraising efforts, and KEEP US IN THE FIGHT. In these difficult times for the economy and the Association, your generous contributions are our lifeline – and help protect your interests as well as those of untold numbers of future patients.
Thank you for taking action.

Neurologists to See Cuts in 2013 Medicare Payments
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released new code values that could result in decreased payments to neurologists. Specifically, physicians who provide nerve conduction and needle EMG services will face dramatic cuts of more than 50 percent for some services starting January 1, 2013. This is a drastic cut that will be especially hard on neurology practices large and small, many of which rely on these services to meet their bottom line. Patients also will pay the price with less access to these services. Private health insurers often follow Medicare payment rules as well, which will exacerbate the situation.
- American Academy of Neurology

Editor’s Note: Please refer to the President and CEO's message above for more information about this breaking issue that negatively impacts access to critical evaluation and care for people with neuropathy, and how The Neuropathy Association is working with the American Academy of Neurology, the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation to address this issue.

http://www.neuropathy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Resources_PubArchivesM_E

Neuropathy In The Winter

Very topical at the moment in the Northern hemisphere (and in 6 months, applicable to the Southern hemisphere too) today's post from blog.dana-farber.org (see link below) gives some helpful and timely hints about taking care in the winter if you have neuropathy. It's all to do with lack of feeling in your feet and hands and not being able to judge your footing in slippery circumstances. It's vital that you are always aware of the possibility of falling. Many neuropathy patients suffer broken bones from falls in the winter purely because the wrong signals reach your brain. This article is simply put and worth a read, if only to remind you of what you are probably already well aware of.

Tips for Managing Neuropathy During Winter 
January 15, 2014 Dana-Farber 

Staying warm and healthy during the winter can be challenging for anyone in most parts of the country, but it can be especially difficult for cancer patients, particularly those who may be experiencing treatment-related neuropathy.

Peripheral neuropathy is a temporary or long-lasting nerve problem that may occur as a result of certain chemotherapy drugs. It can cause pain, numbness, tingling, or loss of feeling, usually in the hands or feet, making snowy weather and freezing temperatures all the more challenging.

Clare Sullivan, BNS, MPH

“Peripheral neuropathy occurs from certain treatments affecting the nerves in the body, especially the nerves that sense pain, heat, cold, touch, balance, and fine motor movement,” says Clare Sullivan, BSN, MPH, Clinical Program Manager, Patient Education at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who urges patients with neuropathy to take extra precautions in cold weather.

If you experience numbness in the hands and feet as a result of cancer treatment, consider these tips from Sullivan:

Keep hands and feet warm and dry

Invest in good, warm gloves and extra socks during the winter. Layers will help keep your hands and feet dry, which may help ease numbness in colder weather.

Wear boots with traction

This will create an extra layer between your feet and the snow or ice, giving you additional protection against the elements, while helping keep you steady on slippery ground and prevent falls.

Dress warm

Wear a warm coat with thick padding to protect your body, especially your lower arms. Staying warm will help maintain circulation to and from the hands, and may lessen pain and help maintain your range of motion.

Walk with hands out of pockets

Keep your hands free and stretched out to prevent falls and protect yourself when they do occur. Rather than confining your hands to your pockets, which can create cramping and increase the likelihood of falls, wear warm gloves and keep your hands free instead.

View this Dana-Farber Slideshare presentation to learn more about neuropathy diagnosis, treatment, and management from Cindy Tofthagen, PhD, ARNP, an assistant professor of nursing at the University of South Florida, and post-doctoral fellow at Dana-Farber and the University of Massachusetts.

http://blog.dana-farber.org/insight/2014/01/tips-for-managing-neuropathy-during-winter/

Neuropathy Just One Of The Statins Side Effects

Today's post from articles.mercola.com (see link below) looks at the risks of taking statins for people with nerve problems amongst other things. Statins are a very fast growing market in a world where heart attacks and strokes plus high cholesterol, are increasing medical issues thanks mainly to modern life-styles. They will work very effectively to reduce cholesterol and thus prevent a whole array of problems but they do have their side effects and many people just aren't aware of the risks they run when taking statins. This especially applies to neuropathy patients and people at risk of nerve damage. Statins can unfortunately bring on nerve damage, or make it considerably worse and as we all know, that's the last thing we want. It's important that if your doctor suggests taking statins that you bring up the subject of potential nerve damage yourself. It needs to be discussed.

The Ugly Side of Statins: Systemic Appraisal of the Contemporary Unknown Unknowns
By Dr. Mercola October 09, 2013

Statin cholesterol-lowering drugs are among the most widely prescribed drugs on the market, bringing in $20 billion a year.1 They are a top profit-maker for the pharmaceutical industry, in part due to relentless and highly successful direct-to-consumer advertising campaigns.

One in four Americans over the age of 45 now takes statins, typically for the primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes. Traditionally, primary prevention usually involves healthy lifestyle choices that support heart health, things like eating right and exercising, yet here we have millions of Americans taking pills instead.

Has anyone unbiased stopped to find out if these drugs are really the best method for heart attack prevention? After all, as researchers noted in the Open Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases (OJEMD):2

“…naive indiscriminate acceptance of novel mainstream therapies is not always advisable and prudence is required in unearthing harmful, covert side effects.”

This is precisely the task that researchers from Ireland took on by completing an objective review of Pubmed, EM-BASE and Cochrane review databases.3 Their results speak volumes…


“It is beginning to dawn on some clinicians that contemporary treatments are not only failing to impact on our most prevalent diseases, but they may be causing more damage than good. A perfect example of such an issue is the statin saga.” 

The Evidence Is In: Lifestyle Trumps Statins for Primary Heart Attack Prevention

For a drug therapy that appears to offer little by way of primary prevention, the risks were alarming. For every 10,000 people taking a statin, there were:
307 extra patients with cataracts
23 additional patients with acute kidney failure
74 extra patients with liver dysfunction

The landmark review revealed “a categorical lack of clinical evidence to support the use of statin therapy in primary prevention.” They also found that statins actually increase cardiovascular risk in women, the young and people with diabetes. The review also showed that statin therapy increased:
Muscle fatigabilty by 30% with more than 11% incidence of rhabdomyolysis (a life-threatening muscle condition) at high doses
Coronary artery and aortic calcification
Erectile dysfunction, which is 10 times more common in young men taking the lowest dose of statin.
Diabetes
Cancer

The researchers noted:

“There is increased risk of diabetes mellitus, cataract formation, and erectile dysfunction in young statin users, all of which are alarming. Furthermore there is a significant increase in the risk of cancer and neurodegenerative disorders in the elderly plus an enhanced risk of a myriad of infectious diseases. All side effects are dose dependent and persist during treatment.

Primary prevention clinical results provoke the possibility of not only the lack of primary cardiovascular protection by statin therapy, but highlight the very real possibility of augmented cardiovascular risk in women, patients with diabetes mellitus and the young. Statins are associated with triple the risk of coronary artery and aortic calcification.

These findings on statins' major adverse effects had been under-reported and the way in which they [were] withheld from the public, and even concealed, is a scientific farce.

… Cardiovascular primary prevention and regeneration programmes, through life style changes and abstaining from tobacco use have enhanced clinical efficacy and quality of life over any pharmaceutical or other conventional intervention.” 

If You Take Statins, Your Vision Could Be at Risk

The featured review found an increased risk of cataracts with statin use, and this was supported by a new JAMA study,4 which further revealed that the risk of cataracts is increased among statin users, compared with non-users. As a main cause of low vision among the elderly, cataract is a clouding of your eye lens.

