The Newest Finding in the Use of Laboratory Testing in Inflammation
I just gave a talk in Boulder, Colorado at the Healing Journey Seminar on the use of laboratory testing and inflammation. For those of you interested in the subject, I’ve uploaded the Powepoint presentation. Enjoy!
Anyone who’s done a mock draft knows that it isn’t a science, it’s a guessing game. No general manager of an NFL team tells the truth and the “so-called experts” honestly are guessing as well. Here is my best guess and this Saturday I’ll see how well (or more likely bad) I did.
1 – Jake Long OT – Miami Dolphins – I got this one right since they already signed him.
2 – Chris Long DE –
3 – Glenn Dorsey DT – Atlanta Falcons – Beast of a man who will improve their defense immediately.
4 – Darren McFadden RB – Oakland Raiders – Raider fans cheer for this explosive running back.
5 – Ryan Clady OT – Kansas City Chiefs – They need line help and he provides it.
6 – Vernon Gholston – DT – New York Jets – Hopefully his career follows his workouts.
7 – Leodis McKelvin – CB – New England Patriots – The lost Asante Samuel and need to replace him.
8 – Matt Ryan – QB – Baltimore Ravens – They can’t believe their luck getting a new QB.
9 – Sedric Ellis – DE – Cincinnati Bengals – More help for their beleaguered defense.
10 – Keith Rivers – LB – New Orleans Saints – This guy can play and they need linebacking help.
11 – Devin Thomas – WR – Buffalo Bills – An instant upgrade to their offense.
12 – Branden Albert – OG – Denver Broncos – This guy can be a great guard or tackle in the NFL.
13 – Chris Williams – OT – Carolina Panthers – Happiness in Pantherland when he falls to them.
14 – Jeff Otah – OT – Chicago Bears – Him or Mendenhall at RB but I think they have bigger needs in the offensive line.
15 – Rashard Mendenhall – RB – Detroit Lions – They have so many needs but this is a solid pick (at least its not a WR).
16 – Derrick Harvey – DE – Arizona Cardinals – Another happy team with their pick.
17 – Phillip Merling – DE – Kansas City Chiefs – Replacing Allen on the D-Line was the purpose of this pick
18 – Mike Jenkins – CB – Houston Texans – Surprise pick but a definite need.
19 – Dominque Rogers-Cromartie – Philadelphia Eagles – No one saw this coming but it makes sense.
20 – Ketwan Balmer – DE – Tampa Bay Bucs – More defense equals more wins.
21 – Limas Sweed – WR – Washington Redskins – Returner and receiver is just what the Skins need.
22 – Felix Jones – RB – Dallas Cowboys – Everyone saw this one coming from miles away.
23 – James Hardy – WR – Pittsburgh Steelers – They need weapons and he is one of them.
24 – Calais Campbell – DE – Tennessee Titans – Boost the defense in this round, offense in the next one.
25 – Dustin Keller – TE – Seattle Seahawks – Matt Hasselback throws a party now that he has a top TE to throw to.
26 – Marcus Harrison – DT – Jacksonville Jaguars – Solid pick.
27 – Ryan Clady – OT – San Diego Chargers – His drop surprises many, Chargers are happy.
28 – Kenny Phillips – S – Dallas Cowboys – Why not?
29 – Dan Connor – LB –
30 – Chad Henne – QB – Green Bay Packers – They either trade him for more picks or get a backup to Aaron Rogers.
31 – Tyrell Johnson – S – New York Giants – Real value pick.
Incontinence drugs like Detrol, have now been linked to memory problems and other psychological ills. According to this article on MSNBC.com, “The people who took the drugs had a 50 percent faster rate of cognitive decline compared to those who didn’t take any.” That is pretty staggering if you ask me. Other drugs in the same class, known as anticholinergics also have similar effects.
So what does Pfizer, who makes Detrol say? Here is a quote from Ponni Subbiah, Pfizer’s vice president of medical affairs, “Detrol has been on the market since 1998. It has been prescribed more than 100 million times worldwide.” further more he states “the frequency of events and the role of Detrol in their causation cannot be reliably determined,” Huh? So basically they say that despite what the research tells us, lots of people are taking it and there is no way you are ever going to prove that it’s bad. Pfizer’s mind-numbing denial just goes to show how they clearly think money over health of their customers. I guess they must be working on a brain enhancing drug to make up for the brain numbing effect of Detrol. I think that maybe they have the people working at Pfizer on Detrol in order to come up with the kind of nonsensical comments they make.
