Steve Scrutton's Homeopathic Safe Medicine Post

Wednesday, 9 January 2019

Recent medical news indicating that conventional medicine is dangerous. So why is the public never told about any of it?

The history of conventional medicine is full of failures, horrors and patient disasters. In the 19th century it used techniques like blood letting and blistering, and drugs now recognised to be dangerous, like Laudanum, Calomel and Antimony. Many more pharmaceutical drugs followed during the 20th century, passing through Thalidomide, Fen-Phen, Baycol, Tysabri, Effexor, Avandia, Vioxx, and many, many more, listed on this link, but too numerous to mention here.

Past performance is always the best predictor of future performance.
So are today's drugs, the one's doctors are giving us now, any better? Regular readers of this blog will know that they are not. They are causing side effects, adverse reactions, that are generating the rapid increase of serious chronic illness and disease. Conventional medicine is well aware of this but in their pursuit of profit they are prepared to continue prescribing these dangerous drugs up to the point that doctors can no longer keep the truth from us.

The problem is that the harm being caused by pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines are never publicised. Our doctors, our national health services, our politicians and governments, and the mainstream media organisations, just don't bother to tell us.

So whilst we may be aware of some of the drugs and vaccines that have been banned and withdrawn in the past, few people are aware of the harm present day 'medications' are causing. To demonstrate this, I thought that I would bring together some of the recent news stories, since the recent holiday period, about the dangers that conventional medicine, and pharmaceutical drugs particularly, present to our health, THAT WE ARE JUST NOT TOLD ABOUT.

VACCINE CONTAMINANTS
This article states that there have been hundreds of articles in medical journals that have found stray viruses, aluminum, mercury, etc., in vaccines, and asks whether this happens in error, or is a regular occurrence. It refers to Italian and French researchers who looked at 44 vaccines, and found inorganic contaminants IN EVERY SINGLE ONE!

You will not find this reported anywhere in the mainstream media!
VACCINE BOMBSHELL This article states that a 'confidential' GlaxoSmithKline document, recently leaked to the press, showed that 36 infants had died in the last two years after having received the "6-in-1" vaccine, Infanrix Hexa.
Leaked to the press? Perhaps, but you will not find this reported in the mainstream media either!
MEDICAL SCIENCE DELIBERATELY HIDING HPV VACCINE DEATHS?
Drug manufacturers & regulators accused of concealing harm done to young girls by vaccine, including death permanent injury, and life threatening reactions

Reported just over a year ago, but hidden, dismissed and minimised by medical science - and, of course, censored by the mainstream media.
ANTIBIOTICS LINKED TO FATAL HEART CONDITION The Dr Mercola website has reported this month that Fluoroquinolone antibiotics, prescribed for upper respiratory and urinary tract infections, have been found to increase the risk of aortic dissection, which can lead to death. The article states that these antibiotics have long been associated with 'adverse events' that include psychiatric effects, kidney stones or failure, tendon rupture and retinal detachment leading to blindness.

If you think we might want to know about these dangerous side effects,  the mainstream media does not agree. They have never mentioned the new evidence.
These are just some of the articles I have come across since the holiday period. I could provide you with many more (check my Tweets (@stevescrutton), my Facebook page, or my Linkedin page, regularly for these. But the main point is that no-one should ever assume that the pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines that our doctors are giving us today are safe.

If we are not aware of the dangers of today's drugs it is because we are never told about them - until after hundreds, thousands, millions of patients have been seriously harmed by them!

https://safe-medicine.blogspot.com/2019/01/recent-medical-news-indicating-that.html

8.2 Million Italians

In Italy there are over 5000 homeopathic physicians, 7000 pharmacies dispensing homeopathic medicines and 20 different laboratories. In a study in the early part of the last decade, 8.2 million Italians reported using homeopathy and approximately 90% of them said they were helped by the treatment.

Harvard Study Has Good News for Homeopathic Medicine By John Weeks March 4, 2016

Harvard Study Has Good News for Homeopathic Medicine

John Weeks

March 4, 2016

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by John Weeks, Publisher/Editor of The Integrator Blog News and Reports

The American Journal of Public Health has recently published a survey article out of Harvard that shows that homeopathic medicine, while still only used by a small fraction of the U.S. population, has jumped 15% in use. In addition, most users put homeopathy among the top 3 complementary and integrative strategies they use in their health care.

