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Arthritis Treated with Alternative Medicine

Arthritis Help, and How it can be Treated Successfully with Alternative Medicine

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Archive for March, 2008


Adult Deer Tick
Ixodes tick
According to Centers for disease control, Lyme disease is the fastest growing vector-borne disease in the United States with over 40,000 cases reported during 2001–2002, representing a 40% annual increase in incidence . Studies from the 1990's suggest that the actual number of cases may be as much as twelve times higher when factoring in underreporting. Forty-nine of 50 states and the District of Columbia in the USA had reported Lyme disease cases by 1998 . The areas of the country endemic for Lyme disease have expanded , In New York, over an 11 year period, cases have spread throughout the state from the original southeastern focus . Increasing numbers have also been reported in the United Kingdom, France, and Sweden .
 
 
In a new study, Richard Ostfeld, Felicia Keesing, and colleagues examined the ecological determinants of Lyme disease over a 13-year period in southeastern New York, a hot zone for the disease. Combining field data with computer simulations, they analyzed trends in interannual variation and found two powerful predictors of entomological risk of Lyme disease in a given year: abundance of tick hosts—white-footed mice and chipmunks—in the previous year and abundance of acorns—which sustain the rodents—two years out. Their findings upset the long-held view that deer and climate are the best indicators of disease risk.
180px-BullseyeLymeDiseaseRash.jpg

Stage 1 symptom of Lyme disease usually manifests from 3-30 days, this involves the
appearance of the characteristic skin rash, which gradually expands from the initial inflammation at the site of the bite to form a ring 5-50cm in diameter. This particular skin rash does not appear in all cases of tick bite , in fact it may only manifest in 80% of tick bites. At least half of the tick bite victims will experience influenza-like symptoms with fever and muscular pains.
 
Stage 2 symptom may not appear for weeks of months, this may involve neurological symptoms such as Bell's palsy, or in some cases cardiac symptoms may appear.

Stage 3 It may be many months or years later before the symptoms of arthritis develop .

If the bite had been treated in its initial stage with homeopathic Ledum 200, followed by Urtica Urens if the rash appeared, that would be the only treatment needed. Howevere, if the bite was left untreated, other homeopathic remedies would need to be applied according to what symptoms were manifesting. If the treatment is begun in the early stage you may never need to used any other remedy once Ledum has been taken.
 
 
Matthew Wood the well known US herbalist in his book : The Book of Herbal Wisdom claims to have had success with the use of the herb Teasel, Dipsacus sylvestris. He says that the five cases of Lyme disease treated by him , which had been medically diagnosed, were successfully cured of Lyme disease with teasel.
 
 
682958_teasel.jpg

It appears that the Health Insurance people in the US are now discouraging the long-term treatment of Lyme disease for it's a disease that gets progressively worse, too bad for the Lyme disease victim, and so much for health insurance. Perhaps they should state what they do cover in their insurance contract, before people donate their hard earned money to them.
This site has a video to keep you informed of the latest news re the subject of health insurance for Lyme disease visit:

For more information on the holistic treatment of arthritis:
http://www.sayno2arthritis.com

I just read an article at Science Daily about a study by a team of international researchers, led by Antonio Naranjo of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, and colleagues in Argentina, Europe, and the USA have analyzed data from the QUEST-RA (Quantitative Patient Questionnaires in Standard Monitoring of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis) study.on the subject of patients who have been prescribed certain prescription drugs for their rheumatoid arthritis.

They have been found to have a reduced risk of heart attacks: “Taking methotrexate — the most widely used DMARD — for just one year for example was found to be associated with an 18% reduction in risk of heart attack and an 11% decrease in risk of stroke, the researchers say”. “Rheumatoid arthritis is a known risk factor for hardening of the arteries and so can lead to stroke and heart attacks occurring in sufferers ten years earlier than in people without the condition”.

“Our study provides further support of the influence of both traditional and RA specific risk factors in the development of cardiovascular events, especially heart attack” the researchers conclude, “As assessed by this study, the risk was lower with the prolonged use of methotrexate, sulfasalazine, glucocorticoids, leflunomide and TNF-± blockers.”

It is important to keep in mind at all times when reading research studies that most if not all researchers are funded by pharmaceutical companies. So do you realy think they would tell you the rest of the possible effects these drugs may have on you health??? Unfortunately they don’t, OK, so you have less risk of heart attack or stroke, but please read the following information taken from MedlinePlus drug database:

One of the drugs they recommend you to take long term to avoid cardiovascular problems is Methotrexoate, MedlinePlus has this warning about this drug :

“Methotrexate may cause very serious side effects. Some side effects of methotrexate may cause death. You should only use methotrexate to treat life-threatening cancer, or certain other conditions that are very severe and that cannot be treated with other medications. Methotrexate may cause liver damage, Methotrexate may cause lung damage, Methotrexate may cause kidney damage, Methotrexate may cause a decrease in the number of blood cells made by your bone marrow.Methotrexate may cause damage to your intestines, Methotrexate may cause a severe rash that may be life-threatening. Methotrexate may decrease the activity of your immune system, and you may develop serious infections. Taking methotrexate may increase the risk that you will develop lymphoma (cancer that begins in the cells of the immune system). If you do develop lymphoma, it might go away without treatment when you stop taking methotrexate, or it might need to be treated with chemotherapy”. Phew, no mention of a heart attack here!

