Monday, September 30, 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Friday, September 27, 2013

Not how it sounds

No Link Between Autism and Celiac Disease
"The new study does find an association between positive celiac disease–related serology, with normal mucosa, in the absence of celiac disease, which includes antigliadin antibodies, and autism." Similar to the conclusions reached by a recent study published in PLoS One and reported by Medscape Medical News, the results of this study show a link between gluten sensitivity in a subset of patients with autism that is unrelated to celiac disease, said Dr. Alaedini.

previous  posts

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Expected Behavior

Link Between Antidepressants and Diabetes Risk Is Real

Depression is caused by excess insulin.  So... yeah.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Do One Thing

Do one thing every day that scares you....

Today I went over to the Narcolepsy Network forum and posted my submission to the FDA.
And while finding the right category to post in, I saw this post title:
"Pregnant While On Xyrem...reporting In"
by a narco named Zombie Princess
Damn I hate it over there.
Makes my head screech.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Eating for Two

How mom's immune system is linked to autism risk
Activating a mother's immune system during her pregnancy disrupts the development of neural cells in the brain of her offspring and damages the cells' ability to transmit signals and communicate with one another, researchers with the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience and Department of Neurology have found. They said the finding suggests how maternal viral infection might increase the risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia.
Yes, well food allergies activate the immune system too...

Still Got It

I can still clean house for 48 straight hours.
Good thing...
heh.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Behold the Bias

Quitting Smoking Linked To Better Sleep At Night

That's what the medical media is reporting.

That is not at all what the study shows.
The study shows a correlation between smoking and bad sleep and nothing more.
And the authors document that with citations.
Behavioral variables may also contribute to poorer sleep among cigarette smokers. Since smokers often report using cigarette smoking as a form of stress relief (Fidler & West, 2009) and smokers self-report more daily stress than nonsmokers (Parrot, 1999), it is possible that this increase in stress may be the underlying cause of these sleep disturbances.
Second, persons who experience poor sleep may be more likely to smoke cigarettes. It is well known that poor sleep is associated with poor health-related quality of life (Lee et al., 2009) and symptoms of depression and anxiety (Mayers, Grabau, Campbell, & Baldwin, 2009; Paudel et al., 2008; Spira, Stone, Beaudreau, Ancoli-Israel, & Yaffe, 2009), all of which are associated with current cigarette smoking (McClave, Dube, Strine, & Mokdad, 2009; McClave et al., 2009). Poor sleepers may be more likely to smoke than those who sleep well because people who suffer from sleep difficulties experience a lower health-related quality of life and possibly even anxiety and depressive symptoms. 
Rule #1:   The pathology Always Always Always comes first.

Sleepy Girl

My little princess has figured out how to get on the good chairs.

Apparently they fit just right.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Oh Really

Man Brews Booze Inside His Own Gut
The 61-year-old could get stumbling drunk just by eating a bowl of pasta.
Fascinating, I'll have to research this more when I get a minute.

BEZOTD

Probably will be light blogging the next couple weeks.   I am slammed.

Sugar Dubbed Dangerous, Addictive Drug
Paul van der Velpen, the head of Amsterdam’s health service, says sugar is an addictive drug that should be “tightly regulated.”
Seriously dude, you're not helping.  Tightly regulating addictive substances has been proven over and over not to work.

Infection and allergies alter sugar metabolism.   Sick people self medicate.
You're missing a step, Mr. Righteous Dutch Disciplinarian...

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The First Basic Principle

Some people are more susceptible to illnesses in general.
Some people are more susceptible to specific illnesses.


Cold Sore Linked to Mutation in Gene 
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have found that people affected by cold sores have a mutation in a gene, which means their immune system is not able to prevent them from developing.
So, I'm guessing those people are probably more at risk of the long term effects too...
Just guessing.  

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Call Him Sherlock

Denis M. McCarthy
Sober Drinking Knowledge Fails 'in the Moment' of Intoxication

Seriously.
Your "Alcoholism Experts" at work.

My Peeps

I see you everywhere.    Struggling with your brains.

Photographer is a self-righteous misery-exploiting vampire who makes a lot of trite assumptions, but I like the pics anyway.
 