The interest of this journal in this publication is linked to possible public health benefits from the use of homeopathic medicine. The principal investigator was Michelle Dossett, MD, PhD and the team also included placebo expert Ted Kaptchuk, OMD. They hail from Harvard’s School of Public Health and from a Harvard Medical School affiliated hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess. The teams notes that prior studies of homeopathy “suggest potential public health benefits such as reductions in unnecessary antibiotic usage, reductions in costs to treat certain respiratory diseases, improvements in peri-menopausal depression, improved health outcomes in chronically ill individuals, and control of a Leptospirosis epidemic in Cuba.”

The data was gleaned from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. The researchers explored the prevalence and use patterns of homeopathic medicines among U.S. adults in relation to other complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) use. Versions of this survey in 2002 and 2007 found use of homeopathic medicines at 1.7% and 1.8% of the adult population, respectively. The 15% growth in the recent half-decade corresponds to an overall use rate of 2.1% in 2012. The most common conditions for which people sought homeopathic treatment were respiratory and ear-nose-and-throat complaints as well as musculoskeletal pain syndromes. Users tended to be more educated than non-users.

Use of homeopathy in the US is lower than in many European countries. The authors note, for instance, that surveys have found rates at 8.2% in Italy and nearly 15% in Germany. A recent Italian wire-service story reported findings of a 2012 survey by a homeopathic manufacturer that found much higher use, at close to one-in-six adult Italians.

The Harvard team reported that positive views of homeopathy were much higher among those who saw a professional homeopath compared to those who simply purchased the pills from the store and self-prescribed. Those who consulted professionals were more likely to feel that homeopathy was “very important in maintaining health and well-being.” The sense of the importance of the remedies was also stronger. More of those who’d consulted a homeopathic practitioner thought that homeopathy helped their health condition “a great deal” than did the self-prescribers.

Naysayers, who believe these medicine are nothing more than placebos, will likely question the additional perceived value post practitioner visit. Is it anything more than the greater level of investment in a placebo one has if the placebo is practitioner-recommended rather than self-prescribed?

The article came to The Integrator from homeopath and author Dana Ullman, MPH, CCH (pictured). He sent notice of the Harvard publication and of the recent report on Italian use with this note: “Here's some GOOD news about homeopathy!”

Ullman adds: "This survey confirms that a certain well-educated and well-satisfied group of Americans benefit from self-prescribing homeopathic medicines as well as from going to professional homeopaths. Although these numbers are much higher in select countries in Europe, it is more than reasonable to support individual choice in health care. Just as our country is a melting pot of different cultures and races, our health and medical care likewise needs this healthy diversity."

Homeopathy has taken it on the chin the last two years. The Harvard study was published amidst a renewed flare up of bad publicity following a controversial 2015 report from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. The chair of the report, general practitioner Paul Glasziou, MD blogged on the controversial findings at the British Medical Journal. A wave of postings from anti-homeopathy writers, such as this, immediately followed.

Weighing the public health potential of homeopathic medicine requires a wading into a river of twin ambiguities. These can each be true simultaneously: 1) homeopathic treatment only has value as a placebo, and 2) expanded use of these medicines can be useful tools in the public health campaign against antibiotic overuse. This 2008 study, for instance, found that 13% of doctors use antibiotics as placebos. Mightn’t we have been better off, from a population health perspective, had they prescribed homeopathic remedies and not delivered this extra load of antibiotics onto the terrain?

French researchers spoke to this potential last year when they concluded that “management of patients by homeopathic GPs may be less expensive from a global perspective and may represent an important interest to public health.” The Harvard researchers included a similar note: “Because of potential public health benefits associated with the use of homeopathy, further research on this modality and targeted studies of users are warranted.”

Perhaps the way to move forward is to allow skeptical doctors to deliver homeopathic medicine to their patients while announcing to them that it is a placebo. Kaptchuk and others have reported that the placebos can still work. If they have more significant positive value, well, that healing can take place without the skeptic’s approval.

