[The influence of acupuncture on the quality of life and the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone in patients presenting with subclinical hypothyroidism].

(Extraído de PubMed.gov)

Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult. 2011 Sep-Oct;(5):29-33.

[Article in Russian]

Luzina KÉ, Luzina LL, Vasilenko AM.

Abstract

This study included 27 female patients who applied for medical treatment of arthralgias and myalgias. They were found to have elevated levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone in conjunction with the normal concentrations of thyroid hormones. The therapeutic procedures included corporal and auricular acupuncture, introduction of needles into the reflexogenic scalp and wrist zones (depending on clinical symptoms) and into the thyroid gland projection zones on the skin, massage of paravertebral regions of the cervical and thoracic spine using a bone scraper (the Gua Sha healing technique). Twenty of the 27 patients completed two therapeutic courses with a 3-4 month interval between them. The treatment resulted in a significant decrease of the number and severity of the initial clinical symptoms; the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone fell down to the physiological values, characteristics of the quality of life became comparable with those of healthy subjects. It is concluded that acupuncture may be regarded as an alternative to substitution therapy of subclinical hypothyroidism.

PMID:

22165143

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

The effect of extremely diluted agitated gibberellic acid (10e-30) on wheat stalk growth--a two researcher pilot study.

(Extraído de PubMed.gov)

Complement Ther Med. 2011 Jun;19(3):164-9. Epub 2011 May 20.

Pfleger A, Hofäcker J, Scherer-Pongratz W, Lothaller H, Reich C, Endler PC.

Source

Interuniversity College for Health and Development Graz/Castle of Seggau, Austria. college@inter-uni.net

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Use of a wheat growth bio assay after 7 days in research on homeopathic dilutions of gibberellic acid.

METHODS:

Grains of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum, Capo variety) were observed under the influence of extremely diluted gibberellic acid (10(-30)) prepared by stepwise dilution and agitation according to a protocol derived from homeopathy (30×). Analogously prepared water was used for control. In a two centre study, 3 experiments with a total of 4880 grains were performed.

RESULTS:

Data were found to be rather homogeneous within the control group as well as within the verum group in general. Germination rates were around 95%, with no significant difference between verum and control group (p>0.05). Mean stalk lengths (mm) were 40.63±20.96 for the verum and 44.33±21.11 for the control group (mean±S.D.) at grain level (N=2440 per group) and ±5.33 and ±5.89, respectively at dish level (122 cohorts of 20 grains per treatment group). In other words, verum stalk length (91.65%) was 8.35% smaller than control stalk length (100%). This difference is statistically highly significant (p<0.001) and was found by both researchers involved independently.

CONCLUSION:

These results suggest that there was an influence of gibberellic acid 30× on wheat seedling development, i.e. the wheat growth bio assay can be a useful tool for further experiments on homeopathic dilutions of gibberellic acid.

Homeopathy in Healthcare

 

(Extraído de springer.com)

Effectiveness, Appropriateness, Safety, Costs

Bornhöft, Gudrun; Matthiessen, Peter (Eds.)

2012, 2012, 300 p. 9 illus., 3 in color.

• Softcover, ISBN 978-3-642-20637-5

  29,90 €

This volume includes the full Health Technology Assessment (HTA) report on effectiveness, appropriateness, safety and costs of homoeopathy in health care. The report was commissioned by the Swiss health authorities to inform decision-making on the further inclusion of homoeopathy in the list of services covered by statutory health insurance. Other studies carried out as part of the Swiss Complementary Medicine Evaluation Programme (PEK) caused a massive stir due to their schematic and exclusively quantitative (negative-)outcomes for homoeopathy.

The present report, in contrast, offers a differentiated evaluation of the practice of homoeopathy in health care. It confirms homoeopathy as a valuable addition to the conventional medical landscape – a status it has been holding for a long time in practical health care.

Table of contents

Background and objectives of the HTA.- Introduction to the specialty of homoeopathy principles and definition.- Homoeopathy: research and research problems.- General problems with clinical trials in research.- HTA homoeopathy – methods and material.- International utilization of complementary medical approaches.- CAM conditions and use in Switzerland.- Overview of systematic reviews on the clinical efficacy of homoeopathy.- Clinical studies on the effectiveness of homoeopathy for the indication URTI/A (Upper respiratory tract infections and Allergic Reactions).- Safety of homoeopathic use.- Cost-effectiveness of homoeopathy.-Full discussion of HTA results.

La homeopatía ayuda a los niños hiperactivos

http://www.eiccam.eu/pdfs/EICCAM_Research_Fact_Nr9_esp.pdf

Vaccine resistance movement

(Extraído de vaccineresistancemovement.com)

The road-map leading to all neurological & neuro-developmental disorders traces back to the earliest vaccines administered to babies (HEP B, DTaP, PCV, RV, HIB, IPV, MMR). Timing is the key – a premature breach of the delicate, under-developed “electrical grid network” designed to protect the baby’s brain & nervous system (Myelin Sheath, Blood-Brain Barrier, Meninges). It’s not a stroke of genius to utilize basic detective work of this variety.

The proof is in the toxic overload, resulting in all the current manifestations we are witnessing throughout our communities. The WHO, CDC, NIH & all similar Government Health Departments & Institutions around the world, in collusion with major vaccine manufacturers, are implicated in this fraudulent cover-up of the truth. Please wake up, folks! the ENTIRE vaccine Industry is a fraud, period. Vaccine Resistance Movement

Case in point: The PCV Vaccine PREVNAR 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]), part of the standard immunization program throughout the West, is typically administered to babies in 4 stages (2, 4, 6 & 12-15 months) and further given to adults 19-64 with varying chronic conditions (lung, heart, liver or kidney disease; asthma, diabetes, alcoholism/smokers, HIV/AIDS, cancer, damaged/absent spleen). According to the CDC it is ostensibly designed to project against “blood infections, pneumonia, and meningitis, mostly in young children…deafness and brain damage.”

All vaccinated children in the Western hemisphere are now carriers of what is known as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus/anti-biotic resistant super-bug), due to cross-infection primarily from the routine administering of the Pneumococcal (PCV) Vaccine – in combination with post vaccination anti-biotic & anti-viral drug treatment, an accumulative assault which strips a child of his/her natural anti-biotic resistance whilst infecting them with a host of bacterial serotypes (1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F and 23F); leaving them totally vulnerable to Pneumonia, Myocarditis, Meningitis & even sudden death. The current generation have literally become unwitting hosts to a form of bacterial roulette, an ideal breeding ground for the proliferation & weaponizing of bacterial infections.

This vaccine is also linked to high-grade seizures & chronic infections (ie. ear), again triggered by the series, stemming from the barrage of vaccine derived heavy metals & excipients, resulting in Anaphylaxis, a system-wide allergic & functional breakdown, described as ‘a severe, whole-body allergic reaction to a chemical that has become an allergen‘, and Encephalitis, inflammation of the brain & meninges (Meningoencephalitis) manifesting as ‘diffuse and/or focal neuropsychological dysfunction‘.

‘”I had a baby that was perfectly healthy, happy, okay until she got a shot until she got her vaccine. Thirty, forty hours later, she’s in the hospital having seizures that they can’t stop. You’re not going to tell me it’s not related to the vaccine somehow. It’s hard, it’s very hard. I’m not angry, I’m mad. I guess I’m a little bitter about losing a child. I’m not a little… I’m a lot bitter.” Quote from Ray Graves, father of baby Hayley – who slipped in and out of a coma for 45 days after receiving Prevnar7 (Pneumococcal 7-valent Conjugate Vaccine/Diphtheria CRM197 Protein: Prevnar®), until she died in September, 2001. Tremors shook her little body almost the entire time.

According to Dr. Erdem Cantekin, a medical researcher, one of the leading US experts on earaches, not only are federal regulators issuing bad information, they are also not revealing some of Prevnar’s dangerous side effects. Cantekin says a study by the vaccine’s manufacturer shows seizures happened four times more often in infants given vaccines with Prevnar than children in a control group.

