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Diabetes, Inflammation, Immune Balance

| Posted by in Chronic Disease | Diabetes | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation | Nutrition | Obesity | Weight Management - (0 Comments)

(Please see prior posting)

ACHIEVING INFLAMMATORY HOMEOSTASIS, IMMUNE BALANCE, NATURALLY

CONTROL INFLAMMATION

Restoring immune inflammatory balance, homeostasis, may reduce diabetic symptoms, help guard against infections, and contribute to overall health by letting the body heal itself. Lifestyle changes, rather than medication, are the best ways to regain immune balance, inflammatory homeostasis.

BECOME PHYSICALLY ACTIVE.

Muscles release anti-inflammatory molecules every time they contract. To help balance the levels of inflammation in the body, try to be physically active at least 150 minutes a week. Walk to the bus at a brisk pace. Stand, instead of sitting. Work faster when in the garden. Exercise while watching TV. Just get moving!

This week’s pre-publication article from the journal, Diabetes Care, reports that diabetics that participated in aerobic and resistance training twice a week were more fit than controls, even when they personally did not have any weight loss. Moreover, another publication this week in the journal, Endocrine, reports that even without weight reductions, exercise by itself helps control blood sugar levels.

GET TO YOUR IDEAL WEIGHT.

Obese individuals are at greater risk of getting diabetes. Fat cells release pro-inflammatory cytokines, messages that result in inflammation. Many diabetic symptoms are reduced, even with minimal weight loss.

Make smarter beverage and food choices. The most recent discussions about foods is to ignore the amount of fat you take in, and instead, concentrate on decreasing your total carbohydrate intake.

 Limit your intake of:

  • Liquid carbohydrates such as sodas, either regular or “diet”, fruit juices, “energy” drinks, beer.
  • Fried foods.
  • Starches, such as corn, white rice, chips, nachos, French fries.
  • White flour such as found in breads, pasta, cakes, desserts.

 Fill half your plate with vegetables and colorful fruit. The following foods are reportedly helpful to diabetics: Brewer’s yeast, broccoli, buckwheat, liver, okra, peas, and spinach.

VITAMIN D MAY PLAY A ROLE IN BALANCING INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. Recent studies suggest that vitamin D, actually a hormone-like biochemical, is involved in cell growth and immunity. Studies suggest that vitamin D suppresses proinflammatory cytokines and increases anti-inflammatory cytokines. Organ systems such as liver, skin, thymus, small intestines, and pancreas have cells that bind a form of vitamin D. Certain groups of diabetics have low levels of vitamin D.

The body produces its own vitamin D when sun exposure is appropriate. Moderate sun exposure during the summer months, stimulates the production of its vitamin D. In temperate climes, supplementation may be prudent.

 OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS. There are suggestions in the scientific literature that diabetics may benefit from consuming omega-3 fish oils. Consume 2-3 servings of fish/week or take supplements.

MODERATE COFFEE CONSUMPTION. Certain compounds in coffee may help decrease inflammation. Moderate consumption of coffee may be helpful to diabetics.

HYPERIMMUNE EGG. Immunologists have shown that consumption of multiple servings/day of hyperimmune egg is a natural way to help the body regain its immune homeostasis.

IN SUMMARY

Important steps that a diabetic can take are to become physically active, control their diet and weight, and are other steps to reduce inappropriate inflammation.


www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22399699

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22407494

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20181814

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22404117

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22397028

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19957870

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21593500

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22375372

 

 

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Diabetes, Inflammation, Immune Balance

| Posted by in Boosting Immune Responses (Pro-Inflammatory) | Chronic Disease | Diabetes | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation | Obesity - (0 Comments)

The body’s cells, especially brain and red blood cells, obtain their energy needs from the glucose (sugar) that circulates in the bloodstream.  There is an optimum amount of glucose that our body needs.  Too high a level of glucose, is just as bad as too little. The body uses insulin, a hormone, to support healthy levels of blood sugar.  Individuals with diabetes cannot properly control their blood glucose levels, and are therefore at risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, eye, kidney, skin, and nervous system complications.

