The epidemiology of celiac disease that once was thought to be in the rage of 1 in 10,000 is now known to be in the neighborhood of 1 in 133, although not all individuals with the disease face the same set of symptoms that makes celiac and other food-related conditions so dangerous and widespread.

Dr. Alessio Fasano, Medical Director with the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland Medical Center, has attributed gluten intolerance to classic gastrointestinal problems including diarrhea, bloating, and indigestion and leading to disruptions in nutrient absorption. For example, failure to properly absorb iron may lead to anemia, whereas failure to absorb folate may lead to a variety of neurological conditions. Malabsorption of specific nutrients may lead to such diverse conditions as osteoporosis, joint pain, chronic fatigue, skin lesions (eczema, psoriasis), epilepsy, dementia, schizophrenia, depression, and seizures. In addition to the above conditions, the following diseases or conditions are considered autoimmune in nature: diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, breast cancer, acute ischemic heart disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Read More:

24-7 Press Release

Scientific America :  Celiac Disease Insights: Clues to Solving Autoimmunity

A media release from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences said the conditions are known as myositis, dermatomyositis and polymyositis.

According to Dr. Frederick Miller, “We only found the association between UV exposure and dermatomyositis in women and not in men, and it could be that inherent differences in how women and men respond to UV radiation may play a role in the development of certain autoimmune diseases.”

Other studies have shown that that female mice develop more skin inflammation after UV light exposure. The results were based on information on 380 patients with some form of myositis. The study was published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

OMRF researcher Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., and Lauren Cole, a graduate student in James’s lab, have found that in people who are genetically predisposed to lupus, a vitamin D deficiency could serve as a catalyst to developing the disease. The finding could potentially be useful in treating lupus, which affects up to 2 million Americans and has no known cure.

“Researchers had previously linked vitamin D deficiency with autoimmune diseases like lupus,” Cole said. “What we found is that in both lupus patients and healthy individuals, low levels of vitamin D correlated with increased autoantibodies”—proteins that attack the body’s own tissue. “By boosting vitamin D levels, we’d hope to see a drop in autoantibodies,” Cole said.

Source:  Bixby Bulletin: OMRF researchers link vitamin D deficiency with lupus

I remember when baby boomers were once considered part of the “Me Generation”.  That was later taken back when it was realized we really did act or act out in groups.  We protested together, celebrated together, and were big on meetings and seminars.  The real “Me Generation” came along well after the protests for civil rights or women’s rights.  They neither knew nor understood the concept of putting duty before self.

That may have changed now that we have gotten older and now we spend lavishly on ourselves, want to hold as much as we can for ourselves, and we tend to be a little more selfish with out time and perhaps our attentions.  We don’t mind giving generously to non-profits or what we deem worthy causes but, paying a little more in taxes or wanting to give a little to help many, well, we kind of roll up into a tight little ball screaming it’s my party.

The article “Health Reform: Is “What’s In It For Me” All That Matters?” is a quick but interesting read, particularly the comments.   In the article, the author writes:

As President Barack Obama and Congress wrestle with the difficult details of health care reform, various politicians and pundits warn that no legislation will pass unless voters first can understand “What’s In It for Me?” The “me,” of course, is the majority of Americans who already have some form of insurance and are generally satisfied with their care. It is not the 47 million uninsured, who evidently do not have enough electoral clout to matter. But I wonder—are we Americans really so cold-hearted that self-interest is all that matters when it comes to national policy?

As parents, most of us teach our children from their earliest years about empathy, about considering the feelings and needs of others. We urge them to donate at church, volunteer in the community, raise money for their school, join sports team where the whole is more important than the individual. Once they become voters, are they supposed to forget all that?

Hmm, touche.  I will admit, I’ve not seen anything concrete from the seat of government that tells me what health care reform will be, what it entails, heck, I can’t even figure out why some folks are showing up at town hall meetings screaming their lungs out because nothing has been written in stone, or even talked about.  What I have noticed is the hostility focused at the public component of the “vapor bill” — what’s that about?  These hostile faces and voices almost remind me of the folks I saw lined up outside of an elementary school when black children arrived to attend classes.  These folks are displaying some seriously distorted faces — I hope someone is taking pictures.

