African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic THE HEART

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1 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume 7, Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 Artificial Jellyfish Engineered Out of Rat Heart Muscles NBC News July 24, 2012 I NSIDE T HIS I SSUE By John Roach Colorized image of the tissue-engineered jellyfish, "swimming" in a container of ocean-like saltwater. Dubbed "Medusoid," the bioengineered construct is made from silicone rubber and powered by lab-grown heart tissue. It was built in a proof-of-concept study at Caltech and Harvard for designing muscular pumps for biomedical applications. Continued on page 2 3 Afrikan Spirituality The Shabaka Text 4 Feature Six Sounds to Heal and Cure, The Heart Sound 6 Feature The Heart gas its own Brain and Consciousness 8 Feature Heart and Circulatory System 14 Cesium Connection to Heart Disease 18 Study finds Stain Drugs Accelerate Hardening of the Arteries 19 Feature The Calcium Supplement Problem 21 Electrolytes of Significance in Heart Functioning 25 Confront Salt Confusion 30 Feature - Heart Disease Beyond the Stent & Bypass 37 Ulcer Causing Bacteria associated with Heart Disease 41 Feature- Radiation Exposure and Heart Attacks - Fukushima 50 Heavy Metals and their Link to Heart Disease 51 Feature Kemetic Medicine 55 The Ancient Egyptian Heart 57 Feature Phytochemicals and Cardiovascular Disease 60 Can Dietary Flavonoids influence Development of CHD 69 Feature - Towards an Africology of Knowledge Production 84 Tuberculosis is 500,000 Years Old 85 Where is Your Heart? 86 Herbs of the Month Garlic & More THE HEART -1- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 What is the African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic? We can make you healthy and wise Nakato Lewis Blackherbals at the Source of the Nile, UG Ltd. The African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic located in Ntinda, Uganda is a modern clinic facility established to create a model space whereby indigenous herbal practitioners and healers can upgrade and update their skills through training and certification and respond to common diseases using African healing methods and traditions in a modern clinical environment. Traditional healers are the major health labor resource in Africa as a whole. In Uganda, indigenous traditional healers are the only source of health services for the majority of the population. An estimated 80% of the population receives its health education and health care from practitioners of traditional medicine. They are knowledgeable of the culture, the local languages and local traditions. Our purpose is to raise public awareness and understanding on the value of African traditional herbal medicine and other healing practices in today s world. The Clinic is open and operational. Some of the services we offer are African herbal medicine, reflexology, acupressure, hot and cold hydrotherapy, body massage, herbal tonics, patient counseling, blood pressure checks, urine testing (sugar), and nutritional profiles. We believe in spirit, mind and body. Spiritual counseling upon request. Visit us also at Hours: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday thru Friday Saturday by Appointment, Sundays Closed

2 Cont d from page 1- Artificial Jellyfish engineered out of Rat Heart Muscles Scientists have made an artificial jellyfish out of rat heart muscles and rubbery silicon. When given an electric shock, it swims just like the real thing. Future versions should be able to swim and feed by themselves. That then allows us to extend their lifetime, John Dabiri, a professor of aeronautics and bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology, told me. The breakthrough is a big step toward the development of an artificial human heart with living cells. It also opens a window to a future where humans could loosen the constraints of evolution. The design of the heart that we have today is by no means the best physically possible design, Dabiri said. It is the one that evolution stumbled onto over the course of millions of years of random searching. It s possible, perhaps probable, that there s a better design out there for humans to discover. An artificial heart, for example, could be engineered to steer clear of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. Building a better pump To get there, though, scientists must first understand how biology assembles its building blocks into a pump, Dabiri noted. We know pretty well how to build engineered pumps, things that are built out of steel and aluminum and so on, he said. We don t have as good a handle right now in biology on how nature builds things out of muscle tissues. To start, they looked to the jellyfish, an example of a simple biological pump, and tried to build it in the lab from scratch. Jellyfish essentially have two parts: muscle cells that squeeze down on the body, pushing out water and jetting the animal the opposite way, and elastic stretchy tissue (the jelly) that gently recovers to its relaxed shape after each pump. In our engineered system, we needed to have these two components, Dabiri explained. The team could have used jellyfish tissue and jellyfish muscle, but it so happens that the building blocks we are more familiar with in tissue engineering come from the heart cells of rats, he said. The technique was pioneered by Kevin Kit Parker, a bioengineer at Harvard and co-author of a paper describing the artificial jellyfish published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology. It allows researchers to take rat heart cells and pattern them in different shapes and sizes that act as actuators things that can move, they can pump, they can flap, Dabiri said. For the jelly part, the team used a thin layer of silicone rubber. Putting together the pieces The next step was to put the two pieces together in the best possible way to get a functioning jellyfish. Instead of simply copying nature, the team tried out all kinds of muscle patterns, looking for the best. As engineers in this process of building artificial jellyfish, we simply don t have the same constraints that evolution does, Dabiri said. These organisms, as they evolve, have to worry about fending off predators, catching their prey, reproducing. All we have to do is show up in a lab and try to be creative. So, it is a very different set of constraints that we have in terms of developing this, and so it is not surprising that we might find solutions that are different from what might have come through evolution. In the end, the team settled on a muscle arrangement that is similar to that of the jellyfish, but not a carbon copy, Dabiri said. When the team put the engineered jellyfish into a pool of ionized water and sent an electric signal through the water, the fish swam like a real jellyfish. We haven t yet developed an internal pacemaking system within these artificial jellyfish, so the way that we control the functioning is, we shock them, Dabiri explained. Future of jellyfish and hearts An internal pacemaker mechanism and chemical receptors that act as a nose to sniff out food are additions planned for future versions of the jellyfish, called Medusoid, to give it greater autonomy. This might raise science-fiction fears of giant artificial jellyfish roaming the waters note that there s another group working on robotic jellyfish that will never run out of energy. But in reality, the main application for the technology would be in biomedicine. Even in its current form, Medusoid could be used to test the effect drugs have on the pumping mechanism of a heart, for example. In the future, the research may lead to an artificial heart. One, perhaps, that is better than a healthy human heart. And if we can engineer better hearts, will we stop there? Does this open the door to a completely rebuilt and improved human? Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

3 AFRIKAN SPIRITUALITY The Shabaka Stone The living Horus; Who prospers the Two Lands; the Two Ladies: Who prospers the Two Lands; the Golden Horus: Who prospers the Two Lands; King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Neferkare; the Son of Re: Sha[baka], beloved of Ptah-South-of-his-Wall, who lives like Re forever. This writing was copied out anew by his majesty in the house of his father Ptah-South-of-his-Wall, for his majesty found it to be a work of the ancestors which was wormeaten, so that it could not be understood from the beginning to end. His majesty copied it anew so that it became better than it had been before, in order that his name might endure and his monument last in the House of his father Ptah- South-of-his-Wall throughout eternity, as a work done by the son of Re [Shabaka] for his father Ptah-Tatenen, so that he might live forever. /// [King of Upper and Lower Egypt] is this Ptah, who is called the great name: [Ta-te]nen [South-of-his-Wall, Lord of eternity] ///. /// [the joiner] of Upper and Lower Egypt is he, this uniter who arose as king of Upper Egypt and arose as king of Lower Egypt. /// /// "self-begotten," so says Atum: "who created the Nine Gods." [Geb, lord of the gods, commanded] that the Nine Gods gather to him. He judged between Horus and Seth; he ended their quarrel. He made Seth the king of Upper Egypt in the land of Upper Egypt, up to the place in which he was born, which is Su. And Geb made Horus King of Lower Egypt in the land of Lower Egypt, up to the place in which his father was drowned which is "Division-of-the-Two- Lands." Thus Horus stood over one region, and Seth stood over one region. They made peace over the Two Lands at Ayan. That was the division of the Two Lands. Geb's words to Seth: "Go to the place in which you were born." Seth: Upper Egypt. Geb's words to Horus: "Go to the place in which your father was drowned." Horus: Lower Egypt. Geb's words to Horus and Seth: "I have separated you." /// Lower and Upper Egypt. Then it seemed wrong to Geb that the portion of Horus was like the portion of Seth. So Geb gave Horus his inheritance, Managing Editor: Nakato Lewis PUBLISHER: KIWANUKA LEWIS Published monthly and freely by BHSN for the ATHR Clinic Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 The traditional shrine as a symbol of our cultural history for he is the son of his firstborn son. Geb's words to the Nine Gods: "I have appointed Horus, the firstborn." Geb's words to the Nine Gods: "Him alone, Horus, the inheritance." Geb's words to the Nine Gods: "To his heir, Horus, my inheritance." Geb's words to the Nine Gods: "To the son of my son, Horus, the Jackal of Upper Egypt /// Geb's words to the Nine Gods: "The firstborn, Horus, the Opener-of-the-ways." Geb's words to the Nine Gods: "The son who was born /// Horus, on the Birthday of the Opener-ofthe-ways." Then Horus stood over the land. He is the uniter of this land, proclaimed in the great name: Ta-tenen, South-of-his-Wall, Lord of Eternity. Then sprouted the two Great Magicians upon his head. He is Horus who arose as king of Upper and Lower Egypt, who united the Two Lands in the Nome of the Wall, the place in which the Two Lands were united. Reed and papyrus were placed on the double door of the House of Ptah. That means Horus and Seth, pacified and united. They fraternized so as to cease quarrelling in whatever place they might be, being united in the House of Ptah, the "Balance of the Two Lands" in which Upper and Lower Egypt had been weighed. This is the land ////// the burial of Osiris in the House of Sokar. ////// Isis and Nephthys without delay, for Osiris had drowned in his water. Isis [and Nephthys] looked out, [beheld him and attended to him]. Horus speaks to Isis and Nephthys: "Hurry, grasp him ///." Isis and Nephthys speak to Osiris: "We come, we take you ///." Continued on page 77

4 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume 7, Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 FEATURED ARTICLES Six Sounds to Heal and Cure: Sound Four, The Heart Sound By Richard Stossel February 10, 2009 (NaturalNews) In this continuing series on "The Six Healing Sounds", we are going to go cover the fourth of these sounds and one that is very important in this modern age, the heart sound. Many of us know that sounds can have a powerful effect on our minds and emotions. Listening to relaxing music has been shown to cause a healing response in plants, animals and humans. Loud discordant music has been shown to have the opposite effect. Plants exposed to this type of music live shorter lives and actually produce less nutritious fruit and seeds than those exposed to softer, more flowing music. These types of disruptive sounds can have a negative effect on the human body. The heart is particularly sensitive to these types of disruptive sounds. Animals in nature often use sound in a number of ways, including helping them communicate over great distances, navigate, avoid obstacles in their path and assist them in locating prey. This is especially true in the case of bats, which may be nearly visually blind but are able to zero in on flying insects in mid flight due to the accuracy of their sonar. Recently discovered evidence shows one of the reasons that cats purr is because they`re helping to cleanse their bodies of excess carbon dioxide and aberrant energies. The Taoist and Shaolin monks of China and many other cultures have also realized how powerful various sounds can be. They use chanting not only to calm and clear the mind but to greatly energize various organ systems for increased mind/body control, health and longevity. Many techniques like this actually came from the observance of animals. The martial artists of China are famous for many and varied animal styles of fighting such as tiger, crane, snake, eagle claw and hundreds of others. They learned these fighting styles from watching animals in their natural habitat and how they fought with other animals. They also noticed that each animal made certain sounds when fighting, when sick or at rest. These sounds not only assisted them while fighting, but seemed to help them recover more rapidly from illnesses and injuries. The Chinese discovered long ago that when a person was diagnosed with an illness whose origin was found to be rooted in a particular organ, that the sounds of distress that they made (whimpering/moaning) were the same for all people regardless of their spoken language. It was from these observations that a system of healing sounds was eventually formulated called "The Six Syllable Secret" or "Six Healing Sounds". Whatever name we give it, this system is one that is designed to help purge the body of excess fire chi that can accumulate in the organs on a daily basis. It was found that if two people had a weakness in a certain organ and one practiced the healing sound for that organ, that person recovered much faster than the one who did not practice the healing sound. In previous installments in this series we covered the first three of these healing sounds for the lungs, kidneys and liver. The links for each of those articles are listed below. The lung sound The kidney sound The liver sound The next sound that we are going to cover is one that the author hopes will benefit a huge number of people due to the ever increasing amount of heart disease that is occurring in the world today. This sound can be of great assistance in helping to purge the heart of excess fire energies. The high levels of emotional stress that people are under today place a great deal of strain on the heart, which in turn causes a Continued on page 5-4- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

