Originally known as Compound E cortisone was isolated and given to
patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Addison's disease and
pituitary insufficiency in 1948. In 1950 The Nobel Prize in Physiology
and medicine were awarded to three researchers for isolating cortisone
and using it in the treatment of RA. Cortisone was introduced to the
market in the era of the " wonder drugs " It was a time when we saw
antibiotics such as penicillin saving tens of thousands of lives and
the scourge and fear of polio was about to be eliminated via the Salk
vaccine.
Understandably people were optimistic about the emergence of new and
seemingly effective drugs that were taking on some of the most
devastating and crippling disorders human beings are afflicted with.
Cortisone ( and other steroid drugs such as prednisone )soon became
the treatment of choice for a very long list of ailments, including
asthma, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, all kinds of skin
disorders, bell's palsy, different forms of arthritis, and sports
injuries to name just a few.
The idea is to reduce inflammation producing much of the symptoms.
Today nearly 37 million Americans suffer from some form of arthritis.
The longer one lives the odds are in your favor of developing some
form of the disease. It is characterized by inflammation in the joints
causing a great deal of pain. Inflammation is something we are all
familiar with. After an injury for example there usually is swelling,
followed by redness, sometimes heat ( which turns to a fever ) and of
course pain. All of this then causes loss of motion or function in the
afflicted area.
Most of the time minor injuries heal on their own. Other times healing
is facilitated by cold or heat, rest, aspirin (or enzymes which will
be discussed later) or perhaps an antibiotic applied to a wound to
prevent infection. The goal should be to heal tissue, limit damage and
restore health safely and without serious side effects. Though
cortisone does reduce inflammation long term use may produce
significant problems. Some of the side effects include: osteoporosis (
as this drug has a bone thinning effect ) cataracts, and elevated
blood sugar levels. Prolonged use can wrinkle the skin and cause
depigmentation. "Moon Face" is another common reaction as is swollen
ankles and lowered immune response. Using cortisone or corticosteroid
drugs should be considered seriously on a " risk vs. benefit " basis.
Conditions treated with corticosteroids often can be treated with less
expensive and less invasive nutrient or nutrient/drug protocols.
In some cases corticosteroids may aggravate the problem they are meant
to treat by depleting magnesium ( if taken for more than 2 weeks )
along with Vitamin B6. An example of a prolonged deficit of these
nutrients would be increased risk of kidney stone formation as well as
aggravation of asthmatic symptoms. Other problems that may arise is
the body's inability to synthesize Vitamin D causing loss of bone
density leading to osteoporosis.
Other problems include increased risk of colon, breast, prostate and
skin cancers and other forms of cancer due to inadequate levels of
Vitamin D. Some other side effects of the popular drug prednisone
include personality changes, depression and other emotional problems.
Distended abdomen, peptic ulcer, glaucoma, bulging eyes and congestive
heart failure are on the short list of possible problems you may
encounter with long term use of this medication. Additional side
effects include skin rash, acne, unwanted facial hair, Cushing's
Syndrome (long term use ) pulmonary embolism, and what is referred to
as Super infections. Another concern in this day of bio-terror
concerns is combining prednisone with smallpox vaccine.
This combination may cause nerve damage so make sure you are well
informed before you submit to this immunization for this reason and
others as well. Use of prednisone may activate previous conditions
such as glaucoma, peptic ulcer and tuberculosis. Long term use may
result in "Functional Dependence" or addiction. Azulfidine is an
anti-inflammatory drug used to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
It is known to interfere with folic acid (folate) metabolism. Many IBS
patients have low folate levels to begin with and are often helped
with folic acid supplements. The non drug treatment of IBS dates back
over fifty years. I first became aware of the IBS folate connection
after reading Dr. Robert C. Atkins 1988 book " Dr. Atkins Health
Revolution " Chronic diarrhea associated with IBS was found to respond
well to folic acid supplementation. Carrutheres L.B. " CHRONIC
DIAREAHHA TREATED WITH FOLIC ACID", LANCET (1946) page 849: Elsburg, L
and Larsen L, " FOLATE DEFIECENCY IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY BOWEL
DISEASE": SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY 14 (1979 ) 1019-24.
Chronic IBS is a condition many complementary care physicians treat
without the use of harsh drugs.
Often people are tested for hidden food allergies, leaky gut syndrome,
parasites, nutritional deficiencies, and evaluation of stress and the
individuals response to it. Inflammatory disorders account for a
substantial amount of time spent in doctor's offices today.
Corticosteroids as well as non steroidal anti-inflammatory such as the
Cox 2 inhibiting drugs are usually prescribed to help manage this long
list of disorders. More often than not complementary care physicians
prefer to use oral enzyme therapy to help normalize tissue swelling.