It has previously been hypothesized that statin antioxidant effects may slow the aging process of the lens, but the current study revealed that they, instead, raise cataract risk, again calling into question the usefulness of statins for primary prevention of heart attacks. The researchers concluded:

“The risk-benefit ratio of statin use, specifically for primary prevention, should be carefully weighed, and further studies are warranted.” 

Certain Statins May Impair Your Memory and May Even Lead to Amnesia

Still more research revealed that rats taking the statin Pravachol (pravastatin) had impaired learning, with lower abilities to perform simple learning and memory tasks.5 This isn’t exactly news, as in 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would be requiring additional warning labels for statins, one of which warned that statins may increase the risk of memory loss and confusion. The warnings, particularly the one for memory loss, came as the result of anecdotal reports compiled over the previous year…

Interestingly, the animal study found no association between another statin drug, Lipitor, and impaired memory in the rats. But Dr. Duane Graveline, a medical doctor and former astronaut, has written an entire book on this very topic, titled Lipitor: Thief of Memory.

In my interview with him, Dr. Graveline shared his powerful story about how Lipitor caused him severe global transient amnesia, which is what brought him out of retirement to investigate statins. There have been thousands of cases of transient global amnesia and other types of cognitive damage associated with statin use, reported to the FDA’s MedWatch site. It is believed that statin drugs damage your brain by creating a cholesterol deficiency.

Insufficient cholesterol results in your brain not having the raw materials it needs to make biochemicals critical for memory and cognitive function, including coenzyme Q10 and dolichols, the latter of which carry the genetic instructions from your DNA to help create specific proteins in your body that are crucial for cognitive function, emotions and mood.
High Cholesterol Levels May Be Protective

Any discussion of statins would be incomplete without a discussion of cholesterol – the ‘villain’ that these drugs mercilessly lower. Many buy into the conventional belief that lower cholesterol equals a lower risk of heart disease, but this is not always the case. And, in fact, high cholesterol levels are indeed protective in some cases, whereas low cholesterol levels are very clearly linked to chronic disease. Writing in OJEMD, researchers explained:

“Cholesterol is crucial for energy, immunity, fat metabolism, leptin, thyroid hormone activity, liver related synthesis, stress intolerance, adrenal function, sex hormone syntheses and brain function. When prescribing HMGCoA reductase inhibitors [statins] one needs to be cognizant of the fact that the body had increased its’ cholesterol as a compensatory mechanism and investigate accordingly.

We seem to have fallen into the marketing trap and ignored the niggling side effects with regard to the HMGCoA reductase inhibitors. The only statin benefit that has actually been demonstrated is in middle-aged men with coronary heart disease. However, statins were not shown to best form of primary prevention.

… In actual fact, high cholesterol levels have been found to be protective in elderly and heart failure patients and hypo-cholestereamic [low cholesterol] patients had higher incidence of intra-cerebral bleeds, depression and cancer. … We are observing the revealing of the utmost medical tragedy of all time. It is unprecedented that the healthcare industry has inadvertently induced life-threatening nutrient deficiency in millions of otherwise healthy people. What is even more disparaging is that not only has there been a failure to report on these negative side-effects of statins, there has actually been active discouragement to publish any negative studies on statins.”

This is, in large part, why so many people are completely unaware that statin drugs have been directly linked to over 300 side effects,6 which include:

Cognitive loss Neuropathy Anemia
Acidosis Frequent fevers Cataracts
Sexual dysfunction An increase in cancer risk Pancreatic dysfunction
Immune system suppression Muscle problems, polyneuropathy (nerve damage in the hands and feet), and rhabdomyolysis, a serious degenerative muscle tissue condition Hepatic dysfunction. (Due to the potential increase in liver enzymes, patients must be monitored for normal liver function)

Ask Yourself – and Your informed Physician -- if You Really Need to Be Taking Statins

I've long stated that the odds are very high -- greater than 100 to 1 -- that if you're taking a statin, you may not even need it, as cholesterol is NOT the cause of heart disease. To further reinforce the importance of cholesterol, I want to remind you of the work of Dr. Stephanie Seneff, who works with the Weston A. Price Foundation.

One of her theories is that cholesterol combines with sulfur to form cholesterol sulfate, and that this cholesterol sulfate helps thin your blood by serving as a reservoir for the electron donations you receive when walking barefoot on the Earth (also called grounding). She believes that, via this blood-thinning mechanism, cholesterol sulfate may provide natural protection against heart disease.

In fact, she goes so far as to hypothesize that heart disease is likely the result of cholesterol deficiency — which of course is the complete opposite of the conventional view. So if your physician is urging you to check your total cholesterol, know that this test will tell you virtually nothing about your risk of heart disease, unless it is 330 or higher. HDL percentage is a far more potent indicator for heart disease risk. Here are the two ratios you should pay attention to:
HDL/Total Cholesterol Ratio: Should ideally be above 24 percent. If below 10 percent, you have a significantly elevated risk for heart disease.
Triglyceride/HDL Ratio: Should be below 2.

Additional risk factors for heart disease include: 

Your fasting insulin level: Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates like fructose and refined grains generates a rapid rise in blood glucose and then insulin to compensate for the rise in blood sugar. The insulin released from eating too many carbs promotes fat production and makes it more difficult for your body to shed excess weight, and excess fat, particularly around your belly, is one of the major contributors to heart disease
Your fasting blood sugar level: Studies have shown that people with a fasting blood sugar level of 100-125 mg/dl had a nearly 300 percent increase higher risk of having coronary heart disease than people with a level below 79 mg/dl
Your iron level: Iron can be a very potent oxidative stress, so if you have excess iron levels you can damage your blood vessels and increase your risk of heart disease. Ideally, you should monitor your ferritin levels and make sure they are not much above 80 ng/ml. The simplest way to lower them if they are elevated is to donate your blood. If that is not possible you can have a therapeutic phlebotomy and that will effectively eliminate the excess iron from your body 

Try This Instead for Primary Heart Attack Prevention

Make no mistake about it, statin drugs are some of the most side effect-ridden medications on the market, and they frequently do more harm than good. Of utmost importance, statins deplete your body of CoQ10, which accounts for many of its devastating results. Therefore, if you take a statin, you MUST take supplemental CoQ10, or better, the reduced form called ubiquinol. If you are interested in optimizing your cholesterol levels (which doesn't necessarily mean lowering them) and lowering your risk of heart disease and heart attacks, there are natural strategies available for doing so.
Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your diet, replacing them with mostly whole, fresh vegetable carbs and healthy fats. Also try to consume a good portion of your food raw.
Make sure you are getting enough high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil.
Other heart-healthy foods include olive oil, coconut and coconut oil, organic raw dairy products and eggs, avocados, raw nuts and seeds, and organic grass-fed meats.
Optimize your vitamin D levels.
Exercise daily, especially with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) exercises.
Avoid smoking or drinking alcohol excessively.
Be sure to get plenty of good, restorative sleep. 


Sources and References

Open Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases 2013, Vol. 3, No. 3
JAMA Ophthalmology September 19, 2013
Medical News Today September 26, 2013
PLoS ONE 8(9): e75467.

1 Open Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases 2013, Vol. 3, No. 3
2 See ref 1
3 See ref 1
4 JAMA Ophthalmology September 19, 2013
5 PLoS ONE 8(9): e75467.
6 GreenMedInfo Statin Drugs 
 
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/09/statin-cholesterol-lowering-drugs.aspx

The Real Dangers Of Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics

Today's post from activistpost.com (see link below) is another very detailed explanation of why the type of antibiotics called Fluoroquinolones can be very bad news for neuropathy patients and patients who are prone to neuropathy. The toxicity of these antibiotics can cause neuropathy directly but they are still widely prescribed as a standard antibiotic. People with HIV, diabetics and other risk groups should always ask their doctors for an alternative, using evidence such as this to explain the links with neuropathy (amongst others including Gulf War illness which is the main subject of this article). You may not be at risk of Gulf War Syndrome but this article explains in great detail and with evidence, exactly why these antibiotics can be dangerous. You may have heard of ciprofloxacin (Cipro), gemifloxacin (Factive), levofloxacin (Levaquin), moxifloxacin (Avelox), norfloxacin (Noroxin), and ofloxacin (Floxin) and have already been prescribed them but they belong to the fluoro-quinolone group of drugs, that even the FDA has strenuously criticised because of lack of warning on their packaging. Always examine the box for the real name of your antibiotics and then discuss it seriously with your doctor to see if this really is the only option for you.

