Call our office at 800-788-4627 for more information.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Answers to Rosacea
A new
Rosacea topical treatment appears to be very promising. Ivermectin in a 1% cream was used for 12
weeks with an average two to fourfold better improvement over placebo. It should be available soon. Alternative treatments that appear to be even
more effective include low-dose immunotherapy (LDI) and smooth beam laser
treatments.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Psoriasis Bites the Dust
A study
reported in Family Practice News in the March 1, 2014 issue showed that you
could reduce the annual cost of the usual treatment of psoriasis from $11,757
to $7,786 by using a combination topical treatment of calcipotriene and the
steroid, betamethasone. However, a new
treatment of desensitizing called low dose immunotherapy (LDI) seems to be very
effective (based on anecdotal reports) at an annual cost of no more than $1200
for the first year and gradually less cost over time.
Call our office at 800-788-4627 for more information or to
set up a free consultation.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Moderate Exercise Improves Stroke Risk
You don’t
have to be a mountain climber to reduce your risk of stroke. Moderate activity such as brisk walking,
golf, recreational tennis, cycling on a flat surface, and volleyball reduced
the risk of stroke by 12-30%. For women
who increased their risk by taking synthetic hormone replacement, exercise
mostly counteracted the risk.
See Family Practice News, March 1, 2014, reporting on the
California Teachers Study of 133,479 women.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Blueberries for Blood Pressure
A study of
40 postmenopausal women with hypertension showed that after two months, those
who ate the equivalent of a cup of blueberries a day had lower blood pressure
(5% systolic and 6% diastolic). In the treated patients, nitric oxide was
increased, which might be the mechanism, since the latter is known to relax
arterial blood pressure.
See Johnson, SA at Florida State Univ, the lead author for
an article in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Patients with Arthritis Have Increased Risk for Heart Attacks
There is
further evidence that chronic inflammation is an important risk factor for
heart attacks. Such auto-immune diseases
as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis carry an increased risk, even if they are
treated with powerful disease-modifying drugs.
Inflammation is a complex issue, and we need to do everything we can to
control it, especially when present in chronic diseases. Nutrients and anti-oxidants should be
included in the treatment. The drugs are
not the complete answer.
See Coblyn JS. Ann
Rheum Dis, Feb 2015.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
The Women’s Health Crisis That’s a Secret
During the
last 30 years there has been a dramatic increase in autoimmune diseases. 24 million Americans are afflicted, which is
twice the number that have cancer. 80%
of those are women. This includes almost
100 difference diagnoses, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease,
and multiple sclerosis. Fibromyalgia is
technically not auto-immune but in many ways it acts like it. Lyme disease also acts like these problems.
We do not know why they occur, but my feeling is that it has something to do
with toxicity and a malfunctioning immune system. One of the triggers is probably allergy. Low-dose allergy treatments can have dramatic
effects in treating these problems.
For more info, Google low-dose allergens. Many of the rules that previously had to be
followed no longer applied, making the treatment much easier to take this year
than last.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
C-pap Treatments are getting ready for Prime Time
Sleep apnea
is more common in adults than asthma. A
Cleveland Clinic report showed that sleep apnea might lead to accidents,
stroke, hypertension, coronary artery disease, atrial fib, and postoperative
complications. If there is any question,
a sleep study is now recommended prior to elective surgery. C-pap can then be given post-op. Emergency technicians are now being taught to
treat patients with C-pap instead of trying to intubate patients who have a
compromised airway.
See the Cleveland
Clinic Journal of Medicine, Nov. 2009, p. 98-103.
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