New hope for MS patients from UV light from the sun (beyond vitamin D)

New hope for MS patients from UV light from the sun (beyond vitamin D)
by S. L. Baker, features writer
Click here for original article
(NaturalNews) It's not a new idea that multiple sclerosis (MS) is somehow tied to sunlight -- or, rather, the lack of adequate exposure to sunlight. For more than three decades, researchers have noted that MS is much more common in higher latitudes than in the tropics. So, because bright sunlight is more abundant near the equator and sunlight exposure results in the body producing vitamin D, some scientists have reasoned that increased vitamin D levels may lower the risk of MS.

In fact, for those who already have MS, a neurological disease marked by a deterioration in nerves' electrical conduction, vitamin D may reduce their symptoms, according to Hector DeLuca, the Steenbock Research Professor of Biochemistry at University of Wisconsin-Madison. However, in a study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), DeLuca and fellow researcher Bryan Becklund conclude the ultraviolet (UV) portion of sunlight could play an even more important role than vitamin D in preventing and/or controlling the MS.

"Since the 1970s, a lot of people have believed that sunlight worked through vitamin D to reduce MS," DeLuca, one of the world's top vitamin D researchers, said in a statement to the media. "It's true that large doses of the active form of vitamin D can block the disease in the animal model. That causes an unacceptably high level of calcium in the blood, but we know that people at the equator don't have this high blood calcium, even though they have a low incidence of MS. So it seems that something other than vitamin D could explain this geographic relationship."

To try to better understand the impact sunshine could have on MS, Deluca and his team worked with lab mice that are genetically bred to be susceptible to a MS-like disease. The researchers triggered the disease in the animals by injecting them with a protein derived from nerve fibers. Then the mice were exposed to moderate levels of UV radiation (UVR) for a week. After the lab rodents developed multiple sclerosis-type symptoms, they were exposed to UVR every second or third day.

The UV exposure, which was equal to about two hours of direct summer sun, did not change how many mice got an MS-type illness, but it did reduce the symptoms of MS. Symptoms were especially reduced in the animals that were treated with UV light ever other day.

While the scientists found that although the UV exposure did increase the level of vitamin D in the mice, that effect by itself wasn't enough to cause such a dramatic lessening of MS symptoms. "These results suggest that UVR is likely suppressing disease independent of vitamin D production, and that vitamin D supplementation alone may not replace the ability of sunlight to reduce MS susceptibility," the scientists concluded in their paper.

In a media statement, DeLuca pointed out that the exposure to UV light might result in some reactive mechanism that blocks the autoimmune damage seen in MS. "We are looking to identify what compounds are produced in the skin that might play a role, but we honestly don't know what is going on," he said. "If we can find out what the UV is producing, maybe we could give that as a medicine. In the short term, if we can define a specific wavelength of light that is active, and it does not overlap with the wavelengths that cause cancer, we could expose patients who have been diagnosed with MS to that wavelength," DeLuca added.

Editor's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.

For more information:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...
http://www.healingfoodreference.com...
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/...

Alternative Treatments for Chronic Pain

Alternative Treatments for Chronic Pain
From acupuncture to marijuana and more.
By R. Morgan Griffin
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

If you have chronic pain and are looking for alternatives to medication and surgery, you have a lot of options. Alternative pain treatments that doctors once scoffed at are now standard at many pain centers.

"That phrase 'alternative pain treatments' doesn't mean much to me," says Seddon R. Savage, MD, incoming president of the American Pain Society. "I think the line between them and mainstream treatment is pretty blurry now."

However, not all alternative pain treatments work. Some can even be risky. Some alternative treatments may help with pain from bad backs, osteoarthritis, and headaches, but have no effect on chronic pain from fibromyalgia or diabetic nerve damage.

"You have to do your homework when you're considering alternative treatments for pain," warnsAnne Louise Oaklander, MD, PhD, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Nerve Injury Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston."Make sure that you're trying a treatment that is likely to work in your case." And always discuss any alternative pain treatments you want to try with your regular doctor.

