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Cardiologists’ Study Shows Red Yeast Rice Cuts Cholesterol

July 26th, 2009

From MedicalNewsToday.com:

New research from two Philadelphia-area cardiologists finds that an over-the-counter dietary supplement sold at pharmacies and health food stores may be an alternative for patients who cannot take traditional statin medications to lower cholesterol because of statin-related muscle pain. The findings of their study, “Red Yeast Rice for Dyslipidemia in Statin-Intolerant Patients,” appear in the June 16, 2009 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

Cardiologists David Becker, M.D., and Ram Gordon, M.D., Chestnut Hill Cardiology, studied 62 patients with high cholesterol in the first randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial to evaluate red yeast rice in patients with a history of statin-associated myalgias (side effects that include muscle pain and weakness). Thirty-one of the patients took three 600-mg capsules of red yeast rice twice per day over the course of six months, and the other half received identical placebo tablets. The red yeast rice patients also participated in weekly meetings for the first three months, where they were taught about heart disease and how to incorporate heart-healthy nutrition, exercise and stress management into their lives.

At the conclusion of the study, the research found:

- Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (also known as “bad cholesterol”) levels decreased more in the patients receiving the red yeast rice (average decrease, 35 mg/dL) than in patients receiving the placebo (average decrease, 15 mg/dL).

- Total cholesterol levels improved more in the red yeast rice group than in the placebo group.

- Muscle pain scores, weight loss, HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein or “good cholesterol”) and liver or muscle enzyme levels did not differ between the two groups.

Red Yeast Rice, a staple of Chinese medicine for more than a thousand years, is derived from a fungus that grows on rice. A series of compounds within the red yeast rice have been found to slow the production of cholesterol in the liver. The medical community, however, has been slow to consider its potential use as an alternative treatment therapy for patients with statin-associated myalgias because the supplement is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

“Every physician has patients who refuse to take statins or have significant side effects from them,” says Dr. Becker. “One of the largest challenges in the medical community has been that there is no agreement or consensus on how to treat these patients. We are convinced that our research may lead to some answers.”

Dr. Gordon remarked, “Statins have revolutionized the way doctors have taken care of cardiac patients over the past two decades. But for patients that cannot tolerate them, the side effects are considerable.” Some studies have estimated that up to 15% of patients taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs have to stop because of muscle pain. According to IMS Health, a drug tracking company, more than 200 million statin prescriptions were filled in 2008.

Dr. Gordon added, “While red yeast rice isn’t appropriate for everyone, the goal of our research was to see if it has potential to be an option for those patients who discontinue their statins because of the side effects. Often these patients with high cholesterol are left without lipid-lowering therapy. This is especially worrisome if the patient has a history of heart attacks, stents, bypass surgery or strokes.”

Dr. Becker and Dr. Gordon are in private practice at Chestnut Hill Cardiology in Flourtown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia and are on the staff of Chestnut Hill Hospital and Abington Memorial Hospital. They also conduct an innovative cardiac prevention program called “Change of Heart,” which was developed by Dr. Becker in 1993. The 10-week program takes a holistic approach to cardiac wellness, utilizing diet, exercise, stress management and traditional and alternative treatment therapies to help people reduce and even reverse the effects of coronary artery disease.

Dr. Becker said, “Our present medical system places very little emphasis on educating patients. We employ a team approach. Patients work closely with dietitians, fitness experts and stress management counselors, and we provide the physician perspective to help them evaluate and consider traditional treatment and alternative therapies. We passionately believe that patients need to take control of their cardiac destiny.”

“Aside from its findings, this study is unique because it is truly rooted in our community rather than the commercial interests of pharmaceutical companies,” says Brooks Turkel, CEO of Chestnut Hill Hospital. “The premise of the research was established because local patients inquired about alternatives to cholesterol lowering drugs and the potential undesirable side effects. Our cardiologists, motivated to provide their patients with alternatives, developed a life-style modification program, Change of Heart, which has served as a springboard for further research involving natural supplements. We at Chestnut Hill Hospital are very proud that the research by Drs. Becker, Gordon and their team has gained the recognition of the national medical community.”

Ants More Rational Than Humans?

July 25th, 2009

From ScienceDaily.com:

In a study released online on July 22 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, researchers at Arizona State University and Princeton University show that ants can accomplish a task more rationally than our – multimodal, egg-headed, tool-using, bipedal, opposing-thumbed – selves.

This is not the case of humans being “stupider” than ants. Humans and animals simply often make irrational choices when faced with very challenging decisions, note the study’s architects Stephen Pratt and Susan Edwards.

“This paradoxical outcome is based on apparent constraint: most individual ants know of only a single option, and the colony’s collective choice self-organizes from interactions among many poorly-informed ants,” says Pratt, an assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The authors’ insights arose from an examination of the process of nest selection in the ant, Temnothorax curvispinosus. These ant colonies live in small cavities, as small as an acorn, and are skillful in finding new places to roost. The challenge before the colony was to “choose” a nest, when offered two options with very similar advantages.

