Parkinson’s first surfaced in 1817 when James Parkinson, a British physician, published a paper on what he called “the shaking palsy.” Almost 200 years later it has become an epidemic where over 1,000,000 Americans lie with Parkinson’s, making it the second most common neurodegenerative disorder (Alzheimer’s ranks first). What is even more alarming is that …
The University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami Children’s Hospital, Duke University Medical School studied children with mild to moderate juvenile rheumatoid arthritis who were massaged by their parents 15 minutes a day for 30 days (and a control group engaged in relaxation therapy). The children’s anxiety and stress hormone (cortisol) levels were immediately decreased …
Irving Kirsch of Hull University, UK, studied all data submitted to the US FDA for the licensing of the antidepressants fluoxetine, venlafaxine, nefazodone and paroxetine. He states, “Compared with placebo, antidepressants do not produce clinically significant improvements in patients who initially have moderate or even very severe depression.” It seems that Antidepressants did substantially outperform …
Since we are on the subject of fat I came across this whimsical poem written by David Harris Ebenbach of Richmond, Indiana titled Belly I finally notice it at a dinner party, They way it stretches my shirt, Its urgency from the cake I’ve eaten, Its nerdy gurgles all the way home. My wife has …
About 5 years ago while preparing a talk on the excessive use of statins in the United States I came across evidence suggesting that this class of cholesterol lowering drugs can have dramatic effects on memory. However, the pharmaceutical industry has somehow managed to keep this information from the public. Last week I was surprised …
Quite a few people are proponents of raw milk. However, I am not quite convinced as to its safety. A recent study found that more than 1/3 of raw milk samples tested positive for H. pylori. Four hundred raw milk samples were screened and 139 of those samples tested positive for the presence of the …
Scientists have known for years that both the male and female brains have estrogen receptors that have wide-ranging effects on our physical, emotional and cognitive health. Estrogen influences language skills, mood, attention, and a number of other functions, in addition to memory. Estrogen receptors are present in several regions of the brain, including the …
I don’t know if you have noticed, but over the last 6 months there has been a flurry of ads on television, radio, and medical advertisements stressing the need for patients with symptoms of acute stroke to seek medical attention for immediate therapy. The treatment they are referring to is the administration of t-PA within …
Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory substances found in marine fish. These substances have been used successfully to treat inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. Over the years I have prescribed it to many patients with inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohns and ulcerative colitis based on recommendations from other holistic health care providers. However, based …
Although organ transplants have saved countless lives there have been two big draw backs. One the donated organ must match the patient and secondly the recipient has to be on immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives. However, a new technique pioneered by David Sachs and Benedict Cosimi at the Massachusetts General Hospital may …