PESTICIDE CONTAMINANT IN TYLENOL RECALL pg2

PESTICIDE CONTAMINANT IN 
TYLENOL RECALL pg2

KNOWN BACTERIA

Raw materials had  known contamination of bacteria  and were still used to manufacture several finished lots of children’s drug products. The bacteria could not be identified, but the finished products were tested free of contamination.

 DUST AND DIRTY AREAS

Some pieces of equipment were covered with thick layers of  Thedust and others were held together with duct tape.

SPECKS OF MACHINERY METAL

 Numerous customer complaints about dark specks in the formula which were tiny bits of metal from some machinery.

TOO POTENT INGREDIENTS

 Components of this medicine were not adequately tested.

Company changed the process of one of its infant Tylenol products and failed to check if procedures were working right

Some had 25% more active ingredient than  prescribed but the FDA said chances of harm were remote. The company did not have laboratory facilities to test drug ingredients.

Other recalls from this plant in December of Tylenol arthritis medicine made at Puerto Rico lab

Complaints  since September 2009about moldy smell in medicine and stomach upsets after taking it

Lack of public trust/FDA and Congress to continue investigation/round-the-clock inspectors will be at the facilities that must be paid for by the company

 The lawmaker is well now scrutinize the performance of both the drugmaker and also federal regulators. This recall affects 70% of the market for over-the-counter pediatric liquid medicines. Questions arise whether FDA inspections and recall procedures are sufficient and whether the drug company has controls put in place.

 The company failed to attract consumer complaints and spot trends that could signal a systematic problems. They lacked written procedures, and fail to adequately train employees.

 Another company, Perrigo of Allegan Michigan,  that makes the equivalent of these child medicines for pharmacy chains of CBS and Walgreens also received warning letter from the FDA about manufacturing violations including ibuprofen tablets contaminated with metal shavings. 

J&J, which is based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has long enjoyed a sterling corporate image, even ranking first place last year in a poll of company reputations.

A full list of the products can be found on the company’s Web site mcneilproductrecall.com.

That positive image The company's response to a cyanide tampering scare in Chicago that killed seven people in 1982 is considered a textbook example of how to deal with a brand crisis.

J&J had its sales force remove 264,000 Tylenol bottles from Chicago area storesis due in part to J&J's handling of past product recalls.

The company is the largest maker of store brand over-the-counter drugs. There are some similarities in the problems at both companies. Both companies, according to the FDA, have quality control issues

 COMMENTARY

 What will the FDA do about free-market quality control to detect these issues?  The quality control issue is a big problem.

 Are the processes and employee training in the manufacturing and quality and our organizational changes made in management along with quality control investigations.

 These products have been trusted and there is a question by the public of quality control lapses that may be a pattern. Consumers will need to now find generic alternatives.

 After being concerned about drugs manufactured in China and abroad elsewhere, it is shocking to find that we also lack  quality controls.

 The FDA has received hundreds of complaints, but fortunately no children have been harmed. The big harm is that the company has not lived up to its reputation. The big problem for the company is that when the government takes something  Stock investors will also take it seriously.

 Here again, this episode gives the FDA a boost to control drug makers. They may be  able to expand their ability to order drug recalls, which now requires a lengthy legal process and court orders if the drugmaker refuses to voluntarily issue a recall.   The J &J  a company  over 121 years old,also may be charged with civil or criminal charges.

 The company has recently hired six new top officials to oversee quality and plant operations.

 Are our federal regulators responding adequately?

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ARSENIC IN CHINESE RICE

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FDA  FIGHTS  FOOD  INDUSTRY  HEALTH  LABELING

MEDICAL DEVICE SAFETY QUESTIONED

CONTINUE  BACK 1

Visit www.drneedles.com for more information on controversial medical subjects. Your comments are always appreciated.

As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical list of all my blogs Visit http://www.americanacupuncture.com/ for more detailed information on mind, body, and spirit healing.

THE MURKY SIDE OF STATINS page2

THE MURKY SIDE OF STATINS page2

POSITION  0F THE AHA

The American Heart Association (AHA) issued a commentary reminding "patients that controlling cholesterol is critical for preventing coronary heart disease and reducing heart attack.  People who experience myoapathy with statins should seek other alternatives.”

 THE PLAYERS BEHIND THE SCENE

 A clinical trial on which the FDA approved the drug, only looked at people who had low cholesterol and a positive test, called C. reactive protein (CRP).

The inventor of the test, Dr. Ridker  from Harvard, persuaded the drug company to pay for this study He tried to get the National Institutes of Health and two  other companies (Pfizer and Bayer) to do the study, but was turned down. He chose the candidates for the study, led the study, and wrote the conclusions of the study.

 The company making Crestor, AstraZeneca,  made four and one half billion dollars on this drug last year. There will be no generics for this product, and the drug  is protected for many years. Compared to taking generic statins  for a few pennies, the drug  sells for $3.50 a day.

Incidentally, Dr. Ridker,  receives royalties from his CRP  test and everyone taking this statin  will require his test on a regular basis. 

 COMMENTARY

Many patients complain of muscle aches and pains, weakness, memory problems, cognitive difficulties, and transient global amnesia from taking statins.