Anywho, when I have a little time I will share some things I’ve heard recently about health care as it exists curently in this country.  It’s almost embarassing.  In the meantime, read the article and the comments.  It’s short but it made me think about a few things.

Carl G. Jung

If Carl Jung were alive today I wonder what thoughts he would have on the two recent incidents circulating in the media.  For me, these incidents tell me we have lost our vision, our sight as we are now focused on people, places and things and not on who we are and who we could be.

The Pantheon in Rome has an oculus, or eye, at the top of the temple.  Hadrian wanted the hole to reveal the sky so that it would be reflective of the human condition: we are exposed to the infinite universe while enclosed in our own shelter.    For me, I see the eye as Meister Eckhart reflects “the eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me.” It is said our bodies are our temples and like the Pantheon, we too have an oculus — that eye which sees God is the same eye which God sees us.  To close off the oculus would mean the end of communication and unfortunately, in these times, we are finding it more and more prudent to close the eye, plaster over the ceiling, as if somehow seeing makes us too vulnerable.

I wish more people reflected more on their interior lives allowing themselves the benefit of the eye to focus both outward to the heavens — less on people, places or things — and allow God — and I don’t care what God you choose to worship — to likewise look through that same eye on us.  It is a spiritual path that leads to spiritual growth which ultimately leads to wisdom.  I’m not talking about going to church on Sunday to give lip service to God only to retreat home to worship your real God — Plasma TV, music, cars, shoes, whatever.

Jung talked often of archetypes.  The anima and animus represented our female and male roles and urges.  The Anima is the personification of all feminine psychological tendencies within a man, the archetypal feminine symbolism within a man’s unconscious. The Animus is the personification of all masculine psychological tendencies within a woman, the archetypal masculine symbolism within a woman’s unconscious.

The unindividuated man identifies with those personal qualities that are symbolically masculine; he develops these potentialities and to some extent integrates their unconcious influences into his conscious personality. However, he does not recognize qualities that are symbolically feminine as part of his own personality but rather projects them onto women.  Amina possesion happens when the unindividuated man has not consciously developed any of his symbolically feminine qualities (e.g. emotion, need for relatedness), his personality is apt to be taken over or “possessed” by these qualities at times, so that his emotional behavior and relationships may be acted out in childish and immature ways that are apparent to others but not to him.

The unindividuated woman identifies with those personal qualities that are symbolically feminine; she develops these potentialities and to some extent integrates their unconcious influences into her conscious personality. However, she does not recognize qualities that are symbolically masculine as part of her own personality but rather projects them onto men.  Aminus posession happens when the unindividuated woman has not consciously developed any of her symbolically masculine qualities (e.g. logic, leadership, need for independence), her personality is apt to be taken over or “possessed” by these qualities at times, so that she appears opinionated, argumentative, or domineering to others, though she will not think of herself that way.

From:  ANIMA/ANIMUS: the archetype of contrasexuality

Two recent incidents have bothered me because the two people involved sunk to levels of immaturity.  One drank excessively while driving with children in the car and ended up killing herself, her three nieces and two men in an SUV.  The other talked negatively about women to the point he plotted and carried out killing women at the gym he frequented.  If we look at the symbolism surrounding these two incidents it’s frightening.

Both individuals could be described as successful and having everything.  The woman was described as a cable executive and the man had a good job, survived several layoffs and was recently promoted.  In both cases the words chosen to describe them would give the appearance they had it all, success, money, an overall good life.  But, as can be seen, it ain’t necessarily so.

Diane Schuler is the 36-year old mother everyone is talking about now.  She was a wife and mother of two children who drove her car the wrong way along a New York expressway while drunk on Vodka (blood alcohol level was 0.19) and apparently she had a “high level” (113 nanograms per milliliter) of THC (from marijuana) in her system which is said to have been consumed within 15 to 45 minutes prior to the accident.  She had undigested alcohol (6 grams or 0.2 ounces) in her system which means she was drinking while driving.  This is important because she was doing this while driving a minivan carrying five young children.