5 Continued from page 4 Six Sounds to Heal and Cure, The Heart Sound buildup of fire chi and further weakens this vital organ. These stressors have a number of origins including sedentary lifestyles, poor diet, emotional and mental stress, and lack of sleep to name a few. When autopsies are performed on people that have died of heart disease it is very often reported that their hearts looked as though they had been cooked from the inside. This is in perfect accordance with the Chinese view of heart disease being a disease of excess fire energy. The heart sound can go a long way in helping to remove stress from this vital organ. It has even been known to help prevent second hearts attacks. In Chinese medicine, each organ is linked with another organ which is its yin or yang counterpart and helps balance out its energy. For example: the linked organ for the heart is the small intestine. The heart is the yang (fire) organ and the small intestine is the yin (water) organ. Another example is the stomach/spleen relationship where the stomach is the yang and the spleen is yin. Since the small intestine is linked with the heart in that paired organ system anything that greatly stresses one organ will also have an associative and often opposite effect on its linked pair. Chinese doctors use these relationships and laws to effectively heal and cure all kinds of diseases and illnesses. This heart/small intestine relationship is one of the main reasons why overeating can often cause heartburn or possibly even heart attack. The small intestine is directly involved in the digestion process and when an excessive amount of food is consumed at one time, too much chi is drained from the small intestine. This can cause a serious weakening of the organ which often causes the chi in its paired organ (the heart) to flare up and become too yang. When this happens you may end up with an excess of fire energy in the heart. If the heart is not strong enough to handle this excess fire chi, heartburn, arrhythmias or heart attack can be the result. This pairing of yin and yang organs helps to keep the energies of each organ in balance. When there is a strong fluctuation of chi in one organ there is often an opposite effect on its paired organ. The body is naturally designed this way so that paired organs naturally keep each other in balance. The six healing sounds can be a powerful and effective technique to help assist the body in this natural balancing act by making sure that no organ has too much fire chi at any one time. This is especially important in the case of the heart. The pericardium which is the sac that surrounds the heart helps to protect it from excess fire chi and any stray electrical charges. This sac is so important and critical that it is given its own special designation in Chinese medicine. Some other information about the heart is as follows; the element of the heart is fire, its season is summer; its negative emotions are impatience, arrogance, cruelty and violence. Some of its positive emotions are joy, honor, sincerity, creativity, spirit and light. The color associated with the heart is red and one of its external body parts is the tongue. The Heart Sound To perform the heart sound, we are going to first take a few deep breaths, then close the eyes and become aware of the heart. After a few breaths you can begin making the heart sound by tilting the head back and while looking up, open the mouth and make the sound HAWWWWWWWWWWWW upon exhalation. At the same time you should also visualize the pericardium, which is the sack that surrounds the heart, releasing heat, impatience and arrogance upon the exhalation. Remember that the sound should be made softly or even "sub vocally" which is characterized by movement of the lips or other speech organs without making audible sounds. The sound of the heart sound is similar to the "HAW" in the work Hawk. Take a short rest between each repetition by taking a few normal breaths and, keeping the eyes closed, visualize a bright red color along with the qualities of joy, sincerity, honor and creativity, coming into the heart with each inhalation. This is an important step, so do not skip it. Practice the heart sound 3-6 times. If you have a sore throat, cold sores, swollen gums or tongue, heart disease, heart pains, or you are experiencing moodiness or jumpiness, then perform this exercise from 9 to 36 times. Even for someone who is in very good health, practicing the six healing sounds on a daily basis will have a noticeable improvement in mood, energy, mental clarity and health. For those who are trying to overcome various illnesses and diseases these sounds can be a powerful and invaluable tool to help cleanse impure energies and matter from the body. Since the body is constantly converting toxic matter to gases for expulsion through the respiratory system, these sounds greatly assist in this cleansing process. They accelerate the removal of carbon dioxide, toxins, pollutants and negative energies out of the system more efficiently than during normal respiration. One thing to keep in mind when performing these sounds is not to do them for at least 30 minutes after a meal Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

6 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume 7, Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 FEATURED ARTICLES The Heart Has Its Own Brain and Consciousness Many believe that conscious awareness originates in the brain alone. Recent scientific research suggests that consciousness actually emerges from the brain and body acting together. A growing body of evidence suggests that the heart plays a particularly significant role in this process. Far more than a simple pump, as was once believed, the heart is now recognized by scientists as a highly complex system with its own functional brain. Research in the new discipline of neurocardiology shows that the heart is a sensory organ and a sophisticated center for receiving and processing information. The nervous system within the heart (or heart brain ) enables it to learn, remember, and make functional decisions independent of the brain s cerebral cortex. Moreover, numerous experiments have demonstrated that the signals the heart continuously sends to the brain influence the function of higher brain centers involved in perception, cognition, and emotional processing. In addition to the extensive neural communication network linking the heart with the brain and body, the heart also communicates information to the brain and throughout the body via electromagnetic field interactions. The heart generates the body s most powerful and most extensive rhythmic electromagnetic field. Compared to the electromagnetic field produced by the brain, the electrical component of the heart s field is about 60 times greater in amplitude, and permeates every cell in the body. The magnetic component is approximately 5000 times stronger than the brain s magnetic field and can be detected several feet away from the body with sensitive magnetometers. The heart generates a continuous series of electromagnetic pulses in which the time interval between each beat varies in a dynamic and complex manner. The heart s ever-present rhythmic field has a Waking Times 12 September Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 powerful influence on processes throughout the body. We have demonstrated, for example, that brain rhythms naturally synchronize to the heart s rhythmic activity, and also that during sustained feelings of love or appreciation, the blood pressure and respiratory rhythms, among other oscillatory systems, entrain to the heart s rhythm. We propose that the heart s field acts as a carrier wave for information that provides a global synchronizing signal for the entire body. Specifically, we suggest that as pulsing waves of energy radiate out from the heart, they interact with organs and other structures. The waves encode or record the features and dynamic activity of these structures in patterns of energy waveforms that are distributed throughout the body. In this way, the encoded information acts to in-form (literally, give shape to) the activity of all bodily functions to coordinate and synchronize processes in the body as a whole. This perspective requires an energetic concept of information, in which patterns of organization are enfolded into waves of energy of system activity distributed throughout the system as a whole. Basic research at the Institute of HeartMath shows that information pertaining to a person s emotional state is also communicated throughout the body via the heart s electromagnetic field. The rhythmic beating patterns of the heart change significantly as we experience different emotions. Negative emotions, such as anger or frustration, are associated with an erratic, disordered, incoherent pattern in the heart s rhythms. In contrast, positive emotions, such as love or appreciation, are associated with a smooth, ordered, coherent pattern in the heart s rhythmic activity. In turn, these changes in the heart s beating patterns create corresponding changes in the structure of the electromagnetic field radiated by the heart, measurable by a technique called spectral analysis. Continued on page 7

7 Continued from page 6 The Heart Has Its Own Brain and Consciousness More specifically, we have demonstrated that sustained positive emotions appear to give rise to a distinct mode of functioning, which we call psychophysiological coherence. During this mode, heart rhythms exhibit a sine wave-like pattern and the heart s electromagnetic field becomes correspondingly more organized. At the physiological level, this mode is characterized by increased efficiency and harmony in the activity and interactions of the body s systems. [1] Psychologically, this mode is linked with a notable reduction in internal mental dialogue, reduced perceptions of stress, increased emotional balance, and enhanced mental clarity, intuitive discernment, and cognitive performance. In sum, our research suggests that psychophysiological coherence is important in enhancing consciousness both for the body s sensory awareness of the information required to execute and coordinate physiological function, and also to optimize emotional stability, mental function, and intentional action. Furthermore, as we see next, there is experimental evidence that psychophysiological coherence may increase our awareness of and sensitivity to others around us. The Institute of HeartMath has created practical technologies and tools that all people can use to increase coherence. Heart Field Interactions Between Individuals Most people think of social communication solely in terms of overt signals expressed through language, voice qualities, gestures, facial expressions, and body movements. However, there is now evidence that a subtle yet influential electromagnetic or energetic communication system operates just below our conscious awareness. Energetic interactions likely contribute to the magnetic attractions or repulsions that occur between individuals, and also affect social exchanges and relationships. Moreover, it appears that the heart s field plays an important role in communicating physiological, psychological, and social information between individuals. Experiments conducted at the Institute of HeartMath have found remarkable evidence that the heart s electromagnetic field can transmit information between people. We have been able to measure an exchange of heart energy between individuals up to 5 feet apart. We have also found that one person s brain waves can actually synchronize to another person s heart. Furthermore, when an individual is generating a coherent heart rhythm, synchronization between that person s brain waves and another person s heartbeat is more likely to occur. These findings have intriguing implications, suggesting that individuals in a psychophysiologically coherent state become more aware of the information encoded in the heart fields of those around them. The results of these experiments have led us to infer that the nervous system acts as an antenna, which is tuned to and responds to the electromagnetic fields produced by the hearts of other individuals. We believe this capacity for exchange of energetic information is an innate ability that heightens awareness and mediates important aspects of true empathy and sensitivity to others Furthermore, we have observed that this energetic communication ability can be intentionally enhanced, producing a much deeper level of nonverbal communication, understanding, and connection between people. There is also intriguing evidence that heart field interactions can occur between people and animals. In short, energetic communication via the heart field facilitates development of an expanded consciousness in relation to our social world. The Heart s Field and Intuition There are also new data suggesting that the heart s field is directly involved in intuitive perception, through its coupling to an energetic information field outside the bounds of space and time. Using a rigorous experimental design, we found compelling evidence that both the heart and brain receive and respond to information about a future event before the event actually happens. Even more surprising was our finding that the heart appears to receive this intuitive information before the brain. This suggests that the heart s field may be linked to a more subtle energetic field that contains information on objects and events remote in space or ahead in time. Called by Karl Pribram and others the spectral domain, this is a fundamental order of potential energy that enfolds space and time, and is thought to be the basis for our consciousness of the whole. (See heartmath.org for further detail.) Social Fields In the same way that the heart generates energy in the body, we propose that the social collective is the activator and regulator of the energy in social systems. A body of groundbreaking work shows how the field of socioemotional interaction between a mother and her infant is essential to brain development, the emergence of consciousness, and the formation of a healthy selfconcept. These interactions are organized along two relational dimensions stimulation of the baby s emotions, and regulation of shared emotional energy. Together they form a socioemotional field through which enormous quantities of psychobiological and psychosocial information are exchanged. Coherent organization Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

8 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume7, Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 FEATURED ARTICLES Heart and Circulatory System Reviewed by Steven Dowshen, MD May 2010 KidsHealth.Org With each heartbeat, blood is sent throughout our bodies, carrying oxygen and nutrients to every cell. Each day, 2,000 gallons of blood travel many times through about 60,000 miles of blood vessels that branch and cross, linking the cells of our organs and body parts About the Heart and Circulatory System The circulatory system is composed of the heart and blood vessels, including arteries, veins, and capillaries. Our bodies actually have two circulatory systems: The pulmonary circulation is a short loop from the heart to the lungs and back again, and the systemic circulation (the system we usually think of as our circulatory system) sends blood from the heart to all the other parts of our bodies and back again. The heart is the key organ in the circulatory system. As a hollow, muscular pump, its main function is to propel blood throughout the body. It usually beats from 60 to 100 times per minute, but can go much faster when necessary. It beats about 100,000 times a day, more than 30 million times per year, and about 2.5 billion times in a 70-year lifetime. The heart gets messages from the body that tell it when to pump more or less blood depending on an individual's needs. When we're sleeping, it pumps just enough to provide for the lower amounts of oxygen needed by our bodies at rest. When we're exercising or frightened, the heart pumps faster to increase the delivery of oxygen. The heart has four chambers that are enclosed by thick, muscular walls. It lies between the lungs and just to the left of the middle of the chest cavity. The bottom part of the heart is divided into two chambers called the right and left ventricles, which pump blood out of the heart. A wall called the interventricular septum divides the ventricles. The upper part of the heart is made up of the other two chambers of the heart, the right and left atria. The right and left atria receive the blood entering the heart. A wall called the interatrial septum divides the right and left atria, which are separated from the ventricles by the atrioventricular valves. The tricuspid valve separates the right atrium from the right ventricle, and the mitral valve separates the left atrium and the left ventricle. Two other cardiac valves separate the ventricles and the large blood vessels that carry blood leaving the heart. These are the pulmonic valve, which separates the right ventricle from the pulmonary artery leading to the lungs, and the aortic valve, which separates the left ventricle from the aorta, the body's largest blood vessel. Arteries carry blood away from the heart. They are the thickest blood vessels, with muscular walls that contract to keep the blood moving away from the heart and through the body. In the systemic circulation, oxygenrich blood is pumped from the heart into the aorta. This Continued on page 9-8- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

9 Continued from page 8 Heart and Circulatory System huge artery curves up and back from the left ventricle, then heads down in front of the spinal column into the abdomen. Two coronary arteries branch off at the beginning of the aorta and divide into a network of smaller arteries that provide oxygen and nourishment to the muscles of the heart. Unlike the aorta, the body's other main artery, the pulmonary artery, carries oxygen-poor blood. From the right ventricle, the pulmonary artery divides into right and left branches, on the way to the lungs where blood picks up oxygen. Arterial walls have three layers: 1. The endothelium is on the inside and provides a smooth lining for blood to flow over as it moves through the artery. 2. The media is the middle part of the artery, made up of a layer of muscle and elastic tissue. 3. The adventitia is the tough covering that protects the outside of the artery. As they get farther from the heart, the arteries branch out into arterioles, which are smaller and less elastic. Veins carry blood back to the heart. They're not as muscular as arteries, but they contain valves that prevent blood from flowing backward. Veins have the same three layers that arteries do, but are thinner and less flexible. The two largest veins are the superior and inferior vena cavae. The terms superior and inferior don't mean that one vein is better than the other, but that they're located above and below the heart. A network of tiny capillaries connects the arteries and veins. Though tiny, the capillaries are one of the most important parts of the circulatory system because it's through them that nutrients and oxygen are delivered to the cells. In addition, waste products such as carbon dioxide are also removed by the capillaries. What the Heart and Circulatory System Do The circulatory system works closely with other systems in our bodies. It supplies oxygen and nutrients to our bodies by working with the respiratory system. At the same time, the circulatory system helps carry waste and carbon dioxide out of the body. Hormones produced by the endocrine system are also transported through the blood in the circulatory system. As the body's chemical messengers, hormones transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another. For example, one of the hormones produced by the heart helps control the kidneys' release of salt from the body. One complete heartbeat makes up a cardiac cycle, which consists of two phases: 1. In the first phase, the ventricles contract (this is called systole), sending blood into the pulmonary and systemic circulation. To prevent the flow of blood backwards into the atria during systole, the atrioventricular valves close, creating the first sound (the lub). When the ventricles finish contracting, the aortic and pulmonary valves close to prevent blood from flowing back into the ventricles. This is what creates the second sound (the dub). 2. Then the ventricles relax (this is called diastole) and fill with blood from the atria, which makes up the second phase of the cardiac cycle. A unique electrical conduction system in the heart causes it to beat in its regular rhythm. The sinoatrial or SA node, a small area of tissue in the wall of the right atrium, sends out an electrical signal to start the contracting of the heart muscle. This node is called the pacemaker of the heart because it sets the rate of the heartbeat and causes the rest of the heart to contract in its rhythm. These electrical impulses cause the atria to contract first, and then travel down to the atrioventricular or AV node, which acts as a kind of relay station. From here the electrical signal travels through the right and left ventricles, causing them to contract and forcing blood out into the major arteries. In the systemic circulation, blood travels out of the left ventricle, to the aorta, to every organ and tissue in the body, and then back to the right atrium. The arteries, capillaries, and veins of the systemic circulatory system are the channels through which this long journey takes place. Once in the arteries, blood flows to smaller arterioles and then to capillaries. While in the capillaries, the bloodstream delivers oxygen and nutrients to the body's cells and picks up waste materials. Blood then goes back through the capillaries into venules, and then to larger veins until it reaches the vena cavae. Blood from the head and arms returns to the heart through the superior vena cava, and blood from the lower parts of the body returns through the inferior vena cava. Both vena cavae deliver this oxygen-depleted blood into the right atrium. From here the blood exits to fill the right ventricle, ready to be pumped into the pulmonary circulation for more oxygen. In the pulmonary circulation, blood low in oxygen but high in carbon dioxide is pumped out the right ventricle into the -9- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 Continued on page 10