 Doctors regularly will check  your liver and at times it will have high enzymes.  They will tell you even though your liver tests are off, the benefits of lowering your bad cholesterol and reducing your risk of heart disease offset the thought of quitting the drug.

Over the past 10 years, there is a steady expansion of people who are statin candidates.   Various advisory panels have recommended these new cholesterol guidelines.  Many are  paid consultants for the drug industry. Many experts also receive research and honorary grants, consulting work, speakers’ fees, and serve on safety and monitoring boards of drug companies. These financial benefits play a role in many of their analyses.

The health benefits of statins in the very healthy are very misleading. They have very little risk factors to begin with. To claim that taking this drug will lower their risk of a heart attack by  40% is hard to accept.  This statistic is clinically not significant.

 Five hundred  people would have to take this statin for a year to avoid one usually survivable heart attack,  and many would experience  the higher risk of side effects with this drug. 

 500 people taking this drug at $3.50 a pill, will cost  $650,000 to prevent one heart attack each year.   This  does not include the regular costs for Dr.Rikers CPA  test.   Apparently the drug company. Dr Riker,  and the FDA believe it is worth it.   Others like myself disagree.

The big point is with any treatments,  benefits should outweigh the risks.  Statins in the healthy will turn a lot of healthy people like you, into patients, and commit you to a lifetime of medication.

 RELATED POSTS

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IS CHOLESTEROL FOR EVERYONE

IS LOWERINGCHOLESTEROL ALWAYS GOOD?

 CORONARY PLAQUES

OVER TREATING HEART PROBLEMS

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS

VALUE OF CLINICAL TRIALS

 FEWER HEART ATTACKS WITH CRESTOR

 IS CRESTOR FOR EVERYONE?

 BACK   1

Your comments are always appreciated. Visit www.drneedles.com for more comments on controversial medical subjects.

THE MURKY SIDE OF STATINS page1

THE MURKY SIDE OF STATINS  pg1

 Under the current cholesterol-based guidelines, 80 million people should be taking statins.   50% of them are. You may be one of them.

There is mounting concern that statins may not be safe as a preventive medicine as previously believed.  The benefits may not outweigh any side effects for a healthy person to take statins. There is great skepticism about healthy people taking a long-term stain.

THE NEW STATIN

When doctors look for new statin  candidates, they measure the degree of inflammation in the body rather than look for bad cholesterol.   Yet there is no good medical evidence that inflammation is a direct cause of heart problems.

 There is a push now for a newly approved statin, Crestor,  to market a new advertising campaign for healthy people to take this product. The food and drug administration recently approved the drug for use in normal healthy people. This will add another 6 ½ million people who have no cholesterol problems and no signs of heart disease to be candidates for statins.

 The drug will be peddled  to men over 50 and women over 60.  All you must show is one factor like smoking, any rise in blood pressure, in addition to a blood test called CPA, showing some elevated inflammation in your body.

 Despite this, the FDA approved a new use for statins in normal people because of a recent medical  clinical trial with Crestor.    It  showed a very small reduction in strokes, heart attacks and other heart problems in people who took this drug.

 Now the deputy director of the FDA, Dr. Colman, said that this was not a mandate for doctors and patients but an option. Crestor statin was  approved in December by a 12 to 4 vote.  Dissenters questioned the value of the CPA test that measures elevated levels of body inflammation.

DIABETES RISKS

There  exists a risk of taking statins and the development of diabetes. Lancet, a British medical journal, reported concerns showing  that statins increase a healthy person’s risk of developing type II diabetes by 9%.  ( Lancet. 2010;375:735-742. Epub 2010 Feb 16)

Although most statin trials to date had not found a relationship between statin use and diabetes incidence, the recent JUPITER (Crestor 20mg Versus Placebo in Prevention of Cardiovascular (CV) Events)[1] trial that reported an increased risk for diabetes in patients assigned to the rosuvastatin arm seconded concerns raised several years ago when the PROSPER (PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk)[2] trial reported similar findings with pravastatin. However, most trials had not looked at diabetes as a secondary outcome

It is possible that patients who developed diabetes were more dysglycemic, and that statins gave them a small "nudge" converting them to diabetes.

WOMEN AND STATINS

Time magazine article March 23, 2010 Catherine Elton

examined the relative risks and benefits of statins for women. 

Millions of healthy American women are taking statins, which have never been shown to reduce MI or lengthen life and have an untold number of side effects, worse in women than men."

 The article questions whether lipid lowering medications have value in women and do statins work equally for men and women?.

 Women certainly have a lower risk of coronary heart disease than men at any age and over entire lifetime. Because of this they may not reach risk thresholds that indicate need for the drug. Yet heart disease is the leading killer of women and status are believed to be effective and safe.

Women have a lower absolute risk of ischemic events than men.   Women also have fewer hospitalizations for unstable angina and revascularization.  One must weigh the risks and benefits as well as the relative costs. Muscle damage is also a bit more common in women.

 Yet women are more likely than men to suffer severe side effects from statins and other drugs. Women also tend to be older when they are prescribed  statins, are more likely to develop diabetes than men, and It is possible that hormonal fluctuations and lower body weights play a role. 