 The probability of getting diabetes is especially high in obese individuals.  Fat cells, especially those found around one’s waist, release pro-inflammatory cytokines.  The production of these immune factors result in inflammatory responses that destroy insulin-producing cells, making it difficult for the person to control their blood glucose.

 Dr. Umut Ozcan of Children’s Hospital Boston, has stated that “For 20 years, inflammation has been seen as detrimental, whereas it is actually beneficial.”  Research demonstrates that obese individuals have difficulty in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels due to imbalances of inflammatory molecules. Some proteins triggered by inflammation help the body control glucose levels, whereas other types of inflammatory molecules are detrimental to maintaining healthy glucose levels. 

 Dr. Ozcan continues,  “It may be that inflammatory pathways are not working optimally and there could be a resistance to the cytokines that mediate the inflammation.”.

 Restoring immune homeostasis, balance,  by helping the body control excessive inflammation may reduce the symptoms of diabetes or the risk of getting the condition in the first place.    Lifestyle changes, rather than medication, are the best way to regain immune balance.

 Please look for our next posting that will describe ways that one can help correct imbalances between pro-inflammatory (molecules that lead to inflammatory responses) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (cell messages).

 

www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0031225

www.cdc.gov/obesity/causes/health.html

www.nature.com/nm/journal/v17/n10/abs/nm.2449.html

vectorblog.org/2011/09/in-diabetes-inflammation-may-be-part-of-the-solution-not-the-problem/

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=20604914

 

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Inflammation, Immune Homeostasis, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

| Posted by in Chronic Disease | Fatigue | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation - (0 Comments)

For years, physicians told their (overwhelmingly female) patients, that patient complaints of skeletal and muscle pains, sleep disorders, overwhelming fatigue not improved by bed rest, brain “fog”, and lack of stamina, were “all in their mind”.

However once pharmaceutical medications were introduced into the market place to help decrease some of these symptoms, health practitioners started diagnosing these conditions as chronic fatigue syndrome, CFS or ME, myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Viral Involvement Controversial

In 2009, an article in the prestigious journal Science reported that 95% of subjects with chronic fatigue syndrome were infected with a specific virus and/or had antibodies to that virus. The investigational team emphasized that these findings did not prove that there was a link between this virus and chronic fatigue, but that the virus might be “a contributing factor”.

Late this past year, the editors of Science retracted the controversial article due to the poor quality controls, and omissions in the description of certain figures. Additionally, other laboratories have been unable to replicate the results.

This specific virus may not have been responsible for ME, but the concept is sound since other studies have suggested that bacterial and viral infections can trigger inflammatory immune diseases such as heart valve damage, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Autoimmune Inflammatory Conditions

Inflammatory diseases are often manifestations of an autoimmune inflammatory response. Autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system “over-reacts” to a stimulus and attacks its own cells with excessive inflammatory responses.

Digestive Tract-A Large Immune Organ

The lining of the digestive tract is heavily populated by immune cells and is considered a major immune organ. Many CFS patients complain of gut dysfunction, and have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and with proinflammatory cytokine production.

Increase in Inflammatory Markers

Immunologically, individuals with chronic fatigue have increased blood levels of inflammatory compounds, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), and exhibit immunological abnormalities, including increased numbers of activated immune cells, and high levels of inflammatory cytokines, indicative of inflammation.

“… [T]he simplest way to think about … findings [such as these-HCG] is that people with increased inflammation–from whatever source–are more likely than others to develop a range of symptoms that frequently lead to a diagnosis of a condition such as CFS …” says William C. Reeves, MD, Chief of the Chronic Viral Diseases Branch, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “

Role of Immune Inflammation

Immune inflammation helps defend the body from infection and heals the body after injury. However, when immune inflammation is in “overdrive”, autoimmune and other autoinflammatory conditions result.

Making certain lifestyle changes will contribute to lowering the amount of inflammation in the body. These are: a) becoming physically active so that muscle contractions generate naturally-occuring anti-inflammatory molecules and b) controlling one’s weight to reduce the levels of inflammatory compounds being released by fat cells.

Other steps to consider are moderate exposure to sunlight (or taking vitamin D3 supplements), consuming omega-3, and adding hyperimmune egg to one’s diet.

