July 2009 Health in the News Archive

[ Monthly Index of New Briefs ]

ADD drugs might cause long-term harm to brain

July 25, 2009

ADD drugs and the brain

An essay by Edmund S. Higgins in the July issue of Scientific American underscores growing research that drugs like Adderall, Concerta, Ritalin, Vyvanse, commonly prescribed for attention deficient disorders (ADD), may do long term harm to the brain.

“Over the past 15 years, doctors have been pinning the ADHD label on—and prescribing stimulants for—a rapidly rising number of patients, including those with moderate to mild inattention, some of whom, have a normal ability to focus,” Higgins wrote. “In addition, patients are no longer just taking the medicines for a few years during grade school but are encouraged to stay on them into adulthood. What is more, many people who have no cognitive deficits are opting to take these drugs to boost their academic performance. A number of my patients—doctors, lawyers and other professionals—have asked me for stimulants.”

He questions whether extended use of stimulants might take a toll on the brain over the long run. “A smattering of recent studies, most involving animals, hint that stimulants could alter the structure and function of the brain in ways that may depress mood, boost anxiety and, contrary to their short-term effects, lead to cognitive deficits. Human studies already indicate the medications can adversely affect areas of the brain that govern growth in children, and some researchers worry that additional harms have yet to be unearthed.”

In February 2007 the FDA issued warnings about side effects such as growth stunting and psychosis. The vast majority of adults with ADHD experience at least one additional psychiatric illness—often an anxiety disorder or drug addiction—in their lifetime.

A report published in 2005 by neurologist George A. Ricaurte and his team at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine issued a loud warning about ADHD meds. Ricaurte’s group gave baboons and squirrel monkeys an oral formulation of amphetamine similar to Adderall twice a day for four weeks, mimicking the dosing schedule in humans. Two to four weeks later the researchers detected evidence of amphetamine-induced brain damage, encountering lower levels of dopamine and fewer dopamine transporters on nerve endings in the striatum. The authors believe these observations reflect a drug-related loss of dopamine-releasing nerve fibers that reach the striatum from the brain stem. One possible consequence of a loss of dopamine and its associated molecules is Parkinson’s disease, a movement disorder that can also lead to cognitive deficits.

Edmund S. Higgins is clinical associate professor of family medicine and psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina and co-author, with Mark S. George, of The Neuroscience of Clinical Psychiatry (2007) and Brain Stimulation Therapies for Clinicians (2009).

Dr. Grout’s Comment:

The use of stimulant drugs is being questioned in the mainstream media more frequently in recent months. Pediatricians are prescribing amphetamines and their derivatives to young children for a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder – often to help control behavior in the classroom and at home. As recently as 2005 an estimated 13% of children were on these drugs. There still have been no real long-term studies of their effectiveness or their long-term safety. Serious adverse drug reactions have been reported. There is no evidence that these drugs improve socials skills in anyone, although they certainly do help with attention and focus in many children. There is evidence that the drugs are associated with an increased incidence of heart disease and drug seeking behavior later in life. Because the pharmaceutical industry has no stake in neuropathy, many doctors do not even think of a drug-free solution. Neurotherapy just requires that the brain be used in order to achieve and maintain gains in cognitive abilities. Check out BrainAdvantage for more information on how neurotherapy can help your child, without the use of potentially harmful drugs.

Farm raised fish could transmit mad cow disease?

July 22, 2009

Researchers warn that consumption of farmed fish may provide a means of transmission of infectious prions from cows with bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans, causing variant Creutzfeldt Jakob – mad cow – disease.

In the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, researchers point out that farmed fish are fed byproducts from rendered cows, an unnatural source of food for fish. University of Kentucky neurologist Robert P. Friedland and colleagues said fish could be carriers of the disease from eating infected meat products. Additionally, it is possible that the unnatural diet could result in fish experiencing pathological changes that permit the prion infection to be transmitted between the two species. Based on these worrisome possibilities, the scientists are calling for government regulators to ban feeding cow meat or bone meal to fish until this common practice can be shown to be safe.

"We have not proven that it's possible for fish to transmit the disease to humans. Still, we believe that out of reasonable caution for public health, the practice of feeding rendered cows to fish should be prohibited. Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows," Friedland said in an interview with the Kentucky Post newspaper. "The incubation period of these diseases may last for decades, which makes the association between feeding practices and infection difficult. Enhanced safeguards need to be put in place to protect the public."