CONTINUE 1  2 NEXT

As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical list of all my blogs Visit http://www.americanacupuncture.com/ for more detailed information on mind, body, and spirit healing.

LACK OF SLEEP DESTROYS GOOD HEALTH part 2

LACK OF SLEEP DESTROYS GOOD HEALTH part 2

DANGER SIGNALS OF DROWSINESS

 We all become drowsy before we fall asleep. Your eyes may start feeling heavy and strain, they keep closing, and lose focus.  You start yawning, and have trouble keeping your head up.

 If your car keeps jerking back in and out of your lane and hits off to the shoulder, you must stop at a safe place and take your 20-minute power nap. After the nap, get some coffee or a Coke, and go for a brisk walk in the rest area.

 If you are sleep deprived, you become drowsy during the day, moody, and have a difficult time coping under stress and anxiety.  You lack interest in socializing with others, feel lethargic and are un-productive, start putting on weight, and have a reduced immunity to disease.

Often between the hours of two and 4 PM, you find it difficult to concentrate, remember, analyze new information, make decision-making skills, and have reduced motor skills and perceptual skills, and lack creativity.

 TAKING NAPS

 The entire world takes naps between 1 and 4 PM, and most accidents occur between 2 and 4 PM.  Naps are certainly healthy, if you are sleep deprived.   A brief nap is as legitimate as a coffee break, and can make you more alert, productive, and less prone to accidents.  Lie down with your eyes closed and meditate.  This can be very beneficial to restore energy.

The best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you wake up.  You should only nap for 15 to 30 minutes.  If you sleep longer than that, the nap puts your body into a deep sleep, which is difficult to wake from.  You will find yourself groggy, difficult to wake up, and not fully alert until at least an hour after you wake up from a prolonged nap. It is unhealthy to nap late in the afternoon.

Our sleep patterns are biphasic, with a drop in your alertness and body temperature at night; there is a similar but very small drop in the middle of the afternoon. This occurs about 12 hours after the middle of your night’s sleep.

 SHIFT WORKERS

 Over 25% of Americans now are shift workers, and find it difficult to coordinate their free time. You may find it hard to fulfill your sexual role with your spouse, and you leave evening social events early to get to work on time, you find yourself needing more sick days, and are prone to heart attacks, and mood disorders.   Staying up late at night, results in decreased activity of your natural killer cells that fight viral infections. It’s wise to take a nap two hours before your shift, to help you make up for sleep loss. Avoid coffee the last half-hour of your ship so you can fall asleep when you get home. Wear dark sunglasses as you drive home, so your biological clock will not be reset, delaying your sleep cycle.




 QUALITY OF SLEEP IS BETTER THAN QUANTITY

 The quality of your sleep is more important than the quantity of your sleep.   Many sleep disturbances; result in the release of histamines and inflammatory cytokines.   These are released whenever infections and allergic reactions are present. Calcium deposits in your coronaries become more likely with poor sleep quality. 

When you sleep well, your immune system is bolstered.  While sleeping, if you are awake 8% or more of the time you are in bed, you are five times more likely to develop a cold then if you lay awake less than 2% of the time.

COMMENTARY

 Over the last few decades, we Americans have been sleeping less and less, and are getting fatter.   Everyone needs at least eight hours sleep.  If you sleep less than five hours, you have a high chance of having a heart attack.   Skimping on sleep, results in hardening of your arteries. If you snore when you sleep, you also have an increased chance of high blood pressure and heart attacks.

 Restful sleep gives long-range benefits, heals weary bones, makes you healthy and wise, and is better than any facelift. Sleeping cost you nothing, and comes without side effects. Perhaps tonight would be a good time to go to bed earlier!

                                         BACK   1

Your comments are always appreciated. 

Visit www.drneedle.com for more discussion of controversial medical subjects.

LACK OF SLEEP DESTROYS GOOD HEALTH part1

LACK OF SLEEP DESTROYS GOOD HEALTH part1

Are you like over half of Americans and have trouble getting enough sleep or falling asleep? We are becoming a nation of wandering zombies. It is estimated that over 100 million Americans have sleep disorders. Our changing lifestyles, our increased work hours, financial pressures, and our stressed-out senior citizens causes this.

 It costs our health care system currently $16 billion in treatment for current sleep disorders. 3 million people suffer from sleep apnea, and 95% of these are untreated and undiagnosed.

THE DYNAMICS OF SLEEPING

 As you sleep, changes occur in your brain waves and your muscular activity, body temperature, respiration, heart rate, and hormonal secretions.  The sleeping brain is often more active than the awake brain, and must regulate immune functions and re-energize your body, and reorganize and eventually retrieve information that is already in your brain.

The sleeping brain has low frequency and high amplitude brain waves. As you awake, your beta waves increase. Once you are ready for sleep and shut your eyes, your brain waves become slow, and frequently higher in voltage and more regular. Your breathing slows, your heart rate drops, and your breathing becomes shallow and irregular.

 It takes you about 10 to 20 minutes when you start falling asleep to become insensitive to outside stimulation, and the blood supply to your muscles also increases. 

