Monday, August 29, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Manufactured Parts and Hip Replacements
From Public Citizen today, 10 January, 2012
October 2011
Metallic Hips Fail at a Fast Rate
August 2011
Every year approximately 200,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed in the United States and the success rate appears to be about 90 percent. The most common reason for hip replacement is osteoarthritis of the hip joint; however, surgery is not a “quick fix” for every person with chronic hip pain. Surgery, in this instance is used only after medication and other, less-aggressive treatments have failed.
More than 21 million people in the United States have degenerative osteoarthritis, and it is the leading cause of chronic disability. The number of arthritis related hospital admissions doubled between 1993 and 2006.
Most people undergo hip replacement as a result of osteoarthritis of the hip joint. But you might also consider hip replacement if you experience severe pain, loss of motion or deformity of your hip joint. Hip replacement is also used in people with hip injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, impaired nerves, loss of muscle strength surrounding the joint, and other medical conditions, such as a bone tumor or bone loss due to insufficient blood supply (avascular necrosis).
Symptoms that may lead to the decision to undergo hip replacement include severe pain and loss of motion or stiffness in the joint. Pain that keeps you awake at night, little or no relief from pain medications, difficulty walking up or down stairs, trouble standing from a seated position, or having to stop activities because of pain are additional considerations that can lead to interference in everyday living.
Today’s hip prosthetics can be expected to last up to 20 years. Usually hip replacement has been an option for adults older than age 60. Because the newer technology has brought about stronger and longer lasting artificial joints, younger and more active people are choosing this surgery.
Hip replacement may be the only choice after failure of other less invasive therapy fails to relive increasing pain. While hip replacement, or total hip arthroplasty, can relieve pain and improve range of motion, it is not without risk.
The current rate of obesity is of major concern to surgeons who provide this type of orthopedic surgery. Only recently has this data been made available through the Mayo Clinic.
Researchers have found that there is a 50 percent increase in complications when obesity and super obesity is present. In order to be considered a “best candidate” for hip replacement surgery, there must first be significant joint and cartilage damage shown on X-ray, severe and deep pain, no relief from medication for pain and inflammation, and interference in daily activities of living.
Usually if a patient has disabling heart disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure, infection or very poor overall health, this surgery will not be scheduled.
Currently either metal-metal or ceramic-metal hip prostheses are used in replacement surgery.
A third type of prosthetic hip joint was in use from 2003 until 2008. In July 2008, the “Zimmer Durom Acetabular Cup,” a metal-polyethylene prosthetic device, was removed from the market. At that time the manufacturer began a significant effort to provide new training to orthopedic and general surgeons and began to develop new educational support materials.
Considered by surgeons for at least 30 years to be highly durable, the Metal-on-Polyethylene prostheses had been the leading artificial hip component material and had been approved.
The Zimmer Durom hip replacement device is made with a cobalt chrome molybdenum alloy metal ball with a polyethylene liner. Polyethylene is the most understood and had been the most used of all liner materials, which offered surgeons a range of stability options while the operation was underway.
The ability of polyethylene to be adaptively customized during surgery is considered important; however it is the least expensive bearing.
Since all implants, including the Zimmer Durom hip implant device, are subject to wear and tear, they shed debris. After about 10 to 15 years of use the debris shows up with symptoms of inflammation and bone loss. The wear rate of Metal-on-Polyethylene implants, such as the Zimmer Durom hip replacement device, is about 0.1 millimeters a year.
To overcome the issue of “debris” manufacturers chose to treat the polyethylene liners with radiation to create new wear resistant polyethylene. This new substance is called “highly cross linked polyethylene.”
In July 2008, after reviewing data on more than 3,000 cases, Zimmer, the world's largest manufacturer of hip replacement parts, suspended sales of the Zimmer Durom Acetabular Component (Durom Cup).
The Indiana-based manufacturer states that it was unaware of any design or manufacturing defects and a Zimmer Durom hip recall was not issued. Zimmer has plans to place the Durom Cup back on the market on completion of its training and education projects.
Several Zimmer Durom hip implant lawsuits have been filed against Zimmer Holdings Inc., claiming it failed to provide proper warnings, instructions and training to surgeons.
In early 2008, one prominent orthopedic surgeon wrote openly about problems he experienced with Zimmer Durom hip replacements. His data showed that out of 165 implants, 14 were "revised or required revision" within the first two years after surgery. The surgeon added that he believed the Zimmer Durom hip replacement device was defective and there were seating problems with the surface where fixation in the natural joint was to occur.
Zimmer advised that people who have received the Durom Cup to contact their doctor if they experience pain more than three months after surgery.
This article is part of a consumer health education series written by Gayle Eversole, DHom, PhD, MH, NP, ND, of Creating Health Institute, in collaboration with Bernstein Liebhard, LLP.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Gayle Eversole.
It’s never good news when a global, multibillion-dollar industry is trying to convince Washington to put its profit-making interests above public health.
The medical device industry is doing just that by lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to take shortcuts that will put millions of lives at risk.
Tell your members of Congress to oppose these dangerous shortcuts in the medical device approval process.
For example, consider the defective artificial hips manufactured by the DePuy division of multinational pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. Two years ago, the company’s metal-on-metal hip implants were recalled because they carried the risk of releasing metal toxins into the hip tissue, which caused inflammation and serious internal damage.
Just a few years after receiving the hips, which were implanted in 40,000 patients in the United States (and tens of thousands more worldwide), many patients required costly, painful and risky operations to replace the devices. (1)
This is just one of many examples of medical devices that fell through the cracks of our nation’s system for regulating medical devices, injuring or killing thousands of patients.
Catastrophic failures like the all-metal hip implants show that the FDA approval process should be strengthened — not weakened.
