Natural Treatment Strategies for AIDS/CFS/CFIDS
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), and CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Deficiency Syndrome) are diseases that have a common cause: they are brought about by a combination of exposure to toxic chemicals and drugs that suppress immune system function, along with bacterial, fungal, and common viral infection. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the pharmaceutical industry have vested interests in preventing people from knowing the truth about these illnesses: that they have a common cause and that there are naturopathic ways to treat them effectively.

"Food Safety" Bill Ties U.S. to Codex
The problem is that Codex is dominated by Europe and Europe is putting into place an increasingly restrictive regime on supplements. Under this regime, a supplement containing more beta carotene than a couple of carrots is deemed dangerous, as is a supplement containing more lycopene (0.5mg) than might be found in a day’s consumption of tomatoes. Just to make it sillier, lycopene as a food additive is approved without limit by the world body Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) despite the European limit on supplement use.

Codex: Agents of Disinformation
History has it that whenever there is a process of historic change underway, the status quo engages agents of disinformation in order to slow down this process. The case of the liberation of human health from the monopoly of pharmaceutical drugs, and the incorporation of science based natural health approaches into public health policies, is no exception.

Video:Antimicrobial peptides: Dr. John Cannell on vitamin D

Nuisance or nutrient? Kudzu shows promise as a dietary supplement
Kudzu, the nuisance vine that has overgrown almost 10 million acres in the southeastern United States, may sprout into a dietary supplement. Scientists in Alabama and Iowa are reporting the first evidence that root extracts from kudzu show promise as a dietary supplement for a high-risk condition — the metabolic syndrome — that affects almost 50 million people in the United States.

Estrogen mimicking hormones transform males
A host of common chemicals is feminizing males of every class of vertebrate animals, from fish to mammals, including humans.

Book:Poisoned Profits
With indisputable data, the Shabecoffs reveal that the children of baby boomers—the first to be raised in a truly toxified world—have higher rates of birth defects, asthma, cancer, autism and a frightening range of other neurological illnesses from ADHD to mental retardation, compared to previous generations.

They reveal that one out of two pregnancies fails to come to term or results in a less than healthy child. Premature births and infertility are on the rise as this generation matures, while the ratio of male babies dwindles.

UK Food Standards Agency Study Proves Organic Food Is Better
My own reading of the FSA report uncovered its startling result - which seems to have escaped the attention of the authors of the report and the FSA - actually in favour of organic food, despite all the methodological biases against such a finding. The FSA has long had an anti-organic policy, and this latest attempt at discrediting organic food may turn out to be the strongest endorsement of organic that anyone could have made.

Despite these methodological flaws, the review did detect three highly significant differences out of 11 nutrients that favoured the organic...

Video:HOMEGROWN REVOLUTION - Radical Change Taking Root
This self produced, short music video was shown at Peter Seller's Cultural Art's class at UCLA followed by a short presentation by urban farmer, Jules Dervaes founder of Path to Freedom.

What GM Firms Don't Want Farmers to Know
"For many decades prior to genetic engineering, farmers relied on university agriculture extension scientists to perform tests comparing new and standard crop varieties. But it is increasingly difficult for university scientists to conduct these important tests on GE varieties, because they are prohibited from doing research on GE crops without company permission."

Cellphones and Brain Tumors: Reasons for Concern?
A new report, “Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern, Science, Spin and the Truth Behind Interphone,” was released today by a collaborative of international EMF activists.

The report, sent to government leaders and media, details eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone study. The Interphone study, begun in 1999, was intended to determine the risks of brain tumors, but its full publication has been held up for years. Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors call a ‘systemic-skew’, greatly underestimating brain tumor risk.

Obesity drug fears investigated
Orlistat went on sale under the brand name Alli without the need for a prescription in the UK in April.

The US Food and Drug Administration has received more than 30 reports linking the drug to serious liver injury.

Florida Child-welfare panel: Drugs misused on foster kids
Florida's mental health system for foster kids relies far too often on drugs, with little oversight, according to a draft report on the suicide of 7-year-old Gabriel Myers.

To those who think this is an isolated instance - Florida alone? Think again.

Merck's HPV Gardasil Vaccine: Risks, Benefits, Marketing
"Whether a risk is worth taking depends not only on the absolute risk, but on the relationship between the potential risk and the potential benefit. If the potential benefits are substantial, most individuals would be willing to accept the risks. But the net benefit of the HPV vaccine to a woman is uncertain. Even if persistently infected with HPV, a woman most likely will not develop cancer if she is regularly screened. So rationally she should be willing to accept only a small risk of harmful effects from the vaccine."

