reef

 REEF CHIROPRACTIC CARE

133 Reef Road, Fairfield, CT  203.259.4939

Dr. Brian C. Baker

www.reefchirocare.com

Which are more powerful?  Pills or Capsules?   

Here’s an interesting video that explores the strange powers of the placebo effect.

 REEF CHIROPRACTIC CARE

133 Reef Road, Fairfield, CT  203.259.4939

Dr. Brian C. Baker

www.reefchirocare.com

Kids on Farms Breath Easier. It may be the bugs!

Children growing up on farms have a much lower risk of asthma than others, but it’s not all that fresh air and exercise that turns the trick.  Instead, it’s exposure to a larger range of bacteria and fungi in the barnyard.

That’s the conclusion of investigators who reported in the Feb. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine on two large European cross-sectional studies that looked at asthma, and predisposition toward developing certain allergic hypersensitivity, in more than 16,500 elementary school children. 

The investigators reported that they identified several types of microbes that might be responsible for the reduction in asthma risk, including members of the fungal and a variety of bacterial species.

The mechanisms involved remain unclear, the researchers noted.  One possibility is that some combination of microbes stimulates the innate immune system and prevents it from entering a pro-asthma state.

It is also possible that exposure to many different microbes makes it harder for those that can induce asthma to become dominant in the lower respiratory tract, they noted.

The results of the study support the so-called “hygiene hypothesis” which is that exposure to germs help in the maturation of a child’s immune system and offer protection against asthma and related allergic disease.

What about dairy farms?  I’d find it ironic that breathing is improved even when the smell takes your breath away!

We might have a drug problem

Here is an excerpt from an article in Pain Physician Journal I came across.  Read these numbers and be prepared to be blown away! 

“In the United States, the therapeutic use of opioids has exploded as witnessed by the increased sales of hydrocodone by 280% from 1997 to 2007, while at the same time methadone usage increased 1,293% and oxycodone increased 866%.  In addition, the estimated number of prescriptions filled for controlled substances increased from 222 million in 1994 to 354 million in 2003. Consequently, the milligram per person use of therapeutic opioids in the United States increased from 73.59 milligrams in 1997 to 329.23 milligrams in 2006, an increase of 347%. And, while hydrocodone is the most commonly used opioid in the United States, based on milligrams per person, oxycodone is the most commonly used drug with methadone use rapidly increasing the most.

In pain management settings, it has been reported that as many as 90% of patients receive opioids for chronic pain management in spite of the numerous issues involved. Similarly, it has been shown that a majority of these patients were on opioids prior to presenting to an interventional pain management setting. However, the claims of under-treatment of pain and the campaign for increased availability of opioids and so-called assessment for proper treatment of pain continue.

Consequently, Americans, constituting only 4.6% of the world’s population, have been consuming 80% of the global opioid supply, and 99% of the global hydrocodone supply, as well as two-thirds of the world’s illegal drugs.

In addition, the liberalization of the laws governing opioid prescribing for the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain by state medical boards in the late 1990s, the introduction of new pain management standards for inpatient and outpatient medical care implemented by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in 2000, and the advocacy efforts of many physicians and organizations for increased usage of opioids in the treatment of chronic pain has resulted in escalating use, abuse, and overuse of therapeutic opioids. Opioids in general, and the most potent forms of opioids, including Schedule II drugs in particular, have dramatically increased.”

I am stunned by the amount of opioids this country consumes.  At first glance it appears that we have created a society of drug addicts.  Chronic back pain is frequently cited as a reason for pain management and I believe more people should utilize chiropractic as a drug free pain management tool.

Pain Physician Journal

Which are more powerful?  Pills or Capsules?   

Here’s an interesting video that explores the strange powers of the placebo effect.

 REEF CHIROPRACTIC CARE

133 Reef Road, Fairfield, CT  203.259.4939

Dr. Brian C. Baker

www.reefchirocare.com

Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) Increases Risk of Erectile Dysfunction

I’m not making this stuff up!  The target population consisted of men 50, 60 or 70 years old residing in the study area in Finland in 1994. Questionnaires were mailed to 3,143 men in 1994 and to 2,864 men 5 years later. The followup sample consisted of 1,683 men who responded to baseline and followup questionnaires. The researchers estimated the effect of NSAIDs on the incidence of ED in men free from moderate or complete ED at baseline (in 1,126). ED was assessed by 2 questions on subject ability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for intercourse.

Results:

The incidence of ED was 93 cases per 1,000 person-years in men who used and 35 in those who did not use NSAIDs. Among men with arthritis, the most common indication for NSAID use, ED incidence was 97 cases per 1,000 in those using and 52 in men who did not use NSAIDs. Compared with men who did not use NSAIDs and were free from arthritis, the relative risk of ED after controlling for the effects of age, smoking, and other medical conditions and medications was higher in men who used NSAIDs but were free of arthritis and in those who used NSAIDs and had arthritis. The relative risk was only somewhat higher in men who had arthritis but did not use NSAIDs.

Conclusions:

The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increases the risk of ED and the effect is independent of indication.