Dr. Grout's Comment:

The nature of the transmissible agent in "mad cow disease" is not well understood. The most accepted theory is that the agent is a modified form of a normal protein known as prion protein. For reasons that are not yet understood, the normal prion protein changes into a pathogenic (harmful) form. The infectious particles eat away at the brain, leaving tiny sponge-like holes. There is no treatment; death always follows.

When we tamper with Mother Nature's natural order, unintended consequences often follow. The possibility of mad cow disease is just the latest in a long list of reasons to bypass the farmed fish at the grocery store. In 2003, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a report demonstrating the dangers of higher levels of PCBs in farmed salmon compared to wild salmon. When farmed salmon samples from U.S. grocery stores were tested, the farmed salmon was found to contain 16 times the PCBs found in wild salmon, 4 times the levels in beef, and 3.4 times the levels found in other seafood. Other studies done in Canada, Ireland and Britain have produced similar findings. EWG warned that farmed salmon pose an increased risk for cancer.

If consumers resist buying farmed fish, perhaps the food industry will find better ways to balance the need to supply food with the needs of human health.

Exposure to air pollution before birth may affect IQ

July 21, 2009

The August issue of Pediatrics reports that, for the first time, researchers have linked air pollution exposure before birth with lower IQ scores in childhood, bolstering evidence that smog may harm the developing brain.

A study followed 249 children of New York City women who wore backpack air monitors for 48 hours during the last few months of pregnancy. They had varying levels of exposure to typical kinds of urban air pollution, mostly from car, bus and truck exhaust.

At age 5, before starting school, the children were given IQ tests. Those exposed to the most pollution before birth scored on average four to five points lower than children with less exposure.

Frederica Perera, the study's lead author and director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, said that is a big enough difference that it could affect children's performance in school.

It also suggests that you don't have to live right next door to a belching factory to face pollution health risks, and that there may be more dangers from typical urban air pollution than previously thought. The data suggests "exposure to air pollution before birth could have the same harmful effects on the developing brain as exposure to lead,” said Patrick Breysse, an environmental health specialist at Johns Hopkins' School of Public Health.

In earlier research, involving some of the same children and others, Perera linked prenatal exposure to air pollution with genetic abnormalities at birth that could increase risks for cancer; smaller newborn head size and reduced birth weight. Her research team also has linked it with developmental delays at age 3 and with children's asthma.

The researchers studied pollutants that can cross the placenta and are known scientifically as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Main sources include vehicle exhaust and factory emissions. Tobacco smoke is another source, but mothers in the study were nonsmokers.

Dr. Grout’s Comment:

The Phoenix metropolitan area routinely makes the top 20 list for smoggy cities. Coal-fired power plants and motor vehicles are our largest sources of air pollutants according to the Arizona Public Interest Research Group. Mercury and lead are common pollutants from those two sources. Clearly, a very small dose of neurotoxin can have a pretty major effect on the developing brain. This is taught in medical school. Homeopathic physicians long ago learned to respect the body burden of contaminants and how that affects chronic disease. This study is an important step for allopathic medicine. The journal Pediatrics is well respected and quite conservative. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics still recommends drugs for ADHD, still giving outdated information that there is no proof that neurotherapy is effective. So to have the establishment publish an article in such a controversial area, is a milestone.

WHO says swine flu pandemic now unstoppable

July 13, 2009

World Health Organization head Margaret Chan said today the swine flu pandemic has grown "unstoppable" and all nations will need access to vaccines, as seven new deaths were reported and a study raised fresh concerns. More than 90,000 swine flu cases have been reported worldwide, including 429 deaths, the most recent WHO numbers from last week show.

While most cases have been considered mild, a study released Monday said the virus causes more lung damage than ordinary seasonal flu strains but still responds to antiviral drugs. The WHO says most H1N1 cases are mild, with many people recovering unaided. While Mexico in the northern hemisphere has seen swine flu cases decreased, the peak of the flu season is approaching in South America and some areas have declared a public health emergency.

She stressed that the overwhelming majority of patients experienced mild symptoms and made a full recovery within a week, often in the absence of any form of medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government's Health and Human Services department announced it will spend $884 million to buy more ingredients to make a vaccine. The contract gives drug makers Sanofi Aventis $61.4 million for vaccine; GlaxoSmithKline $71.4 million for its adjuvant; Novartis $346 million for vaccine and $343.8 million for adjuvant; and AstraZeneca unit MedImmune $61 million for its nasal spray vaccine.

U.S. advisers are meeting later this month to decide about any vaccination campaign for Americans.

