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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Molds and Mycotoxins: A Brief Review |
| Andrew W. Campbell, MD |
| In the second book of the Bible, in Chapter 14 of Leviticus, Moses describes what needs to be done to a dwelling in which there is an eruptive plague on the wall. It is a wise and correct protocol for the remediation for mold growing indoors that still holds true in our modern times. It also shows that the issue of molds causing disease is as old as the Bible itself.
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Nicholas Gonzalez, MD |
| Andrew W. Campbell, MD |
| Just over a year ago, we learned of the sad news that one of medicine’s most distinguished practitioners had unexpectedly passed away. Nicholas Gonzalez, MD, approached medicine with the inquisitiveness and determination he developed as an award-winning investigative journalist in his first career. Once exposed to the trophoblast theory of cancer and the efficacy of a nutritional approach pioneered by William Donald Kelley, DDS, he switched professions and dedicated his professional life to refining and expanding knowledge of this promising and effective treatment protocol. He did so with brilliance and compassion.
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Dr Gonzalez as a Practice Colleague: A Memoir |
| Linda L. Isaacs, MD |
| As I was finishing my internal medicine training in 1991, the other residents in my year were discussing their future plans for fellowships in various subspecialties. But there was no doubt in my mind about my next step: I was going to work with Nick Gonzalez in his nutritional practice.
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Dr Gonzalez as a Colleague: A Memoir |
| Julian Hyman, MD |
| In the late 1980s, I was contemplating my retirement from my medical practice when I received a call from Dr Jonah Goldstone, who served with me in the Department of Oncology at Roosevelt Hospital. He knew about my plans and asked whether I would like to take over on an interesting problem that he believed would be a good match for me. |
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Reporting on Dr Gonzalez for a Quarter Century: A Memoir |
| Peter Barry Chowka |
| Nicholas J. Gonzalez, MD (“Nick” to his friends) was, in this author’s opinion, the most impressive and accomplished clinical practitioner of nutritional cancer therapy during the past 2 decades. In the early 1970s, I began covering the nascent field of alternative medicine. It was my privilege to meet, and to report on, many of the most notable innovative medical pioneers— including Linus Pauling, PhD; Mildred Nelson, RN; Dean Burk, PhD; and William Donald Kelley, DDS, who was destined to become Nick’s mentor in nutritional therapies. After Nick began practicing medicine, he unquestionably became the peer of the best of these early pioneering clinicians and researchers.
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Dr Gonzalez as a Colleague: A Memoir |
| Colin A Ross, MD |
| Several years ago, a friend of mine suggested that I read The Trophoblast and the Origins of Cancer.1 He handed me his copy, and I opened it to the introduction. I was struck immediately by how much sense the trophoblast model of cancer makes: Here was a highly specified model of cancer formation rooted in research and with remarkable patient outcomes. I then recalled that I had read about
Dr Gonzalez in Suzanne Somers’s book, Knockout.2
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| A Case of Insulin-dependent Diabetes |
| Nicholas J. Gonzalez, MD |
| Background • There is a paucity of information on alternative, nutrition-based treatments for insulin-dependent diabetes.
Primary Study Objective • This case report provides detailed information on the nutrition-based treatment of a man with insulin-dependent diabetes.
Methods/Design • This is a single case report taken from the author’s private practice.
Setting • The treatment was provided at a private office in New York, NY, USA.
Participants • A single patient in the author’s practice is reported.
Intervention • The patient was treated with a combination of pancreatic enzymes, supplements and nutrients, and cleansing and detoxification procedures, plus amber lenses for severe insomnia.
Primary Outcome Measures • The outcome measures were patient self-report of symptoms, overall well-being, and function at work and in leisure time; observation of the patient by the physician; and blood work.
Results • The patient described dramatic, sustained improvement in terms of symptoms, function, well-being, and life satisfaction. Improvement in blood sugar control was documented by blood work.
Conclusion • The complex, tailored nutritional protocol combined with detoxification procedures, resulted in marked improvement in a patient who had been treated by numerous different physicians without benefit prior to his consulting with the author. |
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Edwin Lee, MD: Treating the Cause and Teaching the Young |
| Craig Gustafson; Edwin Lee, MD, FACE |
| Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine (ATHM): How early in life do you remember being interested in medicine, and were there any events or people who influenced that?
Dr Lee: Well, I was not really a great student and my father doubted if I would even graduate high school. I remember when I was young, he would show me the Parade magazine and there were pictures of all these different occupations with their salaries. I remember he said, “Well, I think this is what you’ll be.” It was a picture of a clown. I was always the clown in class, never really focused well in elementary school.
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Profiling the Australian Consumer of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Secondary Analysis of National Health Survey Data |
| Matthew J Leach, RN, ND, PhD |
| Background • Consumers’ interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has escalated in the past few decades. Some observers argue that the changing needs and expectations of consumers are driving the surge. Although some studies support that notion, much of the research has been limited methodologically. Profiling can provide important insights into the distinct needs of CAM consumers.
Objective • The study intended to profile consumers of CAM in Australia.
Design • The study was a secondary analysis of 5 Australian National Health Surveys conducted between 1989 and 2008.