About the Author:

John Weeks

John Weeks is a writer, speaker, chronicler and organizer with 32 years of experience in the movement for integrative health and medicine. the long-time founder/editor of The Integrator Blog News & Reports, a primary connective terrain for the diverse stakeholders and professions in the field and was invited in May 2016 to serve as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Besides his Integrative Practitioner column, he presently writes for Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, the Huffington Post and elsewhere.

He increasingly enjoys teaching and mentoring. He has keynoted, led plenary sessions, breakouts, and offered guest lectures for dozens of organizations ranging from the Bastyr University to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the UCLA School of Medicine to the Institute for Health and Productivity Management, the AANP and AIHM to the American Hospital Association. He has consulted with insurers, employers, professional organizations, universities and government agencies at all levels.

As an organizer, Weeks convened the Integrative Medicine Industry Leadership Summits (2000-2002), directed the National Education Dialogue to Advance Integrated Care (2004-2006), fund-raised the start-up of the Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium (2002), and co-founded the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health, which he directed 2007-2015. In 2014, three consortia and others combined to grant him a Lifetime Achievement Living Tribute Award. Four academic institutions have granted Weeks honorary doctorates for his work. Seattle-based, he considers himself a particularly lucky soul to have worked remotely while living with his spouse Jeana Kimball, ND, MPH, and their children in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico for 6 of the last 15 years.

https://www.integrativepractitioner.com/topics/news/harvard-study-has-good-news-for-homeopathic-medicine

Myths vs. Mythology;

“Homeopathy is not science”

http://snip.ly/lz322

There are critics who claim that homeopathy is ‘pseudoscience’ and only non-scientists are interested in the subject.

In fact, scientists in highly respected universities, research institutions and hospitals around the world are carrying out research into homeopathy using the same research techniques as those used to investigate conventional medical treatments.

Homeopathy research is a relatively new field, but the number of articles published in peer reviewed journals has risen significantly over the past 40 years.

This lag behind conventional medicine is hardly surprising when one considers the lack of funding available e.g. in the UK less than 0.0085% of the medical research budget is spent on research into complementary and alternative medicines.1

International Research Conferences

Barcelona 2013 – Cutting Edge Research in Homeopathy

The inaugural HRI International Homeopathy Research Conference was held in Barcelona in June 2013. The programmed included presentations by 5 Professors and 40 doctors (PhDs or medics) from over 20 countries, covering clinical, experimental and veterinary research. Abstracts, filmed presentations and the conference report can be viewed here.

Rome 2015 – Cutting Edge Research in Homeopathy

The 2nd HRI International Research Conference, held in Rome on 5-7 June 2015, continued the ongoing theme of Cutting Edge Research. The programme included presentations on clinical, fundamental and basic research, by 6 Professors and 28 doctors (PhDs or medics) from 17 countries. The abstracts, filmed presentations and conference report can be viewed here.

So in what way is homeopathy ‘unscientific’?

Well-qualified scientists in respected institutions are now carrying out high quality basic research, clinical research and veterinary research in homeopathy, and are reporting positive results which are published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Therefore the only basis for the argument that it is ‘pseudoscience’ is that we do not know how homeopathy works.

Usually, when a phenomenon is observed which cannot be explained by what ‘science’ already knows, this triggers fresh scientific enquiry – it is not dismissed as ‘unscientific’ purely because it has yet to be understood.

References

Homeopathic Medical history is longer than other licenced medicines. Lyssin is a safer choice. Part B

Homeopathic Medical history than is longer than other licenced medicines. Lyssin is a safer choice. Part B

Homeopathy has been used before conventional medicines ever existed (in the 1700’s) while some of these ‘medicines’ are much more new as is the whole North American Medical Industry as we know it (1900’s) (See reference to Theodore Roosevelt https://www.griffinbenefits.com/employeebenefitsblog/history_of_healthcare. And Saskatchewan https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-birth-of-medicare

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/keeping-canada-alive-1.3252807

You think Rabid Dog Saliva  (Lyssinum is one made with on drop of the saliva of a rabid dog preserved in alcohol medicine) is weird…