Tell Congress: Put patient safety before corporate profits.
Shockingly, lobbyists representing the powerful medical device industry are trying to persuade lawmakers to make the already-insufficient approval process even weaker than it is.
Their aim is to ram their products through a weakened process and get their products to market as quickly as possible, even without undergoing adequate testing to assure that they are reasonably safe for patients. In other words, profits first.
We’re up against a powerful industry with tentacles of influence that reach deep into Capitol Hill. But with help from activists like you, we can fend of the attempts to weaken medical device regulation.
Please tell your members of Congress that the device approval process should be strengthened to protect the public, not abbreviated for industry profits.
October 2011
Metallic Hips Fail at a Fast Rate
August 2011
Hip Implant Complaints Surge, Even as the Dangers Are Studied
Originally posted 2009
Total Hip ArthroplastyEvery year approximately 200,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed in the United States and the success rate appears to be about 90 percent. The most common reason for hip replacement is osteoarthritis of the hip joint; however, surgery is not a “quick fix” for every person with chronic hip pain. Surgery, in this instance is used only after medication and other, less-aggressive treatments have failed.
More than 21 million people in the United States have degenerative osteoarthritis, and it is the leading cause of chronic disability. The number of arthritis related hospital admissions doubled between 1993 and 2006.
Most people undergo hip replacement as a result of osteoarthritis of the hip joint. But you might also consider hip replacement if you experience severe pain, loss of motion or deformity of your hip joint. Hip replacement is also used in people with hip injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, impaired nerves, loss of muscle strength surrounding the joint, and other medical conditions, such as a bone tumor or bone loss due to insufficient blood supply (avascular necrosis).
Symptoms that may lead to the decision to undergo hip replacement include severe pain and loss of motion or stiffness in the joint. Pain that keeps you awake at night, little or no relief from pain medications, difficulty walking up or down stairs, trouble standing from a seated position, or having to stop activities because of pain are additional considerations that can lead to interference in everyday living.
Today’s hip prosthetics can be expected to last up to 20 years. Usually hip replacement has been an option for adults older than age 60. Because the newer technology has brought about stronger and longer lasting artificial joints, younger and more active people are choosing this surgery.
Hip replacement may be the only choice after failure of other less invasive therapy fails to relive increasing pain. While hip replacement, or total hip arthroplasty, can relieve pain and improve range of motion, it is not without risk.
The current rate of obesity is of major concern to surgeons who provide this type of orthopedic surgery. Only recently has this data been made available through the Mayo Clinic.
Researchers have found that there is a 50 percent increase in complications when obesity and super obesity is present. In order to be considered a “best candidate” for hip replacement surgery, there must first be significant joint and cartilage damage shown on X-ray, severe and deep pain, no relief from medication for pain and inflammation, and interference in daily activities of living.
Usually if a patient has disabling heart disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure, infection or very poor overall health, this surgery will not be scheduled.
Currently either metal-metal or ceramic-metal hip prostheses are used in replacement surgery.
A third type of prosthetic hip joint was in use from 2003 until 2008. In July 2008, the “Zimmer Durom Acetabular Cup,” a metal-polyethylene prosthetic device, was removed from the market. At that time the manufacturer began a significant effort to provide new training to orthopedic and general surgeons and began to develop new educational support materials.
Considered by surgeons for at least 30 years to be highly durable, the Metal-on-Polyethylene prostheses had been the leading artificial hip component material and had been approved.
The Zimmer Durom hip replacement device is made with a cobalt chrome molybdenum alloy metal ball with a polyethylene liner. Polyethylene is the most understood and had been the most used of all liner materials, which offered surgeons a range of stability options while the operation was underway.
The ability of polyethylene to be adaptively customized during surgery is considered important; however it is the least expensive bearing.
Since all implants, including the Zimmer Durom hip implant device, are subject to wear and tear, they shed debris. After about 10 to 15 years of use the debris shows up with symptoms of inflammation and bone loss. The wear rate of Metal-on-Polyethylene implants, such as the Zimmer Durom hip replacement device, is about 0.1 millimeters a year.
To overcome the issue of “debris” manufacturers chose to treat the polyethylene liners with radiation to create new wear resistant polyethylene. This new substance is called “highly cross linked polyethylene.”
In July 2008, after reviewing data on more than 3,000 cases, Zimmer, the world's largest manufacturer of hip replacement parts, suspended sales of the Zimmer Durom Acetabular Component (Durom Cup).
The Indiana-based manufacturer states that it was unaware of any design or manufacturing defects and a Zimmer Durom hip recall was not issued. Zimmer has plans to place the Durom Cup back on the market on completion of its training and education projects.
Several Zimmer Durom hip implant lawsuits have been filed against Zimmer Holdings Inc., claiming it failed to provide proper warnings, instructions and training to surgeons.
In early 2008, one prominent orthopedic surgeon wrote openly about problems he experienced with Zimmer Durom hip replacements. His data showed that out of 165 implants, 14 were "revised or required revision" within the first two years after surgery. The surgeon added that he believed the Zimmer Durom hip replacement device was defective and there were seating problems with the surface where fixation in the natural joint was to occur.
Zimmer advised that people who have received the Durom Cup to contact their doctor if they experience pain more than three months after surgery.
This article is part of a consumer health education series written by Gayle Eversole, DHom, PhD, MH, NP, ND, of Creating Health Institute, in collaboration with Bernstein Liebhard, LLP.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Gayle Eversole.
Monday, August 22, 2011
More about the GMO Salmon Conundrum
If you sincerely believe that the FDA's "science-based" system is trustworthy then perhaps you might read this with aplomb. Otherwise I's encourage you to give this some real thought.
by Dinah Everett Snyder
Aug 21, 2011
38 Agricultural organizations have signed a letter to Congressional Leaders urging them to allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to complete its review of the world’s first genetically engineered fish for human consumption.
