More Illegal Immigrants Turning to Folks

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/631230/more_illegal_immigrants_turning_to_folks/index.html?source=r_health#

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. _ In a tiny clinic in the back room of an herb shop on North Circle Drive, there is no need for insurance, green cards or a lot of cash.
For as little as $10, patients get the works _ they are rubbed with eggs, sprayed with holy water and enveloped in smoke while Alejandra Valenzuela recites the Lord's Prayer.
They come here to consult with Valenzuela, a curandera, or Mexican folk healer, who performs "limpias" _ cleansings of body, mind and spirit.
What in this country is considered alternative medicine is a mainstay medical tradition in some countries, but it's becoming more popular here with the influx of immigrants who bring their folk medicine with them _ whether they are Hispanic, Asian or European.
Most of Alejandra's customers speak Spanish, and in recent months, as the immigration debate has heated up, she has noticed that the illegal immigrants among them are complaining more about stress, and they fear seeking help at public clinics.
She predicts she'll get even more business since state and federal laws enacted this summer restricted medical care available to the undocumented.
The laws require anyone seeking government services _ such as Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded health programs _ to show proof of citizenship. The laws extend to nonprofits that receive state grants, according to the Colorado Attorney General's Office. Emergency medical aid and programs for children are unaffected.
The undocumented among Alejandra's clients say they feel safe here _ away from questions about their citizenship. A visit to get spiritual advice, tea for stomachaches or an ointment for a bad back usually costs no more than $20.
Big sellers are the blue-and-white candles said to have the power to keep immigration officers away.
Alejandra _ who uses only her first name professionally _ does her spiritual healing in a cramped back office. A carton of eggs, herb-rub packets and holy-water spritzes are on a side table.
She wears a black T-shirt emblazoned with a likeness of an Aztec Indian. A fistful of charms on her necklace represent saints, gods and goddesses. Over her breastbone is tattooed a flaming heart _ the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whom she calls upon for help. She has amulet rings on every finger. Her shocking pink shoelaces seem incongruous.
Jeronimo, a local dishwasher who has been in this country illegally for 10 years, tells her his back hurts and he feels run down. He has no insurance.
The curandera sprays an uncracked egg with herbal water and then places the egg in Jeronimo's left hand to absorb the "negativity." She takes it back and rubs the egg briskly along his legs and arms, across his chest and back, over his head. She makes signs of the cross as she goes, and gallops through the Lord's Prayer and the rosary.
Her usual soft voice becomes gruff and authoritative:
"Let all bad spirits leave this body and return to the depths of hell. Amen."
Jeronimo does not utter a sound or make a move. She whisks him with a purple packet that contains crushed herbs.
She cracks the egg into a glass of water and examines how the milky whites collect in clumps. "You're OK," she says.
"I feel better," he sighs.
New immigrants and oldtimers alike who used this folk medicine in their native countries believe that during limpias, negativities and bad spirits that have settled in when a person was, say, scared or sick or drank too much alcohol are removed, and the good spirits are called back.
Other customers see these treatments as simply ways to relieve stress, promote relaxation and soothe aches and pains.
Besides performing limpias, Alejandra prescribes a variety of teas, ointments, bath salts, perfumes, incense and candles.
"If a person does not have faith, it won't work," she says.
"I just look at people and know what is wrong with them," the curandera says. But she does not say this in a bragging way. "I am nothing without Jesus."
Alejandra, 34, is one of a number of younger Mexican Americans who have returned to their roots by becoming folk healers. Many Hispanic families can point to healers in their line somewhere. Alejandra's great-grandmother Juanita's piercing blue eyes and prayers scared away bad spirits. And Grandma Antonia dispensed spiritual protection, herbs and doses of grandmotherly love to ailing family and neighbors.
Traditional Mexican healers use a mixture of Aztec, Spanish and Indian healing techniques. To that, Alejandra adds some others, including a Japanese-inspired healing touch that she learned from a local Reike master.
There are several types of Mexican folk healers to choose from _ curanderos, masajistas (masseurs) parteras (midwives) _ and practitioners of other traditions, such as Santeria, with Caribbean-African origins. Some curanderos do it all as general practitioners.
"The rituals are wonderful, and the herbal remedies have substance. It's a viable medical alternative for those who can't afford conventional medicine," says Dr. Eliseo Torres, a University of New Mexico vice president of student affairs, and professor of socio-cultural studies. He has written two books about curanderos and herbal healing rituals.
"Sometimes, it's just having a hot cup of tea and having someone to talk to," Torres says.
In Third World countries, it's folk healing or nothing for many of the poor. "Here in this country, where many don't have insurance or money for care, they end up in emergency rooms for something that a good curandero could have taken care of for a lot less money."
As in any profession, there have been reports of charlatans who charge large sums for treatment, who haven't been adequately trained. There have been reports of sexual abuse and of deaths from misuse of herbs. And customers with serious maladies don't always get the necessary medical help.
With that in mind, the University of New Mexico has started a Mexican Folk Healing program that integrates the traditional and holistic with modern medicine to promote more professionalism. The nine-month program works with an institute in Mexico to bring expert curanderos to teach everything from anatomy to reflexology to herbology. The school also cross-trains curanderos with medical practitioners. A well-trained curandero can treat minor illnesses, and diagnose and refer the serious ones to physicians.
The school also received a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to set up medicinal herbal gardens in poor areas of Albuquerque. Curanderos and American Indian healers teach residents how to grow and prepare the plants in tincture form to treat minor illnesses.
At Botanica Caridad Del Cobre No. 2 in Colorado Springs, where Alejandra works, owner Martin Ramirez of Denver says he carefully chooses his healers.
"There are fraudulent ones that don't know what they are doing. You have to be careful," he says. Healers who work out of his store are instructed to always suggest modern medical care if ailments seem serious, he says.
Ramirez owns another botanica in Denver and also has an herb distribution company that caters mostly to small towns around Colorado and surrounding states. Curanderos are especially popular in the small farm communities and rural areas of Southern Colorado where immigrant workers use midwives and herbal remedies. He opened the Colorado Springs store so his customers don't have to travel to Denver.
"When you make $300 a week, and have to send $100 back home, you can't afford insurance and expensive treatments," he says.
On a recent day, several customers were leaning against glass display cases in the Colorado Springs store, waiting their turn to see the curandera.
Walgreens this isn't. The shelves are packed with statues representing a plethora of saints, angels and gods. Buddha stands alongside Ganesh, a Hindu god. Egyptian and Aztec deities share space with St. Jude and St. Lazarus.
There are yellow feathers for writing prayers with artificial bat's blood, volcanic oil to soothe sore joints, soaps to attract money and lovers. Tiny amulets are said to protect and deflect almost anything desired. There's a wall of packaged herbs for medicinal use.
Angel, 52, came here illegally 30 years ago but was pardoned under the 1986 immigration amnesty program. He works in a restaurant and has been receiving medical care for a spine problem at a local community health center. But he needs additional tests that will cost $1,000. He doesn't have the money or insurance. He is here for pain relief.
Then, a man who goes by the nickname Bear gets treatment.
"How you feel?" Alejandra asks.
"My legs, my head. Pills don't take it away," Bear, 65, replies. "I'm diabetic."
"You have to watch what you eat and take. Go to a doctor as soon as you can," Alejandra tells him.
He says he likes it here with the curandera. He used to go to them with his mother when he was a boy in Texas. "I feel at peace here. And I can tell the difference when I leave."
She gives him a candle to light for seven days in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the saint he believes protects him.
Tannia Kustka, 32, who has been in the Air Force for nine years, has been coming to Alejandra for a month. She has just come from an MRI imaging test at a laboratory, paid for by her insurance. But now she wants a spiritual healing that sometimes eases her headaches.
"It's like a prayer," she says. "I don't like popping a pill for everything. This doesn't have bad side effects. I feel relaxed."
Alfredo, 37, is an undocumented restaurant worker who wants herbs for a friend with a face swollen from a tooth infection. The man fears going to doctors because of his immigration status, and in fact, is sometimes afraid to even walk around town, Alfredo explains in Spanish.
Alejandra sells him some herbs but urges him to get medical care for his friend. Alfredo says the man can't afford it.
Alejandra watches him leave.
"I want to heal the whole world. Sometimes I wish I could do more for them. I tell them when they should go to a doctor. All I can do is ask God to help them," she says.
___
(c) 2006, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
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Story from REDORBIT NEWS:http://www.redorbit.com/news/display/?id=631230Published: 2006/08/25 06:00:11 CDT

