Airway Transplant Aided by Stem Cells a Medical First

(HealthDay News) -- In a medical first, a 30-year-old mother of two has successfully undergone the first transplantation of a breathing passage fashioned from a donor's airway and her own stem cells, researchers report.

As of now, the woman, Claudia Castillo, who lives in Barcelona, Spain, with two children aged 15 and 4, does not need immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection of the new organ.

She reported that she is able to take care of her two children, can climb two flights of stairs, and even go out dancing some evenings.

"The possibility of avoiding the removal of my entire lung and, instead, replacing only my diseased bronchus with this tissue engineering process represented a unique chance for me to return to a normal life that I am now enjoying with my children and family," Castillo said in a news release.

The doctors who performed the procedure -- from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona; the University of Bristol, in England; Politecnico di Milano, in Italy, and the University of Padua, in Italy -- reported the feat online Nov. 19 in The Lancet.

"This was a really good opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of adult stem cells, which don't have the issues of immunological rejection," said Paul Sanberg, distinguished professor of neurosurgery and director of the University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair in Tampa. "We clearly need to find ways to really help patients and move into the clinic in these devastating diseases. This demonstrated the utility of bioengineering."

Other experts issued some words of caution.

"Success or failure depends on how much stem cells can take over the function of the donor cells, which have a certain life span. Stem cells have, in theory, a longer life span," said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "There are more questions in my mind than answers to this, and it's difficult to be able to say, this is definitely the dawn of the future, and this is going to work. We have to see if it's going to work and works in more patients before we can say this is a mainstream approach."

Four years ago, Castillo developed a cough that wouldn't go away; it was eventually diagnosed as tuberculosis. That cough led to a collapsed lung.

By March of this year, Castillo's condition had deteriorated to the point where she was unable to care for her children. Removing a lung was one treatment option, which would have allowed her to live, but seriously impaired her quality of life.

Instead, Castillo received a "new," bioengineered airway.

The scientists essentially created epithelial and cartilage cells from stem cells from Castillo's own bone marrow. Those cells were put on a 7-centimeter piece of trachea from a 51-year-old woman who had died of a brain hemorrhage. Four months later, the scientists had a "hybrid" organ that they used in June to replace Castillo's left main bronchus, which connects the main trachea (windpipe) to the left lung.

The donated organ underwent 25 "washing cycles" to remove donor antigens, which could cause the new tissue to be rejected by the recipient.

Castillo suffered no complications from the surgery and left the hospital 10 days after the procedure.

Tissue bioengineering has already been used to provide organ replacements in other parts of the body, but not in the airway, the study authors said.

"Hopefully the [stem] cells of this woman that were mixed will somehow coat or become integrated [with the donated trachea] so the graft won't be rejected with the assurance that most human tissues are," Horovitz said. "This is the first transplant of this kind. You're using stem cells as an immune modulator, almost to convert the organ from what it was to what you want it to be."

Dr. Ronald Kuppersmith, clinical assistant professor of surgery with the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, called the new procedure "exciting" because the "patient didn't have to take immunosuppressant medication."

This approach could eventually have a role in patients who are dealing with weakened immune systems, such as lung cancer patients, he said.

"They could remove the lung, reconstruct it and not have to put them [patients] on something that would lower the immune system," Kuppersmith said.

More information
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more on stem cells.

Disease-Specific Stem Cell Lines Developed

(HealthDay News) -- Researchers in Massachusetts have succeeded in generating several disease-specific stem cell lines which should advance both research and, one day, treatment.

The lines will be made available to researchers around the world through a Harvard Stem Cell Institute "core" facility being established at Massachusetts General Hospital, institute co-director Doug Melton said during a Wednesday teleconference.

The new lab is already up and running and is prepared to start shipping lines as soon as a new paper is published in the Aug. 6 online edition of Cell, added Dr. George Daley, senior author of the paper and a principal faculty member at the institute.

"This is a broader and more important collection of degenerative diseases for which there are no good treatments and, more importantly, no good animal models," Melton said. "The cells will allow researchers access for the first time to cell types of interest, to watch the disease progress in a dish, to watch what goes right or wrong. . . We'll see in the years ahead that this opens the door to a new way of treating degenerative disease."

The cell lines will be distributed "virtually free," Melton said, with a nominal fee to cover costs.

Last week, another team of scientists from the institute announced that they had transformed skin cells from patients with Lou Gehrig's disease into motor neurons that are genetically identical to the patients' own neurons. This will enable them to create unlimited numbers of cells to study the disease process better.

Those scientists had originally planned to use somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) or "therapeutic cloning" for the feat. That process involves removing the genetic material from a donated human oocyte and replacing it with genetic material from the skin cells of patients. But the approach has been hindered by political, ethical and other obstacles.

Instead, those researchers took adult skin cells from two elderly sisters with Lou Gehrig's disease and reprogrammed them into cells resembling embryonic stem cells using a technique called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Those stem cells were then transformed into motor neurons.

The current paper in Cell describes a similar process, taking cells from patients aged 1 month to 57 years and suffering from one of 10 conditions including Down Syndrome, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophy and type 1 diabetes, and using iPS to produce pluripotent, undifferentiated stem cells.

These cells, of course, will then have to be coaxed into tissues of different types. "That is where all of the science will go on over the next many, many years," added Daley, who is associate director of the Stem Cell Program at Children's Hospital Boston.

The recent successes will not likely obviate the need for controversial stem cells, however, the scientists said.

"Even though the iPS methodology gives us a facile way for making disease-specific lines, it does not eliminate the value or need for continuing to study human embryonic stem cells," Daley said. "Those are really the gold standard for pluripotent stem cell types. They have no genetic modifications and, at least for the foreseeable future, and I would argue beyond that, are going to be extremely valuable tools. . . Human embryonic stem cells allow you to ask questions that we never can ask with iPS cells."

The iPS method requires the use of viruses, limiting the therapeutic potential of the lines.

"Whether or not we're going to be able to figure out how to do it without viruses so we can use the cells therapeutically is, as of today, an unanswered question," Daley said. "I'm confident we're going to get there and that within the next year or two, we will have several strategies for reprogramming cells without viruses, and when that happens, we may have cells in our hands that may be valuable for cell replacement therapy."

The number of lines ultimately generated will depend on a host of factors.

"In these complex genetic diseases, we're so ignorant at the moment, we don't even know if patients who get type 1 diabetes all get it the same way. There could be 50 different ways to get type 1 diabetes," Melton said.

If there are 50 ways to get the disease, scientists are going to want to develop more stem cell lines to reflect that variety. If there are only one or two ways, then fewer lines will be needed.

More information
The National Institutes of Health has more on stem cells.

My Immune System Confronts a Virus

After a stem cell transplant, it's a little scary to run into a familiar old enemy
by Jason Carpenter

As I reached Day 21 of my stem cell transplant, my recovery hit a very scary wall. I woke up with a fever of 102 and could barely lift my head off my pillow. I felt that little tingle in the back of my throat and knew right away what it was: the common cold.

For a stem-cell-transplant patient, though, a cold is anything but common. Quoth the International Myeloma Foundation: “Even a minor infection...can lead to serious problems because the body’s immune system is so weakened by the effects of the high-dose chemotherapy and the loss of blood cells.”

Translation: I could die. Continue reading »

A Bone Marrow Disease With a Brighter Prognosis

(HealthDay News) -- Blood is life. And the rare disease known as aplastic anemia robs the body of life by robbing the body of blood.