What the authors found is that in collective decision-making in ants, the lack of individual options translated into more accurate outcomes by minimizing the chances for individuals to make mistakes. A “wisdom of crowds” approach emerges, Pratt believes.

“Rationality in this case should be thought of as meaning that a decision-maker, who is trying to maximize something, should simply be consistent in its preferences.” Pratt says. “For animals trying to maximize their fitness, for example, they should always rank options, whether these are food sources, mates, or nest sites, according to their fitness contribution.”

“Which means that it would be irrational to prefer choice ‘A’ to ‘B’ on Tuesday and then to prefer ‘B’ to ‘A’ on Wednesday, if the fitness returns of the two options have not changed.”

“Typically we think having many individual options, strategies and approaches are beneficial,” Pratt adds, “but irrational errors are more likely to arise when individuals make direct comparisons among options.”

Studies of how or why irrationality arises can give insight into cognitive mechanisms and constraints, as well as how collective decision making occurs. Insights such as Pratt’s and Edward’s could also translate into new approaches in the development of artificial intelligence.

“A key idea in collective robotics is that the individual robots can be relatively simple and unsophisticated, but you can still get a complex, intelligent result out of the whole group,” says Pratt. “The ability to function without complex central control is really desirable in an artificial system and the idea that limitations at the individual level can actually help at the group level is potentially very useful.” Pratt is a member of Heterogeneous Unmanned Networked Team (HUNT), a project funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to enable to development of bio-inspired solutions to engineering problems.

What do these findings potentially say about understanding human social systems?

“It is hard to say. But it’s at least worth entertaining the possibility that some strategic limitation on individual knowledge could improve the performance of a large and complex group that is trying to accomplish something collectively,” Pratt says.

FDA Cautions Public About Electronic Cigarettes

July 24th, 2009

From WashingtonPost.com:

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that an analysis of leading brands of electronic cigarettes, a new type of “smokeless” nicotine product, detected carcinogens and a chemical used in antifreeze that is toxic to humans.

Officials at the FDA and other public health experts cautioned consumers against using the products, saying that the health effects of electronic cigarettes are unknown.

“The FDA is concerned about the safety of these products and how they are marketed to the public,” said Margaret A. Hamburg, the agency’s commissioner.

The FDA studied the ingredients in cartridges from two leading brands of electronic cigarettes. In one sample, it detected diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze. Other samples turned up carcinogens, including nitrosamines, according to the agency.

Electronic cigarettes, also called “e-cigarettes,” are battery-operated devices that generally contain cartridges filled with nicotine, flavor and other chemicals. The electronic cigarette turns nicotine, which is highly addictive, and other chemicals into a vapor that is inhaled by the user. Since they produce no smoke, they can be used in workplaces, restaurants and airports.

The products are relatively new and began appearing on the market about five years ago, sold over the Internet, in mall kiosks and in stores. They often come in candy and fruit flavors, leading critics to charge that they are being targeted toward children.

The FDA considers e-cigarettes to be drug devices and, as such, says that manufacturers must first get federal approval to market them. It has refused to allow imports of e-cigarettes.

In May, two e-cigarette suppliers filed suit against the FDA to allow the shipments, claiming that the regulatory agency has no authority over the products. The suit is pending in a District federal court.

New Study Links Monsanto’s Roundup to Cancer

July 23rd, 2009

From OrganicConsumers.org:

A recent study by eminent oncologists Dr. Lennart Hardell and Dr. Mikael
Eriksson of Sweden [1], has revealed clear links between one of the
world’s biggest selling herbicide, glyphosate, to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form
of cancer [2].

In the study published in the 15 March 1999 Journal of American Cancer
Society, the researchers also maintain that exposure to glyphosate
‘yielded increased risks for NHL.’ They stress that with the rapidly increasing use
of glyphosate since the time the study was carried out, ‘glyphosate
deserves further epidemiologic studies.’

Glyphosate, commonly known as Roundup, is the world’s most widely used
herbicide. It is estimated that for 1998, over a 112,000 tonnes of
glyphosate was used world-wide. It indiscriminately kills off a wide
variety of weeds after application and is primarily used to control annual
and perennial plants.

71% of genetically engineered crops planted in 1998 are designed to be
resistant to herbicides such as glyphosate, marketed by Monsanto as
Roundup. Companies developing herbicide resistant crops are also
increasing
their production capacity for the herbicides such as glyphosate, and also
requesting permits for higher residues of these chemicals in genetically
engineered food. For example, Monsanto have already received permits for a
threefold increase in herbicide residues on genetically engineered
soybeans
in Europe and the U.S., up from 6 parts per million (PPM) to 20 PPM.