10 Continued from page 9 Heart and Circulatory System pulmonary artery, which branches off in two directions. The right branch goes to the right lung, and vice versa. In the lungs, the branches divide further into capillaries. Blood flows more slowly through these tiny vessels, allowing time for gases to be exchanged between the capillary walls and the millions of alveoli, the tiny air sacs in the lungs. During the process called oxygenation, oxygen is taken up by the bloodstream. Oxygen locks onto a molecule called hemoglobin in the red blood cells. The newly oxygenated blood leaves the lungs through the pulmonary veins and heads back to the heart. It enters the heart in the left atrium, then fills the left ventricle so it can be pumped into the systemic circulation. Problems of the Heart and Circulatory System Problems with the cardiovascular system are common more than 64 million Americans have some type of cardiac problem. But cardiovascular problems don't just affect older people many heart and circulatory system problems affect children and teens, too. Heart and circulatory problems are grouped into two categories: congenital (problems present at birth) and acquired (problems developed some time after birth). Congenital heart defects. These abnormalities in the heart's structure are present at birth. Approximately 8 out of every 1,000 newborns have congenital heart defects ranging from mild to severe. These defects occur while the fetus is developing in the mother's uterus and it's not usually known why they occur. Some congenital heart defects are caused by genetic disorders, but most are not. What all congenital heart defects have in common, however, is that they involve abnormal or incomplete development of the heart. A common sign of a congenital heart defect is a heart murmur an abnormal sound (like a blowing or whooshing sound) that's heard when listening to the heart. Usually a heart murmur is detected by a doctor who's listening to the heart with a stethoscope during a routine exam. Murmurs are very common in children and can be caused by congenital heart defects or other heart conditions. Arrhythmia. Cardiac arrhythmias, also called dysrhythmias or rhythm disorders, are problems in the rhythm of the heartbeat. They may be caused by a congenital heart defect or they may be acquired later. An arrhythmia may cause the heart's rhythm to be irregular, abnormally fast, or abnormally slow. Arrhythmias can occur at any age and may be discovered during a routine physical examination. Depending on the type of rhythm -10- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 disorder, an arrhythmia may be treated with medication, surgery, or pacemakers. Cardiomyopathy. This chronic disease causes the heart muscle (the myocardium) to become weakened. Usually, it first affects the lower chambers of the heart, the ventricles, and then progresses and damages the muscle cells and even the tissues surrounding the heart. In its most severe forms, it can lead to heart failure and even death. Cardiomyopathy is the #1 reason for heart transplants in children. Coronary artery disease. The most common heart disorder in adults, coronary artery disease is caused by atherosclerosis. Deposits of fat, calcium, and dead cells, called atherosclerotic plaques, form on the inner walls of the coronary arteries (the blood vessels that supply the heart) and interfere with the smooth flow of blood. Blood flow to the heart muscle may even stop if a thrombus, or clot, forms in a coronary vessel, which may cause a heart attack. In a heart attack (or myocardial infarction), the heart muscle becomes damaged by lack of oxygen, and unless blood flow returns within minutes, muscle damage increases and the heart's ability to pump blood is compromised. If the clot can be dissolved within a few hours, damage to the heart can be reduced. Heart attacks are rare in kids and teens. Hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol). Cholesterol is a waxy substance that's found in the body's cells, in the blood, and in some foods. Having too much cholesterol in the blood, also known as hypercholesterolemia, is a major risk factor for heart disease and can lead to a heart attack. Cholesterol is carried in the bloodstream by lipoproteins. Two kinds low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and highdensity lipoproteins (HDL) are the most important. High levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) increase a person's risk for heart disease and stroke, whereas high levels of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) can protect against these. A blood test can indicate if someone's cholesterol is too high. A child's cholesterol level is borderline if it's 170 to 199 mg/dl, and it's considered high if it's above 200 mg/dl. About 10% of teens between 12 and 19 have high cholesterol levels that put them at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure (hypertension). Over time, high blood pressure can damage the heart, arteries, and other body organs. Symptoms can include headache, nose bleeds, dizziness, and lightheadedness. Infants, kids, and teens can have high blood pressure, which may be caused by genetic factors, excess body weight, diet, lack of Continued on page 11

11 Continued from page 10 Heart and Circulatory System exercise, and diseases such as heart disease or kidney disease. Kawasaki disease. Also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, Kawasaki disease affects the mucous membranes (the lining of the mouth and breathing passages), the skin, and the lymph nodes (part of the immune system). It can also lead to vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels. This can affect all major arteries in the body including the coronary arteries. It can also cause inflammation of the heart muscle, called myocarditis. When coronary arteries become inflamed, a child can develop aneurysms, which are weakened and bulging spots on the walls of arteries. This increases the risk of a blood clot forming in this weakened area, which can block the artery, possibly leading to a heart attack. In addition to the coronary arteries, the heart muscle, lining, valves, or the outer membrane that surrounds the heart can become inflamed. Arrhythmias or abnormal functioning of some heart valves can occur. Kawasaki disease has surpassed rheumatic fever as the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in the United States. Rheumatic heart disease. Usually the complication of an untreated strep throat infection, rheumatic fever can lead to permanent heart damage and even death. Most common in kids between 5 and 15 years of age, it begins when antibodies the body produces to fight the strep infection begin to attack other parts of the body. They react to tissues in the heart valves as though they were the strep bacteria and cause the heart valves to thicken and scar. Inflammation and weakening of the heart muscle may also occur. Usually, when strep throat infections are promptly treated with antibiotics, this condition can be avoided. Stroke. Strokes occur when the blood supply to the brain is cut off or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts and spills blood into an area of the brain, causing damage to brain cells. Children or infants who have experienced stroke may be suddenly numb or weak, especially on one side of the body, and they may experience a sudden severe headache, nausea or vomiting, and difficulty seeing, speaking, walking, or moving. During childhood, strokes are rare. Getting plenty of exercise, eating a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting regular medical checkups are the best ways to help keep the heart healthy and avoid long-term problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. Continued from page 7- The Heart Has Its Own Brain and Consciousness of the mother-child relations that make up this field is critical. This occurs when interactions are charged, most importantly, with positive emotions (love, joy, happiness, excitement, appreciation, etc.), and are patterned as highly synchronized, reciprocal exchanges between these two individuals. These patterns are imprinted in the child s brain and thus influence psychosocial function throughout life. (See Allan Schore, Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self.) Moreover in a longitudinal study of 46 social groups, one of us (RTB) documented how information about the global organization of a group the group s collective consciousness appears to be transmitted to all members by an energetic field of socio-emotional connection. Data on the relationships between each pair of members was found to provide an accurate image of the social structure of the group as a whole. Coherent organization of the group s social structure is associated with a network of positively charged emotions (love, excitement, and optimism) connecting all members. This network of positive emotions appears to constitute a field of energetic connection into which information about the group s social structure is encoded and distributed throughout the group. Remarkably, an accurate picture of the group s overall social structure was obtained from information only about relationships between pairs of individuals. We believe the only way this is possible is if information about the organization of the whole group is distributed to all members of the group via an energetic field. Such correspondence in information between parts and the whole is consistent with the principle of holographic organization. [2] Synthesis and Implications Some organizing features of the heart field, identified in numerous studies at HeartMath, may also be shared by those of our hypothesized social field. Each is a field of energy in which the waveforms of energy encode the features of objects and events as energy moves throughout the system. This creates a nonlocal order of energetic information in which each location in the field contains an enfolded image of the organization of the whole system at that moment. The organization and processing of information in these energy fields can best be understood in terms of quantum holographic principles. [3] Another commonality is the role of positive emotions, such as love and appreciation, in generating coherence both in the heart field and in social fields. When the movement of energy is intentionally regulated to form a coherent, harmonious order, information integrity and flow are Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

12 Continued from page 11 The Heart Has Its Own Brain and Consciousness optimized. This, in turn, produces stable,effective system function, which enhances health, psychosocial wellbeing, and intentional action in the individual or social group. Heart coherence and social coherence may also act to mutually reinforce each other. As individuals within a group increase psychophysiological coherence, psychosocial attunement may be increased, thereby increasing the coherence of social relations. Similarly, the creation of a coherent social field by a group may help support the generation and maintenance of psychophysiological coherence in its individual members. An expanded, deepened awareness and consciousness results of the body s internal physiological, emotional, and mental processes, and also of the deeper, latent orders enfolded into the energy fields that surround us. This is the basis of self-awareness, social sensitivity, creativity, intuition, spiritual insight, and understanding of ourselves and all that we are connected to. It is through the intentional generation of coherence in both heart and social fields that a critical shift to the next level of planetary consciousness can occur one that brings us into harmony with the movement of the whole. Footnotes 1. Correlates of physiological coherence include: increased synchronization between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system, a shift in autonomic balance toward increased parasympathetic activity, increased heart-brain synchronization, increased vascular resonance, and entrainment between diverse physiological oscillatory systems. 2. Holographic organization is based on a field concept of order, in which information about the organization of an object as a whole is encoded as an interference pattern in energy waveforms distributed throughout the field. This makes it possible to retrieve information about the object as a whole from any location within the field. 3. The term quantum, as used in quantum holography, does not mean that this kind of energetic information processing is understood in terms of the principles of quantum physics. Rather, quantum holography is a special, nondeterministic form of holographic organization based on a discrete unit of energetic information called a logon or a quantum of information Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 Heart of Genetically Modified Pig 'successfully transplanted into Monkey', South Korea Scientists claim By Nick Enoch 26 June 2012 The heart of a genetically modified pig has been successfully transplanted into a monkey, according to scientists in South Korea. It is the first time the country has claimed to have accomplished such an inter-species operation Known as xenotransplantation, it is seen by some as a way to end the chronic shortage of human organs available for transplants. Before the controversial procedure, conducted in Seoul, the cloned pig had its genes responsible for immune rejection removed. The ultimate aim of such experimentation would be to put pig hearts and other swine organs into humans. And the South Koreans believe this could become a commercially viable reality within five years. The first known transplant of a genetically engineered pig heart in a primate was performed in But the possibility of animal-to-human operations has divided the medical ethics community. Continued on page 13

13 Continued from page 12 Heart of genetically modified pig 'successfully transplanted into monkey' Medical ethicist Associate Professor Nicholas Tonti- Filippini, speaking in 2010, said such transplants had the potential to bring animal diseases into the human population. PIG + MONKEY = HOPE FOR DIABETICS In 2009, Israeli scientists transplanted embryonic pancreatic tissue from pigs to monkeys to combat Type 1 Diabetes. As a result, the researchers were able to reverse the primate's insulin deficiency, MIT reported. They said the key to their breakthrough was the embryonic tissue's ability to grow into a new pancreas that uses blood vessels from the host animal. The host blood vessels are not subject to the risky immune reaction that has always impeded xenotransplants of mature pancreatic material. Yair Reisner of the Weizmann Institute, who led the research, claimed that the results, published in the journal PNAS, could offer a viable replacement therapy for sufferers of type 1 diabetes, which destroys the pancreas. He said the creation of genetically modified pigs was not ethically acceptable, explaining: 'It is basically a humanpig, a hybrid, or whatever you want to call it. 'It is about whether the community is prepared to accept a part human, part animal.' South Korean scientists first claimed to have cloned a piglet whose organs were genetically modified to make them more suitable for human transplants in Lead scientist Lim Gio-Bin said the cloned piglet, born on April 3, had been genetically altered to lack the 'alphagal' gene which triggers tissue rejection, according to PhysOrg. He said his government-sponsored team, involving scientists from four universities and two research institutes, used stem cells of smaller-than-normal pigs to clone 'mini-pigs' with modified genes. Immuno-rejection has been a major hurdle in human organ transplants. Pig organs are well suited for transplantation but are coated with sugar molecules that trigger acute rejection in human bodies. Human antibodies attach themselves to such molecules and quickly destroy the transplanted pig organ. In cloning a pig called Xeno, the scientist said his team adopted almost identical technology to that used by U.S. scientists in 2002 to create cloned piglets, in which one copy of the sugar-producing gene was 'knocked out'. An organism receives two copies of a gene, one from the mother and one from the father. Scientists have tried to produce pigs lacking both copies, so far unsuccessfully. 'Through our achievement, South Korea became the second country in the world to clone such piglets after the United States,' Lim said at the time. Lim said then that his team would conduct clinical trials on humans in 2012 and he believed genetically modified minipigs could be used commercially around Two years ago, Australian scientists kept pig lungs alive and functioning with human blood. The breakthrough came after scientists at Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital were able to remove a section of pig DNA which made the pig organs incompatible with human blood. Prof Tony D'Apice - who had been breeding pigs for possible transplants since said human DNA was added to the engineered animals to control blood clotting and rejection in humans. Dr Glenn Westall, from the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, said the world-first discovery meant pig-human lung transplants were a real prospect Traditional African Clinic November/December Antidepressants Could Make Your Brain Bleed, Cause Hemorrhagic Strokes By Lisa Garber October 20, 2012 Natural Society Thickened arteries, heart disease, depression, suicide, and now, we can add bleeding of the brain to the long list of side effects of antidepressants. Though the risk is admittedly very small, researchers declared on Wednesday that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may raise the risk of hemorrhagic strokes, which happen when the brain bleeds. SSRIs include a wide variety of common antidepressents, including Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, and Paxil. These drugs Continued on page 14