Tamiflu causes sickness and nightmares in children
Studies of children attending three schools in London and one in the South West showed that 51-53 per cent had one or more side-effects from the medication, which is offered to everyone in England with swine flu symptoms.

UK: Doctors may refuse swine flu vaccine
A survey of GPs published on Healthcare Republic, the website of GP magazine, found that up to 60% of GPs may decline vaccination. Although the numbers who responded were small – 216 GPs – they are in line with a much bigger survey of nurses published a week ago by Nursing Times, which found that a third of 1,500 nurses would refuse vaccination.

Hong Kong: Half of health workers reject swine flu shot
About half of Hong Kong's health workers would refuse the swine flu vaccine, new research says, a trend that experts say would likely apply worldwide. In a study that polled 2,255 Hong Kong health workers this year, researchers found even during the height of global swine flu panic in May, less than half were willing to get vaccinated.

Video:Don't Inject Me (the Swine Flu Vaccine Song) by the Health Ranger
This song was written in protest of the widespread swine flu vaccinations now being pushed around the world.

Video:Are Vaccines REALLY Safe?
- Mary Tocco challenges parents and doctors who believe that vaccines are safe for children to take those same vaccines, merely adjusted for body weight...

- - -

YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE to this health news collection.
Just tell me about a link you think is interesting. Email me at (sepp -at- lastrega -dot- com)
twitter (healthsupreme)
facebook (facebook.com/hasslberger)

And there is much more information out there...

There is a lot I cannot cover but other sources for this kind of information exist and are active.

You can subscribe to the Zeus Newsletterhere. Appears twice monthly. If you would like to see some samples of Louise's collection of informative links, here are the archives. She also has a weekly newsletter all about homeopathy - Zeus Homeopathy News.

Dr Mercola's health blog, Mike Adams' Natural News and the One Click Group in the UK have good health information. The Dr Rath Foundation is also putting out a weekly collection of health related news. Here is the link to their Newsletter Archive.

The Alternative Medicine Yahoo Group and the healthfreedom ning group are places to discuss and exchange information on what is happening in the world of natural health.

For the influence of electromagnetic waves from radio, mobile phones and other radio emitting devices, check out the emr-updates group on Yahoo. Genetic modification and issues around agriculture and foods are reported on the Organic Consumers Association site.

A few sites to keep up to date with the other side of world affairs, the stuff you won't necessarily find on your tv or in the papers:

http://therealnews.com/
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com
http://www.commondreams.org
http://www.globalresearch.ca/
http://www.truthout.org/

... and remember ...

The individual is supreme and ... we find our way through intuition

FDA sued over excessively restrictive rule making on food supplements
The Alliance for Natural Health, together with Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw, as well as the Coalition to End FDA and FTC Censorship have sued the FDA over its excessively restrictive stance on supplements and the information that may be given about their health benefits. Three distinct actions were filed within days from each other:

ANH sues FDA over suppression of free speech on selenium health benefits
The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that FDA’s June 19, 2009 decision to suppress selenium/cancer-risk reduction claims infringed on the organization’s right to speak freely about truthful health information.

ANH’s US arm files suit against FDA over new GMP rule
The suit aims ultimately to reverse the disproportionate burden of the FDA’s new cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) rule which may otherwise lead to mass closure of smaller dietary supplement manufacturers, reduced consumer choice as well as significant price hikes for products remaining on the market.

ANH-US files 3rd suit against FDA for suppression of antoxidant claims
The action has been lodged by Jonathan W Emord of Virginia-based law firm, Emord & Associates and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that FDA’s June 19, 2009, decision to suppress claims that antioxidants reduce the risk of cancer infringes on ANH-US’ right to speak freely about truthful health information, thereby violating the First Amendment.

Codex Alimentarius: Petition to UK Government
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to oppose the adoption of the Codex Alimentarius (WHO/UN) proposals for restriction of the presently freely available herb/vitamin/mineral food supplements. The principle of self medication with herbal/vitamin/mineral food supplements would be restricted to 'prescription only' status, if the Codex Alimentarius is applied in this country.

Since the NHS priorities are ill health diagnosis and treatment, the good health preservation that supplements provide will be inaccessible to the majority of our population and the cost to the NHS will increase, and the health of the population will decline.