Immune Balance

Good health is determined by the balance between the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines produced by our immune cells; maintaining these immune factors in their appropriate amounts, is essential.

www.sciencemag.org/content/326/5952/585
www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6063/1636.1
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159108004261
www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/7/1/79
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19758205
cmr.asm.org/content/9/4/532.abstract
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16380690
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18801465

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IBS, Inflammation, and Immune Homeostasis, Immune Balance

| Posted by in Chronic Disease | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation - (0 Comments)

A recent guest post on kevinmd.com by Sophie Lee expressed her frustration and anger at physicians who dismiss her reports of pain with her severe bouts of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). She repeatedly hears, “it isn’t really serious” “you will just have to live with it, etc.  [ www.ibstales.com ].

I just do not get why conventional “wisdom” is that IBS is not an inflammatory disorder. Perhaps pain is possible without inflammation, but that would be atypical. My contention is that if the immune system was in homeostasis, autoimmune disease would either not occur, or it would be limited.

For years I have been questioning “experts”, how is it that IBS is categorized as an autoimmune* disease, yet you claim there is no inflammatory response in the gut?

Current research supports my contention. Recent studies are providing evidence that low levels of inflammation, along with immune mast and other immune cells, are found in the small and large intestines. Mast cells are typically associated with allergic reactions such as runny noses, watery eyes, swelling, and excessive mucous. The mast cells in the intestines appear to be involved in immune homeostasis, in helping the immune system balance.

Interestingly, many of the immune cells found in the gut are in close proximity to nerve cells. .. “Cross-talk” between these cells may explain the pain and other symptoms that individuals experience, and support the hypothesis of a brain-gut axis event in IBS.

It is time for individuals that have “tried everything”, to give their bodies a chance to heal naturally. The immune system has caused the problem, and the immune system can be gently guided to down-regulate overly active responses.

The key to greater comfort may be as simple as helping the body return to immune homeostasis. I hold a patent in the area of immune homeostasis and gut health, and numerous anecdotal reports suggest that balancing immune inflammatory responses makes a major difference in the quality of life of such individuals. Additionally there is a published clinical report by Mark Morningstar, DC, Grand Blanc, MI supporting the relationship between immune homeostasis and healthy bowel function.

One has everything to gain by letting one’s own body rebalance and limit inflammatory responses.

*The immune system mistakenly attacks “self”, the body’s own healthy tissues.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22053295
sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100607111308.htm
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18627650
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19674619
patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,803,035.PN.&OS=PN/6,803,035&RS=PN/6,803,035

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Autoinflammatory Diseases and Immune Homeostasis

| Posted by in Aging | Autism | Cancer | Chronic Disease | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation - (0 Comments)

Recently, a professional networking site directed me to a short note by Lisa Moreno-Dickinson, President of the stopcaidnow.org. The title of her article was “When Doctors Don’t Know How to Help From Misdiagnosis to No diagnosis … What Can a Parent Do?”.

CAID refers to Childhood Auto Inflammatory Diseases. These genetic disorders usually start in infancy or childhood and are reported to be the result of gene mutations. The periodic attacks of these conditions affect many different organ systems. They are characterized by sudden inflammation and fever onset, and symptoms such as rashes, headache, abdominal, chest, muscle, and joint pains, swollen joints and scrotum.

Much of the science suggests that these conditions are not autoimmune in nature. These individuals have no any significant elevations of autoantibodies, immunoglobulins, large immune molecules that are directed against self, nor activation of specific white blood cells.

Our knowledge of the complexities of the immune system, especially its inflammatory pathways, are still in their infancy as supported by the fact that cancer, colds, infectious, and chronic diseases are rampant.

I respectfully suggest that perhaps autoinflammatory investigators have not used the appropriate assay to find autoimmune responses because a) it does not exist yet, or b) it is difficult to “test for everything”.

A recent report suggests that there is an association between autoinflammatory conditions and mitochondrial health. Mitochondria are the power stations of a cell that provides it with the energy it needs to grow, divide, and “do its job”. They play major roles in healthy aging, degenerative diseases, cancer, and ultimately, cell death. The greater its metabolic or energy requirements, the more mitochondria a cell appears to have. As an example, a muscle cell may have thousands of mitochondria and a skin cell only a few hundred.