Decrease In Progression Of Prostate Cancer With Plant-based Diet And Stress Reduction

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060823185618.htm

One out of six American men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their life, and more than a third of them will experience a recurrence after undergoing treatment, putting them at high risk to die of the disease. New research from the Moores Cancer Center and School of Medicine at University of California, San Diego suggests that diet changes, reinforced by stress management training, may be effective in slowing or halting the spread of the this deadly cancer.

The 6-month study, published in the September issue of Integrative Cancer Therapies, focused on the change in the levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an indicator of the cancer, in response to a plant-based diet and stress reduction. Patients were taught to increase consumption of plant-based foods such as whole grains, cruciferous and leafy green vegetables, beans and legumes, and fruit, and to decrease the intake of meat, dairy products and refined carbohydrates. They were also provided with stress management training, which included meditation, yoga and t'ai chi exercises.

The plant-based diet and stress reduction intervention was effective in significantly reducing the PSA rate, indicating a reduction in the rate of progression of the prostate cancer. Ten patients with recurrent, invasive prostate cancer completed the pilot clinical trial. Rates of PSA rise were determined for each patient from the time of disease recurrence following treatment up to the start of the study (pre-study), and from the time immediately preceding the study intervention to the end of the intervention (0-6 months).

By the end of the intervention, four of 10 patients experienced an absolute reduction in their PSA levels, and nine of 10 experienced a decrease in the rate of further PSA rise. The median time it took for the men's PSA levels to double increased from 11.9 months at pre-study to 112.3 months (intervention).

"The magnitude of effect of these findings is the strongest observed to date among dietary and nutritional interventions in this patient population," said Cancer Center member Gordon Saxe, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of family and preventive medicine at UCSD School of Medicine. "These results provide preliminary evidence that adoption of a plant-based diet, in combination with stress reduction, may slow, stop, or perhaps even reverse disease progression and have therapeutic potential for management of recurrent prostate cancer. Further research is needed to validate these findings and establish the long-term effectiveness of this intervention."

Co-authors on the paper are Jacqueline M. Major, M.S., Jacquelyn Y. Nguyen, M.D., Karen M. Freeman, MPH, Tracy M. Downs, M.D., and Carol E. Salem, M.D. The study was supported by grants from the American Cancer Society and the National Institutes of Health.

Nutrition top-up aims to cut child illnesses

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10398101

Saturday August 26, 2006
By Errol Kiong


Health researchers are hoping to prevent illnesses in children by supplementing their nutrition early in life.

Auckland University researchers aim to reduce the number of children taken to hospital with communicable diseases such as pneumonia.

It has received a $150,000 grant from the Health Research Council for a pilot study involving 60 children under 2 years of age of mainly Pacific Island and Maori descent.

"We've high hospital admission rates for a number of communicable diseases like pneumonia, and we think poor nutrition is contributing to that," said associate professor in paediatrics Cameron Grant, who is leading the study.

"Pneumonia continues to be one of the main killers of children around the world. The issues that we think we've identified here that are associated with children being in hospital ... in the developing world kill them."

Before the introduction of antibiotics, improved nutrition led to a marked fall in infant and child mortality rates over the past century.

Vitamin A deficiency increased susceptibility to measles, vitamin D to pneumonia and zinc to pneumonia and gastroenteritis, he said. Improved nutrition could also boost learning abilities. Studies showed the importance of iron in brain development.

"When kids are sick they don't learn particularly well. If you can prevent recurrent sickness, you've got more of a chance to learn."

Dr Grant said the trial would look at introducing "nutritional intervention" in primary care starting early in infancy.

The study would help to determine the form of intervention - vitamin supplements or injections.

The pilot, being conducted with Tamaki PHO, is likely to start next year.

Nutritional Needs Differ Between the Sexes

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/523031/?sc=rsmn

Newswise — When it comes to optimal nutrition, men and women have different considerations. The distinctions are subtle, but they may affect a man’s health, reports the September issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch. Here are some of the differences:
Fat. Monounsaturated fats are healthful for both men and women; olive oil is a good source. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are also good for both sexes. But a vegetable-based omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), found in canola and flaxseed oils, may be a problem for men. ALA is good for the heart, but some studies suggest it may increase the risk of prostate cancer. For men with heart risks, ALA may be a good choice—but men with more reason to worry about prostate cancer should get their omega-3s from fish and their vegetable fats from olive oil.
Alcohol. In both men and women, low alcohol intake appears to reduce the risk of heart attacks and certain strokes, while larger amounts increase the risk of many ills. But while drinking responsibly doesn’t seem to cause any health problems for average men, even low doses of alcohol may increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.
Calcium. A high-calcium diet may protect women against osteoporosis. There’s far less evidence that dietary calcium has the same benefit for men; in fact, large amounts may increase their risk of prostate cancer. The solution is moderation, The vitamin D in a daily multivitamin may also help offset the possible risks.
Iron. Men need less than women and should avoid excess iron. In the presence of an abnormal gene, it can lead to harmful deposits in various organs.
Despite these points, men and women’s overall nutritional needs are more similar than different, reports Harvard Men’s Health Watch.
Also in this issue:• Anger and your heart• Massage: Is it therapy?• A doctor discusses: Erectile dysfunction testing
Harvard Men’s Health Watch is available from Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division of Harvard Medical School, for $24 per year. Subscribe at http://www.health.harvard.edu/men or by calling 1-877-649-9457 (toll free).