Here's a rundown of the most commonly used alternative treatments for chronic pain.

* Acupuncture. Once seen as bizarre, acupuncture is rapidly becoming a mainstream treatment for pain. Studies have found that it works for pain caused by many conditions, including fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, back injuries, and sports injuries.
How does it work? No one's quite sure. It could release pain-numbing chemicals in the body. Or it might block the pain signals coming from the nerves.
"I think there's good scientific evidence for acupuncture and I prescribe it," says F. Michael Ferrante, MD, director of the UCLA Pain Management Center in Los Angeles. "The nice thing is that even if it doesn't work, it doesn't do any harm."
* Marijuana. Setting aside the controversy, marijuana has been shown to have medicinal properties and can help with some types of chronic pain.
There's strong evidence that marijuana has a modest effect on certain types of nerve pain -- particularly pain caused by MS and HIV, says Steven P. Cohen, MD, associate professor in the division of pain medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. Since it also relieves nausea, marijuana can help people who are suffering side effects from chemotherapy.
However, marijuana does have risks. For some people, Cohen says, those risks can be serious, including addiction and psychosis. Because of the dangers and the obvious potential for abuse, experts generally only turn to marijuana when all other treatments have failed.
On a practical level, you also need to be aware of the laws regarding the use of medical marijuana in your state. Could you be arrested for smoking marijuana for medical reasons? Talk to your doctor. There are also two prescription drugs, called pharmaceutical cannabinoids, that are derived from the active ingredient of marijuana. They are sometimes used for pain, although they are only FDA-approved for nausea caused by chemotherapy and HIV-related weight loss.
* Exercise. Going for a walk isn't a treatment, exactly. But regular physical activity has big benefits for people with many different painful conditions. Study after study has found that physical activity can help relieve chronic pain, as well as boost energy and mood.
If you have chronic pain, you should check in with a doctor before you start an exercise routine, especially if you have any health conditions. Your doctor might have some guidance on what to avoid, at least as you get started.
* Chiropractic manipulation. Although mainstream medicine has traditionally regarded spinal manipulation with suspicion, it's becoming a more accepted treatment. "I think chiropractic treatment works reasonably well for lower back pain," Oaklander tells WebMD. "Studies have shown that it's comparable to other approaches."
* Supplements and vitamins. There is evidence that certain dietary supplements and vitamins can help with certain types of pain. Fish oil is often used to reduce pain associated with swelling. Topical capsaicin, derived from chili peppers, may help with arthritis, diabetic nerve pain, and other conditions. There's evidence that glucosamine can help relieve moderate to severe pain from osteoarthritis in the knee.
But when it comes to supplements, you have to be careful. They can have risks. Oaklander says that high doses of vitamin B6 can damage the nerves. Some studies suggest that supplements such as ginkgo biloba and ginseng can thin the blood and increase the risk of bleeding. This could lead to serious consequences for anyone getting surgery for chronic pain.
"Supplements can cause real harm," says Ferrante. He points out that people with chronic pain can be at higher risk of side effects from supplements. Why? They're more likely than the average person to be taking other medications or getting medical procedures or surgeries.
So treat supplements and vitamins warily, like you would treat any drug. Always check with a doctor before you start taking supplements, especially if you have any medical conditions or take other medication.
* Therapy. Some people with chronic pain balk at the idea of seeing a therapist -- they think it implies that their pain isn't real. But studies show that depression and chronic pain often go together. Chronic pain can cause or worsen depression; depression can lower a person's tolerance for pain.
So consider giving therapy a try. Cohen says he's seen particularly good results with cognitive behavioral therapy, a practical approach that helps people identify and change the thought and behavior patterns that contribute to their unhappiness.
* Stress-reduction techniques. "Reducing stress is really crucial in pain management," says Savage. There are number of approaches, including:
o Yoga. There's good evidence that yoga can help with chronic pain, says Cohen -- specifically fibromyalgia, neck pain, back pain, and arthritis. "I've been including yoga as part of the treatment that I prescribe since the mid-1980s," Savage says.
o Relaxation therapy. This is actually a category of techniques that help people calm the body and release tension -- a process that might also reduce pain. Some approaches teach people how to focus on their breathing. Research shows that relaxation therapy can help with fibromyalgia, headache, osteoarthritis, and other conditions.
o Hypnosis. Studies have found this approach helpful with different sorts of pain, like back pain, repetitive strain injuries, and cancer pain.
o Guided imagery. Research shows that guided imagery can help with conditions like headache pain, cancer pain, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia. How does it work? An expert would teach you ways to direct your thoughts by focusing on specific images.
o Music therapy. This approach gets people to either perform or listen to music. Studies have found that it can help with many different pain conditions, like osteoarthritis and cancer pain.
o Biofeedback. This approach teaches you how to control normally unconscious bodily functions, like blood pressure or your heart rate. Studies have found that it can help with headaches, fibromyalgia, and other conditions.
o Massage. It's undeniably relaxing. And there's some evidence that massage can help ease pain from rheumatoid arthritis, neck and back injuries, and fibromyalgia.