After 30 minutes, your brain produces delta brain waves and you are in stage III sleep. Once you get the deep sleep, stage IV, muscle relaxation is complete and your blood pressure drops. It is difficult for you to be aroused from this delta wave sleep.

REM SLEEP

About an hour and a half after you fall asleep, you fall back into a twilight sleep. Your brain blood flow increases, your body temperature rises, you may have an erection, and your closed eyes begin to role back and forth.

 Despite not being awake, you fall into REM SLEEP ( rapid eye movements).   This stage of sleep lasts about 10 minutes.

During this REM sleep, you may have vivid and emotional dreams.  If your sleep becomes disrupted, your brain has difficulty transferring short-term memory into long-term memory.  During sleep, you cannot learn new things.

However, in REM sleep, your brain files important memories of the previous day into long-term storage. At this stage, you often solve problems and during this stage of sleep, and may have your most creative thinking.   At this time, there is easy access to memory and emotions, and novel ideas and solutions wander through your head.

During this sleep cycle male sexual function is improved, with men typically develop penile erections with blood sent back into your penis and helps maintain your. Incidentally, if you have REM erections, you can rule out the physiological causes for possible impotence

This  REM sleep cycle repeats nightly every 90 minutes until you wake up.  If you sleep eight hours, you usually have five cycles through the night.

HOW MUCH SLEEP DO YOU NEED?

It normally takes a well-rested person 20 minutes to fall asleep.  Half of us Americans have sleep deprivation. 

 If you fall asleep instantly, you too may have a serious sign of sleep deprivation. Since most of us do not value sleep, we need at least one more hour of sleep every night; some of us may need of much as 10 hours of sleep.

If you require an alarm clock to wake up, struggle to get out of bed, feel tired when you wake up, fall asleep while watching TV or after eating a heavy meal, and fall asleep within five minutes of hitting the bed, you have sleep deprivation.

Physically, you have dark circles around your eyes, feel you need a nap during the day, on weekend sleep extra hours, and are drowsy when you’re driving in the afternoon,

 GETTING MORE SLEEP

 Start developing a regular bedtime schedule, and avoid long naps.  Admit your life is full of stress, and realize that the only stress free state is death.

 Smoking disturbs your ability to sleep and stay asleep. It stimulates brain wave activity and increases your blood pressure and heart rate.  It is a stronger stimulant than coffee, and withdrawal starts to three hours after your last smoke. Alcohol within three hours of bedtime will also ruin your sleep.

 Leave the all nighters and late time partying to others.

Your bedroom should be your refuge, -- restful and pleasurable. Make it quiet, dark, and cool. Set your temperature for sleeping down to 65°, and turn up the relative humidity between 60 and 70%.  Put some pastoral scene paintings, or photographs from vacations, in your bedroom to create a peaceful ambience.  Sleep on your side or on your back.

Get a good pillow to support your head and make sure it lets you float rather than squishing you into a unique sleeping position.  Your pillow should fit like a shoe.  Once a pillow loses his fluffiness get rid of it. A mattress is only good for 8 to 10 years.

Your bed should be 6 inches longer than your height. As you sleep, you move around 50 times a night.  If you have a sleeping partner, don’t settle for anything less than a queen size bed; everyone needs room to move around freely without awakening their partner.

The only exercise before bedtime is sexual orgasm. This should help promote a deep and restful sleep. Endorphins are released during sexual stimulation, and enhance the peaceful nature of sleep.

 Watch out for over-the-counter nonprescription sleeping pills since they are primarily anti-histamines and will make you tired and groggy.

                            

                           CONTINUE  1   2   NEXT




As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical list of all my blogs Visit http://www.americanacupuncture.com/ for more detailed information on mind, body, and spirit healing.

BLUE AND GREEN LIGHTS DISTURB YOUR SLEEP

As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical list of all my blogs Visit http://www.americanacupuncture.com/ for more detailed information on mind, body, and spirit healing.

BLUE AND GREEN LIGHTS DISTURB YOUR SLEEP

Have you noticed how poorly you sleep if there is any light in your bedroom?  Perhaps a night-light is on, the TV is playing in your bedroom, or your computer is lit.   Any of these lights may be powerful enough to throw your entire body’s clock off

For years we have been adding and blocking blue light because it sets the bodies sleep clock.   Researchers recently have discovered cells in the eye (not concerned with vision) that contain melanopsin, a pigment that absorbs light in the blue wavelengths.  Your body clock is very sensitive to this wavelength.

You spend much more time in front of your computer and/or under indoor lighting conditions where the light is fluorescent (green) or incandescent (orange).  Recently scientists found that visual rods and cones also detect green light, and this also regulates the body’s clock setting system.

The quantity and quality of light plays a significant role in your mood and work performance.  At night, as you begin to secrete nocturnal melatonin (a hormone that regulates your sleep and wake cycle).

 Melatonin is produced by your pineal gland and it has a day/night function, and shifts your biological rhythms.  It peaks during darkness and lowers during the day. Melatonin has been shown to block lights for short periods of time, whether blue or green, and regulates your body’s circadian system.   For longer periods of time, blue light has a greater effect when you are exposed for long periods of time.

