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LE Magazine July 2003
Bridging the
Gap Between
Science & Medicine
Why thyroid blood tests can't be
trusted
Thyroid hormone deficiency is responsible
for many of the maladies associated with aging, including
excessive weight gain, high cholesterol, depression and low
energy. Standard blood tests often mislead doctors into
thinking that thyroid hormone status is normal, but a more
scientific method of interpreting these blood tests is
revealed in the Thyroid Deficiency chapter of the 2003 Edition
of Disease Prevention and Treatment. This method
enables physicians and patients to detect and correct subtle
thyroid deficits that can cause major health problems.
Improving brain function in autistic
children
Conventional medicine offers little to
children who suffer from autism, a mental disorder
characterized by language dysfunction, poor social skills,
repetitive behavior and the inability to interact
socially.
A double-blind placebo controlled study
showed that when autistic children are properly supplemented
with carnosine, remarkable improvements occur based on the
tests doctors use to assess neurological function. In this
study, parents of the children receiving carnosine reported
that overall improvement more than doubled in only eight
weeks.2
The doctor who conducted this
placebo-controlled study has developed a simple-to-follow
protocol that has been used in about 1,000 autistic children.
The success rate to date is 90%, with some children showing
dramatic improvement in the various disabilities associated
with autism.
The Austism chapter of the latest edition
of Disease Prevention and Treatment reveals
never-before-published nutritional protocols that have
demonstrated significant benefit to autistic children. The
medical establishment has not yet discovered these nutritional
approaches, and the result is that teaching autistic children
remains a daunting task for most parents.
Lethal effects of blood deficiencies
The new Disease Prevention and
Treatment book contains many chapters that address the
lethal effects of anemia in the elderly, cancer victims and
those afflicted with heart disease. When Life Extension staff
physicians interact with a member's doctor, a careful review
of blood test results is usually done before the consultation.
If there is any indication of anemia, Life Extension
physicians recommend Procrit® drug therapy or a blood
transfusion.
A study in the October 25, 2001 issue of
the New England Journal of Medicine showed that
elderly heart attack patients were 78% more likely to die over
a 30-day period if they had severe anemia.
When a seriously ill Life Extension
Foundation member was hospitalized, blood tests revealed
severe anemia.3 Life Extension
suggested to the attending physician that, based upon the
study published in the October 25, 2001 issue of the New
England Journal of Medicine, the patient should be given an
immediate blood transfusion. The patient's doctor specifically
remembered reading the study and complimented Life Extension
for coming up with the "great idea" of giving the patient
blood. The problem is that it was not a "great idea" to give
an anemic patient a blood transfusion, as this has been
standard medical practice for almost 100 years. What this
conversation revealed, however, is that even when doctors read
a positive study in a prestigious medical journal, they still
may neglect to apply the therapy to their patients in
need.
"Scientific medicine" in action
A historical example of "scientific
medicine" in action occurred 22 years ago when the Life
Extension Foundation recommended taking folic acid to reduce
heart attack risk. Back then, most cardiologists had never
heard of homocysteine and did not know that folic acid reduces
levels of this toxic artery-clogging agent in the body.
Life Extension published evidence that
most people could benefit from folic acid and vitamin B12 in
1981. It was not until the 1990s, however, that the Journal of
the American Medical Association and the New England Journal
of Medicine reported compelling evidence linking elevated
homocysteine with higher rates of heart attack and stroke.
Life Extension did not discover the link
between homocysteine and cardiovascular disease. This finding
had been published in scientific journals as far back as the
1960s. The problem was that cardiologists overlooked this
crucial information. They failed to transfer the findings
about homocysteine from medical journals into their clinical
practice. The result was millions of unnecessary heart attacks
and strokes.
More appalling is the fact that, even
today, most cardiologists still fail to test their patients'
blood for homocysteine and seldom recommend supplements like
folic acid, vitamin B12, trimethylglycine (TMG) and vitamin B6
that have been proven to reduce toxic levels of
homocysteine.
What Life Extension did in 1981 was to
translate the results of published scientific studies into a
specific recommendation to its members, i.e., take folic acid
to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. This approach of
transferring the fruits of scientific discoveries to the front
lines where patients' lives literally hang in the balance is
critically important. Regrettably, this is not how medicine is
commonly practiced today. Conservative doctors are fearful of
adverse side effects and lawsuits, even though the published
research often indicates only modest risks for patients.
Folic acid can prevent many heart attacks
from occurring, yet most doctors still have not translated
this finding into their clinical practice. The fourth edition
of Disease Prevention and Treatment translates the
findings from thousands of published studies into practical
protocols that can help in the prevention and treatment of
common diseases. We call this "scientific medicine."
From the research labto the bedside
Disease Prevention and Treatment
features novel protocols for the prevention and treatment of
age-related diseases. Many of the therapies discussed in the
book have not yet been accepted by mainstream medicine. It is
important for the reader to understand the scientific criteria
used to select the data upon which these protocols are
based.
Every day, new studies are published in
peer-reviewed journals that reveal better ways of preventing
and treating disease. The Life Extension Foundation evaluates
the findings of these studies for their value in health care
and medicine. When sufficient evidence accumulates to validate
a new approach, it is then considered for inclusion in Life
Extension's ever-evolving Disease Prevention and
Treatment protocols.
An early example of Life Extension's
scientific approach involved the use of aspirin to prevent
heart attack.
Back in 1983, the Life Extension
Foundation analyzed findings from published studies indicating
that low-dose aspirin can reduce the risk of a heart attack by
about 40%. Life Extension members were urged to take a
low-dose aspirin tablet every day to protect against heart
attacks.
The FDA and medical establishment were
harshly critical of Life Extension's recommendation, even
though peer-reviewed scientific studies substantiated it. The
FDA even issued an edict that any company who promoted the
sale of aspirin to prevent heart attacks would be subject to
civil and criminal penalties. According to the FDA, making a
health claim for aspirin turned it into an "unapproved
drug."
In response to the FDA's censorship of
health claims about aspirin, Life Extension developed a
product called "First Amendment Aspirin." On the label of this
product was a quote from a published study indicating that
aspirin reduces heart attack risk. The FDA demanded that the
sale of this product cease, but Life Extension refused, citing
the First Amendment guarantee of free speech, i.e., the right
to communicate that a published scientific study found that
aspirin reduces heart attack risk. Realizing that they could
not get around the U.S. Constitution, the FDA went to the
manufacturer of the product and demanded that they stop making
"First Amendment Aspirin" or face intrusive daily inspections.
The manufacturer capitulated and stopped making the
product.
As new studies continued to verify
aspirin's cardio-protective effect, the FDA finally issued a
ruling in 1998 that allowed aspirin companies to advertise
that aspirin reduces heart attack risk.
It is difficult to calculate how many
Americans have perished needlessly from heart disease, but the
failure of doctors and the FDA to recommend low-dose aspirin
therapy for decades caused millions of unnecessary deaths. It
took the FDA 15 years to recognize what was clearly
established in 1983, i.e. aspirin reduces heart attack
risk.
Continued on Page 4 of 4
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