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There are many sicknesses doctors can cure with the swish of a pen across prescription pad. But for all we understand now about some illnesses, there are even more that still stump the pros, confound the public and rage on uncontested

Morgellons Disease

This mysterious illness, which has cropped up again recently, displays almost sci-fi symptoms. Sufferers complain of intensely creepy-crawly skin and odd fibrous strands which protrude from open wounds. Some in the medical community blame the "disease" on psychotic delusion, but others say the symptoms are very real.

 

  

Thousands of patients across the United States are suffering from the strange symptoms of Morgellons Disease, which includes burning or itching sensations on the skin, and also the feeling of bugs crawling over, under or on top of it.In some ways, the disease mimics the effects of scabies or lice, but with some important differences.

 

  

The disease is characterized by open sores on your face and body, and string-like fibers emerging from the skin. The wounds often appear as if fibers have been imbedded in them, along with seed-like granules and black material. However, some patients experience the physical symptoms of Morgellons, yet have no overt skin lesions.

 

 

The disease can also cause extreme problems with short-term memory, mental concentration and mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder). Ten percent of the children affected by Morgellons also suffer from autism spectrum disorders.

 

  

The fibers have led some doctors to theorize that the roots of the disease stem from an environmental cause, rather than something produced from within the body. If this is the case, the open sores are likely caused by scratching.

Morgellons Research Foundation American Journal of Clinical Dermatology: 1-5 Free Full PDF ReportABC News July 28, 2006  

 

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

  

Chronic fatigue is a classic MUPS (medically unexplained physical symptoms) disease, with a diagnosis based only on the ruling out of other possibilities. More than just feeling a little tired, CFS patients are often bed-ridden for days at a time.

   

Two new studies suggest that traumatic events in childhood, as well as stress at any period in life, has been associated with the development of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

  

In one study, researchers compared the physical and mental health of 43 CFS patients with 60 healthy individuals.

  Among the many assessments, both groups were questioned about five kinds of trauma they experienced in childhood. CFS patients had higher trauma scores than those without it.    

Exposure to traumatic events multiplied a patient's risk of succumbing to CFS as much as eightfold. CFS patients were also more likely to have psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

 

  

A second study evaluated the incidence of CFS among some 19,000 Swedish twins (some 1,600 patients suffered from it). In two of the analyses performed, emotional instability and stress were connected to CFS. And, in one comparing a CFS patient to his or her twin without it, a stressful life increased a person's risk of the disease by 500 percent.

 

  

CFS affects between 400,000 and 900,000 U.S. adults, and is characterized by unexplained fatigue that lasts for at least six months, fails to get better with rest, and interferes with daily activities. It is also accompanied by at least some of the following additional symptoms: extreme fatigue after exertion, difficulties with memory and concentration, unrefreshing sleep, headaches, muscle pain, joint pain, sore throat, or tender lymph nodes.

EurekAlert November 6, 2006Archives of General Psychology Archives of General Psychology    

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease  

One version of this rare brain disorder is better known "Mad Cow" and can be contracted by eating contaminated beef. "Regular" CJD is also always fatal, quick-acting and is the most common form, but develops in most patients for reasons doctors have yet to figure out and can not prevent.

A multi-institutional team of researchers led by Emory University has defined for the first time how metal ions bind to amyloid fibrils in the brain in a way that appears toxic to neurons. Amyloid fibrils are linked to the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Creutzfeldt-Jakob.

 

 

The most effective way to be certain that the meat we're eating stays safe is to prohibit the feeding of animals that might be infected to animals that people might eat. In our view, the FDA should stop practices that could spread TSEs in US food animals.

It could do that by banning the feeding of any mammal remains to food animals, as the British government has now done. And the sooner the better. Even after a comprehensive ban, it will take several years before all the meat in the supermarket comes from animals that have never consumed animal protein.

You can avoid the risks of Mad Cow Disease completely by eating beef that is grass-fed, and not fed any animal proteins.

 

Science Daily August 14, 2007

 

Schizophrenia

 

 

Experts consider this the most puzzling of mental disorders, one which robs the sufferer of the ability to logically distinguish between reality and fantasy. Symptoms range wildly between patients and include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, lack of motivation or emotion, but the disease has no defining medical tests.

  Schizophrenia Improved by Mental and Physical Exercise   Dr Anthony Hannan, along with Dr Caitlin McOmish, Emma Burrows and colleagues, characterised a genetically altered mouse and discovered that it had schizophrenia-like behaviours, including learning and memory problems, the inability to process complex information, and abnormal responses to particular sensory stimuli.     