The aplastic anemia patient's blood thins as the bone marrow slows its production of blood cells. The results can range from chronic fatigue to heart disease or from endless infections to cuts that won't clot, depending on the type of blood cells that are lacking.

But there's hope: Considered fatal as recently as two decades ago, aplastic anemia is becoming a far more manageable disease. Advances in drug therapies and improvements in the field of transplantation have slashed the death toll, allowing patients to live longer, fuller lives.

"We are getting better at treating aplastic anemia, either in getting rid of it or treating its symptoms," said Dr. Jaroslaw P. Maciejewski, with the Cleveland Clinic's Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders.

And those advances are helping doctors gain greater insights into other, more prevalent, health conditions, such as heart disease and leukemia.

An estimated 50,000 people develop aplastic anemia in the United States each year, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. (A related blood disorder, myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, occurs when the bone marrow begins to produce poorly functioning or immature blood cells. About 20,000 to 30,000 new cases of MDS occur each year.)

It's important to note that many symptoms of aplastic anemia, such as fatigue and infection, can also be caused by other diseases, said Dr. Ronald Paquette, a blood disease researcher with the University of California, Los Angeles' Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"If everyone who was fatigued thought they had aplastic anemia, we'd be swamped," Paquette said.

Bone marrow -- the spongy material inside bones -- produces stem cells that normally develop into the three main types of blood cells -- red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

"Essentially, the bone marrow is a factory of blood," Maciejewski said.

In patients with aplastic anemia, the stem cells have been damaged, slowing or stopping the production of all blood cells.

The cause of the damage to stem cells remains unknown in more than half of people with aplastic anemia. Some research has suggested that stem cell damage occurs when the immune system attacks the body's own cells by mistake, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Aplastic anemia has also been linked to exposure to toxins such as pesticides, arsenic and benzene. Some infectious diseases also can cause the disorder, including hepatitis, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, parvovirus B19, and HIV, as well as autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Finally, some genetic disorders have been linked to it.

Symptoms vary depending on the type of blood cells in shortage:

• Too few red blood cells can mean not enough oxygen is carried to the body, according to the NIH. People who have a low red blood cell count often feel tired. Because the heart has to work harder to pump blood to get enough oxygen to the body's organs and tissues, heart disease can develop over time.
• Too few white blood cells weaken the body's defense against infection. The patient may become ill more often, and the illness can be severe.
• Too few platelets hamper the blood's ability to clot. Patients with a low platelet count may bruise or bleed easily, and their bleeding may be hard to stop.
• Once aplastic anemia is detected, swift treatment is essential, Paquette said. "Because it's a rare disease, it's important to be treated at a specialized center," he said. "The most important thing is to be seen by someone with a lot of experience treating the disease early on."

For patients younger than 30, stem cell transplantation is often the preferred treatment. For those with a matched sibling donor, stem cell transplantation replaces the defective bone marrow with healthy cells, and as many as 80 percent of patients enjoy a complete recovery, according to the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation Inc.

Advances in stem cell research and anti-rejection drugs have meant that transplantations from unrelated donors also are becoming more successful, Paquette said.

One promising avenue of treatment involves transplantation using stem cells harvested from the umbilical cord of new mothers. "The cells can be cryopreserved [frozen] and saved, then given to unrelated donors," Paquette said. "It's quite encouraging."

For these patients, again, speed is of the essence. "The data show the earlier you do a transplant, the better the outcome," Paquette said.

Patients whose transplants fail, or for whom transplantation is not an option, often receive successful immunosuppressive therapy with agents like anti-thymocyte globulin and cyclosporine. Response rates typically range from 70 percent to 80 percent, according to the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation Inc.

Blood transfusions from matched donors also are used to keep blood counts high and help relieve symptoms, although they are not an effective long-term treatment.

"Whether we cure the disease or not, patients are getting better across the board," Maciejewski said. "We now can maintain life, keep these patients alive longer."

More information
To learn more, visit the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation Inc.

Scientists Reprogram Human Skin Cells Into Embryonic Stem Cells

(HealthDay News) -- U.S. scientists say they've reprogrammed human skin cells into ones with the same blank-slate properties as embryonic stem cells, a breakthrough that could aid in treating many diseases while sidestepping controversy.

Human embryonic stem cells have the ability to become every cell type found in the human body. Being able to create these cells en masse and without using human eggs or embryos could generate a potentially limitless source of immune-compatible cells for tissue engineering and transplantation medicine, said the scientists, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

The researchers genetically altered human skin cells using four regulator genes, according to findings published online in the Feb. 11 edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences.

The result produced cells called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, that are almost identical to human embryonic stem cells in function and biological structure. The reprogrammed cells also expressed the same genes and could be coaxed into giving rise to the same cell types as human embryonic stem cells, the researchers said.

"Our reprogrammed human skin cells were virtually indistinguishable from human embryonic stem cells," lead author Kathrin Plath, an assistant professor of biological chemistry and a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, said in a prepared statement. "Our findings are an important step towards manipulating differentiated human cells to generate an unlimited supply of patient specific pluripotent stem cells. We are very excited about the potential implications."

The UCLA findings confirm similar work first reported in late November by researcher Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University and James Thompson at the University of Wisconsin. Together, the studies demonstrate that human iPS cells can be easily created by different laboratories and are likely to mark a milestone in stem cell-based regenerative medicine, Plath said.

Reprogramming adult stem cells into embryonic stem cells has significant implications for disease treatment. A patient's skin cells, for example, could be reprogrammed into embryonic stem cells that could be prodded into becoming beta islet cells to treat diabetes, hematopoetic cells to create a new blood supply for a leukemia patient, or motor neuron cells to treat Parkinson's disease, the researchers said.

These new techniques to develop stem cells could potentially replace a controversial method to reprogram cells called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), sometimes referred to as therapeutic cloning. To date, therapeutic cloning has not been successful in humans.

"Reprogramming normal human cells into cells with identical properties to those in embryonic stem cells without SCNT may have important therapeutic ramifications and provide us with another valuable method to develop human stem cell lines," study first author William Lowry, an assistant professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology, said in a prepared statement. "It is important to remember that our research does not eliminate the need for embryo-based human embryonic stem cell research, but rather provides another avenue of worthwhile investigation."

However, top stem cell scientists worldwide stress further research comparing reprogrammed cells with stem cells derived from embryos -- considered the gold standard -- is necessary.

More information
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about stem cells.

Embryonic Stem Cells Create Healthy Muscle in Mice

(HealthDay News) -- Researchers have coaxed embryonic mouse stem cells to grow into healthy muscle tissue, in a feat that creates new possibilities for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

DMD is the most common of nine types of muscular dystrophy, which is characterized by a lack of the protein dystrophin in voluntary muscles, such as those in the arms and legs. Dystrophin plays a key role in building and repairing muscle; without it, muscles deteriorate and lose function.

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center team focused on developing embryonic stem cells containing the gene Pax3, which triggers cells to grow into muscle tissue that will produce dystrophin.

"Embryonic stem cells can make every tissue in the body. We instructed these cells to make more skeletal muscle, and from a crowd of cells," explained study author Rita Perlingeiro. "We found a way to pull out only the ones destined to make muscle. These two steps combined resulted in a cell population capable of making muscle in a mouse with muscular dystrophy and, very importantly, the new muscle is stronger."