If you are a resident of the UK and are concerned, follow the link to sign...

Carnitine supplements reverse glucose intolerance in animals
Carnitine is made in the liver and recycled by the kidney, but in some cases when this is insufficient, dietary carnitine from red meat and other animal foods can compensate for the shortfall.

After just eight weeks of supplementation with carnitine, the obese rats restored their cells' fuel- burning capacity (which was shut down by a lack of natural carnitine) and improved their glucose tolerance, a health outcome that indicates a lower risk of diabetes.

NAC protects against severe malaria
In a study to be published in the next issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Cincia, in Portugal, show that an anti-oxidant drug [it's actually an aminoacid, N-Acetyl-Cysteine] can protect against the development of deadly forms of malaria.

This finding suggests that there might be alternative therapeutic approaches to treat malaria, which, unlike the current ones would not aim at killing the parasite directly, but rather at strengthening the health status of the host, so that the host could kill parasite and survive. This type therapeutic approach should provide potent protection against severe forms of malaria and thus save lives without favouring the appearance of resistant strains of Plasmodium.

'Moreover, one might be able to apply the same strategy to a range of other infectious diseases and impact on the treatment of not only malaria but a variety of other infectious diseases, a line of research we are actively pursuing at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Cincia.'

Folic acid -- mandatory fortification may be unnecessary
Persistently present levels of unmetabolized folic acid found in the population indicate that introducing mandatory food fortification may result in an 'overdosing' effect. A study of blood donors, new mothers and babies, published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, has found that most already get enough folic acid from voluntarily fortified foods.

Gut Reaction: 'Good' Microbes Under Attack
In tests on mice, Vincent Young at the University of Michigan Medical School found that a certain antibiotic permanently decreased the diversity of the animals' "microbiota"—the trillions of microscopic bugs that inhabit the gut and which may be very beneficial.

The study was published in June in the journal Infection and Immunity.

"We may be doing long-term damage to our close friends," said Dr. Young, 46 years old, referring to the good bugs.

"The gut is an ecosystem, just as much as the rainforests and the oceans," he said. "We're finally getting a better understanding of how this ecosystem assembles and responds to ecologic stress." Dr. Young said the gut ecosystem needs to be preserved and that changing the ecosystem through stresses such as antibiotics "could irreversibly change the ecosystem, with deleterious results."

Great discovery ... and it might well lead to better health and prevention of many ills. To be fair, this is exactly what natural health advocates have been saying for decades, but it is good to see a decidedly mainstream publication like the Wall Street Journal get it right.

Nestle Reports Decline in Bottled Water Sales
The company's bottled water division, which packages and sells water under several brands including Arrowhead, Calistoga, Deer Park, Poland Spring, and Perrier, among others, recorded a 3.7 percent decline in volume.

"Around the world, but especially in the United States, consumers are recognizing that bottled water is an unnecessary burden on their wallets, the environment, and the communities from which it is taken and sold at thousands of times its actual value.

Cell phones and brain tumors: a review including the long-term epidemiologic data
The results indicate that using a cell phone for 10 years or more approximately doubles the risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same ("ipsilateral") side of the head as that preferred for cell phone use. The data achieve statistical significance for glioma and acoustic neuroma but not for meningioma.

US Department of Agriculture Says Biotech is Compatible with Organic
A governmental decision to change organic regulations to permit the use of biotechnology could have far-reaching policy implications for global agriculture.
Allowing producers to gain organic certification for biotech crops could encourage the development of a new type of environmentally sustainable agricultural production with greater benefits for the consumer.

It seems they should be joking, but I fear the campaign to make biotech (genetic modification) broadly acceptable and to even contaminate organic agriculture with it is a deadly serious affair...

Monsanto's Roundup More Deadly to Liver Cells than Active Ingredient Alone
Very low doses of some types of the herbicide Roundup can disrupt human liver cell function; the formulations' toxicity may be tied to their "inactive" ingredients rather than the active weed-killing ingredient glyphosate.

Fight Cancer with Human Breast Milk?
Svanborg and her group began to analyze breast milk more thoroughly and eventually discovered that the actual component of breast milk that was killing cancer cells is a protein called alpha-lactalbumin (sometimes called alpha-lac). In January 1999, they finally released results demonstrating that in the acid environment of an infant’s stomach, the normal alpha-lac protein changed shape and transformed into a killer of cancer cells (or other potentially harmful cells, such as pneumonococcus bacteria). Her research group named the altered protein, HAMLET, for Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumor cells.