The scientists found the mouse’s condition significantly improved by simply giving them enhanced mental and physical exercise – putting running wheels in their cages, plus interesting items to smell, see and touch.

 

The data for a link with schizophrenia is still controversial, but potentially worrying because vitamin D deficiency is so common.

Vitamin D's role in building healthy brains had been largely ignored, until researchers began to spot some curious epidemiological trends. 

People who develop schizophrenia in Europe and North America are more likely to be born in the spring. And they are roughly four times as likely to be born to Afro-Caribbean immigrants living in England as they are to have parents of other ethnic origins living in the same areas. 

The body needs sunlight to make vitamin D, and people with darker skin need more than paler-skinned people. So such observations led investigators to propose that a lack of vitamin D during early development tips the balance towards schizophrenia in genetically susceptible people.This should be a big wake-up call. We should find out quickly because low vitamin D could impact general intelligence, and have a whole range of neurological outcomes.

International Society for Developmental Neuroscience Eurekalert August 1, 2007   

 

Autoimmune Disorders

 

 

A catchall term for a host of afflictions including Lupus and MS, autoimmune disorders treat the body's organs and normal functions as enemy invaders. They're usually chronic, always debilitating, and doctors can do little except ease their symptoms.

 

According to researchers, green tea may help protect against autoimmune disease.

A study of animal models for type 1 diabetes and primary Sjogren's Syndrome, which damages the glands that produce tears and saliva, found that there was significantly less salivary gland damage in a group treated with green tea extract.

This suggests that green tea can reduce the Sjogren's symptom commonly called dry mouth. 

Researchers looked for inflammation and the number of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cells that gather at inflammation sites. The group treated with green tea had fewer lymphocytes, and their blood also showed lower levels of auto antibodies , which are produced when the immune system attacks itself.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a component of green tea, is known to help suppress inflammation. EGCG may activate the body's defense against TNF-alpha, a group of proteins and molecules involved in systemic inflammation.

Approximately 30 percent of elderly Americans suffer from dry mouth, but in China, where green tea is widely consumed, only 5 percent of the elderly suffer from the problem. 

Bearing that in mind, the healthy polyphenols in green tea may constitute up to 30 percent of the dry leaf weight. So, when you drink a cup of tea, you're basically drinking a solution of tea polyphenols. In fresh, unfermented tea leaves, polyphenols exist as a series of chemicals called catechins, of which epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most powerful.

Widely acclaimed for disease prevention and anti-aging purposes, catechins have been studied for centuries for their potential ability to:

  

• Neutralize the effects to your body of harmful fats and oils
• Inhibit bacteria and viruses such as HIV, hepatitis, and herpes
• Improve digestion
• Protect against oxidation in your brain and liver
• Help promote healthy gums

Autoimmunity, Vol. 40, No. 2,

Medical College of Georgia

Science Daily

   

Pica

 

People diagnosed with Pica have an insatiable urge to eat non-food substances like dirt, paper, glue and clay. Though it is believed to be linked with mineral deficiency, health experts have found no real cause and no cure for the peculiar disorder.

  Synonyms

• Eating Disorder, Pica Type
• Pica Eating Disorder
• Disorder Subdivisions
• None

General Discussion

Pica is an eating disorder that is characterized by the repeated eating of non-nutritive substances over a period of one month or longer. Patients may eat non-edible objects such as paint, plaster, dirt, ice, or laundry starch. Pica generally affects small children, pregnant women, and people whose cultural environment is most compatible with the eating of non-food items.

Avian Flu

 

Humans have no immunity to the powerful flu virus carried by birds, which health official fear could mutate into a strain that can be transmitted between humans. Death rates for human infected are around 50 percent but, so far, humans have been infected mostly by direct handling with infected birds. A recent cluster of cases, however, appeared to involved its spread between people.

 

  

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating reports that the deaths of 12 Japanese children may be linked to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. The possibility has caused alarm, since millions of doses of the drug are currently being stockpiled for use in a potential flu pandemic.

 

Also Linked to Seizures

 

Tamiflu has also been linked to neuropsychiatric incidents in children, including seizures, loss of consciousness, and delirium.