Gulf War Illness Tied to Cipro Antibiotics 
Lisa Bloomquist Monday, January 6, 2014

A U.S. military publication, The Air Force Times, made the connection that victims of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome (“Floxies”) have been screaming about for years – that Gulf War Illness is tied to Cipro. In an article entitled, “New FDA warnings on Cipro may tie into Gulf War Illness,” it was noted that the August, 2013 update to the warning labels of all fluoroquinolone antibiotics stating that PERMANENT peripheral neuropathy is a possible adverse effect, prompted The Air Force Times to make the connection.

Civilians suffering from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome (an adverse reaction to a fluoroquinolone – Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/Levofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin, Floxin/Ofloxacin and others) have noted the similarities between Gulf War illness and Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome for years. It is beyond likely, it is probable, that they are one in the same.

The Symptoms

The VA defines Gulf War Illness as “chronic, unexplained symptoms existing for 6 months or more” that are at least ten percent disabling. The CDC case definition of Gulf War Illness “requires chronic symptoms in two of three domains of fatigue, cognitive-mood, and musculoskeletal.”

Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome is a chronic, unexplained illness with symptoms lasting for months, years, or, as the updated warning label notes, permanently. The symptoms of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are too numerous to list, but a cursory glance at the warning label for Cipro/Ciprofloxacin will tell you that the effects include musculoskeletal problems and central nervous system issues. Additionally, as pharmaceuticals that damage mitochondria, the energy centers of cells, severe fatigue is often induced by Fluoroquinolones.

A 1998 study entitled, “Chronic Multisymptom Illness Affecting Air Force Veterans of the Gulf War,” found that the most commonly reported symptoms of Gulf War Illness are sinus congestion, headache, fatigue, joint pain, difficulty remembering or concentrating, joint stiffness, difficulty sleeping, abdominal pain, trouble finding words, (feeling) moody or irritable, rash or sores, numbness or tingling and muscle pain.

A 2011 study conducted by the Quinolone Vigilance Foundation found that the most commonly reported symptoms of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are tendon, joint, and muscle pain, fatigue, popping/cracking joints, weakness, neuropathic pain, paresthesia (tingling), muscle twitching, depression, anxiety, insomnia, back pain, memory loss, tinnitus, muscle wasting.

The symptoms are similar enough to raise a few eyebrows. It should be noted that when a chronic, multi-symptom illness suddenly sickens a patient or a soldier, and he or she goes from being healthy and active to suddenly being exhausted and unable to move or think, it is difficult to pinpoint and describe exactly what is going wrong in his or her body. Thus, even if the symptoms are identical, they may not be described in an identical way because of context and differing areas of focus.

For victims of fluoroquinolones, it is as if a bomb went off in the body of the victim, yet all tests come back “normal” so in addition to physical pain and suffering that the soldier/patient is going through, he or she has to suffer through dismissal and denial from medical professionals as well. Neither Gulf War Illness nor Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are detected by traditional medical tests and thus both diseases are systematically denied. All blood and urine markers come back within the normal ranges, yet the patient or soldier is suddenly incapable of 90% of what he or she used to be able to do. When a large number of patients or soldiers (nearly 30% of the soldiers serving in the Gulf reported symptoms. Exact numbers of civilian patients suffering from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are unknown because of delayed reactions, misdiagnosing the illness, tolerance thresholds, etc.) experience adverse reactions that are undetectable using the tests available, there is something wrong with the tests. The patients and soldiers aren’t lying and their loss of abilities isn’t “in their heads.”

Exposure to the same Poison

Another glaring similarity between Gulf War Illness and Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome is that everyone with either syndrome took a Fluoroquinolone.

Per a Veteran of the Marines who commented on healthboards.com about the use of Ciprofloxacin by soldiers in the Gulf:

The Ciprofloxacin 500 mg were ordered to be taken twice a day. The Marines were the only service that I know for sure were given these orders. We were ordered to start them before the air war, and the order to stop taking them was giver at 0645 Feb 28th 1991 by General Myatt 1st Marine div commander. We were forced to take Cipro 500mg twice a day for 40 plus days. so the Marines were given NAPP (nerve agent protection pills) or pyridiostigmine bromide to protect us from nerve agent, and We were ordered to take the Cipro to protect from anthrax. We were part of the human research trial conducted by the Bayer corporation in the creation of their new anthrax pills. At that time they had no idea of the side effects of flouroquinolones. That’s the class of medications that Cipro falls into. After the Gulf War the FDA and Bayer co. started releasing the list of side effects. You do need to know what was done to you so you will have to do your own research. Good luck to all of you and Semper Fi.By definition, everyone who suffers from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome has taken a fluoroquinolone – Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/Levofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin or Floxin/Ofloxacin. Civilians are also part of the “human research trial conducted by the Bayer corporation” as well as Johnson & Johnson, Merck and multiple generic drug manufacturers who peddle fluoroquinolones as “safe” antibiotics.

The Case Against Fluoroquinolones

Of course, there were multiple chemicals and poisons that Gulf War Veterans were exposed to in the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and thus it has been difficult to pinpoint an exact cause of Gulf War Illness. The ruling out of the following possible causes should certainly be questioned thoroughly, but “depleted uranium, anthrax vaccine, fuels, solvents, sand and particulates, infectious diseases, and chemical agent resistant coating” have been found not to cause Gulf War Illness. Other potential causes of Gulf War Illness include oil fires, multiple vaccines, pesticides, and, of course, fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Cipro). (It should be noted that non-deployed military personnel who served during the Gulf War period, but who were not deployed in the Middle East, have also been afflicted with Gulf War Illness and thus toxins that both deployed and non-deployed personnel have been exposed to should be the focus of investigations into the causes of Gulf War Illness.)

The Air Force Times article is one of the first official mentions of the relationship between Cipro and Gulf War Illness. Officially, the link hasn’t been examined (though some very smart researchers are building a case as you read this). Why Cipro hasn’t been looked at as a potential cause of Gulf War Illness is a question that I don’t know the answer to. Perhaps it’s because most people think that all antibiotics are as safe as penicillin. Perhaps it’s because most people have a tolerance threshold for fluoroquinolones and don’t react negatively to the first prescription that they receive. Perhaps it’s because even today, more than 30 years after Cipro was patented by Bayer, the exact mechanism by which fluoroquinolones operate is still officially unknown (1). Perhaps it’s because it is unthinkable that a commonly used antibiotic could cause a chronic syndrome of pain and suffering. Perhaps it’s because the tests that show the damage done by fluoroquinolones aren’t used by the VA or civilian doctors’ offices. Perhaps it’s because fluoroquinolones are the perfect drug – they take an acute problem – an infection, and convert it into a chronic disease-state that is systematically misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, an autoimmune disease, leaky gut syndrome, insomnia, anxiety, depression, etc. and turns formerly healthy people into lifetime customers of the medical establishment / pharmaceutical companies. Perhaps it is simply widespread ignorance about the way these dangerous drugs work.