The move follows a recent amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations Bill (HR2112) that would stop the FDA from spending appropriated funds to finalize its review of the fish.
Read complete article - http://farmwars.info/?p=6726
Selections from Natural Health News
Sep 19, 2010
I've been searching in the stores for fresh wild caught salmon for some time and have not found any. The closest I came was Organic farm raised, whatever that means. I hope with every fiber of my being this GMO salmon is ...
Jan 15, 2011
You've probably heard that the FDA is considering whether to approve the first-ever genetically-engineered fish [1]. Developed by a Massachusetts-based company called ... GMO Salmon Coming to a Table Near You. Jun 26, 2010 ...
Sep 27, 2010
AquaBounty researchers compared the allergenicity—or potential to cause an allergic reaction—of a control group of salmon to both the genetically engineered diploids and triploids. They found (PDF [8], see page 102) that the diploid ...
Oct 27, 2010
A fast growing genetically engineered salmon is a good bet for approval by the Food and Drug Administration. It would be the first genetically modified animal sold as food. Dubbed “Frankenfish” by opponents, ...
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Half of Americans Have Chronic Disease
This article was interesting to me even though I do not follow FOX News. It speaks of one reason why we rank so low (37-39) in health care. It also speaks of the problems with the food products thrown at us by Big AG corporations.
What bothers me more is the disinterest in getting back to good, sound health care like it used to be when it was important to cure people, not just manage their "disease". Big PhRMA can take a bow for this along with Big Insurance.
This is indicative of why I developed Health Forensics.
What bothers me more is the disinterest in getting back to good, sound health care like it used to be when it was important to cure people, not just manage their "disease". Big PhRMA can take a bow for this along with Big Insurance.
This is indicative of why I developed Health Forensics.
More than half of Americans have at least one chronic disease, according to research published Tuesday.
Some 55 percent of people in the U.S. said that they were diagnosed with one or more chronic conditions, compared to 41 percent of people in the UK and 52 percent of Canadians, the results of a survey conducted by business-services firm Deloitte showed.
The international survey, which quizzed people in 12 countries, also found that more Americans rated their overall health as "excellent" or "good" than any other country.
Almost two-thirds (61 percent) of Americans believed they were in "good" or "excellent" health, compared to 55 percent of Canadians and 56 percent of people in the UK.
However, researchers from the Washington-based Deloitte Center for Health Solutions also found that only 16 percent of Americans were satisfied with the performance of their health care system, compared to 34 percent of people in the UK and 32 percent of Canadians.
The data was based on surveys with 15,735 adults in 12 countries worldwide -- the U.S., Canada, China, France, Germany, Brazil, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Switzerland, Mexico and the UK.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/16/half-americans-have-chronic-disease-survey-says/#ixzz1VOyA9goL
Fungus Following Joplin Tornado
I would like to see - at least in one instance - the response from medicine to be effective - with high dose vitamin C, garlic, and specific essential oils that can save lives.
Selections from Natural Health News
Eight people injured by the devastating Joplin, Missouri, tornado have contracted a rare fungal infection, and three have died, officials said Friday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is assisting state and local health officials, who are investigating the cases.
All three individuals who died had serious injuries, as well as fungus, Jasper County Coroner Rob Chappel said. One of the deaths was caused by the infection, called mucormycosis, but the cause of death for the other two victims has not been determined, he said. CNN
Selections from Natural Health News
May 03, 2010
RE-POSTED re: Tennessee Flooding UPDATE: 5/3/10 6/21/08: One of the places I have attended college over the years of advanced education is Iowa City. I know of some of the problems of flooding but certainly not to the ...
Aug 07, 2010
Volunteers needed, donations needed... Photo shows flooding in July 2010 at the EMF Cataldo Mission repository. This information is provided by Creating Health Institute through our Health Matters(c) project.
Dec 30, 2008
See also: Mold problems and flooding: Lessons to be learned from Katrina UPDATE: 9 April, 2010 - Judge Awards Families $2.6M Over Chinese Drywall UPDATE: 3 April, 2010 - Feds: Homes with Chinese drywall must be gutted ...
Vitamin C for Alzheimer's
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new function for vitamin C. Treatment with vitamin C can dissolve the toxic protein aggregates that build up in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease. The research findings are now being presented in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
The brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease contain lumps of so-called amyloid plaques which consist of misfolded protein aggregates. They cause nerve cell death in the brain and the first nerves to be attacked are the ones in the brain’s memory centre. Complete article
Dec 27, 2009
All of the patients were receiving standard-of-care treatment with a drug intended to help patients with Alzheimer's. As part of their clinical care, 208 patients also took vitamin E but no anti-inflammatory, ...
May 11, 2009
New research shows that Natto enzyme also has the ability to cleave and degrade the amyloid protein deposits that characterize Alzheimer's disease. That makes Natto one of the only known compounds with this crucial ...
Sep 12, 2010
Vitamins for Alzheimer's. July 2011 Ranks now in the TOP10 out of 3.9 M Access the May 2007 issue of herbal YODA Says! that focuses on vitamin B12 with a do... Links. Alchemille's Garden · Anne Vis · Before It's News ...
Jan 10, 2009
Another issue to consider above most for problems with Alzheimer's disease. Fluoride suppresses proper function of the thyroid gland. As I have mentioned elsewhere, 67% of people in Alzheimer's care facilities in 1998 ...
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Think You Know About Thimerisol?
Natural Health News thanks our colleague, Tim Bolen, for this insightful article about Thimerisol. Bolen notes that back in the 1930s the risk of this mercury (Hg) compound was of real concern.
