Have you received a diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the knee?
This is the “wear and tear” breakdown of cartilage of the knee joint, leading to inflammation and resulting symptoms of:

• pain
• swelling
• restricted mobility

Have you heard of Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)? Read on to learn more about this next generation innovative treatment!

Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, osteoarthritis in general affects:

• 13.9 percent of adults aged 25 and older
• 33.6 percent of those older than 65.

At the late stage of severe degeneration, partial or total knee replacement may be considered, as a way of replacing diseased bone with an implant. At earlier stages, less invasive arthroscopic surgery may be performed to repair torn cartilage.

Non-surgical approaches could range from application of ice and heat or gentle exercise to increase range of motion to acupuncture or over-the-counter medication like acetaminophen.

Injection Methods Including Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)

Another minimally invasive option involves types of injections – cortisone, hyaluronic acid, stem cells or platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Many orthopedic specialists consider PRP to be more effective and long-lasting than other types of injection in stimulating repair of cartilage, torn meniscus and ligaments, thus reducing swelling and pain and delaying the need for joint replacement surgery.

The procedure of PRP involves collecting a small amount of blood, spinning it on a centrifuge to concentrate and separate the platelets containing growth factors from the red cells, and injecting the platelets into the joint.
This is a safe and comfortable procedure to enhance a natural healing process of tissue regeneration.

Evidence For Effectiveness of PRP

What is the evidence for effectiveness of PRP for treatment of knee osteoarthritis?

A review of 14 randomized controlled trials with a total of 1,423 participants indicated that PRP significantly reduced pain scores and improved physical function, with minimal side-effects (1). A study in the medical journal Orthopade concluded that “Intra-articular PRP injections into the knee for symptomatic early stages of knee osteoarthritis are a valid treatment option” and “the long-term efficacy of intra-articular PRP is superior to intra-articular hyaluronic acid and intra-articular cortisone.”(2)

Another study confirmed that “platelet-rich plasma therapy is a simple, low-cost and minimally invasive intervention which is feasible to deliver in primary care to treat degenerative lesions of articular cartilage of the knee.”(3) The average participant in this study was obese and obesity is known to be a contributing factor to osteoarthritis in the lower extremities.

Research from the Mayo Clinic agreed that PRP is a safe and effective option for knee osteoarthritis, while treatment benefits seemed to wane after 6-9 months (4).

Another study found that symptomatic relief lasted for up to 12 months, with some risk of local adverse reactions after multiple PRP injections (5), although other studies have found no increased risk of adverse reactions.

Arresting Degeneration (Knee Osteoarthritis) in Athletic Injuries

Athletes are known to have an earlier onset and greater prevalence of knee osteoarthritis. Self-administered remedies such as ice, knee braces and anti-inflammatory medications fail to arrest further degeneration of the joint.

However, a study by researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery (New York) has shown that PRP not only improved pain and function in arthritic knees, but in up to 73 percent of patients appeared to delay the progression of the disease. While it is usual for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee to lose about 5 percent of knee cartilage per year, this study demonstrated through MRI assessment no progression of arthritis in a majority of the participants. While success in PRP studies is often measured through pain or physical function scales or questionnaires, another MRI study of PRP, conducted double-blind and controlled on 23 patients, produced objective evidence of significant improvement in radiologic measurements of cartilage volume and integrity (6).

Of course, acceptance of PRP is not universal in the medical community. Keeping with scientific conventions, even studies that apparently demonstrate success in improving pain and physical function and arresting degeneration still counsel the need for further research to achieve greater corroboration and standardization.

For more information on whether PRP is suitable for your condition, call 425-775-6001 for your free consultation.

References

1. Shen L et al. the temporal effect of platelet-rich plasma on pain and physical function in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Orthop Surg Res. 2017;12:16.
2. Huang Y et al. Intra-Articular Injections of Platelet-rich Plasma, Hyaluronic Acid or Corticosteroids For Knee Osteoarthrits: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study. Orthopade 2019 Mar; 48(3): 239-247.
3. Glynn LG et al. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy for knee arthritis: a feasibility study in primary care. Pilot Feasibility Stud 2018; 4:93.
4. Pourche AM et al. Intraarticular Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: Review and Recommendations. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Nov; 93(11 Suppl 3): S108-21.
5. Campbell KA et al. Does Intra-articular Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection Provide Clinically Superior Outcomes Compared With Other Therapies in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis? A Systematic Review of Overlapping Meta-analyses. Arthroscopy. 2015 Nov; 31(11): 2213-21.
6. Halpern B et al. Clinical and MRI Outcomes After Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment For Knee Osteoarthritis. Clin J Sport Med. 2013 May; 23(3): 238-9.
7. Raeissadat SA et al. MRI Changes After Platelet Rich Plasma Injection in Knee Osteoarthritis (Randomized Clinical Trial). J Pain Res. 2020; 13: 65-73

 

Why do two people exposed to the same disease entity and observing the same precautions respond in opposite ways? Why do some get sick, while others remain unharmed or recover quickly?