The Cliff's Notes version of how fluoroquinolones work is as follows:

The fluoroquinolone depletes liver enzymes that metabolize drugs (CYP450) (2). When the enzymes are depleted sufficiently, the fluoroquinolone forms a poisonous adduct to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (3, 4), which destroys and depletes mtDNA (5). While the mtDNA is being destroyed, the fluoroquinolone is also binding to cellular magnesium. (6, 7) The mitochondria reacts to being assaulted by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) (8, 9). Some of the ROS, specifically hydrogen peroxide, combines with the excess calcium (there is a balance in cells of magnesium and calcium and the binding of the magnesium results in an excess of calcium) to induce the expression of CD95L/Fas Ligand (5) which then causes cell death (apoptosis) and immune system dysfunction (10) which leads the body to attack itself – like an autoimmune disease.

Damage is caused by every single step in the process. Additional damage may be done by the fluorine atom that is added to fluoroquinolones to make them more potent. It should be noted that the complexity of these cellular interactions is too vast to write up in this article.

Every symptom of Gulf War Illness is consistent with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress (11), both of which have been shown to be brought on by fluoroquinolones.

Though the tests used in typical medical practice show no reason for victims of fluoroquinolones to be ill, that fact simply shows that the wrong tests are being used. Tests of mitochondrial function, antioxidant/oxidant ratios and DNA will show the damage that is done by fluoroquinolones. The way to determine whether Cipro is the cause of Gulf War Illness is to conduct a DNA mass spectrogram analysis on afflicted Gulf War Veterans. If the DNA mass spectrogram analysis shows that quinolone molecules have adducted to the DNA of the Veterans, that’s a smoking gun of damage done by Cipro.

Millions of civilians have also been hurt by fluoroquinolones. I can connect fluoroquinolones to almost every chronic disease that has increased in prevalence since the introduction of fluoroquinolones to the mass population in the mid-1980s. Additionally, DNA is damaged and thus the effects are intergenerational and many of the chronic diseases that plague children can be linked to fluoroquinolone use by parents.

Some very well-respected researchers are working on more furthering the case that Cipro is responsible for Gulf War Illness. If any Gulf War Veterans want to take on Bayer before those studies are released, the way to do so is through obtaining a DNA mass spectrogram analysis and having it analyzed by a toxicologist. It is proof of damage and it is necessary. When that proof is obtained, I encourage all Gulf War Veterans to use it to fight those who poisoned them – Bayer and their corroborators in the DOD and the FDA.

To any Gulf War Veterans who read this – you are soldiers and you are warriors. I know that you have been weakened, but you are still alive and those of you who can fight, should, because a grave injustice has been done to you. It is an injustice that is also being inflicted on innocent civilians. There is nothing okay about the poisoning of our military men and women, or the American public, with chemotherapy drugs masquerading as antibiotics. I encourage you to fight Bayer and their corroborators like what they are – domestic terrorists. It is a fight that you can win. The truth, and a significant amount evidence, are on your side.

Post Script: The author’s web site, with more information about fluoroquinolones, is www.floxiehope.com. Further information about fluoroquinolones can be found through the Quinolone Vigilance Foundation – www.saferpills.org.

Numbered Sources:

Inorganic Chemistry, “New uses for old drugs: attempts to convert quinolone antibacterials into potential anticancer agents containing ruthenium.”
FDA Warning Label for Ciprofloxacin
The Journal of Biological Chemistry, “The Mechanism of Inhibition of Topoisomerase IV by Quinolone Antibacterials.”
Findings of Toxicologist Joe King
The Journal of Immunology, “Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Control T Cell Activation by Regulating IL-2 and IL-4 Expression: MechanismN of Ciprofloxacin Mediated Immunosuppression“
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, “Effects of Magnesium Complexation by Fluoroquinolones on their Antibacterial Properties”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, Biochemistry, “Quinolone Binding to DNA Mediated by Magnesium Ions”
Science Translational Medicine, “Bactericidal Antibiotics Induce Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Oxidative Damage in Mammalian Cells“
Journal of Young Pharmacists, “Oxidative Stress Induced by Fluoroquinolones on Treatment for Complicated Urinary Tract Infections in Indian Patients“
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, “Ciprofloxacin Induces an Immunomodulatory Stress Response in Human T Lymphocytes“
Nature Precedings, “Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Injury in Chronic Multisymptom Conditions: From Gulf War Illness to Autism Spectrum Disorder”

About Lisa Bloomquist: I am a Colorado native that enjoys the mountains, pilates, blogging and my cat. I was severely adversely effected by Cipro in 2011. Before I took Cipro I was in perfect health. Since those fateful pills in 2011, I have been fighting for my health. Most of my health has returned and now I am screaming about the dangers of fluoroquinolones so that others can learn from my experience. I will continue to scream until those in the medical professions start paying attention to their Hippocratic Oath, proper informed consent is established for administration of these drugs, and they stop giving them to children. This article first appeared at Collective-Evolution.

http://www.activistpost.com/2014/01/gulf-war-illness-tied-to-cipro.html

Neuropathic Symptoms And The Cold Vid

Today's short video from beatingneuropathy.tv (see link below) is the latest from Dr. Hayes giving advice on how best to deal with extreme cold weather when you have nerve damage and chronic pain. Always worth a few minutes of your time.

Episode 41: Cold and Neuropathy Pain? YES! Here is What to Do! 
Posted by John Hayes Jr Thursday, January 9th, 2014

If you suffer from neuropathy, fibromyalgia, or really any form of chronic pain you already understand how the cold-weather can aggravate. In this brief video Dr. Hayes discusses practical steps you can take today to help you feel better almost immediately!



http://beatingneuropathy.tv/2014/01/episode-41-cold-and-neuropathy-pain-yes-here-is-what-to-do/

VITAMIN E INTAKE CRITICAL DURING THE FIRST 1000 DAYS

Amid conflicting reports about the need for vitamin E and how much is enough, a new analysis published today suggests that adequate levels of this essential micronutrient are especially critical for the very young, the elderly, and women who are or may become pregnant

A lifelong proper intake of vitamin E is also important, researchers said, but often complicated by the fact that this nutrient is one of the most difficult to obtain through diet alone. It has been estimated that only a tiny fraction of Americans consume enough dietary vitamin E to meet the estimated average requirement.

Meanwhile, some critics have raised unnecessary alarms about excessive vitamin E intake while in fact the diet of most people is insufficient, said Maret Traber, a professor in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University, principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute and national expert on vitamin E

"Many people believe that vitamin E deficiency never happens," Traber said. "That isn't true. It happens with an alarming frequency both in the United States and around the world. But some of the results of inadequate intake are less obvious, such as its impact on things like nervous system and brain development, or general resistance to infection."

Some of the best dietary sources of vitamin E -- nuts, seeds, spinach, wheat germ and sunflower oil -- don't generally make the highlight list of an average American diet. One study found that people who are highly motivated to eat a proper diet consume almost enough vitamin E, but broader surveys show that 90 percent of men and 96 percent of women don't consume the amount currently recommended, 15 milligrams per day for adults.

In a review of multiple studies, published in Advances in Nutrition, Traber outlined some of the recent findings about vitamin E. Among the most important are the significance of vitamin E during fetal development and in the first years of life; the correlation between adequate intake and dementia later in life; and the difficulty of evaluating vitamin E adequacy through measurement of blood levels alone.

Findings include:

Inadequate vitamin E is associated with increased infection, anemia, stunting of growth and poor outcomes during pregnancy for both the infant and mother.

Overt deficiency, especially in children, can cause neurological disorders, muscle deterioration, and even cardiomyopathy.

Studies with experimental animals indicate that vitamin E is critically important to the early development of the nervous system in embryos, in part because it protects the function of omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, which is important for brain health. The most sensitive organs include the head, eye and brain.

