Medical Research

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Medical Research

Current medical research into health issues related to mold and other environmental toxins.

Gut Bacteria and MS

Monday, 25 April 2011 15:26 | Written by Andrea |

This is the third in a series of posts linking gut flora to health.

A study released last summer from the California Institute of Technology backs up this connection between gut lining and health, adding environmental factors to the picture. The study demonstrates a connection between MS (multiple sclerosis) and microbes, specifically microbes in the digestive tract.

According to this article appearing on the ScienceDaily website:

Although the cause of MS is unknown, microorganisms seem to play some sort of role. "In the literature from clinical studies, there are papers showing that microbes affect MS," Mazmanian says. "For example, the disease gets worse after viral infections, and bacterial infections cause an increase in MS symptoms."

The Brain-Gut Connection

Tuesday, 19 April 2011 11:51 | Written by Andrea |

"The primary seat of insanity generally is in the region of the stomach and intestines."

Philippe Pinel
1745-1826
Father of Modern Psychiatry

While our earlier entry titled Anxiety Toolbox listed some practical ways to help cope with our higher levels of anxiety, the following article by Dr. Joseph Mercola explains why digestive health is critical to recovery.

Most people fail to realize that your gut is quite literally your second brain, and actually has the ability to significantly influence your:

• Mind
• Mood
• Behavior

So while modern psychiatry still falsely claims that psychological problems such as depression are caused by a chemical imbalance in your brain, researchers keep finding that depression and a variety of behavioral problems actually appear to be linked to an imbalance of bacteria in your gut!

The Link Between Pesticides, Thyroid, and Health

Friday, 04 March 2011 10:53 | Written by Andrea |

The rampant use of pesticides is one of the great social tragedies of our day, in my opinion.

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR)'s Environmental Health Policy Institute, an online forum of physicians, health professionals, and environmental health experts, published the following article last week in response to the question, "How does our food production system drive our exposure to toxic chemicals?"

The author, Dr. Joanne Perron, offers this eye-opening answer, drawing on her personal journey with breast cancer and her years of experience as a physician.

As an OB/GYN who trained at Los Angeles County/USC Women’s Hospital during its heyday of 18,000 deliveries per year, I saw countless women with fibroids and ovarian masses the size of term pregnancies and an overwhelming number of third-world-like adverse birth outcomes, maternal and fetal. In those ancient times of the late 80s-early 90s, the prevailing wisdom was that these women, who often lacked preventive care, were the unfortunate carriers of bad genes. When people ask me how I first became interested in environmental causes of disease, I recall that I privately thought, never risking professional scorn as a resident, there had to be another component that conventional medical teachings ignored which contributed to the adverse reproductive disorders I was learning about.

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Growing Incidence of Food and Chemical Intolerances

Monday, 03 January 2011 15:40 | Written by Andrea |

Just before Christmas our oldest daughter developed swollen eyes, a puffy face, and fatigue while in her workplace. Her reaction remained a mystery until she had a similar response in a grocery store near the floral department. The common factor? Poinsettias. Was her reaction an allergic response to the plant itself? Or a response to the chemicals sprayed on the poinsettias? In all likelihood the chemicals were the problem, as multiple chemical sensitivity is now a daily part of her life.

More and more people suffer from chemical intolerance, food sensitivities, and allergies. According to this abstract of a study published in November in Science of the Total Environment, scientists believe we are seeing a pandemic of these illnesses.

Mercury / Alzheimer's Link

Wednesday, 17 November 2010 13:25 | Written by Andrea |

On the heels of the ban on mercury fillings in Costa Mesa, California (see previous post) comes this news from The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

According to Business Wire:

Mercury likely plays a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a review of relevant scientific literature published this month in The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Joachim Mutter of Germany, Dr. Richard Deth of the United States, and other esteemed researchers collaborated on the groundbreaking article Does Inorganic Mercury Play a Role in Alzheimer’s Disease? A Systematic Review and an Integrated Molecular Mechanism, which clarifies the need for continuing research to understand the cause of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The authors of the review use numerous peer-reviewed studies to suggest that a genetic predisposition and exposure to a neurotoxin such as mercury have to co-exist for Alzheimer’s disease to manifest itself. Dr. Richard Deth, co-author and professor of neuro-pharmacology at Northeastern University in Boston, explains: "Since the brain is more vulnerable to oxidative stress than any other organ, it is not surprising that mercury, which promotes oxidative stress, is an important risk factor for brain disorders." Dr. Deth’s motto: “Mercury is bad for the brain.”

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