Liberals want less intrusion into patients' right to choose

http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/OPINION03/608260335

Rhonda Chriss Lokeman

KANSAS CITY - I bumped into a friend, a cancer survivor. Through the years, I'd seen her in good times and bad. I'd seen her with a full head of hair and bald. Energetic and too exhausted to walk. When necessary, friends and family cooked for her, cleaned for her, transported her kid to and from school and church.
Each time the cancer ricocheted inside her, she fought back.
When I last saw her, she said the cancer was back and something else that gave me pause. "I'm not going to do chemo anymore. I just can't," she said.
I said nothing as my mind processed this disturbing news. What about her child? Last year, I went to the funeral of another cancer-stricken mother.
After some tense moments of silence, it occurred to me that what my friend wanted to do really wasn't my business.
When people say "my cancer," they take ownership of the disease and how they will deal with it. The rest of us should accept their empowerment.
I turned to my friend and gave her a squeeze. "That must've been a tough decision for you," I said. I keep her in my prayers.
Two major cancer-related developments brought that encounter back to mind. Both involve cancer patients and chemotherapy.
Recently, a Virginia teenager won a legal battle allowing him to refuse chemotherapy for his Hodgkin's disease. Then Aug. 16, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published a report urging closer scrutiny of toxicity levels in chemotherapy patients (www.jncicancerspectrum.org).
Researchers reported higher rates of eight serious side effects in breast cancer patients receiving chemo than in non-chemo patients. One in six women ended up in the emergency room with an infection, low blood count, dehydration or nausea.
What do a teenage Virginia boy and a middle-age Missouri woman have in common besides cancer? Patient rights.
This is a right-to-life issue you'd think conservatives would support. Instead, it's today's liberals who want less government intrusion and conservatives who want more. Terri Schiavo was the poster child for government meddling in a family quarrel.
In Virginia, however, the family of Starchild Abraham Cherrix was in agreement. The government disagreed. Cherrix claimed that earlier chemotherapies left him dazed and weakened. He wanted to give alternative treatments a chance. Social workers alleged parental neglect because his parents supported his wishes.
Alternative treatments, like traditional medicine, don't always work. Coretta Scott King had ovarian cancer, tried alternative treatments in Mexico and later died. But alternative treatment was what she wanted. Maybe it was Cherrix's New Age name that put him on the government radar. His family racked up legal fees, and their medical privacy was needlessly violated. This child's treatment choices were on hold until both sides compromised ahead of a scheduled hearing.
Circuit Judge Glen A. Tyler announced that lawyers and social workers had signed off on a consent decree. It vindicated the parents of neglect allegations and reaffirmed patient rights with the caveat that Cherrix be under the care of an oncologist board certified in radiation therapy. Radiation remains an option.
We're talking about cancer, not a communicable disease, so the government should have butted out. For that matter, there is nothing wrong with questioning traditional medicine and choosing not to use it. Currently, there's a debate about a possible link between the vaccine preservative thimerosal and autism. This warrants further study.
Given the chemo report in the medical journal, Cherrix and his parents might have chosen wisely. If not, they have to live with the decision. It's their business, not ours.
Rhonda Chriss Lokeman, a columnist for the Kansas City Star, can be reached at lokeman@kcstar.com.