Mercury is a deadly toxin - in any form. Deadly to any living entity. The product Thimerosal (Merthiolate) is a mercury-containing pharmaceutical compound that is 49.55% mercury. It was developed in 1927. More, unlike other forms of mercury, Thimerosal, is both water and fat soluble - meaning that it immediately penetrates into every part of the human body, and attaches itself wherever it wants. When it is injected, as in vaccines, the human body's natural defense mechanisms that would work to catch and expel INGESTED forms of mercury, are completely bypassed allowing Thimerasol to quickly bind itself in places in the body we definitely DO NOT want it - like the brain.
Thimerosal has been marketed as an antimicrobial agent in a range of products, including topical antiseptic solutions and antiseptic ointments for treating cuts. It was in nasal sprays, eye solutions, vaginal spermicides, and diaper rash treatments. Perhaps most importantly it is used, even now, as a preservative in vaccines and other injectable biological products, including Rho(D)-immune globulin preparations.
Despite evidence, dating to the early 1930s, indicating Thimerosal to be potentially hazardous to humans and ineffective as an antimicrobial agent it is still being used.
Crazy as it sounds, Thimerosal was not scrutinized as part of U.S. pharmaceutical products until the 1980s, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally recognized its demonstrated ineffectiveness and toxicity in topical pharmaceutical products, and began to eliminate it from these. In 1998, finally, the US FDA took topically used (applied to the skin) Thimerosal products off of the market - as being too dangerous.
Insane as it sounds, the US FDA didn't seem to have a problem with that same mercury being INJECTED directly into the human body - especially into our children. Worse, Thimerosal continues to be administered, as part of mandated immunizations and other pharmaceutical products, in the United States, and globally.
Just to bring things up to date - let's look at the most recent Australian study on the relationship between Autism and mercury: Continue reading...
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Got Drugs?
I don't know which is worse, the downgrade and free fall in the economy or the downfall in health care. For the life of me I just can't understand why so many in medicine are clinging to dying dictates.
Earlier today I wrote a comment about the problem with soy for menopausal complaints. Every time I read one of these reports I feel the hair rising on the back of the neck on millions of women who are at a disadvantage. They either don't ask any questions, or they are afraid to ask any questions.
I bet its the fear, but worse are the outrageous responses flowing frequently from the lips of their doctors.
"If soy doesn't work the we can give you SSRIs and/or gabapentin (Neurontin) for your troubles."
You can read this and see my comments -
Earlier today I wrote a comment about the problem with soy for menopausal complaints. Every time I read one of these reports I feel the hair rising on the back of the neck on millions of women who are at a disadvantage. They either don't ask any questions, or they are afraid to ask any questions.
I bet its the fear, but worse are the outrageous responses flowing frequently from the lips of their doctors.
"If soy doesn't work the we can give you SSRIs and/or gabapentin (Neurontin) for your troubles."
You can read this and see my comments -
Soy No Help for Bone Loss, Hot Flashes
And if this doesn't make you mad as hell then how about this one -Antidepressant Scripts Often Lack Diagnosis
And this one comes from the premier pill pushers, PCPs, and even some shrinks too!
Now maybe you get a sense of why I created Health Forensics and why I'm planning to change course and write crime stories.
In the interim, I am willing to teach my new method to health care providers, if they think they can handle the heat.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Ever heard of glyme?
It’s glymes time: EPA takes on obscure chemicals in consumer products.
Hardly anyone has heard of them, but millions of pounds of glymes are used every year to make household products. Now time is running out for glymes – at least when it comes to new uses in consumer products. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it plans to clamp down on these little-known ingredients used by a broad array of industries, including manufacturers of lithium batteries, inkjet cartridges, paints, prescription drugs and microchips. Three glymes pose a “high concern to workers, consumers and children” because they may have reproductive or developmental effects, the EPA says. A study more than a decade ago found links to miscarriages among semiconductor plant workers.
By Jane Kay
Environmental Health News
Aug. 8, 2011
Hardly anyone has heard of them, but millions of pounds of glymes are used every year to make household products throughout the United States.
Now time is running out for glymes – at least when it comes to new uses in consumer products.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in July that it plans to clamp down on these little-known ingredients used by a broad array of industries. Used mostly as solvents, glymes are found in lithium batteries, inkjet cartridges, brake fluid, paints and carpet cleaners. They are also widely used to make prescription drugs, printed circuit boards and microchips.
The EPA determined that three glymes pose a “high concern to workers, consumers and children” because they may have reproductive or developmental effects. A U.S. study more than a decade ago found links to miscarriages among workers in semiconductor manufacturing.
The EPA has proposed a new rule for glymes as one of its few weapons authorized by the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. If adopted, it would let the agency restrict new uses of 14 glymes in the U.S. marketplace.
Dimethoxyethane
Public Perceptions
In the late 1960s I had just left the West Coast, Haight-Ashbury, and Morningstar Ranch. I ended up in the Chicago area as we lived near my ex’s mother. At the time I was working for the Chicago Tribune and doing proofreading and editing. In those days there were still linotype operators that made and used lead type to make up the plates that the presses used to print your newspaper. No soy ink then.
I suppose this had some real influence on my so that when I began writing my “Health Matters” column in 1991 it wasn’t too long before a Washington Post owned paper in my area began printing my column.
A few years later several Puget Sound print venues published my column and articles. About mid-way to 2000 The Open Line began publishing my articles, and things have continued to grow from there. Today my organization publishes blogs, web sites, and other publications as well as having our work syndicated in more than 100 different locations around the world.
Along the way people have slammed my work but when the facts emerged my articles were accurate. Even an esteemed Everett are professional journalist wrote a recommendation for me stating clearly that my research top notch and my style was very readable and unique.
The internet certainly changed the way we read news. But sometimes it appears to me that too many have their brains glossed over by the quick & dirty approach that so many rely on and claim as fact.
