The Voices of Lupus
By Tara Parker-Pope

Credits: Jennifer S. Altman, Ann Johansson, Steve Kagan, Maggie Steber and Alex di Suvero for The New York Times

June 9, 2009

The death of superstar Michael Jackson has cast the spotlight on a little known autoimmune disease called lupus. In an interview on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann, the wellness guru Dr. Deepak Chopra, a longtime friend of Michael Jackson, disclosed that the singer suffered from lupus.

Lupus affects more women than men, and is more common among blacks and Asians. The inflammation associated with lupus affects everyone differently, attacking skin, joints, kidneys, the heart and lungs. Symptoms, which often flare and subside, can be vague, mysterious and frightening and show up in a variety of forms in different patients. They include, fever, fatigue, joint pain, anxiety and mental confusion. Others symptoms include a butterfly-shaped rash on the face, skin lesions, mouth sores and hair loss.

This week, in our regular Patient Voices series, Web producer Karen Barrow focuses on six people who suffer from lupus.

“The hardest thing about lupus is that it’s an invisible disease,” says Carolyn Sayre, 24, of Manhattan. “It doesn’t necessarily confine you to a wheelchair or make you walk with a cane, but it makes you tired and achy and swollen and sort of makes you feel like every day you’re waking up with a bad case of the flu.”

Wendy Rodgers, 36, of Torrence, Calif., said many people don’t understand lupus. She said her marriage ended because of the difficulties of coping with the disease.

“Lupus is often called the look-good, feel-bad illness,” she says. “It’s an illness that is very deceptive. A lot of times you don’t look bad, you don’t look sick. You often don’t act sick….The marriage didn’t work out, but I’ve had a lot of family support….You need at least one person, someone you trust…to be there for you when you cannot speak for yourself.”

FRIDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) — Changes in the levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine may explain brain gray matter reductions experienced by patients with fibromyalgia, a new study suggests.

Previous research found an association between fibromyalgia and reductions in gray matter, but the cause wasn’t known, the researchers wrote.

In this new study, Dr. Patrick B. Wood, of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, and colleagues used MRI to compare the brains of 30 women with fibromyalgia and 20 healthy women of the same age. Significant reductions in gray matter were found in the fibromyalgia patients, confirming previous findings.

The new study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Pain, also found that fibromyalgia patients showed a strong correlation of dopamine metabolism levels and gray matter density in areas of the brain where dopamine is known to control neurological activity.

This association between dopamine levels and gray matter density offer new information about a possible mechanism behind some of the brain abnormalities seen in fibromyalgia patients, the researchers concluded.

“Skin Brushing Benefits Those with Chronic Fatigue”

(NaturalNews) The skin is the largest organ in the body, and the most powerful route for eliminating toxins. That is why it is essential that people with Chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and other diseases associated with toxic overload regularly skin brush. More than 2lbs of waste are eliminated each day. Sunshine and air are also taken in through the skin. In fact, it can be said that our skin actually breathes. Skin Brushing has been shown to help the skin detoxify and renew itself.

Unfortunately, the skin of most people is unable to efficiently detoxify because it is clogged with dead skin cells and waste excreted through sweating that has not been removed. Dry skin brushing is a simple, inexpensive way of removing the waste from the skin and breaking down old toxic deposits. Skin brushing eliminates dead skin cells so that the new layer, which is regenerated daily, can come to the surface, making the skin soft and smooth. Skin brushing also gets the lymphatic system flowing so that it can perform its tasks effectively.

The lymph is the fluid that brings nutrients to our cells while removing waste. In fact, it is the primary vehicle for elimination. Unlike the blood, which has the heart to pump it, the lymphatic system is dependent upon outside forces such as exercise and massage for its circulation around the body. Most people are not able to get a massage every day, and far too few people in modern society get regular exercise. Dry skin brushing prompts the body to release its toxic deposits into the lymph, whilst simultaneously cleansing the lymph itself.

Because of its powerful ability to release the skin’s detoxification potential and to cleanse mucoid deposits from the cells directly into the colon, dry skin brushing is considered to be an essential part of any intestinal cleansing program.

The best time to skin brush is before a bath or shower. For optimal results, skin brush every day. Your skin may feel tender at first, but if you continue to brush your skin on a regular basis, you will soon feel the benefits, and your skin will come to crave the daily brush!

The entire surface of the skin should be brushed, with the exception of any broken or cracked skin and the face, which is generally too sensitive to be brushed. It is imperative that the brushing be carried out when your body is dry. The brush should also be kept dry so that the bristles don’t become soft and lose their effect.

In order to maximize the lymphatic benefits of dry skin brushing, the skin should be brushed according to the locations of the two lymph plexuses. The majority of the lymph in the body drains into the thoracic duct, located near the heart. However the lymph from the upper-right quadrant of the body (the right side of the face, neck and chest, including the right arm, and following the line of the ribs down) drains into the right lymphatic ducts, located above the liver, under the right breast.