14 Continued from page 13 Antidepressants Could Make Your Brain Bleed Cause Hemorrhagic Strokes are also linked to an increased risk of stomach bleeding. Platelets Can t Clot, Hemorrhage After analyzing 16 previous studies involving over 500,000 patients, researchers determined that SSRI users were 40 to 50 percent more likely to suffer bleeding of or around the brain. The researchers were not, however, able to collect other relevant data, like subjects smoking and drinking habits, diet, and whether they had diabetes. Their findings were published in the journal Neurology. Although lead researcher Dr. Daniel G. Hackam of Western University in London, Ontario says that we can t infer cause and effect from this, it isn t exactly an unreasonable association. Blood cells (platelets) have difficulty clumping and clotting in the presence of SSRIs, causing the patient s platelet function to stumble soon after taking SSRIs. This may be why patients experienced the greatest risk of hemorrhage within the first few months of taking the drugs. People already at risk of brain hemorrhage would do well to stay away from SSRIs, Hackam added, as well as those on medications that reduce clotting like Coumadin or an aspirin-plavix combination. Psychiatrists and Financial Conflicts of Interest It s worth noting that Hackam also says that these drugs are, overall, quite safe. Perhaps he s neglected to look at the Emory University School of Medicine s findings that antidepressants thickened arteries 400 percent more than aging, which is the foremost factor of athersclerosis. Still other studies indicate that Cymbalta and other antidepressants cause 1 in 5 patients to feel worse than when administered placebos. Why, then, are so many patients treated with powerful psychotactive drugs instead of a personalized combination of vitamin D, probiotis, diet, acupuncture, yoga, and other natural remedies? Perhaps because 70 percent of panel members to the 5 th editionof the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders have financial ties to pharmaceutical companies. _Your_Brain_Bleed%2c_Cause_Hemorrhagic_Strokes/22106/ 0/38/38/Y/M.html Cesium Connection to Heart Disease, Japan Reports 14% Increase July 28, 2012 HNN Staff The Japanese health ministry has revealed a 14% increase in cardiac deaths between February 2011 and February At least some scientists, link the cause to cesium radiation emitted from the Fukushima melt downs. Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry reported: The number of deaths was up 12.5 percent (=12695 people) compared to the same month of the year before The number of deaths caused by Malignant Neoplasm was up 7.7% (=2066 people) from the same month of the year before The number caused by cardiac disease was up 14.6% (=2585 people) According to a translation posted by Energy News, Dr. Yury Bandazhevsky of Belarus examined the people exposed to radiation and the people who had died of Chernobyl and clinically identified the association between Cesium radiation and cardiac disease. [...] "We can t either determine or deny the morbidity and mortality increased only because of radiation released from Fukushima Daiichi," the scientist said, adding that a study needs to be undertaken to determine the linkage, if any, between exposure and cardiac deaths. The 'New AIDS of the Americas': Experts warn of Deadly Insect-borne Disease that can cause Victims' Hearts to Explode 29 May 2012 MailOnline A little-known life-threatening illness caused by blood sucking insects has been labelled the new AIDS of the Americas by experts. The parasitic illness called Chagas Disease has similarities to the early spread of HIV, according to a new study. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

15 Continued from page 14 The 'New AIDS of the Americas' Similar to AIDS, Chagas is difficult to detect and it can take years for symptoms to emerge, according to experts writing in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The new AIDS? A parasitic illness called Chagas disease has been dubbed the 'new AIDS of the Americas' by experts. It is usually transmitted from the bite of blood-sucking insect species called Triatome bugs, which include 'Kissing bugs' (Triatomids) The disease - once largely contained to Latin America - has spread into the U.S due to increases in travel and immigration. The Dangerous Spread of Chagas Disease Named after the Brazilian doctor who discovered it in 1909, Chagas disease is a potentially deadly illness spread by blood-sucking insects including Triatomids most commonly known as 'kissing bugs.' Like AIDS, the illness is difficult to detect and has a long remission period. It spreads easily through blood transfusions and from mother to child. Approximately a quarter of victims who contract the disease develop enlarged heart or intestines that can burst causing sudden death. An estimated 10 million people worldwide are infected, including 30,000 people in the U.S. Chagas is considered one of the Neglected Parasitic Infections, a group of five parasitic diseases that have been targeted by CDC for public health action. It is estimated that in 2008 Chagas disease killed more than 10,000 people. Due to the severity of the illness, the amount of people infected and the ability of prevention, Chagas is considered one of the Neglected Parasitic Infections, a group of five parasitic diseases that have been targeted by CDC for public health action. Chagas commonly affects people in poverty-stricken areas and most U.S. cases are found in immigrants. If caught early enough, the disease can be prevented with an intense 3-month drug treatment. However, because of the lengthy incubation period and costly medication, Chagas is often left untreated. Also known as the American trypanosomiasis, the disease spreads easily either through blood transfusions or, less commonly, from mother to child. All blood banks in the U.S. and Latin America screen for traces of the disease. Most blood banks in the U.S began screening for it in Chagas is usually transmitted from the bite of bloodsucking insect species called Triatome bugs which release a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi into the victim's bloodstream. The species includes Triatomids - black wingless beetles about 20mm in length commonly known as 'kissing bugs'. Their closest relative is the Tsetse fly, found in Africa, which spread Sleeping Sickness (where the victim's brain swells). Chagas disease comes in two phases - acute and severe. The acute phase may have no symptoms but can present a fever, general feeling of being unwell and swelling in one eye. Victim: Charles Darwin may have contracted the disease as he travelled the globe on HMS Beagle in his 20s After the acute phase the disease goes into remission and it can take years before symptoms, such as constipation, abdomen pain and digestive problems, emerge again in the severe stage. The parasite can eventually make its way to the heart, where it can live and multiply. Continued to page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

16 Continued from page 15 The 'New AIDS of the Americas' About a quarter of the people who contract Chagas, develop enlarged heart or intestines that can burst causing sudden death. Although the drugs available are not as expensive as those for AIDS, there are shortages of the medication in poorer countries and little money is being spent on discovering new treatments. Chagas disease is named after Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, a Brazilian doctor who first discovered the disease in Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine said last year that they believed Charles Darwin suffered from three different illnesses, including a Chagas infection. The experts believe he contracted the disease during a five-year trip around the globe on the HMS Beagle in his 20s and attributed it to his death of heart failure 47 years later. The father of modern life scientists wrote in his journal that he had been bitten by a 'wingless black bug' during the expedition, where he visited South America. Lab uses Skin Cells to help repair Heart Muscle May 23, 2012 Another breakthrough in biology and medicine was reported, as scientists were able, for the first time, to take skin cells from patients who had suffered heart failure and make them repair the cardiac muscle. The technique had been tested only on rats and it seemed decades could pass until it would become suitable for humans, but in lack of anything better, doctors applied it, and it worked out remarkably fine, marking the beginning of a new era in the quest for replacement cells to treat tissue affected by disease, Israeli researchers declared. The research relies on a technique called humaninduced pluripotent stem cells, or hipscs, a recentlydiscovered source which can be a good replacement for the much more controversial stem cells technique. Basically what you do is take cells from the patient and inject new genes into their nucleus, along with a chemical cocktail. Basically, these new elements reprogram the cells to their youthful stage, and teach them to do other things as well. The major advantage here is that if the body sees its own cells, it will recognize them as friendly cells and the immune system will not attack. The bad thing is that so far, studies have only shown hipscs from younger (under 60 years) and healthy people who are able to adapt to this new situation and transform their cells. So far, this doesn t seem to work out for elderly and diseased patients. But scientists are confident in this technique, and believe it can be used in many more exciting cases. What is new and exciting about our research is that we have shown that it s possible to take skin cells from an elderly patient with advanced heart failure and end up with his own beating cells in a laboratory dish that are healthy and young, said Lior Gepstein, a professor of cardiology at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. Basically, it is the equivalent to the stage of his heart cells when he was just born Traditional African Clinic November/December Teen Girl Dies from Cardiac Arrest after Drinking Two Monster Energy Drinks: Lawsuit The lawsuit states that the two cans amounted to the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca Cola, and that caffeine can be lethal at 200 to 400 milligrams of caffeine. By Makini Brice October 22, 2012 In the wake of a recent death of a 14-year-old Maryland teen, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released the reports of the deaths of five people, as well as one nonfatal heart attack that have been linked with the popular energy drink Monster. According to her parents' lawsuit, the late Anais Fournier went to the mall with her friends, where she bought a 24- ounce Monster energy drink. The next day, she returned to the mall, where she bought another Monster energy drink. Shortly before 9 PM, just hours after consuming the second drink, the teenager went into cardiac arrest. By the time the ambulance arrived to transport her to the hospital, she was Continued on page 17

17 Continued from page 16 The 'New AIDS of the Americas' unconscious. Doctors placed her in a medically induced coma in order to combat brain swelling, but after six days, the family decided to terminate her life support. Two days before Christmas last year, Fournier died. (Photo: Karen Bleier, AFP/Getty Images) Her parents state that her autopsy said that she had died of "cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity complicating mitral valve regurgitation in the setting of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome". The lawsuit states that the beverages, in total, contained 480 milligrams of caffeine, in addition to other stimulants. Her parents say that caffeine can be lethal at 200 to 400 milligrams of caffeine, and that the two cans amounted to the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca Cola. In the United States, soft drink manufacturers are limited to 71.5 milligrams of caffeine per 12 ounces. But, because energy drink manufacturers like those behind Monster, Red Bull, and Rock star classify their beverages as dietary supplements, they are not subject to FDA regulation. A statement from Monster's manufacturer, Monster Energy, said that the drink supplier said that they did not believe that they had any responsibility for Fournier's death and that they intend to vigorously defend themselves in court. They also cited the 8 million sales of their beverage worldwide. FDA's spokeswoman, Shelly Burgess, said that they had received 5 cases connected to the energy drink. Though the cases date back to 2004, all the deaths occurred in2009 or later. Burgess said that the responsibility lay with energy drink manufacturers to investigate any claims made against them. FDA rules also state that drink manufacturers do not need to disclose the amount of caffeine in their beverage. Fournier had a genetic disorder, Ehrlers-Danlos syndrome, characterized by the loosening of joints and the easy damaging of blood vessels. But her lawyer says that her doctor had not suggested any special behavior regarding exercise or caffeine. According to the New York Times, the labels on the Monster's containers say that they are "not recommended" for some consumers, like children, which the drink supplier classifies as those under the age of 12, or people "sensitive" to caffeine. The Risk of a Heart Attack is on your Plate By Jonathan Landsman May 20, 2012 (NaturalNews) Do you want to dramatically change the course of your life? I'm talking about avoiding a massive heart attack, ineffective stent procedures or (painful) bypass surgeries. Believe it or not, you CAN unclog arteries, lower blood pressure and improve your circulation by simply eating a better diet. It's time to update medical wisdom In 1967, the first coronary bypass surgery was performed and everybody thought it was a "miracle" in medicine. Of course, 10 year later, the (less invasive) angioplasty was created but couldn't prevent a heart attack. By 1987, the use of stents lowered the demand for bypass surgery with NO reduction in the risk of a heart attack. Modern medicine doesn't get it! You can NOT fix a biochemical problem - like heart disease with a mechanical (surgical) solution. By 1990, Dr. Dean Ornish, a worldrenowned internist popularized the fact that anyone can reverse coronary heart disease with simple changes to diet, exercise and stress management habits. Doctors must upgrade their thinking process. "I don't understand why asking people to eat a wellbalanced, vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open." - Dr. Dean Ornish Heart disease is a "toothless paper tiger" Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute believes that "coronary heart disease is nothing more than a toothless paper tiger that need never exist and if it does exist it need never ever progress." Simply put, it is a "food born illness". In addition, he reminds us that drugs alone will NOT prevent a heart attack or stop the symptoms of heart disease. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

18 Continued from page 17 The Risk of a Heart Attack is on your Plate In his book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease - Dr. Esselstyn reveals the cause and revolutionary treatment (available to all) that can abolish cardiovascular disease forever. In fact, it is his dream that one day we may entirely abolish heart disease - the scourge of an affluent, modern society. How many people have to die Coronary artery disease is the leading killer of men and women in Western civilization. In the United States alone, more than 500,000 people die - every single year. And, this number will shock you, about 3 million people experience a "silent" heart attack with minimal symptoms and heart damage of life-threatening proportions. In fact, one out of every two American men and one out of every three American women will have some form of cardiovascular disease. Do you want to avoid a heart attack? According to Dr. Esselstyn, we must avoid foods that had a mother or a face. It's better to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans plus avoid all oils. Sure, the change in lifestyle will be extreme (in the beginning) but the rewards will last a lifetime. New Study Finds Statin Drugs Accelerate Hardening of Arteries By Mary West August 27, 2012 The pharmaceutical industry claims the cardiovascular benefits of statins outweigh their many troubling side effects, as well as their risk of causing type 2 diabetes. A new study that shows these drugs accelerate arterial calcification appears to refute this claim, leaving Big Pharma without a leg to stand on. Findings are a blow to Big Pharma s claims. In the research published in Diabetes Care, scientists examining patients with type 2 diabetes and severe atherosclerosis discovered that coronary artery calcification was decidedly greater in more frequent statin users compared to those who were less frequent users. Even more disturbing, in a subgroup of participants who initially did not take statins, advancement of coronary artery calcification (CAC) and aortic artery calcification (AAC) was decidedly greater in those who used statins frequently. Drug companies arguments for using statins despite the problems associated with them are based on the premise that these drugs improve the health of the cardiovascular system, the part of the body most essential for life. This argument has been dealt a blow by the findings showing accelerated CAC and AAC, both which largely contribute to cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular deaths. Just how big a risk factor is arterial calcification? Interestingly, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association underscores the health risk posed by calcium in the walls of the arteries. In analyzing what risk factors are most predictive of an impending heart attack, researchers found coronary calcium was six times more accurate in predicting this event than the risk factor of a family history of coronary heart disease. Dr. Arthur Agatston, cardiologist and author of the South Beach diet books, commented on the study, saying coronary calcium is the best predictor of who will have a heart attack and who will not. Doctor relates horror stories of adverse effects of statins The latest discovery of the arterial calcification effect of statins is likely the tip of a massive iceberg of adverse effects. These drugs have been linked to more than a staggering 300 side effects, including weakening of the heart muscle. In an interview with Dissident Voice, Barbara H. Roberts, M.D., Director of the Women s Cardiac Center at the Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island relates that she regularly sees patients in her practice with serious adverse effects to statins. These include debilitating pain, transient amnesia and cognitive decline, along with fatigue, muscle weakness and neuropathy. One of her patients stated a fire in her home when she forgot the stove was on. Another was a college professor whose memory loss was so great he had to quit teaching. Others had to be wheelchair bound. Discover a natural alternative to statins. As you may have read, bad cholesterol may not be quite the villain that we have been led to believe. What about low levels of good or HDL cholesterol? Dr. Roberts prescribes two to three tablespoons of olive oil to her patients with this problem, and in every case, the HDL improves. She laments that the Mediterranean diet gets little media attention, although studies show it reduces cardiovascular disease and deaths Traditional African Clinic November/December