I recall too that in about 2004 a couple of newbies on the net (I started in 1991) found their ways very often in the stats I reviewed of my sites. In 2005 a pattern began to emerge that these newbies were scouring my work to get their ideas and make a fast play to drown me out. So far they have not been successful in drowning me out in spite of some dirty tricks (so much for ethics in their concept of journalism).
These two sites seem to have the Fox New approach. I guess I’d prefer that those who have become their lemmings did take a little more time to be aware of what is being thrown at them.
The same seems to be true for the author of one excellent health journalism site.
I like him because he does what I try to do for my readers, make them think.
This week he has a great article about this topic. I like it so much I felt it is important to share.
I hope you think about it and share it too.
Science journalist: unrealistic expectations about science matter
http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2011/08/science-journalist-unrealistic-expectations-about-science-matter.html
from Natural Health News
Natural Health News: Mainstream Health Coverage Unsatisfactory
May 30, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS, May 27 -- Most health coverage in the mainstream media fails to address the costs, harms, and benefits of medical products and procedures, according to the publisher of HealthNewsReview.org, a Web site that ...Criticizing the Cardiology Industrial Complex
I like the term "Cardiology Industrial Complex". In general it tells me that we are failing everyone with a heart and everyone with a potential to develop heart dis-ease.
I also believe that some points in the article excerpted below Marilyn Mann's blog have need for consideration.
I believe this because I know the downside of this approach to care, such as stents that close up, and I know what natural care can do to prevent and reverse heart disease.
"Cardiac care is a money-making machine that too often favors profit over science,” attacks marketing campaigns that exploit people’s concerns about heart disease to promote unnecessary and inappropriate tests. The key points:
People often get the wrong tests, wasting resources and often leading to inappropriate treatment.
Angioplasty is overused in nonemergency situations when lifestyle changes and drugs would be just as effective.
Consumers don’t have enough information on quality of care.
The nature of heart disease is often misunderstood to be a kind of plumbing problem. This leads to the idea that the way to prevent future problems is to search for blockages and stent them. This procedure can be lifesaving in a patient who is in the midst of a heart attack, but has not been shown to be more beneficial in nonemergency situations than a more conservative approach of controlling risk factors with lifestyle changes and drugs.
In addition, CR found in a survey of 8,000 of its subscribers that many people undergo heart-related screening tests such as an electrocardiogram, exercise stress test, or ultrasound of the carotid arteries, “even though such tests aren’t recommended for healthy people.” In addition, many people undergo these screening tests without first investigating the accuracy of the tests or what they would need to do if the test indicated a possible problem."
Additionally, Stephen Nissen MD, believes that the system favors more costly procedures. Nissen is the medical doctor who blew the whistle on Avandia.
Of course this is all about making money and third party billing.
More on natural cardiovascular care here -
Beat the Brain Drain
I clearly recall back in the late 60s when I was taking college courses in nursing that one of the best things to help your brain recover better if you experience a stroke is to use you non-dominant hand for every day activities. Writing was one. This is one thing I practice often.
This too can be an exercise that veterans who have had TBI can practice to overcome the problems they have to deal with daily. It can help PTSD and aphasia too.
Now here's that suggestion again, 42 years later.
Use your non-dominant hand: If you’re right-handed, use your left hand to eat, comb your hair, brush your teeth, write your name, or try putting your mouse pad on the other side of the keyboard. This practice of non-dominant hand use stimulates communication between the two hemispheres of the brain, helping to improve mental capacity as well as physical balance. Another idea: tai chi and yoga are physical activities that coach people to use the right and left side of the body equally.
from Easy Exercises to Keep Your Brain in Shape
Taking a Closer Look at Sunscreen
Lotions containing inorganic nanoparticles draw attention of toxicologists and ire of some consumer groups
BY Lauren K WolfBrian Gulson knows sunscreens. For one thing, he lives in Australia, where the intense sunlight near the equator makes the protective lotions a necessary part of residents’ skin care regimens. According to the country’s Cancer Council, two in three Australians will develop some type of skin cancer by age 70.For another thing, Gulson, now a retired environmental science professor from Macquarie University, in Sydney, has researched the safety of sunscreens. In fact, he found himself mired in a debate over the lotions’ safety last year, when the environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth Australia cited his research to bolster its claim that consumers should steer clear of sunscreens containing nanoparticles. Read
complete article
Lotions containing inorganic nanoparticles draw attention of toxicologists and ire of some consumer groups
BY Lauren K Wolf
Brian Gulson knows sunscreens. For one thing, he lives in Australia, where the intense sunlight near the equator makes the protective lotions a necessary part of residents’ skin care regimens. According to the country’s Cancer Council, two in three Australians will develop some type of skin cancer by age 70.
For another thing, Gulson, now a retired environmental science professor from Macquarie University, in Sydney, has researched the safety of sunscreens. In fact, he found himself mired in a debate over the lotions’ safety last year, when the environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth Australia cited his research to bolster its claim that consumers should steer clear of sunscreens containing nanoparticles. Read
Selections from Natural Health News
Natural Health News: Sunscreen Hazards
Jun 22, 2011
In 2008 Natural Health News reported on sunscreen as unsafe and ineffective. Earlier than this, along with an expert on the subject, we tackled mis-information being promoted by Dr Oz's "Real Age". ...
Natural Health News: Sunscreen Allergies
May 15, 2011
In 2008 Natural Health News reported on sunscreen as unsafe and ineffective. Earlier than this, along with an expert on the subject, we tackled mis-information being promoted by Dr Oz's "Real Age". ...
Natural Health News: Sunscreen Safety at Issue
May 23, 2011
It's that time of year when sunscreen advertisements become ubiquitous on television—cute kids prancing on the beach after their mothers conscientiously apply multiple coats of white lotion in an effort, the companies ...