Dr. Grout's Comment:

The decision to start vaccinating people against swine flu will ultimately be a gamble, since there will be limited data on any vaccine. Until millions of people start receiving the shots, experts will not know about rare and potentially dangerous side effects.

The last time the U.S. government ordered a mass vaccination drive in response to a swine flu outbreak was the 1976 swine flu vaccination campaign ordered by President Gerald Ford. It was abruptly stopped after 30 people died as a direct result of the vaccinations and some 500 people reported developing Guillain-Barre syndrome, a paralyzing disorder, after getting the flu vaccine. Unanswered questions regarding the outbreak remain to this day. A "60 Minutes" news segment on the 1976 flu saga can be seen at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro1WL5ketWg

It is no surprise that health officials turn solely to the drug companies for an answer, but you do have other, safer options.

Influenza is a virus, and immensely susceptible to vitamin C. First, take extra amounts of vitamin C. At about 10,000 mg you get "bowel intolerance" which means you head for the bathroom a lot. As a preventive measure, aim for something less than that, but perhaps more than what you usually take. If you are feeling as if you are coming down with flu, call us pronto. We will be able to give you intravenous vitamin c – large doses that bypass bowel tolerance and flush viruses out of the system by making them unable to "stick" to cell membranes. We also add glutathione – the body's own antioxidant, immune system booster, and detoxifier.

For confirmed cases, we can also clean the blood of viruses, fungi and more with UV light. We can add ozone to oxidize (kill) the molecules in the shell of the virus.

If you feel ill on a weekend, use Oscillococcinum. It is an over-the-counter homeopathic remedy. The effectiveness of Oscillococcinum is confirmed by a several double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trials published in the Lancet, the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and others. Again, take it at the first signs; do not wait 2 days to start it.

Another option is high-grade colloidal silver. This is available through my office. Silver's renowned germicidal abilities come without the downsides of prescription antibiotics. ACS 200® demonstrates a much broader pathogen kill spectrum than traditional prescription antibiotics, antifungal, or antiviral preparations. ACS 200 does not damage human tissue or wipe out good intestinal flora. ACS 200 is proven to kill MRSA, Candida albicans, and Rhinovirus in less than 3 minutes. It is a good tool to use also whenever you are in high-exposure environments such as airplanes and schools.

FDA weighs dangers of acetaminophen (Tylenol)

July 6, 2009

Tylenol

The Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel recommended that the agency reduce the maximum recommended dosage of acetaminophen, the pain killer commonly known as Tylenol. The panel also recommended banning sales of prescription pain relievers that combine opioids with acetaminophen, including Percocet and Vicodin, among the most widely prescribed drugs in the U.S.

If the full FDA follows the panel’s advice, it could have a major impact on the multibillion-dollar pain relief industry and the U.S health-care system at large. Acetaminophen is in more than 300 over-the-counter and prescription products, from pain relievers like Pamprin and cold remedies, to cough syrup like NyQuil and sleep aids.

Overdoses of acetaminophen send an estimated 56,000 people to the emergency room every year; the FDA recorded 458 deaths during the 1990s. Despite decades of educational campaigns and increased warnings, acetaminophen is still the leading cause of liver failure in the Western world. The 4 gram-per-day maximum dose listed on many medications is just below levels that can cause potentially fatal liver injury.

The strength of over-the-counter acetaminophen tablets has slowly crept up in recent years. Regular-strength Tylenol, at 325 milligrams per pill, used to be the norm. Now extra-strength is more common at 500 milligrams per pill. With the FDA panel's recommendation, those larger pills would likely be eliminated. However, there is nothing to stop people who are used to taking 1,000 milligrams at a time from simply taking more of the smaller-dosage pills.

Industry leaders have launched campaigns to try and sway the FDA's decision. Tylenol-maker Johnson & Johnson warned panelists that any new restrictions on acetaminophen would force patients to switch to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which carry risks of gastrointestinal bleeding and kidney injury. Top-sellers in that market include Bayer AG's aspirin and Wyeth's Advil.

“People will have to switch to other drugs, and what are the side effects of those?” asks Knox Todd, who served on the FDA advisory panel. He notes that ERs like his at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York regularly see more cases of kidney failure, gastrointestinal bleeding and hypertension related to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications including ibuprofen and aspirin than liver problems. Side effects from NSAIDs result in more than 100,000 hospitalizations and thousands of deaths each year in the U.S.