This is one of the few studies to test the ability of embryonic stem cells to grow in adult muscle tissue, the researchers added. The method they used also managed to avoid the risk of tumor formation in the mice.

One expert lauded the study, which appears in the Jan. 20 online issue of Nature Medicine, as a strong first step.

"By way of experiments done with mice, the paper offers a compelling 'proof of principle,' that embryonic stem cells can be turned into muscle-producing cells in the laboratory and used to deliver healthy muscle to people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy," said Paul Muhlrad, research program coordinator for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The researchers noted it was only necessary to regenerate a portion of the muscle tissue for the mice to regain some control. However, the process requires refining before it can be tried in humans, they added.

"At the present time, no one has yet demonstrated that genetic manipulation of human embryonic stem cells can be used to derive functional skeletal muscle progenitors from these cells, so it's far too early to tell whether this technique could lead to any potential clinical application," said Perlingeiro. "The main hurdle is to make sure we can indeed combine successfully these two approaches, and test these cells exhaustively in mouse models before we think about clinical trials."

Muhlrad also cautioned that this research is a long way from human use.

"While mice provide an excellent model system, experiments that work in mice don't always readily transfer to humans. Scientists would probably want to replicate the experiments in dog models of muscular dystrophy before moving on to human studies," Muhlrad said. Additionally, the mice had to take immunosuppressants to prevent their bodies from rejecting cells from another mouse. The ideal approach would be to use a body's own stem cells to avoid the issue of rejection.

More information
To learn more about the different types of muscular dystrophy, visit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

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Commentary on Nutritional Treatment

from Willam Walsh, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Pfeiffer Treatment Center http://www.hriptc.org/
(The following information is taken from Dr. William Walsh's discussion on Safe Harbor's "Integrative Psychiatry" email list for professionals.

To preserve Dr. Walsh's wealth of information, we have posted his comments here, with the notation of added commentary [with the date] as discussion goes on.)

SAMe
SAMe is very promising for undermethylated persons and a bad idea for those who suffer from a genetic tendency for overmethylation. I don't particularly like the "allopathic" method you referred to which is simply trial & error. SAMe can do great harm if given to the wrong person.

I hate going to funerals. (17 Dec, 2002)The mechanisms of action of SAMe and TMG are quite different. Most of our methyl groups come from dietary methionine. The methionine is converted to SAMe in a reaction with magnesium, ATP, methionine-adenosyl-transferase, and water. SAMe is a relatively unstable carrier of methyl groups and is the primary source of methyl for most reactions in the body.

Once the methyl group has been donated, the residual molecule is s-adenosyl-homocysteine which converts to homocysteine. TMG (betaine) is a biochemical which can donate a methyl group to homocysteine, thus converting it back to methionine.

The TMG route is secondary to the 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate/B-12 reaction which the primary route for restoring methionine. Methionine and SAMe supplements directly introduce new methyl groups into the body.

TMG can provide a methyl group only to the extent that there is insufficient folate/B-12 to do the job. In some persons, the methylation effect of TMG is very minimal. In addition, persons who are undermethylated have a SAM cycle which is "spinning very slowly", much like a superhighway with little traffic.

The answer for them is NOT to more efficiently convert the small amount of homocysteine to methionine (using TMG), but rather to directly introduce more methionine or SAMe into the body. A small percentage of persons with sufficient dietary methionine cannot efficiently produce SAMe --- These persons need supplemental SAMe, and not methionine or TMG and are the exception to the rule. In most other cases, methionine supplements alone are sufficient.

TMG is a great way to treat individuals with dangerously high homocysteine levels. TMG can be very useful in augmenting methionine therapy along with B-6/P-5-P , serine, etc. The challenge is to supply enough methyl groups to help the patient, without creating dangerously high levels of homocysteine. Use of TMG is an "insurance policy" against this happening. (Jan 22, 2003)

A quick way to test for need for methylation therapy is to carry out a cautious trial of SAMe.

Within a week or two you should have your answer. If she clearly is improving on the SAMs (which is frightfully expensive)..... you can get usually the same benefits (albeit more slowly) using methionine plus calcium, magnesium, and B-6. This should be side-effect free unless (a) the methylation is begun too abruptly or (b) the patient has a rare genetic enzyme disorder which disrupts the SAM cycle. We've found that direct methylation is usually more successful than tinkering with the SAM cycle. The primary way humans receive most of their methyl groups is from dietary methionine. It's often hard to improve on Mother Nature. (Jan 20, 2003)

SAMe is likely to cause great worsening of symptoms, including mania, if given to an OVER-methylated person. The incidence of overmethylation in our patient database of 1,500 bipolar cases is about 18%. Bipolar disorder is not a single condition, but a collection of very different biochemical disorders under the same umbrella diagnosis. SAMe works great for truly undermethylated patients, but all hell breaks out if given to someone who is overloaded (genetically) with methyl groups. The right way to do this is to (a) first determine the person's innate methylation tendency & then (b) act accordingly. (Jan 31, 2003)

Schizophrenia
Severe wheat gluten intolerance can cause classic symptoms of schizophrenia, and amounts to about 4% of all schizophrenia diagnoses in the U.S. These persons usually become quite normal when placed on a gluten-free diet.I've done medical histories for more than 2,000 persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and have always been struck by the high frequency of schizophrenia in other relatives. Interestingly, the schizophrenia would often skip a generation.

NIMH data suggests that the overall incidence of schizophrenia in the USA is between 1% and 4%, depending on the definitions. However, the incidence of schizophrenia for children who have a schizophrenic parent is about 16%. This number doesn't change much for children of schizophrenics adopted at birth. I don't think there is "a schizophrenia gene", partly because this is a garbage term which encompasses several completely different conditions.

There are a number of biochemical ingredients which predispose to each phenotype of SZ..... these may be either genetic or acquired. However, I'm absolutely certain there is a genetic component in most cases.

Carl Pfeiffer was the first to develop meaningful chemical classifications of schizophrenia (and separate treatments for each phenotype). Carl Pfeiffer of Princeton, N.J. saw more than 20,000 schizophrenics in his lifetime. He found that 90% of all SZ patients could be classified into 3 large groups, with completely different etiologies & treatment approaches. These he termed "histapenia", "histadelia", and "pyroluria". The remaining 10% fit into several splinter groups.

One of the splinter groups was gluten intolerance, which represents 4% (1 case in 25). This is a rare form of schizophrenia, but if you've got it, it's everything!Multiple food & chemical sensitivities are also associated with histapenia (low histamine, overmethylation), the largest of all SZ groups, amounting to about 48% of all cases.

For this group, SZ symptoms often worsen if exposed to the offending substances, & nice improvements often occur if they are identified & avoided. However, the food sensitivities usually disappear after about 1 year of aggressive Folate/B-12/B-3 treatment, which is the primary route to a normal life for these patients.

We've known for more than 20 years that the metallothionein protein system does not perform well in most ADHD patients. About 68% of them exhibit very poor control of Cu & Zn, based on lab data from more than 6,000 patients diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Autism is different in that about 90% of patients exhibit Cu/Zn imbalances that are generally much more severe than in ADHD.For several months, we have extended our metallothionein-promotion protocol to ADHD, behavior, depression, and schizophrenic patients who exhibit Cu/Zn imbalance.