Natural Health News: 84% of Sunscreens Unsafe or Ineffective
Jul 05, 2008
Only 16% of sunscreens on the market are both safe and effective, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy and research organization. Of 783 products analyzed, only 125 blocked both UVA ...Insurance Billing & Tort Reform: Link to the core issue.
The complaint that tort claims are the cause of spiralling health care costs is one of the biggest scams in decades. I really encourage people to delve into this issue full throttle ahead so you get the cealr picture of what is driving the cost craziness.
It is insurance billing silly.
If the facts here are trustworthy then at $83,000 a year, an an average of 1.5 million doctors alone, not including other insurance billing providers, the extrapolated cost is something like $8,300,000,000 each year in add-on indirect costs to your health care.
Perhaps more members of CONgress should pay attention to real facts and not silly nonsense.
Health insurance paperwork costs doctors big money
By Andrew Doughman, Orlando SentinelAugust 4, 2011
Health insurance costs aren't just a patient concern. Dealing with health insurance paperwork costs American doctors an average of nearly $83,000 per year.
That's the cost of the time and labor it takes for physicians' employees to correspond with various insurance plans about claims, coverage and billing for patient care and prescription drugs.
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs, found that Canadian physicians spend about a fourth as much as their American counterparts to complete their necessary paperwork.
Researchers surveyed physicians in Ontario, who said health insurance paperwork costs them an average of $22,205 a year.
In terms of time, paperwork takes an average of nearly 21 hours per week for American physicians versus slightly more than 2 hours per week on average for Canadian physicians."The major difference between the United States and Ontario is that non-physician staff members in the United States spend large amounts of time obtaining prior authorizations and on billing," wrote Dante Morra, an assistant professor from the University of Toronto.American physicians must interact with many different insurers, which have different rules and methods for filing claims. They also must spend time obtaining authorization for certain medical procedures, which, the authors said, can ultimately save money and prevent doctors from giving inappropriate care.
The researchers from Cornell University and the University of Toronto concluded that American physicians and insurance companies could interact "much more efficiently" if claims were filed electronically rather than via mail or fax.If American physicians had administrative costs that matched those of the Ontario doctors, physicians could save as much as $27.6 billion a year.Canada has a single-payer health system, which means physicians are filing only one type of paperwork.
The study's authors also noted that these costs have to be weighed against positive factors such as competition between insurance providers and choices provided to consumers under the U.S. health system.
The researchers conducted their survey by pulling together data from several previous surveys and surveying 216 physicians in Ontario.
adoughman@tribune.com or 407-650-6333Copyright © 2011, Orlando Sentinel
Selections from Natural Health News
Natural Health News: Cutting out the insurer
Aug 03, 2011
For those who don't get it or refuse to consider it, thrid party billing is more damaging to health care than tort reform: it is the root problem. By Doug Trapp, amednews staff. Aug. 1, 2011. ...
Patient Rights Under Attack Again
Feb 06, 2011
If you talk to people in the corporate world they say that tort reform is a movement to bring fairness and predictability to a legal system that they consider nothing short of a form of legalized extortion. ... So you believe tort ...
Natural Health News: REAL ISSUES AND TORT REFORM
Jun 18, 2007
If you talk to people in the corporate world they say that tort reform is a movement to bring fairness and predictability to a legal system that they consider nothing short of a form of legalized extortion. ...
Natural Health News: So you believe tort reform is necessary to ...
Sep 26, 2006
Tort reform is always the battle cry of those who want to put profits above health and human need. At no time have I ever received a reply when I asked hospital administrators (I used to be one) and government officials ...
Chubby Children and Fatty Liver Disease
One of my colleagues is a well know nutrition expert in the UK. He addresses many of the same issues I do here in Natural Health News. In a recent newsletter he addresses the issue of childhood obesity but directs the concern to food.
Half a million children have fatty liver disease
New shocking figures from the Government suggest that with 30% of children obese around 500,000 of those aged four to 14 could be suffering from liver disease. Non-alcoholic liver disease is caused by a build-up of fat within liver cells, stopping the organ functioning properly. This can lead to serious health problems with many requiring liver transplants. The problem is expected to escalate with experts predicting that by 2050, 63% of children will be obese. Professor Martin Lombard at the Department of Health warns that fatty liver disease could be a silent killer among this generation of children.
As well as fatty liver disease, childhood obesity is linked to many health concerns including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The biggest factor is indisputably diet. Surveys show that the average Brit is eating only half of their recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day – with many children not even getting that. The worry is what they are eating in their place. Refined carbohydrates (sugary cereals, white bread, fizzy drinks, sweets and processed foods) now make up a large percentage of the diet for many.
The antidote is choosing wholegrain carbs and balancing your intake with protein and plenty of nutrient-rich fruit and vegetables. Swapping a few common foods for healthier options can make a marked difference, for example, fizzy drinks for fruit juice diluted 50/50 with sparkling water, turkey or chicken nuggets for salmon fish fingers, crisps for unsalted raw nuts or seeds.
While I agree that food is a mjor vector in the obesity epidemic, I also believe that the factors of vaccines, and specific vaccines, also play a major role in this public health outrage. I see vaccines as sort of the fuse to the dynamite. Hep B vaccine is also linked to Diabets Type 1 (on the rise) and may be a cause in childhood arthritis (see adverse reactions).
If you look at vaccine ingredients you often find MSG. Who knows why this needs to be in a vaccine but it is notable when you consider that MSG is linked to obesity, and food allergy as well.
Food allergy, or as Dr Hoffer might have said, brain inflammation, is an issue in obesity.