“It [Prevnar] is an ineffective and toxic vaccine. I think the FDA approval of this vaccine is an act of irresponsibility. I think the FDA is following their regular course. They ignore the warnings until many people die, and then it becomes such a public outrage and public problem, they say, ‘Oops, we will take this thing off the market.‘”

‘Pneumococcal 7-valent Conjugate Vaccine (Diphtheria CRM197 Protein), Prevnar® (manufactured by Pfizer/Wyeth), is a sterile solution of saccharides of the capsular antigens of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 4, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19F, and 23F individually conjugated to diphtheria CRM197 protein. Each serotype is grown in soy peptone broth. The individual polysaccharides are purified through centrifugation, precipitation, ultrafiltration, and column chromatography. The polysaccharides are chemically activated to make saccharides which are directly conjugated to the protein carrier CRM197 to form the glycoconjugate. This is effected by reductive amination. CRM197 is a nontoxic variant of diphtheria toxin isolated from cultures of Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain C7 (β197) grown in a casamino acids and yeast extract-based medium. CRM197 is purified through ultrafiltration, ammonium sulfate precipitation, and ion-exchange chromatography. The individual glycoconjugates are purified by ultrafiltration and column chromatography and are analyzed for saccharide to protein ratios, molecular size, free saccharide & protein.’
http://labeling.pfizer.com/showlabeling.aspx?id=134

‘Prevnar 13 (manufactured by Pfizer/Wyeth) is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F and 23F. Prevnar 13 is also indicated for the prevention of otitis media caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 4, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19F, and 23F. No otitis media efficacy data are available for serotypes 1, 3, 5, 6A, 7F, and 19A. Prevnar 13, Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine (Diphtheria CRM197 Protein) is a sterile suspension of saccharides of the capsular antigens of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, and 23F, individually linked to non-toxic diphtheria CRM197 protein. Each serotype is grown in soy peptone broth. The individual polysaccharides are purified through centrifugation, precipitation, ultrafiltration, and column chromatography. The polysaccharides are chemically activated to make saccharides, which are directly conjugated by reductive amination to the protein carrier CRM197, to form the glycoconjugate. CRM197 is a nontoxic variant of diphtheria toxin isolated from cultures of Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain C7 (β197) grown in a casamino acids and yeast extractbased medium. CRM197 is purified through ultrafiltration, ammonium sulfate precipitation, and ion-exchange chromatography. The individual glycoconjugates are purified by ultrafiltration and column chromatography and analyzed for saccharide to protein ratios, molecular size, free saccharide, and free protein.’
http://labeling.pfizer.com/showlabeling.aspx?id=501

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the vaccine for:
Anyone 65 years of age and older & Adults 19-64 with any of the following conditions:
1. Chronic illnesses such as lung, heart, liver or kidney disease; asthma; diabetes or alcoholism
2. Conditions that weaken the immune system, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, damaged/absent spleen
3. Cochlear implants or cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) leaks
4. Adults 19-64 who smoke cigarettes
http://www.adultvaccination.org/doc/pneumo_patient_fact_sheet.pdf

Pneumococcal vaccine. (Minimum age: 6 weeks for pneumococcal conjugate
vaccine [PCV]; 2 years for pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine [PPSV])
• PCV is recommended for all children aged younger than 5 years. Administer
1 dose of PCV to all healthy children aged 24 through 59 months who are
not completely vaccinated for their age.
• A PCV series begun with 7-valent PCV (PCV7) should be completed with
13-valent PCV (PCV13).
• A single supplemental dose of PCV13 is recommended for all children aged
14 through 59 months who have received an age-appropriate series of PCV7.
• A single supplemental dose of PCV13 is recommended for all children aged
60 through 71 months with underlying medical conditions who have received
an age-appropriate series of PCV7.
• The supplemental dose of PCV13 should be administered at least 8 weeks
after the previous dose of PCV7. See MMWR 2010:59(No. RR-11).
• Administer PPSV at least 8 weeks after last dose of PCV to children aged
2 years or older with certain underlying medical conditions, including a
cochlear implant.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/0-6yrs-schedule-pr.pdf

‘Children between the 2nd and 6th birthdays with medical conditions such as: – sickle cell disease, – a damaged spleen or no spleen, – cochlear implants, – diabetes, – HIV/AIDS or other diseases that affect the immune system (such as cancer, or liver disease), or -chronic heart or lung disease, or who take medications that affect the immune system, such as immunosuppressive drugs or steroids, should get 1 dose of PCV 13 doses of PCV7 or PCV13 before age 2 years), or 2 doses of PCV13 (if they have received 2 or fewer doses of PCV7 or PCV13). A dose of PCV13 may be administered to children and adolescents 6 through 18 yrs of age who have certain medical conditions, even if they have previously received PCV7/23.’
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-pcv.pdf

Based on data acquired from the ongoing Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) Prevnar has been directly linked to ‘28,317 adverse reactions since it was approved in 2000, including 558 deaths, 555 life threatening conditions, 238 permanent disabilities, 2,584 hospitalisations, 101 prolonged hospitalisations, 8,166 emergency room cases and 16,155 “not serious”).

Long-term adverse reactions to PCV Vaccine include the following:

1. An increase in the incidence of pneumonia caused by bacteria NOT covered by these vaccines
2. An increase in middle-ear infections due to bacteria not linked to pneumonia
3. The emergence of “superbugs” (MRSA) that are resistant to vaccines.
http://www.flu-treatments.com/prevnar-vaccine.html

Dutch babies die after PCV vaccine: ‘The PCV vaccine, which is supposed to protect infants and young children against pneumonia, was recently linked to three unexplained infant deaths in the Netherlands. On 5 November 2009, the Dutch government announced that three babies died within two weeks – between one and 11 days – of receiving the vaccine. This is the Prevnar pneumonia conjugate vaccine or PCV, commonly called PCV vaccine, made by drug giant Pfizer.

The response of the Dutch government is hard to comprehend and to accept. Initial press reports sait it banned ONE BATCH of the vaccine but later reports clarified that Pfizer “quarantined” the batch, which contained about 110,000 doses. One would expect that when something as serious as this happens, the health authorities concerned would, at the very least, suspend its vaccination programme pending the results of further investigations. But no. The vaccination programme continued with other batches of the same PCV vaccine. Equally hard to accept is this statement from spokeswoman for the Dutch health institute RIVM: “On average about 5 to 10 deaths are reported annually after babies get vaccines. We now have three cases in a short period; that is unusual, and the reason for suspending the batch.”’
http://www.flu-treatments.com/pcv-vaccine.html

Resistant ‘Superbugs’ Create Need for Novel Antibiotics: New Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine – ‘There are now two types of pneumococcal vaccine: pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PneumovaxAE, Pnu-ImmuneAE) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PrevnarAE). Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine has been available since 1977 and has been recommended approximately every 5-10 years for older adults and certain at-risk populations. However, this vaccine has not been effective in children under 2 years of age. In February 2000, the FDA approved another form of this vaccine, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PrevnarAE).

In the past, the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine was formulated based on certain epidemic serotypes of S. pneumoniae. With the emergence of resistant strains of the organism, a change in the vaccine has been necessary. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has been developed which can impart immunity against drug resistant strains of S. pneumoniae. Ex panded use of the newly formulated conjugate pneumococcal vaccine can provide protection against approximately 80% of resistant pneumococcal strains. This form of the vaccine is recommended for children under 2 years of age and other at-risk patient populations. Individuals with risk factors for pneumococcal infection can receive both forms of the vaccine (CDC, 2003).

Superbug resistance is escalating within the clinical setting and community at large. In novative antibiotic strategies are still lacking within the pharmaceutical industry to keep pace with the growing resistance, with a glaring absence of any novel class of antibacterial drug in the United States for decades. Most new antibiotics are chemical modifications of existing drugs and are quickly outsmarted by the bacteria in the environment. Clinicians are challenged by some strains of bacteria which are resistant to essentially all available antimicrobial agents. New antibiotics must be used with precision after the infectious organism is identified by culture and sensitivity testing. Using the exact antibiotic which specifically targets the identified organism is a key strategy to limit bacterial resistance.’
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554935_6

Epidemiology and risk factors for Staphylococcus aureus colonization in children in the post-PCV7 era: ‘In Massachusetts, S. aureus and MRSA colonization remained stable from 2003-04 to 2006-07 among children <7 years despite widespread use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. S. aureus nasal colonization varies by age and is inversely correlated with recent antibiotic use.’
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19594890

Impact of infant pneumococcal vaccination on invasive pneumococcal diseases in France, 2001-2006: ‘…while the incidence of pneumococcal meningitis and bacteraemia due to non-vaccine strains increased from 9.4 to 17.5 cases per 100,000 in this time period. The incidence in older children and adults did not decrease. Further expansion of PCV coverage is expected to increase the impact of the vaccination in both children and adults. However, the fact that cases caused by vaccine serotypes have been partially substituted by cases of non-vaccine serotypes is likely to reduce the overall benefit of PCV in France, should this early observation be confirmed in the future.

If, on the other hand, the partial substitution of the cases that are caused by vaccine serotypes with cases caused by non-vaccine serotypes, that was observed in our early analysis in young children, is confirmed in the coming years, this would lead to a reduction of the positive impact of PCV vaccination in France.’
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=18962

Note: “There’s more risk for MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) to become invasive in the presence of flu or other viruses. These deaths in co-infected children are a warning sign. This is especially alarming given the rising rates of MRSA infections being carried widely among children. It is not common in the U.S. to lose a previously healthy child to pneumonia. Unfortunately, these children had necrotizing pneumonia eating away at their tissue and killing off whole areas of the lung. They looked like immunocompromised patients in the way MRSA went through their body. It’s not that flu alone can’t kill – it can – but in most cases children with flu alone survived…The more antibiotics we take, the more we colonize ourselves with antibiotic-resistant organisms such as MRSA.” Adrienne G. Randolph, MD, Division of Critical Care Medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston

‘During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, many previously healthy children became critically ill, developing severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, sometimes fatal. The largest nationwide investigation to date of influenza in critically ill children, led by Children’s Hospital Boston, found one key risk factor: Simultaneous infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) increased the risk for flu-related mortality 8-fold among previously healthy children. Moreover, almost all of these co-infected children were rapidly treated with vancomycin, considered to be appropriate treatment for MRSA. The fact that they died despite this treatment is especially alarming given the rising rates of MRSA carriage among children in the community.