In our NEW predominant medical system there are so many things that are going on that are sooo much more weird (and way more NEW/experimental). Here are some fun (gross) examples:

1.     How about the mouse virus injected as part of chemotherapy that goes on everyday times millions of people. YES millions of people in hospitals are injected with an experimental version of chemotherapy that includes first injecting Rituximab which is a virus made in mice or rats…

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/how-is-rituximab-produced.43833/

2.     How about Belladonna and Opium (still used) http://www.businessinsider.com/yes-bayer-promoted-heroin-for-children-here-are-the-ads-that-prove-it-2011-11#bayers-heroina-for-irritation-and-bronchitis-1. Opium was a common cough suppressant not too long ago and is still used in many various forms in hospitals every day.

https://www.uwhealth.org/health/topic/multum/belladonna-and-opium-rectal/d03436a1.html

3.     ACE inhibitors (a common blood pressure medicine) such as captopril were based on an ingredient of the venom of the poisonous Brazilian Viper (Bothrops Jararaca) ehem do I hear snake oil coming to mind now? Yet these ‘discoveries’ … (remember which modalities are older and more well used with history of success)

https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/news-and-analysis/news/from-snake-venom-to-ace-inhibitor-the-discovery-and-rise-of-captopril/10884359.article

This list really could go on and on and on. I’ve read soooo much about this because the fact that homeopathy was developed in reaction to how harmfully archaic practices of bloodletting and so on were in the beginning days of homeopathy when everyone should’ve just learned from the best (homeopaths) instead of trying to degrade their practices with misinformation.

Homeopathy on Vitality Link

Meet Elena Cecchetto, a homeopath based in Vancouver, BC.

Elena discovered homeopathy as a student in Toronto at her wit’s end with eczema.  She tried homeopathy as a last ditch effort, having experimented with countless treatments.

Elena says that’s how many people first discover the practice. “It was a last resort for me, like it is for many people. They’ve tried everything else.”

She explains that homeopaths get to know a client’s physical, emotional and behavioural profile and then recommend a remedy that is specifically matched to them. The remedies are made of natural ingredients and created in homeopathic pharmacies.

Elena got more than she bargained for from her first homeopathic experience. Her eczema began to go away when she took the remedy, and eventually disappeared altogether. But more than that, her experience of everyday life changed.

She says, “I just felt a level of inner joy and that the world was open to me. I wouldn’t even have been able to describe that I wanted to feel this way.”

That feeling is now what Elena aims to help her clients achieve. She gets feedback like, ‘I just feel lighter’ and ‘Things don’t bother me anymore’.

Elena sees many children in her East Vancouver practice and has special certification to treat autistic kids. She also immunizes children for a wide variety of illnesses.

She treats adult clients for many common maladies. A lactose intolerant client came in for a remedy and was able to eat ice cream and cheese the next day without any problem.

She’s helped clients navigate the spring and summer months allergy-free without taking any drugs.

She’s also treated people with addiction, depression and anxiety. In one case, a client unable to work for two weeks solid because of panic attacks was quickly back to the office after seeing Elena.

Homeopathy is generally not an overnight cure. Elena explains it takes time for the remedies to work. If you’ve been dealing with a health issue for a long time, or it occurs frequently, you should anticipate the healing process will take longer.

Elena says, “The homeopathic approach is that every person is different. There is no one cause of any condition. We look for the core thing that’s happening with this person and everything else connects to that. Homeopathy says everything is connected. We match one remedy to the whole person.”

Special Offer: Elena is offering 25% off the first intake appointment for the homeopathic immunization protocol. In this 1.5 hour appointment, Elena takes down the child’s entire background (including information about pregnancy and delivery) so she’s well positioned to help down the road as the child proceeds through life.

The regular price of the homeopathic immunization protocol is: $195.

Contact Elena at: (604) 568-4663 or info@accessnaturalhealing.com

For more information, please visit Elena’s VitalityLink profile. http://snip.ly/t9u44

--

Your Holistic Team, ~Access~

Web: http://www.AccessNaturalHealing.com/

Email: info@accessnaturalhealing.com

Phone: (604) 568-4663

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top/

“The information contained in this message is for educational purposes and constitutes a response to a private request for information only and does not constitute a solicitation for services and makes no claim or promise that any product or service that may cure any condition or ailment,”

About 70-80% of patients taking homeopathic treatment for chronic disease report improvement.