In the end, Ms. Schuler ended up killing her daughter and three nieces, critically injuring her son and she killed three men in an SUV she struck head-on.  Ms. Schuler also died in the accident.  What went wrong?

She is described as a loving and very caring mother, a cable executive, businesswoman and “an accomplished working mother who always put her children before any other priorities.”  However, she was also described that day as driving erratically on other upstate roads before getting on the highway.  Witnesses said they saw her minivan straddling two lanes and tailgating, with its headlights flashing and horn beeping.  Erratic?  Tailgaiting?  Headlights flashing and horn beeping?  What went wrong?

Prior to heading on that 140 mile trip home, Ms. Schuler left her husband at the campground.  The family had spent the weekend camping and her husband was heading off on a fishing trip.  Ms. Schuler was driving her brother’s minivan with her brother’s daughters inside.  She called her brother minutes prior to the accident to tell him she was not feeling well and he said she sounded disoriented.  He told her to pull over and he would come to her but she continued driving anyway.  Why?

Her husband said everything was fine when she left him at the campground but apparently, something was wrong.  Something caused her to want to smoke a joint and drink alcohol while driving five small children home that day.  Something went wrong inside.  Everyone saw the successful businesswoman and caring mother but sadly, no one saw the apparent gaping hole in her soul.

Perhaps she was imperfect and that’s actually okay but in today’s world imperfection is somehow not tolerated and that’s unfortunate.  Imperfection is what makes us human.  Instead, we would rather focus on the perfect home, perfect marriage, the beautiful children, the successful businesswoman, the caring mother, all that equates to big gaudy earrings seen as beautiful and hanging from very stretched earlobes.  We skew our eyes only to see the beautiful earrings and we’ll either not speak of, or will choose to simply ignore the deformed earlobes, deformed for the sake of outward beauty.

Did Ms. Schuler see herself, separated now from her husband who was off on a fishing trip, reduced to chauffeur, mother, woman, mule?  Did she fail to see her own worth as a woman, worthy of love, being loved, loving?  Did she suspect her husband was off on the Appalachian trail ultimately leading to Argentina?  Did her me, me, me, I, I, I, get in the way of seeing us?  Did her animus archetype feel injured?

Unfortunately, people want to know why this happened, how she could have done this, what was wrong with her and worse, many are now calling her selfish.  I will admit her actions were selfish as they were a call for help, a call that went horribly wrong and I’m sure this was not the outcome she wanted.  It was, more than likely, an acting out on something she had kept hidden for far too long.  The eye was closed and she could neither see in nor out.

As it is with most things, people will surely focus on the superficial.  They will wonder if she was an alcoholic all along.  They will call her a drug addict, selfish, crazy, and will denigrate her for driving drunk with children in the car.  That would be a very easy thing to do, point a finger and criticize but will anyone dig deeper?

This leads me to Mr. George Sodini, the man who decided to shoot up a class full of women in a Pittsbugh L.A. Fitness yesterday.  Mr. Sodini decided to upload or keep a journal of his feelings and what a story it tells.  Mr. Sodini was an attractive middle-aged man who was physically fit, worked in a nice lawfirm as a .NET specialist, survived many layoffs and was recently promoted on his job.  Apparently he owned his own home and was doing well for himself, at least that was the view from outside.  Inside, Mr. Sodini had issues with his family, his father and his “bully” brother.   He was often complimented but the compliments fell on deaf ears.

From his December 30, 2008 journal he writes:

While driving I radio surfed to a talk show. The caller was a 30ish black man who was describing the despair in certain black communities. According to him, life is cheap there because you are going to die anyway when you get old. It is the quality of life that is important, he said. If you know the past 40 years were crappy, why live another 30 crappy years then die? His point was they engage in dangerous behavior which tends to shorten the lifespans, to die now and avoid the next 30 crappy years, using my example. The host got sarcastic and ended the call instead of trying understanding his point. Agreement wasn’t necesary. I put music back on. But it was an interesting, and useful point for me to hear.