While most of the children critically ill with H1N1 had one or more chronic health conditions that increased their risk, such as asthma, neurologic disorders or compromised immune systems, 251 children (30 percent) were previously healthy. Among these otherwise healthy children, the only risk factor that was identified for death from influenza was a presumed diagnosis of MRSA co-infection in the lung – which increased the risk for mortality 8-fold (P<0.0001). 88 percent of the children admitted to the ICU received Tamiflu (oseltamivir) during their stay, but only 6 percent had received it prior to hospital admission…The study also found that most of the MRSA co-infected children who died had received vancomycin promptly at or before ICU admission.’ Children’s Hospital, Boston
http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P791.html

Note: ‘88 percent of the children admitted to the ICU received Tamiflu (oseltamivir) during their stay…’

Eugenics mandate moving full steam ahead: ‘To appreciate how far we’ve come you need to remember where we started. Consider the situation with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) in 2003. At that time, developing country access to these vaccines seemed almost unthinkable. The vaccine had only been routinely used in the U.S. for three years, and the manufacturer was struggling to supply American children who paid top dollar prices. Access to affordable supplies of this vaccine was out of the question. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) had not yet recommended the vaccine for use and most developing countries had little appreciation for the burden of pneumococcal disease in their countries. Finally, our track record in vaccine access was generally lame, with 15 years or more passing before poor countries accessed the same vaccines as richer ones.

To their credit, GAVI and its Board recognized the importance of pneumococcal vaccines and established GAVI’s PneumoADIP at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to accelerate their introduction in the world’s poorest countries. With four years of funding and a small, dedicated team, PneumoADIP aimed to establish, communicate and deliver the value of pneumococcal vaccination by providing the evidence that was needed to make this vaccine a priority.’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-orin-levine/access-to-the-power-of-va_b_1136823.html

Pro-Vaccine Immunologist Admits a Shocking Truth About Vaccines

(Extraído de gaetacommunications.com)

For several years, until April of this year, I had been lecturing nationally to health professionals about the great vaccine hoax. Attending one such seminar was a board member of an association of health professionals, who invited me to speak on this subject at their national conference. I did, and had 90 minutes to present the most salient points from my 7-hour seminar. It caused quite a stir, and several clinicians thanked me for having the courage to speak the truth about this controversial subject.

Later that day, I sat on a panel of four experts to answer questions from conference attendees. Many of the questions were directed at the PhD immunologist on the panel, asking if the statements I had made in the morning presentation were true. To my surprise, the immunologist confirmed every assertion I had made.

The first was that it is pointless to administer drugs intended to stimulate antibody production to babies who are too young to produce antibodies. Infants in their first year mostly depend on generalized, non-specific immunity, including (hopefully) immunoglobulins from breast milk, to protect their young bodies from infection. They do not produce antibodies of their own until about age one. Despite this basic fact, the medical establishment insists administering a total of 19 shots, containing 24 vaccines, to infants on the 2, 4 and 6 month pediatric visits (Source: cdc.gov). Somehow, the basic facts of human physiology and development do not apply to vaccines.

You can listen to an audio file of an exchange between an attendee and the immunologist about this question. She declined to be identified in my presentations, including this post, perhaps because she knows that anyone who speaks the truth about vaccines is savaged by the medical establishment and their compliant lapdogs in the mainstream media. It is professional suicide for anyone in conventional medicine to question the unquestionable (yet unproven) assumptions about vaccines: that they are effective, safe and necessary. I have stopped lecturing publicly on this subject for the same reason, because the attacks in recent years have become particularly vicious; and because my main message in my teachings is about personal responsibility, innate wholeness and opening to the largeness of who we are, not just vaccines.

Here’s the transcript of this shocking exchange:

Q. So the science seems fairly clear that for the first year of life, probably, that the immunization is not stimulating the kind of response we expect it to stimulate.

A. True.

Q. So what’s the rationale for continuing to do that if it’s not doing what it’s supposed to be [doing]?

A. The vaccines are given at pediatric wellness visits, and the idea is that you are training the parent to bring their child in at all the pediatric wellness visits, and that it’s only the year visit that actually is truly important. But that for most parents you are not going to get them to bring their kid in if they don’t come in at two months, four months, and six months. And so it’s actually more of a training thing.

It’s interesting, I was on the phone with [?] county public health last week, with one of their vaccine nurses. She was like, ‘Oh, you’re talking about vaccines? Make sure you tell them they have to do that year shot because the first three [the 2, 4 and 6 month shots] don’t work.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I know.’ [laughter].

Now, the person speaking here is not some kid with a blog. This is an impeccably-credentialed, pro-vaccine PhD immunologist. She knows more about the detailed intracies of human immunology than I ever will. I have great respect for her, and her decades of dedicated work in this field. And I was so glad I was sitting right next to her as she confirmed what I and others have been saying for years.

Though I am not lecturing anymore publicly on the vaccine scam, I have a recording of the seminar available, with slides, notes, articles, etc., if you are interested in more on this subject.

Let’s muster the courage to question the Unquestionable Vaccine Assumptions, and ask, “Are they effective? Are they safe? Are they necessary?” The best, most rigorous science we have says “No,” or, at least, “We don’t know,” to all three questions. And clear, independent thinking about it generally concludes that vaccines are about profit, not health. I’ve had a natural family health practice for 21 years, and have never told a parent not to vaccinate their kids. That’s a personal decision. Bottom line: ask the tough questions, find your own answers, and decide for yourself. Our future is at stake.

For more essential and untold facts on vaccines, visit my free radio show archive  and check out the interviews with Dr Jeff Prystupa, DC, Toxicologist, and Alan Phillips, Esq. of vaccinerights.com. I invite you to join over 40,000 folks worldwide who have subscribed to my radio show podcast, on our home page.

Spirulina prevents memory dysfunction, reduces oxidative stress damage and augments antioxidant activity in senescence-accelerated mice.

(Extraído de PubMed.gov)

J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2011;57(2):186-91.

Hwang JH, Lee IT, Jeng KC, Wang MF, Hou RC, Wu SM, Chan YC.

Source

Department of Otolaryngology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu-Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.

Abstract

Spirulina has proven to be effective in treating certain cancers, hyperlipidemia, immunodeficiency, and inflammatory processes. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of Spirulina on memory dysfunction, oxidative stress damage and antioxidant enzyme activity. Three-month-old male senescence-accelerated prone-8 (SAMP8) mice were randomly assigned to either a control group or to one of two experimental groups (one receiving daily dietary supplementation with 50 mg/kg BW and one with 200 mg/kg BW of Spirulina platensis water extract). Senescence-accelerated-resistant (SAMR1) mice were used as the external control. Results showed that the Spirulina-treated groups had better passive and avoidance scores than the control group. The amyloid β-protein (Aβ) deposition was significantly reduced at the hippocampus and whole brain in both Spirulina groups. The levels of lipid peroxidation were significantly reduced at the hippocampus, striatum, and cortex in both Spirulina groups, while catalase activity was significantly higher only in the 200 mg/kg BW Spirulina group than in the control group. Glutathione peroxidase activity was significantly higher only in the cortex of the 200 mg/kg group than in that of the SAMP8 control group. However, superoxide dismutase activity in all parts of the brain did not significantly differ among all groups. In conclusion, Spirulina platensis may prevent the loss of memory possibly by lessening Aβ protein accumulation, reducing oxidative damage and mainly augmenting the catalase activity.

PMID:

21697639

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Free full text

A Personal Case for Classical Homeopathy: Part II

(Extraído de huffingtonpost.com)

By Judith Acosta

After the debate with my last articles on this topic, I find I couldn't agree with the critics more. Homeopathy is strange and sounds magical. When I try to explain it to people -- despite years of study and personal/professional experience -- I wind up sounding like my worst woo-woo nightmare, stumbling over words like "energy," "resonance" and "organism."

As I stumble, my husband patiently awaits my sound byte, still anxiously hoping I can give him a way to explain what I do to save him from sounding just as ridiculous.

As he is a musician, I put it to him this way: "Think of it as you do of music... notes and chords... entire arrangements of single notes (or combinations thereof) and the spaces between them."

He looked at me, single eyebrow raised. I had crossed over onto his turf. I'd better know what I'm talking about.