Outcome Measures • The study measured the differences between CAM users and nonusers in terms of: (1) predisposing factors (ie, the prevailing conditions that predispose an individual to use a health service, such as age); (2) enabling factors (ie, circumstances that facilitate or hinder health service use, such as income); (3) need factors (ie, an actual or perceived need for health services, such as poor health); and (4) personal health practices
(ie, behaviors that influence health status, such as alcohol consumption).
Results • The 5 surveys provided data for 181 549 Australian adults and children. Predisposing factors associated with CAM use were (1) being aged >40 y, (2) being female, (3) being married, and (4) holding a postsecondary school qualification. Significant enablers of CAM use were (1) high income, (2) private health insurance, and (3) employment. As for personal health practices, CAM users had significantly higher odds of
(1) being physically active, (2) being a nonsmoker, and (3) meeting national recommendations for intake of fruits and vegetables. The prevalence of chronic disease and the use of pharmaceutical agents and health services were comparatively high among CAM users.
Conclusions • CAM consumers reported relatively healthier lifestyles compared with nonusers, although some data indicated that CAM users might have greater health care needs. The use of CAM in this high-need population suggests that the present health care system may be inadequate in addressing the needs of these consumers and that CAM may play an important role in servicing these unmet demands. |
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Improvement of QOL and Immunological Function With Lentinula Edodes Mycelia in Patients Undergoing Cancer Immunotherapy: An Open Pilot Study |
| Yusuke Itoh, BS; Yasunobu Kobayashi, PhD; Keishi Tanigawa, MD, PhD |
| Context • Combined treatment with an extract of Lentinula edodes mycelia (LEM) and chemotherapy has been reported to improve quality of life (QOL) and immunological function in cancer patients. However, those effects have not been elucidated for patients receiving cancer immunotherapy.
Objective • The present study intended to investigate the effects of oral LEM on QOL and immunological function in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy.
Design • The research team designed an open-label, single-armed pilot study.
Setting • The study took place at Bio-Thera Clinic, a facility associated with Tokyo Women’s Medical University in Tokyo, Japan.
Participants • The participants were 10 cancer patients undergoing cancer immunotherapy at Bio-Thera Clinic.
Intervention • The participants received either dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer vaccine therapy or CD3-activated T-lymphocyte (CAT) therapy as immunotherapy. They received the immunotherapy only for the first 4 wk of the study, and then oral LEM (1800 mg/d) was added for the next 4 wk.
Outcome Measures • Preintervention and at 4 and 8 wk after the start of the study, participants completed a QOL survey, and immunological parameters were measured.
Results • Participants’ QOL symptom scores increased (ie, worsened) by 5.1 ± 1.7 during the first 4 wk of treatment when they were receiving immunotherapy only, but it decreased (ie, improved) by -2.5 ± 1.6 during the next 4 wk when the immunotherapy was combined with the LEM, P < .05. The measurement of the immunological parameters during the 4 wk of immunotherapy combined with LEM showed that the amount of interferon-? (IFN-?) produced in the peripheral blood tended to increase as compared with that during the first 4 wk of immunotherapy only. The rise in IFN-? was correlated with changes in several regulatory T cells (Tregs) (ie, forkhead box P3 [FOXP3]+/cluster of differentiation 4 [CD4]+ and transforming growth factor beta [TGF-ß]).
Conclusions • The findings suggest that a combined treatment of LEM and immunotherapy might improve QOL and immunological function in cancer patients. |
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| The Effects of Ozonated Olive Oil and Clotrimazole Cream for Treatment of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis |
| Farideh Akhlaghi, MD; Hoda Azizi, MD, PhD; Fariba Berenji, MD, PhD; Omid Rajabi, PharmD, PhD; Mohamad-Taghi Shakeri, PhD; Fatemeh Tara, MD; Ziba Zand-Kargar, MD |
| Context • Vulvovaginal candidiasis is the most common infection of the vulvovagina, which manifests with itching, a burning sensation, and leucorrhea. Some infections have been reported to be tolerant to conventional treatments, especially in immunosuppressed patients. New studies have suggested that ozone, which is the allotropic form of oxygen, may have antifungal effects.
Objective • The study intended to compare the effects of ozononated olive oil and clotrimazole in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis.
Design • Patients were randomly assigned either to an ozone group or to a clotrimazole group in a randomized, controlled trial.
Setting • The study took place in the Department of Gynecology of the School of Medicine at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Mashhad, Iran.
Participants • Participants were 100 female patients who had been referred to the women’s gynecology clinic at the Omolbanin and Ghaem Hospitals and who had confirmed vulvovaginal candidiasis.
Intervention • Patients in the ozone group were treated with ozonated olive oil or those in the clotrimazole group were treated with clotrimazole for 7 d.
Outcome Measures • Patients were evaluated through an interview and a paraclinical examination at baseline and postintervention. The study measured changes in itching, burning, and leucorrhea using a questionnaire that patients completed at the end of the study and determined the presence of an infection with vaginal candidiasis through a culture both before acceptance into the study and after the treatments, if accepted.