BLUE AND GREEN LIGHT IN HEALING

GREEN affects the heart chakra. It has a calming effect and balances the autonomic nervous system. It is a good color for cardiac conditions, high blood pressure and ulcers. Since green stimulates growth, it should be avoided in cancers and other tumors. Spiritually it is the color of love and connects us to perfect love.

BLUE is the color for the throat chakra. It is a good color in respiratory illness or throat infections. Blue is cooling to our system and hence is a good color to counteract hypertension. Spiritually it is the color of health and connects us to holistic well being.

VISIBLE LIGHT

Visible light has seven colors, and each color has its own specific frequency that corresponds to one of the body's 7 main energy centers, called charkas.

The set of frequencies related to musical notes is an example how colors works. If you place two properly tuned guitars in the same room and pluck the A string on one guitar, the A string on the second guitar will also ring. This is because the sound frequency of the A note traveled across the room causing the resonant frequency of the A string on the second guitar to sound. (Chakras and color healing).

 The body's organs also have their own resonant frequencies related to the charkas. Hence, you can "tune " your body for optimal wellness through color therapy by exposing your Chakras to the specific color you need. This is exactly what acupuncture does by resonating with the organ’s vibrations.

CONCLUSIONS

Knowing this, researchers wonder if the full spectrum of light affects your body clock. If you protect yourself from blue light, you may still have  green lights resetting your clock. Perhaps we need to have smarter lighting systems that can stimulate our non-visual systems as well as our visual systems.

 At night, avoid bright lights and go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.   Soon after waking, try to get as much bright lights as possible. To work and live at your best, you must keep your internal circadian rhythm in harmony and synchronized with the environmental cues (i.e., light and dark, temperature etc).

A bedroom in complete darkness will ensure a good night sleep.  Ever wonder why you oversleep in a hotel room with its heave drapes?  This therapy will cost you nothing, and comes without any side effects.   Maybe it's time also to make a seven-to-eight-hour sleep night a serious goal in 2010.

Visit www.drneedles.com for more discussion of controversial medical subjects.

 Sources

www.americanacupuncture.com

 Journal science translational medicine, may 2010

American Academy of sleep medicine,May 2010, Kushida

NEW SPORT INJURY TREATMENT

As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical list of all my blogs Visit http://www.americanacupuncture.com/ for more detailed information on mind, body, and spirit healing.

NEW  SPORT   INJURY TREATMENT

Sports injuries are now treated with injections of the patient’s own blood into sites of injury. This treatment known as PRP, platelet rich plasma, or BP (blood patch), helps the injured cells of the body to heal itself.

 This procedure has many doctors rethink the role of inflammation, which is increased temporarily in damaged tissues.  Doctors try to reduce inflammation with cortisone and other anti-inflammatory medicines thinking this was a source of pain.  Since the procedure involves injecting fluids into tissue that normally don’t have much space, some pain may be experienced.

Now the current thought is to harness the power of inflammation, by allowing the body to go through its natural healing process, get rid of the problem, and relieve the pain.  Anti-inflammatory treatments can counteract the healing process of PRP, and must not be given in conjunction with this treatment.

Blood is drawn from the patient’s vein,  spinned in a centrifuge to separate the platelets, and injected into sites of injury.  The plasma secretes growing factors promoting clotting and healing, sealing and repairing the injured tissue.

 This procedure was used since the 1970s in obstetrics for spinal headaches, and was used in dentistry at that time also.   Dr. Sarnacki, of the Acupuncture Institute of Michigan, using this procedure for the past eight years, calls it a blood patch, BP. a term acquired from its use for blood injections in treating spinal headaches.   He injects whole blood, without separating it, injecting it into the injured sites, accompanied by medical acupuncture, with good results.

 This procedure, now used by orthopedic specialists, has proven effective for chronic tennis elbow, Achilles tendinitis, and osteoarthritis of the knee, plantar fasciitis, calf and hamstring sprains, and other intractable sports injuries.

 The nice thing is that you are using your own tissue, and people do not have reactions to their own tissue.  Since the procedure involves only minimal manipulation of the patient’s own tissue, FDA approval is not necessary. The FDA however does regulate blood separation equipment.

Unlike human growth hormone, PRP or Blood Patch, is not banned by US pro sports organizations, since no foreign or banned substance is injected into the body.  The costs range from $500-$1000 per treatment, and are not covered by insurance, since it is considered experimental.

 This procedure has gotten ahead of scientific evidence.  Heart surgeons are also using this to strengthen tissues in bypass operations, and some plastic surgeons and dermatologists use it as an alternative to facial fillers for cosmetic surgery.

Research is still going on to determine what conditions it works best for, and the amount and number of injections that are necessary. There have been very few small-randomized controlled trials to date.

 Patients should try other conservative approaches before PRP or BP treatments.  More research is needed to determine what kind of injuries is best suited for this treatment, and whether it’s any better than standard therapies.

Traditionally tissues that don’t do a good job of healing by themselves, like tendons, ligaments, and cartilage, all are helped by this procedure.

           RELATED POSTS

PLASMA THERAPY FOR SPORT INJURIES

KNEE PAIN

THE DANGERS OF VIGOROUS EXERCISE

WHY DO WE PLAY SPORTS?