"In homeopathy, you can think of both the human being (or any living creature for that matter) and the remedy as pieces of music. A person comes in for treatment and the disease or pathology is presenting as a song, out of tune with the rest of the person when in a healthy state. We look for a remedy that most closely matches the totality of that pathology's song. When we give it to the patient, the remedy cancels the disease. A song for a song. Like cures like."

Eyebrow is lowered. I am momentarily reprieved. "Is it phase cancellation?"

"I'm not sure because it's not an opposing frequency, it's a similar one. But maybe the amplitudes are opposing."

Eyebrow is raised. I realize that I'm back to where I started.

Perhaps an easier way to see it is with this metaphor:

See yourself as a being of a million small crystals, each one with a frequency. When you become ill, some of those crystals change frequency and begin to vibrate or sing out of tune. When we choose a remedy, we choose it to best match those crystals that have fallen out of tune. When delivered, it shatters those sick crystals, leaving only the healthy ones behind.

Admittedly, it is a metaphor, and as such, still leaves a great deal unexplained. I can understand the frustration of allopaths and critics with the obvious absence of hard, linear facts that are repeatable regardless of the person or place. Compared to current pharmaceutical philosophy, making scientific "sense" of homeopathy is like trying to play ordinary billiards in a quantum pool hall.

The problem is that homeopathy is aimed at treating the individual with a single remedy, chosen specifically for him or her. It is not for treating masses of people with the same pill. Twenty people could have the "same" flu, but each one would need a different remedy (not necessarily Oscillococcinum) and be rightly cured because each one would manifest illness in a way that is utterly unique to him-/herself. We always treat the person, not the disease. As such it is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible to replicate homeopathic treatment the way pharmaceutical companies try to do in drug trials.

A Simple Case in Point

My dog, who is not generally considered a good candidate for placebo, was sitting in on a session with a young patient I had been seeing for quite a while. While he was curled up on the couch next to her, he looked up at my patient and she frowned, "God, what's wrong with him?!"

Without warning his eye had started bulging out of its socket. I was taken aback and instantly concerned. I begged her indulgence and called my homeopathic vet, who is located about two hours from us. He told me to take him for an emergency physical exam at a local hospital.

I asked for an emergency reschedule (she was in no danger and there was no threat to the therapeutic relationship) and rushed him over. After the exam, the local vet ruled out the more terrifying possibilities (rupture, tumor etc...) and pronounced it an inflammation, probably due to a scratch, spider bite or bee sting. She prescribed a bucket full of different pills and ointments.

More at ease now that there was no crisis and my panic had passed, I thanked her and left with just one of the ointments in case I didn't find the right remedy immediately.

When I got back, I went to the repertory (in a computer, unlike my first homeopathic physician) and made a scrupulous list of his visible symptoms. Obviously I could only surmise how he felt, so I didn't even try. These were the rubrics I chose for him:

1. Eye, inflammation

2. Eye, inflammation, acute

3. Generals, aggravated on the right side

4. Generals, sudden onset

5. Eye, lachrymation

6. Eye, protrusion with red discoloration.

The remedy was Apis Mellifica, potentized bee venom. This is a particularly straightforward example of how like (when it is potentized, meaning highly diluted to the smallest possible dose) cures like: Venom cancels out venom. Within minutes of giving the dog a few pellets, the inflammation was gone. And it never came back. No other treatment was necessary.

Is it always so straightforward? Hardly. I wish it were. It is especially more complicated when people come in with years and years of emotional suffering, chronic illness, and lists of medications sometimes two pages long. I had one patient on 27 medications because she had been diagnosed depressed. Was she feeling any better? Not in the slightest. It was a long haul to wellness for her with the incredible help of a thorough and patient physician.

Taking someone's case in this situation takes a great deal more time, sensitivity and patience than a simple inflammation. But the essential idea, the bedrock of the interview is the same: Find the remedy that matches the totality of symptoms, which means understanding precisely what it is in her life, in her experience, in her soul that has led to and expresses the essence of the state she is in. It is not enough to say someone is depressed. The word "depressed" doesn't really mean anything. To say, on the other hand, as one patient did, that she felt forsaken, was chronically sad because she felt all alone in the world yet she was averse to company -- that begins to narrow it down a bit. When she added that she had no will power, yet felt better from a good debate, a challenging puzzle, or a lively conversation (mental exertion ameliorates), we begin to see how "depression" expressed itself uniquely in her. The remedy that patient needed (based on those and other symptoms) was Natrum Silicatum.

Now, just because you're sad doesn't mean you should go buy Natrum Silicatum. That is the mistake a lot of people and even poorly trained homeopaths make. It is unlikely that you will receive the benefit she did because her state (remember those crystals) was a Natrum Silicatum state. When it was given, what was unhealthy shattered and left behind only what was vital and strong.

I do not blame the debunkers. Homeopathy is very hard to repeat experimentally precisely because of the way it works: Individually. And so much of its success is in the hands of the homeopath whose task it is to see the patient clearly for who he or she is, to see that particular light, to hear that singular song. This is a hard pill to swallow until you've seen it work. But when you have seen it -- it's the easiest one of all.

Vitamins, Omega-3s May Keep Brain From Shrinking: Study

(Extraído de medlineplus.gov)

Healthy seniors with higher levels of certain nutrients did better on thinking tests, researchers say

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins B, C, D and E in their blood performed better on certain measures of thinking abilities, and also tended to have larger brain volume, a new study finds.

Seniors with high levels of trans fats in their blood fared worse on certain thinking tests than those with lower levels of the unhealthy fats, and also had more brain shrinkage.

Researchers said the findings suggest that nutrients work "in synergy" with one another to be protective of brain health.

"For people with a vitamin profile high in B, C, D, E, those particular nutrients seem to be working together on some level," said lead study author Gene Bowman, an assistant professor in the department of neurology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. "Having high scores for those vitamins was associated with better cognitive function and larger brain volume."

The study is published in the Dec. 28 online edition and the Jan. 24 print issue of the journal Neurology.

In the study, researchers measured levels of more than 30 nutrients in the blood of 104 people with an average age of 87. Overall, participants were well-educated, healthy nonsmokers who had relatively few chronic diseases and were free of memory and thinking problems. Researchers also did MRI scans of 42 participants to measure their brain volume.

Some amount of brain atrophy, or shrinkage, occurs with aging. More significant shrinkage is associated with mental decline and Alzheimer's disease.

The investigators found that the various nutrients seemed to affect different aspects of thinking, suggesting that they work on different pathways in the brain.

People with high levels of vitamins B, C, D and E performed better on tests of executive function and attention, and had better visuospatial skills and global cognitive function. They also had bigger brains, the study authors noted.

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in foods such as salmon, were associated with better executive function and with fewer changes to the white matter of the brain, but there was no association between omega-3s and any of the other measures of mental abilities.

"Executive function" is a term used to describe higher level thinking involving planning, attention and problem solving. In this case, seniors were asked to do an exercise that involved matching the number 1 with the letter A, the number 2 with B, and so on, which shows flexibility in thought, Bowman explained.

White matter changes can be indicative of damage to the small blood vessels of the brain, he said.

The people with high levels of trans fats performed worse on tests of mental abilities and had smaller brains, according to the report.

Dr. Marc Gordon, chief of neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y., said the study is "intriguing." While most studies ask people to recall what they ate, in this one, researchers actually measured what participants had absorbed by using blood biomarkers.

"Two issues make this approach more valid," said Gordon, also an Alzheimer's researcher at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y. "One could be the unreliability of people's recollections about what they ate, and the other is that just because someone ate something doesn't mean they absorbed it."

However, he said, the group studied was unique in that they were unusually healthy for their age. The results might be different in a less healthy group of seniors. Prior research, for example, looked at giving people with Alzheimer's omega-3 fatty acid supplements and found it didn't help.

The researchers noted that because their study was observational, meaning they found an association between certain nutrients and brain characteristics rather than showing cause-and-effect, it's too soon to tell everyone to start taking a vitamin containing B, C, D and E.

In addition, another variable is that older people who eat lots of foods containing those nutrients may have difficulty absorbing them.

Even so, the study suggests it makes good sense to limit trans fats, which are often found in fried foods, doughnuts, pastries, pizza dough, cookies, crackers and stick margarines and shortenings, and to eat lots of fruits, vegetables and fatty fish.

"The question is: Do people need to eat healthier foods, or do they need to stay away from unhealthy foods? It looks like you need to do both. Eat more healthy foods and stay away from unhealthy foods," Bowman said.

SOURCES: Gene Bowman, N.D., M.P.H., assistant professor, department of neurology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore.; Marc Gordon, M.D., chief, neurology, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, N.Y., Alzheimer's researcher, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, N.Y.; Dec. 28, 2011, Neurology, online

Anti-tumorigenic activity of five culinary and medicinal herbs grown under greenhouse conditions and their combination effects.

(Extraído de PubMed.gov)

J Sci Food Agric. 2011 Aug 15;91(10):1849-54. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.4394. Epub 2011 Mar 30.

Yi W, Wetzstein HY.