Oh, by the way typical NSAIDS used here in the US are Alleve, Advil, Motrin, Aspirin.  I’ll say no more.

90% of Antibiotics Pass through the Patient Without Being Metabolized

Amy Pruden is an associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech University. In a paper she authored this year in Environmental Science and Technology, she details how little of antibiotics consumed by humans and animals is ultimately metabolized. The bottom line is that over 90% are not metabolized meaning that these drugs leave the body almost intact.

Guess what? The same is true when antibiotics are used in agribusiness in cattle, poultry, fish hatcheries, etc. The same 90% passes straight on through.

As a result, wastewater and watershed end up contaminated with the antibiotics and, for the most part, water treatment and sewerage treatment facilities are not capable of clearing these products from the water they receive and ultimately release.

“The presence of antibiotics, even at sub-inhibitory concentrations, can stimulate bacterial metabolism and thus contribute to the selection and maintenance of antibiotic resistance genes,” Pruden explains. “Once they are present in rivers, antibiotic resistance genes are capable of being transferred among bacteria, including pathogens, through horizontal gene transfer”.

Pruden says “new drug discovery can no longer keep pace with emerging antibiotic-resistant infections.”

20 Worst Food Dishes

From Men’s Health Magazine. The MH folks have scoured restaurants across the country and come up with 20 cringe worthy dishes. Within the top twenty were some “of course” selections and some “no way” selections.

#18-a “no way” selection…Blimpie’s Special Vegetarian Sandwich, almost 1,200 calories and over 3,500 mg of sodium

#13 Cheesecake Factory’s Grilled Shrimp and Bacon Club, over 1,700 calories and 2,300 mg of sodium

#12-a second “no-way” selection…TGI Friday’s Sante Fe Chopped Salad with 1,800 calories

#11 Worst Chinese food dish…from PF Chang’s, Double Pan-fried Noodle Combo, 1,800 plus calories and, get this 7,600 plus mg sodium

#6 Worst Mexican food dish…Baja Fresh Charbroiled Steak Nachos with over 2,100 calories and almost 3,000 mg of sodium

#2 Worst dessert…Uno’s Chicago Grill Mega-size Deep Dish Sundae, 2800 calories with 136 grams of fat and 272 grams of sugar

For the full list direct from MH, visit: 20 worst foods

Humor and Fun

From my brother in-law the retired police chief enjoying histhe new neighbors in Arizona:

SKYJACK

Starting with Chiropractic Saves 40% on Low Back Pain Care

A new study finds that low back pain care initiated with a doctor of chiropractic (DC) saves 40 percent on health care costs when compared with care initiated through a medical doctor (MD). The study, featuring data from 85,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield beneficiaries, concludes that insurance companies that restrict access to chiropractic care for low back pain treatment may inadvertently pay more for care than they would if they removed such restrictions.

The study looked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s intermediate and large group fully insured population over a two-year span. The insured study population had open access to MDs and DCs through self-referral, and there were no limits applied to the number of MD/DC visits allowed and no differences in co-pays.

Results show that paid costs for episodes of care initiated by a DC were almost 40 percent less than care initiated through an MD. After risk-adjusting each patient’s costs, researchers still found significant savings in the chiropractic group. They estimated that allowing DC-initiated episodes of care would have led to an annual cost savings of $2.3 million for BCBS of Tennessee.

Osteoporosis Drugs Linked to Atypical Femur Fractures

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will consider revising the labels of the osteoporosis drugs bisphosphonates (Fosomax, Boniva, etc) in light of a new report stating that long-term bisphosphonate use may increase the risk for unusual femur fracture. 

The report was issued by a task force assembled by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. The task force reviewed 310 cases involving atypical femur fractures and found that 94% of the patients had taken bisphosphonates, most for more than 5 years. The majority experienced telltale pain in their groin and thigh weeks or months before a fracture occurred.

The task force recommended that even though atypical femur fractures are rare, the labels of bisphosphonates should be revised to warn about this possible risk.  Along those lines, new diagnostic and procedural codes are needed for atypical femur fractures to improve case reporting and analysis, according to the task force.

To prevent atypical femur fractures, the task force issued the following guidance:

•  Patients at low risk for osteoporosis-related fractures “should not be started on [bisphosphonates].”
• When patients have osteoporosis in the spine and normal or only moderately reduced femoral neck or  total hip bone mineral density, clinicians could consider alternative treatments, depending on the severity of the patient’s condition.
• Clinicians should annually reevaluate the continued use of bisphosphonate therapy after 5 years.

I have been using an an on-line tool called FRAX that can help assess the fracture risk of my patients.  Let me know if you’re interested in learning your risk score.

9 in 10 Students Text in Class

This tidbit about students in 2010 was reported by the Associated Press who got it from a study completed at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The details:

9 of 10 texted during class.

1 of 10 has texted during an exam.

3 in 100 have cheated during an exam using texting.

62 of 100 students see texting during class as “their right”.

Institutions and faculty are responding to this reality in different ways. Some faculty will simply walk out when someone in the class pulls out a phone. Some will flunk a student who simply handles a cell phone during an exam, while others simply drone on and could care less

Humor and Fun