Lawsuits Multiply For Johnson & Johnson’s Charite Spine Disc

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0608/S00110.htm

by Evelyn Pringle
According to the Institute of Medicine, over a million Americans are severely injured each year by medical devices. In 2002 alone, the FDA received more than 111,000 reports of adverse events involving medical devices.
That number has increased since the Charite artificial spinal disc was approved for use in the US in October 2004. As of July 2006, there have been more than 130 serious adverse events reported to the FDA associated with its use.
Examples of the serious adverse events include: migration of the artificial disc resulting in either removal of the disc or maintaining the disc, both followed by fusion; pedicle fractures; subsidence or a settling of the disc into the bone; and nicking of an vein or artery.
Professor Karin Büttner-Janz and Professor Kurt Schellnack, considered to be leading spine specialists, originally developed the Charite disc at the Charite University Hospital in Berlin, Germany in the mid-1980s. Further refinements to the design were later incorporated at Waldemar Link GmbH, a European based medical device maker.
In 2003, DePuy Spine, a division of Johnson & Johnson, acquired the Link Spine Group, and gained exclusive worldwide rights to the Charite.
According to Spine Health.com, the Charite is approved for patients who have severe lower back pain and have obtained little or no pain relief after at least 6 months of non-surgical treatments, such as pain medications, physical therapy, injections, or manipulation. "The FDA clearance for disc replacement," the site says, "is for one level of the lower spine, and it must be done at one of the two lowest levels of the spine (L4-L5 or L5-S1)."
The device was approved to relieve pain by replacing the damaged disc with the Chirate disc, as an alternative to the surgical procedure known as lumbar spinal fusion surgery
Spinal fusion surgery works to stop motion at the painful level of the spine. In this procedure, implants are used to help provide initial fixation, such as metal screws, rods and cages, and are inserted between the vertebrae. Because the fusion eliminates the motion in the lumbar segment of the spine, if the surgery is successful, the pain is reduced or eliminated.
When done correctly for the right indications, experts say, a fusion has a high success rate in relieving pain. However, because it limits the range of motion, extra stress may transfer to the discs above and below the fusion site.
An artificial disc is supposed to allow continued motion in the spinal segment, and therefore, the Charite was thought to be a viable alternative to spinal fusion surgery for patients with the right indications.
However, in the paper, "Total Disc Replacement for Chronic Low Back Pain: Background and a Systematic Review of the Literature," by M de Kleuver, F Oner, W Jacobs in the European Spine Journal Volume 12, Number 2, April 2003, the authors determined that despite the fact that these devices have been implanted for almost 15 years, on the basis of this literature survey there are currently insufficient data to assess the performance of total disc replacement adequately.
There is no evidence, the paper said, that disc replacement reliably, reproducibly, and over longer periods of time fulfils the three primary aims of clinical efficacy, continued motion, and few adjacent segment degenerative problems.
Total disc replacement, they said, seems to be associated with a high rate of re-operations, and the potential problems that may occur with longer follow-up have not been addressed.
Therefore, the authors advised, total disc replacements should be considered experimental procedures and should only be used in strict clinical trials.
J&J beat out competitors Stryker and Medtronic by securing approval of the Charite, but many surgeons have criticized the FDA for approving the device and ignoring over 17 years of evidence related to its use Europe, including a study showing that more than half of recipients had fair or poor results.
The FDA approved the Chirate based on the results of a single two-year clinical trial, that was designed to merely establish that the Charite disc worked at least as well as the Bagby and Kuslich cages (BAK) used in spinal fusions.
The trial was conducted at the Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas, on 304 patients, and was led by a team of surgeons that included Dr Scott Blumenthal, Dr Barton Sachs, and Dr Stephen Hochschuler, who are considered to be among the best spine surgeons in the field. Dr Blumenthal presented the results of the trial at a hearing before an FDA advisory panel.
A transcript of the June 2, 2004, hearing, reveals the agency’s own reviewer found the study to be biased in favor of Charite, and that important data about patients had been excluded. A voting member of the panel, Brent Blumenstein, complained about omitted patients during the hearing, but went on to vote for approval anyways.
In a nutshell, the study basically showed no significant differences in complications between the Charite group and the spinal fusion group.
According to Sergio del Castillo, a biochemical engineer, and the FDA's lead reviewer of the Charite approval application, the "purpose of the study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Charite and compare it to the BAK Interbody Fusion device."
The study was to show that the Charite would be at least as good as the BAK within a non-inferiority margin of 15%, Mr del Castillo explained, and was not designed to demonstrate superiority of one group over the other.
The first five subjects at each investigational site were treated with the Charite as part of the training of the surgeons and they were not included in the final assessment of effectiveness of the devices.
The success rates for the Charite and the BAK groups were 64% and 58 percent, respectively. Considering the overall success rate is within a non-inferiority margin of 10% of the BAK success rate, "it appears the study has demonstrated the non-inferiority of the Charite compared to the BAK," Mr del Castillo told the panel.
Adverse events in the study, he explained, were categorized as typical or unusual, severe or life threatening, device related or not device related, severe and device related occurring within two days of surgery and by date of onset.
The percentage of Charite and BAK subjects experiencing at least one adverse event, he said, was essentially equal. However, Mr del Castillo said some adverse events were reported in a higher percentage of Charite subjects compared to the BAK group, and included infection, abdominal events, device related events and severe life threatening events.
He noted that 7.3% of Charite subjects experienced adverse events compared to 4% of BAK subjects. A greater percentage of Charite patients experienced: (1) back or lower extremity pain; (2) neurological events, such as numbness, motor deficit or nerve root injury; and (3) additional surgery at the index level.
It should be noted, he advised, that the rate of adverse events was higher in the training group compared to the randomized subjects in the study and pointed out that training subjects were not included in the assessment of safety.
Safety and effectiveness in the study were evaluated in terms of the complications that arose during implantation and post-operatively including infection, thrombosis, migration and subsidence, re-operation, the incidence of adverse events, the level of the subject's disability and assessment of the subject's neurological status.
The primary endpoint for effectiveness consisted of four components: (1) pain in function as measured by the ODI; (2) any device failures requiring revision, re-operation or removal; (3) any major complications; and (4) neurological status.
A surgery was determined to be a success if the subjects: (1) ODI score increased by at least 25% at 24 months compared to the subject's baseline score; (2) experienced no device failures requiring revision, re-operation or removal; (3) did not experience any major complications defined as major blood vessel injury, neurological damage or nerve root injury; and (4) the subject's neurological status was maintained or improved at 24 months with no new permanent neurological deficits compared to baseline.
An individual subject was considered a success only if he or she was a success in all four components, Mr del Castillo advised the panel.
The study was defined as a success if the success rate of the Charite group was found to be non-inferior to the overall success rate of the BAK group, and safety was assessed by comparing the rate of incidence of all adverse events observed in the two groups.
The secondary effectiveness endpoints, according to Mr del Castillo, consisted of all the primary endpoint components, listed previously, which are pain in function as measured by ODI, device failures requiring a revision, re-operation or removal, any major complications and neurological status.
A Danish surgeon, Dr Andre van Ooij, also testified at the hearing, and advised the panel about the known complications associated with the Charite, and provided the members with visual slides showing the adverse events that occurred in a number of patients.
Dr van Ooij tracked hundreds of surgeries in Europe and in eight years, he treated 49 Charite patients, 28 women and 28 men, with some their surgeries performed as early as 1989. All of these patients, he noted, suffered terrible leg and back pain after the device was implanted and many were unable to undergo a surgical revision of the disc due to the dangers involved in spinal surgery.
Dr van Ooij also advised that some men implanted with the device suffered retrograde ejaculation and erectile dysfunction, and others patients suffered leg complications and joint degeneration.
"One big issue that was not spoken about today," he pointed out, "is breakage of the metal wire."
"If you look good at the x-rays," he advised the panel while showing a slide, "you can see the breakage and the flattening of the polyethylene core and probably also some wear debris."
Overall, more than half of the patients in Europe ended up with fair or poor results after the disc was implanted.
Orthopedic and spine surgeon, John Peloza, also testified at the hearing and told the panel that first and foremost, the Charite disc had to last the lifetime of the patient and that the average age of a person that would be a candidate for the procedure is about the mid-40s.
"I think it is critical that these implants last for the life of the patients," he said, "because revision surgery to remove the implant particular from an anterior approach will be potentially life threatening in every case."
"And at present," he advised, "there is no consistently successful strategy to deal with a failed implant."
"I don't think the polyethylene as they have in this implant will last anywhere near 40 years or the lifetime of the patient," he advised.
In addition, he said the fixation of the disc to the bone was compromised.
"The metal base is secured with a press fit with little spikes," he explained. "This is not adequate and will predictably fail," he added.
There are published studies, he told the panel, that show significant re-operation rates between 5 and 20 percent with complication rates reported greater than 10 percent.
As for results in regard to pain relief, the clinical studies in Europe and Australia, he said, essentially report results equivalent to fusion in regard to pain relief.
After listening to all the testimony about the dangers of the Charite disc, in the end, the FDA advisory panel's vote for approval of Charite was unanimous.
Seven months later, on May 13, 2005, the Street.com, reported that Dr Charles Rosen, an associate clinical professor of spine surgery at the University of California at Irvine, was calling for an immediate recall of the Charite, pointing out fundamental flaws in J&J’s study design.
He told the Street that J&J compared the Charite to BAK cages in spinal fusions, a failed procedure that had not been performed in years. According to Dr Rosen, the comparison is “the worst possible operation to compare these things to.”
J&J responded by saying the BAK was the standard treatment for degenerative disc disease at the time of the study.
According to the Street, Dr Rosen said J&J ignored the first patients who underwent the surgery, and that exclusion of such a significant portion of the sample size can seriously compromise the quality of statistical data.
Dr Rosen, who is also the founder of the UCI Spine Center, told the Orange County Register on April 12, 2006, that the Charite can cause more pain than it cures.
Forty-five year old, Dane Titsworth, from a hospital bed at UCI Medical Center, recovering from his fourth back surgery, told the Register, that the pain he experienced with the Charite he had implanted in May 2005, was like driving a big rig over your legs.
After the Charite surgery, Mr Titsworth said the pain became unbearable and cost him his job with State Farm Insurance, and nearly his marriage.
Dr Rosen fused the part of his spine where another surgeon had implanted the disc.
The Charite does not absorb shock like a healthy disc or mimic natural motion, Dr Rosen told USA Today on July 25, 2006, and a dislocation or fracture of the disc can also cause problems, he said.
In March 2006, Dr Rosen says, eight more patients like Mr Titsworth contacted him, who have more pain in their back with the Charite than without it.
In May 2006, Medicare decided to stop paying for the device in patients over 60, noting that the $30,000 to $50,000 surgery had not been sufficiently tested for long-term affects.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield also determined that more research was needed over a longer period of time, although insurance plans in each state determine coverage decisions individually, according to USA Today.
On October 20, 2005, the Bagolie Friedman law firm announced the formation of the “International Charite Artificial Disc Practice Group,” based on a belief that numerous people in the US and abroad, "suffer Charite artificial disc failure," and that "Johnson and Johnson is responsible for manufacturing a medical device they knew or should have known was unreasonably dangerous in an attempt to capture some of the lucrative multi billion dollar back surgery market."
"We will be reviewing potential cases from the United States, Australia and Europe," said Mr Bagolie.
On June 5, 2006, the Street.com reported that Chicago-based attorney, Pete Flowers, has more than 200 clients who have complications from the Charite and who are seeking reparations from DePuy Spine.
Twenty-eight lawsuits have been filed, Mr Flowers told the Street, and he expects an additional 40 to 50 more to be filed this month. Dane Titsworth is a client of the firm.
Mr Flowers’ clients claim the Charite is defective and that J&J improperly marketed the device and did not adequately warn of the disc's dangers.
"Most of these people are between 25 and 45 years old," he told the Street.com. "A lot of them have lost their jobs, their spouses, their families, their houses -- everything."
Since the disc was approved in the US, more than 5,000 people have received the implant, says DePuy Spine's Bill Christianson, vice president of regulatory affairs, according to USA Today on July 25, 2006.
More information for injured parties can be found at Lawyers and Settlements.com