Source

Department of Horticulture, 1111 Miller Plant Science Building, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7273, USA.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Herbs and spices have been used as food preservatives, flavorings, and in traditional medicines for thousands of years. More and more scientific evidence supports the medicinal properties of culinary herbs. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the USA, and the fourth most common form of cancer worldwide. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the antitumor activity of five selected herbs grown under greenhouse conditions, and to study the potential synergistic effects among different herbal extract combinations.

RESULTS:

Thyme, rosemary, sage, spearmint, and peppermint extracts significantly inhibited SW-480 colon cancer cell growth, with sage extracts exhibiting the highest bioactivity, with 50% inhibition at 35.9 µg mL⁻¹, which was equivalent to 93.9 µg dried leaves mL⁻¹ of culture medium. Some mixtures of different herbal extracts had combination effects on cancer cell growth. The inhibitory effects of peppermint + sage combinations at a 1:1 ratio were significantly higher than rosemary + sage combinations at 1:1 ratio, although peppermint extracts showed lower inhibition than rosemary extracts.

CONCLUSION:

Extracts from herb species (thyme, rosemary, sage, spearmint and peppermint) can significantly inhibit the growth of human colon cancer cells. Mixtures of herb extracts can have combination effects on cancer cell growth. The study suggests that these five herbs may have potential health benefits to suppress colon cancer.

Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

PMID:

21452174

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Antineoplastic potential of medicinal plants.

(Extraído de PubMed.gov)

Recent Pat Biotechnol. 2011 Aug;5(2):85-94.

Shynu M, Gupta PK, Saini M.

Source

Biochemistry Section, Division of Animal Biotechnology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar 243 122, UP, India.

Abstract

Cancer is one of the most dreaded diseases worldwide and the incidence is on the rise in both developing and developed countries. It is treated by chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. In spite of advances in treatment strategies, cancer still remains a major cause of death. Research is on for development of better drugs which are more effective and simultaneously cause fewer side effects. Plants have been used for the treatment of various ailments of man and animals since ages. They are being screened extensively to explore the possibility of development of economically viable anticancer drugs. Natural products of plant origin currently constitute a considerable proportion of commercially available antineoplastic drugs. This review gives an insight into commercially available anticancer drugs of plant origin and also patents granted to plant derived components, extracts and polyherbal formulations possessing anticancer activity. The exhaustive work reviewed here on antineoplastic activity of various plants both in vitro and experimental models throughout the world will help design further research in this field.

PMID:

21707529

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Red meat lovers have more kidney cancer

(Extraído de news.yahoo.com)

By Genevra Pittman | Reuters – Wed, Dec 28, 2011

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who eat lots of red meat may have a higher risk of some types of kidney cancer, suggests a large U.S. study.

Researchers found that middle-aged adults who ate the most red meat were 19 percent more likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer than those who ate the least. A higher intake of chemicals found in grilled or barbecued meat was also linked to increased risk of the disease, they reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Red meat is an important source for iron (and) it has protein," said Dr. Mohammed El-Faramawi, an epidemiologist from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, who has studied diet and kidney cancer risks but wasn't involved in the new study.

"You should not stop eating red meat because there is an association between red meat and renal cancer," he told Reuters Health. Instead, eating a limited amount of meat while following dietary recommendations is a good idea, he said.

U.S. guidelines call for limiting high-fat foods including processed meat, and instead eating more lean meat and poultry, seafood and nuts.

Eating red meat in large amounts -- even if it doesn't necessarily lead to kidney cancer -- increases the risk of a host of health problems, such as plaque buildup in the arteries, El-Faramawi added.

Previous studies examining the link between red meat and kidney cancer arrived at mixed conclusions, according to Carrie Daniel, from the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, and her colleagues.

To try to clear up that picture, they used data from a study of close to 500,000 U.S. adults age 50 and older, who were surveyed on their dietary habits, including meat consumption, and then followed for an average of nine years to track any new cancer diagnoses.

During that time, about 1,800 of them -- less than half a percent -- were diagnosed with kidney cancer.

On average, men in the study ate two or three ounces of red meat per day, compared to one or two ounces among women. Participants with the highest consumption of red meat -- about four ounces per day -- were 19 percent more likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer than those who ate the smallest amount, less than one ounce per day.

That was after accounting for other aspects of diet and lifestyle that could have influenced cancer risks, such as age, race, fruit and vegetable consumption, smoking and drinking and other medical conditions including high blood pressure and diabetes.

When the researchers looked at the most common types of kidney cancers, they found that the association between red meat and cancer was stronger for so-called papillary cancers, but there was no effect for clear-cell kidney cancers.

People who ate the most well-done grilled and barbecued meat -- and therefore had the highest exposure to carcinogenic chemicals that come out of the cooking process -- also had an extra risk of kidney cancer compared to those who didn't cook much meat that way.

The study doesn't prove that eating red meat, or cooking it a certain way, causes kidney cancer. And, El-Faramawi pointed out, some people who eat lots of red meat won't develop cancer, while others that hardly eat any will.

Daniel and her colleagues said more research is needed to figure out why red meat may be linked to some types of kidney cancers but not others.

But for now, meat-related cooking chemicals "can be reduced by avoiding direct exposure of meat to an open flame or a hot metal surface, reducing the cooking time, and using a microwave oven to partially cook meat before exposing it to high temperatures," Daniel told Reuters Health in an email.

"Our findings," she concluded, "support the dietary recommendations for cancer prevention currently put forth by the American Cancer Society -- limit intake of red and processed meats and prepare meat by cooking methods such as baking and broiling."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/u2TOw9 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2012.

Complementary and alternative medicine used by children in military pediatric clinics.

(Extraído de PubMed.gov)

J Altern Complement Med. 2011 Jun;17(6):531-7.

Huillet A, Erdie-Lalena C, Norvell D, Davis BE.

Source

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, WA, USA. adam.huillet@us.army.mil

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, types, perceived effects, and factors that influence the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by military children.

DESIGN:

A parent survey was administered in two military general pediatric clinics from June to September 2009. Parents completed surveys about their children including the following items: demographic information, a list of specific CAM therapies, family CAM use, and child health status.

RESULTS:

Caregivers completed 278 surveys. The overall use of CAM was 23%. The most common type of CAM used was herbal therapy (34%). The CAM therapies most commonly reported to be very helpful were special diets (67%), melatonin (57%), vitamins and minerals used at doses higher than the recommended daily allowance (50%), and massage therapy (50%). The majority of users reported no side-effects (96%). Among CAM users, 53% had discussed their CAM use with a physician and 47% had seen a CAM practitioner. Factors associated with CAM use in multiple regression analysis included chronic conditions (p = 0.001), parent/sibling use of CAM (p < 0.001), and parent age over 30 years (p = 0.02). Primary sources of CAM information were friends and family (68%) and doctors (44%). Common reasons for using CAM were to promote general health (70%), to relieve symptoms (56%), and to improve quality of life (48%). Eighty percent (80%) of all respondents indicated they would use CAM if recommended by a physician.

CONCLUSIONS:

In this military population with access to universal health care, CAM use is higher than the U.S. national average and nearly double that of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey study. Patients with chronic conditions, family members using CAM, and parental age over 30 years are more likely to use CAM. CAM is perceived as helpful with minimal to no side-effects. Pediatricians should inquire about CAM use and be prepared to provide guidance on this topic.

BROCOLI GERMINADO

(Extraído de germinados-medicina.blogspot.com)

Propiedades del Brócoli Germinado
El Germinado de Brócoli es un rico y poderoso compuesto anticancerígeno.
De sabor suave, crujientes y altamente nutritivo. Los
germinados de brócoli contienen 20 veces mayor protección antioxidante que las
plantas adultas.
Una muy reciente investigación realizada en 1992 por el equipo de investigadores
dirigido por el doctor Paul Talalay -director del Laboratorio de Ciencia Molecular
de la Escuela de Medicina de la Universidad John Hopkins de Baltimore (Estados
Unidos) y fundador de The Brassica Chemoprotection Laboratory- que se dedica a
estudiar plantas comestibles que promuevan la actividad de enzimas protectoras
del organismo que puedan ayudar a prevenir el desarrollo de distintas
enfermedades, entre ellas el cáncer, aisló el sulforafano, un compuesto químico
presente en el brócoli -y “especialmente en los brotes tiernos de este
vegetal” (Germinados) –y también aisló su precursor natural: el sulforafano
glucosinolato- descubriendo que este compuesto natural presente en el brócoli, es
el más potente estimulador natural conocido de las mencionadas enzimas de Fase
II. Estas enzimas detoxificadoras –tanto las de la fase I como las de la fase II- son
enzimas hepáticas a las que se considera la primera línea de defensa del cuerpo
frente a las enfermedades, en especial el cáncer.
El sulforano se encuentra en grandes cantidades en el brócoli, pero se incrementa
su potencia en el germinado entre 30 a 50 veces, esto hace que el germinado de
brócoli como una de las comidas con mayor potencia anticancerígena.
Los brotes de brócoli son ricos en fibra, enzimas y nutrientes, incluyendo vitaminas
del complejo B, ácido fólico y vitamina C.