Results • Ozone and clotrimazole both reduced symptoms significantly and led to a negative culture for vaginal candidiasis (P < .05). No significant differences existed between the 2 groups in their effects on the symptom of itching and leucorrhea and on the results of the culture (P > .05). However, clotrimazole decreased the burning sensation significantly more than did ozone (P < .05).
Conclusions • Considering the potential efficacy of ozonated olive oil in the improvement of the clinical and paraclinical aspects of treatment of patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis, the research team suggests that the treatment can be an effective topical treatment for those patients. |
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Effects of Balsamodendron mukul Gum Resin Extract on Articular Cartilage in Papain-induced Osteoarthritis |
| Maneesh Gupta, PhD; Jayanand Manjhi, PhD; Durg V Rai, PhD; Beena Rawat, MPhil; Anvesha Sinha, PhD |
| Context • Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases of the musculoskeleton, causing functional disability among older adults. Management of OA includes conventional pharmacological treatments consisting primarily of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acetaminophen, physiotherapy, and surgical procedures. The medications are not ideal therapeutic agents; NSAIDs in particular can cause serious side effects.
Objective • The study was conducted to investigate the effects of Balsamodendron mukul (BDM) gum resin extract on cartilage damage and microstructural changes in the subchondral bone of rats with papain-induced, osteoarthritic knee joints.
Design • The authors designed a parallel randomized, controlled study to examine the effects of 3 concentrations of BDM on OA in a murine model.
Setting • The present study was undertaken at the research laboratory, Faculty of Biological Engineering, Shobhit University (Modipuram, Meerut, India).
Intervention • OA was induced by intra-articular injections of 0.2 mL of 4% papain solution and 0.1 mL of 0.03 M cysteine through the patellar ligament using a 26-gauge, 1.27-cm needle. The rats in the sham group received same volume of isotonic sodium chloride solution. The rats were divided into 6 groups : (1) control group—fresh rats, with ages and genders similar to those of the other groups but with no induction of OA and no treatments; (2) sham group—rats receiving a sham induction of OA using an intra-articular injection of saline of the same volume as the papain given to all OA rats but no treatments; (3) OA group—rats induced with OA but receiving no treatments; (4) OA + BDM (10%) group—rats induced with OA that received a 10% dose of BDM; (5) OA + BDM (20%) group—rats induced with OA that received a 20% dose of BDM; and (6) OA + BDM (40%) group—rats induced with OA that received a 40% dose of BDM. Rats in the treatment groups were fed their respective doses of BDM extract for 30 d.
Outcome Measures • The articular cartilages from the knee joints and epiphyseal bones of the femur and tibia were extracted from the right- and left-side limbs to perform the biochemical, microarchitectural, and histological analyses.
Results • The total protein and collagen content of the articular cartilage of the knees were significantly higher in all treated groups when compared with the OA group of rats. The histological analysis revealed a thicker cartilage and a higher trabecular density of the subchondral bone (epiphyseal bone) in BDM-treated rats.
Conclusions • The oral dose of BDM gum resin extract was shown to relieve OA pain, regenerate the cartilaginous matrix, and increase the subchondral bone components. On the basis of the findings, the research team suggests that the BDM gum resin extract may be used for therapeutic interventions for reversal of OA and reduction in its related inflammatory pain. |
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July, 2016 - VOL. 20, NO. 4 | |
July, 2016 |
| Smartphone-based Music Listening to Reduce Pain and Anxiety Before Coronarography: A Focus on Sex Differences |
| Luc Brun, MD; Jean-Michel Clerc, MD; Maelle Deniaud; Stephane Guetin, PhD; Julian Koenig, DrScHum; Julian F Thayer, PhD |
| Background • Music Care is a smartphone-based application providing a musical intervention for the management of pain and anxiety in a clinical setting. Coronarography is a medical procedure frequently associated with examination anxiety.
Objectives • The study intended to perform an initial evaluation of the application for use with patients undergoing a coronarography.
Design • The research team performed an uncontrolled, observational study.
Setting • The study took place at Nouméa General Hospital in Nouméa, New Caledonia, France.
Participants • Participants were 35 patients, 17 women and 18 men, who were undergoing a coronarography between November 2010 and April 2011 at the Nouméa General Hospital.
Intervention • Participants listened to a standardized musical sequence of adjustable length by choosing a preferred style of music (eg, classic rock or folk music) from a variety of choices that the research team had chosen to include in the application.
Outcome Measures • Before and after listening to the music, all participants were asked to rate their anxiety and pain on an 11-item, visual analogue scale and to complete a questionnaire on their satisfaction with use of the application.
Results • The paired sample t test revealed a significant reduction in participants’ anxiety (t33 = 4.12, P < .0001) after they had listened to the music. No significant reduction in self-reported pain occurred; however, only a few participants reported pain associated with the procedure. No significant sex differences existed. Women and men both showed reduced anxiety after listening to music as well as reported a high level of satisfaction in using the Music Care application.
Conclusions • The smartphone-based Music Care application is an easy-to-use tool to reduce anxiety in patients undergoing coronarography. Future large-scale, controlled trials are necessary to compare its effectiveness with other interventions. Both women and men can benefit from the use of the application. |
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