Rodale Institute: Organic Food Still the Best Nutritional Choice
"Media spin has largely missed the point of this tightly focused study using existing data. It is a blip, not a cataclysm, in the ongoing effort to grasp the complexities of how organic food-from healthy soil and natural systems-differs from food grown with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides," LaSalle explained.

The study, funded by the UK Food Standards Agency, formally acknowledges data demonstrating significant nutritional advantages for organic. It said in its analysis, however, that the evidence was insufficient, under its protocol, to proclaim organic superiority.

Is Aspartame About to Be Banned?
Aspartame has been passed as fit to consume by more than 100 countries around the world, but there is evidence that each of aspartame’s chemical components can have toxic effects. It is curious that studies on the safety of aspartame funded by the industry invariably find in favor of aspartame, but independently funded work almost always finds quite the opposite.

Cancer Prevention Coalition Calls on FDA to Ban Aspartame
Under the explicit provisions of the 1958 Delaney Law, which requires an automatic ban on carcinogenic food additives, the Coalition is calling on Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the newly appointed Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and public health advocate, to promptly ban the continued use of aspartame.

Perhaps the real question that should be asked here is: Has Aspartame Outlived its Usefulness? With both Coca Cola and Pepsi getting in gear with a stevia-based sweetener, are the wheels now being set in motion to 'allow' aspartame to be banned ... to make way in the market for the newly patented replacement sweeteners?

Asda wins 'nasty aspartame' case
On Wednesday Asda won its court battle with Japanese food company Ajinomoto, who sued the supermarket chain for calling the artificial sweetener aspartame ‘nasty’.

Nanotechnology and the Enclosure of the Chemical Elements
So, if you go down in size, if you get small enough, you don’ t even know, that the nanoparticle is there. You put it on your skin (suncream), they can sink into your skin and evolve through your body and companies cannot even measure the size, actually. There is no international standard yet for how to measure the size. There is three different ways you can do it….

The governments start to think about how to regulate this. In South Africa next year, there will be a meeting of major governments trying to make some progress on nanotech-regulation. We have been told by the US- government, that they think, that they will need till 2017 before coming to a global agreement on basic standards. But in 2015 there will be plenty of things on the market…

Alternative to antibiotics under development
Published in the journal Molecular Cell, the study shows that disrupting ‘quorum sensing’ – or the way bacteria communicate collective information, such as population density, can stop bacteria from killing a host organism.

Glaxo Had Ghostwriting Program To Promote Paxil
"An internal company memo instructs salespeople to approach physicians and offer to help them write and publish articles about their positive experiences prescribing the drug.

Known as the CASPPER program, the paper explains how the company can help physicians with everything from 'developing a topic,' to 'submitting the manuscript for publication.'"

The Medical Paradigm Is Fatally Flawed
Once a product or service has been corporatized, every aspect of it is addressed for its ability to exact profits. Medicine is no different. By joining the corporate paradigm, medicine has ceased to be primarily a force for wellbeing. Any flaw found, such as a drug's side effects, is turned into yet another profit center.

Anti-Depressants Double Suicide Risk In Young Adults
It's of course old news at this point that anti-depressants can induce both suicidality and suicidal ideation--hence the FDA-mandated black box warnings on anti-depressants--but this study does address mounting attempts, most recently in June, by some researchers to cast doubt on the warnings, especially for young adults aged 18 to 25.

Another woman survives antiretroviral drugs
Onnie Mary Phuthe is a young Botswana woman who realized the harm that antiretroviral drugs were doing her, stopped taking them, and has regained her health.

Polio surge in Nigeria after vaccine virus mutates
Polio, the dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is spreading in Nigeria. And health officials say in some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it.

In July, the World Health Organization issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa. So far, 124 Nigerian children have been paralyzed this year - about twice those afflicted in 2008.

So the great push to "eradicate polio" actually ends up spreading a mutant virus increasing the polio death toll. So much for the loudly touted vaccine campaigns pushed by the WHO.

Swine flu likely to be just as mild in autumn judging from pandemic history, say experts
US experts have admitted the swine flu is harmless and is likely to stay harmless, making the necessity for forced mass vaccinations on WHO’s instructions look even more questionable.

There is evidence the deadly “second wave” of the Spanish Flu of 1918 was caused by vaccinations and not by a virus mutation...