The skin should therefore be brushed in long, firm strokes up the legs and in towards the heart, except for the upper-right quadrant, which should be brushed downwards towards the liver (under the right ribcage) and the right breast.

healingtools.tripod.com/skinbrush.html

http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/healingtechniques

/Dry_Brushing_Technique.htm

COMING SOON:
The Fibromyalgia Wellness Project – an NIH-sponsored online self-help project for people with FM

by William Collinge, PhD, MPH

June 2, 2009

Inviting FM patients nationwide for a free “journey of personal discovery to learn how you can best reduce symptoms and improve well-being in your own situation.”

A new research project will soon be available for participants with fibromyalgia across the U.S. “The Fibromyalgia Wellness Project” is an online self-help program that is part of a research study sponsored by the National Institute for Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and directed by William Collinge, PhD – www.collinge.org.*

“Since there is no medical cure for fibromyalgia,” Dr. Collinge states, “people need to discover on their own what strategies work best for them to reduce symptoms and promote their well-being. FM is a ‘one size fits one’ condition – no one approach works the same for everyone. It really is a journey of personal discovery to learn how you can best reduce symptoms and improve well-being in your own situation.”

The program uses a brief online daily log that takes about 5-10 minutes to complete.

It enables the user to discover the influences of key health-related behaviors and management strategies on their symptom levels. The program uses proprietary analytical methods to give each user completely individualized feedback about what works best for her or him.

This study is part of Phase II of the FM Wellness Project. Phase I, completed in 2007, found that use of the program was tied to significant improvements in physical functioning, mood, sense of control over health, and productivity.

Phase II will be available for use by 2,200 people with FM over the next 15 months.

• An alpha study is slated to begin enrollment June 5 and take place over the summer. It will accommodate 200 users.

• The beta study will begin enrolling in the fall and will be a nine-month study with space for 2,000 participants.

The target date for alpha study enrollment launch is now Friday June 5. Project updates and a link to the project website when ready for enrollment will be posted on the Collinge and Associates website at www.collinge.org/FMProject.html. (This page should be updated by June 5, so check back for details about participation and a link to the new Fibromyalgia Wellness Project website.)
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* William Collinge is well-known in the Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS communities for his innovative self-empowerment counseling, programs, books and guides to help those coping with chronic illness and pain. Starting with healing techniques he developed to support ME/CFS/FM patients referred by Dr. Daniel Peterson in the 1980s, William has worked steadily for more than 20 years to extend real help to the world’s many underserved Fibromyalgia patients. To learn more about his work, browse his website www.collinge.org, and a Q&A he hosted last year in the ProHealth Chat Room.

Source: www.prohealth.com

Relieve Trigeminal Neuralgia with Acupuncture

Sunday, April 26, 2009 by: Adrian Baume L.Ac., citizen journalist

(NaturalNews) Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical technique that involves the insertion of extremely fine needles on carefully chosen points throughout the body for therapeutic benefit. A recent study in the journal Medical Acupuncture demonstrated a significant beneficial effect when acupuncture treatments were administered to patients who were suffering from Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN). Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) manifests as a severe stabbing or electric shock-like pain along the path of the trigeminal nerve. The discomfort is usually felt on only one side of the face, generally in the area of the cheek, eye, and lower portion of the face. The mechanism of pain production is not fully understood, but studies suggest that TN is often associated with demyelination of trigeminal sensory fibers.

While some patients respond to moderate doses of single-drug therapy and microvascular decompressions (MVD`s), many others suffer through prolonged unsuccessful treatment approaches. This includes large doses of medications with adverse effects, complications related to surgery, and postoperative relapse of symptoms. The side effects of the various antiepileptic medications often prescribed for TN patients include dizziness, ataxia, nausea, vomiting, hematological abnormalities, and cardiac arrhythmia. In addition, a high proportion of TN patients take pain medications including narcotics.

All 7 female participants and 4 of the 5 men in the study responded favorably to acupuncture. Five of the patients were even able to discontinue their medications following complete remission of the TN. One of these 5 participants required only 2 acupuncture treatments to reach complete remission, while the others required from 3 to 9 treatments to get this result.

Acupuncture has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health as a scientific therapeutic modality with an effective pain-relieving ability. The beauty of acupuncture treatments is that they are virtually devoid of side effects, non-invasive and extremely safe. It is postulated that the insertion of acupuncture needles causes enhanced blood flow to the affected area. With multiple acupuncture treatments, the cumulative effect may actually lead to nerve repair in the case of the demyelinated trigeminal sensory fibers mentioned in the first paragraph.

Herbal medicine can also be used together with the above acupuncture protocol to enhance the effect. An often used Chinese Herbal Formula for TN patients is known as xue fu zhu yu tang. This combination of 11 Chinese herbs includes peach kernel (Persicae Semen), safflower petals (Carthami Flos), Szechuan lovage root (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), and Chinese angelica root (Angelicae sinensis Radix) as the first 4 herbs. These herbs are considered in the Traditional Chinese Medicine theory to have a strong invigorating or circulating quality, and serve the role of alleviating pain by eliminating blockages or stagnations in the body.