These enzymes are a favorite among athletes to reduce swelling and
decrease the recovery time for many types of injuries.
Oral enzyme therapy is used for many types of arthritis as well as
helping to reduce C reactive protein ( a certain risk for heart
disease ) and stimulating immune response so as to reduce risk of
infection or super infections not to encourage them.
Though corticosteroids have saved many lives and will continue to do
so in the future the issue is overuse and indiscriminate use. It is
this issue that must be addressed.
In with Enzymes
Inflammation worsens because of a lack of certain enzymes in the body.
When damage is pervasive the body does not produce enough enzymes to
thwart the inflammation process. This sets up an environment where the
body produces compounds that attacks it's own cells mistaking them for
unwanted intruders.
This is auto immune or auto aggression. When this happens skin and
tissues or joints often fall victim to attack. At the same time the
origin of inflammation is left unattended to and continues in it's
harmful ways. Rheumatoid Arthritis is considered auto immune and is
often treated with corticosteroids.
It is a painful and disfiguring disorder and people that suffer with
it are desperate for relief. For decades Enzyme Therapy has replaced
cortisone and other drugs in Europe for the treatment of RA and many
other inflammatory and/or auto immune diseases. Though often referred
to as anti-inflammatory, enzymes are also thought of as "inflammation
security brigades" helping to heal tissue, limit damage and restore
health safely and without toxic side reactions.
In addition to their positive effect on C reactive protein, enzymes
also reduce fibrinogen (excess fibrin causes blood to become too thick
or sticky) which in turn causes major cardiovascular problems. The
safety and efficacy of enzymes are well documented.
Compared to corticosteroid they are less costly in terms of money and
perform better in the long term as their side effects may improve
cardiovascular health and strengthen immune response. Other therapies
that may be considered to use adjunctively with enzymes in the
management of RA include Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid (PA), Studies
attesting to the usefulness for B5 and RA date back to mid 1940's.
Though far from a "cure all" Vitamin B5 has helped some people with RA
dramatically while others have not responded. Nonetheless it has many
other benefits and could be of value in combination with enzyme
therapy.
Vitamin B5 helps the body to make its own cortisone and has been used
by complementary care doctors in a wide range of stress induced and
inflammatory disorders. Biofeedback or mediation may be of help. "The
Relaxation Response "By Dr. Herbert Benson is a good book to get you
acquainted with the benefits of deep breathing and meditative states.
Dr. Andrew Weil has a very good CD about the benefits of deep
breathing as well as explanations of the value of proper breathing in
reducing stress hormones and normalizing metabolism. Dr. Weil is a
strong proponent of breathing exercises to aid in better health. Today
Arthritis in all it' forms disables more Americans than any other
condition.
The "Wonder drugs" of the 1950's can cause serious metabolic blunders.
There may be a better and safer way to recover from many inflammatory
disorders.
NOTE: Do not self treat RA or other serious disorders. Consult with
your doctor. It is best to see a complementary care physician that
understands the pharmacological approach as well as the nutritional
and stress reduction techniques aforementioned.
Other Health Related News Continued on kurtgreenberg.com
Article References : Kurt Greenberg
Actually, if you look further into the history, you'll find that the
unfortunate over-dosing of cortisone began with the guess-work of the Dr.'s
Polley and Slocum at the Mayo Clinic and was perpetuated by the ego of Dr.
Phillip Hench, the head of Rheumatology at Mayo. Dr. Hench prevented Polley
and Slocum from publishing information about the adverse effects of
cortisone overdose in order to secure the Nobel prize. Doctors around the
world began using cortisone in the same "daily high-dose" way as published
by Slocum and Polley. This is what lead to the current, unreasonable fear
of cortisone.
According to published clinical trials, the effects of cortisone overdose do
not occur in patients using an average of less than 20 mg a day. The
effects of adrenal suppression do not occur if cortisone is not taken daily.
This requires patient education so that, like insulin for the diabetic,
cortisone is only used when needed and in the least amount necessary.
Mr. Greenberg is correct that daily, high-dose cortisone (or its more potent
and, therefore dangerous, synthetic prednisone) causes the effects he so
graphically describes. But Mr. Greenberg ignores that cortisone is a
natural hormone that the body uses to control inflammation and he ignores
the clinical data on the safe, intermittent use of low-dose cortisone by
trained and educated arthritis and fibromyalgia sufferers.
"Kurt Greenberg" <kurt@kurtgreenberg.com> wrote in message
news:462c5c8e.0307270644.75c6ba1f@posting.google.c om...