The difference is the strength of our individual immune system!

The immune system is the body’s natural defense system that defends the body from external disease-causing entities, such as:

• viruses
• bacteria
• fungi
• pollens
• food allergens

Occasionally, the immune system can mistakenly attack the body itself, causing an autoimmune disorder, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. (more info about auto-immunity can be found here)
The “soldiers” that the immune system sends into battle are white blood cells, such as macrophages and T and B lymphocytes, that are produced in the bone marrow and the thymus gland. Blood proteins known as antibodies counteract the attack of antigens, the harmful foreign substances.

Immune Stressors

A science-based program for enhancing the body’s immune defense ability would take into account the various stressors that can weaken the immune system and cause its dysfunction. These include:

• pharmaceutical drugs
• toxicity caused by certain foods or environmental toxins
• smoking
• sleep deprivation
• hormone imbalance
• digestive malabsorption
• emotional stress
• genetic predisposition

The strategies of such a program would therefore be to optimize digestion and nutritional factors, provide psychological support, and control lifestyle factors, such as diet, weight, sleep and exercise.

Nutritional Support

The nutritional support element of the program should focus on testing and supplementing specific nutrient deficiencies that can create susceptibility to infection. These include vitamins A, E, C, D and B6, as well as minerals such as zinc, copper and selenium, all of which strengthen white blood cell anti-viral and anti-bacterial actions.

Simple methods of testing for zinc deficiency, through taste perception or a hair sample, or taking a saliva sample to measure the level of an immune antibody, can be a helpful reflection of one’s immune status. A protein supplement protects the immune cells and helps to fight infection. In addition, the immune system can be boosted with mushroom, hormone and botanical extracts. At the same time, there should be an emphasis on education regarding immune-supporting foods.  One could utilize specialized test information and other personal medical data to generate a complete individual Prescription Food Plan, based on research on one’s individual medical conditions. Such a plan incorporates many nutritional recommendations, such as the limitation of refined sugar sources in the diet, since these suppress immune function as much as 50 percent for 5 hours after consumption. This plan would accomplish one of the many goals of natural medicine – to use the food as medicine in maintaining health and preventing serious disease in the future.

Physical Method

Many research studies have also indicated that white blood cell activity, nervous system and hormone regulation are all enhanced through physical procedures like acupuncture, spinal adjustment, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF), cranial electric stimulation (CES) and intramuscular injection of vitamins that are not well absorbed orally. Such physical or energetic boosts to the immune function work synergistically with nutritional therapy to accomplish maximum benefit for patients.

Psychological Support

Finally, one could also utilize training in meditation and relaxation techniques, aided by biofeedback technology, since research has made it clear that uncontrolled increases in the body’s stress hormones suppress the immune system.

To schedule a complementary 15min. preliminary consultation with one of our physicians to assess your immune status and address your health concerns, call NHMC at (425) 775-6001.

 

East-West Medicine: Towards a More Complete Integrative Paradigm

When Rudyard Kipling wrote, “East is East and West is West and ne’er the twain shall meet,” he could not have predicted the era of global communications that is simultaneously bringing together disparate cultures and diminishing their distinctive identities. While medicine advances on many fronts, including genomic research and immunological treatment of cancer, one of the frontiers must surely also be cross-cultural. After a century during which traditional Chinese medicine had been on the defensive in its homeland, the People’s Republic of China after 1949 determined to preserve serviceable elements of the tradition that were not inconsistent with Western scientific medicine (1) , according to Chairman Mao’s dictum to “let the past serve the present.” In the modern era, acupuncture was introduced to the West through an article on the front page of the New York Times in 1971 by the reporter James Reston, who accompanied Richard Nixon on his historic trip to China, describing the elimination of his post-operative pain after an emergency appendectomy at a Beijing hospital through the anesthesia produced by three acupuncture needles.

Currently, China could be considered to have the world’s most completely integrative medical system, with Western-style allopathic practitioners routinely working alongside traditional-style practitioners in hospitals and clinics, each type of practitioner required to train in the other’s style of medicine as well as their own. In the West, naturopathic physicians required to study basic medical sciences and clinical medicine, as well as “nature cure” modalities, in many cases have also completed training in traditional Chinese medicine, and are therefore uniquely positioned to accomplish a three-way, most complete integration of not only allopathic and naturopathic traditions, but also Eastern and Western medicine.

