Reviews
Cod Liver Oil vs TB
In a feature article in the Christmas 2011 edition of the well-known British Medical Journal, Professor Emeritus Malcolm Green revisited an 1848 study looking at the potential benefits of Cod Liver Oil in the treatment of Tuberculosis.[1]
In the study, carried out by physicians at the Hospital for Consumption, Chelsea (now the Royal Brompton Hospital), 542 patients with consumption (tuberculosis) received standard treatment with cod liver oil. These patients were compared with 535 ‘control’ patients who received standard treatment alone (without cod liver oil).[2]
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Coeliac Disease and its Many Complications
Coeliac disease (CD), also called gluten-sensitive enteropathy or non-tropical sprue, is a unique autoimmune disorder which results from the interaction between gluten and immune, genetic and environmental factors. Originally CD was considered as a malabsorption syndrome of childhood, whereas it is now recognised as a disease which may be diagnosed at any age.
Gluten sensitivity is a new concept to define a condition of some morphological, immunological and functional disorders that withdraw with a gluten free diet in patients with or without HLADQ2/ DQ8 positive, with negative gluten-specific autoantibodies and without histological characteristic of coeliac disease (CD).
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Microbes and Us
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Over the past several years, studies have revealed an astonishing diversity in our so-called microbiome. A five year project utilising researchers from around the world has been constructed to identify our mutual cohabitants that define our microbiome.[1] In Europe the MetaHIT project has pulled 8 countries and 13 academic partners together to add further data to this project.[2]
Iodine Deficiency: Not Just a Problem in Developing Countries
A Review Article by LC Masur MD*
A June 2011 study from Lancet implied that more than two thirds of “schoolgirls” in the UK are iodine deficient. [1] The participants in that study were 14 to 15 years of age whereas, in the context of discussing iodine status world-wide, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines “school-aged children” (SAC) as being 6 to 12 years of age. [2] Iodine deficiency is not unique to the UK as similar deficiencies exist in many European countries.2
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Taste – Our Oral Guardian
The sensations of bitter and sour keep us from eating potentially toxic substances and strong acids, while the preferred qualities of sweet, umami (the “savoury” taste of glutamate), and salty drive intake of carbohydrates, amino acids, and sodium, respectively.
Our taste sensations are mediated by taste buds, described as small clusters of specialised epithelial cells found on the tongue, soft palate, and larynx. In the last 20 years or so additional special receptors called G-Protein coupled receptor cascades (GPCRs) and related ion channel are intimately involved with the interpretation of tastes and related signalling.
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Practical Suggestions To Make The Business Side Of Your Practice Work Better
For over 30 years I have run companies and clinics involved in the day to day transfer of skills and services to patients and clients who are paying out of their own pocket for this. Insurance covers a very small part of clinical life and therefore apart from the expertise we need to gain to provide value for money outcomes, we also need to understand the basics of making a business work, so that our skills are not lost in an unitended financial catastrophe.
I have penned 10 simple tips that may guide you to review your clinical/business life and assist towards financialas well as clinical success.
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Detox – WTF?
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In the intellectual schism between the hardened scientific racialists and those prepared to explore beyond their current margin of confidence and institutional remit, there is an emerging pattern in the comprehension of the role of chemical pollutants. Included in this is the almost heretical concept that modifying primary enzyme pathways through the ingestion of food concentrates might aid in protection and or recovery!
The Potential Role of Probiotics in the Management of Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are defined by impairments in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and repetitive and stereotyped behaviours. In addition to these core deficits, previous reports indicate that the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms ranges widely in individuals with ASD, from 9 to 91% in different study population.[1]
The role of probiotics in the management and treatment of these alterations has been explored in a recent free access paper, published in Gastroenterology Research and Practice Oct 2011.[2]
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Looking at Life Through Redox Glasses
Richard Deth, Ph.D., is a neuropharmacologist and professor of pharmacology at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Deth has published scientific studies on the role of D4 dopamine receptors in psychiatric disorders, as well as the book, Molecular Origins of Human Attention: The Dopamine-Folate Connection. His current research is directed toward understanding the roles of redox and methylation in autism, and he has served on the scientific advisory boards of the National Autism Association, the Autism Research Institute and Generation RescueFocus: You say you view life through redox glasses—not the proverbial rose-colored glasses—and that this perspective has changed how you see life and health. Can you tell us about that?
RD: In the simplest terms, maintaining life can be viewed as the ability to resist oxidation. Oxygen is essential to life, but oxygen is like fire. It can be very damaging and needs to be controlled by antioxidants, known as “reducing” molecules. Balancing reduction and oxidation—or redox–is the fundamental challenge of life. What’s great about that word, redox, is that it shows that they are profoundly linked and that we need both. Once you understand this relationship, it leads to all kinds of new insights.
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Bugs, Guts and Research
For the majority of the last 100 years the role of bacteria in human health has been explored in terms of risk to health and well-being, the ‘bad bug = bad health’ paradigm. The result has been a combination of remarkable benefits against infectious related deaths and a slow but steady development of chronic non communicable diseases (CNCDs) – cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases now kill more people worldwide than all other diseases combined.
This rate of demise will continue to rise in the coming years as the global population ages, sedentary lifestyles and inappropriate food consumption continues to spread across the world.
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The immune system is prone to the same grave misfortunes as any defense system handling weapons: collateral damage that comes with the destruction of the enemy on one’s own territory and friendly fire due to mistaken identity. Whereas the collateral damage is the price we pay for clearance of infections, autoimmunity is a pathological process. Nevertheless, the effector mechanisms involved in both processes are the same. Whether environment can be a cause, a trigger or an amplifier of an autoimmune disease are questions that are being intensively investigated.