Risky Alternative Pain Treatments

Obviously, you need to be skeptical of any unproven or risky alternative pain treatments. What else should you be wary of?

Experts say you should keep your expectations for alternative pain treatments modest -- especially when it comes to "miracle cures." Controlling chronic pain is not simple. A single supplement, device, or treatment is not going to make your chronic pain disappear. Good chronic pain management usually requires time and the collaboration of experts, says Savage.

Savage says you also need to be suspicious of anyone pushing a treatment when the financial motive is blatant. That doesn't only apply to pain treatments advertised on dubious web sites asking for your credit card number.

"I think people should be careful whenever a person is making a living off of an untested pain remedy," says Savage. "So I'm concerned whenever I see providers selling their own expensive and unproven remedies. You need to be very careful."
Alternative Pain Treatments: Working With Your Doctor

If you're living with chronic pain, considering alternative treatments makes a lot of sense. But remember that even if a treatment is alternative, it has to be integrated with your overall pain management plan.

Don't try out these techniques on your own without your doctor's knowledge. Instead, you and your doctor should talk over the pros and cons of different approaches. What's most likely to help in your case? What will complement your other treatments?

Experts say that you should try to keep up to date with research into alternative treatments for chronic pain. The options for people with chronic pain are always growing -- and some of the odder treatments of today might become the mainstream treatments of tomorrow.

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Medical marijuana debate is politics more than science

By DAN GOLD • For the Tribune • March 2, 2010

The news is full of medical marijuana coverage. Not a week goes by in my practice that I am not approached by patients wanting my help in acquiring a permit to use the weed for "medicinal purposes."

I cannot help but notice that the process for approving pot use as a therapeutic drug is the reverse of what we usually see in scientific circles. Let's consider the development and licensure of sildenafil, or Viagra.

In the early 1990s, Pfizer pharmaceuticals researched sildenafil. The drug was under scrutiny to determine if it would control high blood pressure, or hypertension. Another assumed use of the medication was relief of angina, or chest pain associated with cardiac ischemia.

The researchers soon discovered that the drug did little for high blood pressure or chest pain. Surprisingly, the individuals in the study did report an increased incidence of penile erections. Studies of this phenomenon were undertaken, and the drug was approved and released to market circa 1997 as one of the first new treatments for erectile dysfunction in years. Certainly, it has been a big success.

The issue I raise is about process.