19 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume 7, Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 FEATURED ARTICLES The Calcium Supplement Problem: As Serious As A Heart Attack By Sayer Ji, Founder January12, 2012 Osteoporosis is not caused by a lack of limestone, oyster shell or bone meal. Heart attack, however, may be caused by supplementation with these exact same "elemental" forms of calcium, according to two meta-analyses published last year in the British Medical Journal. Back in July of 2011, the British Medical Journal published the results of a high-powered meta-analysis which looked at whether or not calcium supplementation had any effect on cardiovascular disease risk. Indeed, this groundbreaking report, which was based on the results of five clinical trials conducted in the US, Britain and New Zealand, involving over 8,000 people, showed that taking elemental calcium supplements of 500 mg or more increased the relative risk of heart attack by 27%. Though the study made international headlines at the time, critics soon took issue with the fact that it involved calcium supplementation without co-administered vitamin D. However, in April of that same year, another meta-analysis published in the same journal showed that even with co-administered D elemental calcium increased the risk of heart attack by 24%, and in addition, the composite of heart attack and stroke by 15% -- in essence, putting those doubts to rest. The idea that calcium supplementation may be toxic to cardiovascular health is not new, as many in the field of nutrition have long warned against supplementation with elemental calcium; which is to say, calcium from limestone, oyster shell, egg shell and bone meal (hydroxylapatite). Despite the growing popularity of elemental calcium supplementation, largely reinforced by conventional health "experts" and organizations like the National Osteoporosis Foundation (whose corporate sponsors include the calcium manufacturers Oscal and Citrical), the habit simply does not make sense. After all, have you ever experienced visceral disgust after accidentally consuming eggshell? If you have, you know your body is "hard-wired" to reject low-quality calcium sources (stones and bones as it were), in favor of getting calcium from food. Inorganic or "elemental" calcium, when not bound to the natural co-factors, e.g. amino acids, lipids and glyconutrients, found in "food" (which is to say other living beings, e.g. plants and animals), no longer has the intelligent delivery system that enables your body to utilize it in a biologically appropriate manner. Lacking this "delivery system," the calcium may end up going to places you do not want (ectopic calcification), or go to places you do want (e.g. the bones), but in excessive amounts, stimulating unnaturally accelerated cell-division (osteoblasts), resulting in higher bone turn over rates later in life (this is explained in the article below). Or, the body attempts to disburden itself of this inappropriate calcium and dumps it into the bowel (constipation), or pushes it through the kidneys (stones). Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

20 Continued from page 19 The Calcium Supplement Problem Worse, high levels of calcium can accumulate in the blood (hypercalcemia), which can contribute to destabilizing the atherosclerotic plaque through the formation of a brittle calcium cap on the atheroma, can contribute to thrombosis (clot) formation, hypertension (that's why we use calcium channel blockers to lower blood pressure), and perhaps causing arrhythmias/fibrillation and or heart muscle cramping (a rather common, though rarely recognized trigger of 'heart attack'). The breasts too are uniquely susceptible to calcification, which is why we use the same x-rays to ascertain bone density that we do to discern pathological microcalcifications in the breast, i.e. x-ray mammography. Due to the fact that the hydroxylapatitate crystals found in malignant breast tissue may act as a cellular 'signaling molecule' or mitogen (inducing cell proliferation), it is possible that certain breast calcifications may be a cause, and not just an effect, of the tumorous lesions ("breast cancer") found there. This may also help to explain why women with the highest bone density (often obtained through massive, lifelong calcium supplementation) have up to 300% higher incidence of malignant breast cancer. "Brain gravel" is also an increasingly prevalent phenomenon, where autoposied patients have been found to have pebble-size calcium deposits distributed throughout their brains, including the pineal gland ('the seat of the soul'). The wide range of existing calciumassociateted pathologies, and their increasing prevalence in calcium-fixated cultures, demand further investigation and explanation. Could one aspect be our cultural fixation on mega-dose calcium supplementation? What are Electrolytes? Electrolyte is a "medical/scientific" term for salts, specifically ions. The term electrolyte means that this ion is electrically-charged and moves to either a negative (cathode) or positive (anode) electrode: ions that move to the cathode (cations) are positively charged ions that move to the anode (anions) are negatively charged For example, your body fluids -- blood, plasma, interstitial fluid (fluid between cells) -- are like seawater and have a high concentration of sodium chloride (table salt, or NaCl). The electrolytes in sodium chloride are: sodium ion (Na + ) - cation chloride ion (Cl - ) anion As for your body, the major electrolytes are as follows: sodium (Na + ) potassium (K + ) chloride (Cl - ) calcium (Ca 2+ ) magnesium (Mg 2+ ) bicarbonate (HCO 3 - ) phosphate (PO 4 2- ) sulfate (SO 2-4 ) Electrolytes are important because they are what your cells (especially nerve, heart, muscle) use to maintain voltages across their cell membranes and to carry electrical impulses (nerve impulses, muscle contractions) across themselves and to other cells. Your kidneys work to keep the electrolyte concentrations in your blood constant despite changes in your body. For example, when you exercise heavily, you lose electrolytes in your sweat, particularly sodium and potassium. These electrolytes must be replaced to keep the electrolyte concentrations of your body fluids constant. So, many sports drinks have sodium chloride or potassium chloride added to them. They also have sugar and flavorings to provide your body with extra energy and to make the drink taste better. Another example where electrolyte drinks are important is when infants/children have chronic vomiting or diarrhea, perhaps due to intestinal flu viruses. When children vomit or have diarrhea, they lose electrolytes. Again, these electrolytes and the fluids must be replaced to prevent dehydration and seizures. Therefore, drinks such as Pedialyte have sodium and potassium in them like the sports drinks do. However, pediatricians do not recommend giving sports drinks to a sick child! Sports drinks have much higher sugar concentrations than Pedialyte and the high sugar is not a proper treatment Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

21 ELECTROLYTES OF SIGNIFICANCE IN HEART FUNCTIONING By David L. Heiserman As with all muscle and nervous tissue, a proper concentration of electrolytes is essential for normal heart function. The three electrolytes essential for proper cardiac function are potassium, calcium, and sodium. a. Potassium. An increase in the level of potassium in the extracellular fluid causes a decrease in the heart rate as well as a decrease in the force of contraction. The heart becomes dilated and flaccid. An extremely large increase in potassium can block nervous conduction through the atrio-ventricular bundle. If potassium levels are increased two or three times above normal, the atrio-ventricular blockade is usually so severe that death occurs. Potassium depletion also causes a decrease in the heart rate and an increase in the force of contraction. This is of concern, especially in the patient who has been taking digitalis. As you will remember, digitalis is valuable in the treatment of heart failure because it decreases the heart rate as well as increases the force of contraction, thus the efficiency of the heart is increased. If potassium levels are depleted at too great a degree, digitalis intoxication can result in which case the heart rate might decrease to too slow a rate. b. Calcium. Calcium is primarily involved with the contractile processes of the myocardium. An increase in calcium levels may cause over contraction of the heart and a decrease in calcium levels may cause cardiac flaccidity. It should be noted that calcium level alterations rarely reach the point where these effects can be seen. c. Sodium. Sodium is another essential electrolyte involved in cardiac function. However, sodium imbalances are usually manifested in some of the other systems before cardiac problems arise. If sodium levels are increased above normal depressed cardiac function occurs. Sodium levels are of concern in congestive heart failure because of the edema that can certainly aggravate congestive heart failure. Persons having congestive heart failure must carefully monitor their sodium intake in that too much sodium can cause an excessive fluid accumulation in the tissues. This fluid accumulation causes the heart to work harder in order to compensate for the water. d. Magnesium. Magnesium is an essential electrolyte involved as a cofactor in many enzyme systems. It is also closely linked to regulating intracellular potassium and calcium content. High magnesium levels may affect heart rate, cardiac conduction, and blood pressure. Hypotension, vasodilation, bradycardia, heart block, and cardiac arrest can occur with increasing levels. Low magnesium may cause cardiac arrhythmias and may play an important role in atypical ventricular tachycardia (torsades de pointes). Attempting to replace potassium is difficult if an existing magnesium or calcium deficiency is also present. Primary Content Providers: The U. S. Army, The U.S. Navy Copyright 2001, 2004 SweetHaven Publishing Services ursemain.asp?whichmod=module Overview of Electrolytes & Electrolyte Imbalances Electrolytes are salts that conduct electricity and are found in the body fluid, tissue, and blood. Examples are chloride, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. Sodium (Na+) is concentrated in the extracellular fluid (ECF) and potassium (K+) is concentrated in the intracellular fluid (ICF). Proper balance is essential for muscle coordination, heart function, fluid absorption and excretion, nerve function, and concentration. The kidneys regulate fluid absorption and excretion and maintain a narrow range of electrolyte fluctuation. Normally, sodium and potassium are filtered and excreted in the urine and feces according to the body's needs. Too much or too little sodium or potassium, caused by poor diet, dehydration, medication, and disease, results in an imbalance. Too much sodium is called hypernatremia; too little is called hyponatremia. Too much potassium is called hyperkalemia; too little is called hypokalemia. Electrolyte Imbalance Incidence and Prevalence Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte imbalance. It is associated with kidney disease such as nephrotic syndrome and acute renal failure (ARF). Men and women with healthy kidneys have equal chances of experiencing electrolyte imbalance, and people with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, which most often affect women, are at increased risk. Very young people and old people are affected more often than young adults. What causes Electrolyte Imbalance? The balance of electrolytes is constantly shifting due to fluctuating fluids in your body. For example, when you Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

22 Continued from page 21 What causes Electrolyte Imbalance? sweat as a result of exercise, hot weather, or illness, levels of certain electrolytes may be low. Vomiting and diarrhea are other causes of electrolyte imbalances, as they result in excessive fluid loss. Electrolyte imbalances can also be caused by a deficiency or an overabundance of minerals in the body. Medical causes of electrolyte imbalances Electrolyte imbalances can be caused by medical conditions including: Addison s disease (deceased production of hormones by the adrenal glands) Alcoholism, which causes the breakdown of muscle fibers, resulting in potassium being released into the bloodstream Diabetes Diarrhea Heat exhaustion Kidney disease Vomiting Malnutrition HIV/AIDS Age, Elderly Cancer Medication-related causes of electrolyte imbalances Electrolyte imbalances may be caused by medications including: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors Calcium supplements Certain hormones that are potassium-sparing (lead to the retention of potassium by the kidneys) Diuretics, which promote fluid excretion by the kidneys Potassium supplements Serious or life-threatening causes of electrolyte imbalances In some cases, electrolyte imbalances may be a symptom of a serious or life-threatening condition that should be immediately evaluated in an emergency setting. These include: Dehydration Shock -22- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 Questions for diagnosing the cause of electrolyte imbalances To diagnose your condition, your doctor or licensed health care practitioner will ask you several questions related to your electrolyte imbalance including: When did you start to experience symptoms? Are you taking any medications such as diuretics or potassium-sparing medications? Have you been exercising or working outdoors in hot weather? Do you drink enough fluids? Do you drink alcohol? Do you have high blood pressure or other chronic conditions that may require medication? What are the potential complications of electrolyte imbalance? Because electrolyte imbalances can be due to serious diseases, failure to seek treatment can result in serious complications and permanent damage. Once the underlying cause is diagnosed, it is important for you to follow the treatment plan that you and your health care professional design specifically for you to reduce the risk of potential complications including: Cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) Overheating Seizures or convulsions Shock Unconsciousness and coma Muscle spasm Bone disorders Weakness Blood pressure changes Twitching Irregular heartbeat Numbness Nervous system disorders Confusion Convulsions Lethargy Seizures Internet