According to an article published in a Korean-language medical journal, the integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western medicine began 400 years ago. In the modern era, the concept of what is now routinely termed Integration of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine (ITCWM) took root following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, particularly through research leading to the eradication of epidemic diseases such as schistomiasis. Following a lapse in progress during the period of Cultural Revolution, China established an Institute of ITCMWM and departments of ITCMWM in hospitals and medical schools, to foster research in clinical practice and book publications. (2) Chinese researchers have established diagnostic classifications of PCOS, differentiating anovulation from hyper-androgenism, based on the differentiation of TCM syndromes of Kidney Yin Deficiency with Phlegm Blockage and Blood Stasis from Kidney Deficiency with Liver Qi Stagnation.(3) An article in the Journal of Integrative Medicine has brought attention to the parallels between the modern Western approach of “precision medicine” and the personalized style of treatment provided by the TCM model. (4) An Integrated Western and Chinese medical approach to glucolipid metabolic disease encompasses the Chinese medical concept of liver dysfunction in metabolic and emotional regulation leading to endogenous production of Dampness and Phlegm.(5)

Numerous research studies, primarily randomized controlled trials, have compared the effectiveness of the integrated East-West medical model with the effect of Western medicine by itself. When traditional acupuncture was combined with conventional rehabilitation therapy and compared with rehabilitation therapy alone for treatment of shoulder hand syndrome after stroke in 20 studies involving 1918 participants, the combined therapy significantly reduced pain on a visual analogue scale, improved limb movement and the performance of activities of daily living with a 95 percent confidence interval for the mean difference (6). For 60 hospital patients diagnosed with thoracolumbar burst fracture, randomly assigned to “three-step reduction (TSR) therapy of integrated of Chinese and Western medicine” or posterior open (PO) surgery, results showed reduction of the fracture, rebuilding the height of the centrum, recovering the biomechanical function of the spine, and reducing bleeding better in the TSR group than the PO group (P< 0.05) (7). In treatment of 89 patients with delayed encephalopathy after acute carbon monoxide poisoning, randomly divided groups received either hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy alone or HBO in combination with granules of the Chinese traditional herbal formula, XingZhiYiNao. The groups were compared on activities of daily living (ADL), cognitive function, and the impairment degree of cerebral white matter. On all measures, efficacy of the combined treatment group was superior to that of the HBO group ( P< 0.05) (8). A total of 60 patients with diabetic xeropthalmia were randomly assigned to a control group of Western medical treatment alone or an experimental group of treatment with traditional Chinese and Western medicine. With 95 percent confidence, the combined treatment was effective in reducing inflammatory biomarkers and reducing
corneal injuries (9).

Other research studies have been mainly on ITCWM treatment of cases of cancer and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). A retrospective study was conducted on 67 patients with Stage II-IIIA Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer after radical surgery from two Chinese hospitals treated either with conventional chemotherapy alone or traditional Chinese medicine integrated with chemotherapy. With a 95 percent confidence level, the study concluded that addition of TCM therapy reduced the rate of tumor recurrence and metastasis and prolonged median disease-free survival (10). In a study of 54 castration-resistant prostate cancer patients, a randomly selected control group was treated by endocrine therapy (bicalutamide and goserelin), chemotherapy (docetaxel) and oral prednisone, while an experimental group received the same treatment with the addition of the Fuyang Huayu traditional Chinese medical herbal prescription for tonifying yang and dispersing blood stasis. Comparing the two groups of patients, Karnofsky, FACT-P and TCM symptoms scores were all significantly improved in the trial group but not in the control group (11). In animal and histological research on cell lines in vitro and in vivo of pancreatic cancer, an aggressive disease with a particularly poor prognosis, treatment with gemcitabine, a chemotherapy agent, was combined with baicalein, a type of bioflavinoid originally isolated from the roots of the Chinese herbs scutellaria baicalensis and scutellaria lateriflora. The results demonstrated that the inhibitory effect of gemcitabine on pancreatic cancer cells and promotion of apoptosis were enhanced by the combined use with baicalein (12). Also, a meta-analysis of 27 articles with randomized trials involving 4,368 patients was conducted on mammary gland hyperplasia, a common breast condition that confers an increased risk of carcinoma. The results showed with a high level of statistical significance that the combined treatment of tamoxifen with the Chinese herbal formula Ru-Pi-Xiao achieved better therapeutic effects than tamoxifen alone, and furthermore suggested that this combination could prove the level of progesterone and decrease the size of breast lump to a greater extent, providing a possible pharmacodynamic mechanism for the combination (13).