Recombivax is made in yeast, and it is carried in a solution that contains aluminum. We know from good science that aluminum compounds cause brain inflammation.
Side effects of the vaccine include elevated liver enzymes and this may correlate to the shutting down of the liver in fact given this jab very soon after birth. Certainly the question of "experimental" can be and shouldbe considered.
Selections from Natural Health NewsRECOMBIVAX (hepatitis b vaccine (recombinant)) HB and RECOMBIVAX (hepatitis b vaccine (recombinant)) HB Dialysis Formulation are generally well-tolerated. No adverse experiences were reported during clinical trials which could be related to changes in the titers of antibodies to yeast. As with any vaccine, there is the possibility that broad use of the vaccine could reveal adverse reactions not observed in clinical trials.
In three clinical studies, 434 doses of RECOMBIVAX (hepatitis b vaccine (recombinant)) HB, 5 mcg, were administered to 147 healthy infants and children (up to 10 years of age) who were monitored for 5 days after each dose. Injection site reactions and systemic complaints were reported following 0.2% and 10.4% of the injections, respectively. The most frequently reported systemic adverse reactions ( > 1% injections), in decreasing order of frequency, were irritability, fever ( ≥ 101°F oral equivalent), diarrhea, fatigue/weakness, diminished appetite, and rhinitis.10
In a study that compared the three-dose regimen (5 mcg) with the two-dose regimen (10 mcg) of RECOMBIVAX (hepatitis b vaccine (recombinant)) HB in adolescents, the overall frequency of adverse reactions was generally similar.
In a group of studies, 3258 doses of RECOMBIVAX (hepatitis b vaccine (recombinant)) HB, 10 mcg, were administered to 1252 healthy adults who were monitored for 5 days after each dose. Injection site reactions and systemic complaints were reported following 17% and 15% of the injections, respectively. The following adverse reactions were reported:
LOCAL REACTION (INJECTION SITE)
Injection site reactions consisting principally of soreness, and including pain, tenderness, pruritus, erythema, ecchymosis, swelling, warmth, and nodule formation.
BODY AS A WHOLE
The most frequent systemic complaints include fatigue/weakness; headache; fever ( ≥ 100°F); and malaise.
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Nausea; and diarrhea
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Pharyngitis; and upper respiratory infection
BODY AS A WHOLE
Sweating; achiness; sensation of warmth; lightheadedness; chills; and flushing
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Vomiting; abdominal pains/cramps; dyspepsia; and diminished appetite
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Rhinitis; influenza; and cough
NERVOUS SYSTEM
Vertigo/dizziness; and paresthesia
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
Pruritus; rash (non-specified); angioedema; and urticaria
MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM
Arthralgia including monoarticular; myalgia; back pain; neck pain; shoulder pain; and neck stiffness
HEMIC/LYMPHATIC SYSTEM
Lymphadenopathy
PSYCHIATRIC/BEHAVIORAL
Insomnia/disturbed sleep
SPECIAL SENSES
Earache
UROGENITAL SYSTEM
Dysuria
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Hypotension
Marketed Experience
The following additional adverse reactions have been reported with use of the marketed vaccine. In many instances, the relationship to the vaccine was unclear.
Hypersensitivity
Anaphylaxis and symptoms of immediate hypersensitivity reactions including rash, pruritus, urticaria, edema, angioedema, dyspnea, chest discomfort, bronchial spasm, palpitation, or symptoms consistent with a hypotensive episode have been reported within the first few hours after vaccination. An apparent hypersensitivity syndrome (serum-sickness-like) of delayed onset has been reported days to weeks after vaccination, including: arthralgia/arthritis (usually transient), fever, and dermatologic reactions such as urticaria, erythema multiforme, ecchymoses and erythema nodosum (see WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS).Digestive System
Elevation of liver enzymes; constipation
Nervous System
Guillain-Barré Syndrome; multiple sclerosis; exacerbation of multiple sclerosis; myelitis including transverse myelitis; seizure; febrile seizure; peripheral neuropathy including Bell's Palsy; radiculopathy; herpes zoster; migraine; muscle weakness; hypesthesia; encephalitis
Integumentary System
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome; alopecia; petechiae; eczema
Musculoskeletal System
Arthritis
Pain in extremity
Hematologic
Increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate; thrombocytopenia
Immune System
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); lupus-like syndrome; vasculitis; polyarteritis nodosa
Psychiatric/Behavioral
Irritability; agitation; somnolence
Special Senses
Optic neuritis; tinnitus; conjunctivitis; visual disturbances
Cardiovascular System
Syncope; tachycardia.
The following adverse reaction has been reported with another Hepatitis B Vaccine (Recombinant) but not with RECOMBIVAX (hepatitis b vaccine (recombinant)) HB: keratitis.
Patients, parents and guardians should be instructed to report any serious adverse reactions to their healthcare provider, who in turn should report such events to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), 1-800-822-7967.31
Natural Health News: Fructose Worsens Liver Disease
Apr 29, 2010
ScienceDaily (2010-04-27) -- Recent studies suggest that modifiable risk factors such as cigarette smoking and fructose consumption can worsen nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). With NAFLD, fat accumulates in the ...
Promise not to
Jan 02, 2008
It is known to inhibit the synthesis of estradiol and other steroid hormones and can lead to infertility, reproductive problems, thyroid and pancreas and promote fatty liver as well as breast cancer. Soy can also interfere with protein ...Natural Health News: The Dangers of HFCS
Dec 09, 2008
Excess fructose intake has been associated with adverse health effects such as metabolic syndrome, elevated triglyceride levels, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, excess uric acid levels (associated with ...
Alcohol treatment: Risky Rx or Helpful Herbs
Jun 10, 2008
Their weight, cholesterol and blood pressure dropped, and levels of liver enzymes linked to "fatty liver" disease, the forerunner of cirrhosis, also fell away. Lead researcher Professor Bankole Johnson said: "What we've found is that ...