Emphasis added.  Most do not concern themselves with hosts getting sarcastic and ending a conversation without trying to understand another’s point of view.  On December 31, he decides to tell a little about his own life, from his point of view.

My anger and rage is largely gone since I began lifting weights. Lifting drains me but I still have energy. Somebody else suggested running but that did not help me. I guess strenuous exercise is necesary for a man. So I just learned that now at 48. Maybe 30 years later than I would have liked. My dad never (not once) talked to me or asked about my life’s details and tell me what he knew. He was just a useless sperm doner. Don’t know why, find it fun talking to young kids when I visit someone. Brother was actually counter-productive and would try to embarase me or discourage my efferts when persuing things, esp girls early on (teen years). Useless bully. Result is I am learning basics by trial and error in my 40s, followed by discuragement. Seems odd, but thats true. Writing all this is helping me justify my plan and to see the futility of continuing. Too embarassed to tell anyone this, at almost 50 one is expected to just know these things.

Mr. Sodini is obsessed with women not liking him, his not having sex for years, how a man needs a woman in his life but “30 million women” have rejected him.   He says “I can talk and joke around and sound happy but under it all is something different that seems unchangable and a permanent part of my being. I need to realize the details of what I never accomplished in life and to be convinced the future is merely a continuation of the past – WHICH IT ALWAYS has been.”

Sad, very sad.  He had so much to offer but his vision was blocked, the eye was closed.  He saw others, he saw his neighbor, he heard what others thought, but he never saw himself except to notice his own unhappiness. His anima archetype was terribly distorted.  Aphrodite became one of his “hoez” and yesterday, while women exercised in a Latin jazz class, Mr. Sodini decided he would kill his anima in darkness.  He walked into the class, saw all of the women, put down his bag, withdrew two guns, turned off the lights and began shooting indiscriminately.  The symbolism here tells a story, the same story that is reflected in his writings.

One could say Mr. Sodoni was the unindividuated man who was Amina possessed.  The women had become “hoez” the ceiling of the Pantheon had been plastered over and there was no room for communication, not any more. For him, all that was left was fade to black.

Ms. Schuler killed herself, her daughter, her husband’s daughters, her brother’s daughters, and three men in an SUV — a father, a son and a male family friend.  Only her son survived.  Mr. Sardoni set out to kill women and he killed four women injuring 10 others.

Amina/Aminus.  My guess is, as we move forward we will see more of these.  Actually, all one need do is tune into YouTube and you will see more men spewing hatred at women and more women spewing hatred at men than anything I’ve seen in my lifetime.    There is no looking to the universe or God and there is no God looking back at us.  Two way conversations are now one way shouting matches.  We’ve closed up and plastered over the hole in the temple.

Amina/Aminus and no wisdom.

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

]]> http://femmenoir.net/2009/08/05/welcome-home-laura-ling-and-euna-lee/feed/ 0 http://femmenoir.net/2009/08/04/constant-cravings/ http://femmenoir.net/2009/08/04/constant-cravings/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:42:48 +0000 A.D. Odom http://stateandlake.net/ado/?p=4541 I planned on doing weekly updates after my first chemo treatment with IV Cytoxan but, I was feeling so good I forgot.  Yes, I’m doing fine, have had no complaints, and even better, no nausea.  The only complaint I can muster is one having to do with my heart.

As noted in my original post, my heart fought hard against the medication as the drug  was going into my body and it has been fighting hard against it ever since.  It hasn’t been anything to write home about and it certainly hasn’t concerned me enough to want to run, not walk, to the nearest emergency room.

Since the treatment, I have been experiencing irregular heart beats.  To be honest, I’ve had them all of my life so I really don’t worry much about them but as I move closer to my next treatment date, I’m wondering if I will be able to undergo the next treatment if this persists.

Other than the aforementioned heart palpitations, which are troubling, yes, I’ve had no other complaints.  The oncologist told me I would notice problems in the second week because my blood levels may change — swinging to low red cells or high white cells — but again, I’ve noticed nothing that would give rise for significant concern.