In a controlled study of 49 patients with SARS, one group was treated with antibiotic, antiviral and other drugs, while the other was treated with an ITCWM combined protocol. Treatment of the latter group was superior in terms of symptom improvement, shortened therapeutic course, recovery of immune function and absorption of lung inflammation, and decreased dosage of medication required (14). In another study, 48 hospital patients diagnosed with SARS were randomly divided into a corticosteroid treatment group and a combined ITCWM treatment group. The hospitalization time, body temperature stabilization time, and time of corticosteroid use were shorter in the trial group than in the control group (P<0.05) (15). These findings were confirmed by another controlled study involving glucocorticoid treatment of SARS in 461 patients compared with the integrated approach. In the ITCWM group, the average time in hospital and duration of pneumonia were shortened, mortality fell and average dosage of glucocorticoid was decreased, with a statistically significant difference in favor of the integrated therapy group (16).

The classical theoretical underpinning of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine has featured Taoist philosophical concepts of energetic phases and correspondences in nature (Yin and Yang, Five Elements), but this system that has not developed significantly in 1000 years has been minimized in modern official Chinese government pronouncements, while paradoxically the complete traditional theoretical system is the version taught at over 100 professional colleges of acupuncture and Chinese medicine in Western countries. According to Paul Unschuld, a prominent historian of Chinese medicine, this Western variant of Chinese medicine is “conditioned more by the expectations and demands of a Western population than by the marshalling of scientific evidence.” (17) Or, in other words, “a medical system develops its theories and gains and maintains the acceptance of the community it serves not by its clinical effectiveness but by the acceptability of its underlying ideas.” (18)

The need for such a conceptual alternative to modern biomedicine has arisen partly from the reaction to well-publicized negative aspects of chemical agents and technology and alienating aspects of a medical system based on a nineteenth century industrial/mechanical rather than a holistic model and a medical culture of an expert elite whose training and practice have not emphasized the doctor-patient interaction. The result, according to Unschuld, is “a conceptual adaptation to Western fears.” (19) Medical choices in popular consciousness are thus placed in the realm of belief, similar to religious preferences, dependent more on family or cultural environment than on scientific data.

At the same time, there has been limited scientific acceptance of acupuncture, in spite of its long professed effectiveness, since it does not fit the double-blind controlled experimental model that is best suited to provide a scientific stamp of approval to marketable drugs. This raises the question of what constitutes evidence in the era of “evidence-based medicine.” Is evidence-based medicine necessarily the most effective medicine? Do most allopathic physicians even practice evidence-based medicine or is it more honored in the word than the deed? According to a report from the Office of Technology Assessment of the United States Congress, 10-15 percent of medical practice is based on controlled clinical studies.(20) Furthermore, the most downloaded study from the Public Library of Science states the following:
“Published research findings are sometimes refuted by subsequent evidence, with ensuing confusion and disappointment. Refutation and controversy are seen across the range of research designs, from clinical trials … to the most modern molecular research. There is increasing concern that in modern research, false findings may be the majority of … of published research claims … It can be proven that most claimed research findings are false.” (21)

At the same time, Marcia Angell, editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, agrees that such journals constitute “primarily a marketing machine.” (22) Ample documentation can be provided for publication bias, i.e. publication of only the positive studies supporting a particular drug, while ignoring the negative studies, and stating “evidence-based” decisions based on a biased sample. (23) (24) Currently, “10 to 30 percent of the world’s health care is delivered by conventional Western methods; the remaining 70 to 90 percent is rendered by alternative modes of treatment.” (25) Herbalists and acupuncturists Michael and Lesley Tierra proclaim on the basis of a vast empirical accumulation an “integrated system of Planetary Herbology”, Incorporating Western naturopathy, the early American Thompsonian system, Chinese herbal medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine of East India, Native American herbology, Middle Eastern Unani Medicine, Tibetan Medicine, as well as the folk medical traditions of many cultures worldwide. (26) Considering the exclusiveness of Western medical orthodoxy in its training and practice, perhaps it is appropriate to quote Shakespeare: “There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy.” Is there in fact an alternative science or a non-Western body of scientific knowledge? Joseph Needham, the Cambridge biochemistry scholar whose biography describes him as “The Man Who Loved China”, (27) is often credited with the single greatest work of scholarship, “Science and Civilization in Ancient China,” now posthumously extending to more than 22 volumes. (28) Each volume deals with a different branch of ancient Chinese scientific knowledge, such as nautical science, astronomy and astrology, botany and other biological science, etc. One could learn, for example, that in the eleventh century, there was a Chinese practice of using powder derived from aging smallpox scabs for inoculation, although the credit for smallpox vaccination usually goes to Edward Jenner (1796). (29)