Antibodies to mitochondrial proteins have been reported in autism spectrum disorders, which are attributed to inflammatory conditions of the nervous system. Additionally children with severe autism have higher levels of inflammatory cytokines and certain immune molecules than controls.

In Blau’s syndrome, an autoinflammatory disease, symptoms are associated with the skin, joints, and eyes. It is often mistaken for sarcoidosis, a known autoimmune disease of the skin and other organs. Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory autoimmune bowel disease in which the immune system attacks its own digestive lining.

There are two genes, NOD1 and NOD2 that help regulate the production pro-inflammatory cytokines, immune molecules that cause inflammation. Mutations of these genes are found in a number of inflammatory disorders including Blau’s syndrome, sarcoidosis, and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Investigations of the pivotal role of gene regulation of inflammatory responses are underway; however, ways to neutralize the effects of such mutations may be years away.

Parents and clinicians do not have the luxury of just waiting. We know that inappropriate inflammatory responses are occurring in many, so why not determine whether the re-introduction of immune homeostasis, immune balance would make a difference in their quality of life?

 

www.parentsociety.com/parenting/when-doctors-dont-know-what-to-do-or-how-to-help/?goback=%2Egde_151241_member_74525704

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2735099/

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16466630

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21453638

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21083929

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21735170

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18368292

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21521652

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21433392

 

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Nobel Prize and Immune Inflammatory Homeostasis

| Posted by in Boosting Immune Responses (Pro-Inflammatory) | Cancer | Chronic Disease | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Infections | Inflammation - (0 Comments)

Today, three immunologists, Drs. Ralph Steinman*, Jules Hoffman, and Bruce Beutler, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology for adding to our scant knowledge of immune system responses to pathogenic microorganisms and cancer cells. Their studies should also provide a better understanding as to how excessive inflammation leads to autoimmunity, attacks on the body’s own healthy tissues.

Two decades ago Dr. Ralph Steinman and his colleague, Dr. Zanvil Alexander Cohn at the Center for Immunology and Immune Diseases, Rockefeller University in New York City, described dendritic cells, specialized immune cells that interact with other immune cells to define how the body will respond to underlying infection and disease.

Dendritic cells are essential to the body’s ability to control immune inflammatory homeostasis. Immune homeostasis is the delicate balance of all immune responses, especially inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses, that that the body uses to fight disease. Too little inflammation may result in uncontrolled growth of pathogens or cancer cells, whereas too much inflammation, may result in autoimmune conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, etc.

Part of the role of immune homeostasis is to determine “what comes next” in meeting immune challenges. Dr. Steinman and his colleagues described an important phase of the immune response, “maturation”, which helps the body determine inflammatory and other responses to infection.

Dendritic cells are also important in helping the body maintain immunological “memory”. This assures a more rapid and thorough immune response if is attacked by the same pathogen another time. [Successful immunization depends on immunological memory.]

Dr. Jules Hoffman and his team, described how the immune system first recognizes invading pathogens and then helps trigger the immune system to go into its protective mode.

Dr. Beutler discovered the inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor, TNF, and a marker on certain bacterial cells that helps the body recognize that it has been infected, so that it can mount an appropriate inflammatory attack.

www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2011/press.pdf

www.rockefeller.edu/labheads/steinman/pdfs/2003-APMI.pdf

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21960036

www.wrvo.fm/post/nobelists-showed-how-immune-defenses-work-and-go-awry

*The Nobel Committee has expressed “deep sadness and regret” at the news that Dr.
Steinman died a few days before its announcement.   Typically, the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously, but the Committee has decided to proceed with bestowing the award on Dr. Steinman.

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Smoking, Inflammation, Immune Homeostasis, Balance

| Posted by in Cancer | Chronic Disease | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation - (0 Comments)

According to the World Health Organization smoking is the second largest preventable cause of disease and premature death. Globally, tobacco products are responsible for 5 million deaths annually. A person dies every 6 seconds from smoking-related diseases including chronic diseases and cancer.

Among its many effects, smoking triggers an immunologic response in arteries and veins which is associated with increased levels of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein and increases in white blood cells. C-reactive protein is strongly associated with lifetime smoking exposure as measured by pack-years. Several studies have shown that such markers predict future cardiovascular events including atherosclerosis.