Proceso para germinar el Brócoli
Para germinar el brócoli se recomienda utilizar el mismo proceso que se usa para germinar la Alfalfa (Ver información en Junio 2009 de este mismo blog).

Dieta vegetariana reduce riesgo de sufrir enfermedad diverticular

(Extraído de blogs.funiber.org)

En la dieta en el mundo occidental predomina el consumo de carbohidratos refinados y carnes, con un reducido consumo de fibras. La diverticulosis o enfermedad diverticular tiene gran prevalencia en Estados Unidos y Gran Bretaña. ahora el envejecimiento de la población plantea nuevos retos a los centros de salud porque se podría incrementar el costo sanitario de esta enfermedad. Estos motivos llevaron a investigadores de la Universidad de Oxford  a realizar un estudio sobre el impacto de la dieta en la prevalencia de diverticulosis.

Para este estudio se seleccionaron a más de 47 mil personas de Inglaterra y Escocia, de esta muestra el 33% (casi 15 mil personas) manifestó que mantenían una dieta vegetariana. Se mantuvo un seguimiento de los pacientes por 11,6 años en promedio. Se dividió a los pacientes en cuatro grupos: comedores de carne, aquellos que comían pescado pero no carne, ovo-lacto-vegetarianos y veganos (no comen ningún producto de origen animal).

El estudio identificó que los veganos y ovo-lacto-vegerarianos tenían 31% menos riesgo de contraer enfermedad diverticular que aquellos que comían carne, con un riesgo relativo de 0,69 e índice de confianza del 95%. Para los pacientes que tenían entre 50 y 70 años la tasa de hospitalización o muerte por diverticulosis era de 4,4% contra el 3% de los vegetarianos.

Aquellos que consumían fibra por encima de los 25 gramos diarios tenían menos riesgo de contraer la enfermedad que aquellos que consumían 14 gramos diarios o menos. En resumen, los investigadores determinaron que una dieta vegetariana, con elevado consumo de fibras está asociada a un menor riesgo de sufir enfermedad diverticular en Inglaterra y Escocia.

Artículo original:
Diet and risk of diverticular disease in Oxford Cohort of European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): prospective study of British vegetarians and non-vegetarians.
Crowe FL, Appleby PN, Allen NE, Key TJ.
British Medical Journal. 2011; 343(d4131): online 1-15.

Complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of major depressive disorder.

(Extraído de PubMed.gov)

Can Fam Physician. 2011 Jun;57(6):659-63.

Nahas R, Sheikh O.

Source

University of Ottawa, Seekers Centre for Integrative Medicine, 6 Deakin St, Ottawa, ON K2E 1B3. richard@seekerscentre.com

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To review the clinical evidence supporting complementary and alternative medicine interventions for treating major depressive disorder.

QUALITY OF EVIDENCE:

PubMed was searched from January 1966 to February 2010 using the term depressive disorder in combination with St John's wort, S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e), exercise, acupuncture, omega-3 fatty acids, and folate. Only relevant human trials were selected.

MAIN MESSAGE:

In a large meta-analysis, St John's wort was found to be equivalent to antidepressant drugs with fewer side effects. Exercise reduced depressive scores in 3 meta-analyses. Omega-3 fatty acids reduced depressive scores in a meta-analysis of 16 trials, but publication bias was identified. Oral SAM-e monotherapy reduced depressive scores in 4 of 5 small randomized controlled trials. Folate deficiency is associated with more severe and refractory depression, and supplementation reduced depressive scores in 2 of 3 randomized controlled trials. Acupuncture demonstrated limited efficacy in 1 meta-analysis and 5 other trials.

CONCLUSION:

St John's wort and regular exercise appear effective in the treatment of depression. Acupuncture appears ineffective for depression, but it might offer other health benefits. Other promising therapies include SAM-e, omega-3 fatty acid, and folic acid supplementation in selected patients; further study is warranted.

Comparison of swiss basic health insurance costs of complementary and conventional medicine.

(Extraído de PubMed.gov)

Forsch Komplementmed. 2011;18(6):315-20. Epub 2011 Nov 25.

Studer HP, Busato A.

Source

Speicherschwendi, University of Bern, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: From 1999 to 2005, 5 methods of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) applied by physicians were provisionally included into mandatory Swiss basic health insurance. Between 2012 and 2017, this will be the case again. Within this process, an evaluation of cost-effectiveness is required. The goal of this study is to compare practice costs of physicians applying CAM with those of physicians applying solely conventional medicine (COM). Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional investigation of claims data of mandatory health insurance. For the years 2002 and 2003, practice costs of 562 primary care physicians with and without a certificate for CAM were analyzed and compared with patient-reported outcomes. Linear models were used to obtain estimates of practice costs controlling for different patient populations and structural characteristics of practices across CAM and COM. Results: Statistical procedures show similar total practice costs for CAM and COM, with the exception of homeopathy with 15.4% lower costs than COM. Furthermore, there were significant differences between CAM and COM in cost structure especially for the ratio between costs for consultations and costs for medication at the expense of basic health insurance. Patients reported better quality of the patient-physician relationship and fewer adverse side effects in CAM; higher cost-effectiveness for CAM can be deduced from this perspective. Conclusion: This study uses a health system perspective and demonstrates at least equal or better cost-effectiveness of CAM in the setting of Swiss ambulatory care. CAM can therefore be seen as a valid complement to COM within Swiss health care.

Comparación del tratamiento homeopático y convencional en una epidemia de conjuntivitis

http://www.aph.org.br/revista/index.php/aph/article/viewFile/216/303

Antidepressant, talk therapy fail to beat placebo

(Extraído de news.yahoo.com)

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Neither antidepressants nor "talk therapy" were able to outperform inactive placebo pills in a new clinical trial on depression treatment -- though there were hints that the effects varied based on people's sex and race, researchers report.

The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, add to evidence that people receiving "real" depression treatment in studies -- from antidepressants to St. John's wort -- often do no better than people given a placebo.

A recent review found that a minority of antidepressant users even fared worse than placebo users.

In this latest study, researchers randomly assigned 156 depression patients to either take the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft and other brands) daily for 16 weeks; undergo a form of psychotherapy called supportive-expressive therapy (twice a week for four weeks, then weekly for 12 weeks); or be in a placebo group given inactive pills.

After 16 weeks, there were no overall differences in how the three groups fared.

Of antidepressant patients, 31 percent were treatment "responders" (meaning they'd fallen below a certain score on a standard measure of depression symptoms, or had seen their score drop at least 50 percent.)

The same was true of about 28 percent of patients in the talk-therapy group, and 24 percent in the placebo group. The differences among the three groups were so small as to be likely due to chance.

"I was surprised by the results. They weren't what I'd expected," said lead researcher Jacques P. Barber, dean of the Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.

Still, he stressed in an interview, the lack of benefit over placebo does not mean that depression therapies are pointless.

For one, Barber said, receiving a placebo in a clinical trial "is not the same as getting no treatment."

Study participants in placebo groups have contact with health professionals who are asking about their symptoms and well-being, Barber pointed out. And for some people, that attention can make a difference -- and may help explain the placebo response seen in studies.

In addition, at least some people in placebo groups believe they are getting the real treatment. And some studies have suggested that people's beliefs about their therapy play a key role in whether they get better.

But apart from that, different people may respond differently to a given type of depression therapy. Barber's team found some evidence of that.

The study, which focused on urban, low-income adults with major depression, had an unusually large minority population for a clinical trial on depression: Of the 156 patients, 45 percent were African American.

And Barber's team found that African-American men tended to improve more quickly with talk therapy than with medication or placebo.

In contrast, white men fared best on placebo, while black women showed no differences in their responses to the three treatments.

Only white women, Barber said, showed the expected pattern: a quicker response to both medication and talk therapy than to the placebo.

But all of that is based on fairly small numbers of people, and more research is needed to see if the gender and racial differences are real, according to Barber.

A psychiatrist not involved in the study agreed. "Those findings are interesting, but need to be interpreted with a grain of salt," said Dr. David Mischoulon, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

EVERYTHING WORKS TO SOME DEGREE?

As for the overall lack of benefit from the real treatments over placebo -- in this and other studies -- Mischoulon cautioned against reading that as "nothing works for depression."

"I think it's the opposite," he told Reuters Health, "It's more that, everything seems to work to some degree."

Like Barber, Mischoulon said that the placebo condition in clinical trials is not really "no treatment."

His advice for people suffering from depression symptoms is to talk with your doctor about the pros and cons of all the treatment options, including different forms of talk therapy and medication.

"I try to offer as broad a menu of options as possible, because all may potentially help," said Mischoulon, who has also studied alternative depression remedies, like fish oil and acupuncture.

