If you live in or near Southfield, Michigan, join the Scleroderma Foundation Michigan Chapter on Saturday, September 22nd for a full-day autoimmune seminar.  Here are the details:

How to Dance in the Rain
RX’s for the Mind, Body and Spirit

Saturday, September 22, 2012
Club Venetian Banquet and Conference Center
29310 John R. Road
Madison Heights, MI  48071
www.clubvenetian.com

$30 per person
includes Continental breakfast and buffet lunch

Call for information:  248-595-8526
Email: ldyas@scleroderma-mi.org
Click here for more information

By Ronni Shulman
Vice Chairman

“Less is more” has long been an adage of the fashion industry, but for homeopathy practitioners like Lou Paradise, it’s the motto of a burgeoning industry.

Paradise is the founder and president of Topical BioMedics, Inc., Rhinebeck, NY, developers of Topricin(R) Pain Relief and Healing Cream. Paradise was inspired to create the salve while exploring ways to alleviate his own pain caused by a severe case of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome – the result of injuries sustained as a decorated Marine Corps helicopter combat and rescue crew chief in Vietnam.

The affable executive is on a mission to integrate wellness into conventional medical approaches, working with physicians, researchers and consumers to safely stimulate health and healing. “I studied physiology from the time I was 13,’ he says, ‘hoping to become a trauma surgeon.” Paradise didn’t realize his dream to enter medical school after the Marines, but his military service brought him in touch with acupuncture, Tai Chi and other homeopathic specialists. He studied in Hong Kong with British and Chinese doctors, learning how eastern and western medicine could be used together.

His interest in alternative therapies was piqued further when he was told the pain of his carpal tunnel syndrome could not be alleviated, except through surgery. “Sometimes you discover stuff, and sometimes stuff discovers you,” Paradise says. He spent 10 years researching and fine-tuning a product which would work in harmony with the body and help it to heal itself. Today he is pain and symptom-free.

He uses his experience and research to serve as an expert speaker on the use of natural medicines, conducts pain management seminars, and addresses compliance issues related to the regulation of natural medicines as a member of the American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists.

“I love to help people help themselves,” Paradise says. “There’s a saying that you can give people fish, but it’s better to teach them how to fish.” At his seminars and via his media appearances, he instructs audiences about homeopathic approaches to their health. “It’s not enough to go to a health food store and stock up on ‘natural’ products. Arsenic is natural, but it will kill you,” he says. Paradise educates people to think critically about available resources and their possible side effects.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” he explains. “And what we don’t know can limit our options, hurt us or both.” He offers the following recommendations for helping to reduce dependency on dangerous medications (stressing the need to keep doctors and pharmacists in the loop when planning to adjust medication):

• Probiotics (acidophilus, bifida)

• Digestive enzymes

• B-Complex vitamins

• Malic acid

• Mineral complex

• Essential fatty acids (Evening Primrose Oil capsules)

• Replace coffee with tea or organic juices (coffee is a diuretic and washes out essential minerals)

• Remove all white refined sugar and flour from the diet—these are directly linked to many diseases

• Keep hydrated with water alone or by mixing half water/ half juice (cranberry, pomegranate, and grape)

These additional steps may help to speed recovery:

• Reduce stress with proven stress management techniques such as deep breathing exercises, meditation and yoga;

• Get ample rest and practice good sleep habits, such as going to bed and getting up at the same time each day;

• Exercise regularly. Simple and easy routines include walking, swimming and biking;

• Explore the benefits of acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments and massage therapy;

• Develop positive habits: eat healthy foods, limit caffeine, and make time to enjoy the good things in life.

In order for healing to start, the body needs help removing excess fluids and toxins from the affected joints, nerves and muscles. This takes pressure off the capillaries so oxygen-rich blood arrives to the affected area, maximizing healing and turning off the pain signal.

“Pain is an important signal alerting us that something is wrong.” The key to wellness, Paradise says, is to correct the metabolic issues — not simply mask the symptoms.”

I’ve always thought of massages as a special treat or a perk. I force myself to set milestones before allowing myself to take off for an hour or two of pampering at the salon. More recently I’ve justified these rare excursions because of their contribution to destressing the mind and body – things us Frosties need to do on a regular basis, right? So imagine my surprise when I received an email from Elizabeth Arden, reinforced by an article about the same time in the Wall Street Journal, promoting the benefits of massage therapy in boosting the immune system! Here’s the statement from Elizabeth Arden:

…By releasing endorphins and increasing circulation, massage can relieve pain and help reduce problematic symptoms including…Disease: Increases circulation allowing the body to pump more oxygen and nutrients to vital organs and tissue. Toxic intruders in the body are fought off more vigorously due to the arousal of the body’s natural defense system.”