Last week I did have a problem and it was very rough on me.  I am contributing this bit of strangeness to my eating a whole, huge, ginormous bunch of grapes.  Since I am a renal patient, I have to be careful with grapes and raisins.  Last week I forgot about this and instead of eating a few grapes — under my renal diet I should eat one cup of grapes per day — I ate an entire bunch because they were so good and sweet.  The next day I had a bit-o-pain in my kidneys which developed into great pains, a gnashing of teeth, a tearing of clothes and many tears.  Yes, the pain was that great.  Unfortunately, I am also a true Taurus and as such decided, wrongly I might add, to take nothing for my troubles which in turn caused even more pain.

Of course the grapes did their mighty work and of course, I had to do what the grapes commanded I do which also caused me great pain every time I pushed — I will not labor the point beyond that.  Unfortunately, pushing caused the pain to radiate from my kidneys to every part of my body and beyond, into the universe, and of course my blood pressure soared to new levels as a result.

The bull finally backed down from her stubbornness and quickly seized upon a bottle of Vicodin, swallowed it before water could offer assistance, and the bull took herself to bed.  Oh yes, she also took a super-sized blood pressure pill.  By the time the bull awakened later that evening the pain was long gone and the oversized bull had been reduced to something on the order of an English Bulldog.  Bow wow and Thank God!

Another problem  — which has nothing to do with the IV Cytoxan — concerns my eyes.  When my prednisone was upped from 10mg to 20mg I noticed a need for specs again.  Searching the house for those things was most enjoyable.  Anyway, having found them I am now wearing them more than I’d like.  It’s a horrible thing when the world becomes a fuzzy place and putting on glasses makes you gasp with joy.

My next chemo treatment comes up in a week or so and I will not say I can’t wait.  What I will say is I like that I am not swallowing Cytoxan daily which did cause me some nausea.  Too, and I don’t know why this is, my body appears to be functioning normally, something I haven’t felt in a very long time.  I feel almost euphoric about how well I feel.  I do know enough now to not let this go to my head.  I know there may be some days in my future when I will not feel so good but, until then I am thankful for my good days, the lost weight, and no water retention.  Ankles are better than cankles any day.

Now, about those cravings.  I am learning to listen to my body.  I won’t necessarily say I’m very good about this but I try.  In the past few months my cravings have been peanut butter (heart healthy monounsaturated fats and oleic acid), and then there was this craving I had for a big fat grass-fed cow steak (CoQ10 which is found in red meat).  More recently — like two weeks ago — I started craving boiled eggs (choline reduces inflammation and eggs are good for the eyes) and last Thursday I started craving — gasp — a beer.

The beer craving got me, I will admit.  I haven’t had a beer in about five or six years.  I collect beers from around the world and store them in my fridge but I don’t drink them.  When I did drink beer I only drank Corona or Coronita because these did not cause me the gut problems I typically had with other beers.  I don’t know if Corona or Coronita beers are gluten-free.

Being stubborn, I chose to ignore this craving until Saturday when the craving turned into a raging monster and I could actually taste the beer.  Needing help, I called a friend who is also a caterer to ask her about the health benefits of beer.  She was no help and all she could offer me was “girl, you probably need a drink after all you’ve been through.”  Not the answer I was looking for.

I did not Google — that would be a verb — the health benefits of beer because I felt it a stupid question but I did go into my fridge, pulled out a very old bottle of Corona, squeezed a little lime into the bottle and sat down and drank it.  It was delicious in spite of the bottle sitting in my fridge for about four years.  I thought it would taste like vinegar but it was actually quite good.  I later took a nap and slept like a baby.  Good deal.

Sunday evening I decided to do the same.  This time I pulled an even older bottle of Corona — one that had been sitting in a cupboard for about five or six years — placed it in my fridge and later that evening I drank it.  Again, that night, I slept through the night and awoke Monday morning feeling like — well, as the old folks used to say — new money.  In fact, I got a lot done on Monday and that’s when I noticed something else.  Those heart palpitations I spoke of earlier, they are gone.