 

Jumping Off of Roofs 

The reports mention incidents including:

  

• A 14-year-old boy with flu took a dose of Tamiflu and two hours later fell from the ninth floor of his apartment building
• Another child, hours after taking a dose, jumped from the second floor of his house into deep snow

Tamiflu Used FAR More Frequently in Japan

However, it is important to realize that the reason Tamiflu side effects may show up earlier in Japan is that Tamiflu is used 12 times more frequently in Japan than in the United States -- 11.6 million prescriptions for children in Japan between 2001 and 2005, compared to about 872,000 during that same period in the United States.     Flu Shots Ineffective for the Elderly   

In related news, two new studies have shown that flu shots provide at most modest protection against the flu for those over 65. A review of 71 previous studies found that flu shots prevent just 25 percent of flu-like illnesses, hospital admissions and flu-related deaths among the elderly. Among elderly people living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, the vaccines prevented 45 percent of these conditions.

 

A second review also found that flu shots given to staff at nursing homes do not decrease cases of flu or lower respiratory tract infections among the patients.

 

Other Reasons for the Statistics

  

Statistics show that those who receive a flu shot are among the least likely to die from any cause in a given year, but this could be a result of the fact that those who get flu shots are also more likely to have higher incomes and better health care to begin with.

  USA Today July 19, 2006The Cochrane Library July 19, 2006Yahoo News July 20, 2006   The Common Cold Even with an estimated one billion cases in the United States every year, doctors still know very little about the nose-running, cough-inducing cold, whose root causes number in the hundreds (some headway is being made). Time and chicken soup, not antibiotics, is often the only prescription that helps.  

Happiness, along with other positive emotions, could be even more important to health than had been previously thought.

 

A recent study finds that those who are happy, lively, calm or otherwise generally exhibit positive emotions are less likely to become ill when they are exposed to a cold virus.

 

What's more, when happy people do catch a cold, they report fewer symptoms than might be expected.

 

Previous studies had reported similar results, but left open the possibility that the greater resistance to infections may not have been related to happiness per se, but to other characteristics often associated with happy people. But this latest study controls for those variables, and still found that those who report positive emotions are less likely to catch colds, regardless of such factors as age, race, gender or body mass index.

 

Psych Central EurekAlert    

 

Alzheimer's Disease

  

Not to be confused with the forgetfulness that affects most everyone in their later years, Alzheimer's is a degenerative brain disorder that manifests differently in each of its sufferers. The exact cause isn't understood and it can't be effectively treated.

 

Although exercise is usually promoted for weight loss and better heart health, there is growing evidence that regular physical activity helps ward off mental declines as people age, and may even protect against Alzheimer's disease. A new study out of Canada suggests that exercise cuts the risk of Alzheimer's and less-devastating mental losses, particularly in women.

 

In a 5-year study of men and women aged 65 and older, researchers found that exercisers were less likely to develop Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, and were less likely to see a drop-off in their mental abilities.

 

The more a person exercised, the greater the protection for the brain.

People with the highest activity levels were half as likely as inactive individuals to develop Alzheimer's, and were around 40% less likely to suffer any dementia or mental impairment, the report indicates.   

Previous research has suggested exercise helps people retain their mental prowess as they age, and may even stave off Alzheimer's and other dementia. It has been suggested that because exercise helps maintain healthy blood flow and lowers high blood pressure and cholesterol, it may protect the brain just as it does the heart and other organs.

  

The investigators found that the more activity the nearly 5,000 study participants reported at the study's start, the less likely they were to suffer mental decline.

  

People who exercised vigorously at least three times per week were considered highly active and had the lowest Alzheimer's risk.

 

But those who engaged in light or moderate exercise also saw significant cuts in their risks for Alzheimer's and mental decline.

 

Women got the lion's share of these benefits. Although there was an association between exercise and lowered risk of mental decline among men, the researchers report, the link was not nearly as strong as that for women. The reasons are unclear. 

Archives of Neurology   

AIDS

 

 

Twenty-five years since it was first identified, there is still no cure for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS remains among the world's most potent killers, especially in developing countries. The disease likely started with a chimp to human jump, recent research confirmed.

 

Two international trials of Merck & Co. Inc.’s experimental AIDS vaccine were stopped after researchers realized the vaccine did not prevent infection with the AIDS virus.

 

Instead, indications suggest that the vaccine may actually raise the risk of infection, though it cannot cause an HIV infection itself.   Now, Merck has announced that it will “unblind” the study, and let the thousands of volunteers know who received the active vaccine and who got a dummy shot.   

Researchers have begun counseling volunteers that they could now be at a higher risk of contracting HIV.

 

The AIDS vaccine trials were conducted in the United States, Peru, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Australia and South Africa. Reuters 

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