About 70-80% of patients taking homeopathic treatment for chronic disease report improvement, and in at least one study they prefer it over conventional treatment, according to a collection of studies written up by our friends down under, Homeopathy Plus.

Possibly you are aware of the six-year Bristol Homeopathic Hospital study, which showed that out of 6,544 patients with chronic disease, sometimes of many years’ duration, 70.7 per cent reported positive health changes.

But there’s more.

A study on several alternative health modalities in Northern Ireland shows homeopathy narrowly edging out acupuncture with 79 per cent of patients reporting positive outcomes.

A study carried out at a health clinic in Dorset, England shows 84 per cent of patients reported improvement, and 81 per cent attribute their improvement to homeopathy.

A German study found that most parents with cancer-stricken kids who had them treated homeopathically rated their satisfaction rate as “very high” and would recommend homeopathy to other parents.

A large-scale Swiss study comparing patient satisfaction with homeopathic treatment to conventional medicine for chronic disease showed homeopathy scoring significantly better, with greater improvement and fewer side effects.

Finally, a 103-centre study in Switzerland and Germany followed 3,079 patients over eight years, and found:

* On average, disease severity decreased dramatically and improvements were sustained
* Three in ten patients stopped treatment because of major improvement
* Mental and physical quality of life scores increased substantially
* Biggest and fastest improvements happened for children and the patients who started out the most sick.

Conditions treated ran the gamut, covering both physical and emotional afflictions.

Those who wonder why homeopathy continues to grow in popularity worldwide despite a mechanism of action that defies common “wisdom” and a well-funded and highly-motivated opposition should take note of these studies.

Read the original article, which has more details and full citations, here.

Water Research Laboratory What is this project about?

Water Research Laboratory

What is this project about?

Current research points towards the likely existence of water structures which, although being largely unexplored, in principle have the necessary characteristics to explain the mechanism of action of homeopathic medicines.

The Water Research Laboratory aims to investigate these new water structures using a multidisciplinary approach involving theoretical physics, mathematical modelling and experimental exploration.

In the field of the physics of high dilutions, which has immediate relevance to homeopathy, many research groups have reported interesting findings. In particular, Prof Luc Montagnier (who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the HIV/AIDS virus), has shown homeopathic dilutions to have electromagnetic properties which differ from those of normal water1,2.

Benveniste was a eminent French immunologist, adviser to the French government on scientific issue, he was the director of INSERM unit 200, directed at immunology, allergy and inflammation.

In a seminal paper published in the prestigious journal Nature in 1988, Dr Benveniste’s team of  reported their results investigating the effects of high-dilutions on human basophils (a type of white blood cell). They diluted a solution of human anti-IgE antibodies in water to such a degree that there was virtually no possibility that a single molecule of the antibody remained in the water solution. They reported, human basophils responded to the solutions just as though they had encountered the original antibody (part of the allergic reaction). The effect was reported only when the solution was shaken violently during dilution.

This publication led to a large controversy around ‘the memory of water‘. Since then 28 scientific papers have been published in this area, 23 of which reported positive results. Of the 11 publications judged to be of high quality, 8 (72%) reported positive results.4

The initial efforts of the HRI/WRL collaboration are centered around repeating the famous basophil degranulation experiments of the late Dr Jacques Benveniste (1935-2004)3, with the aim of making the experiment more easily reproducible in standard laboratory setting and of studying important physical parameters crucial to the phenomenon. In particular we aim to study the influence of electromagnetic fields on the system, in line with Prof Luc Montagnier’s recent results.