One study showed that higher vitamin E concentrations at birth were associated with improved cognitive function in two-year-old children.

Findings about diseases that are increasing in the developed world, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and diabetes, suggest that obesity does not necessarily reflect adequate micronutrient intake.

Measures of circulating vitamin E levels in the blood often rise with age as lipid levels also increase, but do not prove an adequate delivery of vitamin E to tissues and organs.

Vitamin E supplements do not seem to prevent Alzheimer's disease occurrence, but have shown benefit in slowing its progression.

A report in elderly humans showed that a lifelong dietary pattern that resulted in higher levels of vitamins B,C, D and E were associated with a larger brain size and higher cognitive function.

Vitamin E protects critical fatty acids such as DHA throughout life, and one study showed that people in the top quartile of DHA concentrations had a 47 percent reduction in the risk of developing all-cause dementia.

"It's important all of your life, but the most compelling evidence about vitamin E is about a 1000-day window that begins at conception," Traber said. "Vitamin E is critical to neurologic and brain development that can only happen during that period. It's not something you can make up for later."

Traber said she recommends a supplement for all people with at least the estimated average requirement of vitamin E, but that it's particularly important for all children through about age two; for women who are pregnant, nursing or may become pregnant; and for the elderly.

Can Marijuana Be Moved To The Less Restricted List For Chronic Pain Patients

Today's post from webmd.com (see link below) takes the discussion about medical marijuana a little further and looks at the dilemmas doctors face when confronted by patients' valid questions regarding their pain treatment and the laws that cloud the picture and make them uncertain as to whether they're doing the right thing. It's a call for considerably more research to be done at official drug-enforcement levels and asks for a further loosening of restrictions to enable an unbiased and science-based evaluation of the benefits of marijuana for various conditions. It's a valid point because we already allow several drugs which have the potential to be far more addictive (oxycodon, morphine and many others) to help patients with chronic pain but it seems that marijuana has so many pre-judged labels attached that law enforcers just can't see beyond the decades-old criminality issues. Worth a read.

What DEA Pot Rule Change May Mean for Research WebMD News from HealthDay
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, May 10, 2016
 
Agency could move marijuana to a less strictly regulated class of drugs

 (HealthDay News) -- Most doctors approach medical marijuana with a great deal of uncertainty, because drug laws have hindered researchers' ability to figure out what pot can and can't do for sick patients.

That could soon change.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is weighing whether to loosen its classification of marijuana, which would remove many restrictions on its use in medical research.

If that occurs, doctors could start getting answers to the questions they regularly receive from patients regarding marijuana's clinical benefits.

"I am asked as a practicing doctor even in a rural area about medical marijuana use, and I want to make sure I can give patients advice that's evidence-based," said Dr. Robert Wergin, board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "We need those kinds of studies to help us give informed advice to our patients who ask about it now," he explained.

The DEA has said it will decide this summer whether marijuana should be lowered from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II drug, according to an April memo from the agency to Congress.

Schedule I drugs are considered drugs "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse," the DEA says on its website. Heroin, LSD and ecstasy stand alongside marijuana on the DEA's Schedule I list.

On the other hand, Schedule II drugs have a high potential for abuse, but "there is the recognition that they have some medical value as well," said Dr. J. Michael Bostwick, a professor of psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn.

"This could be an important softening of regulations that make it difficult to do marijuana or cannabis research in this country," Bostwick said.

Morphine, methamphetamine, cocaine and oxycodone are all Schedule II drugs, "because they have medical applications," Bostwick said. "So, it's not as if we don't have precedent for substances that are dangerous from an addictive point of view being useful in certain medical situations."

Studies have shown that marijuana might help decrease chronic pain and nausea, ease seizures, improve the appetite or be useful in psychiatric treatment, Wergin and Bostwick said.

But none of those studies has been large-scale and a definitive clinical trial. The reason: because marijuana's DEA drug status prevents scientists from using large quantities of the plant in medical research, Wergin and Bostwick said.

All marijuana available for research purposes in the United States is grown at the University of Mississippi, which has an exclusive contract with the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to provide the nation's entire research supply, according to the DEA's memo to lawmakers.

In any given year, NIDA sends shipments of marijuana to a small handful of researchers, usually eight or nine, but sometimes as many as 12, the memo states. Researchers must go through a detailed registration process to gain access to the pot.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has come out in favor of loosening drug laws to "develop a special schedule for marijuana to facilitate study of its potential medical utility in prescription drug products," according to a statement its officials provided ABC News.

"While studies related to a limited number of medical conditions have shown promise for new cannabinoid-based prescription products, the scope of rigorous research needs to be expanded to a broader range of medical conditions for such products," the AMA added.

Back in December 2014, the American Academy of Neurology lamented the lack of solid marijuana research in a position paper.

Due to strict drug laws, researchers have not been able to determine whether medical marijuana could help treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, the academy said.

The academy's paper concluded with a call to deschedule marijuana and open it up to more research.

Expanded research wouldn't necessarily lead to more people smoking pot for medical purposes, Wergin and Bostwick said.

Instead, it's more likely that researchers would focus on how the components of marijuana, such as THC or cannabidiol, interact with the body in ways that might help ease symptoms or illness.

An entire system of receptors has been discovered throughout the body that responds to different components of cannabis, Bostwick said.

"Almost any system you name in the body has a potential cannabinoid receptor that could be manipulated in a way that could be useful," he said. "When the drug was outlawed in 1970, we knew almost nothing about it. In the intervening 45 years, science has shown this endocannabinoid system actually exists. None of that was known when the drug was made illegal."

Such research could result in medications derived from marijuana that would treat conditions without a "high," Wergin said.

Wergin sees two main potential benefits from the descheduling of marijuana and any resulting boom in research.

First, he'd know what to tell patients about pot's particular benefits. And second, he'd feel confident issuing a prescription for a marijuana-based medication, knowing that it's a drug regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"This would result in higher-quality standardized product that's FDA-approved," Wergin said. "If I prescribe you an antibiotic, I'm very confident of what's in it because of the FDA regulations on it. I don't know how to prescribe marijuana to you, or what's even in it."

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the marijuana legalization group NORML, said that at this point a reclassification by the DEA would fall "well short of the sort of federal reform necessary to reflect America's emerging reefer reality."

Armentano added that even with descheduling, federal law still would require researchers to buy pot from NIDA's University of Mississippi marijuana cultivation program.

"Simply rescheduling cannabis from I to II does not necessarily change these regulations, at least in the short-term," Armentano said.

View Article Sources

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20160510/what-a-change-in-deas-pot-rules-might-mean-for-medical-research

AUDITORY SYSTEM THE RUFFLING EFFECT OF RUMBLE

Barely perceptible low-frequency signals nevertheless activate measurable responses in our auditory circuits. Neurobiologists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have now characterized the remarkable impact of low-frequency sounds on the inner ear

The human auditory system appears to be poorly adapted to the perception of low-frequency sound waves, as hearing thresholds become markedly higher for frequencies lower than about 250 Hz. Yet sensory cells do react to pressure waves with frequencies below 100 Hz, as revealed by the fact that such signals actually evoke detectable micromechanical responses in nerve cells in the inner ear, as LMU neurobiologists now report in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

Sources of low-frequency signals are a prominent feature of technologically advanced societies like our own. Wind turbines, air-conditioning systems and heat pumps, for instance, can generate such sounds. Hearing thresholds in this region of the acoustic spectrum vary from one person to the next. "But the assumption that the ear is unresponsive to low-frequency sounds because these are seldom consciously perceived is actually quite false. The ear indeed reacts to very low-frequency signals," says Dr. Markus Drexl of LMU. In collaboration with researchers led by Professor Benedikt Grothe (Head of the Division of Neurobiology in LMU's Department of Biology II) and a team based at Munich University Medical Center, Drexl has carried out a laboratory study which shows that low-frequency sounds, though virtually imperceptible, actually have a surprisingly strong effect on sensory cells in the inner ear.