I was used to having them every day since the IV Cytoxan and honestly, I wondered if they continued would I be able to go through the next treatment?  I did not want to find myself sitting in the chair and having a heart attack or worse, cardiac arrest — when the heart stops beating.

Considering my cravings of late have been for heart healthy foods, I broke down and decided to Google “health benefits of beer” and lo and behold, what a treasure trove of information I found and yes, beer is heart healthy and here’s why.

• In November of 1999, The New England Journal of Medicine stated that light to moderate beer drinkers would decrease their chances of suffering a stroke by 20%. They also stated that those who drink one beer a day compared to those who drink one beer a week experience no difference in reducing stroke risks.
• The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (May 1999) reported that consuming moderate amounts of beer would lower one’s chances of coronary heart disease by 30-40%, compared to those who don’t drink at all. (Beer contains a similar amount of ‘polyphenols’ — antioxidants — as red wine and 4-5 times as many polyphenols as white wine).
• Alcohol has also been attributed to increasing the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) in the bloodstream, as well as helping to decrease blood clots.
• Beer contains vitamin B6, which prevents the build-up of the amino acid homocysteine, that has been linked to heart disease. Those of us who have high levels of homocysteine are usually more prone to an early onset of heart and vascular disease.
• A new study performed at the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute in Utrecht indicates that those who drink beer had no increase in their homocysteine level, but those who drank wine or liquor had an increase of up to 10%.
• Beer provides a 30% increase in vitamin B6 into the blood plasma — something that neither wine nor any other liquor can do.
• Beer is fat-free and cholesterol free?
• Beer can help you sleep better — duly noted
• Beer, either dark or light, protects bone mineral density
• Beer as cancer prevention — A compound found only in hops, which are used to make beer, have been discovered to prevent cancer. Of course we all know that hops are an ingredient in beer and therefore Xanthohumol has high hopes of making beer a new anti cancer drug. Xanthohumol flavinoids have been tested and its use is hoped to be a preventative treatment against prostate and colon cancer and even may be a form of hormone therapy for women.
• A Finnish-U.S. study of beer-drinking, middle-aged men was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 1999. The report stated that an increase in beer consumption may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones. Results showed that there was a 40 percent lower risk of kidney stones in beer drinkers, but the researchers were stumped as to whether the results were due to water, alcohol or hops.
• Beer and blood pressure — In the Nurses Health study, over 70,000 women ages 25 to 42 were examined for the association between alcohol consumption and the risk of hypertension. The study found that those who drank moderate amounts of beer (one beer) had less hypertension than nurses who drank either wine or spirits.

Beer is good for you if consumed in moderation and moderation is key.  For women, beer consumption should be no more than one beer per day and two beers per day for men — not an entire six-pack guys which could lead to heart arrhythmias.   The downside of too much beer — or any alcohol for that matter — is ill health.

What I found interesting was beer appears to be better than red wine and I had always heard red wine ruled in this area.  According to one paper on the wine versus beer entitled “Nutritional and health benefits of beer” is the following plus a warning:

From a nutritional standpoint, beer contains more protein and B vitamins than wine. The antioxidant content of beer is equivalent to that of wine, but the specific antioxidants are different because the barley and hops used in the production of beer contain flavonoids different from those in the grapes used in the production of wine.  The benefits of moderate alcohol consumption have not been generally endorsed by physicians for fear that heavy consumers may consider any message as a permissive license to drink in excess. Discussions with patients regarding alcohol consumption should be made in the context of a general medical examination. There is no evidence to support endorsement of one type of alcoholic beverage over another. The physician should define moderate drinking (1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men) for the patient and should review consumption patterns associated with high risk.

For those of us who are kidney or renal patients looking to drink a little beer, again, moderation is key.  Moderate alcohol drinking may be okay for people with chronic kidney disease who are not on dialysis. However, it is best to first check with your doctor or renal dietitian to find out if alcohol is safe for you. If you are able to drink alcohol safely, your health care team will advise you on the types and amounts that are right for you.

