Research Briefs
Study Points to FDA Corruption
Dr. Gary Lawson of the Lawson Chiropractic Foundation announced the results
of a two-year study that claims pharmaceutical manufacturers exerted financial
leverage and influence over the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through large
sums of money paid on an annual basis. The study concluded that the FDA’s
actions regarding specific prescription drugs should be viewed by U.S. citizens
with extreme caution.
In order to speed up new drug approvals and eliminate the backlog of needed
lifesaving medications, Congress authorized the collection of drug industry
fees for one five-year period beginning in 1992. Although no new drug approval
efficiencies were approved after year five, the financial collection was extended
two more times, the drug industry paying higher fees each time. According to
the Lawson study, receiving money from drug companies limited the FDA’s
ability to act as an objective consumer protection agency.
During the period when the FDA was receiving money from the pharmaceutical industry,
reports of adverse drug reactions more than doubled and Americans had a 32 percent
higher chance of experiencing a reportable adverse drug reaction. During this
time, Lawson’s study claims that more deadly drugs were released in the
U.S. first and stayed in the American market longer, while the cost of consumer
drugs skyrocketed and the FDA protected the U.S. drug industry’s monopoly
by working to stop the influx of lower cost Canadian medications.
According to Lawson, during the same time period, off-label drug promotion and
direct-to-consumer advertising was authorized, the FDA decreased consumer protection
services and the FDA allowed the drug industry to set internal Agency objectives,
goals and FDA job descriptions. More information is available at www.FDAStudy.com.
Vitamin E Supplements: More Harm Than Good?
The results of a recent Canadian-led study have concluded that Vitamin E is useless
in reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke, and may even be harmful
in some cases. Performed at the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton
McMaster University in Canada, many believe the comprehensive study finally silences
the debate on the benefits of Vitamin E supplements. The study compared 9,541
people over the age of 55 in North America and Europe, who either had heart disease
or diabetes. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, half
of the study participants were given a daily dose of 400 international units of
Vitamin E while others were given a placebo. The dose given in the trial was much
higher than the recommended daily allowance, 23 international units per day, that
most people consume from a healthy diet or a multivitamin.
After seven years of study, those taking supplements had a slightly higher rate
of heart failure, pointing to the fact that antioxidant supplements many not behave
the same way naturally occurring antioxidants like gamma tocopherol and flavonoid
do in food. The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation supports the study’s
conclusions that people with heart conditions or diabetes should avoid the supplements,
while most other people will get few if any benefits. Previous studies by epidemiologists
and biologists had suggested that Vitamin E had some protective effects for the
circulatory system and cholesterol levels.
Spirulina Shown to Relieve Allergies
In a recent clinical study involving 36 allergic rhinitis patients, ingesting
only two grams of spirulina a day was shown to provide a significant reduction
in the level of Interluken-4 (IL-4), an key component in human allergies. Produced
by certain immune cells, IL-4 is responsible for the production of the antibody
Immunoglobin E (IgE), which mediates allergic rhinitis.
Conducted by the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology at
The University of California at Davis in conjunction with Earthrise Nutritionals,
the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was the first time that
a nutraceutical has been shown to have a beneficial effect on halting the machinery
that causes human allergies. The nutraceutical Spirulina is a material rich in
antioxidants and other important nutrients. The human clinical study conducted
at U.C. Davis supports previous research conducted on animals and in vitro studies.
Chiropractic Care Survey
Ten percent of the nation’s full-time licensed chiropractors were chosen
this year to participate in a profession-wide survey titled “Survey of Chiropractic
Practice.” Conducted by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE),
an organization responsible for testing excellence in the chiropractic profession,
the survey is conducted every five years and is made up of randomly selected chiropractic
practitioners, state licensing board members and educators. Relying entirely on
the responses of selected chiropractors, the survey allows those in the profession
to reflect on the tasks, duties and professional responsibilities common to their
everyday practice.
The results of the survey have been summarized in the report, “Job Analysis
of Chiropractic 2005.” The job analysis plays a role in informing and educating
state boards, associations, legislators and insurance companies on the practice
patterns of full-time chiropractors in the United States. The results of the survey
are also utilized in the development of NBCE examinations and other projects including
the efficacy of chiropractic care for the military and Veteran Administration,
as well as assisting colleges in evaluating and outlining their curricula to accurately
reflect the profession’s future practitioners.
To read the results of the survey, visit www.nbce.org.
Chiropractic Care Linked to Oxidative Stress and DNA Repair
A recent study suggests that wellness care provided by doctors of chiropractic
may improve health behaviors, enhance patient perceived quality of life and reduce
health care costs. Published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research
(JVSR), a joint study by chiropractors and researchers at the University of Lund
found that chiropractic care could influence basic physiological processes that
affected oxidative stress and DNA repair. The study’s landmark results offer
a scientific explanation for the positive health benefits reported by chiropractic
patients.
The study measured serum thiol levels in 21 patients under short-term chiropractic
care and 25 patients undergoing long-term chiropractic care, compared with 30
subjects in a non-chiropractic care control group. Long-term chiropractic care
of two or more years was shown to re-establish a normal physiological state independent
of age, sex or nutritional supplements. Symptom-free or primary wellness subjects
under chiropractic care demonstrated higher mean serum thiol values than patients
with active disease, and produced somewhat higher than normal wellness values.
Serum thiols, primary antioxidants that serve to measure human health status,
provide a surrogate estimate of DNA repair enzyme activity, which has been linked
with lifespan and aging.
The chemical, physical and emotional stress of life affects the function of the
nervous system and the study hypothesized that these disturbances in nerve function
could affect oxidative stress and DNA repair on a cellular level. Now a broadly
accepted theory about human aging and disease development, oxidative stress metabolically
generates free radicals, which result in DNA damage and inhibition of DNA repair,
the mechanism that fixes the damage caused by environmental impact. Chiropractors
apply spinal adjustments to correct disturbances of nerve function, thereby improving
the ability of the body to adapt to stress.
Teens Unconcerned About the Threat of Hearing Loss
While teens may listen to a lot of loud music in their cars, rooms and at concerts,
few think they will develop hearing problems. A 28-question survey posted on MTV’S
website for three days in March 2002 reported that most teens and young adults
did not think they would develop hearing loss from loud music.
The survey, which was answered by 6,148 females and 3,310 males with an average
age of 19, was analyzed by researchers from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
affiliated with Harvard Medical School. According to the survey, only 8 percent
of those questioned thought that hearing loss was a big problem, while nearly
half of the participants thought sexually transmitted diseases, alcohol, drug
use, smoking and depression were big issues for young people.
The survey also revealed that 61 percent of those questioned had ringing in their
ears and other signs of hearing impairment after attending concerts, and 43 percent
reported the same from socializing at clubs, but only 14 percent said they had
ever used earplugs. Although few survey participants had ever tried earplugs,
when informed of the danger of permanent and completely preventable hearing loss,
66 percent said they would be willing to try ear protection.
Published in the Journal of Pediatrics, the report mentioned several studies which
documented an increasing trend toward noise-induced hearing loss, particularly
among younger populations. Short periods of exposure to amplified sound may not
cause permanent problems, but chronic exposure is cumulative, making a slight
hearing problem in childhood a much greater issue in adulthood.
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