Could Catching Swine Flu Be Good For You?
Some doctors say that catching swine flu now, while it is mild, could prevent a more serious infection later by building immunity in those sickened by the new flu virus.

"In the U.K. and Europe and America, it is spreading so fast that it is very likely that most people will be exposed to or get swine flu, and this will help them develop immunity before the second wave," said Dr. Raymond Ng, a doctor with OT and P, a family practice in Hong Kong. That second wave could be a mutated, more lethal flu. "Having some immunity gives us some protection against this virus," Dr. Ng said.

Doctors in Mexico City Cured 2009 Swine Flu with Homeopathy
These doctors included historically documented observations regarding the 1918 flu pandemic. For historical references they used "... the thesis written by Dr. Manuel Mazari to obtain his qualification at the Escuela Libre de Homeopata de Mexico: "Short Study of the Last Influenza Epidemic in Mexico City (1918)", as well as reports published by the Ministry of Health, news published in the media in general, and some clinical cases mentioned by homeopathic physicians".

"In homeopathy there are no specific medicines for a particular nosological picture (for which the most common symptoms are taken into account). But in epidemics, due to the common causative agent, susceptibility of the population in this particular moment, and the repetition of symptoms, a group of the most useful remedies can be deduced. The remedies determined in this way are called the Genius Epidemicus. They consist of a group of medicines with symptoms most similar to those presented by most patients suffering this flu."

Live Attenuated Swine Influenza Vaccine for Children Safety in Question
AstraZeneca will produce a genetically engineered live attenuated vaccine through its global biologics unit, MedImmune, using cell culture or eggs. The MedImmune vaccine will be used primarily for children, to be delivered as a nasal spray. The nasal spray vaccine against pandemic H1N1 influenza has been fast tracked for global distribution.

The live-attenuated vaccine appears more effective than the inactivated virus vaccine, but it resulted in significantly higher rates of severe adverse events. Furthermore, there is evidence that the live vaccine is highly genetically unstable in warm body cells and that has not been thoroughly evaluated in the children vaccinated .

Swine flu jab linked to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America
The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.

Ten Things You're Not Supposed To Know About The Swine Flu Vaccine
Let's not beat around the bush on this issue: The swine flu vaccines now being prepared for mass injection into infants, children, teens and adults have never been tested and won't be tested before the injections begin. In Europe, where flu vaccines are typically tested on hundreds (or thousands) of people before being unleashed on the masses, the European Medicines Agency is allowing companies to skip the testing process entirely.

Swine flu pandemic is already over, declares Swiss immunoloigst
Professor Stadler said in an interview widely printed in the Swiss media last week: "The dangerous pandemic virus has mutated to a normal summer flu."

- - -

YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE to this health news collection.
Just tell me about a link you think is interesting. Email me at (sepp -at- lastrega -dot- com)
twitter (healthsupreme)
facebook (facebook.com/hasslberger)

And there is much more information out there...

There is a lot I cannot cover but other sources for this kind of information exist and are active.

You can subscribe to the Zeus Newsletterhere. Appears twice monthly. If you would like to see some samples of Louise's collection of informative links, here are the archives. She also has a weekly newsletter all about homeopathy - Zeus Homeopathy News.

Dr Mercola's health blog, Mike Adams' Natural News and the One Click Group in the UK have good health information. The Dr Rath Foundation is also putting out a weekly collection of health related news. Here is the link to their Newsletter Archive.

The Alternative Medicine Yahoo Group and the healthfreedom ning group are places to discuss and exchange information on what is happening in the world of natural health.

For the influence of electromagnetic waves from radio, mobile phones and other radio emitting devices, check out the emr-updates group on Yahoo. Genetic modification and issues around agriculture and foods are reported on the Organic Consumers Association site.

A few sites to keep up to date with the other side of world affairs, the stuff you won't necessarily find on your tv or in the papers:

http://therealnews.com/
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com
http://www.commondreams.org
http://www.globalresearch.ca/
http://www.truthout.org/

... and remember ...

The individual is supreme and ... we find our way through intuition

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older people poorly understand most of the important warning signs of stroke and factors that increase risk for this medical emergency, researchers from Dublin, Ireland, have found.

Among 2033 older men and women, fewer than half knew that dizziness, numbness, weakness, and headache are common warning signs of stroke, report Dr. Anne Hickey, of Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and colleagues.

Just 54 percent listed slurred speech as an indicator of stroke, the researchers report in the online journal BMC Geriatrics.

