Another Pediatric health site

Here is a link regarding Vitamin D in Pregnancy and the website link where you can find more information regarding pediatric health issues.

http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/

Friday Fun Facts from Designs for Health

Here are some 'Friday fun facts' that were sent from Designs for Health. Thought I would share a few here.

#1.
Research as far back as 1975 told us that hyperactive children have low levels of serotonin. Oral doses of pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6) resulted in an appreciable increase in the serotonin content and a very large increase in the PLP (pyridoxal phosphate) content of blood in these hyperactive patients according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Click here for related abstract.

#2.
There is evidence that H. Pylori infection may be the cause of stomach autoimmune disease that leads to decrease in stomach acid production and intrinsic factor production, that leads to B12 deficiency, that leads to pernicious anemia. Click here for related abstract.

#3.
SAMe protects against acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity in mice. Click here for related abstract

Heavy Metals, Methylation Info

Received this link from a colleague here in Denver who works extensively with chelation and Heavy Metals. If you are interested in this and want to know more I will gladly pass on his info to you, just call or email me.

Dr.-Yasko-MTHFr,-Methylation,-&-Metals-DVD

Go Australia!

A survey of more than 3000 South Australians during 2004 found 52.2 per cent used complementary and alternative medicine ( CAM), such as herbal remedies, aromatherapy and Chinese medicine. This is higher than other regions of the world such as the US where a 2004 study estimated a third of the population to be using CAM. CAM includes herbal medicines, Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, vitamin, mineral and nutritional supplements, homeopathic medicines and aromatherapy products. The new study also included a range of therapies like chiropractic, osteopathy, naturopathy, homeopathy and acupuncture. In the Australian research, nearly 40 % of CAM users were taking vitamins, more than 20 % took herbal medicines and 13.6 % were taking mineral supplements.

Health websites...Just FYI

Here is a site with interesting information regarding various health issues. http://www.heartspring.net/ I also had a patient ask about a site to look up various neurological medications and their possible side effects. This one is run by a layperson, not a MD or pharmaceutical company, so it has a real sense of humor. It is http://www.crazymeds.org/

* disclaimer*
I am not responsible for the info listed on these sites or any sites I list on this blog. With that legal thing out of the way...hope you had a great New Years!

Bug Connection?

Went to the Butterfly Pavillion in Broomfield today and saw this banner in the bug room that read "The FDA allows remnants of bugs to be in certain foods such as Peanut Butter, Tomato Paste and Chocolate ". These are 3 of the most common food allergies I see. (Especially with kids). Maybe its the bug remnants in those stubborn allergy cases? Just a thought.

Autism

I have had a couple families ask me for some extra resources regarding Autism. Below is a link for Unique Prints, an occupational therapy center located here in Denver.
http://www.uniqueprints-si-therapy.com/

And then here is a website with some info I found interesting featuring the work of Dr. Amy Yasko.
http://www.autismanswer.com/

Gluten Free Help...

It may have been suggested by your practitioner to cut out all Gluten......much easier said than done. But here is a link to a local bakery where they make some great Gluten free goodies.

http://www.debysglutenfree.com/

Heartburn medications

This may be interesting to some of you taking the "little purple pill". Next time you go to the pharmacy/drugstore....look at how the OTC medications are laid out (what is next to what, etc). Gives you an idea of what the side effects may be. For example pain meds may be next to diuretics/laxatives.


Heartburn Drugs Linked to Diarrhea
By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO - Holiday revelers beware: Seasonal indulgences like eggnog and fruitcake might give you heartburn, but the acid-fighting medicine you take for relief might lead to something worse, researchers say.
People on popular prescription heartburn drugs _ Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium _ seem more prone to getting a potentially dangerous diarrhea caused by the bug Clostridium difficile, new research shows. C-diff, as it's known, can cause severe diarrhea and crampy intestinal inflammation called colitis.
Dr. Sandra Dial and colleagues at McGill University in Montreal examined data on more than 18,000 patients in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 2004. During that time, 1,672 cases of C-diff were diagnosed, and the numbers increased from less than 1 per 100,000 in 1994 to 22 per 100,000 last year.
Patients with prescriptions for powerful acid-fighters called proton pump inhibitors, which include Prilosec and Prevacid, were almost three times more likely to be diagnosed with the bug than those not taking the drugs. Those on less potent prescription drugs called H2 receptor antagonists, which include Pepcid and Zantac, were two times more likely than nonusers to get C-diff infections.
The widely used and heavily promoted drugs reduce levels of gastric acid that can keep C-diff germs at bay.
Dr. L. Clifford McDonald, a researcher at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said proton pump inhibitors recently were implicated in a C-diff outbreak at a hospital and nursing homes in Maine.
"It's not surprising in my mind that there could be some association" with acid-fighting drugs, said McDonald, who was not involved in Dial's study. If there is, "I do think it would be very important because, boy, everyone and their brother seems to be on them."
Most study patients hadn't been recently hospitalized and weren't taking antibiotics, which both can increase risks for C-difficile infections.
Also, most patients hadn't been diagnosed with ulcers or acid reflux, so it's possible many simply had heartburn, Dial said.
"Heartburn in and of itself isn't dangerous," and can often be treated with less potent drugs, Dial said.
Her study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
A co-author is a consultant for AstraZeneca Inc., which markets Prilosec and Nexium, and Altana Pharma, which makes and markets another prescription heartburn drug, Protonix, in Europe. A spokesman for Wyeth, which markets Protonix in the United States, said the company hadn't seen the research and declined comment.
AstraZeneca spokeswoman Cindy Callaghan said patient safety is the company's top priority and that the findings are not the final word.
"Further research is needed in this particular area to determine the validity of a potential link," she said.
C-diff bacteria historically have been found in patients on antibiotics or with underlying illnesses, especially those in hospitals or nursing homes, but infections increasingly have been reported in the community.
Doctors think the growing trend is due in part to overuse of antibiotics but the new data suggest overuse of acid-fighting drugs may be another reason, said Dr. Michael Brown, a gastroenterologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who was not involved in the study.
The drugs are popular because they are so effective at fighting stomach acid, and are generally very safe, Brown said.
Brown said short-term use of potent acid-fighting drugs for occasional over-imbibing is unlikely to increase infection risks in otherwise healthy people, but that the results suggest doctors and patients "have to think twice about using such heavy acid suppression" over the long term.