Research shows that a 45-minute session can lead to a small reduction in the level of cortisol, a stress hormone in the blood, and a boost in white blood cells that fight infection. Studies have similarly documented immune benefits for women suffering from breast cancer, reduced symptoms for sufferers of asthma and osteoarthritis, and improved grip strength in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. Results have been so promising that scientific interest is really picking up. A unit of the National Institutes of Health is devoting $2.7 million on massage research this year. This increased research attention is due in part because of the growth of the practice.  The American Massage Therapy Association estimates it to be a $10 million dollar industry or more.

While insurance companies only provide limited coverage (coverage is, however, required in Washington state!), check with your employer to see if they’ve purchased coverage for alternative therapies as an add-on, or if your insurance plan offers discounts through an affiliate network of practitioners.  This is one therapy we can all enjoy!

The research studied two women using heated car seats while traveling for 45 minutes or more and found that the heat caused rusty brown patches on the back of the subjects’ thighs.  “It probably occurs because of changes in your blood vessels and pigment cells when heat is pressed against them,” says study author Eliot Mostow, M.D., master teacher at Northeast Ohio Medical Universities.

Hard for us Frosties to believe, but heated car seats can get too hot – even for us!  Consumer Reports reported last year that some were so hot, drivers were pursuing legal action for serious burns.  But it’s not just heated seats that can cause toasted skin syndrome.  Hot water bottles, heat packs and even laptops can cause the condition through overexposure. All it takes is a heat source being pressed up against the body for consistent, long periods of time.

But before you get depressed by this news, keep in mind that permanent skin discoloration is the extreme – just be careful and don’t overdo it with the heat.  Get it warm, then turn it off until you need more warmth, and think twice before always using the highest setting.

The randomized, double-blind clinical trial examines the effect of using Botox® to relieve pain by increasing blood flow. SIU is the only site in the United States participating in this study that evaluates the effectiveness and safety of Botox® on Raynaud’s patients with ischemic digits. 

Raynaud’s syndrome is a disorder that can affect the blood vessels in the fingers, toes, ears and nose. This disorder is characterized by episodic attacks that cause ischemia (constricted blood vessels).

According to principal investigator Dr. Michael W. Neumeister, professor and chair of SIU’s Division of Plastic Surgery, “In the hands, the limited blood flow can cause the fingers to turn cold, white and/or blue and be very painful, possibly even cause sores or ulcers to form. Our hope into the future is that we’ll find relief for these patients.”

To be eligible for the study, patients must be between the ages of 18 and 75 and be diagnosed with Raynaud’s Syndrome, including having results of an upper extremity angiogram. Participants must be willing to return to Springfield for treatment and evaluation for at least one month and follow up by phone for the remaining five years.

There are costs associated with participation. Participants or their insurance will be billed for standard treatment and clinic visits. Botox® will be provided at no cost to participants. There will be no charge for follow-up visits conducted by telephone. This study is funded by The Memorial Medical Center Foundation.

If you are interested in participating in the study, call Jenny at 217-545-7014 weekdays 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.

So are Frosties more likely to watch romantic movies? What are your movie preferences? Let us know if you fit the formula!

2-March-2012

UC Davis research shows how the body senses a range of hot temperatures

Heat-sensitive proteins assembled in different combinations distinguish temperatures, from a warm handshake to spicy foods

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —The winter sun feels welcome, but not so a summer sunburn. Research over the past 20 years has shown that proteins on the surface of nerve cells enable the body to sense several different temperatures. Now scientists have discovered how just a few of these proteins, called ion channels, distinguish perhaps dozens of discrete temperatures, from mildly warm to very hot.

Researchers showed that the building blocks, or subunits, of heat-sensitive ion channels can assemble in many different combinations, yielding new types of channels, each capable of detecting a different temperature. The discovery, in cell cultures, demonstrates for the first time that only four genes, each encoding one subunit type, can generate dozens of different heat-sensitive channels.

“Researchers in the past have assumed that because there are only four genes, there are only four heat-sensitive channels, but now we have shown that there are many more,” said Jie Zheng, leader of the research and an associate professor of physiology and membrane biology at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

The research publishes in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on March 2.