Another caveat from the current study, he noted, is that it looked only at two types of medication. (Some patients were switched to another drug, venlafaxine (Effexor), if they did not respond to sertraline after eight weeks). And it tested just one type of talk therapy.

Supportive-expressive therapy is a short-term form of psychoanalysis that aims to help people understand how their personal relationships are related to their symptoms.

It's different from cognitive behavioral therapy, the best-studied form of talk therapy for depression. Both Barber and Mischoulon said it's not clear if the current findings would extend to psychotherapies other than supportive-expressive therapy.

"This is one type of psychotherapy, and it's two antidepressants," Mischoulon said. "It would be wrong to conclude that psychotherapy doesn't work, and antidepressants don't work."

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Some of Barber's co-researchers have received funding from the pharmaceutical industry.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/vjbLCM Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, online November 29, 2011.

Drug Poisoning Deaths in the United States, 1980–2008

(Extraído de www.cdc.gov)

PDF Version (658 KB)

Margaret Warner, Ph.D.; Li Hui Chen, Ph.D.; Diane M. Makuc, Dr.P.H., Robert N. Anderson, Ph.D.; and Arialdi M. Miniño, M.P.H.

Key findings

Data from the National Vital Statistics System Mortality File

• In 2008, poisoning became the leading cause of injury death in the United States and nearly 9 out of 10 poisoning deaths are caused by drugs.
• During the past three decades, the number of drug poisoning deaths increased sixfold from about 6,100 in 1980 to 36,500 in 2008.
• During the most recent decade, the number of drug poisoning deaths involving opioid analgesics more than tripled from about 4,000 in 1999 to 14,800 in 2008.
• Opioid analgesics were involved in more than 40% of all drug poisoning deaths in 2008, up from about 25% in 1999.
• In 2008, the drug poisoning death rate was higher for males, people aged 45–54 years, and non-Hispanic white and American Indian or Alaska Native persons than for females and those in other age and racial and ethnic groups.

In 2008, over 41,000 people died as a result of a poisoning. One of the Healthy People 2020 objectives, retained from Healthy People 2010, is to reduce fatal poisonings in the United States (1). However, poisoning mortality increased during the Healthy People 2010 tracking period. Drugs—both legal and illegal—cause the vast majority of poisoning deaths. Misuse or abuse of prescription drugs, including opioid analgesic pain relievers, is responsible for much of the increase in drug poisoning deaths (see "Definitions" section). This report highlights trends in poisoning deaths, drug poisoning deaths, and the type of drugs involved in drug poisoning deaths and updates a previous data brief on this topic (2).

Keywords: opioid analgesics • overdose • prescription pain relievers • National Vital Statistics System Mortality File

Poisoning is now the leading cause of death from injuries in the United States and nearly 9 out of 10 poisoning deaths are caused by drugs.

NOTE: In 1999, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD–10) replaced the previous revision of the ICD (ICD–9). This resulted in approximately 5% fewer deaths being classified as motor-vehicle traffic–related deaths and 2% more deaths being classified as poisoning-related deaths. Therefore, death rates for 1998 and earlier are not directly comparable with those computed after 1998. Access data table for Figure 1 .

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

In 2008, the number of poisoning deaths exceeded the number of motor vehicle traffic deaths for the first time since at least 1980. In 2008, there were more than 41,000 poisoning deaths, compared with about 38,000 motor vehicle traffic deaths. In 2008, 89% of poisoning deaths were caused by drugs.

During the past three decades, the poisoning death rate per 100,000 population nearly tripled from 4.8 in 1980 to 13.5 in 2008, while the motor vehicle traffic death rate decreased by almost one-half from 22.9 in 1980 to 12.5 in 2008 (Figure 1). In the most recent decade, from 1999 to 2008, the poisoning death rate increased 90%, while the motor vehicle traffic death rate decreased 15%.

From 1980 to 2008, the percentage of poisoning deaths caused by drugs increased from 56% to 89%. In 2008, about 77% of the drug poisoning deaths were unintentional, 13% were suicides, and 9% were of undetermined intent (see Appendix table).

Poisoning is the leading cause of death from injury in 30 states.

In 2008, poisoning was the leading cause of injury death in the following 30 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin (Figure 2).

NOTES: The poisoning death rate for Georgia may not be based on the final numbers of poisoning deaths. See "Data source and methods” for details. Access data table for Figure 2 .

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

In 2008, age-adjusted poisoning death rates varied by state, ranging from 7.6 to 30.8 per 100,000 population. In 20 states, the age-adjusted poisoning death rate was significantly higher than the U.S. rate of 13.4 deaths per 100,000 population.

The five states with the highest poisoning death rates were New Mexico (30.8), West Virginia (27.6), Alaska (24.2), Nevada (21.0), and Utah (20.8). In 43 states over 80% of poisoning deaths were caused by drugs (data not shown).

Opioid analgesics were involved in more than 40% of drug poisoning deaths in 2008.

Of the 36,500 drug poisoning deaths in 2008, more than 40% (14,800) involved opioid analgesics (Figure 3). For about one-third (12,400) of the drug poisoning deaths, the type of drug(s) involved was specified on the death certificate but it was not an opioid analgesic. The remaining 25% involved drugs, but the type of drugs involved was not specified on the death certificate (for example, "drug overdose" or "multiple drug intoxication" was written on the death certificate).

¹Opioid analgesics include natural and semi-synthetic opioid analgesics (for example, morphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone) and synthetic opioid analgesics (for example, methadone and fentanyl). Some deaths in which the drug was poorly specified or unspecified may involve opioid analgesics.

NOTES: Drug categories are mutually exclusive. Access data table for Figure 3 .

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

From 1999 to 2008, the number of drug poisoning deaths involving opioid analgesics increased from about 4,000 to 14,800, more rapidly than deaths involving only other types of drugs or only nonspecified drugs.

From 1999 to 2008, the number of drug poisoning deaths involving only nonspecified drugs increased from about 3,600 to about 9,200. Some drug poisoning deaths for which the drug was not specified may involve opioid analgesics.

Natural and semi-synthetic opioid analgesics such as morphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone were involved in over 9,100 drug poisoning deaths in 2008, up from about 2,700 in 1999.

Of the 14,800 drug poisoning deaths involving opioid analgesics in 2008, the majority involved natural and semi-synthetic opioid analgesics such as morphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. The number of drug poisoning deaths involving natural and semi-synthetic opioid analgesics increased steadily each year from about 2,700 deaths in 1999 to over 9,100 deaths in 2008 (Figure 4).

The number of drug poisoning deaths involving methadone, which is a synthetic opioid analgesic used to treat opioid dependency as well as pain, increased sevenfold from about 800 deaths in 1999 to about 5,500 in 2007. Between 2007 and 2008, the number of deaths involving methadone decreased by nearly 600 deaths, the first decrease since 1999.

NOTES: Opioid analgesic categories are not mutually exclusive. Deaths involving more than one opioid analgesic category shown in this figure are counted multiple times. Natural and semi-synthetic opioid analgesics include morphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone; and synthetic opioid analgesics include fentanyl. Access data table for Figure 4 .

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

The number of drug poisoning deaths involving synthetic opioid analgesics other than methadone, such as fentanyl, tripled from about 700 in 1999 to 2,300 in 2008.

In 2008, the drug poisoning death rate was higher among those aged 45–54 years than among those in other age groups.

From 1999 to 2008, the drug poisoning death rate increased among all age groups. In 2004, the drug poisoning death rate among those aged 45–54 years surpassed the rate among those aged 35–44 years, and became the age group with the highest drug poisoning death rate (Figure 5).

 

NOTE: Access data table for Figure 5 .

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

From 1999 to 2008, the age-adjusted drug poisoning death rate increased for males and females and for all race and ethnicity groups (Appendix table). In 2008, the rate was higher for males than for females, and higher for non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native and non-Hispanic white persons than for those in other race and ethnicity groups.

Appendix table.  Age-adjusted drug poisoning death rates, by demographic characteristics and intent: United States, 1999–2008

Appendix table.  Age-adjusted drug poisoning death rates, by demographic characteristics and intent: United States, 1999–2008

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
				Age-adjusted death rate
Total	6.1	6.2	6.8	8.1	8.9	9.3	10.0	11.4	11.8	11.9
Sex
Male	8.2	8.3	9.0	10.5	11.4	11.7	12.7	14.6	14.8	14.8
Female	3.9	4.1	4.7	5.8	6.4	6.9	7.3	8.2	8.9	9.0
Race and ethnicity
Hispanic	5.5	4.6	4.4	5.3	5.6	5.2	5.7	6.2	5.9	5.9
Non-Hispanic white	6.1	6.6	7.4	9.2	10.1	10.9	11.7	13.5	14.4	14.7
Non-Hispanic black	7.5	7.3	7.6	8.2	8.2	8.3	9.4	10.9	9.8	8.5
Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native	6.0	5.5	6.8	8.4	10.6	12.3	12.9	13.9	13.9	15.6
Non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander	1.2	1.0	1.2	1.4	1.4	1.5	1.7	1.9	1.9	1.8
Intent1
Unintentional	4.0	4.2	4.6	5.7	6.3	6.8	7.5	8.8	9.1	9.2
Suicide	1.1	1.2	1.2	1.3	1.3	1.4	1.4	1.5	1.5	1.6
Undetermined	0.9	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.1

¹Age-adjusted drug poisoning rates for homicides, legal interventions, and operations of war are less than 0.1 per 100,000 population each year and are not shown.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

Summary

In 2008, the number of poisoning deaths exceeded the number of motor vehicle traffic deaths and was the leading cause of injury death for the first time since at least 1980. During the past three decades, the poisoning death rate nearly tripled, while the motor vehicle traffic death rate decreased by one-half. During this period, the percentage of poisoning deaths that were caused by drugs increased from about 60% to about 90%.