Or Maybe Not

Having Cavities Might Prevent Some Cancers

They credit this to a rise in lactic acid in the mouth. Maybe.
My research indicates that strep species compete for niches and suppress eachother's proliferation. Maybe Strep mutans suppresses Strep anginosus.... which is documented to cause head and neck cancer.

Something like this.

The Twist in the Mobius Strip

Smarter Kids Are Smart Enough to Avoid Alcohol and Drugs, Right?

Behold the power of dopamine.
Makes memory better.   And anxiety worse. 

Friday, September 13, 2013

Not Really Off-Topic

I am really beginning to like manic boy Russell Brand.    Quite a way with words.   And wisdom.   For a hyper freak...

Russell Brand and the GQ awards: 'It's amazing how absurd it seems' 
The comedian on his evening at the GQ awards, from which he was ejected after cracking a joke about sponsor Hugo Boss.
See the Matrix.  Speak the Truth.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Pay No Attention to the Man behind the Curtain

I'm very glad this guy wrote this article.   I didn't want to.    

Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs
Why are we so sure that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?
Because there a breakfast industry, that's why.   Funding something called Breakfast Science.
The same effect has been studied in Asia and in Europe, in children and in grown-ups, and the answer always seems to be the same: The more regularly you eat breakfast, the slimmer you’ll be.   The mere fact of this association doesn’t tell us very much about what breakfast really does, of course, and it’s possible that the case for eggs and toast has been overblown. A study published last week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition starts with this simple fact—that in spite of all these association studies, no one knows exactly what skipping breakfast might be doing to our bodies. The study goes on to make a disturbing claim: Scholars in this field of inquiry—breakfast science—have been fudging facts and misinterpreting the science. The literature shows signs of research bias.
I'm shocked, just shocked.
Does skipping breakfast make them fat, or do people who are getting fat choose to skip breakfast?
Hmmm.   I wonder.  Do you think fat people are stupid or not?

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The Root of the Problem

Twelve years after 9/11, we still have no idea how to fight terrorism.
The Afghanistan war has cost $657.5 billion so far, we spend $17.2 billion in classified funds a year fighting terrorism through the intelligence community, and the Department of Homeland Security spent another $47.4 billion last year. And we have very little idea whether any of it is preventing terrorist attacks.
 ...
The studies find that, on average, adding metal detectors and security screenings at airports leads to about 6.3 fewer airplane hijackings in the years examined. But they also find that those policies lead to significant increases in “miscellaneous bombings, armed attacks, hostage taking, and events which included death or wounded individuals (as opposed to non-casualty incidents) in both the short and long run.” In fact, metal detectors and security screenings at airports lead to about 6.9 more of these substitute events. “When calculating the overall weighted mean effect size for all of the findings examining the effectiveness of metal detectors, the positive and harmful effects cancel each other out,” the review’s authors conclude.
 650 billion dollars would buy every person in Afghanistan a lifetime of Dental Care.

Bwa Ha Ha Ha

Depression may be worse when accompanied by anger, irritability

Isn't that self evident?   Stressing out makes everything worse.  What the hell.

related post

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The Mind Boggles

Rice Diet center shuts its doors after 70 years
Dieters once flocked to the residential weight-loss facility in Durham, N.C. to drop pounds by following a white rice-and-fruit regimen. It has since closed following failed attempts to restart the program.

The Circle of Insanity

Get Jamba Juice for $1 to Fight Childhood Obesity

Monday, September 9, 2013

This is Why

Because Jamie put himself on a gluten free diet, got his shit together, and starts classes at a fancy, schmancy music school today.

That. Totally.  Rocks.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

My Submission to the FDA

Deadline is Friday.   You can submit yours here.
If you use dietary restriction -  please participate.  They need to know that drugs aren't the only answer.   

Topic 1: Disease symptoms and daily impacts that matter most to patients

1. Of all the symptoms that you experience because of your condition, which 1-3 symptoms have the most significant impact on your life?
    The depression. The soul-crushing life-destroying depression. The depression is worse than all the other symptoms combined. Narcolepsy doesn't kill you, it makes you want to die.
2. Are there specific activities that are important to you but that you cannot do at all or as fully as you would like because of your condition?
    I can't eat. That would be a pleasant experience to have again. I gave up even thinking about working or having children long ago. Right now I'm just hoping to live long enough to see you people get this right.