1. Montagnier, L., Aïssa, J., Ferris, S., Montagnier, J.-L. & Lavalléee, C. Electromagnetic signals are produced by aqueous nanostructures derived from bacterial DNA sequences. Interdiscip. Sci. Comput. Life Sci. 2009, 1, 81–90. | Pubmed
2. Montagnier, L. et al. DNA waves and water. J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 306, 012007 (2011). | Link
3. Davenas E, et al. Human basophil degranulation triggered by very dilute antiserum against IgE. Nature. 1988 333(6176):816-8. | Pubmed
4. Witt CM, Bluth M, Albrecht H, Weisshuhn TE, Baumgartner S, Willich SN. The in vitro evidence for an effect of high homeopathic potencies–a systematic review of the literature. Complement Ther Med. 2007 Jun;15(2):128-38. | Pubmed

Lead researcher

Alexander Tournier BSc DIC MASt Cantab PhD

Dr Tournier studied physics at Imperial College, London, and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge. He wrote his PhD on the biophysics of water-protein interactions at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. For the last 10 years he has been conducting interdisciplinary research at the boundaries between mathematics, physics and biology, as an independent researcher for Cancer Research UK (5th institute worldwide for molecular biology).

Why is this project important?

Confirming the existence of structured phase of water would have considerable ramifications not only for homeopathy, but could also lead to completely novel therapeutic and diagnostic techniques. 

Dr Alexander Tournier PhD

https://www.hri-research.org/hri-research/how-do-homeopathic-medicines-work/water-research-laboratory/

Autism Is A Research Growth Area: No Profit in Finding the Cause

February 19, 2012 by admin in Autism, Featured, Science
http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2012-02-19/autism-is-a-research-growth-area-no-profit-in-finding-the-cause/ 

The Mind of the Autism Researcher 

Attempts to prove that autism is genetic, physical, or chemical in nature continue unabated. It’s proven to be a most lucrative specialty for researchers. However, the studies that promote the genetics-not-vaccine concept tend to show only the effects of autism. They demonstrate nothing to indicate the actual cause, though they often imply, or even outright state, otherwise. 

That alone should tell us what’s become of most autism research: it’s a growth area. Autism research has become very much the same as Big Pharma-based medicine. In fact, much of it is funded by pharmaceutical corporations. 

To find a disease cause and solution to prevent disease isn’t profitable. However, to find even the most minuscule physical, genetic, or chemical change in someone with an existing disease means that even more money can be squeezed out of the research funders like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), agencies funded by taxpayers. Anything that leads away from causes and focuses on the physiochemical effects of autism always leads to more questions and more research funds. 

Gaia Health recently documented an autism study demonstrating that it shows the opposite of what is claimed. The authors attempt to demonstrate that physical changes in the brains of autistics shows that vaccines could not be the cause. In reality, the study shows a close parallel between those changes and autism’s development. That fact, though, could not be mentioned. It would likely have resulted in the researchers’ funding sources drying up.
Study: White Matter Changes in Autism 

A recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry(1) says that children defined as high risk for developing autism become autistic because of changes in the brain’s white matter, and that autism can be predicted in advance based on MRIs showing such changes. This is all fine and dandy—but it says precisely nothing about what causes these changes. 

This study has a continuing medical education couse associated with it on MedPage Today. Passing the related test of two simple questions provides the reader, who is presumed to be a doctor, with .25 CME units. The doctor can easily collect these training credits within a few minutes, never leaving the comfort of home or office, or more significantly, without even having to bother reading the study itself. No thought process is required to determine whether the study holds any validity. The single-page course simply summarizes and regurgitates the study’s claims with no attempt to analyze whether it’s meaningful. 

The result of this is sure to be yet more MRI tests on infants, which will, of course, further increase the cost of medicine and will likely produce no benefit to children—unless yet another toxic drug is considered helpful.
Study: Genetic Changes in Autism 

Another study, published in PLoS Genetics(2), states that functional mutations in the SHANK2 gene, resulting in changes in synapses, are associated with some, but not all, autism. A functional mutation is not a birth defect. It is caused by something. 

However, the study researchers weren’t interested in what causes the SHANK2 gene to be damaged. They were quite satisfied with the idea that the damage was just spontaneous. One would have thought that the researchers would at least be curious about what causes these changes—but apparently curiosity that doesn’t bring in big financial payments has been bred out of researchers. 

Their interest was only in the idea where the finding indicates that several genes acting in combination must be associated with autism. Author Bergeron states: 

There are so many combinations that might be important. We still have a lot of work to do at the genetic level. 