23 Heart Disease and Diuretics Sometimes diuretics are used as heart disease treatment. Diuretics, commonly known as "water pills," help your body get rid of unneeded water and salt through the urine. Getting rid of excess fluid makes it easier for your heart to pump and controls blood pressure. Examples of diuretics include: Lasix (furosemide) Bumex (bumetanide) Demadex (torsemide) Esidrix (hydrochlorothiazide) Zaroxolyn (metolazone) Aldactone (spironolactone) Diuretics are categorized as thiazide-like (Zaroxolyn and Esidrix), loop (Lasix, Bumex, Demadex) or potassium sparing (Aldactone). Thiazide diuretics cause moderate increases in water excretion and are appropriate for longterm use. Loop diuretics are more powerful and are especially useful in emergencies. Potassium-sparing diuretics help your body retain the mineral potassium and are often prescribed in conjunction with the other two types of diuretics. Some diuretics are a combination of potassium-sparing and thiazide diuretics. Who Should Take Diuretics? If you have any of the following conditions, your doctor may recommend you take a diuretic. Edema. Diuretics decrease swelling (edema) that usually occurs in the legs. High blood pressure. Thiazide diuretics lower blood pressure, which substantially reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack. Heart failure. Diuretics reduce the swelling (edema) and water build up in the lungs (congestion) caused by heart failure. Normally, loop diuretics are used for heart failure. Kidney problems. Diuretics reduce water retention. Liver problems. Diuretics reduce the amount of fluid buildup associated with cirrhosis (disease of the liver). Glaucoma. Diuretics reduce the pressure in the eye associated with this disease. How Should I Take Diuretics? Before a diuretic is prescribed, tell your doctor if you have diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease, or gout. Follow the label directions on how often you should take -23- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 the diuretic. If you are taking a single dose a day, take it in the morning with your breakfast or right after eating your breakfast. If you are taking more than one dose a day, take the last dose no later than 4 p.m. The number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and how long you need to take a diuretic will depend on the type prescribed, as well as your condition. Weigh yourself at the same time every day (on the same scale) and record your weight. Call your doctor if you gain three pounds in one day or five pounds in one week. While taking a diuretic, have your blood pressure and kidney function tested regularly, as advised by your doctor. These tests are important because diuretics can change your blood potassium and magnesium levels. Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory so that your response to this medication can be monitored. What Are the Side Effects of Diuretics? Diuretics can cause the following side effects: Frequent urination. This may last for up to four hours after each dose. If you are taking two diuretic doses each day, take the second dose no later than late afternoon so you can sleep through the night without needing to wake up to urinate.. Extreme tiredness or weakness. These effects should decrease as your body adjusts to the medication. Call your doctor or nurse if these symptoms persist, since these symptoms could mean your medication dose needs to be adjusted. Muscle cramps or weakness. Be sure that you are taking your potassium supplement correctly, if prescribed. Contact your doctor or nurse if these symptoms persist. Thirst. Try sucking on sugarless hard candy. Contact your doctor or nurse if you have extreme thirst, which could be a sign of dehydration. Dizziness, lightheadedness. Try rising more slowly when getting up from a lying or sitting position. Blurred vision, confusion, headache, increased perspiration (sweating), restlessness. If these effects are persistent or severe, contact your doctor or nurse. Dehydration. Signs include dizziness, extreme thirst, excessive dryness of the mouth, decreased urine output, dark-colored urine, or constipation. If these symptoms occur, don't assume you need more fluids - - call your doctor or nurse. Continued on page 24

24 Continued from page 23 Heart Disease and Diuretics Fever, sore throat, cough, ringing in the ears, unusual bleeding or bruising, rapid and excessive weight loss. Contact your doctor or nurse right away. Skin rash. Stop taking the medication and contact your doctor or nurse right away. Loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or muscle cramps. Be sure that you are taking your potassium supplement correctly, if prescribed. Contact your doctor or nurse if these symptoms persist. Contact your doctor or nurse if you have any other symptoms that cause concern. What Foods or Drugs Interact With Diuretics? To avoid harmful drug interactions, tell your doctor and pharmacist all the medications you are taking, including herbal preparations, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and nutrition supplements. Diuretics are often prescribed in combination with other drugs. If you experience an increase in side effects after taking your medications together, contact your doctor. You may need to change the times you are taking each medication. Before a diuretic is prescribed, tell your doctor if you are taking other medications for high blood pressure, digoxin, indomethacin, probenecid, or corticosteroids (prednisone). Some diuretics may require you to avoid or include certain foods in your diet. Follow your doctor's advice, which may include: Following a low-salt diet. Taking a potassium supplement or including highpotassium foods such as bananas and orange juice if you are losing potassium. Talk to your doctor about your level of potassium intake. Can Pregnant Women Take Diuretics? Check with your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant while taking a diuretic. Can Breastfeeding Women Take Diuretics? Most diuretics are compatible with breastfeeding, with some precautions; talk to your doctor. Can Children Take Diuretics? Children can safely take diuretics. The side effects are similar to those in adults. Children require smaller doses of the drug. Healthy Eating: Sodium Study was Misleading By Joan Endyke October 25, 2012 GateHouse News Service In the face of a public health campaign to lower sodium intakes in the United States, a controversial health writer created confusion this year when he claimed new research showed less sodium does not reduce cardiovascular disease, and worse, lowering sodium may even cause more deaths. However, when trained researchers scrutinized his studies, they found glaring flaws. Health experts agree: It is still good advice to lower sodium. Cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack, stroke and heart failure, are the leading causes of death in the United States, and high blood pressure is a major risk factor. One in every three Americans is estimated to develop high blood pressure and high sodium intakes are a contributing factor. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the evidence is strong: As sodium intake decreases, so does blood pressure, but most Americans are unaware of this and 90 percent of the population is consuming more than needed. Excess dietary sodium promotes fluid retention in the body and constricts and stiffens vessels, which creates higher pressure. The heart works harder to force a higher volume of blood through narrowed blood vessels. Over time this damages the vessels, causes plaque build-up and weakens the heart. The American Heart Association, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute all agree: Americans will benefit from lowering sodium in their diets. The recommendation is to limit sodium to 1,500 mg daily for more than half of the population particularly African-Americans, people over the age of 51 and those with high blood pressure. For everyone else, the aim is less than 2,300 mg. Some exceptions apply. For example, people with certain medical conditions, such as kidney disease, may need even lower amounts and endurance athletes may need higher amounts because of sweat loss. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

25 Continued from page 24 Heart Disease and Diuretics Americans consume an average of 3,400 mg of sodium daily with most from processed prepared foods, like dehydrated rice and pasta packages, jarred and canned tomato sauce, soups, frozen foods, salad dressings, deli foods, fast foods, restaurant meals and the like. There is very little sodium in fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats and unprocessed grains. A teaspoon of added salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium. Limiting sodium is a big part of the puzzle, but also important: Add foods high in potassium, magnesium and calcium, minerals that dilate blood vessels and lower pressure. Choose multiple servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily, along with low-fat, calcium-rich foods /HEALTHY-EATING-Sodium-study-was-misleading? Study shows Children's Salt Intake a Cause for Concern September 17, 2012 Memphis Business Journal The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns many American children are at a significantly increased risk for having high blood pressure, thanks to excessive salt intake. (Note: Processed salt ed.) USA TODAY reports a study released by the CDC showed that kids are consuming as much salt as is suggested for adults, with some eating more than twice the recommended amount than their older counterparts. Excessive sodium intake is associated with hypertension, or high blood pressure, in children. 09/study-shows-childrens-salt-intake-a.html Confront Salt Confusion By Paul Louis April 20, 2009 (NaturalNews) Salt is currently considered a leading culprit for high blood pressure and other health problems. This is based on the premise that a high sodium intake creates high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attacks, arterial, and kidney problems. Salt is high in sodium. But sodium is essential for proper absorption of other major nutrients and functioning of nerves and muscles, as well as being necessary for balancing water and minerals in the body. Lately there have been studies that strongly question the research on sodium hazards, as well as the recommended maximum sodium intakes from that research. There has been a survey in New York, conducted over several years on hypertension prone locals, which showed that those with high sodium intakes had proportionately less heart attacks than those who were put on low sodium diets! And now there are even MD`s who claim that the right type of salt, unrefined, has more health benefits than health hazards. A major confusion is that only refined commercial and household salt is known as salt to most of medical science and consumers. It is the most prevalent, by far. Refined salt, stripped of its natural mineral structure, is virtually all sodium. As a matter of fact, it is 97% to 99% sodium! That`s why it is called Sodium Chloride. Processed foods are laced with Sodium Chloride refined salt as well as with other types of sodium, such as sodium benzoate, sodium nitrate, and the notorious monosodium glutamate (MSG). So if you are concerned about your sodium levels, then cut out processed foods! Part of the process for refined salt, or commercial table salt, involves the use of aluminum, ferrocyanide and bleach. These are all toxic materials that your body takes in with refined, commercial salt. And because of that process, almost all the vital minerals that real, unrefined salt can offer are removed! One or two servings of refined salt won`t send you to the grave. But continued almost daily use will avail you to the perils of aluminum toxicity. Ferro cyanide is listed by the EPA as a toxic material for human consumption. You are probably aware of the hazards to human health of chlorine, which is used to bleach the salt. There's more on aluminum toxicity here: Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

26 Continued from page 25 Confront Salt Confusion According to Dr. David Brownstein, author of Salt Your Way to Health, unrefined salt is an excellent detoxification aid, as well as a provider of mineral nutrients in a naturally bio-available balance. There are usually around 80 minerals and essential trace elements in unrefined, organic salt. Soil grown food is lacking in many of these because the soil has been depleted of trace elements and minerals. Some of the major minerals included with unrefined salt are: Magnesium (a very essential metabolic agent), calcium, potassium, and sulfate. Obviously, sodium is present also, but it comprises only 50% of the total mineral content rather than the 99% sodium in refined table salt. Regular consumer table salt, refined, sometimes has iodine added in order to promote thyroid health. Dr. Brownstien has devoted a good deal of his practice and research on thyroid and glandular health. He says there is less iodized salt now than before, and the amount of iodine in iodized salt is insufficient for optimum thyroid health anyway. Iodine is an important agent for glandular health, and it is also scarcely present in our food anymore. Unless you eat a lot of seafood and roll the dice with mercury! Dr. Brownstein strongly advocates the use of unrefined, organic salt with iodine supplements, preferably a combination of potassium iodide and iodine. He maintains that these two dietary items contribute largely toward optimum endocrine health, which is vital for a strong immune system. Unrefined salt has a distinctively different look from refined salt. It is usually too course to be used in salt shaker. You may want to invest in a salt grinder. And it is usually not very white. Off white is more common, even pink or gray for unrefined pure salt. The extreme white of common household or commercial salt is a result of bleaching. But buyer beware, some so called sea salts offered on line and especially in health food stores are at least partially processed. Avoid sea salt that is too white and too fine as a rule of thumb. If you are very concerned about getting the purest available product, and you don`t have anyone`s advice you can trust, look for "organic certification". Since salt is mined or taken from salt water beds, organic has different implications than produce and animal product organic requirements. But the standards are there and they are strict. The two groups that certify salt as organic are BIO- GRO of New Zealand, and Nature & Progresre of France. You may come across an analysis of organic salt minerals, or a commentary on such, that mentions fluoride as a constituent. But there are two types of fluoride. One, Calcium Fluoride, is an element that occurs as a natural process over time within the earth`s soil, rock, and water -26- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 areas. This is the fluoride that originally was claimed as a deterrent against tooth decay. Wikipedia notes that while all other fluorides are dangerous for human consumption, calcium fluoride is not. And it`s Calcium Fluoride that would be in any unrefined salt analysis. The other fluoride, Sodium Fluoride, is a synthetic, poisonous fluoride. It has been used as rat poison. It`s a waste by-product of the aluminum industry, fertilizer industry, and nuclear industry. It`s their way of picking up a lot of easy bucks by selling it to municipalities for their water supplies instead of suffering the expense of getting rid of it. That`s the stuff that`s been going into our water supplies, causing health problems, and assisting in the dumbing down of America. Either the dentists didn`t distinguish between those two, or perhaps they didn`t even know there were two types of fluoride. It appears that organically produced, unrefined salt should be a healthy addition to our diets. It offers bioavailable, balanced minerals that aren`t naturally present in our food chain. It does not contain the poisons of industry that are a part of refined salt. Yes, too much of a good thing can be bad. But again, the sodium of refined salt and other food additives is curbed best by eliminating processed foods, which contain several toxic sodium sources as well as unrefined salt, from the diet. Dr. Brownstein`s advice, using organic, unrefined salt with a little bit of iodine supplementation, seems like a natural and economical way to boost one`s immune system. Sources: Crusader Health News, January 18, Interview of Dr. David Brownstein Salt Institute, Rutgers (New Brunswick) Health Education Newsletter, 2002 Wikipedia ml Killer Headache: Migraines hike Stroke Risk Some sufferers have twice the chance of heart attacks, strokes, studies say By David Kohn March 2, 2009 Beth Leslie had gotten occasional migraines for years. She thought of them as a painful imposition, nothing more. Continued on page 27

27 Continued from page 26 Killer Headache: Migraines hike Stroke Risk Then, one day two years ago, her world tipped sideways. Everything was spinning. I just kept my eyes closed, because whenever I d open them I d get dizzy, says Leslie, a 24-year-old veterinary technician who lives in Bowling Green, Ohio. It really freaked me out. She went to the hospital, where a doctor told her she d probably come down with some sort of virus. After two days, Leslie s condition hadn t improved, and her boyfriend started pressing the doctors. They agreed to give her a brain scan, and found she d suffered a stroke, one that centered on her cerebellum, the part of the brain in charge of balance. Leslie was shocked. Like most people, she d thought of stroke as a disease of old age. But for those who get migraines, the rules appear to be different. Until recently, scientists saw migraine suffering as a physiological thunderstorm that left few lasting effects. But new research suggests some migraines aren t so innocuous. Recent studies show those who suffer from something called migraine with aura have double, or perhaps triple, the risk of stroke or heart attack, compared with people who don t get migraines at all. In these people Leslie is one of them the headache is preceded by a range of symptoms: slurred speech, forgetfulness, feeling hot or cold, and ghostly lights blinking across the field of vision. That last one is the aura. A third of those who experience migraines have these symptoms; generally, this sub-group also has more frequent, and more excruciating, migraines. I don t think migraine is seen as a serious disorder. That s a mistake, says migraine researcher David Dodick, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. Headache is just one manifestation of migraine. It s a systemic illness. The mysteries of migraines Thirty-five million Americans 1 in 10 of us get migraines. They tend to occur regularly, with severe pain on one side of the head. Migraine attacks often include other symptoms, such as nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. Researchers disagree on whether people who get migraines without aura are at higher risk for strokes and heart attacks. So far, almost all of the research of migraine and cardiovascular risk has occurred in those who get auras. And one knows for sure what accounts for the higher rates of strokes and heart attacks in those who do suffer from migraine with aura, but scientist have several theories that may offer insight. Some researchers blame migraines on chronic exposure to certain neurotransmitters. Most scientists think migraine sufferers brains are hyper-excitable that is, their neurons tend to start firing uncontrollably, with the outburst spreading across the brain over the course of a few hours. This electrical storm causes the brain to release several neurotransmitters, including two chemicals called Substance P and Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) that produce inflammation and pain in the blood vessels surrounding our brains. Researchers suspect that over years of repeated migraines, the inflammation from Substance P and CGRP may weaken blood vessels, not only in the head but throughout the body. This damage may raise the risk of stroke or heart attack. During a stroke, the vessels that supply the brain rupture or become blocked; during a heart attack the same thing happens to the vessels around the heart. In a study of 175 people completed last year, University of Toledo neurologist Gretchen Tietjen who treated Leslie after her stroke found that nearly a third of those with migraines had signs of blood vessel damage, almost five times higher than the controls. Tietjen says that while there s no conclusive proof that Leslie s migraines played a role in her stroke, they easily could have. But another group of scientists think the culprit isn t neurotransmitters, but the vascular system itself. Dodick and others argue that the blood vessels of people who get migraines are inherently dysfunctional, contracting and expanding abnormally in reaction to physical and emotional stress. People with migraine probably have unusually reactive blood vessels, says neurologist Richard B. Lipton, a leading migraine researcher at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. In the head, these vascular spasms could trigger migraines. When the veins and arteries in the temple and skull expand and contract too much, they may press on nerves, leading to the excruciating pain. In people who get migraines, these blood vessel seizures may occur throughout the body, without patients much noticing. Over years, these spasms may damage the vascular system. Link between migraine and heart defect? Then there s the hole-in-the-heart theory. Researchers Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