Low-frequency hum stimulates the cochlea The new study is based on data collected from 21 experimental subjects with normal hearing, whose ears were exposed to a 30-Hz tone for 90 seconds at a sound-pressure level equivalent to 80 decibels. To determine how the inner ear responded to the signal, the researchers took advantage of a phenomenon referred to as spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs). SOAEs are scarcely perceptible acoustic signals which are produced by the inner ear in the absence of overt stimulation, and can be detected with a sensitive microphone inserted in the ear canal.

"It turns out that low-frequency sounds have a clearly definable modulatory influence on spontaneous otoacoustic emissions," says Drexl. Following exposure to the 30-Hz signal for 90 seconds, the subjects' SOAEs exhibited slow oscillations in frequency and level, which persisted for up to 120 seconds. "Strikingly, the effect of the low-frequency stimulus on the cochlea persists for longer than the duration of the stimulus itself," Drexl points out. Further experiments will probe the possibility that this phenomenon may be linked to noise-induced auditory damage, one of the most common causes of hearing impairment in industrialized countries.

The Ins And Outs Of Autonomic Neuropathy

Today's post from freemd.com (see link below) is a concise but very informative overview of what autonomic neuropathy entails. Autonomic nerve damage is when the symptoms move away from just numbness, tingling or burning in the feet or hands, to damage affecting the involuntary functions of your body - things you have no control over! It can be alarming and life-changing, so if you feel that your neuropathy is now extending to other areas of your daily lives, or have just been told that you have autonomic nerve damage, then you need to see a doctor who knows what he/she is talking about and can give you the best advice. Home doctors are often limited in their knowledge and experience of autonomic neuropathy, so seeing a neurologist may be a wise move. Doing your own research and seeking out the best ways to make your life easier, are also highly recommended. There are many articles here on the blog about autonomic neuropathy - use the search button to find them.

Autonomic Neuropathy Overview Last Updated: May 17, 2011 References Authors: Stephen J. Schueler, MD; John H. Beckett, MD; D. Scott Gettings, MD
 
What is autonomic neuropathy?
 
A person with autonomic neuropathy or ANS neuropathy syndrome has a group of symptoms, not a disease, that occur when there is damage to the nerves that run through the peripheral nervous system. This nerve damage affects the nerves responsible for the regulation of blood pressure, heart rate, digestion, and emptying of the bladder and bowels. Autonomic neuropathy may be an inherited (e.g. Fabry disease) or an acquired condition. In most cases, autonomic neuropathy develops in conjunction with another disease process. Diabetes is the most common cause of autonomic neuropathy. Other examples include Lyme disease, HIV infection, Chagas disease, botulism, diphtheria, leprosy, acute intermittent porphyria, end stage kidney disease, severe liver disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, vitamin B12 deficiency, and chronic alcohol abuse. There are a large number of drugs, such as chemotherapy medications, that can cause a drug-related autonomic neuropathy.

What are the symptoms of autonomic neuropathy?
 
The symptoms of autonomic neuropathy usually develop gradually over years and include constipation, swollen abdomen, diarrhea, a full feeling after eating a small amount, nausea and vomiting, blood pressure changes, dizziness or faintness upon standing (orthostatic hypotension), urinating difficulty, and urinary incontinence. Other symptoms of autonomic neuropathy include vision changes, palpitations, tinnitus, headache, chest pain, shortness of breath, impotence, urinary frequency, bedwetting, urinary retention, and urinary incontinence. Other symptoms include burning feet, itching, numbness and tingling, dry skin, brittle nails, and cold feet.

How does the doctor treat autonomic neuropathy?
 
Treatment for autonomic neuropathy is directed at the underlying cause. Treatment for autonomic neuropathy often includes medications to help with salt and fluid retention, reduce postural hypotension, and increase fluid in the blood vessels. Treatment may also include sleeping with the head raised, the use of elastic stockings and eating small yet frequent meals.

Autonomic Neuropathy Symptoms

Symptoms of autonomic neuropathy include:

Faintness:
Faintness upon standing
Faintness during urination
Faintness during defecation
Dizziness
Nausea
Vomiting
Constipation
Diarrhea
Abdominal swelling
Full feeling after eating a small amount
Drops in blood pressure when standing
Difficulty urinating
Urinary incontinence
Urinary frequency
Bedwetting
Stool incontinence
Vision impairment
Palpitations
Bradycardia
Tinnitus
Headache
Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Impotence
Burning feet
Numbness and tingling
Dry skin
Brittle nails
Cold feet
Itching

For more information:

Type 1 diabetes symptoms
Type 2 diabetes symptoms
Peripheral neuropathy symptoms

http://www.freemd.com/autonomic-neuropathy/overview.htm

How The Antibiotic Ceftriaxone Can Reduce Chronic Pain

Today's short post from news-medical.net (see link below) looks at the potential for an antibiotic being used for analgesic purposes. Studies have shown that a dose of Ceftriaxone, an antibiotic used to kill microbes before surgery, has a significant effect on pain thresholds after the surgery. A small Italian study is mentioned here, involving 45 patients undergoing neuro surgery of one form or another. Those patients who had been injected with a single dose of the antibiotic prior to surgery could withstand post operative pain significantly better than those who did not. There are implications for the future treatment of neuropathic pain, if the process can be further refined and better targeted. This sort of study may mean little to the casual reader but it does illustrate the process of getting a new treatment into general practice. First, as is the case here, a success story has to be spotted and then others will take the idea or theory and try to apply it to other general situations. It may take years but at least you now know that an antibiotic can perform an analgesic function and may provide an alternative pain prevention tool in the future.

Study explores analgesic activity of ceftriaxone in humans

Published on June 26, 2013

A single dose of the antibiotic ceftriaxone given for antimicrobial prophylaxis prior to surgery enhanced patient pain thresholds after the procedure, according to a study published in The Journal of Pain, the peer review publication of the American Pain Society, www.americanpainsociety.org.

Previous studies have shown that drugs with a mode of action to enhance glutamate clearance might be effective in the treatment of chronic pain. In animals, repeated does of the antibiotic ceftriaxone have reduced both visceral and neuropathic pain. The drug induces activation of the GLT-1 gene. This is the first study to explore the analgesic activity of ceftriaxone in humans.

Researchers at University Sapienza in Rome analyzed whether a single dose of ceftriaxone given for antimicrobial prophylaxis prior to surgery could enhance patient pain thresholds after surgery. Forty-five patients undergoing surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome or ulner nerve compression disease participated in the study. They were randomized in three treatment groups: IV doses of saline, saline with ceftriaxone and saline with cefazolin. Injections were administered one hour prior to surgery, and mechanical pain thresholds were measured 10 minutes before the injections and 4 to 6 hours following surgery. No analgesic drugs were allowed in the first six hours after surgery.

Results in the human subjects showed that those treated with saline and cefazolin showed no change in mechanical pain thresholds six to seven hours after surgery, but pain thresholds in patients given a single preoperative does of ceftriaxone increased significantly.

This is the first study showing analgesia resulted from administration of an antibiotic in humans. The authors concluded that ceftriaxone should be the drug of choice for surgical prophylaxis in situations when pain does not rapidly resolve following surgery or when strong pain is expected to occur after surgery.