How is such a body of knowledge acquired and verified as a basis for practical application, if not by the experimental method? Evidence may also be empirical, i.e. based on trial and error over an extended period. “The empiricist precedes the man of science, and the work of empiricism finally gives us data that enables man to formulate laws, until at last science is born.” (30) Apparently, as the survey of the Office of Technology Assessment indicates, modern Western physicians, along with the rest of the world, past and present, depend primarily on applying what has worked through their experience. An extension of the empirical method in the modern era is statistical evaluation, and in fact most of the published evidence for the effectiveness of traditional Chinese acupuncture and herbal medicine is based on the statistical weight of evidence of therapeutic effects on several hundreds or thousands of subjects.

It is well know that many of the drugs utilized in the pharmacopeia of Western allopathic medicine are derived by extracting the chemical part of a drug and later synthesizing it. Examples are aspirin from willow trees, digitalis from foxglove and reserpine from rauwolfia. (31) In fact, the farther one extends back into antiquity, even beyond Hippocrates to the Sumerians, Babylonians and to prehistoric Neolithic times, the more Eastern and Western empirical medical traditions coincide, particularly on the points enunciated by naturopathic physicians: 1) vis medicatrix naturae (the healing power of nature); 2) use of natural therapeutic agents, such as air, water, sunlight, diet and herbs; 3) emphasis on prevention; 4) using the least invasive or harmful agents; 5) the doctor as health educator; and 6) treating the whole person, recognizing emotional causes of physical disorders.

When the choice between a traditional empirical system and a modern allopathic system is available, how is a decision made? Arthur Kleinman, psychiatrist and medical anthropologist, conducted an inter-cultural study of medical systems available to modern Taiwanese residents, finding that Western medical practitioners are chosen when people believe that they need a drug medication, whereas traditional Chinese medical practitioners or temple fortune-tellers are consulted when the need is felt
for a personal emotional interaction. (32)

What would an integrative East-West naturopathic-allopathic encounter between physician and patient look like? There would be considerable overlap of the two approaches in history-taking and examination. Traditionally in China, assessment of internal states was based on examination of external inspection of the pulse, face and tongue and palpation of the pulse and acupuncture meridian points. This Eastern-style physical inspection would accompany Western examination of vital signs, along with review of systems. A naturopathic practitioner might include palpation of Chapman reflexes on the trunk area, reflecting the condition of internal organs, as well as evaluation of spinal alignment. Both traditions could utilize symptoms survey questionnaires, including a questionnaire to evaluate the Ayurvedic dosha (body type or constitution), i. e. vata, pitta or kapha (corresponding to dominance of nervous system, digestive-circulatory systems, or body tissues and structure) Findings from the history and physical examination could reveal, from the Eastern perspective, for example, indications of internal heat (Yin Deficiency or Pitta dominance), usually reflecting inflammation or infection. For the same patient, the Western exam might show elevated temperature or blood pressure or pain (localized or general). The East-West physician could seek corroboration of these findings through electrodermal testing of meridian extremity points, bioresonance testing, and through laboratory tests – in addition to basic CBC and metabolic panel, additionally ordering CRP, ESR, viral antibodies (HSV, EBV), or in some cases expanded thyroid and adrenal panels. Considering a different scenario, for the East-West physician, a pale tongue and weak pulse (Blood Deficiency in Chinese medicine) could correspond to anemia or infertility or several other conditions.

For the most complete individual health profile, the integrative practitioner could order additional panels for mineral and heavy metal analysis, comprehensive amino acids and organic acids, food and environmental allergies, digestive stool analysis and chemical toxins. Some would now add a genomic profile as well. Of course, each test leads to individual prescription of specific nutrients or therapeutic protocols, while the accumulation of test data, taken in combination with data on blood type, Ayurvedic
dosha, body measurements, medical history and symptoms, could generate a complete individual Prescription Food Plan. This process would require a software program such as Food Pharmacy, which permits inputs for all medical conditions, laboratory data, nutrient imbalances and allergens and produces a comprehensive color-coded list of dietary items that benefit or aggravate one’s individual conditions. Such a plan would fulfill Hippocrates’ injunction to “let one’s food be medicine and one’s
medicine be food.” Maintaining a diet that truly fits one’s body would address current health issues, prevent more serious conditions in the future and maintain stable weight and metabolism.

While this integrative nutritional prescription could be considered the ultimate lifestyle goal, the integrative East-West physician would in every interaction with patients attempt to maintain an open understanding and application of the fullest possible scope of medical-cultural principles and practices from Eastern and Western sources.