However, once smokers quit, their risk of future cardiac events and death gradually declines, and within 5 years, smoking-associated inflammatory responses start to return to normal.

Cigarette smoking has also been linked to increased risk of autoimmune diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, thyroid, and liver. Autoimmune diseases are immune disorders where the body attacks itself resulting in excessive inflammation and tissue damage.

Considering that cigarette smoke contains over 7000 chemicals, the likelihood that smoking triggers autoimmune and other excessive inflammatory immunological responses makes sense. An example of smoke-induced illness is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in which a person has difficulty in getting enough air.

The lungs, in response to cigarette smoke, activate cells lining the lungs and immune cells, resulting in inflammatory responses. If an individual is infected with a bacterial or viral infection in addition to the smoke assault, it results in a vicious cycle of more difficulties in breathing and greater inflammation. Studies have indeed shown that patients with COPD have autoantibodies and inflammatory responses against lung cells.

Researchers have reported that in female smokers, physical activity, known to help reduce inflammation, reduced their relative risk of developing lung cancer by more than 65 percent.

Thus, it might be expected that if smokers were better able to control their inflammatory responses and return to immune homeostasis, that they might be less likely to develop chronic diseases.

 

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1160597/

www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0020160

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21907865

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17975205

www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/58661.php

 

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Medicine’s Profound Crisis: Immune Homeostasis, Uncontrolled Inflammation

| Posted by in Chronic Disease | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation - (0 Comments)

Bernard Lown, MD The Lost Art of Healing Boston New York Houghton Mifflin Company 1996

Medicine in the United States is widely regarded as the best in the world*. Hardly a day passes without a major scientific breakthrough. Many formerly fatal diseases are now curable. People are healthier and live longer than ever. Still, patient dissatisfaction with doctors has rarely been more acute. Although physicians are increasingly able to cure disease and prolong life, the American public is suspicious, distrustful of, even antagonistic to, the profession. Doctors, uneasy, astonished, resentful, and angry, universally acknowledge a crisis in health care. With the focus on colossal medical expenditures, amounting to a trillion dollars annually, most of the numerous solutions involve containing runaway costs….

Medicine’s profound crisis, I believe, is only partially elated to ballooning costs, for the problem is far deeper than economics. In my view, the basic reason is that medicine has lost its way, if not its soul.

* And yet, depending on the Agency that sponsored the study on longevity, America ranks either 27 or 30th , in the world in terms of mortality. Countries like Malta and South Korea have longer life expectancies than individuals in the U.S.

Next week the United Nations will hold a unique Summit, the first one focusing on the worldwide chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart, and lung disease. These are also the major diseases that challenge Americans.

And it has become increasingly obvious that uncontrolled immune inflammatory responses are major contributors to disease. Inflammation results in illnesses of many types, and vice versa. For example in the case of cancer and inflammation, there is “cross talk” between immune and tumor cells with inflammatory responses playing major roles during different stages of tumor development.

The key to health is immune balance, immune homeostasis. Immune homeostasis is a state where the level of inflammatory cytokines, is inhibited by anti-inflammatory cytokines and other immune factors. The right ratio of these cell messages restores the body’s delicate immune balance, and lessens the likelihood that one will become ill. Controlling inflammation is a primary approach to decreasing chronic disease.

 

http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/

www.jci.org/articles/view/25102

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866629/

 

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s), Immune Inflammatory Homeostasis (Balance)

| Posted by in Chronic Disease | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation - (0 Comments)

An article this week from Shirley Wang, a Wall Street Journal reporter, brought the public’s attention back to the fact that there is no cure for the usually fatal disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a paralytic disease caused by the gradual degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The breakdown of neruons interrupts the ability of muscles of the body to send messages to the brain. ALS results in difficulties in talking, swallowing, moving, and paralysis, and eventually, the loss of the ability to breathe.

An international group of scientists recently reported in the journal Nature, that the lack of a certain protein might be the common underlying cause of neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, dementia, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. The task of this specialized protein is to remove the debris of damaged nerve cells and help in their repair. When this function no longer occurs, normal transmission of signals from muscles to brain is blocked.

