Cholesterol: Another Wrong Conclusion

Poor Predictor: Researchers reported that the cholesterol levels in women were not associated with stroke, while there was only an association in men with levels higher than 9mmol/litre. The average in UK men is 5.5.

I don't know where people's heads have been since the cholesterol bonanza began, but my stand is that these pundits overlooked a known fact, which now seems to be getting press after some 30 years. 

It's triglycerides!  And this is what I learned in college, what will really hurt you and lead you along the slippery slope to heart attack and stroke.

I have often written that once milk began to be homogenized, things started going down hill. This practice by commercial dairies caused dairy fat to be "osmosed" directly into your blood, in fool fat form.  Clogged arteries are the end result, that s if course unless you follow a health promoting food plan or use proper supplementation.

The comes the low-fat/non-fat diet and all kinds of health problems reach new, high levels.  More drugs, less benefit, more cases, no recovery, lack of prevention too!

High levels of cholesterol do not predict the risk of stroke.

They did detect an increased risk in men, but only when cholesterol was at almost twice the average level.

The report in Annals of Neurology recommends using a different type of fat in the blood, non-fasting triglycerides, to measure the risk.

The Stroke Association said triglyceride tests needed to become routine to reduce the risk of stroke.

A total of 150,000 people have a stroke in the UK each year. Most are ischemic strokes, in which a clot in an artery disrupts the brain's blood supply.

The research followed 13,951 men and women, who took part in the Copenhagen City Heart Study.

During the 33-year study, 837 men and 837 women had strokes.

Poor predictor

They reported that the cholesterol levels in women were not associated with stroke, while there was only an association in men with levels higher than 9mmol/litre. The average in UK men is 5.5.

The researchers at Copenhagen University Hospital said this was "difficult to explain" as LDL, or bad, cholesterol is known to cause atherosclerosis which can block arteries.

They did notice a link, in both men and women, between the risk of stroke and non-fasting triglycerides.

They believe these fats are a marker for "remnant cholesterol" which is left behind when other forms of cholesterol are made.

Dr Peter Coleman, deputy director of research at The Stroke Association said: "Tests for triglyceride levels aren't routinely carried out in the UK unless there is significant concern."

"We know that high levels of fats, such as cholesterol, increase your risk of having a stroke. However, this research shows the importance of measuring the fat triglyceride, as well as cholesterol.

"This study highlights the importance of measuring triglycerides routinely in order to reduce a person's risk of stroke." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12505230

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Posted in: cholesterol,first natural health news,stroke,triglycerides

Birth Control Pill Caused Stroke

Bayer sued over pill that caused stroke in young woman.

What is tragic about this situation is the prescribing doctor failed to address the severe nutritional deficiencies associated with taking the birth control pill, and the effects they have on hormonal disruption.

I have seen this too many times over the years in a wide age-range of women taking the "pill" for various reasons.  Side-effects can be mediated successfully with natural remedies, many prevented with this information.

By Marrecca Fiore Jun 7th 2010 5:01PM

An actress who is currently an understudy in the Broadway show "Wicked" is suing Bayer, claiming its birth control pill Yasmin caused her to have a stroke when she was 27 years old, the New York Post reports.

Brenda Hamilton, a former Bronx resident who now lives in West New York, N.J., filed a civil suit in the Bronx claiming that Bayer knew the birth-control pill Yasmin posed a greater risk of stroke and blood clots than other birth control pills, but didn't warn consumers.

Hamilton says she was otherwise healthy and had been taking Yasmin for a little more than two years when she suffered a stroke in May 2007.

"I'm pretty angry that this happened to me. I was 27 at the time. I don't think this should be happening to young women. It shouldn't happen to any woman just because they take birth-control pills," she told the Post.

All birth control pills pose some increased risk of stroke and blood clots -- smoking increases the risk of both, according to literature that is included with birth control prescriptions. The estrogen in birth control pills is believed to be behind the increased risk. Yasmin bills itself as a low-estrogen pill that reduces the symptoms

In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cited Bayer for overstating the safety of the product in its advertising, according to the Post.