Visit www.drneedles.com for more information on controversial medical subjects.

Sources

Sarnacki, Acupuncture Institute of Michigan

SteadmanREhab Clinic, Vail, Colorado

Khalfayan, Team orthopedist, Seattle Seahawks and Mariners

Monto, orthopedist Nantucket

Halpern, Hospital for Special Surgery, NY City

Galea, Tiger Woods Orthopedist

ANTIAGING FACIAL TREATMENTS

As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical list of all my blogs Visit http://www.americanacupuncture.com/ for more detailed information on mind, body, and spirit healing

ANTI-AGING FACIAL TREATMENTS

 It’s amazing how many people are willing to have anything injected in their face with the hope of restoring their beauty. For the sake of beauty, women have been putting their health at risk for centuries.   Being young and beautiful is much more important than protecting their health.

Is it vanity?  The concept of vanity was developed in the 13^th century coming from the Latin “ being empty”, and “valueless”.  The vanity mirror stresses narcissism. Narcissus was a beautiful boy who loves his own reflection. He used the first mirror, the reflective surface of still water. A narcisstic personality is one where there is an excessive need for admiration and affirmation.

We constantly look in mirrors for our imperfections. The Egyptians and Greeks looked in mirrors made of polished metal.  In the 15^th century, placing colored glass on a metallic background, which created a clear reflection, discovered the modern mirror.

Historically women always wanted to look younger and more beautiful.   In 3000 BC, nails were being colored.  Women used powder to lighten their skin color since a pale complexion showed gentility. Japanese women used bird droppings to lighten their skin.

An attempt was made for the eyebrows to look like silkworms and lips like cherries.  Lipstick was used to enhance the shape of the mouth, eyebrows were shaved, and olive oil was used to make hair silky and shiny.

 Culture sends mixed messages to women next messages on what is considered attractive.   Women always go with the flow of the current trend, and constantly wanted to change the shape of their bodies. Feet and breasts were bound, to prevent looking immoral.  The Han dynasty considered slender women beautiful, while the Tang dynasty found heavy women more attractive.

 Egyptians used a skin rejuvenating acid peel.  Cleopatra used poultice made of donkey’s milk to smooth her skin.  A supply of donkeys always traveled with her so she would not run short of her supply of donkey milk.

 Egyptians, looking for the natural dramatic eye makeup, used crushed beetle wings for eye shadow.  Makeup contained lead, mercury, malachite, chrysoolla, or copper. Rather than considering this makeup a danger, it was thought of as a medicine. Even mummies were given permanent makeup.

 In our modern times, to fight the effects of aging, nose jobs began in 1950, breast augmentation in 1960, tummy tucks in 1970.  Today, chin implants, hair replacements, pectoral enhancement, skin peels, and wrinkle fillers, are the rage.

ANTIAGING FACIAL THERAPIES TODAY

These include: Botox, Artefill, Radiesse, Dysport, Juvederm, Restlane, Scuptra, and Prevelle.

ARTEFILL 

 This is the first FDA approved permanent facial filler. It is a combination of purified bovine collagen gel and highly purified, carefully filtered homogeneous micro spheres made of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA).

PMMA is a very inert non-reactive substance, used for over 50 years in surgery, to help stabilize total joint replacements, and to fashion synthetic bone plates.  Unlike temporary skin fillers that are absorbed by the body, the micro spheres remain after the collagen is absorbed.  If things don’t go well, the micro spheres of course must be removed surgically.

It is FDA approved for nasolabial folds (laugh lines), but is also used for lip, chin, and cheek augmentation as well as filling in acne scars and other facial wrinkles or creases.  Cost $1500.

 Artefill cannot be used for thick skin scarring, or in patients who are on immunosuppressive therapy, receiving ultraviolet light therapy, or on blood thinners.

RADIESSE

This involves injecting into the skin, a compound of calcium hydroxyl apatite microspheres suspended in a carboxy-methyl-cellulose natural gel.

Calcium and phosphate ions are naturally found in our bodies. The gel has an organic compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, as well as glycerin and sterile water. Thin connective tissue forms around the injected microspheres and act as filler. It is used for smoothing and shaping nasolabial folds and smile lines, vertical lip lines, and to provide more definition to the lips.  Since it stays soft, it takes on the characteristics of the tissue around the area it is used.  New soft tissue gradually replaces the filler over time.

As with most fillers, the results are not permanent, but Radiesse lasts significantly longer than most fillers, at least a year,

DYSPORT

  A competitor of Botox, this filler is made from the same neurotoxin as Botox.  Like Botox, it was originally, developed to treat neuromuscular disorders.  It is injected into the muscles causing facial wrinkles.  Since it travels further under this skin than Botox, fewer treatments are necessary.

Containing less protein than Botox, the body tends breaks it down slower, making it last approximately 12 months as compared to four months with Botox.

JUVEDERM

  This filler is made from hyaluronic acid,  a natural occurring substance in your skin.   It increases skins volume and smoothes away facial wrinkles.  It is used to plump lips to create smile lines.  It is made by the Botox people, and the results last six months.