As for me, I will enjoy my little Coronitas (the little 7 Oz bottles) from time to time.  I will not say I have plans on drinking one every day, perhaps more like two or three per week.  If this is what stopped the hard beat, flub, flub, I’ll take it.  If it will help my heart, I’ll take it.  If it continues to taste good cold with a squeeze of lime, I’ll take it.  I will not, however, turn my nose up to it again.

Then again, maybe my friend was right, I did need a drink.

With so much negative news these days, wars, politicians — both Dems and Repubs — who are paid bunnies for the healthcare industry, and other paid bunnies continuing the divide and conquer conversations, it is nice to see there are organizations out there concerned with the welfare of people.  It was not their original mission but with so many uninsured/underinsured people in the U.S., it has become their mission.

Remote Area Medical (RAM) are the pioneers of no-cost healthcare.  RAM is a non-profit, volunteer, airborne relief corps dedicated to serving mankind by providing free health care, dental care, eye care, veterinary services, and technical and educational assistance to people in remote areas of the United States and the world.

Founded in 1985, Remote Area Medical^® is a publicly supported all-volunteer charitable organization. Volunteer doctors, nurses, pilots, veterinarians and support workers participate in expeditions (at their own expense) in some of the world’s most exciting places. Medical supplies, medicines, facilities and vehicles are donated.

RAM will be in Los Angeles, at the Forum in Inglewood, from August 11th through the 18th to provide free medical, vision, and dental care for uninsured, underinsured, unemployed, under-employed persons  If you are interested in volunteering, RAM needs Medical Doctors (all specialties) and Nurses, Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, Opticians, Ophthalmic Techs, Paramometry Techs, General Dentists, Oral Surgery, Pediatric Dentistry, Registered Dental Hygienists, Dental Assistants.

NOTE: All of our services are free and are provided by volunteers. The doctor is free; the dentist is free; the eye doctor is free. Please arrive early, bring a snack, and be prepared to wait. Your wait may be long; chairs will be provided for your comfort.

Services Provided:

• DENTAL: Cleanings, fillings, extractions, and root canals. Everyone receives a free dental exam. Pediatric dentistry is available.
• VISION: Vision exam and free prescription glasses made onsite. (NOTE: May not be able to make glasses for everyone.) Cataract surgery.
• MEDICAL & WOMEN’S HEALTH: Mammograms and Pap smears; pediatric exams; adult physicals & medical consults (including diabetes and hypertension); chiropractors; acupuncture; blood lab work; chest X-rays; medication assistance; and many other medical specialties available.

Services are provided by Remote Area Medical for the uninsured, underinsured, unemployed, and those who cannot afford to pay. Services are provided by volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists, dental hygeinists, dental assistants, ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, and other trained health professionals from the State of California.

For more information on RAM’s Los Angeles visit, please visit their website at:  http://www.ramusa.org/expeditions/2009/ramla2009.htm

Other Locations for 2009

Video: About Remote Area Medical

Link:

CBS :  U.S. Health Care Gets Boost From Charity — “60 Minutes”: Remote Area Medical Finds It’s Needed In America To Plug Health Insurance Gap

Thimerosal, a mercury based preservative, has been hotly debated for an increase in autism.

Let us not forget the Swine Flu debacle of 1976 when the U.S. government rushed out a mass immunization against a swine flu virus that never spread off one military base.  During the 1976 Swine Flu hysteria, several hundred cases of a rare, paralyzing neurological disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome were reported and though no clear link was ever found to the vaccine, the incident made many people mistrustful of immunizations.

Epidemiologist Tom Verstraeten and Dr. Richard Johnston, an immunologist and pediatrician from the University of Colorado, both concluded that thimerosal was responsible for the dramatic rise in cases of autism but their findings were dismissed by the CDC.

Cases of autism in the U.S. have increased by 1,500 per cent since 1991, which is when vaccines for children doubled, and the number of immunizations is only increasing. Just one in 2,500 children were diagnosed with autism before 1991, whereas one in 166 children now have the disease.