The informal results so far are very encouraging. However, we've not yet done a formal outcome study for these populations, and thus have no statistics yet.We are considering applying MT-Promotion to Alzheimers & Parkinsons patients in the near future. Both disorders involve serious oxidative stress and abnormal trace metal levels. In addition, recent research has revealed a striking metallothionein deficiency in the brains of Alzheimers patients. (Feb 25, 2003)I've evaluated more than 3,500 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar or schizophrenia. The predominance of auditory hallucinations, serious self abuse, aggressiveness, inability to continue school, and social isolation...... all point in the direction of classic "paranoid schizophrenia", although many of these patients are labeled "bipolar disorder with psychotic features". Most severely mentally ill persons with a history of exceptional artistic or musical talent test as overmethylated. The biochemical recipe for these patients usually consists of (1) overmethylation, (2) low folate levels, and (3) elevated blood copper levels. All three of these chemical imbalances impact dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, and together can cause rather extraordinary abnormalities in these important neurotransmitters. In my opinion, the key to successful treatment is biochemical treatment to overcome these chemical imbalances...... fortunately this can be accomplished using aggressive therapy with nutrients to normalize the chemical factors.Most mental breakdowns are triggered by severe stress, but the underlying cause is genetic and involves brain chemistry. Many persons self-medicate with alcohol, marijuana, or other illegal drugs in a desperate attempt to feel better. Many patients and their families erroneously believe that the EtOH or drug experiences were the underlying cause of the condition. They are wrong! This adult-onset condition will strike eventually in most cases, even if substance abuse never occurs.Traditional medicine can provide medication support which can usually eliminate (temporarily) most/all psychosis symptoms. However, these patients are usually plagued by drug side effects and are a mere shadow of their original selves. Common side effects are (a) fatigue, (b) inability to focus/concentrate for more than a few minutes, (c) change in personality, (d) massive weight gain, etc. The most popular drugs for these patients are Zyprexa, Seroquil, Risperdal, Geodon, and Clozaril..... the so-called atypical antipsychotics. Since most patients hate these medications, poor compliance is a major problem.I've seen many young schizophrenics and bipolar patients achieve complete recoveries through biochemical (nutrient) therapy. This rarely occurs with traditional medication therapy. (May 12, 2003)Some of schizophrenics who spontaneously get better are those who experience a toxic psychosis. I have a friend who had a toxic psychosis after an accidental overdose of a medication during childbirth. For 6 hours she was a full blown paranoid schizophrenic..... No symptoms in the following 20 years. Also, schizophrenia comes in mild, moderate, and severe versions. Many persons with a very mild genetic tendency for SZ can experience an environmental insult which pushes them into a temporary mental illness. Most will become quite ok with or without therapy.The real problem is the millions of SZ persons who have moderate to severe SZ which does not go away easily. (May 27, 2003)

Taurine
Yes, I've read a few articles and a book that talked about Taurine's slow metabolism and tendency to build up over time. Because of this, I've believed that high doses of Taurine (1,000 to 2,000 mg/day) are ok in the beginning..... but that the dosages need to be reduced within 2 weeks to about 400 to 500 mg/day..... to achieve the same effect.I believe that Taurine is especially effective for (1) combating seizure tendency and (2) reducing liver stress in processing fats. There have been several reports of intolerances and side effects from use of Taurine, and I feel that indiscriminant high doses are unwise.About 12 months ago, there was a fad among several alternative practitioners in which high doses of Taurine were given to every autistic patient. One of the reasons given was "to assist the liver cope with stresses associated with toxic metal overload". This seems to be a poor reason, since Taurine's action in the liver appears to be limited to fat metabolism, and most autistics are slender malabsorbers with low lipid levels. (June 24, 2003)

Womb Trauma
There is an exquisite and fragile biological/biochemical process during gestation in which short, dense immature brain cells are pruned, grow into fully-developed brain cells, and then (remarkably) experience growth inhibition to complete the process. The molecular biology of this process is becoming very well defined, and it is clear that many environmental events can hinder or disrupt early brain development. The primary culprits are oxidative stress, teratological chemicals, and infections. The least appreciated of these harmful factors is oxidative stress which can deplete key proteins and enzymes required for normal brain development.Environmental harm to a developing fetus can result from (a) biochemical inadequacies of the mother, and (b) external environmental insults. We're all familiar with birth defects that can result from Thalidomide, Thorazine, Prolixin, Haldol, and other psychiatric medications. Also the dangers of mercury, lead, and other toxics are well established, and we know that a mother's improper diet (e.g. inadequate folic acid) can be harmful. Although lower on the radar screen, fetal oxidative stresses can be equally devastating.What I'm leading up to.... is the scientific fact that serious emotional or physical stresses experienced by the mother can impair early brain development, especially if the mother is not biochemically intact. For example high emotional stresses or physical trauma to the mother will weaken the activity of metallothionein (MT) and glutathione (GSH) proteins, andincrease oxidative stress in the brain. MT-1 and MT-2 are directly involved in growth of immature brain cells. MT-3 is a key protein required for pruning and growth inhibition. These proteins also have the job of defending against oxidative stress in the brain and are consumed in the process. Maternal emotional stresses and psychic traumae deplete the embryonic brain of MT proteins and can compromise brain development.Womb trauma is real and the concept of "a cry so deep" is not psycho-babble guesswork. Rather, it is solidly supported by scientific fields such as embryology and molecular biology. (Aug 1, 2003)If fetal or early infant traumae have resulted in a brain that hasn't completely matured..... therapies to promote MT and GSH appear very promising..... especially in tandem withbehavioral therapies which stimulate the development of new brain cells.If the net result of the traumae is biochemical or neurotransmitter differences, then biochemical therapy aimed at normalizing brain chemistry would be indicated.If the traumae resulted in diminished ability to tolerate environmental toxins (for example an incompetent blood-brain barrier), then avoidance of such toxins would be an important aspect of treatment.If the traumae resulted in an innate inability to cope with emotional stresses, then counseling or other psychological services could be very beneficial.If the traumae resulted in a brain that is structurally different, this may represent "brain damage" that may be refractory to all treatments. (Aug 1, 2003)

Zinc
There have been several recent published articles which indicate that zinc and zinc metallothionein proteins (1) tend to prevent brain strokes, (2) tend to assist brain recovery after strokes, and (3) that deficiency of Zn or Zn-MT is associated with increased stroke likelihood. An occasional test for plasma Zn could help identify the proper dosage. Most adults can safely start with 25 to 50 mg/day of Zn. Without indication of B-6 deficiency, it might be a good idea to limit pyridoxine hydrochloride (usual form of B-6) to about 200 mg/day. B-6 is very helpful in enhancing the utilization of Zn.After use of these nutrients with thousands of persons, I'm not aware of a single case of harm. However, it is a good idea to introduce zinc gradually & to take Zn during the PM only. (June 3, 2003
Every 5 years or so, the zinc experts of the world convene for a symposium in which they share new advances in Zn technogy & research..... It's usually headed up by the eminent Prof. Prasad.One of the topics is laboratory testing to indicate an individual's Zn status. They consider about 10 different methods including packed cells, taste tests, etc...... The last two symposia resulted in the consensus that none of the testing options is wonderful, but that the best of the commercially available tests is plasma zinc. Taste tests didn't make the top three methods.However the Zn experts also stated that the most definitive determination of zinc depletion is the presence of symptoms of Zn depletion which disappear after Zn supplementation.My organization has evaluated the Zn status of 18,000 patients and we've tried all of these methods. Our standard protocol involves plasma Zn, being careful to use acid-etched, trace-metal-free tubes.We find that virtually all treatment-naive ASD persons are very Zn depleted and overloaded in "free" (unbound by ceruloplasmin) copper. Our patient population for ASD is 2,800. Our database of 5,600 ADHD patients indicates that about 75% are depleted in Zn. The remaining 25% have problems associated with pyrrole disorders, methylation disorders, EFA disorders, toxic overloads, etc. (July 22, 2003)

The high level of zinc depletion in ASD appears to stem from a genetic weakness in the metallothionein protein system.Cu/Zn ratios in hair are very helpful in ADHD and behavior disorders..... but far less useful in ASD, depression, and schizophrenia. Tracking plasma Zn, serum Cu and serum ceruloplasmin levels can be very helpful in guiding dosages aimed at normalizing Zn.