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Insulin pump hack exposes medical device danger
The Diabetes Diary is now available, a compendium of natural health options for people with diabetes, in honor of The Longest Walk 3, reversing diabetes.
A computer threat analyst on Saturday will show a gathering of hackers how easy it is to wirelessly take control of an insulin pumpon which a diabetic's life could hinge.
Jerome "Jay" Radcliffe's demonstration at DefCon in Las Vegas will spotlight a critical need to build software defense into pace makers, insulin pumps and other medical gadgets getting "smarter" with computer chips.
"If you look at the history of hacking medical devices, worms and viruses are running rampant," said 'informatics nurse' and hacker Brad Smith, who specializes in medical software.
The list of medical gadgets vulnerable to being hacked wirelessly includes pace makers, intravenous pumps, and blood pressure cuffs, according to Smith.
Radcliffe was diagnosed with diabetes about 11 years ago, when he was 22, and recently employed his software skills to find out whether an insulin pump trusted to keep his blood sugar levels safe could be hacked.
He found he could remotely toy with dosage levels or turn it off.
"It turns out that with this model there is no security," Radcliffe said. "All you need is a serial number to talk to it."
He said that prices of insulin pumps, which cost in the thousands of dollars, precluded him from expanding his research to determine how widespread the vulnerability is.
Radcliffe didn't disclose his insulin pump model nor did he outline critical details of the hack to allow time for the maker to address the situation and to avoid tempting DefCon attendees known for software mischief.
"We are not talking about $200 dollars on someone's credit card," Radcliffe said in a reference to hacks for profit. "We are talking about somebody's life."
Medical devices built with wireless connectivity can face the kinds of cyber attacks launched on smartphones, tablets, or laptop computers with similar capabilities, according to Smith.
"We have talked about this in the medical community forever," Smith said. "We have swept it under the carpet."
Radcliffe was wearing his insulin pump at DefCon on Friday and urged diabetics not to panic.
"I'm target Number One right here in the middle of all these hackers, and I have my pump on," he told AFP. "I hope that tells people how worried they should be."
He has shared his findings with the pump maker and been approached by a rival company that boasted of building in strong software defenses. SOURCE: AFP
Polysorbate 80 - One toxic ingredient in vaccines
Pleased be informed.
You may request a copy of herbalYODA Says! on Informed Consent with your donation via PayPal.
By Daniel Dunkin
Polysorbate 80 in vaccines has become a controversial topic. When I worked in a food lab and as a mixologist in food production, we used Tween 80, (another name for Polysorbate 80), as an emulsifier to get flavoring oils to mix with water, and personally I never thought anything of it at the time. I did not suffer any ill effects from contact or from using it, however that was over 20 years ago and I never injected it into the skin.
According to the MSDS sheet at Science lab.com, section 11: Toxicological Information, it was tested for inhalation and ingestion and was shown to be slightly hazardous on skin contact, ingestion and inhalation. however these are minor compared to other potential side effects of it's use especially in an intravenous or immunologic setting. In the same section of toxicological information it states that it may cause reproductive effects, it may cause cancer, and may be a mutagenic, (change the genetics), in animals but this is followed up with the statement, no human data found. Well, unless they use people as lab rats, they won't find this data until it is used on humans to an extent to present this data.According to PubMed.Gov a service of the U.S. Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health, a report shows that neonatal rats were injected with small doses of polysorbate 80 and the results were major effects on the reproductive organs of the rats, resulting in infertility. (see the PubMed link below). Considering this is a component of the Gardasil HPV vaccine, (not to mention other vaccines), and they are recommending this to girls at prepubescent ages, there should be some concern to any parent that this could possibly lead to infertility in your child.Another research article at PubMed studied Polysorbate 80 in an intravenous vitamin mix given to a pregnant woman who suffered anaphylactic shock where polysorbate 80 was identified as the causative agent, and yet another study showed two patients who developed hypersensitive reactions to red blood cell growth hormones and subsequent skin testing indicated polysorbate 80 as the culprit. This finding might have implications in the recent increase in the incidence of pure red cell aplasia.Polysorbate 80 in vaccines appears to be innocent when looking at the MSDS, but further digging reveals a possible hidden danger, especially a potential sterility to girls, and amplified because it is in all 3 Gardasil vaccines.
Polysorbate 80 in vaccines: a partial listingAcel-Immune DTaP - diphtheria - tetanus - pertussis / Wyeth-AyerstFluShield / Wyeth-AyerstGardasil - HPV / MerckJE-VAX - Japanese encephalitis / Aventis Pasteur USATheraCys BCG - (intravesicle -not licensed in US for tuberculosis) / Aventis Pasteur USATripedia - diphtheria - tetanus - pertussis / Aventis Pasteur USAResources:pubMed: infertility in rats http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8473002?dopt=AbstractPubMed: Anaphalactic reactions http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16400901?dopt=CitationPubMed: Red Blood Cell Aplasia http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15958049?dopt=AbstractInformed Choice: http://www.informedchoice.info/cocktail.htmlGardasil leaflet with Ingredients and Side Effects http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/g/gardasil/gardasil_ppi.pdf
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to give medical advice. It is a call to educate yourself so that in making a decision where your child is concerned, you should take an active role in learning all you can from medical experts on both sides of the fence, then make an educated decision. we did not make an informed decision until one son got Leukemia and another developed Autism immediately after receiving his MMR vaccine. This has sent us on a quest to inform ourselves and others to seriously question what kind of toxic soups are being injected with the vaccines. Odds are if your child is injured by a vaccine, you have little or no recompense against the industry.
Vaccine Ingredients from Natural Health News
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