Dawn Prate, author of  “The great thimerosal cover-up: Mercury, vaccines, autism and your child’s health“, writes:

In 1977, a Russian study found that adults exposed to ethylmercury, the form of mercury in thimerosal, suffered brain damage years later. Studies on thimerosal poisoning also describe tubular necrosis and nervous system injury, including obtundation, coma and death. As a result of these findings, Russia banned thimerosal from children’s vaccines in 1980. Denmark, Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the Scandinavian countries have also banned the preservative.

Since learning executives from one corporation responsible for GMO seeds were also appointed to, or accepted, high positions in government — i.e., E.P.A. and the F.D.A. — it is not surprising scientists who have found a link between thimerosal, autism and other debilitating diseases are often dismissed.  These people follow the Pinto Principal:  we’ll keep manufacturing the faulty thing until enough people die and/or are maimed and then we’ll settle with them or their estate and while we’re at it, we’ll ask our friends in Washington to write laws reducing the amount of damages received in a lawsuit or provide us immunity if anything adverse should happen.

To add insult to injury, Around 12,000 U.S. children will be used as guinea pigs for the experimental swine flu vaccine also known to contain the dangerous ingredient squalene, which has been directly linked with cases of Gulf War Syndrome and a host of other debilitating diseases.  If you didn’t know, Squalene contributed to GI’s experiencing “arthritis, fibromyalgia, lymphadenopathy, rashes, photosensitive rashes, malar rashes, chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, abnormal body hair loss, non-healing skin lesions, aphthous ulcers, dizziness, weakness, memory loss, seizures, mood changes, neuropsychiatric problems, anti-thyroid effects, anaemia, elevated ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Raynaud’s phenomenon, Sjorgren’s syndrome, chronic diarrhea, night sweats and low-grade fever,” according to Micropaleontologist Dr. Viera Scheibner.

Great, pregnant women and school-aged children will be subjected to this drug.  It may save some lives (like the Pinto) and it may maim or kill others (like the Pinto).

Austrailia’s CSL Ltd., one of five companies who will be making the H1N1 vaccine, has started trials of its vaccine in people and the U.S. National Institutes of Health starts trials next month. They will compare vaccines with and without adjuvants — ingredients that boost the immune system response to a vaccine.  Adjuvants are used in flu vaccines in Europe but not the United States and although it would be possible to get a U.S. license under Emergency Use Authorization, officials have chosen to use vaccines without it for now.

Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is aware of the thimerosal concern and, instead of fighting the perception, Schuchat said the CDC will roll with it. “There will be thimerosal-free formulations available for those people who are interested in that sort of preparation,” she said.

Source:

• PrisonPlanet.com : Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury
• Washinton Post:  Flu Vaccine Panel Creates Priority List
• Reuters:  Is it safe? U.S. vaccine experts want to build trust
• Associated Press:  Legal immunity set for swine flu vaccine makers

The human immune system goes on alert against the seasonal flu virus after vaccination in two ways. First, it generates antibodies specifically reacting to the flu virus, and secondly, it primes certain immune T-cells to respond to the flu bug.   The new study, involving 54 patients with lupus and 54 healthy controls, replicated earlier findings that showed the antibody-mediated vaccine response was dimmed in lupus patients who were on immune-suppressive drugs.  Lupus patients who are taking these drugs at the same time they get their flu shots may be vulnerable to flu complications.

Immune-boosting substances called adjuvants are being developed to increase the depth and breadth of the immune responses elicited by vaccines. None of these adjuvants has been approved in the U.S., although some of the products are used in Europe.

The new study, published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, also found that another arm of the immune system, cell-mediated immunity, also responds less well to flu vaccination in lupus patients.  The researchers advise that clinicians be aware “that this combined defect might increase the morbidity and mortality due to influenza virus infection, in particular in patients receiving prednisone and/or azathioprine.”  They also called for more investigation into whether alternate flu vaccination strategies might offer better protection to people with lupus.

Source:  WebMD - Immune-Suppressing Lupus Treatments Dampen Flu Vaccination