SOURCE American Pain Society

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20130626/Study-explores-analgesic-activity-of-ceftriaxone-in-humans.aspx

The Peripheral Nervous System Vid

 Today's video is the second of three excellent videos concerning neuropathy, delivered by Todd Levine. The first appeared yesterday and the third will appear tomorrow. They are absolutely worth watching, although you will need to settle down comfortably because they are 30 minutes long. They include information that is of value to everyone living with neuropathy; whatever the type and whatever the cause.


The Peripheral Nervous System
Todd Levine Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Arizona


  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcdKhKSLca8#t=18

Off to the Conference!

Oh Joy! My annual Mother-Daughter trip to the Women's Herbal Conference is finally here! My time to recharge, relearn, grow, and sink into my element. I'll be back Sunday night, all aglow.

I can't say what I look forward to the most. Spending time with my Mom, being in the presence of my Wise mentors like Susun Weed, Rosemary Gladstar, Rocio Alarcon, and ALisa Starkweather. Writing and thinking and learning. It's ALL good.

WHEN YOU LOSE WEIGHT WHERE DOES THE FAT GO

Despite a worldwide obsession with diets and fitness regimes, many health professionals cannot correctly answer the question of where body fat goes when people lose weight, a UNSW Australia study shows.

The most common misconception among doctors, dieticians and personal trainers is that the missing mass has been converted into energy or heat.

"There is surprising ignorance and confusion about the metabolic process of weight loss," says Professor Andrew Brown, head of the UNSW School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences.

"The correct answer is that most of the mass is breathed out as carbon dioxide. It goes into thin air," says the study's lead author, Ruben Meerman, a physicist and Australian TV science presenter.

In their paper, published in the British Medical Journal today, the authors show that losing 10 kilograms of fat requires 29 kilograms of oxygen to be inhaled and that this metabolic process produces 28 kilograms of carbon dioxide and 11 kilograms of water.

Mr Meerman became interested in the biochemistry of weight loss through personal experience.

"I lost 15 kilograms in 2013 and simply wanted to know where those kilograms were going. After a self-directed, crash course in biochemistry, I stumbled onto this amazing result," he says.

"With a worldwide obesity crisis occurring, we should all know the answer to the simple question of where the fat goes. The fact that almost nobody could answer it took me by surprise, but it was only when I showed Andrew my calculations that we both realised how poorly this topic is being taught."

The authors met when Mr Meerman interviewed Professor Brown in a story about the science of weight loss for the Catalyst science program on ABC TV in March this year.

"Ruben's novel approach to the biochemistry of weight loss was to trace every atom in the fat being lost and, as far as I am aware, his results are completely new to the field," says Professor Brown.

"He has also exposed a completely unexpected black hole in the understanding of weight loss amongst the general public and health professionals alike."

If you follow the atoms in 10 kilograms of fat as they are 'lost', 8.4 of those kilograms are exhaled as carbon dioxide through the lungs. The remaining 1.6 kilograms becomes water, which may be excreted in urine, faeces, sweat, breath, tears and other bodily fluids, the authors report.

"None of this is obvious to people because the carbon dioxide gas we exhale is invisible," says Mr Meerman.

More than 50 per cent of the 150 doctors, dieticians and personal trainers who were surveyed thought the fat was converted to energy or heat.

"This violates the Law of Conservation of Mass. We suspect this misconception is caused by the energy in/energy out mantra surrounding weight loss," says Mr Meerman.

Some respondents thought the metabolites of fat were excreted in faeces or converted to muscle.

"The misconceptions we have encountered reveal surprising unfamiliarity about basic aspects of how the human body works," the authors say.

One of the most frequently asked questions the authors have encountered is whether simply breathing more can cause weight loss. The answer is no. Breathing more than required by a person's metabolic rate leads to hyperventilation, which can result in dizziness, palpitations and loss of consciousness.

The second most frequently asked question is whether weight loss can cause global warming.

"This reveals troubling misconceptions about global warming which is caused by unlocking the ancient carbon atoms trapped underground in fossilised organisms. The carbon atoms human beings exhale are returning to the atmosphere after just a few months or years trapped in food that was made by a plant," says Mr Meerman, who also presents the science of climate change in high schools around Australia.

Mr Meerman and Professor Brown recommend that these basic concepts be included in secondary school curricula and university biochemistry courses to correct widespread misconceptions about weight loss among lay people and health professionals.

Tests For New Drugs Are Too Often Rigged To Suit The Market

Today's post from pharmaciststeve.com (see link below) looks at the current drugs debate in North America from a different angle. It asks: just how trustworthy are the testing procedures on new drugs and just how safe are FDA approved (based on those testing procedures) drugs for patients? The answer is not reassuring. Now neuropathy patients know more than most how much research needs to be done on new drugs to treat nerve damage symptoms. They've also been guinea pigs in the search for new and relevant treatments and it's one of those diseases for whom, drugs work for some but not for others. We need to be able to trust the testing procedures and the drug research companies that carry them out and we also need to be able to trust the FDA's final conclusions. This article suggests that neither are rock-solid, so where does that leave us, who are desperate for new drug therapies? Well, it means that we have to be even more pro-active than before and do as much research as is humanly possible ourselves. Thank god for the internet - we can find most of what we need to know there and with advice from our doctors, we can draw our own conclusions. Unfortunately we can't separate politics from health at the moment.

Virtually every pharmaceutical company has been rigging tests for years to make the drugs we take look safer than they really are
Posted on December 27, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve
 
U.S. needs better regulation of drug development

Over the last weeks, we have learned that major companies that make products we trust, like Volkswagen’s diesel engines and Takata’s air bags, have devised ways to rig test results so they look cleaner and safer than they really are. Yet far more widespread manipulation of test results is being done by pharmaceutical companies to get drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that turn out not to be as safe as promised.

In the pharmaceutical industry, virtually every company has been rigging tests for years to make the drugs we take look safer than they really are. Some of the techniques for rigging clinical trials are described in a recent assessment published by BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal). They include drawing random samples for clinical trials from a population that exclude older people, women, and people with multiple health problems who may be more likely to have adverse reactions. The resulting “safety” of the drugs misleads physicians and their patients.

Other techniques include using high doses in shorter trials in order to produce positive results before adverse reactions become evident. Only later do patients learn about them the hard way. FDA regulations also allow companies to run multiple trials (at great expense, used to justify high prices) and handpick the most positive ones while obscuring evidence of toxic reactions.

Worse, unlike regulators for cars, planes, electronic devices, and appliances, who work to detect and stop rigged testing, the FDA division that reviews new drugs has long known about the ways that companies bias trials. This puts patients at serious risk. Based on reviews of hospital clinical charts, independent experts estimate approximately 128,000 patients die each year from adverse responses to properly prescribed drugs. And 2.7 million are hospitalized due to drug reactions. Those estimates do not even include problems related to over-prescribing, errors, and self-prescribing.

Exactly which drugs approved by the FDA’s fast-track process have proved most dangerous to consumers? Given the central importance of drugs in modern medicine, you would think there would be a comprehensive tracking system at the FDA to provide this information by drug. But there isn’t.

In fact, perhaps the most famous such failure is Vioxx, which Merck finally withdrew – following years of obfuscation – after it was estimated to have killed about as many people as the U.S. military lost in the Vietnam War. Note, it was the manufacturer that pulled the drug, not the FDA.

But there are many examples. Worst Pills, Best Pills (www.worstpills.org) is a reputable, subscription-based project of the advocacy group Public Citizen that tracks safety information on nearly 2,000 drugs.

Why does the FDA permit biased company trials for safety and efficacy? Perhaps it has something to do with Congress’ underfunding of the FDA since the antiregulation period under President Ronald Reagan and then having companies fund the division that evaluates their drugs.