Wow! Those researchers may have found a mother lode of research grants for all the follow-up research that they can now claim should be done. Just imagine the money that’s going to be made by Big Pharma in vaccines or drugs to treat the broken SHANK2 genes. Obviously, finding the cause of those broken genes would interfere with the profits to be made in attempts to fix them.
Study: Brain Activity Changes in Face Recognition 

A study published in Nature Neuroscience(3) claims that functional MRIs can examine the fusiform gyrus, a part of the brain believed to focus on face identification, and that it will be able to study people—specifically, autistics—who are too unresponsive to cooperate in such studies. Author J.D. Gabrieli told the Simons Foundation: 

Functional brain studies have been limited to the most high-functioning individuals, because we had to use active tasks that required following instructions. This method may open ways to look at the many autism patients who cannot follow task instructions. 

Thus, this study has been performed to pave the way for yet more studies of autistic people. Whether it might actually benefit them is … well, that doesn’t seem to be the issue.
The Third Rail of Medical Research 

There exists just one thing that autism researchers won’t touch: the cause. It’s the third rail of medical research. Autism has developed into a huge money-maker for modern medicine and its supporting agencies. Big Pharma is now selling drugs to send autistic kids to oblivion and further damage their brains. Doctors have a huge group of children whose parents are conditioned to take them back over and over again for tests and treatments, none of which help. Agencies and charities have organized to promote awareness of the condition and, in most cases, to promote the well-being of the top-line managers’ pay. Researchers and medical journals all help feed into this newly profitable condition. None of them actually help. For that, you must leave the modern medical system and find alternatives. 

If the cause of autism were officially found. The focus would be on prevention. But then, none of this enormous pool of money could be tapped by any of these groups. Their bottom line is benefited by putting on blinders to the most likely cause, vaccines. To that end, they’ve established a PR campaign to convince the public—not to mention their own members—that vaccines aren’t the cause of autism and that autism isn’t truly a new disorder, but one that was previously unrecognized. Of course, as most parents of autistic children can state without reservation, there is no possibility that what’s happened to their children could ever have gone unnoticed. 

So, they’ve developed a most magnificent arrangement of patting each others’ backs: 

The doctors get to take absurdly simple CME courses that tell of phony breakthroughs, thus getting that nuisance requirement of continuing education out of the way without stress.
Medical websites that take most of their money from Big Pharma can pump out these nonsensical courses, pulling doctors to their sites for the easy ride.
Doctors get more and more patients.
Medical suppliers get to sell more and more equipment for tests.
Big Pharma gets to develop new drugs and find ways to push old ones on autism sufferers.
To support it all and give the seal of so-called “evidence based medicine” to these practices, medical researchers produce study after study, all of them focused on anything but finding the cause of autism. 

It’s a cozy arrangement for everyone but the autistic children, their families, and society as a whole. Finding the cause would shut down the researchers’ gushing funding tap, and preventing autism would cut into all arenas of this exploding area of the medical industry. 

Sources: 

(1)Differences in White Matter Fiber Tract Development Present from 6 to 24 Months in Infants with Autism, doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.11091447.
(2)Genetic and Functional Analyses of SHANK2 Mutations Suggest a Multiple Hit Model of Autism Spectrum Disorders
(3)Anatomical connectivity patterns predict face selectivity in the fusiform gyrus, doi: 10.1038/nn.3001 

—

Elena Cecchetto DCH, CCH, RSHom(NA)

604-568-4663

el@accessnaturalhealing.com

www.accessnaturalhealing.com

LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top

“The information contained in this message is for educational purposes and constitutes a response to a private request for information only and does not constitute a solicitation for services and makes no claim or promise that any product or service that may cure any condition or ailment,”

Homeopathy for ADHD: Hocus Pocus or Science?

By Deborah Mitchell

Parents of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face daily challenges and questions concerning how to best cope with, manage, and help their kids. Moms and dads who are not satisfied with a purely conventional medicine approach, typically because of questionable safety and effectiveness of medications, often turn to other options. Should parents consider homeopathy for ADHD?