One individual commented on Ms Wang’s article. “It seems outrageous to me that in 2011 a quickly fatal disease that was brought to our national attention in 1939 continues to steal our best and brightest without any treatment and with few clues as to the cause. We must do better….”

I agree. Instead of treating a condition after damage has occurred, why not prevent excessive inflammatory responses from causing damage in the first place? The ALS Association does an excellent job explaining that, “The glia cells that usually support and nourish their neighboring neurons in the nervous system can become over active in certain diseases”. And that leads to over production of cytokines, immune signals, that are mediators of inflammation,and damage to the nerve cells.

Inflammation protects the body from infection and repairs tissue damage. But uncontrolled levels of inflammation damages healthy by-stander cells, and tissues. When it comes to the repair protein mentioned above, perhaps individuals with ALS, or other neurodegenerative diseases, are attacking this protein, and decreasing the quantities needed for clean-up and repair.

A body in immune homeostasis, immune balance, is unlikely to attack itself. Instead one approach that research should take is finding ways to help the body modulate inappropriate levels of inflammation.

 

www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/amyotrophiclateralsclerosis/detail_ALS.htm

www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-northwestern-als-breakthrough-20110822,0,4185292.story

www.nature.com/nature/journal/v477/n7363/full/nature10353.html

http://www.alsa.org/research/about-als-research/inflammation.html

 

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9/11 WTC Responders: Cancer Risks, Pulmonary Function, Immune Homeostasis, Balance, A Personal Note

| Posted by in Chronic Disease | Immune Homeostasis (Immune Balance) | Inflammation - (0 Comments)

This is the second part of a two day posting. Please see yesterday’s posting for the introduction to this posting. Thank you.

Cancer Risks

Responders are 19% more likely to develop cancer than their non-exposed colleagues, with skin, prostate, thyroid, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, being the most common of the cancers. Many of the airborne toxins to which individuals were exposed, benzene, volatile organics, metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pulverized building materials, glass fibers, asbestos, lead, hydrochloric acid, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, and polychlorinated dioxins and furans are linked to causing cancer.

Cancer is an illness that may take years to develop and detect. Dr. Ware Kuschner, Stanford School of Medicine, CA says, “Carcinogenic effects, if any, will not be observed for a very long period of time.” [As an aside, according to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, eight search and rescue dogs have died from cancer since their exposure to rubble from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.]

 

Pulmonary Function Declines

We do not have sufficient data from the general population residing and working in lower Manhattan, nor detailed health information of individuals that returned to their home states or countries after their contributions to rescue efforts. However, of the rescue, recovery, and clean-up personnel that were monitored, 42% have respiratory problems.

Steep declines in pulmonary function were first detected after 9/11 and they have largely persisted. Over the last nine years, 28% of those monitored have had asthma and 42% sinusitis (inflammation of sinuses). They also suffer from upper airway cough syndrome (UACS) and sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder in which the body’s own immune system attacks and destroys the tissues of the body. There has been a 36-fold increase in the number of individuals with this disease that can affect the lungs, lymph nodes, eyes, skin, heart, liver, and brain. The hallmarks of the disease are clusters of inflammatory cells throughout the body and often, significant, life-altering declines in breathing and other bodily functions.

 Inflamamtion: The Body’s Defense Against Perceived Threats

The immune system mounts an immune, inflammatory response when the body is exposed to pathogens, pollutants, or toxins. The inflammatory cells release immune factors, such as cytokines, cellular messages, that are involved in cell-to-cell communication with the “purpose” of recruiting more inflammatory cells into an area to help eliminate a perceived threat.

Pollutants and chemicals can trigger airway inflammation and increase mucous production. Other immune molecules cause narrowing of airways resulting in the contraction of the muscles lining the airways. The combination of inflammation and increased mucous makes it difficult for air to enter or leave the lungs and can result in breathing issues.

Additionally, lungs that do not function properly, areideal for the multiplication of molds, bacteria, and viruses. The lungs continue their struggle to eliminate pollutants and pathogens, resulting in a chronic, persistent, dry cough and worsened lung function.