These practices subject patients to a double conflict of interest. First, companies test their own drugs for the public regulator, rather than having them tested independently. Then, companies pay the FDA a huge fee – $2.3 million in 2015 – to review each drug. Highly trained and skilled staff work hard to do thorough reviews. But the reviews are on the companies’ terms – their criteria, their trials, their data, their deadlines, their funded patient groups clamoring for approval, and their money.

Reviewers do turn back or turn down drug candidates. Yet 90 percent of the drugs the FDA approves are judged by independent reviewers to provide few or no clinical advantages for patients over existing drugs.

And because these new drugs are inadequately tested, the results are predictable. One in every five new drugs ends up causing enough serious harm to lead the FDA to add the most serious black box warning, or remove the drug from the market – after the harm has been done.

This risk increases to one in three when reviews are accelerated under a special (and legal) process, requiring even higher fees from drugmakers.

Do patients really want faster access to drugs that provide few or no new benefits and have substantial risks of serious harm? Do they want an FDA that largely serves the industry that funds it by approving many new minor variations to increase sales, without good testing for safety?

A few clinically superior drugs are developed each year. But accelerated reviews and low, loose FDA criteria encourage companies to develop more minor variations that will get through the approval process, rather than focus on major advances. To encourage more superior drugs, the FDA needs to require tests for real clinical advances compared to risks of harm.

We need a congressional investigation, with subpoena power, to investigate how the FDA allows manipulations of true randomized trials that understate risks of harm. We need to end a third conflict of interest that endangers patients: The same FDA group that approves drugs as “safe” is responsible for investigating evidence of harm. Only 10 percent of FDA staff are assigned to drug safety. We need an independent, well-funded watchdog for patient safety.

Most important, as a public agency charged with protecting people from unsafe drugs, the FDA needs to be funded entirely by taxpayers. Drugs are now the fourth leading cause of death in America, tied with stroke. The FDA needs to stop contributing to this problem and help reduce the number of patients exposed to risks of serious harm.

Donald Light is a widely published expert on drug policy and a professor of comparative health policy at Rowan University
 
 http://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=13009

CBD Cannabidiol Oil A Major Breakthrough In The Struggle Against Nerve Pain

Today's post from peoplespharmacy.com (see link below) illustrates just how far we've come in finding solutions for neuropathic pain. Who would have thought ten years ago that marijuana and its derivatives would be able to play a major role in reducing severe pain (and...just as important, be sanctioned by the authorities because it helps in the current and over-hyped: 'war on opioids'). I can actually speak from personal experience regarding cannabis oil (CBD oil). I never expected it and was roundly skeptical but after a few days of 2 drops under the tongue, twice a day, my symptoms also reduced significantly. Now here I need to add a disclaimer:- my experience and the experience of those mentioned in the article, have absolutely no bearing on how you may react. As you probably know, neuropathy is a disease that is peculiar to each individual and each individual reacts differently to different treatments. Why do you think doctors are scratching their heads in frustration at not being able to provide a 'cure' or often, even help with the symptoms. There are over 100 sorts of nerve damage and over 100 causes - add that to over 100 potential treatments and you have one of the most frustrating and serious diseases on earth. This blog is aimed at providing information about as many options as possible but you still need to seek advice from your doctors and do your own research. An article such as this one below, needs to be looked at objectively and not jumped upon as being the 'elixir of life'. But you know all this don't you!

Cannabidiol Oil Solved Severe Seizure Problem and Painful Neuropathy Joe Graedon December 5, 2016 Diabetic Neuropathy (nerve pain)
 
Medical marijuana is now legal in many states but many people are unaware of the pros and cons. Does cannabidiol oil work for hard-to-treat pain and epilepsy?

Many doctors are skeptical about the benefits of medical marijuana. That’s because they did not learn about this “herb” in medical school. If it was discussed at all, the likelihood is that the lecture would have been part of a class on drugs of abuse rather than therapeutic benefits. Sadly, there has been relatively little research on medical marijuana. This reader shares a poignant story about cannabidiol oil.

Q. My 19-year-old son had intractable seizures starting at age 12. At age 17, he was up to 9 seizures a day despite taking three different meds (29 pills a day). The side effects were awful; he got so skinny that the doctors considered inserting a feeding tube.

Two years ago, I started him on cannabidiol oil (CBD). In California, you go to a special doctor who asks lots of questions to decide if you’d benefit from it. You get a special card for a dispensary.

We had to experiment to see how much he needed. We were able to gradually decrease his pills.

His neurologist was horrified at the idea two years ago, but he has watched in amazement as my son reduced his medication without a single seizure. CBD has made a world of difference in my son’s life!

A. Many states have approved the medical use of marijuana compounds. Cannabidiol oil does not cause the high associated with marijuana. Research is beginning to show benefit for some people with hard-to-treat epilepsy (Pharmacological Research, May, 2016).

A study in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology (Sept. 30, 2016) also reported improvement:

“Novel antiepileptic compounds with new mechanisms of action, fewer side effects, and better safety and tolerability profiles have been approved over the last years. However, although more than 20 different drugs approved for the treatment of epilepsy exist today, around 30% of patients continue to have seizures…

“The medicinal effects of cannabis in epilepsy have been known for centuries and, nowadays, the anticonvulsant properties of its components have received increasing attention…

“The present report is in line with pre-clinical and preliminary clinical data suggesting that CBD may be effective for some patients with epilepsy.”

These researchers call for randomized controlled trials. We couldn’t agree more!

Stories from Readers About Cannabidiol Oil:
Ellie in Connecticut:

“Were it not for medical marijuana, I’d be taking opioids regularly to deal with my chronic pain. The world of med MJ is indeed a whole new world.

“Initially I stuck very closely to only oil based tincture strains that were very high CBD, with virtually no THC (the pyschoactive element in MJ that gets people high). Now I’m realizing that a small amount of THC along with high CBD produces the pain relief I’ve been looking for.

“Yes, I had to literally jump through hoops to become certified to purchase medical MJ in my state but it’s all been very worthwhile. Does the marijuana totally eliminate my pain? No, it doesn’t. But what it does is ease it back to a far more manageable level. I’m delighted to have this option to control my pain.”

David reports:

“My wife experiences relief from stroke related pain with oral CBD oil: an eye dropper full under the tongue when stomach is empty. She has experienced no adverse effects. It has a pleasant taste. CBD oil is derived from non-THC hemp and doesn’t get people high.”

Brian in California reports on cannabidiol for diabetic neuropathy:

“My diabetic neuropathy came on suddenly and without warning. The severity is such that I’ll literally scream out, even in a public place like a restaurant! The pain is very sharp but only lasts about a second. Sometimes it pulses. I’ve even been prescribed narcotics (opioids) but they don’t even touch it. Neurontin (gabapentin) doesn’t work, even after taking it for months.

“When I tried Marijuana it worked immediately and the relief lasted 3-4 days!

“Now, I make my own tincture and take about two dropperfuls every three days or so. If I forget, the pain will return to remind me, but if I have the tincture handy, it takes care of it immediately with NO side effects. I’m sure it is high in CBD but it also has some THC in it and I think a bit of THC is necessary for this purpose.

“I’m a retired Chiropractor with an additional degree in Natural Medicine. The synergy of the two substances working together is very important in natural products.”

A Doctor’s Perspective on Medical Marijuana:

If you would like to learn more about one physician’s experience with medical marijuana, we recommend our one-hour radio interview with David Casarett, MD, MA. In it you will learn about the use of cannabidiol oil and medical marijuana to treat neuropathic (nerve) pain. Dr. Casarett also explains how medical marijuana may be helpful in calming the agitation experienced by some patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Here is a link to the show.

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2016/12/05/cannabidiol-oil-solved-severe-seizure-problem-and-painful-neuropathy/