1. An investigational compound is isolated.

2. Scientists suspect it might have therapeutic uses and form a theory.

3. A study is designed to test this theory. (Sildenafil controls high blood pressure or chest pain).

4. The theory is disproved. (i.e. Sildenafil does not control high blood pressure or angina).

5. Scientific observations document a different effect from Sildenafil. (Increased erections in male test subjects).

6. A new theory is postulated and tested.

7. Scientific double-blinded studies confirm cause and effect.

8. Further research opens the way to bring sildenafil (Viagra) to market, and the FDA reviews the research and approves.

Note that there is a scientific approach here using research designed to prove cause and effect of this medication as well as safety. Notice the contrast with the political movement to force approval of marijuana as the drug of choice for those who prefer to smoke marijuana for their pain and suffering.

Now I am not without compassion for those in pain or are suffering. I have a rather large pain management practice within the confines of my employment. But it boggles my medical mind to have a huge population already using a medication known to be a euphoria-producing substance, and which is perhaps the most popular illegal recreational drug in the nation if not the world, suddenly demanding that government, not only permit the use of the drug, but that physicians prescribe it.

As a physician, I have no training, experience or confidence in this substance as being a safe and effective "medicine." Sure, there are thousands of people clamoring for it. That proves nothing scientifically.

Furthermore, how would you double blind such studies? "Here, smoke this. It is either real marijuana or oregano and we don't know which."

I suspect the user would know, and after one joint, demand the real thing.

I recently exchanged e-mails with a respected colleague in the field of pain management and he pointed out, "...most law enforcement and some judges pretty much would like to see it legalized/ regulated/ taxed."

Well, maybe, just maybe, if those first Viagra test-subjects in England had just happened to be judges, barristers and constables who experienced failed blood pressure control, but instead experienced increased erections, then Pfizer could have abandoned all the subsequent funding for research and brought Viagra straight to market! With apologies to my colleague, I jest of course.

However, I'm not sure I want lawyers and cops influencing which pharmaceuticals come to market, especially given the role that litigation has played in removing so many usable drugs from pharmacies.

In summary, the rush to use marijuana as a medical therapy seems to me an easy road fraught with peril. With the market already in place, and with so many people using the drug illegally, no retreat to scientific investigation for proof of efficacy and safety may be possible. This is not about medical science. This is pure politics.

Check out the original article here: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20100302/LIFESTYLE/3020306

Medical Marijuana: Putting Together California’s Research

By Anna Wilde Mathews

After California became the first state to allow medical use of marijuana, legislators decided in 1999 to fund research that was supposed figure out what the drug was good for therapeutically. Now we have an answer: a report issued today says it seems to ease some types of pain, and maybe muscle spasticity from multiple sclerosis.

Of course, lots of state residents have found their own, much more varied, answers, since California’s law is one of the most open-ended about who’s eligible for medical marijuana. Anyone who can get a doctor to write a recommendation, based on just about any medical condition, can buy marijuana in California. But this is the official report from the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, based at the University of California, San Diego.

Since its 2000 founding, the center has funded 15 clinical studies, including seven trials. The results include some fodder for medical-marijuana supporters who argue for the drug’s unique importance, particularly the finding that it worked as an add-on to more standard treatments for pain stemming from nerve damage.

The report argues marijuana may have a “novel mechanism of action not fully exploited by current therapies.” The drug may also have an effect on multiple-sclerosis patients’ spastic motions “beyond the benefit available from usual medical care,” the report says. Other research hasn’t shown this effect consistently.

The report also flags some mild side effects, including dizziness and, ahem, “changes in cognition.” Marijuana opponents will probably say that the studies weren’t long-term enough to show the potential downsides of chronic use.

The center has made these findings public before — they can be found on the center’s Web site. Still, the report is important because it pulls together the results in a document that is supposed to reach the general public.

And now that 13 other states have followed California in adopting medical marijuana laws, the research is likely to play a role as the Golden State once again tries to take the lead in marijuana policy: a California ballot measure that would attempt to legalize the drug’s use by adults 21 and older is likely to come to a vote later this year.

The WSJ took a recent look at marijuana research here.

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/02/17/medical-marijuana-putting-together-californias-research/