A Possible Antidote for Radiation Exposure from CT Scans?

With traces of radioactive material from Fukushima appearing in rainwater as far away as Boston, concerns about radiation exposure are at an all-time high. But even if you're not anxious about contamination from Japan, you may be wondering about the health risks associated with everyday sources of radiation — from the sun to airport scanners and routine medical procedures like mammograms and CT scans.

But if scientists from University of Toronto are right, you may not have to worry as much about the damage from X-rays in coming years. Reporting at the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology, Dr. Kieran Murphy, a radiologist at the university, said that a cocktail of antioxidants he and his team have developed could cut the damage done to DNA by radiation from CT scans by as much as 50%, if taken before the scan.

Sunlight Can Influence the Breakdown of Medicines in the Body

ScienceDaily (Mar. 11, 2011) — A study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet has shown that the body's ability to break down medicines may be closely related to exposure to sunlight, and thus may vary with the seasons. The findings offer a completely new model to explain individual differences in the effects of drugs, and how the surroundings can influence the body's ability to deal with toxins.

Vaccines and autism: a new scientific review

For all those who've declared the autism-vaccine debate over - a new scientific review begs to differ. It considers a host of peer-reviewed, published theories that show possible connections between vaccines and autism.

The article in the Journal of Immunotoxicology is entitled "Theoretical aspects of autism: Causes--A review." The author is Helen Ratajczak, surprisingly herself a former senior scientist at a pharmaceutical firm. Ratajczak did what nobody else apparently has bothered to do: she reviewed the body of published science since autism was first described in 1943. Not just one theory suggested by research such as the role of MMR shots, or the mercury preservative thimerosal; but all of them.

Ratajczak's article states, in part, that "Documented causes of autism include genetic mutations and/or deletions, viral infections, and encephalitis [brain damage] following vaccination [emphasis added]. Therefore, autism is the result of genetic defects and/or inflammation of the brain."

How Western Diets Are Making The World Sick

March 24, 2011

In an essay published last November in Canada's Maisonneuve journal, physician Kevin Patterson described his experiences working as an internist-intensivist at the Canadian Combat Surgical Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

One detail he noticed: The Afghan soldiers, police and civilians he treated in Kandahar had radically different bodies from those of the Canadians he took care of back home.

"Typical Afghan civilians and soldiers would have been 140 pounds or so as adults. And when we operated on them, what we were aware of was the absence of any fat or any adipose tissue underneath the skin," Patterson says. "Of course, when we operated on Canadians or Americans or Europeans, what was normal was to have most of the organs encased in fat. It had a visceral potency to it when you could see it directly there."

The Hidden Diabetes Link No One is Telling You About...

Coronary heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States, killing one in five adults, and doctors are very quick to prescribe statins. In fact, statin drug sales rank in the billions each year globally.

These drugs are so pervasive that they are no longer just indicated for hypercholesterolemia, they are also being prescribed for elevations in C reactive protein, and are promoted for kids as young as eight years old.

Heart disease is so pervasive that some have boldly suggested that we should put statins in our water supply as some kind of protection.

This is very disturbing.

Do You Really Need a Statin Drug?

By far, statin drugs are the most popular cholesterol-lowering drugs available today. They work in your liver by preventing your body from making cholesterol. The drugs block an enzyme called HMG-CoA Reductase. This can be helpful, but only if you are one of those people who happen to produce too much cholesterol.

Is Trading "Deformity for Dysfunction" a Good Deal?

Many people choose surgery because they just want their worries about scoliosis to be over. However, scoliosis surgery is not the final solution; merely an irreversible one. Scoliosis can continue to get worse even after spinal fusion, and over 20% of patients require more than one operation.15,16 Furthermore, 40% of patients are legally disabled 16 years after the procedure.17

Long-term evidence suggests that living with a fused spine may be worse than living with a curved one. 38% of patients stated that, if they had the chance to go back in time, they would not have undergone the surgery.18 76% of patients suffer from back pain after 10 years.16 After 15 years, patients report increased difficulty sitting, standing, carrying, bending at the waist, participating in sports, lying on their backs or sides, lifting, performing household chores, and driving a car.20 In every patient who undergoes spinal fusion surgery, there is a permanent loss of spinal flexibility & function.21

The documented risks of scoliosis surgery are bone fragments or instrumentation penetrating into the spinal canal; breakage of the implants; and, compression of the spinal nerves.22 This can lead to neurological deficits such as partial or total paraplegia, quadriplegia, or peripheral nerve damage - which may occur immediately after the operation, or as much as 10 years later.23

Scoliosis Surgery - Medically Necessary or High Invasive Cosmetic Procedure?

The common approach and reasoning behind prescribing scoliosis surgery is questionable at best. The current system relies on a single measurement called a Cobb angle in order to justify a highly invasive, life altering scoliosis surgery that cost upwards of $250,000-$350,000. In a time where even the most basic of health care services are on the verge of being rationed.

The reasoning and justification for scoliosis surgery is often based on the "assumption" that if scoliosis surgery isn't performed the patient could have (not necessarily will have) problems with their pulmonary system (ability to breathe). This is a flawed logic, because it is known that life-threatening pulmonary scoliosis is extremely rare (in the absence of co-morbitities) if the severe curvature developed after the age of 5 years old (severe scoliosis could cause a heart/lung condition called Cor Pulmonale if the lung volume is compromised prior to full development which is complete by the age 5 in virtually all children). In fact, every single study on scoliosis surgery clearly shows the procedure does NOT improve lung function and can even significantly decrease lung function for up to 2 years post scoliosis surgery.

Phys Ed: More Bone (and Less Fat) Through Exercise

For those requiring additional reasons to show up at the running path or at the gym in the dreary heart of winter, science has come up with a compelling new motivation. Exercise can, it appears, keep your bone marrow from becoming too flabby.

This idea is the focus of a series of intriguing recent experiments by Janet Rubin, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina and other researchers. For the work, scientists removed bone marrow cells from mice and cultured them. The cells in question, mesenchymal stem cells, are found in bone marrow in both animals and people, waiting for certain molecular signals to tell them to transform into either bone cells, fat cells or, less commonly, something else.

Release of fully revised and updated version of Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment Book

Second Edition, releasing March 28, 2011, offers promise of straighter spine and improved overall health

The award-winning Dr. Kevin Lau, D.C., announces the release of his new and improved version of Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment: Health In Your Hands on March 27, 2011. The new book expands upon Dr. Lau’s unique school of posture and healing introduced in his comprehensive first edition.

“Modern medicine, alone, has failed to effectively manage the condition of Scoliosis,” said Dr. Lau. “The treatment program I designed combines ancient wisdom with modern research and technology, culminating in the best overall results. Today, as a practicing chiropractor and nutritionist, I am more certain than ever that scoliosis, and other disorders, can be completely cured and treated effectively.”

Release of fully revised and updated version of Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment Book