Management of Zn & Cu levels is a challenging problem in ASD. Sometimes rather extraordinary Zn dosages are required to normalize blood Zn levels.Virtually all ASD persons are Zn depleted., but not all exhibit an elevated Cu/Zn ratio. A minority of ASD patients exhibit normal or low Cu levels in serum, but have vastly inadequate levles of ceruloplasmin. Thus, the level of "unbound" Cu can be very high, even though all standard measures of Cu appear to be low. Some of these patients seem to have a mild version of Wilson's Disesase. (July 24, 2003)

Is Vitamin D Another Anti-Cancer Vitamin?

Q: I've seen a number of articles recently suggesting that vitamin D protects against cancer. What do you think?-- Anonymous

A: Vitamin D has been getting a lot of press lately as more and more studies link it with reduced rates of a number of types of cancer (18 at last count) as well as with lower risks of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Some experts estimate that thousands of cancer deaths could be avoided in the United States each year if everyone got enough vitamin D.

The connections between vitamin D, cancer and other diseases stem from observations that certain disorders, including some forms of cancer, occur much less frequently in areas with sunny warm climates than they do in places where the sun doesn't shine brightly throughout the year. For example, in 1980 a team of epidemiologists found that rates of colon cancer were much higher in populations that were exposed to the least amount of light (especially in major cities and in high-latitude rural areas).

Bear in mind that our bodies make vitamin D in response to exposure to the ultraviolet B rays of the sun ("B" lightwaves are medium-length, as opposed to the long "A" waves). If you live in an area where the sun isn't strong year round or if you rarely venture outside or always put on sunscreen when you do, you could be shortchanged on vitamin D unless you take supplements.

It isn't easy to get enough from your diet. The best sources are fortified milk and cereals, eggs, salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines. (Unfortunately, most fortified foods provide vitamin D2, a form which is much less well utilized by the body than D3.)

Recent research has suggested that vitamin D regulates cell proliferation and can hold in check the sort of wild cell growth that leads to cancer. A number of studies have shown that some cancer patients diagnosed in the summer or fall when vitamin D levels are high as a result of sun exposure have higher survival rates than patients diagnosed in the winter.

We've long known that multiple sclerosis is rare at the equator and becomes much more frequent at high latitudes. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston who followed a group of more than 185,000 nurses for 19 years, getting updated nutritional information from them every four years, found that those with the highest intake of supplemental vitamin D had a 40 percent lower risk of developing MS compared to women who didn't take supplements. The study was published in the January 13, 2004, issue of the journal Neurology. In Iowa, researchers who followed a group of more than 29,000 women for more than 11 years found that those with the highest intake of vitamin D had the lowest risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Here, vitamin D may be protective via effects on the immune system.

This is a fascinating and fast-growing area of research. As you may know, in 2005 I raised my vitamin D recommendation from 400 IU daily to 1,000 IU because of the accumulating body of evidence showing that vitamin D is more important than we once thought, not only for our bones (it promotes calcium absorption) but for the protection it provides against many serious diseases. Most experts now agree that 1,000 IU is the amount of vitamin D we all should be getting daily. Look for supplements that provide D3 (choleciferol) rather than D2 (ergocalciferol). And there is no concern about toxicity at this dose even though vitamin D is fat soluble. In fact, as more evidence about the benefits of vitamin D are forthcoming, some researchers are already suggesting that 2,000 IUs is a more sensible dose. Stay tuned.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

–Author of:

• Eight Weeks to Optimum Health


• Spontaneous Healing


• The Natural Mind


• The Marriage of the Sun and Moon


• Health and Healing


• Natural Health, Natural Medicine


• From Chocolate to Morphine (with Winifred Rosen)

Researchers Spot New Gene-Linked Gastric Disorder

WEDNESDAY, July 19 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. researchers say they've identified a genetic disorder that causes congenital diarrhea and intestinal failure in children.

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers named the disorder "enteric anendocrinosis." It's caused by a mutation in the Neurogenin-3 (NEUROG3) gene.

The finding -- the first new intestinal disorder identified within the past 15 years -- could help advance stem cell research for both type 1 diabetes and intestinal conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, the researchers said.

"Rare diseases help us understand how the body works," principal investigator Dr. Martin G. Martin, professor of pediatrics, division of gastroenterology and nutrition, Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA, said in a prepared statement.

His team identified the NEUROG 3 mutation after analyzing DNA from three newborns who suffered vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration after they were fed baby formula. The findings are published in the July 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Children with enteric anendocrinosis have an abnormally low number of endocrine cells in their intestine and eventually develop type 1 diabetes. There is no cure for the condition, which is worsened by eating. Treatment options include specialized formulas and intravenous feeding to minimize diarrhea and promote growth.

"We now know that the hormone-producing endocrine cells of the intestine have an essential role in facilitating nutrition absorption. These findings have already led to the detection of subset forms of enteric anendocrinosis," Martin said.

The study findings could lead to other research advances, he added.
"Since patients with enteric anendocrinosis develop type 1 diabetes, we hope stem cell researchers can apply the knowledge from this discovery to the role of NEUROG3 in the development of insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas," Martin said.

More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about children and diarrhea.
Last reviewed: 07/19/2006 Last updated: 07/19/2006

Paralyzed Patient Able To Manipulate Devices By Thought Using Brain-computer Link

A patient with a spinal cord injury was able to produce brain signals associated with intending to move his paralyzed limbs, signals picked up by an implanted sensor and translated into electronic impulses that allowed him to control a computer cursor and manipulate mechanical devices. A report appearing in the July 13 issue of Nature includes the first published findings from an ongoing clinical trial of the BrainGate Neural Interface System, a brain-computer interface device in the early stages of clinical testing at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and other institutions across the country.

"The broad question we are addressing is whether it's possible for someone with paralysis to use the activity of the motor cortex [the part of the brain responsible for motion] to control an external device," says Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD, a neurologist at MGH, Spaulding and Brigham and Women's Hospital and lead author of the Nature paper. "

There has been a question of how the function of the cortex might change after it was disconnected from the rest of the body by damage to the spinal cord. We're finding that, even years after spinal cord injury, the same signals that originally controlled a limb are available and can be utilized." Manufactured by Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc., of Foxborough, Mass., the BrainGate System consists of an internal sensor to detect brain cell activity and external processors that convert brain impulses into computerized signals. Two clinical trials are currently underway to evaluate the system's safety and feasibility for detecting and translating brain activity from patients with paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury, brain stem stroke or muscular dystrophy and patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

John Donoghue, PhD, a neuroscience professor and director of the Brain Science Program at Brown University and the senior author of the Nature paper, is a co-founder of Cyberkinetics. The Nature report describes the first participant in these trials, a 25-year-old man who had sustained a spinal cord injury leading to paralysis in all four limbs three years prior to the study. Over a period of nine months, he took part in 57 sessions during which the implanted BrainGate sensor recorded activity in his motor cortex while he imagined moving his paralyzed limbs and then used that imagined motion for several computer-based tasks. Among his accomplishments - completed with little or no learning time - was moving a computer cursor to open simulated e-mail, draw circular shapes and play simple video games. He also was able to open and close a prosthetic hand and use a robotic limb to grasp and move objects. "

This system is giving us, for the first time, the ability to look at and listen to firing patterns of ensembles of individual neurons in the human brain for extended periods of time. We hope the knowledge gained from this work will allow the development of systems that provide improved communication and environmental control for people with paralysis and someday, when combined with neuromuscular stimulators, restore control over their limbs," says Hochberg, an instructor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School and an investigator in neuroscience at Brown. He and his co-authors also note that the system requires significant improvement in reliability and control and that further research is needed before it will be useful outside a research setting.