REFERENCES

1. Unschuld, P. Chinese Medicine. Boston: Paradigm; 1998: 2
2. Shin, SS. Development of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine and change of medical policy in China. Uisahak 1999; 8(2): 207-32
3. Yu J, Yu CQ, Cao Q, Wang L, Wang WJ, Zhou LR, Li J, Qian QH. Consensus on the integrated traditional Chinese and Western medical criteria of diagnostic classification in polycystic ovary syndrome. J Integr med 2017 Mar; 15(2): 102-109
4. Wang WJ, Zhang T. Integration of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine in the era of precision medicine. J Integr Med 2017 Jan 15 (1): 1-7
5. Guo J. Research progress on prevention and treatment of glucolipid metabolic disease with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Chin J Integr Med. 2017 Jun; 23(6): 403-409

17. Unschuld, 123.
18. Wiseman, Nigel in Translator’s Forward to Unschuld, vii
19. Unschuld, 113
20. Assessing the efficacy and safety of medical technologies. Congress of the United States Office of Technology Assessment Archive, Sept 1978: 7.
21. Ioannis JPA. Why most published research findings are false. PLOS Medicine 2005 2(8): 124
22. Angell, M. Industry-sponsored clinical research: a broken system. JAMA 2008; Sep 3: 300 (9): 1069-71
23. Turner EH et al. Selective publication of antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy. New Eng J Med 2008; 358: 252-260
24. Doshi P, Jefferson T, Del Mar C. The imperative to share clinical study reports: recommendations from the Tamiflu experience. PLOS Med 2012; 9(4) 201
25. Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons. A Report to the National Institutes of Health on Alternative Medical Systems and Practices in the United States. (Washington,D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994). NIH Publication No. 94-066
26. Tierra, M. The East-West Herb Course 1996: 1
27. Winchester, S. The Man Who Loved China. Harper Perennial 2008
28. Needham, J. Science and Civilization in Ancient China. Press Syndicate, University of Cambridge 1954
29. Ibid, 6: 134
30. Lloyd J. Quoted in Tierra, M. The East-West Herb Course 1996:3
31. Tierra,M. 4
32. Kleinman, A. Patients and healers in the context of culture. Berkeley: Univ of Calif Press 1980

Addiction to Alcohol/Opiates/Addictive Substances

NEW HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER in the Edmonds/Shoreline area is introducing a powerful, research-based program for addiction withdrawal from alcohol, opiates and other addictive substances. It combines three proven and clinically time-tested strategies: Electroacupuncture, Cranial electrical stimulation, and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy. 

Dramatically Alleviates Withdrawal Syndrome

Acupuncture, of course, has a track record of success extending back thousands of years, and is well-known to ease pain through stimulation of the release of the body’s own natural opiate substances. Over the past 50 years, numerous clinical studies have also demonstrated effectiveness of acupuncture in controlling addictive behavior and preventing relapse. A summary of research on acupuncture for heroin withdrawal over an 8-year period in China found the therapeutic effect of acupuncture “definite and indispensable.” (Zhang, J. et al, 2014) Another randomly controlled experimental study examined the effect of mild electrical stimulation of acupuncture needles in a program of detoxification for 63 heroin addicts and concluded that it “dramatically alleviated the withdrawal syndrome.” (Ma, D et al, 2015) Acupuncture has also been found successful in significantly decreasing and eliminating cravings for alcohol, crack cocaine and pharmaceutical opiate medications. In a study of the suppression of the morphine withdrawal syndrome, it has been found that brain chemicals were significantly altered (Wang, G-B et al, 2011).

Normalizing Abnormal Electrical Activity

Cranial or transcutaneous electrical stimulation (CES) operates through application of a mild microcurrent to the earlobes, stimulating the vagus nerve to produce a deep relaxation response that combines comfortably with acupuncture to provide maximum effectiveness during withdrawal. A double-blind experimental study has found that transcutaneous cranial electrical stimulation produced a 48 percent improvement in opiate abstinence (Auriacombe M. et al, 1990). It has also been demonstrated that CES for alcohol withdrawal alters electrical activity in the brain, suggesting a normalization of abnormal electrical activity associated with anxiety, impulsivity and cravings. Therefore, it may be considered as an “anti-craving device” for alcoholism and other addictions (Waite RL et al, 2014)

Addiction Relapse Prevention

Mindfulness meditation is a traditional method for achieving deep relaxation that originated in Asia. In recent years, it has been subjected to controlled experimental and clinical research, particularly in combination with modern cognitive behavioral strategies for relapse prevention. A review of mindfulness-based interventions for addictive disorders concluded that over 80 percent of controlled clinical trials significantly reduced substance abuse (Skanavi S et al, 2011). Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) techniques for a group of subjects with alcoholism have been shown to promote abstinence and moderation leading to abstinence, as well as better impulse control and increased tolerance of anxiety (Carpenter, D. et al, 2015). A randomized trial testing Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention at a residential addiction treatment center found a significant reduction in drug use days as well as legal and medical problems (Witkrewitz K et al, 2014).