28 Continued from page 27 Killer Headache: Migraines hike Stroke Risk have known for years that having a gap in the wall between two chambers of the heart a surprisingly common defect (it occurs in 10 to 20 percent of people) increases the risk of stroke. It s not clear why: The defect, known as a patent foramen ovale, or PFO, may allow blood to bypass the lungs, which constantly filter small clots and impurities from the blood. These clots may end up lodged in veins and arteries in the head, triggering strokes. Over the past five years, scientists have found that PFOs seem to occur in more than half of people who get migraines. In some migraine patients, closing the PFO with surgery seems to lead to a disappearance of headaches. Some researchers suspect the unpurified blood leaking through the PFO contains inflammatory molecules, which set off that electrical storm when they travel up to the brain. (This may be why people with migraine get headaches after eating certain foods like red wine, olives and chocolate. These trigger foods may contain the offending chemicals, which in normal people are constantly removed from the blood.) A very complex system But none of these hypotheses have been proven, and the links between migraine and cardiovascular disease remain murky. There s no clear mechanism that convinces me, says Tobias Kurth, a neuro-epidemiologist at the Harvard University School of Public Health. It s likely a very complex system. Kurth, who has spent several years examining connections between migraine and stroke, thinks there may be several lines of connection between stroke, heart disease and migraine. At the same time, he says, even those who get frequent migraines shouldn t panic. In the general population, stroke and heart attack are quite rare. They re even less common if you re young and healthy. While th e stroke risk might double from 15 per 100,000 in the general population to 30 per 100,000 for those who migraine with aura, the risk is still relatively small, pointed out Lipton in the journal Neurology Today. A doubling of risk sounds scary, but in absolute terms, it s still low, says Dr. Stephen Silberstein, a migraine specialist at the Jefferson Headache Center in Philadelphia. But if you get migraines, and you smoke, are overweight, or have untreated high blood pressure, then your risk climbs significantly. And each risk compounds the others exponentially Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 In a 2007 study published, Kurth found that women who have migraine with aura, smoke and take oral contraceptives (also a stroke hazard), were 10 times more likely to have a stroke than women without these risks. Leslie, for example, was taking birth control pills when she had her stroke. Changes in treatment Even without a clear causal link, the new findings may change how doctors treat migraines. Rather than seeing the condition as a painful but harmless hassle, doctors are increasingly trying to prevent it, just as they do obesity or high blood pressure. A range of medicines, including blood pressure drugs and antidepressants, can help prevent headaches. And many patients also find relief through changes in lifestyle and diet. Although there s no clear proof, some scientists, including Tietjen, suspect that in migraineurs, preventing headaches could lower the risk of stroke and heart attack. I think there s ongoing, progressive damage to the cardiovascular system, she says. If you can treat patients early on, maybe you can keep it from progressing. Dodick agrees. The evidence points in that direction, he says. So it makes good sense to be aggressive with preventive measures. He notes that only 15 percent of people who get frequent migraines take preventive medicine. Leslie, who has since fully recovered from her stroke, is now in this minority. She takes Elavil, an antidepressant, for migraine prevention. She no longer takes oral contraceptives, and last year she had surgery to close a PFO doctors discovered after her stroke. She almost never gets a headache. It still surprises me that I had a stroke, she says. But I m doing everything I can to stay healthy now. I ve come a long way. Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Heart Disease September 4, 2012 By Andy Soos, ENN Perfluorooctanoic acid is a synthetic, stable perfluorinated carboxylic acid and fluorosurfactant. It has been used in the manufacture of such prominent consumer goods as Teflon and Gore-Tex. Exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a man made chemical Continued on page 27

29 Continued from page 28 Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Heart Disease used in the manufacture of some common household products, appears to be associated with cardiovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease in a study of 1,216 individuals, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine. Surveys have suggested that PFOA (widely used in the manufacture of products such as lubricants, polishes, paper and textile coatings, and food packaging) is detectable in the blood of more than 98 percent of the U.S. population. Some evidence has suggested that an association may be biologically plausible between PFOA exposure and cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to the study background. The levels of PFOA exposure in humans vary widely. While an average American might have 3 or 4 parts per billion of PFOA present in his blood serum, individuals occupationally exposed to PFOA have had blood serum levels over 100,000 parts per billion recorded. In a study of individuals living around DuPont's Washington Works WV plant, those who had no occupational exposure had a median blood serum level of 329 parts per billion while the median of those with occupational exposure was 775 parts per billion. PFOA can form as a breakdown product from a variety of precursor molecules. PFOA precursors can be transformed to PFOA by metabolism, biodegradation, or atmospheric processes. Anoop Shankar, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues from the West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, examined the association between serum (blood) levels of PFOA and the presence of CVD and PAD, a marker of atherosclerosis, in a nationally representative group of adults. The study used merged data from the and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The study suggests that increasing serum PFOA levels were positively associated with the presence of CVD and PAD, and the association appeared to be independent of confounders such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking status, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and serum cholesterol level. "Our results contribute to the emerging data on health effects of PFCs [perfluoroalkyl chemicals], suggesting for the first time that PFOA exposure is potentially related to CVD and PAD. However, owing to the crosssectional nature of the present study, we cannot conclude that the association is causal," the authors comment. Compared with the reference level of PFOA in quartile 1, the multivariable odds ratio among participants in quartile 4 was 2.01 for CVD and 1.78 for PAD, according to the results. "In summary, in a representative cross-sectional sample of the U.S. population, we found that higher PFOA levels are positively associated with self-reported CVD and objectively measured PAD. Our findings, however, should be interpreted with caution because of the possibility of residual confounding and reverse causality. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm or refute our findings," the authors conclude. Infectious Agents Basics of Infectious Agents *The role of this risk factor in the development of heart disease is not yet fully established. While some infectious agents are associated with heart disease and heart attack, it has not yet been shown that treating these infections will lower your risk of having a heart attack or dying early. What are infectious agents and how are they related to heart disease? Infectious agents are viruses or bacteria that takes up residence in your body, causing an infection. Certain common infections may play a role in heart disease. The theory is that these bacteria and viruses trigger inflammation in the arteries, making the arteries more likely to become clogged, thereby increasing your risk of heart attack or stroke. Researchers have identified several different bacteria and viruses that may be associated with heart disease. 1 The main suspects include: Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae), a cause of flu-like respiratory problems that can lead to pneumonia or bronchitis Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a member of the herpes family of viruses that usually doesn't cause any symptoms Studies are currently underway to determine which, if any, of these infections actually increase people's risk for heart disease, heart attack, and death, and whether your risk for heart disease can be reduced by treating these infections. Research so far has had conflicting results, researchers stated that h. pylori -- which can be Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

30 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume 7, Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 FEATURED ARTICLES Heart Disease - Beyond The Stent & Bypass Cardiac Coverup Summary Once upon a time, by the turn of the last century, flying in the face of over a hundred years of research and clinical observation to the contrary, medicine abandoned the link between infection and atherosclerotic heart disease; not because it was ever proven wrong, but because it did not fit in with the trends of a medical establishment convinced that chronic disease such as heart disease must be multifactorial, degenerative and non-infectious. Yet it was the very inability of 'established' risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and smoking to fully explain the incidence and trends in cardiovascular disease that resulted in historically repeated calls to search out an infectious cause, a search that began more than a century ago. Today, half of US heart attack victims have acceptable cholesterol levels and 25% or more have none of the "risk factors" associated with heart disease, including smoking, high blood pressure or obesity, most of which are not inconsistent with being caused by infection [7,56]. Even the traditionalist's 2003 assault in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) to 'debunk' what they call the "50% risk factor myth" [20] fell woefully short under scrutiny. In one group 30% died of heart disease with a cholesterol of at least 240 mg/dl, a condition which also existed in 21% who did not die during the same period. And the overlap was obvious throughout the so-called risk categories. Under such scrutiny, lead author Greenland conceded that if obesity, inactivity and elevated cholesterol in the elderly are included, just about everyone has a risk factor and he likened the dilemma of people who do or do not wind up with heart disease akin to the susceptibility of people who By Dr. Lawrence Broxmeyer, MD October 12, Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 are exposed and at one time contract tuberculosis, but do not presently have active disease. In Infections and Atherosclerosis: New Clues from an old Hypothesis? Nieto stressed the need to extend the possible role of infectious agents beyond the three infections which have in recent years been the focus of research: Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Chlamydia pneumonia, and Helicobactor pylori [39]. Mycobacterial disease shares interesting connections to heart disease. Not only is tuberculosis the only microorganism to depend on cholesterol for its pathogenesis but CDC maps for cardiovascular disease bear a striking match to those of State and regional TB case rates. Why should this be? Ellis, Hektoen, Osler, McCallum, Swartz, Livingston and Alexander- Jackson all saw clinical and laboratory evidence of a causative relationship between the TB, its related mycobacteria and heart disease. And Xu showed that proteins of mycobacterial origin actually led to experimental atherosclerosis in laboratory animals. Furthermore present day markers suggested as indicators for heart disease susceptibility such as C- Reactive Protein (CRP), interleukin-6 and homocysteine are all similarly elevated in tuberculosis. Although more than 120 years have passed since its discovery, Mycobacterium tuberculosis is still the leading cause of death globally due to a single infectious agent (Dye et al. 1999). This high mortality rate exists in spite of the fact that for over 50 years tuberculosis has been a preventable, diagnosable, and treatable disease. It therefore behooves us to explore the historical, clinical, and pathological link between heart disease, typical, and atypical tuberculosis. Continued on page 31

31 Continued from page 30 Heart Disease - Beyond The Stent & Bypass Cardiac Coverup Introduction Attached at the hip, the American Heart Association (AHA), first to push towards medical heart specialization, was actually an offshoot of The National Tuberculosis Association, without whose money and help it would never have survived. In one of its first Bulletins, the AHA (American Heart Association) came up with a long list of the similarities between tuberculosis and heart disease [2], a view supported by Ellis in The New England Journal of Medicine half a century later [15]. In a 'name that disease' Ellis fleshes-out a medical condition who's mortality rate was 200 to 300 per 100,000, was widespread, and by whom many in their prime were struck down. Treatment was only partially effective. Doctors recommended diet and exercise. Special hospitals were built for it. In a tough decision, Ellis's readers only recognized the disease as TB when he said it struck 75 years ago, the white plague of the 20th century, for the mortality rate for ischemic heart disease (IHD) at the time of Ellis's writing was also 200 to 300 persons per 100,000. Yet it was not until after WWII that the subject was pursued in earnest, and by two women, one of them the first female medical resident in New York. Sometime in 1965, Rutger's investigators Virginia Livingston, M.D. and Eleanor Alexander-Jackson PhD, fueled by Fleet and Kerr Grants, working with sterile, post catastrophic heart attack coronary artery specimens, established low-grade tubercular infection, staining 'acid-fast' (not decolorized with acid-alcohol) in all ischemic heart disease specimens [32]. Even in stained slides of the heart muscle itself, Livingston documented small, acid-fast globoidal tubercular bodies which soon appeared to enter into a gradual state of digestion (Ibid). In 1986, Hektoen, studying how tuberculosis attacked blood vessels of the cardiovascular system, saw the blood born microbes implanting themselves in cardiovascular walls. Eventually these microbes would penetrate all layers of the arterial wall, including its muscular coat. The offshoot led, often, to the degeneration of whole arterial segments.[23]. Since tubercular attack came from the inside of the vascular wall outwards, Hektoen often spotted the initial attack as involving the intimal or adventitial layers. Even William Osler, arguably the greatest physician since Hippocrates, and to this day an icon for accurate clinical judgment, made clear that arteriosclerosis was frequently associated with tuberculosis [42]. MacCallum's investigation [34] recognized that of all the infectious causes of heart disease, only one, tuberculosis, caused arteriosclerosis. At autopsy, he cited 101 cases of advanced tuberculosis. Of these cases, there were 49 cases in children in the first decade of life - none of which showed arterial changes. Even in the second, third and fourth decades there were only 11 autopsies who died of TB with moderate cardiovascular sclerosis; while 13 showed nothing. But by the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth decades, true to current coronary timetables, there were only 2 autopsies with normal arteries and 26 with TB arteriosclerosis (Ibid). By 1972, pathologist Phillip Schwartz, once a student of Loffler, became aware that the 'lardaceous', waxy degeneration misnamed by Virchow as starch-like "amyloid" (starch was called amylum), showed that amyloid (starch-like) degeneration occurred more frequently in elderly cardiovascular systems than hardening and atheromatous lesions of their arteries. But along with this, he noticed that such amyloid degeneration, upon autopsy, usually revealed signs of lingering pulmonary and lymph node tuberculosis [59]. Classic thought regarding atherosclerosis never was terribly convincing. It supposedly begins with the appearance of cholesterol and fat-laden macrophages (white blood cells) called "foam cells". The fact that some of these macrophages died, just added to the debris. Macrophages died, tradition dictated, because they could not eliminate cholesterol the way they got rid of bacteria. They simply stuffed themselves compulsively with more and more cholesterol, converting into the large 'foam cells' that filled the plaques of advanced atherosclerosis. Macrophages, then, said orthodoxy, literally ate themselves to death at our cardiac blood vessels expense. But there were obvious flaws to such thinking. First, unlike with other microbes, human macrophages were not that good at eliminating germs like tuberculosis, which in turn kills many of them. Second cholesterol by itself, normally the most abundant steroid in man, was on the rise in Japanese blood during the very decade (1980/- 1989) when the incidence of coronary heart disease was on its way down [40]. In the meantime, in the US, half the people who had a heart attack had acceptable cholesterol levels, including its HDL and LDL fractions. Although cholesterol thus seemed an imperfect criterion for determining coronary heart disease, its intimate interaction with TB and the mycobacteria presented extremely interesting coincidental findings. Not only were virulent tuberculosis and the mycobacteria the only pathogens that actually relied upon cholesterol to enter Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

