Zyprexa, Statin Drugs and News from the HIV/Aids Front - NewsGrabs 23 December 2007

Categories

NewsGrabs

Health Supreme's NewsGrabs are a selection of alternative health and other underprivileged news. Find what you may have missed in your everyday reading - watch out for these NewsGrabs on weekends.

With Christmas at our doorstep, I wish all of you who appreciate my contrary news selections a great festa.

Here are this week's stories and links, collected and posted for you:

Alliance for Natural Health Moves To Protect Global Dietary Supplement Access
It is widely thought that the maximum permitted levels set by the EC will become a template for those set by the Codex Alimentarius commission of the World Trade Organisation, which will, in turn, be 'exported' globally through regional free trade agreements such as CAFTA. The process of deciding on maximum levels, known as 'nutrient risk assessment', is believed to be one of the most crucial, and potentially impactful, in the perceived potential restriction of consumer access to dietary supplements, both in Europe and worldwide.

Vitamin B-12 function may be diminished by excessive folate
Homocysteine and methylmalonic acid, compounds used by enzymes that contain vitamin B12, accumulate in the blood in patients who are vitamin B12 deficient. “Finding that the combination of high blood folate levels and low vitamin B12 status is associated with even higher levels of these compounds is a strong indication that the high folate is interfering with the action of these B12-containing enzymes, thus resulting in the exacerbation or worsening of the vitamin B12 deficiency,” says corresponding author Jacob Selhub, Ph.D., director of the Vitamin Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

Many nutrients interact with other nutrients, either enhancing or impeding their activity. The interaction of nutrients that this study looks into, is an area we know little of, and where much fruitful research could be done. So good on the Tufts University study that makes a foray into this area.

Book: The Fate of a Good Man
by Martin Walker

The Fate of a Good Man follows the fortunes of Jim Wright, a man who thought that he could help with the health of his community by distributing and selling natural treatments for a variety of conditions. Instead of being seen as a good citizen, someone of value in the community, Jim Wright was investigated, prosecuted and tried by the Medicines and Health products Regulation Agency, a firm within the Government that is totally funded by the pharmaceutical industry and that will go to any lengths to see off the ‘competition’.

Artificial Butter Flavor Eliminated from Microwave Popcorn
ConAgra has removed a controversial chemical from its microwave popcorn that gives the snack a buttery, creamy taste, citing concern for its workers' health. ConAgra manufactures more than half of the nation's microwave popcorn. The chemical is diacetyl (dahy-uh-SEET-l). Workers exposed to the airborne chemical in plants making microwave popcorn have been diagnosed with a rare lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans ...

Why anyone would microwave popcorn to begin with, or eat the snack laced with an unhealthy chemical instead of real butter, is one of the great mysteries of our culture. I guess it's an outgrowth of the myth that "time is money", a nasty lie that has us running in a rat race without a moment's pause.

Mobiles raise risk of mouth cancer
It's no news that mobile phone use raises the risk of brain cancer and impotency. Now, add mouth cancer to the list.

Those who used mobiles the most were more likely than normal to develop parotid gland tumours. In fact, five years of frequent use increased the chances of developing a tumour by around 50 per cent compared with people who had never used one, the researchers found.

Man’s Skin Turns Dark Blue
What Karason did was use a substance called colloidal silver, which is made by extracting silver from metal. It goes into water with an electrical current and then you drink it. Colloidal silver is billed as something that will cure just about everything that ails you and Karason swears by it. Karason does not believe drinking the potion is what caused his discoloration. He believes it happened because he rubbed it on his face to treat a skin problem. A medical condition called Argyria has been linked to such discoloration since the days when silver solutions were used as antibiotics.

Video: Gardasil HPV Vaccine Hoax Exposed
Gardasil and HPV vaccinations: They don't work and may actually be dangerous to women. The FDA knew HPV did not cause cervical cancer in 2003.

75% of Physicians Would Refuse Chemotherapy if they had Cancer
The great lack of trust is evident even amongst doctors. Polls show that three doctors out of four (75 per cent) would refuse any chemotherapy because of its ineffectiveness against the disease and its devastating effects on the entire human organism.

The Statin Scam Marches On
Considering that tens of millions of Americans now take statins to lower cholesterol, the following headline was conspicuously absent from the major media this month: “Statins Found to Turn On Gene that Causes Muscle Damage.” It’s now a fact of science; a new study shows that taking statins destroys your muscle to a greater or lesser degree. And let’s not forget that the heart is a muscle.

Place this study juxtaposed to another rather interesting recent finding: the more fit you are the longer you will live – and the two just don’t add up. How can you destroy muscle and be more fit? You can’t. Sure you can drug your cholesterol number lower, but will you be healthier, fit, and live longer?

Pfizer Sued By Former Exec Over Lipitor Marketing
A former Pfizer exec accused the drugmaker of illegally boosting Lipitor sales through an elaborate campaign of misleading educational programs for docs, The Wall Street Journal reports. Jesse Polansky, claims that the educational campaign was a key part of a marketing strategy that “led thousands of physicians to prescribe Lipitor for millions of patients who did not need medication” and could be harmed by overly aggressive treatment.

The Cause Of Heart Disease: High Cholesterol or Excess Calcium?
... over the last two decades, with marked advances in science and technology, the most recent research into lipid chemistry and coronary pathology is revealing that the “lipid theory” or “diet-heart” hypothesis might not be as definitive as once thought as being the major cause of coronary heart disease. In fact, much of the latest research that has been done on cholesterol shows just how vital a role this group of fats, called sterols, really are to every cell, nerve, and major organ of the body.

The FDA may approve Zyprexa for kids, despite its significant side effects
It sounds like a cosmic, FDA joke:

The Food and Drug Administration approves the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa to treat adults with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. It becomes a market wonder, a bestseller. But the side effects turn out to be dangerous; some patients develop diabetes.

Some 30,000 people sue the manufacturer, Eli Lilly. The pharmaceutical giant shells out more than $1-billion to settle the cases.

Here comes the punch line:

Though studies show that kids are even more susceptible to Zyprexa's dangerous side effects, now Lilly wants the government's seal of approval for adolescents to use it. And the FDA is about to say yes.

Video: St. Petersburg Times Reports on Zyprexa

Zyprexa Side Effects
The FDA created MedWatch, a computerized Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) for post-marketing surveillance of all FDA-approved drugs. Between 2004 and 2006 the FDA MedWatch program received 7,320 Individual Safety Reports nami