REPORTING POINT 03-00
AEROMEDICAL NEWS
“Live healthy...live well”
HEALTH NEWS
by Larry Kline
SWAPA Voice Mailbox 511/email lwkline@compuserve.com
ANTI-CANCER PILL? - several studies have revealed that selenium may help prevent lung and colon cancers. Now a large-scale study involving 34,000 male physicians tracked for 7 years found that those with the greatest amounts of selenium in their bodies were only one-third as likely as those with the least to develop prostate cancer. The researchers believe that 200 mcgs is a safe daily supplement limit. Health 11/98.
NEW BACK PAIN TREATMENT - a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a new non-surgical therapy can reduce back pain by nearly 50 percent. Researchers compared percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS) - with exercise therapy and TENS (electrical nerve stimulation using pads, not needles). Pain levels in 60 patients dropped by 46 percent after PENS, compared with an 11 percent drop after TENS and only a 2 percent drop after exercise therapy. William Craig, M.D., who developed PENS, say that it works by blocking pain signals to the brain. There are currently 1,500 doctors in the country who are trained to use PENS; 4 half-hour treatments over the course of 4 weeks are the recommended. Men’s Health 6/99.
BETTER FITNESS - BETTER HEARING - researchers at the University of Northern Iowa found that those subjects who were the fittest were least likely to suffer temporary hearing loss when subjected to ten minutes of 108-decibel noise - that which is greater than a chain saw. Health 11/98.
ANTIBIOTICS MAY INCREASE SPORTS INJURY RISK - a report delivered at a meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons indicates that an antibiotic prescribed for bronchial, intestinal, and other infections produces enzymes that break down tendons. Although the phenomenon is fairly rare and researchers don’t know who is at most risk, the authors of the report urge caution when taking any fluroquinolone antibiotics. If exercising vigorously, stop if pain is felt while taking this type of antibiotic. Men’s Health 6/99.
PATIENCE TO BOOST FERTILITY CHANCES - some couples who have had no success with in vitro fertilization may want to try again. A recent study reveals that letting embryos incubate for five days (instead of the usual three) before moving them to the womb improved pregnancy rates fourfold, while reducing the risk of a multiple-birth pregnancy. Health 10/99.
CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING MARGARINES - there has been a great deal written (including Harvey Watt’s “Aviation Medical Bulletin -1/00”) about the recent introduction of margarines like Benecol and Take Control. These products reportedly can reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol by an average of 10% without affecting HDL “good” cholesterol.
However, recent research from Finland suggests that cholesterol isn’t the only thing they lower. In a six-week study, researchers found that a Benecol-like margarine lowered blood levels of beta-carotene by 30%; another study showed that it reduced beta-carotene levels by 25%.
Carotenoids may lowered the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in the elderly. If further studies are consistent with these early findings, the new margarines may cut into the potential benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. Nutrition Action Healthletter 12/99.
RETAINING MUSCLE MASS AFTER SURGERY OR LONG-TERM ILLNESS - giving L-glutamine (an amino acid) to post‑operative patients has been shown to spare much of the muscle loss that can occur after major surgery. Since your muscles hold vast amounts of glutamine ‑ which happens to be the favorite fuel source of your immune system ‑ your body will break down muscle tissue in times of stress and disease to get what it needs. Consuming extra glutamine in these circumstances helps keep your muscles intact. Men's Fitness 5/99.
GREEN TEA BENEFIT - recent studies indicate that green tea may help prevent rheumatoid arthritis. Lab mice prompted to develop the painful joint disease showed that those drinking the tea cut the risk in half. Health 10/99.
From the Flight Surgeon:
"Don’t Mix and Match"
by Joe Battersby, D.O.
FAA Medical Examiner
(edited for this publication-LK)
For the past four or five years I’ve been reading and listening to a lot of stuff about “natural” herbal products. Who hasn’t? Selling these weeds has jumped from a three to a fifteen billion dollar a year industry. I’ve written a couple of columns about them, discussing certain compounds on a named basis. My job demands that I know something about them. I have tried to be fair and have usually given prescription drugs equal time, treatment and criticism when I thought it was in order. All of this can be very, very confusing. I thought maybe I could put together a few ideas to help us navigate sensibly through all this “information” available to us as well as a few additional guidelines for harmonious living.
1. Don’t believe everything you hear or read. For example: among the ranks of those who claim to be PhDs, you will uncover some whose “diplomas” were granted by Sam Houston Institute of Technology. You know this. Same with drug claims.
2. It is not a sin to shop in a health food store, but an English major may not be the best source of information concerning physiology. I tend not to ask professional gardeners questions relative to reverse thrusters.
3. Never eat at a place called “Mom’s”.
4. There is no formal FDA control over the herbal products in terms of “proven efficacy”. Likewise with quality control. This means that Marv and I don’t have to prove to anybody that the bathtub in which we mix our product, “STIFFERINO”, is clean, etc...this means an open season for substitution or adulteration. Ironically perhaps, when it comes to non-Rx drugs, the only control required is that bottle labels of the “stuff” must state that the product makes no claim to “diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease and specify that whatever claims are made have not been evaluated by the FDA. This reminds me a little of the TV ads for automobiles. The top screen tells you that you can buy a vintage Rolls Royce for 10 bucks a month. The rest of the ad (about 2/3) contains a statement of qualifications to the sale in print so small I can’t read it at 6 inches from the screen!
5. It has been estimated that approximately 100,000 people a year are killed by prescription medications. Am I being fair or what?
6. If you are taking any of this stuff please remember to tell your Doc. It is most important to avoid the problems that have occurred with mixtures of herbal and prescription meds. Very important!
7. Here’s a bottom line for us...nothing is completely safe-prescription or non-prescription. Be careful. Be skeptical. Be conservative. If you’re a computer buff, try www.quackwatch.com. (This website really exists!)
8. Never play cards with a person called “Doc:.
9. Never, never urinate against the wind.
10. Never kick dog “do-do” on a wet day.
If you remember any of this, remember #6 above, maybe #7, too.
Again, ask your Doc if it’s OK to take the prescription he’s giving you with whatever weeds or snake oil you happen to be buying from the health food store, Walgreens, your relative or neighbor or by mail order.
Here’s a brief list of the bad combinations that we know about so far (do not assume that the combos on this list are the only ones to avoid - these are only the ones that we know about so far):
Herbs known to have undesirable effects with certain prescription meds are:
1. St. John’s Wort
2. Ginseng
3. Feverfew
4. Garlic
5. Ginger
6. Valerian
7. Echinacea
8. Kava-Kava
9. Ginko-biloba
Effects range from increasing bleeding if you are using aspirin or Coumadin, for example, to an increase lowering of blood sugars when ginseng is combined with oral sugar lowering agents.
Perhaps, if for no other reason, this alert may be of value because in this herbal area you probably will not be issued the type of “warning list” the pharmacist gives with the prescription medication. In my opinion, we are perhaps more at risk quantitatively with prescription meds than with herbals. In the latter case, it’s more or less a matter of being “blind sided” because of the lack of readily available information regarding product control, etc.
Best,
Joe