 Immune Homeostasis, Immune Balance

A healthy person produces the right amount of inflammation in response to environmental and biological challenges. If WTC responders and others involved in rescue and clean-up of the 9/11 destruction, were able to control the amount of inflammation in their bodies , the body could finally start its healing process. Returning the body to inflammatory homeostasis, to inflammatory balance, would result in significant differences in the quality of their lives.

 

A Personal Note

It has been my conviction for years that a compromised immune system is at the root of the majority of health issues of World Trade Center responders, recovery and clean-up workers.

As a former New Yorker, I, as most Americans and overseas friends, took the attacks on America’s premier city personally and we still feel-grief and compassion, especially around this time of the year.

But what has really gnawed at me all these years is that surviving workers,–individuals who thought only of others and risked their lives to help despite terrible odds, are still suffering emotionally and physically.

I have been frustrated by my inability to reach the right people to share my decades long experience suggesting a different approach to helping individuals regain their health.

Based on decades of working with individuals having immune issues, I am confident that World Trade Centers workers would experience major quality of life changes if they were able to help their body regain its delicate balance—return to its optimum immune homeostasis.

These brave souls have visited physician after physician, clinic after clinic without a solution to what ails them. Ten years of searching for answers is long enough. It is now time for these individuals to take control of their own health by helping their bodies return to inflammatory homeostasis, balance.

I am not a health practitioner, but I am a scientist who can provide the facts to you. You will know within a short period of time whether or not my suggestions work for you.

I encourage you to contact me so we can start on the journey.

Resources:

www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/02/world-trade-centre-rescuers-health-risk

www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)60989-6/abstract

www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61180-X/abstract

www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(01)00543-5/fulltext

www.home2.nyc.gov/html/doh/wtc/html/know/mental.shtml

 

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9/11 WTC Responders Still Battling Chronic Inflammation

| Posted by in Cancer | Chronic Disease - (0 Comments)

It is ten years since the horrific 9/11/01 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Washington, DC, and Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. On that day at the World Trade Center alone, there were approximately 3,000 murders.

These events have not only left the families, friends, and citizen survivors distraught and at great emotional and financial risk, but the heroic responders, the rescuers, recovery, and clean-up personnel, and civilians that lived and worked in the area, continue to pay a significant price in terms of their health.

There will never be a true accounting of how many individuals were exposed to smoke, thick-coatings of dust, combustion materials, asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxin, asbestos, and metals. Fire fighters, police, military members, paramedics, construction and iron workers, municipal employees, security workers, residents and workers in the area, and those that came from afar to help, were exposed to these toxic chemicals for days, weeks, and months. Fires burned for 69 days and even eight months after the destruction, workers were still searching for body fragments (1).

For some, the years may be receding from memory, but there are many individuals, and rescue and recovery dogs, that have, or are, still, paying a significant price for their heroic sacrifices. If they are still alive, their emotional and physical health has declined significantly, and no one seems to be able to help them.

Only limited funding has been available to study and monitor individuals that were at Ground Zeroand its surrounding environs. When researching information for this article I was surprised at the relatively few, peer-reviewed publications on this topic, and there is even less information on the effects of this trauma on children and adolescents.

Multiple Health Issues

A primary investigation now led by Dr Juan Wisnivesky, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, has said, “Our findings show a substantial burden of persistent physical and mental disorders in rescue and recovery workers who rushed to the site of the WTC and labored there for weeks and months. Many of these individuals now suffer from multiple health problems (2), since World Trade Center-related mental and physical health conditions often co-exist (3).

Mental Health Issues Persist

One year after 9/11, it was estimated that more than 420,000 people New Yorkers were suffering from post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) as a result of the attacks (1). This month, the prestigious British journal, Lancet, reports that 32% of tested personnel experienced post traumatic stress disorders and 28% per cent experienced depression at some time after 9/11. The incidence of most of the disorders was highest in workers with greatest World Trade Center exposure (3,4). Other emotional problems such as recurring nightmares, flashbacks, self-medication with alcohol, etc. have also been persistent issues.

Tomorrow: 9/11 Responders: Cancer Risks, Pulmonary Function, Immune Homeostasis, Balance.

1) www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/aug/18/usa.terrorism

2) www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61180-X/abstract

3) www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/02/world-trade-centre-rescuers-health-risk

4) www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(01)00543-5/fulltext

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