Some practitioners and researchers vote yes, and they point to the success they have witnessed in their practice and their studies. Many others, however, are not convinced about the value of homeopathy in general nor its use for this neurodevelopmental condition in particular.

Recently I interviewed Beth Landau-Halpern, a Toronto-based, classically trained homeopath who uses a wide range of natural approaches to treat ADHD, including nutritional medicine, relaxation techniques, and natural supplements along with homeopathy. Many but not all of her patients are already taking medications. Her natural therapies can both complement and enhance a child’s treatment program.

Homeopathy and ADHD: Two Studies

Landau-Halpern talked about her involvement in two studies of homeopathy and ADHD as well as about her experiences with her treatment approach overall. The two studies—one pilot study already completed and a new study currently underway that was initiated based on the findings of the first—involved evaluation of the impact of homeopathic remedies on children with ADHD.

The particulars of the first study were explained to me by one of Landau-Halpern’s colleagues, David Brulé, a research associate at the University of Toronto and owner of Riverdale Homeopathic Clinic.A total of 35 children were enrolled in the study, which involved an initial consultation with one of two homeopaths and then nine follow-up consultations.

Eighty percent of the participants completed all 10 consultations over an average of 12.1 months. During that time, a mean of three homeopathic remedies were prescribed for the children from a selection of more than three dozen options. The two found to be the most effective were phosphorus and tuberculinum. Parents were questioned about their child’s diet, but while Brulé said “diet works” for kids with ADHD, this factor was not emphasized in the study.

Overall the findings were positive: 63 percent achieved significant improvement in behavioral symptoms, and the benefits were generally observed at the seventh to eighth consultation. All of this good news prompted the researchers to plan another, larger study, which is now underway.

Based on her observations of participants in this study, Landau-Halpern explained that “most of the clients responded well to the homeopathic remedies, although it sometimes took a few months to find the most beneficial remedy.” This caveat was especially true, she said, among kids who were taking medication since “many of their ‘symptoms’ were masked” by the drugs. Overall, she believed the children’s behavioral symptoms were the most affected by the remedies, “those that the stimulant drugs don’t really affect in any case.”

What about the effect of diet and natural supplements on these patients who were taking homeopathic remedies? Landau-Halpern pointed out that many of the parents were finding it difficult to deal with the challenges of ADHD, so she did not normally introduce dietary suggestions. At the same time, she emphasized that “an optimized diet is obviously important” as are supplements, although she did not stress them in the study.

The new study, which currently is recruiting participants, will follow 180 children with ADHD. Unlike the earlier study, parents will be asked if they are using therapeutic dietary changes. (Download the announcement for recruitment into the new study.)

In her private practice, Landau-Halpern often recommends supplements for children with ADHD, especially omega-3 fatty acids. In addition she suggests B vitamins, iron, magnesium, vitamin D, zinc, and multivitamins, depending on the individual child. She also addresses diet.

When looking at the diet of a child who has ADHD, Landau-Halpern pointed out that while every child responds to preservatives, artificial colors, and artificial flavors differently, “in general, they have absolutely no place in any child’s diet—ADHD or not.” She also emphasized that eliminating these substances “can bring about huge improvements in all sorts of pathological behaviors and physical symptoms.”

In fact, cutting out foods that contain preservatives and artificial additives is the first advice she offers parents of kids with ADHD. Why? Because it works. “For some children, simply removing foods that impair their neurological function can make an enormous difference,” and that includes refined, processed foods containing artificial ingredients and preservatives as well as those to which children have a hypersensitivity.

A review in Current Psychiatry Reports that evaluated evidence for dietary and nutritional treatments, as well as homeopathy, for ADHD noted that “Controlled studies support the elimination of artificial food dyes to reduce ADHD symptoms, and that multivitamin/mineral supplements and especially essential fatty acids are suggested. Evidence for the effectiveness of homeopathy for ADHD, however, was reported to be minimal.

Read more about kids and artificial colors

That could be changing, however, as researchers continue to conduct more comprehensive studies. Therefore, for parents of children with ADHD, alternative and complementary options such as homeopathy and nutritional medicine, including the elimination of artificial dyes and flavors and preservatives, should be considered and discussed with the appropriate healthcare professionals.