When asked to list the most common risk factors for stroke, about three-quarters of the men and women accurately listed high blood pressure. By contrast, 40 percent or fewer knew high cholesterol and smoking also increase stroke risk. Only about 10 percent knew diabetes and alcohol use are also risk factors for stroke.

These findings highlight the significant gaps in elders' understanding of early stroke warning signs and risk factors, Hickey and colleagues report. "As such, many older adults may not recognize early symptoms of stroke in themselves or others," they warn. Thus, they may lose "vital time" in getting help.

On average, the study sample was 74 years old and 57 percent female. Overall, 25 percent of the men and women had a history of heart disease and 6 percent reported a prior stroke.

Another 36 and 17 percent were past and current smokers, respectively, and this group was more likely to identify smoking as a stroke risk factor than never smokers.

However, consistent with the findings of other investigators, this study revealed the generally poor understanding elders have regarding factors leading to or indicative of stroke, Hickey and colleagues note.

Since effective stroke care requires rapid identification and medical intervention, Hickey's group suggests the need for substantially improved public education with regard to stroke prevention.

SOURCE: BMC Geriatrics, August 2009

Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Binge drinking is usually seen as a problem of college campuses, but many older adults may be overindulging in alcohol as well, a study published Monday suggests.

Using data from a government survey of nearly 11,000 Americans age 50 and up, researchers found that 23 percent of men between the ages of 50 and 64 admitted to binge drinking in the past month, as did roughly 9 percent of women.

Among adults age 65 and older, more than 14 percent of men and 3 percent of women reported bingeing -- defined as having five or more drinks on one occasion, on at least one day in the past month.

Alcohol binges are often considered a problem of youth. One recent government study found that among U.S. college students between the ages of 18 and 24, 45 percent reported a recent drinking binge.

But the new findings, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, show that older adults can be susceptible too.

"We feel that our findings are important to the public health of middle-aged and elderly persons as they point to a potentially unrecognized problem that often 'flies beneath' the typical screen for alcohol problems in psychiatry practices," lead researcher Dr. Dan G.

Blazer, of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, noted in a written statement.

Blazer and colleague Dr. Li-Tzy Wu based their findings on a national health survey conducted between 2005 and 2006. Along with binge drinking, the survey looked at so-called at-risk drinking -- drinking habits that could have negative effects on a person's health. In this study, that was defined as averaging at least two drinks per day.

Among 50- to 64-year-olds, 19 percent of men and 13 percent of women were at-risk drinkers. The figures among older men and women were 13 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

Binge drinking carries a number of risks, including accidental injuries, violent behavior, neurological damage and blood pressure increases. These hazards, Blazer and Wu write, "clearly present" greater consequences later in life, when people often have chronic health conditions that can be aggravated by heavy drinking.

Yet, the researchers note, most people who binge are not dependent on alcohol, so their problem drinking may go unrecognized.

The message for doctors, Blazer said, is that they should be asking their older patients specifically about binge drinking.

Patients who do report bingeing may also need to be screened for other types of substance abuse, according to the researchers.

In this study, men who reported binge drinking had a higher risk of illegal drug use than men who drank but did not binge, while female binge drinkers had a heightened likelihood of prescription drug abuse.

SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry, online August 17, 2009.

Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) proved more effective than the anti-inflammatory drug sulfasalazine in a study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

"The mechanism of action (of TwHF) is not fully understood but seems different from currently available drugs," Dr. Raphaela Goldbach-Mansky, from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland told Reuters Health.

TwHF, the researcher added, "may become an addition to the currently available treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis in the future."

Doctors often prescribe sulfasalazine or other anti-inflammatory drugs for the initial treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, many patients discontinue the drugs due to lack of improvement or side effects.

The Chinese herbal remedy TwHF (also known as "lei gong teng" or "thunder god vine") has shown promise in treating other "autoimmune" disorders and inflammatory conditions.

In the current study, reported Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Goldbach-Mansky and colleagues randomly assigned 121 patients with rheumatoid arthritis to take either TwHF three times daily or sulfasalazine two times daily for 24 weeks.

Many patients in both groups discontinued treatment, the researchers report. However, among those who continued treatment for 24 weeks, improvement in joint symptoms was greater with TwHF (67%) than with sulfasalazine (36%) and adverse effects were similar.

The rapid improvement in joint symptoms may make TwHF extract an attractive and affordable alternative to anti-inflammatory drugs, the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine, August 18, 2009.

Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.