###

Co-authors of the Nature paper, along with Hochberg and Donoghue, are Mijail Serruya, MD, PhD, of Brown; Gerhard Friehs, MD, of Brown and Rhode Island Hospital; Jon Mukand, MD, PhD, Sargent Rehabilitation Center, Warwick, R.I.; Maryam Saleh, Abraham Caplan, and Almut Branner, PhD of Cyberkinetics; David Chen, MD, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago; and Richard Penn, MD, University of Chicago.

The clinical trials are being supported by Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc. Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of nearly $500 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, transplantation biology and photomedicine. MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital are founding members of Partners HealthCare HealthCare System, a Boston-based integrated health care delivery system.
Contact: Sue McGreevey Massachusetts General Hospital

• integrated medicine

Brain-computer link allows paralyzed patient to manipulate devices by thought

First results of pilot trial conducted at MGH, Spaulding, other institutions around the US
A patient with a spinal cord injury was able to produce brain signals associated with intending to move his paralyzed limbs, signals picked up by an implanted sensor and translated into electronic impulses that allowed him to control a computer cursor and manipulate mechanical devices. A report appearing in the July 13 issue of Nature includes the first published findings from an ongoing clinical trial of the BrainGate Neural Interface System, a brain-computer interface device in the early stages of clinical testing at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and other institutions across the country.
"The broad question we are addressing is whether it's possible for someone with paralysis to use the activity of the motor cortex [the part of the brain responsible for motion] to control an external device," says Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD, a neurologist at MGH, Spaulding and Brigham and Women's Hospital and lead author of the Nature paper. "There has been a question of how the function of the cortex might change after it was disconnected from the rest of the body by damage to the spinal cord. We're finding that, even years after spinal cord injury, the same signals that originally controlled a limb are available and can be utilized."

Manufactured by Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc., of Foxborough, Mass., the BrainGate System consists of an internal sensor to detect brain cell activity and external processors that convert brain impulses into computerized signals. Two clinical trials are currently underway to evaluate the system's safety and feasibility for detecting and translating brain activity from patients with paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury, brain stem stroke or muscular dystrophy and patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). John Donoghue, PhD, a neuroscience professor and director of the Brain Science Program at Brown University and the senior author of the Nature paper, is a co-founder of Cyberkinetics.

The Nature report describes the first participant in these trials, a 25-year-old man who had sustained a spinal cord injury leading to paralysis in all four limbs three years prior to the study. Over a period of nine months, he took part in 57 sessions during which the implanted BrainGate sensor recorded activity in his motor cortex while he imagined moving his paralyzed limbs and then used that imagined motion for several computer-based tasks. Among his accomplishments – completed with little or no learning time – was moving a computer cursor to open simulated e-mail, draw circular shapes and play simple video games. He also was able to open and close a prosthetic hand and use a robotic limb to grasp and move objects.

"This system is giving us, for the first time, the ability to look at and listen to firing patterns of ensembles of individual neurons in the human brain for extended periods of time. We hope the knowledge gained from this work will allow the development of systems that provide improved communication and environmental control for people with paralysis and someday, when combined with neuromuscular stimulators, restore control over their limbs," says Hochberg, an instructor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School and an investigator in neuroscience at Brown. He and his co-authors also note that the system requires significant improvement in reliability and control and that further research is needed before it will be useful outside a research setting.

Contact: Sue McGreevey
smcgreevey@partners.org
617-724-2764
Massachusetts General Hospital

Stem Cells Might Fight Circulatory Disorder

Stem cell injections might someday be used to treat a debilitating cardiovascular condition called peripheral arterial disease (PAD), researchers say.
People with PAD have poor blood circulation -- especially in the legs -- and can suffer sores, ulcers and even amputations. PAD is caused by a clogging and hardening of the arteries, and patients may need surgical procedures such as angioplasty or an artery bypass graft to widen narrowed blood vessels.
However, as many as 12 percent of PAD patients can't have these surgical procedures. That's why researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis are investigating the use of stem cell injections to promote blood vessel repair and the growth of new blood vessels.
"We think this is a very promising treatment that could help patients with severe peripheral artery disease for whom there is now no effective therapy," Dr. Michael Murphy, an investigator at the Indiana Center for Vascular Biology and Medicine, said in a prepared statement.
He and his colleagues are using adult stem cells -- which can create new, specialized cells -- along with progenitor cells, which can create cells that make up the lining of blood vessels. The stem and progenitor cells are extracted from a patient's bone marrow and then injected into the patient's leg.
Patients taking part in the study will receive one injection, and then be evaluated over a three-month period. They're checked for indicators such as blood vessel growth and wound healing. Seven patients have already had the procedure, and Murphy and his colleagues expect to test the therapy in three more patients.
Previous laboratory tests and studies in animals indicated the injections of the adult stem and progenitor cells led to the development of new blood vessels.
If this trial proves the procedure is safe, the next step would be to test it in a larger group of patients.

More information
The American Medical Association has more about PAD.
THURSDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News)

New Scientific Findings and Their Impact on the Enderlein Perspective

New Scientific Findings and Their Impact on the Enderlein Perspective
© Copyright 2001 by Michael Coyle for NuLife Sciences, USA (Explore Issue: Volume 10, Number 6)
This paper is written as a response to the recent findings on pleomorphism that have been presented by Ronald Ullmann, a biochemist who resides in Calw, Germany. The conclusions that are presented by Mr. Ullmann are based on the published research findings of Dr. Christopher Gerner, Ph.D. The paper itself may be located at http://www.bioresourceinc.com/articles/perspective.html
It should be noted that Mr. Ullmann is the son-in-law of the family that owns San-Pharma, a competitor in the field of isopathic remedies distribution and therefore should not at all be considered an unbiased or impartial source of research information. On the other hand, let's attempt to consider the matter rigorously.

Mycoplasma has the appearance of a donut or circle in the darkfield at 1,000X.I would like to begin by saying that, if it proves to be true and replicable, I am very pleased that the research which is presented has led us to some possible conclusions regarding the works and theories of Prof. Dr. Günther Enderlein, who was one of the earliest proponents of pleomorphic theory, and the developer of numerous remedies which are drawn from microorganisms or their by-products. This presentation will attempt to give a synopsis of these findings, and an interpretation of the practical ramifications for both the individuals interpreting the meaning of the Native Blood Analysis and the individual who is the subject of the evaluation or screening process.
One of the primary implications of the Gerner research is that the cycles of development introduced by Prof. Dr. Enderlein in his work entitled Bacterien Cyclosem (the Life Cycles of Bacteria), as published in 1925, produced a theory of microorganism development that was unable to be verified with the existing technology of that time. (The Bacteria Cyclogeny is now available in English, see page 6.) Present-day DNA sequencing and protein evaluation procedures indicate that the microscopically visible particles that were viewed by Dr. Enderlein through the utilization of darkfield microscopy techniques during his time and by darkfield microscope practitioners since, have been erroneously concluded to be living microorganisms. Again, this depends on Dr. Gerner's original research being verifiable.


