Autoimmune Disorders May Cause "Mental" Illness

This may be a hugely important breakthrough. Dr. Sander Markx at Columbia successfully treated a woman who was catatonic for two decades and misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, using a regimen for lupus. The story was in the Washington Post and Essence Magazine. 

Read about the work at Precision Medicine.

https://www.precisionmedicine.columbia.edu/.../precision...

“The last several years have marked a turning point in our understanding of the genetics of behavioral brain disorders including traditionally thought of mental illness (like mood, anxiety, psychotic and eating disorders), intellectual disturbances (such as autism, learning disabilities, ADHD) and addictions (to alcohol, prescription, and recreational drugs). The increasing sophistication of genomic medicine has enabled us to reliably map genetic mutations that underlie debilitating psychiatric disorders of individual patients. The diagnostic clinic for precision neuropsychiatry is positioned to follow up on these findings, efficiently study the biologic consequences of these mutations and screen for novel treatments for psychiatric disorders for which there are currently few viable treatment options available, such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and mood disorders.” 

Here we are...

In a Pandemic.

 This is almost overwhelming. I pray for those who are suffering and for the well-being of all those who are taking care of them. I pray that effective treatments will be found soon. In the meantime, stay as safe as you can!

Why the Anti-Abortion Movement is a Wasted Effort

Well, I've been disappointed in the number of people who voted for a candidate on the basis of his anti-abortion views. Never mind that he did not hold that position until he was running for office! But why does this position outweigh serious deficiencies in a person's character? People are so easily fooled!

Personally I am pro-choice, even though I am also pro-child. I happen to be old enough to remember the days when abortion was illegal. It was still common but it was dangerous! And many women tried to bring on miscarriages by various means like jumping off tables — risky but desperate actions! Legal abortions are much safer.

It makes better sense to increase access to birth control and motivate both genders to use it. Of course, abstinence is still an option, although it seems to be very difficult for young people whose hormones are pulsing. Still, they are more likely to choose it if they have self-confidence and see a bright future ahead, with opportunities to be gained by postponing intimate relationships.

A major newspaper reports that when legislation makes abortion hard to obtain, internet searches on do-it-yourself abortion increase. So it's too late to stop abortion anyway! (See this Glamour magazine article.) I am not advocating that anyone get an abortion drug from Mexico, by the way. Even for herbal abortions, women need to be very well-informed before taking them because even culinary herbs can be dangerous in high quantities. But these herbs will never be outlawed because we need them for cooking! And vitamin C is not likely to be outlawed either!

With all this in mind, keeping abortion legal is essential. Doctors should be involved in the decision so that safety can be assured.

Oh no! Bedbugs!?

My spouse and I got itchy bug bites on our legs which I thought were chigger bites. After all, it is summer and we had walked through damp grass. But when the spots spread and then spread again, my husband called the doctor.

It was the nurse who greeted us who said it first: "Bedbugs!"  Oh, no!

I never had a problem with bedbugs before but of course I had heard of them. And we had stayed in a hotel a few weeks before, which the doctor says fits the pattern. He prescribed a cream and said to launder all bedding the next day. We did, and also vacuumed the carpets and furniture and checked the mattress. It was already encased in a allergy-resistant cover which apparently protected it. I rolled a sticky lint-removal gadget back and forth over the cover and found no bugs. I guess they got on us at the hotel but did not have a chance to spread throughout our home.

The itchy bites are fading. Next time we go to a hotel I'll be more careful. I'll keep the luggage off the bed and carpet and check the bedding first thing.

By the way, the hotel was expensive because it faced the ocean. This did not mean it was immune to bedbugs, though, so be cautious when you travel.

Probiotic News

I read a very interesting article on probiotics that lower inflammation on the Low Histamine Chef site. I take Bifidobacterium infantis as Lifestart 2 by Natren. It seems to agree with me.

Many other probiotics have caused me problems, probably because they contain yeast.  My doctor believes that probiotics can help me, but he admits that they usually only stay in the intestine for a few days, not permanently.

Recognizing Verbal Abuse

I just read The Verbally Abusive Relationship by Patricia Evans. I found it very informative, although it does have a gender bias due to the author's experience being limited to helping women more than men. She admits this and says that men can also be victims of verbal abuse but this particular book is aimed at women.

Ms. Evans has a website and there you can read many of the points made in the book.

Verbal abuse includes withholding, bullying, defaming, defining, trivializing, harassing, diverting, interrogating, accusing, blaming, blocking, countering, lying, berating, taunting, put downs, abuse disguised as a joke, discounting, threatening, name-calling, yelling and raging.

Early in a marriage, the abused person may be surprised by the change in her spouse, and may wonder what she did to make him angry. Ms. Evans points out that it is probably less about what she did than it is his need to control. Farther on in the book, she provides some ways to react to verbal abuse. Examples include responding to:

• Ordering: Say "Do you hear yourself?" or "I don't follow orders."
• Anger: Try "Stop! Take a deep breath and please talk nicely" or "You may not raise your voice to me!"

Although Patricia Evans is not a psychotherapist, she has years of experience in the field of interpersonal communications. If you think you are being verbally abused, this book can be helpful.

Pesticides and Chlorine May Cause Food Allergies

Why are food allergies becoming so common? The hygiene hypothesis has been around for a while, linking extra-clean households with allergies. A recent study offers a possible reason: Pesticides and chlorine may kill the naturally occurring "good" bacteria in humans’ digestive systems, causing food allergies.

Antibiotics were previously linked in the same way. We need certain bacteria in our guts in order to digest food properly. Killing of the bacteria that live inside us may be hazardous to our health.

Methylene Chloride in Enteric Coating

I take SAM-e (S-adenosyl methionine) on the advice of my doctor. It's said to help relieve arthritic-type pain and depression. I'm supposed to take 400 mg. before breakfast and 200 mg. later in the day. I look for brands that are free of yeast and sugar alcohols. 

Recently I ordered a new box of SAM-e online and when it came, I was surprised to see Isopropyl Alcohol and Methylene Chloride listed as ingredients. They were not listed on the online ingredient list when I purchased them.

Isopropyl alcohol and methylene chloride are toxic, so the amount used in the supplement is small. But methylene chloride is found in some furniture strippers and has caused fatalities. (See http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/methylene_chloride_addendum.pdf). So I called the manufacturer (Natrol). Their customer service rep explained that methylene chloride and isopropyl alcohol are part of the enteric coating. They have been in the product all along but were not required to be listed until recently! So I imagine that we will be seeing a lot of these ingredients revealed on labels now that regulations require it. Obviously the amount in a single tablet is small, but people who take a variety of coated medications and supplements might be consuming more than desirable. I was not able to find a site dealing with this issue but there must be one out there. Let me know in the comments if you know of a study on the safety of methylene chloride as an ingredient. 

NOTE: Although SAM-e is available without prescription in the USA, persons with bipolar conditions are advised to not take it. (See article.)