New Health Medical Center provides this treatment program to groups or individuals at its clinic location or possibly on site at other locations, such as addiction withdrawal facilities like North Point Washington or Lakeside Milam and etc...

 

References

1. Auriacombe M et al. Transcutaneous electrical stimulation with Limoge current potentiates morphine analgesia and attenuates opiate abstinence syndrome. Biol Psychiat. Oct 15 1990; 28(8): 650-6.
2. Carpentier D et al. Mindful-based relapse-prevention (MBRP): evaluation of the impact of a group of mindfulness therapy in alcohol relapse prevention for alcohol use disorders. Encephale. Dec 2015; 41(6): 521-6.
3. Lipton, DS et al. Acupuncture for crack-cocaine detoxification: experimental evaluation of efficacy. J Subst Abuse Treat. May-June 1994; 11(3): 204-15
4. Ma, D et al. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for the treatment of withdrawal syndrome in heroin addicts. Pain Med. May 2015; 16(5). 839-48.
5. Skanavi S et al. Mindfulness-based interventions for addictive disorders: a review. Encephale. Oct 2011.; 37(5): 379-87.
6. Waite RL et al. Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) of neuro-electro-adaptive therapy 12 (NEAT 12) up-regulates cortical potentials in alcoholism during protracted abstinence: putative anti-craving implications. J Addict Res Ther. 2014; 5(1): 1-7. Trad Chin
7. Wang, G-B et al. Multiple 100 hz electroacupuncture treatments produced cumulative effect on the suppression of morphine withdrawal syndrome: central preprodynorphin in RNA and p=CREB implicated. Peptides. Apr 2011; 32(4): 713-21.
8. Witkrewitz K et al. Randomized trial comparing mindfulness-based relapse prevention with relapse prevention for women offenders at a residential addiction treatment center. Subst use misuse. Apr 2014; 49(5): 536-46.
9. Zhang, J et al. A survey on acupuncture for giving up heroin and treatment of the withdrawal syndrome. J trad Chin med. Jan 2007; 27(2): 153-7.

The immune system normally protects our health by producing antibodies against infection factors, such as virus, bacteria and fungi. An autoimmune disease results from a confusion of antibodies attacking the body’s own tissues. Often, such conditions originate from cell damage and inflammation.

Facts about Autoimmunity

Approximately 24 million Americans (Statistics Here) or 3 to 5 percent of the population currently suffer from such disorders. Of the 80 known autoimmune disease, some of the better known are rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes and lupus. Cancer has also been considered an autoimmune disorder. Blood testing for autoimmunity detects factors such as ANA, CRP and ESR, partly reflecting the level of inflammation in the body. Conventional medical treatment controls symptoms with corticosteroid medications such as prednisone and immune-suppressing medications. However, some of these medications have ambiguous effectiveness and have side-effects that include greater susceptibility to infections. Most importantly, immune suppressant medications do not address the underlying cause.

Steps to Treating Autoimmune Disease

The protocol followed in our natural medicine center can both prevent and treat autoimmune disorders, without the side-effects of pharmaceutical medications while addressing the root cause. Besides the usual blood testing, our physicians emphasize testing for various infections factors, nutritional and hormone deficiencies and imbalances, toxins, and food and environmental allergens, since any of these can be causing or maintaining autoimmune reactions. Treatment or prevention begins with a detoxification or internal cleansing program and an anti-inflammatory or cleansing type of diet. Since 70-80 percent of the immune system is found in the gastrointestinal lining, healing inflamed or leaky gut with proper diet and natural remedies is certainly a priority. Nutritional support includes basic supplementation to replace nutrients not provided by the typical American diet. Specialized supplements from nutritional or botanical sources can address specific symptoms and causative factors. Most of these natural medications are supported by the research literature.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Autoimmune Disease

An example is artemisinin, an extract from the wormwood plant, that is also the basis for a class of antimalarial drugs, which has been used to treat cancer as well as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune inflammatory condition. In a study reported in a journal of rheumatology, the effect of artemisinin on lupus was to improve symptoms, reduce the level of antibodies and diminish the dosage of prednisone required, probably by reducing the production of pro-inflammatory cells and modulating the immune system (Mu X and Wang C, 2018).