Childhood Obesity Caused By 'Toxic Environment' Of Western Diets, Study Says

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060811192215.htm

A UCSF researcher has determined that a key reason for the epidemic of pediatric obesity, now the most commonly diagnosed childhood ailment, is that high-calorie, low-fiber Western diets promote hormonal imbalances that encourage children to overeat.
In a comprehensive review of obesity research published in the August edition of the journal Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology & Metabolism, Robert Lustig, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics at UCSF Children's Hospital, says that food manufacturing practices have created a "toxic environment" that dooms children to being overweight.
"It will take acknowledgement of the concepts of biological susceptibility and societal accountability and de-emphasis of the concept of personal responsibility to make a difference in the lives of children," Lustig says.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the number of children who are overweight in the United States has doubled during the past three decades. Currently one child in five is overweight. The increase is true for children and adolescents of all age groups and races and for boys and girls.
Diseases that once were only seen in adults, like type 2 diabetes, now are occurring in increasing numbers in children, according to Lustig. Overweight children tend to become overweight adults, which also puts them at greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Children who are obese also are socially ostracized and teased, putting them at risk for depression and other psychiatric conditions, he adds.
"Our current Western food environment has become highly 'insulinogenic,'" Lustig says, "as demonstrated by its increased energy density, high-fat content, high glycemic index, increased fructose composition, decreased fiber, and decreased dairy content."
"In particular, fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin," he adds.
Lustig says that it has long been known that the hormone insulin acts on the brain to encourage eating through two separate mechanisms. First, it blocks the signals that travel from the body's fat stores to the brain by suppressing the effectiveness of the hormone leptin, resulting in increased food intake and decreased activity. Second, insulin promotes the signal that seeks the reward of eating carried by the chemical dopamine, which makes a person want to eat to get the pleasurable dopamine "rush."
Calorie intake and expenditure normally are regulated by leptin, Lustig says. When leptin is functioning properly it "increases physical activity, decreases appetite, and increases feelings of well-being." Conversely, when leptin is suppressed, feelings of well-being and activity decrease and appetite increases -- a state called "leptin resistance."
Changes in food processing during the past 30 years, particularly the addition of sugar to a wide variety of foods that once never included sugar and the removal of fiber, both of which promote insulin production, have created an environment in which our foods are essentially addictive, he adds.
Lustig also notes that children cannot be blamed or expected to take personal responsibility for their dietary behavior in an environment when the foods they are offered -- especially cheaply prepared "fast foods" that are full of sugar and devoid of fiber -- are toxic.
"The concept of personal responsibility is not tenable in children. No child chooses to be obese," he says. "Furthermore, young children are not responsible for food choices at home or at school, and it can hardly be said that preschool children, in whom obesity is rampant, are in a position to accept personal responsibility."
"If we don't fix this, our children will continue to lose," he emphasizes.
One of the nation's top children's hospitals, UCSF Children's Hospital creates a healing environment where children and their families find compassionate care at the edge of scientific discovery, with more than 150 experts in 50 medical specialties serving patients throughout Northern California and beyond.
UCSF is a leading university that consistently defines health care worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in the life sciences, and providing complex patient care.