Electron micrograph of mycoplasma at 120,000X. Notice the donut like appearance.This research, if factual, is certainly a revolutionary finding, due to the facts that the colloids (technically, any particle which will remain suspended in solution) and colloidal structures that are viewed microscopically are interpreted in patterns that correlate with degenerative processes occurring in the body, and their subsequent decline in valence and number may also be charted in conjunction with the application of isopathic therapies, most often accompanied by the recovery of well-being by the subjects of those therapies.
If we are to even entertain the possibility of these research findings being correct, it provokes a number of questions. It appears that the scientific proof of mycoplasma infections in the blood stream brings an additional area of necessary cross-substantiation. The technical question remains: How were the specimens prepared in such a manner as to allow for symprotits to be evaluated and not mycoplasma, due to their similar size and appearance? Considering mycoplasmas are understood to be polymorphic, how can we overlook the fact that none of the known numerous mycoplasma species which are related to degenerative processes, such as M. salivarium, M. orale, M. buccale, M. faucim, M.lipophilum, M. pneumonaie, M. hominus, M.genitalium, M. fermentens, M. primatum, M. spermatophilum, M. pirum and M. penetrans are noted as having been observed during the experiments of Dr. Gerner. These organisms are observed in the blood profiles by Natural Therapists and their existence has been proven out through genetic sequencing, protein testing and electron microscope studies. For additional information on mycoplasma therapies, see http://chipsa.com/issels.html
Dr. Enderlein concluded that specific pathogenic structures develop in size and appearance depending on the progress of a particular illness (Endobiosis). (1) Due to the fact that the morphologies that he viewed were similar in appearance to Syncrotis buccalis and Schlerothrix tuberculosis bacteria, he concluded that these structures which were observed in blood preparations were living bacteria. He also observed systase (systatogenic) structures which are morphologically comparable to the fungi Mucor racemosus and Aspergillus niger, visually, and therefore related his observations of the blood forms that he observed to microorganisms due to the similarities in morphologies. In today's scientific world, DNA or RNA sequences are determined or specific proteins are identified in order to arrive at conclusions regarding similarities of this type.

Artifacts of protein polymerization. These are spontaneous morphological factors that develop as a by product of hemolysis. One potential expression of polymerized proteins in a live blood picture.

Crystallization of numerous blood byproducts, including polymerized proteins. Live blood in darkfield at 500X.

The 'lakes' or white areas in this dry blood study indicate degeneration. Their milky appearance is due to the presence of polymerized proteins. These proteins are made unusable through free radical activity in the body and are metabolic waste.In viewing the progressions in the blood, he observed the degradation of more complex morphological structures into less complex structures as they contacted small virus sized particles which he termed spermits. (2). He therefore developed remedies which were composed of the viral sized components of Mucor racemosus and Aspergillus niger, as he presumed that this was identical to what he was observing in the blood. (3, 4, 5) In those days, it was commonly accepted in the scientific community that if something appeared the same, that it was the same. (6) Today these types of determinations are arrived at through DNA or RNA sequencing and/or the analysis of specific proteins.
In Dr. Gerner's experiments, Darkfield Bodies were isolated and cultured and were determined not to be living organisms due to the lack of a plasma membrane. The Darkfield Bodies (whichever were observed , which is not clearly defined in the Ullmann article) also were determined to be primarily composed of albumin and globin, with globin being the primary constituent. Additionally, the Darkfield Bodies did not stain positive for DNA.
If the constant rearrangement of the protein skeleton and plasma membrane of the cell is inhibited, oxidative damage to hemoglobin occurs from the physical stressing of the red corpuscles as they move through the small capillaries, which are smaller than the cells. This produces some of the same phenomenon as the intentional stressing of the specimen through the inclusion of alkaline solution (sodium), and/or physically stressing the cells by applying pressure to the cover slip in the instance of a wet smear (live blood specimen). If the cell has oxidative damage (free-radical effect), it cannot respond to the capillary induced stress quickly enough and the cells then begin to lyse. This lysing effect causes protein polymerization which produces the morphological appearances through clumping and also produces the 'lakes' phenomenon noted in the dry blood evaluation or Heitan-LeGarde screening process. (7) Changes in the cell shape signals elimination from the body by the spleen and liver. A result of this process is the release of unbound hemoglobin into the serum. Finally, as this process proceeds, increasingly greater amounts of protein particles clump and become what has been termed in the Enderlein perspective as symprotits and macrosymprotits, etc., indicators of Dysbiosis.
Summation and Opinion
Regardless of whether or not there is an abscence of DNA in the microorganisms which are viewed in the screening of living blood, it can be stated with conviction that the appearances of the by-products of cellular lysis due to oxidative stress hold many if not most of the same implications regarding physiologic disturbances, from the practitioner's clinical perspective. This factor is reinforced by the certainty that the isopathic preparations, which have been created by Dr. Enderlein and others, exhibit a high degree of efficacy when applied by a properly trained practitioner, as approximately 80 years of clinical application by a high number of advanced biological practitioners will attest. The question would be, how? How do the remedies work if they are not specific to a species which has involvement in the degenerative process? Why, for instance, does a combination Mucor Racemosus/Aspergillus niger product taken as a remedy, have an effect on some Candidiasis conditions, resulting in complete reversal of the morphological imbalances in a blood picture?
The answers are few and the alignment of the morphological information towards the present-day DNA based perspective only creates many new questions. I do not think that there is a single field in CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) that is such an orphan as microbiology, in the first place. With all of the scientific application of this European Biological Medicine perspective for the last 80 years, the only information that is known to have scientific bearing on the DNA relationships to the Darkfield Bodies comes from one research finding? This in a field that is the richest possible ground for scientific advancement, the categorizing and cataloguing of the millions of microorganisms potentially present in a body at any given time, and how they function and thereby effect health. This is more interesting research than stem-cell research, for instance, because it potentially would show you what was causative in the light of microoganism effects on the physiology, whereas stem cell research shows a way to fix the problem (possibly), but still never looks at what is driving it, in life itself, which is the most important information for the practitioner and the subject of therapy. Over the years, I have become increasingly impressed by the evidence, clinical and scientific, that shows that virtually all disease processes have an underlying microorganism counterpart, cause, or component.