3. How have your symptoms changed over time?
    The symptoms change constantly. Daily weekly yearly. They fluctuate with age and illness and diet. Sugar is a trigger. And gluten. And sinusitis. And periodontitis. And it gets cumulatively worse. To the point it's unbearable. And then you get DEMENTIA.  I have extensively documented the scientific literature regarding these symptoms and comorbid factors on my websites. zombieinstitute.net

Topic 2: Patients’ perspectives on current approaches to treating narcolepsy

1)What are you currently doing to help treat your condition or its symptoms?
a) What specific symptoms do your treatments address?

Gluten-Free Low-Carb Diet- for sleepiness, depression, cognitive impairment.
Oropharygial infection prevention- for anxiety, insomnia, obsession.
Caffeine and Nicotine- because my frontal cortex is fried.

b) How has your treatment regimen changed over time, and why?

This protocol changes constantly as I learn more about the orexin system and autoimmune disorders. 
 
2. How well does your current treatment regimen treat the most significant symptoms of your disease?
I AM ABLE TO NOT USE ANY PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FOR NARCOLEPSY.

a) How well do these therapies improve your ability to do specific activities that are important to you in your daily life?
    The Gluten-free low carb diet works extremely well on the Hyperinsulinemia related symptoms. I no longer have sleep attacks, daytime sleepiness, depression or cognitive impairment.
    The antimicrobial prophylaxis addresses the autoimmune effects of Streptococcal infection which is The Primary Cause of Narcolepsy. This is less effective as I have been chronically infected for my entire life without proper diagnosis.
    The caffeine and nicotine make my research and thus my continuing existence possible.

b) How well have these treatments worked for you as your condition has changed over time?

Way better than the drugs my doctor prescribed.  It gave me my life back.

3. What are the most significant downsides to your current treatments, and how do they affect your daily life? 

Downsides? Metabolic dysfunction and recurring infections are truly annoying, but let's start with the fact that due to the insidious influence of the drug companies in the sleep medicine industry-  no “specialists” seem to be aware of the basic mechanisms of Narcolepsy.   They only offer stimulant drugs.   I can't talk to a doctor about this. That really interferes with my health care.
My daily life now revolves around finding and disseminating this crucial information to other narcoleptics.

4. Assuming there is no complete cure for your condition, what specific things would you look for in an ideal treatment for your condition?

Don't assume there's no cure.  We've already found some effective treatments, and we're working on preventing it altogether. Us. The Narcoleptic Patient Researchers who truly know what's at stake.

In the meantime- we really could use some proper Diet Information, Metformin and Antibiotics.  We really need to be able to think.   Thanks.
 

Friday, September 6, 2013

Brain Saving Information of the Day

Antiviral drug may extend brain cancer survival, researchers say
Writing in the Sept. 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers reported on 50 patients who were given the antiviral drug valganciclovir (Valcyte) to help treat glioblastoma. The cancer is the most common form of brain tumor in adults, and it carries a dismal prognosis—with a typical survival of just over a year.

After two years, 62 percent were still alive. Of the 25 who took the antiviral continuously, 90 percent were still alive. That compared with just 18 percent of patients who received most of the same treatments—including surgery and chemotherapy—but did not take Valcyte.

Valcyte is a pill used to treat cytomegalovirus (CMV) eye infections in people with AIDS. CMV is a very common virus—up to 80 percent of adults contract it by age 40—and it usually causes no harm in someone with a healthy immune system.
Researchers have found, however, that CMV dwells in the tumor cells of most people with glioblastoma, which suggests that the virus contributes to the cancer in some way.

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

Ming-Te Wang PhD

Yelling could be as harmful as hitting children, new study shows
"Mothers’ and fathers’ harsh verbal discipline at age 13 predicted an increase in adolescent conduct problems and depressive symptoms between ages 13 and 14" the study said.
They also noted that when parents responded to a child's misbehavior by yelling or otherwise using harsh verbal reactions, the children were more likely to continue the misbehavior. 
People with impulse control problems have kids with impulse control problems.
Therefore:  It must be the screaming.