According to Sadhbh O’ Neill of Genetic Concern, ‘this study reinforces
concerns by environmentalists and health professionals that far from
reducing herbicide use, glyphosate resistant crops may result in increased
residues to which we as consumers will be exposed in our food.’

‘Increased residues of glyphosate and its metabolites are already on sale
via genetically engineered soya, common in processed foods. However no
studies of the effects of GE soya sprayed with Roundup on health have been
carried out either on animals or humans to date,’ she continued.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics from 1997
show that expanded plantings of Roundup Ready soybeans (i.e. soybeans
genetically engineered to be tolerant to the herbicide) resulted in a 72%
increase in the use of glyphosate. According to the Pesticides Action
Network, scientists estimate that plants genetically engineered to be
herbicide resistant will actually triple the amount of herbicides used.
Farmers, knowing that their crop can tolerate or resist being killed off
by
the herbicides, will tend to use them more liberally.

O’ Neill concluded: ‘The EPA when authorising Monsanto’s field trials for
Roundup-ready sugar beet did not consider the issue of glyphosate. They
considered this to be the remit of the Pesticides Control Service of the
Department of Agriculture. Thus nobody has included the effects of
increasing the use of glyphosate in the risk/benefit analysis carried out.
It is yet another example of how regulatory authorities supposedly
protecting public health have failed to implement the ‘precautionary
principle’ with respect to GMOs.’

The Magic of Groundhog Day, by Paul Hannam

July 22nd, 2009

Book Review – Available on Amazon.com
“Paul Hannam has written an insightful book that can help us all get out of our own ruts and live more productive and joyful lives. THE MAGIC OF GROUNDHOG DAY is enjoyable entertainment and a remarkable self-help guide as well.” — Thom Hartmann, Author of “Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight” and host of THE THOM HARTMANN RADIO SHOW on AIR AMERICA.

“I recommend The Magic of Groundhog Day as a stimulating and effective guide to living and working. It can help executives and employees break free from limiting habits.” — Marshall Goldsmith, Author of “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”, (Hyperion) the New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal #1 business book.

“Paul Hannam does an excellent job of highlighting the problems of getting stuck in a routine. He shows how you can break out of a routine and start thinking ‘What do I really want to do, and how can I go about achieving that?’ It’s an extremely valuable book.” — Richard Price, PhD Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford Richard Price, PhD Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford Richard Price, PhD, Fellow of All Souls College,University of Oxford

I hope you enjoy this book as I did, are entertained and stimulated. Whether you are interested in solving the world’s problems, revisiting issues affecting your own life, or simply peering at the movie from new angles, I invite you onward through these pages to spend a bit more time immersing yourself in the magic that is Groundhog Day. — Danny Rubin, Creator and screenwriter of the movie “Groundhog Day”

I recommend The Magic of Groundhog Day as a stimulating and effective guide to living and working. It can help executives and employees break free from limiting habits. — Marshall Goldsmith, Author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, the New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal #1 business book

Paul Hannam does an excellent job of highlighting the problems of getting stuck in a routine. He shows how you can break out of a routine and start thinking ‘What do I really want to do, and how can I go about achieving that?’ It’s an extremely valuable book. — Richard Price, PhD, Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford

Paul Hannam has written an insightful book that can help us all get out of our own ruts and live more productive and joyful lives. The Magic of Groundhog Day is enjoyable entertainment and a remarkable self-help guide as well. — Thom Hartmann, Author of Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight and host of the Thom Hartmann Radio Show on Air America

Using the 1993 movie Groundhog Day as a springboard to illustrate the principle of repetitive thought patterns, professional entrepreneur and lecturer Hannam (Oxford Univ. Environmental Change Inst.; coauthor, Take Charge of Your Mind) discusses how to change one’s inner life to see the beauty in the world. According to Hannam, the “groundhog effect” is the force that keeps people feeling stuck and powerless to change. Only by breaking free of this looplike effect, he posits, can they liberate themselves to enjoy healthy habits, relationships, and careers. Hannam instructs readers on how to do this on first a personal and then an environmental level, offering a fresh approach to changing old behaviors. Recommended for all libraries. — Library Journal Review January 15, 2008

Product Description
The movie Groundhog Day has touched millions with its hilarious and profound tale of personal transformation. The day does not change, the location does not change, and the townspeople do not change. It is the main character, Phil Connors, who changes. His extraordinary journey involves no travel, only a change in his mind and heart. He turns the worst day into the best day of his life, simply by thinking and acting differently.
Now The Magic of Groundhog Day reveals how you can transfer the magic of the movie into your own life at home and work. You too can break free from repetitive thoughts and behaviors that keep you stuck in a rut, and transform a mundane day into a magical day by simply changing your attitudes. You too can wake up to the ever-present magic and discover the extraordinary in the ordinary. You too can create the Life you want to live, not the one you were conditioned to live.