Teen's case shines spotlight on alternative therapy

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=109125&ran=169208&tref=y

A horse's diet of wild herbs in the 1840s was the unlikely beginning of an alternative cancer treatment called the Hoxsey method.
The horse's owner believed the herbs healed a tumor on its leg, and he began mixing a concoction to treat other horses. Years later, his great-grandson Harry Hoxsey would market a similar tonic as a human cancer treatment that eventually was banned in the United States.
One of Hoxsey's nurses set up a clinic using the method in Tijuana, Mexico, in the 1960s, where it has quietly operated ever since.
Many people in Hampton Roads, and in the country, for that matter, would never have heard of the method had it not been for a 16-year-old boy from Chincoteague.
Abraham Cherrix was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease last summer. When a debilitating four-month round of chemotherapy at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters failed to eradicate his disease, he went to Tijuana in March to try the Hoxsey method.
His case made headlines across the country after Social Services accused his parents, Jay and Rose Cherrix, of medical neglect. In July, a juvenile court judge ordered Abraham's parents to return him to conventional treatment.
An Accomack County Circuit Court judge will hear the Cherrixes' appeal of that decision on Wednesday.
Abraham's story shows that while alternative and conventional treatments for cancer tend to quietly co-exist, at the core they are still viewed as in conflict by much of the medical and legal establishment.
"We look at things as either/or, God or the devil, proven/unproven," said Michael Cohen, a Cambridge, Mass., lawyer who specializes in legal cases dealing with alternative medicine.
Cohen believes doctors need to be more open in discussing unconventional treatments with their patients, so cases don't end up in court.
Abraham's case might not have caused such a stir were it not for some gray areas.
While he isn't a child, he is two years from legal adulthood. If he were 18, he could freely choose.
And while the conventional treatment recommended for him has a good success rate, it's not a slam-dunk. Hodgkin's has a five-year survival rate of 85 percent, making the lymphatic disease one of the more treatable cancers. But the first round of chemo did not eradicate Abraham's cancer, suggesting a tougher case.
Those following Abraham's battle fall into several camps:
Proponents of alternative medicine believe Abraham and his family should be allowed to choose a route outside of the medical establishment. Believers in conventional medicine, meanwhile, think Abraham should return to chemotherapy and radiation treatment to save his life.
Then there are people who believe the government is acting improperly in ordering unwanted treatment.
"What I ask is, 'Would you be willing to tie this kid down for treatment?' " said Douglas Scott Diekema, a Seattle pediatrician and a member of an American Academy of Pediatrics ethics committee. "To me, that's an obvious no. That would cross the line. I would argue that it doesn't matter what the law says - it's not ethical to force treatment on someone of this age."
The case has underscored that unproven treatment methods are common among cancer patients. They are among those who most frequently seek alternatives because of the seriousness of the disease, and the fact that conventional treatment is not always successful. Usually, they turn to alternatives when conventional therapies fail, or when they have little chance of being cured.
"It's a huge part of oncology treatment," said Dr. Megan Burke, a pediatric oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic.
One study of complementary and alternative medicine published in 2000 found that almost 70 percent of 453 cancer patients had used at least one such therapy as part of their treatment.
That can range from something as simple as aromatherapy to quell chemo-induced nausea to the more dramatic decision by Abraham to drop conventional treatment altogether.
Abraham learned about Hoxsey after his first round of chemo at CHKD.
During that time, the cancer had stopped growing, but when February tests showed active cancer cells, an oncologist recommended a stronger round of chemotherapy and also radiation therapy.
Abraham resisted because the initial chemo had left him nauseated, feverish and weak. He said he felt a stronger round would kill him and was dismayed by the potential side effects of radiation such as other cancers later in life.
He learned about the Hoxsey method at The Association for Research and Enlightenment, founded in Virginia Beach in 1931 by psychic Edgar Cayce. The method - which includes an organic diet and a tonic of natural herbs, such as red clover, burdock root, and licorice - has been around since the 1920s. Harry Hoxsey was not medically trained but marketed the mix in clinics in 17 states.
The Food and Drug Administration forced Hoxsey to close his U.S. clinics in 1960, saying his method had no scientific backing. Three years later, one of Hoxsey's nurses set up the Biomedical Center in Tijuana, which Abraham visited in March.
A message left on Thursday for a clinic spokesman was not returned. On Friday, questions were referred to director Liz Jones, who was out of the office until next week. People who have sought treatment at the clinic - which only provides outpatient services - say the one-time treatment cost is $3,500, but patients also pay for travel and hotel costs.
According to the American Cancer Society, there have been no large, evidence-based clinical trials of the treatment. A small study published in the Journal of Naturopathic Medicine in 1994 involved 39 people who took the Hoxsey herbal treatment. Ten patients died after an average of 15 months and 23 failed to complete the study. Six patients were disease-free after two years.
A 2001 study paid for by the National Institutes of Health tried to track Hoxsey patients but found many had not had biopsies to confirm cancer, and some had received conventional treatment along with the Hoxsey method.
Burke said the lack of scientific backing of a child's alternative treatment doesn't necessarily constitute medical neglect by a parent. It depends on the patient's chance of survival using conventional methods, she said.
"The general rule of thumb is if chances are less than 50 percent, legally there is nothing we can do to force a family to comply," she said. "But if there's a 90 percent chance of survival with treatment, and the family says we are not going to seek treatment, that's a major medical issue."
In such a case, a bioethics committee at the hospital would examine the case to see whether the hospital should seek medical power of attorney, and whether the family should be reported.
Burke said she also considers how well the child and the family understand the consequences. Are they making an informed decision after thoughtful consideration? Or are they acting impulsively? How dangerous is the alternative treatment, and does the patient have time to try it?
Burke said in some cases she has agreed to monitor a child's health through an alternative treatment attempt. Some families returned children to conventional treatment; others returned for pain-easing palliative care, provided in the last stage of life, because the treatment didn't work.
Abraham's family says he's in stage two of the disease, with the worst stage being four. Social Services investigators and CHKD officials have declined to comment on Abraham's case, citing federal privacy policies.
While the American Cancer Society has pegged the rate of survival of Hodgkin's disease after five years at 85 percent, the success of a treatment depends on the stage and type of cancer.
A quick relapse after conventional treatments would suggest a harder cancer to beat.
"The doses of chemo and radiation will have to be more toxic, and he'll get sicker from that treatment," said Dr. Lawrence Rosen, a New Jersey pediatrician who helps doctors and families handle such issues as a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Complementary, Holistic and Integrative Medicine committee. "The risks are greater than in the beginning."
Burke said children who have had both chemotherapy and radiation therapy generally face about a 20 to 30 percent chance of the Hodgkin's recurring. When there is chemotherapy only, that figure is about 50 percent.
But because radiation has negative side effects, including a higher risk of other cancers later in life, doctors sometimes hold off giving it at the beginning, then add it if the disease returns to eradicate lingering, resilient cancer cells.
Younger people have higher rates of survival because their bodies can withstand the intense treatment.
Publicity of Abraham's case has brought a flood of calls, letters and e-mails to the family, some from medical professionals who are willing to help Abraham with other methods suited to his desire for a more natural, less toxic approach.
John Stepanovich, the attorney who represents Jay and Rose Cherrix, said the family is reviewing a wide range of methods.
"Up until now they've felt backed into a corner," he said. "Instead of looking around at what's available, they've had to protect their family."
For now, though, Abraham continues to use the Hoxsey method. "I always have an open mind, but I also believe you have to stick with what you believe is right," Abraham said Thursday.
Court-ordered X-rays at CHKD in June showed Abraham's tumors - one in his neck, the other next to his windpipe - had grown since February. Tests at the Biomedical Center in June also showed some growth, but Abraham said adjustments were made to his diet in June.
Some who have corresponded with Abraham after learning about his case have encouraged him to keep pursuing alternative treatment. Others have urged him to return to conventional therapies.
Michael Dunne, 42, hopes Abraham can choose what's best for him. Dunne was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease when he was 16.
Radiation treatment in 1981 eradicated the disease, and he went through two decades without a problem. In 2001, the Norfolk resident was diagnosed with sarcoma, a cancer of the connective tissue that is commonly associated with radiation. He has had both surgery and chemotherapy since then, and continues to be monitored.
He doesn't regret any of his medical decisions and believes Abraham and his family have the right to decide on treatment within the privacy of their own home.
What disturbs Dunne is the thought of the teen fighting his disease in such a public manner.
"To sit and listen to testimony about your own case, that has got to be devastating," he said. "It's traumatic enough to have cancer, but to have to go through that on top of it... that's cruelty there."