He is a professor and teaching that kind of thinking to paying students.   Sigh.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

One of those Days

Have another song.

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

Kimberly Young
You're talking, but you're not saying anything.

Now there’s rehab for Internet addicts 
The program involves a 10–day stay at the center, where patients will do a full detox from their devices. During that time, they may experience withdrawal symptoms that can be treated with medication. Young didn’t specify which meds would be used, but Grohol points out that there are no FDA–approved medications for treating Internet withdrawal. “If you’re using a treatment strategy that has research backing linked to substance abuse, and just saying they work for Internet addiction, when there’s no research to actually back them up . . . it makes me scratch my head.”
The center’s treatment programs are tailored to a patient’s specific needs. They will meet with therapists and attend classes to understand their addiction and how they can overcome it going forward. They’ll also learn about “what they can be doing in terms of sponsorship and support,” Young says.
Slowly, technology is reintroduced over the 10–day period. “For one hour you get to do what you really wanna do on the Internet, the next day two, next day three.” Patients are counseled about developing coping mechanisms for when they reenter the real world. The main thing is understanding how their use of technology took over so much of their time.

 “What was it that got them to that point in the first place?” Young asks.
Yes, please do answer that question. 
And do explain how detoxing from the devices helps too.
BEFORE you open your damn clinic.
Many of the people who come to Young look like zombies. “It’s like if you were to think of a heroin addict,” she says. “They are gaunt and sick almost.”
Seriously?  They are sick, dumbass.
You are making it worse just by taking up their time.


By the way, it's $14,000 to be isolated from society, and not covered by insurance.
Kind of like Scientology.

Old Song of the Day

Heh.
gawdawful video.   she looks drunk.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

How About That

The onset of Kleine-Levin syndrome episodes is associated with respiratory infections.

I bet that correlation would be way higher if they included oral infections too...

Expected Results

Oral Infections Causing More Hospitalizations
Last year, a Pew Charitable Trusts report estimated that preventable dental conditions, including abscessed teeth, were the primary reason for 830,590 emergency room visits in 2009 — a 16 percent increase from 2006.
Yes, that will happen when people can't afford protein or health care.
See also previous post.   Speaking of prevention.

Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic

Military And Veteran Suicides Rise Despite Aggressive Prevention Efforts  

Mind Games

High Dose Statins Prevents Dementia, Study Suggests
He added: "It was the potency of the statins rather than their solubility (lipophilic or hydrophilic) which was a major determinant in reducing dementia. High potency statins such as atorvastatin and rosuvastatin showed a significant inverse association with developing dementia in a dose-response manner. Higher doses of high potency statins gave the strongest protective effects against dementia."
Yes, well, this result is very likely not due to any lipid controlling effects.
Statins are antimicrobial.  They also seem to  reduce periodontal disease. 

Monday, September 2, 2013

Maniac of the Day

Behold the power of dopamine.

Diana Nyad completes historic swim from Cuba to Florida

Think About It

AAP Reminds Parents about Flu Vaccines
We’re not in flu season yet, but the American Academy of Pediatrics is already urging parents to get their children immunized as soon as the vaccine is available.
And I am urging Narcoleptics and their children NOT to be vaccinated unless they are highly likely to be infected.  The influenza immune response is well documented to lower the resistance to strep bacteria.

Not to mention this:    Vaccination may make flu worse if exposed to a second strain.

Make sure you have adequate Vitamin D levels instead.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

The Xyrem Vortex

So this seems to be a common occurrence-
You girls go on Xyrem or stimulants, lose a bunch of weight and decide you should be vegetarians and eat nothing but carbs.
And then you wonder why your drugs don't work anymore.

How Little Narcoleptics Are Made

Impulse Control Problems
They found that drunk people showed a reduced ability to identify asymmetrical faces, as well as a reduced preference for symmetrical faces. Not only that, but women made more mistakes than men in identifying the asymmetrical faces.
 This seems to have evolved because the women get fat and the men go bald.  Ha.