Several surveys have found that as much as 41.5 to 81.9 percent of patients diagnosed with autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis or Type 1 diabetes make use of complementary or alternative medicine modalities, in place of or in combination with conventional medical treatment. These methods have included nutritional supplements, botanical or homeopathic medications, chiropractic, acupuncture, electromagnetic therapy, massage, hypnosis, relaxation and meditation techniques, yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong (Kim S et al, 2018; Gotta M et al, 2018; Machado LCB and Alves C, 2017). All of the modalities mentioned are available and utilized in our protocols for treatment of autoimmune disorders. In addition, a hydrotherapy method that originated in European medical spas has been particularly effective in regulating the immune system.

Acupuncture Regulates the Immune System

Acupuncture is usually included in our treatment programs, because of its long-established and well-documented effectiveness in relieving pain and inflammation, regulating the immune system, restoring energy, enhancing the mood, and successfully treating many symptoms. In a case report on a 75-year-old woman, severe headaches associated with temporal arteritis vasculitis, an inflammatory autoimmune condition affecting the blood vessels, was relieved by acupuncture treatment (Sezgin, 2018). In an animal study, pain thresholds with pain of rheumatoid arthritis increased after acupuncture was performed for 30 minutes once a day for 7 days, particularly using the technique of heat-reinforced needling, and several metabolites in the blood were altered (Du et al, 2017). A ground-breaking study explored the effect of combining acupuncture with Western medicine in treating rheumatoid arthritis. Fifty-one patients with rheumatoid arthritis were divided into observation and control groups. The control group was given ibuprofen, methotrexate and folic acid for 3 courses of 30 days. Acupuncture was added for the observation group once a day 6 days a week for 3 courses of 30 days. Blood levels, including rheumatoid factor (RF), CRP and ESR, were measured and a symptoms survey was filled out. The observation group was significantly more improved than the control group, and the researchers noted that physical signs of the traditional Chinese medical syndrome of “blood stasis” also showed improvement in the observation group (Zhu et al, 2018).

For further information on prevention and treatment of autoimmune disease or to schedule an initial naturopathic medical consultation, please contact our office.

It should be no surprise to learn that stress could be considered the underlying cause of all physical and mental disorders and that suicide due to depression is a major cause of mortality. While psychotherapy and psychiatric medications have so far constituted the main tools of conventional medicine, many who suffer these psychological disorders are dissatisfied with ambiguous results or unpleasant side-effects.

Stress Reduction Techniques

Natural medicine has a long and successful history of relieving stress-related symptoms. Traditional techniques such as mindfulness meditation and self-hypnosis are taught to patients in our Stress Reduction Program. In addition, biofeedback training, which is supported by medical research (Fehring, 1983), is utilized to monitor physiological responses in order to enhance the learning of relaxation as a positive response to replace the negative habit of stress or anxiety.

At the same time, our Naturopathic physicians can prescribe from our dispensary traditional, research-based botanical and nutritional medications, homeopathic remedies and essential oils that have been proven to be safe and effective alternatives to drug medications in controlling anxiety, panic episodes, post-traumatic stress, depression and sleep disturbance.

Acupuncture Remarkably Effective

These methods are combined in our integrative clinic with acupuncture, which has been known for centuries to be the best solution for acute or chronic pain. At the same time, acupuncture has been shown to be remarkably effective in treating anxiety and depression, which affects up to 45 percent of pain patients. Acupuncture effects are accomplished through the stimulation of the brain to release chemical factors similar to anti-depression and anti-anxiety drugs without the side-effects.

A randomized blind clinical trial found anxiety and depression caused by premenstrual mood disorder were significantly reduced by acupuncture treatment, based on scores on standard rating scales (Carvalho F et al, 2013). A review of three years of research studies on cancer-related symptoms of anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance found acupuncture to be a safe and effective alternative to pharmaceutical medications that have potentially dangerous side-effects (Haddad NE and Palesh O, 2014).

An animal study found that acupuncture successfully modulated stress or anxiety by activating a signaling pathway of certain proteins produced in the hippocampus, a brain area affecting mood. This effect was considered comparable to that of an anti-depression medication such as Prozac, but without pharmacological side-effects (Oh et al, 2018).

Cranial Electric Stimulation for Stress

As part of this combined approach to the treatment of stress-related symptoms, our clinic has added the newly-developed method of Cranial Electric Stimulation (CES). An article recently published in a psychiatric journal reviewed scores on the standard Hamilton Scale that reflected improvement in symptoms of anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance, as a result of a mild electrical stimulation applied to the ear lobes, affecting the vagus nerve transmission to brain areas governing mood (Kong et al, 1983).

For further information on our Stress Reduction Program or to schedule an initial Naturopathic medical consultation, please contact New Health Medical Center.