The Possible Links Between Nutrition And Oral Cancer In Smokers

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=49221&nfid=rssfeeds

12 Aug 2006
Every year, nearly 300,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with oral cancer. This type of cancer has the highest incidence in people who use tobacco, including cigarettes, but the means by which tobacco promotes the development of oral cancer is unknown. Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University are investigating whether nutritional factors may be involved. A causal link has not been established, but their results provide early insights into the complex relationships among oral cancer, smoking, and two groups of nutrients: folates and select antioxidants. Folate levels are different in smokers and non-smokers, according to Joel Mason, MD, director of the USDA HNRCA's Vitamins and Carcinogenesis Laboratory and assistant professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts. Mason and colleagues, who reported their results in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, analyzed the diets and studied blood and cheek cells of 56 men and women between 30 and 80 years of age. Approximately half of these were chronic smokers, defined by a history of smoking at least 10 cigarettes daily for at least the past year. "Regardless of dietary intake, smokers had lower levels of folate in both blood and cheek cells, compared with non-smokers," says Mason. These findings confirm those of previous studies. Also consistent with previous research results, cheek cells of smokers had significantly more genetic aberrations called micronuclei, which indicate increased risk of oral cancer. Mason notes that these observations raise the question, "does cigarette smoke promote cancer by depleting cells of folate?" Folate is a B vitamin found in leafy green vegetables and fortified foods that not only helps create and preserve cells, but is also critical for synthesis of DNA; the latter serves as a universal set of blueprints for cells and which, if sufficiently altered, often leads to cancer. "It's possible that diminishing folate in cells may cause the cellular milieu to change, inducing the formation of cancerous cells," says Mason. "However, based on our findings," Mason says, "it does not appear that folate depletion induced by smoking is a major avenue for the formation of the genetic aberrations (micronuclei) that increase risk of oral cancer." He explains, "Oral micronuclei and low oral folate are each linked with smoking, but they were not related to each other in this study." Mason notes there are other possibly relevant pathways involving folate, however, which were not examined in this study. In addition to measuring total levels of folate, Mason and colleagues took their analysis a step further. "Folate exists in several different forms, so we also measured the levels of each form present in the cheek cells," corresponding author Jimmy Crott, PhD, scientist in the Vitamins and Carcinogenesis Laboratory at the USDA HNRCA explains. Compared to cheek cells of non-smokers, those of smokers had higher levels of some forms and lower levels of others. Crott stresses that it is not known if the altered distribution of various forms of folate contribute to carcinogenesis. "However," he continues, "it is thought that imbalances in different forms of folate may partly explain why low folate availability enhances cancer risk." Overall, Mason says, "our observations do not support a mechanistic role for folate in development of oral cancer. However, they do not exclude a potential protective role of adequate folate intake or supplementation." He says that "additional studies are clearly needed to elucidate mechanisms responsible for the observed shifts in folate form distribution due to smoking." In a study using the same participants, Elizabeth Johnson, PhD, scientist in the Carotenoids and Health Laboratory at the USDA HNRCA and an assistant professor at the Friedman School, and colleagues, conducted similar analyses looking at nutrients such as carotenoids and vitamin E. Carotenoids, plant pigments found in fruits and vegetables, and vitamin E, a fat-soluble vitamin found in nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils, are both antioxidants, which protect cells from damage. Compared to non-smokers, chronic cigarette smokers had lower levels of carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, in blood and cheek cells. As in the folate study, however, a direct nutrient-cancer link could not be established because the carotenoid levels in the mouth did not correspond with the number of micronuclei, or genetic aberrations, that indicate increased risk of cancer. Johnson and colleagues also found that, in non-smokers, blood and cheek cell levels of carotenoids were correlated. If levels were high in blood, they were also high in oral tissue. This correlation was not found in smokers. Johnson points out that this difference suggests that tobacco may alter the distribution of some nutrients. Further evidence is the finding that smokers tended to have higher levels of a form of vitamin E common in food, called gamma-tocopherol, compared with non-smokers. Levels of alpha-tocopherol, the more easily absorbed form of vitamin E in the body, however, were lower in smokers than in non-smokers. "We can only speculate," Johnson says, "but perhaps this is a protective mechanism in which one form of the antioxidant vitamin goes up when another goes down." The authors note that epidemiologic observations show that smokers tend to eat diets lower in fruits and vegetables than do non-smokers. However, in both the folate study and the antioxidant study, differences detected in nutrient levels between smokers and non-smokers were not attributable entirely to diet. "So," Johnson concludes, "although our results do not support a direct role for these nutrients in oral carcinogenesis, we uncovered some interesting relationships between smoking and nutrient distribution that deserve further exploration." ### Gabriel HE, Crott JW, Ghandour H, Dallal GE, Choi SW, Keyes MK, Jang H, Liu Z, Nadeau M, Johnston A, Mager D, Mason JB. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006 (April); 83(4): 835-841. "Chronic cigarette smoking is associated with diminished folate status, altered folate form distribution, and increased genetic damage in the buccal mucosa of healthy adults." Gabriel HE, Liu Z, Crott J, Choi SW, Song BC, Mason JB, Johnson EJ. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 2006 (May); 15: 993-999. "A comparison of carotenoids, retinoids and tocopherols in the serum and buccal mucosa of chronic cigarette smokers versus non-smokers." If you are interested in learning more about these topics, or speaking with a faculty member at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, or another Tufts health sciences researcher, please contact Siobhan Gallagher at 617-636-6586 or Peggy Hayes at 617-636-3707. The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University is the only independent school of nutrition in the United States. The school's eight centers, which focus on questions relating to famine, hunger, poverty, and communications, are renowned for the application of scientific research to national and international policy. For two decades, the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University has studied the relationship between good nutrition and good health in aging populations. Tufts research scientists work with federal agencies to establish the USDA Dietary Guidelines, the Dietary Reference Intakes, and other significant public policies.

Antioxidants May Protect Against Tick-borne Illness

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=49298&nfid=rssfeeds

13 Aug 2006 For hikers, campers and others who enjoy the outdoors, summer can bring concerns about tick bites and related illnesses such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Researchers are investigating the role that antioxidants -- alpha-lipoic acid and potentially others like green tea and vitamins C and E, for example - might play in preventing or treating the deadly rickettsia bacteria. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, part of the National Institutes of Health, awarded the University of Rochester Medical Center $2 million for a five-year study of the antioxidant theory. The grant caps more than a decade of rickettsia research led by Sanjeev Sahni, Ph.D. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is the most frequently reported illness in the United States caused by the rickettsia bacteria, which is transmitted by tick parasites. It usually afflicts otherwise healthy adults and children who are bitten by wood ticks or dog ticks. The illness can become life threatening if left untreated, and spotted fever can be difficult for physicians to diagnose because the earliest signs mimic less-serious viral illnesses. Limiting exposure to ticks is the best way to prevent the disease. If it does develop, in most cases doctors can treat it with antibiotics. Typhus is another rickettsial disease spread by lice or fleas. Although less common, typhus remains a threat in crowded jails and in other poor hygienic environments. "Our studies have the potential to identify novel therapeutic targets for a host of rickettsial diseases," said Sahni, an assistant professor in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Rochester. Dr. Howard Taylor Ricketts, who eventually died of typhus, identified rickettsia in the late 1800s. Sahni's research group first began investigating the rickettsia bacteria as a model to study the biological changes that occur in the lining of the blood vessels (endothelium) as the bacteria travels through the blood stream. Initially they were looking at what types of cellular changes occur in response to the infection. They discovered that cells undergo oxidative stress and produce harmful free radicals, causing inflammation and other complications. Researchers hypothesized that antioxidants might serve as useful therapies after examining the damage to infected cells, as seen by electron microscopy, and through biochemical evidence proving oxidative stress (OS), a term used to describe a level of damage in cells, tissue and organs. Antioxidants can generally neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative damage. Earlier experiments in which scientists infected cells with rickettsia bacteria and then treated the cells with alpha-lipoic acid, a powerful antioxidant, showed that the infected cells did, indeed, marshal a defense against the bacteria. Sahni is also investigating what enzymes might boost antioxidants to work more efficiently. His group is studying the process that occurs when infected cells express cyclooxygenase (Cox-2) and prostaglandins, which results in inflammation. This biological process is what causes the severe swelling in the limb that was bitten by a tick harboring the rickettsia bacteria. Sahni theorizes that regulating the Cox-2 response with Cox-2 inhibitors such as ibuprofen could also help control the disease.