The population groups with the highest drug poisoning death rates in 2008 were males, people aged 45–54 years, and non-Hispanic white and American Indian or Alaska Native persons. The vast majority of drug poisoning deaths are unintentional (see Appendix table). Opioid analgesics were involved in more drug poisoning deaths than other specified drugs, including heroin and cocaine. Opioid analgesics were involved in nearly 15,000 deaths in 2008, while cocaine was involved in about 5,100 deaths and heroin was involved in about 3,000 deaths (data not shown). Deaths involving opioid analgesics may involve other drugs as well, including benzodiazepines (2).

In addition to an increase in the number of deaths caused by drug poisoning, increases in drug use, abuse, misuse, and nonfatal health outcomes have been observed. In the past two decades, there has been an increase in the distribution and medical use of prescription drugs, including opioid analgesics (3). From 1999 to 2008, the use of prescription medications increased (4). In 2007–2008, 48% of Americans used at least one prescription drug in the past month and 11% of Americans used five or more prescriptions in the past month. Analgesics for pain relief were among the common drugs taken by adults aged 20–59 years (4). In 2009–2010, over 5 million Americans reported using prescription pain relievers nonmedically in the past month (that is, without a doctor's prescription or only for the experience or feeling they caused), and the majority of people using prescription pain relievers nonmedically reported getting the drugs from friends or family (5,6). From 2004 to 2008, the estimated rate of emergency department visits involving nonmedical use of opioid analgesics doubled from 49 per 100,000 to 101 per 100,000 (7).

Government agencies and other organizations joined together to achieve great reductions in the number of deaths from motor vehicle crashes in the past three decades (8,9). A comprehensive approach, including improvements in the safety of vehicles; improvements in roadways; increased use of restraint systems, such as seat belts and child safety seats; reductions in speed; and also efforts to reduce driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, contributed to the decline in motor vehicle related deaths (8,9). Using a comprehensive, multifaceted approach, it may be possible to reverse the trend in drug poisoning mortality.

Definitions

Injury deaths: Include deaths that are caused by forces external to the body. Examples of causes of injury death include drowning, fall, firearm, fire or burn, motor vehicle traffic, poisoning, and suffocation.

Poisoning deaths: Include drug poisonings resulting from unintentional or intentional overdoses of a drug, being given the wrong drug, taking the wrong drug in error, or taking a drug inadvertently. Poisoning deaths also include poisoning resulting from other toxic substances, gases, or vapors.

Opioid analgesics: Drugs that are usually prescribed to relieve pain and include: Natural and semi-synthetic opioid analgesics such as morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone; methadone, which is a synthetic opioid analgesic used to treat opioid dependency as well as pain; and other synthetic opioid analgesics (excluding methadone) such as fentanyl and propoxyphene. Opium and heroin are not included in this class of drugs.

Data sources and methods

Estimates are based on the National Vital Statistics System multiple cause of death mortality files (10). Deaths were classified using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), Tenth Revision (ICD–10) in 1999–2008 and the Ninth Revision of the ICD (ICD–9) in 1980–1998. Poisoning deaths were defined as having ICD–10 underlying cause of death code (UCOD): X40–X49, X60–X69, X85–X90, Y10–Y19, Y35.2, or *U01(.6–.7) and ICD–9 UCOD: E850.0–E869.9, E950.0–E952.9, E962(.0–.9), E972, or E980.0–E982.9. Drug poisoning deaths were defined as having ICD–10 UCOD: X40–X44 (unintentional), X60–X64 (suicide), X85 (homicide), Y10–Y14 (undetermined intent) and ICD–9 UCOD: E850–E858, E950.0–E950.5, E962.0, or E980.0–E980.5. Motor vehicle traffic deaths were defined as having ICD–10 UCOD: V02–V04(.1,.9), V09.2, V12–V14(.3–.9), V19(.4–.6), V20–V28(.3–.9), V29–V79(.4–.9), V80(.3–.5), V81–V82(.1), V83–V86(.0–.3), V87(.0–.8), or V89.2 and ICD–9 UCOD: E810.0–E819.9, E958.5, or E988.5. When the ICD–10 replaced ICD–9 in 1999, approximately 5% fewer deaths were classified as motor vehicle deaths and 2% more deaths were classified as poisoning deaths (11).

The identification of individual drugs and drug classes involved in drug poisoning deaths is limited by the classification structure of the ICD. Trends involving individual drugs and drug classes begin with 1999 when the ICD–10 replaced ICD–9, because the classification of individual drugs and drug classes is not comparable between ICD revisions. Among deaths with drug poisoning as the underlying cause, the following ICD–10 codes indicate the type of drug(s) involved: only nonspecified drug(s) (only T50.9); specified drug(s) other than opioid analgesic (any of the codes T36–T50.8 other than T40.2–T40.4); and any opioid analgesic (any of the codes T40.2–T40.4); and natural and semi–synthetic opioid analgesic (T40.2); methadone (T40.3); synthetic opioid analgesic, excluding methadone (T40.4); heroin (T40.1); and cocaine (T40.5).

Age-adjusted death rates were calculated using the direct method and the 2000 standard population (10). To identify state rates that were significantly higher or lower than the overall U.S. rate, differences between national and state estimates were evaluated using two-sided significance tests at the 0.01 level. Georgia was excluded from this comparison because the cause of death was inconclusive for a high proportion of deaths in Georgia in the 2008 NVSS mortality file. When the national mortality file was closed to updates, the manner of death was pending for 8.8% of deaths and was assigned an ill-defined cause in 3.5% of deaths for Georgia as compared with 0.5% pending and 0.3% ill-defined for the nation. Poisoning deaths, which require lengthy investigations, are typically among the causes that remain pending at the close of the file.

Several factors related to death investigation and reporting may affect measurement of death rates involving specific drugs. At autopsy, toxicological lab tests may be performed to determine the type of legal and illegal drugs present. The substances tested for and circumstances in which the tests are performed vary by jurisdiction. Measurement errors related to these factors are more likely to affect substance specific death rates than the overall drug poisoning death rate.

About the authors

Margaret Warner, Li Hui Chen, and Diane M. Makuc are with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Office of Analysis and Epidemiology. Arialdi M. Miniño and Robert N. Anderson are with CDC, NCHS, Division of Vital Statistics.

References

1. Healthy People 2020 Topics and Objectives. Accessed September 30, 2011.
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3. Paulozzi L, Mack K, Rudd R, Jones C. Vital signs: Overdoses of prescription opioid pain relievers—United States, 1999–2008. MMWR, vol 60, 1487–92. 2011.
4. Gu Q, Dilon CF, Burt VL. Prescription drug use continues to increase: U.S. prescription drug data for 2007–2008. NCHS data brief, no 42. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2009.
5. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The NSDUH Report: Trends in nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers: 2002 to 2007 [PDF -1.4 MB]. Rockville, MD. 2009.
6. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H–41, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 11–4658. Rockville, MD. 2011.
7. Cai R, Crane E, Poneleit K, Paulozzi L. Emergency department visits involving nonmedical use of selected prescription drugs: United States, 2004–2008 (Reprinted from MMWR, vol 59, 705–9. 2010). JAMA-J Am Med Assoc 304(5):514–6. 2010.
8. CDC. Motor-vehicle safety: A 20th century public health achievement (Reprinted from MMWR, vol 48, 369. 1999). JAMA-J Am Med Assoc 281(22):2080–82. 1999.
9. Longthorne A, Subramanian R, Chen CL. An analysis of the significant decline in motor vehicle traffic fatalities in 2008 [PDF - 1.6 MB]. DOT HS 811 346. Washington, DC 2010.
10. Miniño AM, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD. Deaths: Final data for 2008 . National vital statistics reports; vol 59, no 10. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2011.
11. Bergen G, Chen L, Warner M, Fingerhut L. Injury in the United States: 2007 Chartbook. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2008 [PDF - 6.5 MB].

Suggested citation

Warner M, Chen LH, Makuc DM, Anderson RN, Miniño AM. Drug poisoning deaths in the United States, 1980–2008. NCHS data brief, no 81. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2011.