My favorite part of the article was the following comment – “Our message is to be careful when using these medicines,” said U.S. Navy neurologist Dr. Jack Tsao, who led the study. “It may be better to use diapers and be able to think clearly than the other way around.” I would add that it might behove you to try some GPC (glycerophosphocholine) or PS (phosphatidyl serine) to boost brain function as well
It just keeps coming it seems, the pharmaceutical industry has stooped to levels even I didn’t think possible. Merck was just found to have paid academic scientists to put their names on papers they didn’t write. Who wrote the papers? Company hired medical writers of course.
According to Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, JAMA’s editor-in-chief, “The manipulation is disgusting. I just didn’t realize the extent.” I think her use of the word disgusting pretty much sums up my opinion of this revelation. The article about this scandal is in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association. You can read the two articles, one by Ross, Hill, Egilman, and Krumholz and the other by Psaty and Kronmal.
One JAMA report says internal company data showed in 2001 that Vioxx patients in two Alzheimer’s studies had a higher death rate than patients on dummy pills. Merck didn’t publicize that “in a timely fashion” and provided information to federal regulators that downplayed the deaths, the report said. It’s time to reign in the industry through Congressional legislation.
Lest you think that only Merck is guilty of this deception, think again. I am sure that you will see more of this cropping up in the coming months. In my opinion, this type of behavior is driven by executives of pharmaceutical companies need to impress Wall Street and fluff up their balance sheets instead of having patient’s health in mind.
Here is the result of a paper done by Choudry, et al published in JAMA about how pervasive the industry’s hooks into medicine is:
“Eighty-seven percent of authors had some form of interaction with the pharmaceutical industry. Fifty-eight percent had received financial support to perform research and 38% had served as employees or consultants for a pharmaceutical company. On average, CPG authors interacted with 10.5 different companies. Overall, an average of 81% (95% confidence interval, 70%-92%) of authors per CPG had interactions. Similarly, all of the CPGs for 7 of the 10 diseases included in our study had at least 1 author who had some interaction. Fifty-nine percent had relationships with companies whose drugs were considered in the guideline they authored, and of these authors, 96% had relationships that predated the guideline creation process. Fifty-five percent of respondents indicated that the guideline process with which they were involved had no formal process for declaring these relationships. In published versions of the CPGs, specific declarations regarding the personal financial interactions of individual authors with the pharmaceutical industry were made in only 2 cases. Seven percent thought that their own relationships with the pharmaceutical industry influenced the recommendations and 19% thought that their coauthors’ recommendations were influenced by their relationships. “
What is truly sad is how many people have suffered health and financial wise due to the greed and immoral behavior by the pharmaceutical industry.
Mitochondrial Insufficiency, Type II Diabetes and Infertility/Pregnancy
Autism, Asthma, Allergies and Obesity Presentation
I’d like to thank the people who attended a training session I was part of this past weekend in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. It gave me a great surge of energy to meet so many people who are passionate about health and nutrition.
As promised I have uploaded my two presentations above for you to read and use (just make sure you tell people where you got the slides). Please also visit my other blog site, ToxicWorldBook.
There is a lot of data out there on the links between disease and environmental toxins. Problem is, there is a LOT of data on the links. Where to go if you need to see how strong the data is? Well look no further than The Collaborative on Health and the Environment’s – CHE Toxicant and Disease Database.
From Abnormal sperm (morphology, motility, and sperm count) to Wilm’s Tumor, this database is chock full of information on the links between the poison’s we are exposed to and the health concerns many of us face. A definite favorite link to keep if you’re a health care practitioner.
An important thought as well is to make sure you test for the toxins instead of just going out and looking at a disorder and immediately thinking that the toxins listed are the cause of the disease. You can’t treat strictly based on what you think is there. Both the US Biotek test for Environmental Pollutants and the Whole Blood Elements Test from Doctor’s Data is the way to go.
San Francisco and Los Angeles April 2008 Presentation by Dr. Mark Schauss
I’d like to thank the people who came to my presentation I did with Robert Crayhon this past weekend in San Francisco and Los Angeles. It was fun to see old friends and make new ones. The enthusiasm to help people that everyone had was invigorating and inspiring. Also, please stop by my other blog ToxicWorldBook.
As promised, here is the PowerPoint presentation for you to read and use (just tell everyone where you got it from). Just click on the link above. Tomorrow, I’ll add the PDF file of the presentation as well.
Robert Crayhon, my friend, co-worker and nutritionist extraordinaire posted an important blog today that people need to read. He talks about the absurdity of the food pyramid, put out by the USDA. He tells it like it is as usual. His blog is one you need to read every once in a while.