Ion channels are pores in cell membranes. Their ability to open and close controls the flow of charged ions, which turns neuron signalling on or off — in this case to inform the body of the temperature the neuron senses.

The researchers found that when different subunits combine, the resultant hybrid, or heteromeric, channel can detect temperatures about midway between what the “parent” channels detect.

One of the channels they studied, called TRPV1, reacts to hot temperatures — about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also responsible for the ability to sense spicy foods, such as chili peppers. A second channel, TRPV3, responds to temperatures of about 85 degrees. It also senses many food flavors such as those found in rosemary, oregano, vanilla and cinnamon that elicit a warm sensation.

When the TRPV1 and TRPV3 subunits recombine, the heteromeric channel is tuned to about 92 degrees. Surprisingly, the study showed that the hybrid channel has an even higher chemical sensitivity than the channels that made it up.

Zheng and his colleagues also showed that channels made up of TRPV1 and TRPV3 subunits react to heat at a rate about midway between that of the two constituent channel subunits. But repeatedly exposing the hybrid channels to their target temperature boosted their response, a behavior called sensitization, which TRPV3 also exhibits.

“It says ‘I remember this temperature. I will make a really loud noise to tell the system that it is coming,’” Zheng said. The process allows the body to be more sensitive to temperature.

By contrast, TRPV1 typically responds the same way when repeatedly exposed to its target temperature — and sometimes even decreases its response, a process called desensitization. It helps the body to adapt to high temperature, Zheng explained.

The research builds on work the team published in 2007 demonstrating that the heat-sensitive subunits can combine to form heteromeric channels. However, at the time, scientists didn’t know how these channels respond to heat. The new work shows that the channels are indeed sensitive to different temperatures.

“Knowing that there are many distinct heat-sensing ion channels now opens the way to understand how neurons encode precise temperature information, an important process that allows us to enjoy the rich spectrum of temperature in life — a memorable warm handshake, a soothing shower and a cup of hot latte — and add vanilla flavor, please,” Zheng said. “It also may provide insights regarding the causes and potential treatments for temperature-sensitivity disorders, such as Raynaud’s syndrome.”

Raynaud’s syndrome is a condition that causes some areas of the body — such as fingers, toes, the tip of the nose and ears — to feel numb and cool in response to cold temperatures or stress. The cause is unknown.

The scientists introduced the genes for TRPV1 and TRPV3 channel subunits to cultured human kidney cells. They tagged the genes with fluorescent markers to confirm when the resulting proteins had combined to form a new channel complex.

Once functional channels were formed, the researchers used a glass pipette with a very fine tip to record ion channels’ responses to temperature changes.

In order to rapidly increase the temperature, they built an apparatus that allowed them to deliver an infrared laser beam to the cell. The method allowed them to heat the channel more than a thousand times faster than commercially available heating devices.

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The collaborative research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the Chinese government.

The UC Davis School of Medicine is among the nation’s leading medical schools, recognized for its research and primary-care programs. The school offers fully accredited master’s degree programs in public health and in informatics, and its combined M.D.-Ph.D. program is training the next generation of physician-scientists to conduct high-impact research and translate discoveries into better clinical care. Along with being a recognized leader in medical research, the school is committed to serving underserved communities and advancing rural health. For more information, visit UC Davis School of Medicine at medschool.ucdavis.edu.

In the U.S., a rare disease is defined as affecting fewer than 200,000 people.  There are nearly 7,000 rare diseases affecting nearly 30 million Americans. In other words, as many as one in ten Americans are suffering from a rare disease.

The population of Raynaud’s sufferers is too large to be considered a rare disease:  As a group, we’re as large as all patients sufferering from rare diseases combined.  But a portion of Raynaud’s patients also suffer from rare diseases such as Scleroderma and Sjögren’s Syndrome.   More importantly, Raynaud’s sufferers share a common experience with these medical groups:  We struggle to get a proper diagnosis, find information, and get treatment.   Big as we are as a group, just like those with rare diseases, our cause receives little medical research attention.

One way almost anyone can help raise awareness for Rare Disease Day, is to Write Your Reps in Congress to help teach them about rare diseases. The more informed our legislators are about rare diseases and the millions of Americans living with them, the better they will be able to act on issues we all care about.

Agloves are great for using touchsrceen devices like smartphones and iPads without exposing your fingers.  They also make great gloveliners.  Click here for our Product Review on Agloves and member discount code.  And if you try the gloves, please share your feedback!