Patrons keep the faith in folk healers

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/4112274.html

Latinos who curanderos help are as diverse as ritual remediesBy LORI RODRIGUEZCopyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
At 50, Rosario Nañez sports an urbane air, stylish hair, Euro-chic clothes and a slick business card that belie her role as a third-generation resident folk healer, or curandera, to hundreds of faithful, mainly immigrant Hispanics.
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At Martha's Yerberia on far east Harrisburg, Martha Cedillo, also 50, awaits clients while watching telenovelas on a TV that seems incongruous amid her mysterious wares. Cedillo speaks no English, performs Tarot readings and believes in the spiritual, but she says she is first and foremost a businesswoman.
Across the city, in the heart of new urban barrios that have transformed once stoutly yuppie southwest Houston, Mercedes Rios, a 59-year-old Santeria priestess of Puerto Rican and Cuban extraction, has tended her customers at Botanica Elegua on Bissonnet for 27 years.
Each of these folk healers and their shops reflect subtly different demographics of their neighborhoods as well as their own unique personalities. But all openly and profitably practice centuries-old traditions that are equal parts religion, medicine and spiritualism. All employ the use of herbs, oils, prayers, candles and amulets.
It is an art that successfully has been transplanted and kept alive by Houston's steady influx of new and increasingly diverse immigrants who bring their cultural ways and mores with them.
Nañez learned curanderismo, or healing, on her mother's and grandmother's knees, and her Canal Street shop caters to mostly Mexican and devoutly Catholic immigrants. Nañez, who once did a talk-show stint on the KQQK Spanish radio station as Tia Remedios, or Aunt Remedies, believes she was born to help others heal.
"I'm a child who has been spoiled by God and, to me, taking care of my customers is my whole life. It's my reward. It's my way of giving thanks to God for his blessings," she says.
Seeking St. Juan DiegoIn Rosario's Mistic, her canary-yellow yerberia, or herbal shop, in the East End, business is brisk on a recent morning. Maria Soliz, of Guerrero, Mexico, juggles her 1-year-old daughter in her arms and picks up her regular herbal potions. Griselda Quiroz, of Michoacan, stops by for her weekly buena suerta candle for good luck.
Jose Luis, of Nuevo Leon, wants a statue of St. Juan Diego, revered for his vision of the Virgin Mary in the form of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness saint of the Americas. Nañez is out of the icon; Juan Diego is popular with clients seeking miracles.
"When I get one, can I pray to win the lottery?" Luis asks.
"Just pray for guidance," Nañez counsels.
"But I would use the money to build orphanages for homeless children," Luis persists.
"Pray, and he will guide you," Nañez repeats with what seems considerable forbearance.
Rosario's Mistic is lively with colors, sights and scents. Religious artifacts, bright crystals, aromatic incense, scented oils, pungent herbs and exotic candles all vie for attention. She offers honey and cinnamon items for luck in love, lemon grass to help cure ulcers, passionflower for insomniacs and even a concoction to make men virile.
There are prayers to St. Lazarus, patron saint of the needy who is believed to have risen from the dead at the behest of Jesus and whose life-size statue presides over the shop from an alcove on one end. At the other end, a shrine is adorned with candles and bread offerings to the dead and the revered; Nañez's late father commands a special spot.
Spanning generationsMost curanderas read Tarot cards, conduct "cleansings" to banish negative spirits and perform a variety of mystical rituals. But their healing skills are firmly rooted in the natural power of herbal medicines as well as cultural beliefs passed from one generation to another.
"It has to do with the reproduction of the culture here through immigration," says Nestor Rodriguez, chairman of the University of Houston's Sociology Department. "Part of that means the continuation or reproduction of folk medicine, folk healers and spiritual resources that, for many immigrants, complement or supplement other medical resources."
Some customers are people who can't afford doctors, don't know how to access medical facilities or are just wary of public institutions. "But others are using curanderos for certain folk illnesses for which medical science has no real treatment," Rodriguez says.
In much of Latin America, people believe illness can be caused by mal de ojo, or the evil eye, which is commonly treated with a ritual in which a raw egg is used to rub the sign of the cross on the afflicted. Susto, or fright caused by negative spirits, sometimes is tackled by covering the patient with a sheet and sweeping over the body with a broom.
Nothing to hideThere are less sinister needs: Candles, amulets, crystals, oils and more are purchased for love, good fortune, health, wealth and myriad other spiritual and physical goals. Natural teas, some with scientifically proven medical powers, are faithfully drunk by the believers. Prayers are recited; rituals are performed.
"At the very least, they're soothing. That's why you go. You walk out, and you feel better," Rodriguez says.
Traditional remedies can and often do coexist with modern medical care. Cedillo operates on a bustling stretch of Harrisburg studded with contemporary outposts: Laredo National Bank, the Mayor's Assistance Office, Harrisburg Plaza. She draws a mix of immigrants and mainstream Mexican-Americans.
"I won't ever get rich with my business, but I like it a lot. It's different and mystical, and I feel like I'm doing something good for people," Cedillo says.
Cedillo frowns on some of her less-assimilated counterparts who operate their shops below the public radar.
"Some could be practicing witchcraft for all people know," she says disapprovingly.
"I have my permit from the city of Houston, and an inspector comes here regularly to make sure everything is clean and stored the way it should be. I don't mind. My customers and I like it that way," she says.
Products in health storesIn far southwest Houston, between the thriving, new immigrant enclaves in Gulfton and Spring Branch, Rios draws the most recently arrived and diverse immigrants. Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, black Hispanics and a sprinkling of mainstream professionals are drawn to her heady mix of Santeria beliefs with a Voodoo influence and a grounding in medicinal herbs.
"Most of the time, we use herbs, we use natural oils; sometimes you even have to sacrifice animals but, if you do, you eat it," says Rios, contrasting her Santeria-based craft with Mexican folk healers.
"They use totally different candle preparations, incenses and cleansings. I also sell many of the same herbs that are commonly sold in regular health-food stores, like black cohosh for menopausal women and saw palmetto for prostate cancer."
"I carry just about everything health-food stores do, but they just have Spanish names."
Lynnette J. Mazur, a pediatrics professor at the University of Texas Medical School, has studied the use of folk remedies in Hispanic and other ethnic communities. In one survey, 81 percent of patients reported using alternative or supplemental medicine.
More than 30 percent thought folk treatments were more effective than medicine for certain folk illnesses. More than 10 percent of parents had taken their child to a curandero at least once. "Some of these herbal and natural treatments have been proven to be beneficial," Mazur says.
"I'm supportive of people who use them. You don't want to make a patient feel bad if they want to. When they integrate that with a doctor's care, it's fine."
"It's when a patient only uses curanderos without a doctor's care or knowledge, the folk remedies can hurt instead of help, especially since many of these products can interact badly with medicines."
Must follow city's rulesYerberias, also known as botanicas, are regulated by the city Health and Human Services Department and must obtain the same food dealers' permit required of all businesses that sell ingestible products. Herbal products must be kept 6 inches off the ground, stored in sealed containers, and the surface of the preparation area must be clean, smooth and seamless.
"Unfortunately, some shops operate off the radar. We'd be happy to regulate them if we could find them. But they are many, and they are hidden," said health department spokeswoman Kathy Barton.
Nañez is hardly one of the hidden.
Every March, on the spacious parking lot of Rosario's Mistic, Nañez conducts a healing Mass for the community that draws hundreds of the faithful. The statue of St. Lazarus takes center stage, and a priest gives first Communion to children and adults taught the catechism in Nañez's regular Bible classes.
"It's my gift to the community," she says, "and my way of giving thanks for God's blessings."