I have received numerous inquiries from colleagues, associates and students who were in something of a state of confusion and were having a hard time integrating the potential impact of the Ullmann report. If true, did it invalidate all of their work and did it mean that the work of Blood Analysis was unsubstantiated? I say, certainly not! In our clinical work as Natural Therapists, our aim is to help the subject to heal. The patterns that we observe in blood pictures still have the same meaning, ultimately, regardless of "exactly what" you call what you are observing. A blood picture that has a highly elevated number of circulatory inhibitors such as fibrin (fila), plaque (symplasts) and excess platelets and aggregation of platelets still has the same implications. The client or patient is in trouble. One may start to think about these pathologies in other new ways also, based on new information. This is always a good thing, especially if it makes ones work more effective. What it does not do is to make all information of the type leading up to that point, wrong. What it should be doing is to add new dimensions to the work that are more technically correct.
If it were true that the Cyclogeny per Enderlein is not the best tool to be used as a template for observations, that is fine. On the other hand, the newer potential research findings (if and when substantiated) regarding polymerizations of albumin and globin creating "blood artifacts" of a type, has exactly the same clinical significance as it always did. The body is dysbiotic, breaking down. How one goes about correcting that is "skillful means" and no one is depending wholly and solely on the microscopic evaluations for their bottom line. It is not diagnostic, it is a screen. You see evidence of dysbiosis. Therefore, our interpretation of the chemistries and DNA of the phenomenal appearances that are observed in the darkfield may change, but the basic simplicity of the relationship of the observed forms to systemic imbalances remains. The practitioner's work essentially remains the same. *
(1) Enderlein, G., Akmon Band 1, pgs.36 and 37(2) Enderlein, G., Akmon Band 1, pg. 335(3) Enderlein, G., Akmon Band 1, pg. 189(4) Enderlein, G., Akmon Band 1, pg. 321(5) Enderlein, G., Akmon Band 1, pg. 335(6) Enderlein, G., Akmon Band 1, pg. 286(7) Bradford, Allen, Oxidology
Michael Coyle is a Nutritionally Oriented Natural Therapist and Microbiological Researcher.
In 1967, at the age of 17, Michael began his experimentations with dietary approaches to healing, following the works of the developer of Macrobiotics, George Osawa. This led him to make a synthesis of both Oriental approaches and Western Naturopathic approaches as described by Dr. Paavo Airola, N.D.
Michael has been applying and researching complementary healing modalities for more than 30 years. He has also worked extensively with herbal, homeopathic, isopathic, nutritional, nootropic and energetic therapies.
In 1989, Michael began his study of morphological conditions in the native blood and has studied with such authorities in the field as Dr. med. Maria Bleker, and Dr. Thomas Rau, M.D., both considered in scientific and medical circles internationally to be leaders in the field, and are popular speakers in those circles. Michael Coyle is highly sought after as a consultant by medical and complementary health professionals. Michael is a technical advisor to a number of research organizations and nutritional formulators.
Since 1994, Michael has devoted his time to training medical doctors and complementary health professionals at his training facility in the art and science of native blood evaluation and the associated applications of wholistic therapies.
As a complement to his trainings he has developed two major literary works. There is the 430 page textbook Applied Microscopy For Nutritional Evaluation and Correction, an explanation of what Michael has coined "The New Biology". The accompanying volume The Four Underlying Causes of Illness and What To Do About Them, is a treatise on the causative factors underlying illness, which has been scientifically proven to be driven by chemicals, diet, radiations and emotions. These works are available through Elbow Room Publishing, Petaluma, CA.
Michael is also the inventor and designer of a breakthrough high resolution, high magnification microscopy system which is ideal for native blood imaging. He is the technical representative and spokesperson for, NuLife Sciences, a corporation created to provide educational services.

more info at: www.dreddyclinic.com

Testing the limits of science

Naples Sun Times - Naples,FL,USA...
Alternative and complementary medicines, which I prefer to call holistic practices, are ... years ago recommended: "Let the food be your medicine," current liberal ...

Thirty years ago, a scientific revolution prevailed over the social upheavals characteristic of the late 60s and early 70s. Students were no longer fighting for educational reforms, feminism had already achieved significant social victories, Castro was internationally discredited and Vietnam was over. But science had started to unlock vital secrets in nature.

In three decades, scientists have determined the structure of the genes responsible for the appearance of humans and plants, and for disease. They have also found ways to manipulate them. The results: cloning, genetic engineering, widespread transplants with higher rates of survival and stem cell technology.

Dolly the sheep (1996), turned biology upside down. It showed that any cell of the body could turn back into an embryo, to produce a genetic replica of the original body. However, three years after Dolly was born, nature raised its warning. Scientists found that Dolly's cells looked older than the ones of same age natural-born sheep. At 3 years old, Dolly seemed to be 9.
Medical advances in technology have run parallel to the uncapping of principles that Chinese knew well 5,000 years ago. Alternative and complementary medicines, which I prefer to call holistic practices, are based on the principle that the body has an astonishing capacity for self-healing and for protecting itself against disease.

On one side, we are replacing body parts with metal and plastic and aim to create human organs in the lab. On the other side, we are becoming increasingly aware of how much our lifestyle determines our vulnerability to disease.

While much of the current inspiration for self-care and health prevention comes from conservative Hippocrates, who 2,500 years ago recommended: "Let the food be your medicine," current liberal science aims at manipulating our bodies and food to generate health!
For example, in 2000 the same Scottish team who produced Dolly, was making chickens that would lay eggs containing medication. A year later, though, they warned against cloning animals for meat and milk production, as they have found that cloned animals suffered from severe immune system problems.

At present, the most controversial of issues in science seems to be stem cells. These cells can be produced by cloning or by a process called nuclear transplantation, which produces cells with the same genetic makeup as the individual who donated the original body cell.
Stem cells are "unprogrammed cells," found in embryos and lately also in adults, which have the potential to become any type of cell. Scientists dream of making organs out of stem cells. New pancreas to cure diabetes, for example. In theory, stem cells could replace lost cells and make new entire new organs.

Only a decade old, stem cell technology has not gone very far yet but has raised ethical concerns and prompted a political debate because it requires destruction of the human embryos used to create them. The fundamental questions sustaining the debate are if the embryos used to produce stem cells are human life, and thus should be protected, and if these human embryos that will be destroyed anyway, shouldn't be used for a greater good.

Many different groups have expressed their concerns. Catholic bishops are about to launch a campaign aimed at preventing Catholics from signing a petition to protect stem-cell work. There is a coalition of businesses, patient groups and universities leading a petition drive to protect stem cell research. Senator Dianne Feinstein has urged a ban on human reproductive cloning while allowing promising nuclear transplantation research to continue. President Bush assigned funds to support research on stem cells where embryos had already been destroyed.

Recently Dr. Jean Toma proved that stem cells can also be grown from adult skin, including tissue discarded after plastic surgery and the foreskin discarded after newborn circumcisions, showing that perhaps bioethical concerns can be sidestepped. The problem, scientist say, is adult stem cells are capable to produce several but limited numbers of cell types while embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos and have the potential to become all types of specialized cells.

Stem cells have also opened the door to a different concept in natural healing. The multimillionaire wellness industry is producing botanical extract products like StemEnhance, that claims to promote the release of stem cells from the bone marrow into the bloodstream. Those stem cells are said to travel to areas of the body where they are most needed for cell regeneration and tissue repair.

Still, we have no idea of what will be the effects of all this playing with the forces of nature.
Pride and arrogance tempted Baron Frankenstein to play God. Mary Shelley's novel made a strong statement on how the imprudent use of the power granted by scientific innovation can become the most destructive of human forces.

Silvia Casabianca graduated and practiced as a medical doctor in Colombia, and holds a master's degree in art therapy from Concordia University in Montreal. She is a Reiki Master/teacher, a Licensed Massage Therapist and a certified Trager practitioner. Silvia has moved towards a multidimensional view of the body and a holistic approach to health. She teaches Reiki seminars, leads bodywork workshops around Florida and is a published writer.
©Naples Sun Times 2005