The TN study mentioned above concludes that acupuncture treatment should be considered before more invasive intervention is attempted. This agrees with clinical results that many acupuncture clinics have been reporting. However, it should be noted that this particular study had a relatively small group of participants, and did not employ a randomized, double-blind format. It will be useful to seek further scientific validation of the effect of acupuncture in TN treatment.

Sources for this article:

http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/ab…

Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica, 3rd edition, by Dan Bensky, et al.

Handbook of Oriental Medicine, 3rd edition, by Hyunbae Kim.

Peripheral neuropathy is one of the most common diseases most people have never heard of…and yet, upwards of 20 million Americans have it! The extent and importance of this disease has not yet been adequately recognized.

(PRWEB) May 9, 2009 — What do Johnny Cash, Mary Tyler Moore, Bobby Short and Andy Griffith all have in common? All have lived with neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy is one of the most common diseases most people have never heard of…and yet, upwards of 20 million Americans have it! It is estimated that 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe neuropathy. That fact alone is staggering. Other causes include vitamin deficiencies, autoimmune diseases, kidney, liver or thyroid disorders, even chemotherapy can cause it.

According to the Neuropathy Association the “extent and importance” of peripheral neuropathy has not yet been adequately recognized. The disease is apt to be misdiagnosed, or thought to be merely a side effect of another disease like diabetes.

However, people from all walks of life are diagnosed with this neurological ailment that can make their daily lives very challenging. Neuropathy has been described by those who have it as a tingling or burning sensation in their hands and/or feet, while the numbness is often compared to the feeling of wearing a thin stocking or glove.

You Can Cope with Peripheral Neuropathy, 365 Tips for Living a Full Life by Mims Cushing and Norman Latov, MD is a new resource on this under-publicized disease. The book is an essential guide for anyone living with peripheral neuropathy or for those who suspect they have it but have not yet been diagnosed. The authors can shed light on how to continue to thrive after receiving a diagnosis of PN.

CREDENTIALS: Mims Cushing lives with peripheral neuropathy. She has published extensively in magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times.

Norman Latov, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, and Director of the Peripheral Neuropathy Clinical and Research Center at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

You Can Cope with Peripheral Neuropathy, 365 Tips for Living a Full Life is available in quality trade paperback for a list price of $18.95. It is published by Demos Health, distributed by Publishers Group West and is also available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and all major bookstores and outlets.

Source: www.prweb.com

ScienceDaily (May 6, 2009) — The sense of smell is a complex process of the central nervous system that involves specific areas of the brain. In fact, olfactory dysfunction is seen in various central nervous system disorders that involve immune-mediated mechanisms, such as Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that sometimes involves the central nervous system in a condition known as neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE). Research in mice has shown that NPSLE-like symptoms and olfactory impairment might be induced by autoimmune mechanisms that target specific areas of the brain, but this has not been explored. A new study assessed olfactory function in SLE patients and found that there is a decrease in the sense of smell compared with healthy controls.

Led by Yehuda Shoenfeld of Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Tel-Hashomer, Israel, the study involved 50 SLE patients and 50 age and sex-matched controls. Researchers evaluated three levels of olfactory function: threshold (identifying a stick with an odor from among sticks that didn’t have an odor); discrimination (differentiating between two smells); and identification of a smell from among four options. The three scores were combined to form a total TDI score.

The results showed significant olfactory deficits in the SLE patients compared with the controls. SLE patients showed a decrease in olfactory function in both the threshold and discrimination tests. In addition, the study found that patients with more active disease and past NPSLE manifestations had significantly lower TDI scores. Past research in mice has shown that injection of antibodies linked to NPSLE manifestations induced olfactory deficit and that these antibodies can bind and penetrate cells in limbic areas of the brain, which are associated with the sense of smell. In addition, magnetic resonance imaging has recently shown limbic system involvement in SLE patients. “Although the exact mechanism of olfactory impairment has yet to be elucidated, the possibility of an immune-mediated mechanism is intriguing,” the authors note.

The incidence of olfactory dysfunction in the general population is a matter of debate. About one percent of the population is believed to have a loss of the sense of smell; in the study, loss of smell was seen only in SLE patients, 10 percent of whom suffered from this condition. The importance of the sense of smell is easy to appreciate, since the inability to detect odors in daily life, for example in food that has spoiled or leaks in a gas line, could seriously compromise a person’s health.

The authors point out that olfaction is unfamiliar territory for rheumatologists and immunologists, but results from this and other studies demonstrate that an autoimmune mechanism may play a role in olfactory impairment. They conclude that “smell decrement has been found to be an early and predictive sign in several CNS diseases, and therefore, might be a useful and easy tool for the physician in early diagnosis of CNS involvement in autoimmune diseases.”

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com