RESTLANE

Contains hyaluronic acid and has been used in Europe for the last 12 years. It is primarily used to enhance the lips as well as correct wrinkles.

PREVELLE

Also contains hyaluronic acid and  is used for fine lines and wrinkles. It also contains a small amount of anesthetic.

SCULPTRA

 This is not a wrinkle remover but increases natural volume resulting from fat loss.  It creates fullness and roundness of the cheeks, under the eyes, and in the lips and around the mouth. It is used under the eyes at the cheeks and temples, but not around the lips.   Unlike a facelift, it restores volume, and volume is what makes you look young.  

 It is made of polylactic acid, a synthetic biodegradable polymer that was used for years to make sutures dissolvable. It takes several weeks for this filler to work.

BOTOX

This is a toxin from a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. It is the same toxin found in food poisoning, called botulism, and works by paralyzing muscles and blocking nerves.

 Many problems have been reported following injections of BOTOX including:  Bell's Palsy (facial paralysis or facial palsy, systemic muscle pain and weakness, including burning or tingling sensations in the arms or legs (diagnosed as paresthesia or Guillain-Barre syndrome), and impaired swallowing leading to aspiration, pneumonia, and in rare cases asphyxiation and death.

Other Botox side effects include: drooping of the eyelids, headaches, upset stomach, flulike symptoms, long term muscle paralysis severely decreased tear production, resulting in "dry eye" symptoms, and potentially permanent cornea damage (diagnosed as Sjogrens syndrome.

FILLER SIDE EFFECTS

 Include swelling, shortness of breath, trouble swallowing, difficult breathing, dry mouth, headaches, neck pain, decreased vision, drooping and swelling of the eyelids. dry eyes, and Lou Gehrig disease

COMMENTARY

It’s time for us to accept changes in appearances as we age: we must see them as natural, pretty, and unavoidable.  

As you age, your hair will gray, skin will get drier, and become less smooth and stretchable.  The skin will sag, and age spots will develop as your pigment cells become fewer in number. With age, the fat under the skin becomes thinner and has a loose look.

Other alternatives are available to ward off aging.  Acupressure and acupuncture points all rejuvenate the skin. Cosmetic facial rejuvenation can be achieved with acupuncture, herbal remedies, and other anti-aging acupuncture treatments.

Above all, it is important to manage the causes of aging while you are still young, and before aging gets out of hand. Once your energy gets depleted, it is too late.

Today we have the knowledge and skills to stop the assaults on our bodies and can choose proper medical care rather than picking the many poisons currently offered for short-term skin rejuvenation.

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Visit www.drneedles.com for more discussion of controversial medical subjects.

BRAS AND BREAST CANCER

As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical list of all my blogs Visit http://www.americanacupuncture.com/ for more detailed information on mind, body, and spirit healing

BRAS AND BREAST CANCER

 Not wearing a bra to prevent breast cancer is too simple and hardly mentioned in the media or even considered by many cancer experts.  Breast cancer kills 43,000 women annually and strikes 180,000

 women each year.  Going without a bra to prevent breast cancer is certainly not popular with women but neither is having their breasts removed her taking tamoxifen instead. It costs nothing to stop wearing a bra, but it costs healthy women over $7 billion a year in the United States to take tamoxifen as a preventative.

Bras worldwide support, lift, and smooth out the breast, and create and inspire fantasies.  Bras have been around for a long time.  It has caused a social debate by both men and women and is a significant and powerful voice to be reckoned with. Who is in charge of the female breast in today’s society, men or women?

Most cancer specialists say the idea isn’t even worth commenting on, the theory that constriction from bras allows toxins to build up is unfounded, and a bra that fits snugly doesn’t interfere with drainage of the breast.

 Scientific skepticism is wonderful. Yet there are numerous references linking fibrocystic breast disease, benign lumps, and cysts to cancer. Yet 90% of women who have fibrocystic disease find improvement by not wearing a bra.

Many women think it’s normal condition to have lumpy breasts and don’t consider it a disease. But if a breast duct is filled with fluid, like a balloon filled with water, the area is compressed, ducts become blocked, and scar tissue forms.

Bras are a recent invention and bras were added to the corset in 1863.  In 1913, Mary Jacob, put two silky pieces together with some pink ribbon forming a restraining version of the bra.

Bras have caused us pain, skin irritation and the under wire has caused discomfort. An allergic reaction to the metal may cause a rash.   Very heavy breasts can cause back pain, muscle tensions and headaches.  Ill fitting, bras can help cancer growth and prevent your body from excreting cancer-causing chemicals. The bra industry notes that 80% of women wear the wrong size bra.

 There are numerous lymphatic pathways in the armpits and under the breasts and also between the breasts. These lymph fluids wash out the waste materials away from the breast. Push-up bras inhibit this action and toxins can accumulate in the breast predisposing to cancer development.  Toxins like PCB, dioxin, benzene, can cling to the body’s fat tissues in the breasts.

Most women lean and small  breasted don’t need bras.  Large breasted woman and overweight women, wears bras for support and comfort.  A lump in the breast is often just  trapped lymphatic fluid that can’t move away from the breast tissue. Women who wear bras have higher levels of prolactin hormone.