Hamilton's lawsuit is one of about 1,100 filed in the U.S. claiming the pills caused serious or life-threatening health problems. Two class-action suits have been filed in Canada.

A spokeswoman for Bayer told the Post the company would not comment on pending litigation.

of premenstrual syndrome, including bloating, cramping and mood swings.

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Posted in: birth control pill,estrogen,leaflady,stroke,women,womens health,Yasmin

Beau Biden suffers apparent mild stroke

While it is known that AG Biden's father, VP Joe Biden, suffered an aneurysm in the past, and this establishes a familial risk for vascular disease,is there another issue being overlooked?

Beau Biden served a year in Iraq, and there is the possibility that his condition today is linked to DU exposure.

Washington (CNN) -- Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden -- the son of Vice President Joe Biden -- has suffered what doctors believe to be a mild stroke, according to the hospital.

Consider the risk of stroke and its relationship to cell phone use and exposure to other EMF sources such as cell towers, digital TV towers, DTV and DECT phones, microwave ovens and other microwave based devices. More occurrences in younger people being reported.

And perhaps good consideration should be placed on the number of vaccines and their longterm after-effects that members of the military endure.

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Posted in: aneurysm,Beau Biden,brain injury from DU,Joe Biden,stroke

Routine aspirin benefit queried

The use of ASA in this context is a risk that should have been known to doctors who are required to study pharmacology and physiology.

Longterm use of ASA and even other blood thinning drugs like coumadin may cause destruction of the cell wall membrane leading to a type of free-radical destruction originating from the rupture of cellular lysosomal membranes. Lysosomes are digestive substances found in each cell. They are designed to digest and eliminate waste from the cell. When the membranes are ruptured prematurely, cell contents are digested and destroyed. Silent bleeding and death may ensue.

Omega 3, garlic, cayenne, willow bark, natto or other natural supplements may do as well or better, and without such a high risk of harm.

Routine aspirin benefits queried
Low-dose aspirin should not routinely be used to prevent heart attacks and strokes, contrary to official guidance, say UK researchers.

Analysis of data from over 100,000 clinical trial participants found the risk of harm largely cancelled out the benefits of taking the drug.

Only those who have already had a heart attack or stroke should be advised to take a daily aspirin, they found.

The Lancet study should help clarify a "confusing" issue, GPs said.

The NHS drugs watchdog, the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), has not made a ruling in this area.

But experts in the UK, US and Europe recommend aspirin for people who have not already had a heart attack or stroke, but are at high risk of cardiovascular disease because of factors such as age, blood pressure and cholesterol level.

“ We don't have good evidence that, for healthy people, the benefits of long-term aspirin exceed the risks by an appropriate margin ”
Professor Colin Baigent, study leader

This strategy, known as primary prevention, is based on the result of studies looking at predicted risks and benefits in this population.

But the latest research provides clearer evidence because it is based on data from individuals, the researchers said.

They looked at heart attacks and strokes and major bleeds - a potential side effect of aspirin - in six primary prevention trials, involving 95,000 people at low to average risk and 16 trials involving 17,000 people at high risk - because they had already had a heart attack or stroke.

Use of aspirin in the lower-risk group was found to reduce non-fatal heart attacks by around a fifth, with no difference in the risk of stroke or deaths from vascular causes.

But it also increased the risk of internal bleeding by around a third.

Balance

However, in those patients who had already had a heart attack or stroke and were at risk of having another, the benefits clearly outweighed the chance of adverse events, the researchers said.

Study leader Professor Colin Baigent from the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford, UK, said drug safety was vital when making recommendations that affected tens of millions of healthy people.

"We don't have good evidence that, for healthy people, the benefits of long-term aspirin exceed the risks by an appropriate margin."

He added: "I think the guideline groups will find it useful to have the data analysed in that way."

Professor Steve Field, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the issue had been confusing for GPs and patients.

"There is no definitive guidance and it makes it bewildering when you have a series of papers which then hint it would be beneficial to take aspirin."

He added that many patients would buy aspirin over the counter - either on the advice of their GP or under their own steam - because it was cheap.

"This important study does suggest people shouldn't take aspirin unless indicated by disease."

Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said: "It is better for doctors to weigh up the benefit and risk of prescribing aspirin on an individual basis, rather than develop a blanket guideline suggesting everyone at risk of heart disease is routinely given aspirin."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8072215.stm
Published: 2009/05/28 23:11:43 GMT © BBC MMIX

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Posted in: aspirin,heart attack,natural health news,natural news,stroke

Using your mind to heal

The release of this recent repeat of older studies is very worthwhile to see reported in mainstream media.

Years ago when I worked in neuro-icu from time to time and subsequently throughout my career as a health professional I have always maintained that neurons can be regenerated. It is the basis for the effectiveness of the therapy for stroke victims to regain use of effected limbs in association with restraining the unaffected limb for short period twice daily ( you are hearing me cringe when I think of all the after effects of CVAs and head injury that are preventable with proper care).

The mind is indeed a powerful tool in healing. Many of us on the avant garde edge of health care have always believed this and integrated the teachings into our care for patients and clients. There is no reason why specific healing techniques cannot be taught to patients to encourage them to rely more on the body's inherent ability to heal. It is also an effective tool that already has been shown to assist the injured with sexual issues.

Many more applications are there, waiting for the door to open.

Perhaps this report will encourage others still relying on Newtonian thinking to burst out of the chains.

Mind power moves paralysed limbs By Michelle Roberts, Health reporter, BBC News

Scientists have shown it is possible to harness brain signals and redirect them to make paralysed limbs move.

The technology bypasses injuries that stop nerve signals travelling from the brain to the muscles, offering hope for people with spinal damage.

So far the US team from the University of Washington have only tested their "brain-machine interfaces" in monkeys.

The hope is to develop implantable circuits for humans without the need for robotic limbs, Nature reports.

Wired up

Spinal cord injuries impair the nerve pathways between the brain and the limbs but spare both the limb muscles and the part of the brain that controls movement - the motor cortex.

Similar techniques could be applied to stimulate the lower limb muscles during walking
Lead researcher Dr Chet Moritz

Recent studies have shown that quadriplegic patients - people who have paralysis in all four limbs - can consciously control the activity of nerve cells or neurons in the motor cortex that command hand movements, even after several years of paralysis.

Using a gadget called a brain-machine interface, Dr Chet Moritz and colleagues re-routed motor cortex control signals from the brains of temporarily paralysed monkeys directly to their arm muscles.

The gadget, which is the size of a mobile phone, interprets the brain signals and converts them into electrical impulses that can then stimulate muscle to contract.

By wiring up artificial pathways for the signals to pass down, muscles that lacked natural stimulation after paralysis with a local anaesthetic regained a flow of electrical signals from the brain.

Life-changing

The monkeys were then able to tense the muscles in the paralysed arm, a first step towards producing more complicated goal-directed movements, such as grasping a cup or pushing buttons, say the researchers.

Lead researcher Dr Chet Moritz said: "This could be scaled to include more muscles or stimulate sites in the spinal cord that could activate muscles in a coordinated action.

"Similar techniques could be applied to stimulate the lower limb muscles during walking."

The scientists found the monkeys could learn to use virtually any motor cortex nerve cell to control muscle stimulation - it did not have to be one that would normally controlled arm movement. And their control over the muscles improved with practice.

The researchers say they need to do trials in humans, meaning a treatment could be decades away.

Dr Mark Bacon, head of research at the UK charity Spinal Research, said: "This is clearly a step in the right direction and proves the principle that artificially transducing the will to move generated in the brain with relevant motor activity can be achieved.

"However, these results have been produced in experimental models where there is no injury per se."

He said injury-induced changes to the nerve circuits might hinder the technology's application in real life.

Also, brain-machine interfaces communicate in only one direction - in this case from the brain to the muscle.

"Sensory feedback, so important for fine control of movements and dexterity, is still some way away," he said.

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7669159.stm
Published: 2008/10/15 17:02:32 GMT © BBC MMVIII

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Posted in: brain injury,CVA,energy work,healing,health,health news,mind,natural,natural health news,natural news,News,paralysed,quadriplegia,Reiki,stroke,veterans