Glocorticoids: ” Elevated pressure in the eyes ( glaucoma), fluid retention causing swelling in the lower legs, increased blood pressure, mood swings, weight gain with fatty deposits in the abdomen, neck, and face (moonface). Cataracts, high blood sugar which can trigger or worsen diabetes, increased risk of infections, loss of calcium from bones which can lead to osteoporosis and fractures. Menstrual irregularities, suppressed adrenal gland hormone production, thin skin, easy bruising, and slower wound healing”. No mention of possible heart attack as a side effect.

The anti tumor necrosis drugs one of which is Infliximab “may decrease your ability to fight infection and increase the risk that you will get a serious or life-threatening infection. Tell your doctor if you have any type of infection now, including minor infections (such as open cuts or sores), infections that come and go (such as cold sores) and chronic infections that do not go away, or if you often get any type of infection such as bladder infections. Also tell your doctor if you are taking medications that suppress the immune system such as azathioprine (Imuran), cancer chemotherapy medications, cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), oral corticosteroids; 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol); methotrexate (Rheumatrex), sirolimus (Rapamune), and tacrolimus (Prograf). If you experience any of the following symptoms during or shortly after your treatment with infliximab, call your doctor immediately: sore throat; cough; fever; extreme tiredness; flu-like symptoms; warm, red, or painful skin; or other signs of infection”.

“Infliximab increases the risk that you will get some types of infections that are most common in certain parts of the United States and the world. Tell your doctor all the places you previously lived and all the places you recently visited or plan to visit while using infliximab”.

“You may be infected with tuberculosis (TB, a type of lung infection) but not have any symptoms of the disease. In this case, infliximab may increase the risk that your infection will become more serious and you will develop symptoms. Your doctor will perform a skin test to see if you have an inactive TB infection. If necessary, your doctor will give you medication to treat this infection before you start using infliximab. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had TB, or if you have been around someone who has TB”.

As for the other drugs that are on the list of recommendations: Eflunomide, sulfasalazine these drugs may produce these side effects: diarrhea, headache , loss of appetite, upset stomach, vomiting, stomach pain, skin rash, itching, hives, swelling, sore throat, fever, joint or muscle aches, pale or yellow skin, difficulty swallowing, tiredness, unusual bleeding or bruising, weakness, hair loss, dizziness, runny nose, urinary tract infection, back pain, mouth sores, flu-like symptoms, difficulty breathing, chest pain, and increased heart rate.

Judging from all of the foregoing possible side effects, one can only think that the reason the subjects in the study didn’t die from a heart attack or stroke was because they didn’t live long enough to experience one. Their already compromised immune systems couldn’t cope with the deleterious toxic effects of the drugs they were taking, and they died from causes other than cardiovascular disease.

The study doesn’t report that the subjects in the study went on to lead long and productive lives, all that’s reported is that the incidence of heart attacks and strokes is reduced. Would this be lying by omission? Caveat emptor.
References:

ScienceDaily (Mar. 7, 2008)

MedlinePlus Drug Database.

*Journal reference: Cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Results from the QUEST-RA study Antonio Naranjo, Tuulikki Sokka, Miguel A Descalzo, Jaime Calvo-Alen, Kim Horslev-Petersen, Reijo K Luukkainen, Bernard Combe, Gerd R Burmester, Joe Devlin, Gianfranco Ferraccioli, Alessia Morelli, Monique Hoekstra, Maria Majdan, Stefan Sadkiewicz, Miguel Belmonte, Ann-Carin Holmqvist, Ernest Choy, Recep Tunc, Aleksander Dimic, Martin Bergman, Sergio Toloza and Theodore Pincus. Arthritis Research & Therapy (in press) http://arthritis-research.com/content/10/2/R30

It’s great to read articles from researchers about the benefits of herbs, now turmeric that important spice in curry powder is being considered as a possible preventative of heart failure.

Turmeric has been used by herbalists as an anti -inflammatory for hundreds of years, and is highly recommended for arthritis sufferers, anecdotal evidence supports its use for joint regeneration.

Now, to come across an article by researchers investigating its use to decrease heart enlargement, and heart failure brought considerable joy to this homeopath’s heart. One must keep in mind of course that their experiment has been done on rats, but alternative medicine practitioners are well aware of turmeric’s healing powers.
The researchers included Tatsuya Morimoto, MD, PhD, of the National Hospital Organization in Kyoto, Japan, and Hong-Liang Li, MD, PhD, of the University of Toronto’s cardiology division.

The studies “came to nearly identical conclusions,” says an editorial published with the studies in February’s edition of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

But editorialist Jonathan Epstein, MD, cautions against counting on curcumin to prevent heart failure in people, since the findings in rodents may not apply to people.

Epstein works at University of Pennsylvania’s cell and developmental biology department, Cardiovascular Institute, and Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
SOURCES: Li, H. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, February 2008; vol 118. Morimoto, T. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, February 2008; vol 118. Epstein, J. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, February 2008; vol 118.

Please read the research results for turmeric’s treatment of arthritis:

http://www.sayno2arthritis.com/Turmeric_for_Arthritis_Given_the_Scientific_OK_.html