A recent Harvard study showed an increase in breast cancer rates in women who wear bras.   The odds of getting breast cancer dramatically increase in women wear bras over 12 hours a day.   A bra worn  less than 12 hours a day lowers the cancer risk by 50%.   75% of women with breast cancer do not have any typical breast risk factors. Women in Western countries get more breast cancer than African women.

 In 1991, researchers Hsieh & Trichopoulos found that pre-menopausal women who do not wear bras had half the risk of breast cancer compared to bra wearers. . Eur J Cancer. 1991; 27(2):131-5.)

A Swedish study showed children at age 7 who were big boned had a much lower risk of postmenopausal cancer. The protective effect is ever greater for the ER negative breast cancers.  Looking at pictures of girls at age 7 for body size can be a predictive of breast cancer risk. Thin girls at age 7 may have a higher risk of breast cancer.

 The lightest possible bra exerts pressure in excess of that found within the lymphatic vessels.

 Breasts  feeding and pregnancy completely develop the breast  lymphatic system.  Women who exercise have a lower risk because of breast movement.  Every bounce of the breast increases in emphatic flow and cleans the toxins and waste in the breast.  Women in a high economic bracket have increased risks, probably because they wear their bras more hours per day.

 The lymphatics are highly dependent on movement. If you are on a plane, your ankles can swell because the lymphatic circulation becomes absent. Wearing a bra with underwire, especially to bed, lowers the normal oxygen content and prevents normal lymphatic flow.

Breasts, like other external organs also have a lower body temperature.  Cancers can be temperature sensitive to hormonal changes and the monthly cycle. Constricting bras cause dents,  red creases, and grooves in the skin.

 The National Cancer Institute does not list bras as a breast cancer risk. They do find alcohol, tobacco, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and excess weight all contribute to increased breast cancer risk.  Medications, some foods and drink can affect your hormonal level.

 Finding a good Bra

 This takes time and patience. The stylish bra  brands are worthless if they are poorly designed or ill fitting.   Reject a bra that hurts, or simply doesn’t  fit properly. The broadband must fit snugly to the chest just below the breast  so the bra weight can be transferred to it.   If the broadband is loose, the shoulder straps must take the weight.  This sets off a chain of reactions, with the back of the bra rises up and the straps dig into the shoulders.

 A good bra will result in your breast weight evenly distributed. The cup shape must hold your breasts and your shoulder straps should not dig into your shoulders. Once your bra ceases to feel good, send it to the dead bra disposal center.

COMMENTARY

  A bra is not a necessity, so wearing one is a personal choice.  When you take your bra off, and see red lines on the side or underneath your breasts, and see marks on your shoulder from the straps, your lymphatic flow is  being  cut off. Push-up bras and those with underwire or high side panels have a constricting effect on the lymphatic vessels. It is important to find a good fitting bra and also give your breasts free time away from bras daily.

 The correlation between wearing a bra and breast cancer is found greater than that of the connection between smoking and lung cancer.  No one has anything to sell or to profit from women not wearing bras.  It could upstage Cancer research costing billions. Many women with breast problems are reluctant to find a simple solution for a common problem.

 It is more important to prevent breast cancer than to try to cure it.

 If going without a bra will prevent clumpy painful breasts and fibrocystic disease,  can reduce the risk of breast cancer.  Going without a bra may prevent many breast cancers. One must however remember that going without a bra may reduce a benign cyst but will do nothing or in existing cancer. You must have this checked with a doctor.

 Sagging breasts are inevitable whether you wear a bra or not. Since ligaments support the breast, wearing a bra can actually cause more breast sagging.  The  bra industry knows that bras do not prevent droopy breasts. In fact, bras cause breast to droop since the breasts become dependent on the bra for support and the breast’s  natural supporting mechanisms become atrophied from nonuse.

 More research is necessary on this subject. Perhaps it is better to remove your bra if you have  breast problems .  Bra removal however is not a billable medical procedure.  Until that time women should take the precaution of loosening up.

 The bra industry knows bras can cause cysts and pain. They shift the blame to you the buyer, claiming you should get a professional fitting. How do you get a properly fitted push-up bra? Some bra manufacturers now offer patented bras claiming to mitigate the damage including cancer caused by conventional bras.

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 Billions of dollars are spent each year on the detection and treatment of breast cancer. A great deal of money would be saved  if bras went out of business. Experts can’t explain why over 70% of breast cancer cases have no risk factors.

 There is a great deal of resistance to change. Industries contribute to disease, and some profit from disease.  The advertising  media propagates attitudes and fashions that perpetuate breast cancer.

As long as our culture scorns a natural bust line,rather than face social and public media pressures, women are encouraged to keep breast pain, red marks, and indentations cysts, despite increased cancer risks. 

Visit www.drneedles.com for more discussion of controversial medical subjects.

SOURCES:

The National Institutes of Health; the Märit and Hans Rausing's Initiative against Breast Cancer; and the W81XWH-05-1-0314 Innovator Award, US Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Breast Cancer Res. Published online April 15, 2010

J Physiol Anthropol Appl Human Sci. 2002 Jan;21(1):67-74.