Dr. Grout’s Comment:

The margin between a safe dose and a potentially lethal one is small. The first symptoms of acute liver failure caused by an overdose seem like the flu and don’t set in for several days, by which time it may be too late to save your liver and consequently your life. Even though the liver is capable of regenerating from some injuries, that’s not always the case with acetaminophen poisoning.

In 2008, an Oklahoma University coed died after exceeding the recommended dosage of Extra Strength Tylenol for three weeks to relieve toothache pain. That's just how easily it can happen.

Ironically, used as directed in small amounts, acetaminophen is generally safe. But the same cannot be said of aspirin. The aspirin studies that led to its image as the anti-heart attack drug were done using “buffered” aspirin; when plain aspirin was used, the results were not the same. Plain aspirin alone was almost worthless in preventing heart attacks. The main ingredient in buffered aspirin is magnesium. Magnesium dilates blood vessels, aids potassium absorption, acts as a natural blood thinner, and keeps your blood cells from clumping together causing thrombosis (clotting). Studies also show that aspirin causes and increase in strokes due to hemorrhaging because aspirin triggers internal bleeding.

Acupuncture is time-honored way to relive pain; we use it a lot in our clinic. Depending upon the cause of the pain, systemic enzymes are a safe alternative. Sometimes magnesium is the answer. Fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis may actually stem from infections. Allergies to food, even high blood sugar and high insulin levels, can be the root cause of chronic pain. Tylenol and aspirin for a day or two can relieve symptoms, but those symptoms typically speak to a bigger issue that pills cannot solve.

Arizona's WIC program, and its strange choice of foods

The State of Arizona is about to initiate an updated list of foods for the WIC program, the "Women, Infants and Children" federally funded program to allow "nutritious foods and nutrition education." The new list takes effect in October and it is the first time in 30 years that the list has been changed. For example, goats milk is now allowed which is helpful for the many children who are allergic to cow's milk.

On the other hand, the new WIC program allows soy. Oddly, the program's April 2009 "Table Talk" newsletter promotes it with recipes while issuing a subtle warning: "Soy products are still being studied in children. As a result, it is important a doctor or other qualified professional be involved with making a recommendation for children to consume soy." A 1997 Lancet study showed that soy has glycosides of genistein and daidzein or plant based chemicals that mimic estrogen - they possess a wide range of hormonal and non-hormonal activities. Most of the processed soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys. Soy foods increase the body's requirement for vitamin D.

Both the new and the current list allow for peanut butter, but no other nut butters. The peanut is actually a legume that grows underground. When the environment surrounding the peanut becomes warm, humid and wet, as it does in most regions of the U.S. where peanuts are commonly grown, a fungal growth occurs. Thus the crops are often heavily sprayed with pesticides. That's the first whammy to a child's immune system. The second is the mold. Peanuts contain high amounts of mold, which produce one of the most deadly carcinogens known to man: Aflatoxin. Hence many kids have allergies to peanuts and some go into anaphylactic shock. Peanuts are relatively high in omega-6 compared to omega-3 fatty acids and most kids already eat too many foods high in omega-6. Most conventional brands of peanut butters contain hydrogenated oils (trans fats) and lots of sugar.

Amazing, the old list did not have fruits and vegetables on it. The new list allows only for carrots for pregnant mothers. Even baby carrots are on the "cannot buy" list, so that the one potentially healthy snack on the entire program is made more difficult to prepare for busy moms.

Overall, the allowed foods appear to be primarily boxed and processed products, including juices sweetened with corn syrup (manufactured by a process which allows mercury to remain in the syrup), preserved and colored with artificial chemicals.

This WIC program is guaranteed to feed children foods which promote obesity and type II diabetes, not to mention high cholesterol. You might recall the American Academy of Pediatrics recent recommendations to put at-risk kids on statin drugs at age eight and issue other drugs to lower their blood sugar levels. Then later in life, we can monitor them for heart disease, perform angiograms, put them on high blood pressure medicine, take them to surgery for coronary artery bypass, and then still later take them to surgery to replace the arteries in their legs because they can't walk half a block any more. And we think the cost of health care is too high now?

This food program is so egregiously unhealthy, I really hope that it was done by well-meaning people simply through ignorance, and not by design, because the foods allowed on the program are exactly what I would choose if my aim were to keep the people sick. We have rampant rates of diabetes, obesity, and other maladies largely created by diet, yet the State of Arizona seems blissfully unaware of the relationship of food to health.

To see the new WIC list effective October 1, 2009, see http://www.azwic.gov/documents/FFY2010FinalFoodList.pdf

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