32 Continued from page 31 Heart Disease - Beyond The Stent & Bypass Cardiac Coverup the body's white blood cells or macrophages [17], but, it was the Mycobacteria that in addition were able to produce [31], esterify [29], take up, modify, accumulate [4], and promote the deposition of and release [26] of cholesterol. Orthodox thought then pronounced that smooth muscle cells of the cardiovascular system somehow responded to fat proliferation under the influence of certain platelet factors, which are otherwise supposed to function exclusively in clotting, to eventually cause inflammation. But, to many, it seemed fuzzy logic that inflammation should occur from fat proliferation to begin with. Livingston and Alexander- Jackson's meticulous work clarified this, finding in all specimens, an infectious agent behind that inflammation and fat propagation [32]. But unfortunately, they worked as "outsiders" at a time when women doctors and scientists weren't fully accepted. Others Notice A 1973 watershed study by Benditt and Benditt reported that cells found in artherogenic plague had a monoclonal origin, that is, they were derived from a single cell population [6]. Confirmatory studies [43,44] prompted the revival and legitimization of a search for an infectious cause. But by concluding that such monoclonal origins were caused by "Chemical mutagens or viruses or both" Benditt and Benditt's agenda blindsided a third major possibility- tuberculosis and the mycobacteria, each capable of churning out its own monoclonal enzymes, once systemic [13,45]. It was in no small part as a result of Benditt's study, much of the world's scientific and medical community focused on an extremely limited role for tuberculosis and the mycobacteria in heart disease, and at the same time seemed to purposefully marginalize studies that kept seeping into the Index Medicus. For example, in the same year Livingston pursued her heart work at Rutgers, the Russians, unhindered by the American brand of politicized medicine, began proving the link between tuberculosis, atherosclerosis and heart disease [8,25,27, 28]. Which Infection? Since a 1988 report of raised antibodies against Chlamydia pneumoniae in patients with heart disease appeared, it was hoped that the microbe might be behind atherosclerosis [21,41,50]. Hurting this hypothesis was the low incidence of atherosclerosis in the tropics despite chlamydia's high frequency there [52]. Also Loehe and Bittman concluded that although Chlamydia, on occasions, might be present, it was not a causative factor [33] because there was no correlation between the severity or extent of atherosclerosis and the involvement of chlamydial infection at the same site. This report was in concert with Thomas [57] and Gibbs [19]. Combined, these studies seemed to ask: What if Chlamydia pneumoniae was just a passenger bacteria, a friendly bystander? And when, in 1995, MC Sutter's editorial Lessons For Atherosclerotic Research From Tuberculosis And Peptic Ulcer, warned we might be overlooking the role of a microorganism in atherosclerosis, he did not have chlamydia specifically in mind [53]. Nevertheless, statistics showed that people who used a lot of antibiotics had less heart attacks, and so by 2000 the CDC found that 14% of the cardiologists in Alaska and West Virginia treated heart patients with antibiotics for angina, heart attacks, angioplasty or after by-pass surgery. And certain antibiotics did seem to work, but the question was their efficacy based upon their anti-chlamydial activity? Azithromycin, for example has a documented, if moderate activity against certain mycobacteria as well. Something More Conclusive As the millennium approached, something much more irrefutable was happening. Xu had previously been found that injecting rabbits with normal cholesterol with protein from TB resulted in atherosclerotic changes [61]. Now George and Shoenfeld were implicating these very same proteins in not only the origin of the atherosclerosis in cardiovascular blood vessels but of fatty streak formation there as well [18]. In the meantime, Mukherjee and De Benedictis showed that an increase in antibodies against such tubercular proteins somehow already in the body was actually associated with re-stenosis or future closure of coronary vessels [37]. By 2000, it became obvious to Afek that mice injected with high doses of such tuberculoproteins developed significantly larger areas of atherosclerosis despite the fact that their diet was devoid of high fat content [1]. Revisiting this subject, Xu, also using the same tubercular protein (HSP-65), proved the same thing in New Zealand white rabbits [62]. In Xu's study, such rabbits with normal serum cholesterol injected with the TB preparation led to the formation of all the classic features of arteriosclerosis in humans - the inflammatory cell accumulation and the smooth cell proliferation (Ibid) that Livingston and Alexander- Jackson had decades ago attributed to tuberculosis. In fact, the only finding missing from Xu's study using normal cholesterolemic animals were "foam cells": tissue macrophages in which tuberculosis not only lived but thrived in, capable of ingesting material that dissolved during tissue preparation, especially lipids. However, this Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

33 Continued from page 32 Heart Disease - Beyond The Stent & Bypass Cardiac Coverup missing piece of the puzzle was soon remedied when in addition to tuberculous proteins his animals were given a cholesterol rich diet, at which point Xu saw all the lesions found in classic human heart disease, including foam cells. Obviously, tuberculoproteins were overwhelming the systems macrophages, not allowing them to get rid of ingested fat. When Man Thinks - Heaven Laughs There was also incriminating epidemiologic evidence. The higher incidence of coronary heart disease in young males had a remarkable parallel in bacterial diseases such as TB [52]. And the association between low socioeconomic status and coronary disease found common ground with the incidence of tuberculosis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maps for the total cardiovascular disease and death rates across the country [10] bore a conspicuous similarity to state and regional incidence for CDC TB case rates maps in the United States [9]. In addition, the statins, among the most popular drugs in America (Lipitor, Lescol), though inhibitors of Coenzyme-A compound (HMG-CoA or 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase) and as such lowered serum cholesterol levels, did much more. Specifically, when macrophages were depleted of cholesterol by such pharmacological treatment, mycobacteria such as tuberculosis could not enter the macrophage TB liked to house in, thrive in and depend upon [17]. Furthermore, this block of macrophage uptake with cholesterol depletion was specific only for tuberculosis and the mycobacteria and no other pathogen. In other words, cholesterol played a crucial role in tuberculosis's establishment of intracellular infection leading both to the long term survival of the germ and the death of 1.9 million people a year. The large British heart protection study took many by surprise when they learned that even lowering "normal" cholesterol levels lowered heart disease risk [12]. This led again to speculation that there must be some other risk factor involved besides cholesterol itself. Leadauthor Collins countered that the reason for his study's finding was that even what we call "normal" cholesterol values are too high, but it is just as easily posited that the lower the blood cholesterol the less likely there is to be chronic mycobacterial infection which would also be of benefit derived from lower than normal cholesterol levels. It is hardly a coincidence that studies have shown that statins, which indirectly decrease mycobacterial disease, also lower C-reactive protein (CRP). C-reactive protein -33- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 is an age-old, non-specific protein, first identified in 1930, and then found in the serum of various persons with certain inflammatory and degenerative diseases [48]. Recently an elevated CRP has been touted as an excellent marker for the approximately 25 million US patients that have none of the risk factors associated with heart disease, yet are at risk for a heart attack. However CRP and elevated sedimentation rate have long been excellent markers of active tuberculosis [22], CRP being present at all times when erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is elevated but returning to normal faster than ESR as tuberculosis, once treated, becomes inactive. Indeed CRP is a sensitive indicator of the activity of tuberculosis [5]. Researchers have even tried to neatly tie in excessive weight and its fat cells to indirectly increasing C- reactive protein (CRP) by dumping interleukin-6 (IL-6) into the blood, which, in turn supposedly promotes an inflammatory response, key to signaling the liver, and perhaps the arterial walls themselves, to churn out more CRP. But again, and significantly, higher levels of interleukin-6 are consistently found in either the lung secretions [58] or serum [54] where TB resides. Russell noted sustained release of IL-6 repeatedly issued from human macrophages infected with TB [49], a defense strategy the microbe uses to possibly create anergic conditions (conditions with lowered immunity) that prevent macrophages from killing them. Others look towards elevated serum levels of homocysteine, an amino acid also linked as an index of potential heart disease, as the marker of the future even though a homocysteine marker meta analysis appeared in JAMA, concluding that elevated homocysteine was at most a modest independent predictor of Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) in healthy populations [24]. Nevertheless homocysteine, it is claimed by some, although not deposited in blood vessel walls like cholesterol, can damage the inside lining of these vessels and make platelets more likely to clot, the scenario which supposedly leads to stroke or heart attacks. Homocysteine is formed from another amino acid in our diets, methionine. But methionine is also the protein that M. tuberculosis brings systemically into its host to initiate its own protein synthesis [11]. Although Homocysteine can be turned back into methionine and its level lowered in the blood, this requires two essential cofactors: vitamin B12 and "folate" or folic acid, both of which can be lowered in tubercular infection, leading to elevated homocysteine levels [35,46]. Nieto's extensive review concludes that the introduction Continued on page 34

34 Continued from page 33- Heart Disease - Beyond The Stent & Bypass Cardiac Coverup of antibiotic therapies in the 1940s and 1950s could have contributed to the decline of heart disease and heart attacks in the last few decades [39]. Although the tetracyclines appeared in the 1950s it was only after the introduction of the macrolides, in particular erythromycin in the 1960s that the cardiovascular disease mortality curve began to sink. Though it was hypothesized that such decline was the effect of tetracycline and the macrolides against Chlamydia pneumonae, many of the atypical mycobacteria were also sensitive to erythromycin and the tetracycline doxycycline [36]. Also, the antibiotic time-curve Nieto cites excludes the actual introduction of anti-tubercular antibiotics. Although erythromycin is very effective against C. pneumoniae, the microorganism may persist in the respiratory tract despite adequate blood levels of the antibiotic [51]. There can be no doubt that the availability of antibiotics lowered the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular disease. Netter mentions that tuberculosis, once often associated with cor pulmonale was less so linked in recent years, probably because of the widespread use of antibiotics and antimicrobial agents [38]. Conclusion - Runs Silent, Runs Deep When Nieto stressed the need to extend the possible role of infectious agents beyond the 3 infections which have in recent years been the focus of research: namely, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) C. pneumonia and Helicobactor pylori [39], was he picking Sir William Osler's brain regarding that arteriosclerosis was frequently associated with tuberculosis? [42]. Still many ridicule the possibility that microbes might be the agents of arteriosclerosis. These were the same minds that in another, far gone era, would have jeered the possibility that syphilis in its late stages had a special preference for the arteries and could cause devastation of major cardiovascular vessels. Eventually though, these minds were proven wrong. But the lessons of syphilis are far-gone or are they? When by 1982, keynote speaker and then Harvard infectious disease guru Louis Weinstein addressed the annual session of the American College of Physicians he mentioned: "We thought initially that the disease (tuberculosis) was disappearing, but we are now seeing up to 27 different syndromes and extapulmonary forms, etc. It is today's great mimic, a greater mimic than syphilis ever was"[60]. In Atherosclerosis and Tuberculosis: Are They Both Chronic Diseases?, after going over the many similarities between tuberculosis and Chlamydia pneumoniae, Anestad focuses on Norwegian 20th century statistics in which two things become obvious. First, that until 1945 tuberculosis was easily the leading cause of infectious death in Norway, surpassing cardiovascular death at the time. Second, that as the diagnosed cases of tuberculosis fell from his statistics, cardiovascular disease increased dramatically until 1975, when its stats too somewhat tapered [3]. At first glance, these statistics seem unrelated even though they are on the same bar graph. But are they? Or are we just looking at another example of Weinstein's reference to occult TB finding an expanded niche in the cardiovascular system in one of its quests to become "a greater mimic than syphilis ever was"? In Tuberculosis in Disguise, Rab and Rahman document cases of congestive heart failure and IHD (Ischemic Heart Disease) with chest pain, raised erythocyte sedimentation rate, leukocytosis and inverted T-waves across the chest leads otherwise indistinguishable from the real thing, which turned out to be miliary (systemic) tuberculosis [47]. Rab and Rahman again warned "confusion may occur because tuberculosis can mimic so many other conditions". Certainly with tuberculosis and for some time now, we have a human population affected that dwarfs syphilis in its prime. At least a staggering 1.7 million around the globe die of tuberculosis each year, while another 1.9 billion are infected with M. tuberculosis and are at risk for active disease[14].the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1/3 of the planet has contracted TB. It would take such a disease to adequately explain the scope of cardiovascular disease, which affects about 61 million people, or almost one-forth of the population in the US alone. Almost 6 million US hospitalizations each year are due to cardiovascular disease. ( The linkage of tuberculosis to acute myocardial infarction and resulting heart attacks is nothing new [16,30,55]; yet serious clinical trials have never been undertaken. And one is left wondering whether the present flurry of trials designed to simply label the markers in the blood that TB and the mycobacteria throw our way is ever really going to quell the near epidemic cardiovascular disease that is presently in our midst. References [1] Afek A, George J. Immunization of low-density lipoprotein receptor deficient (LDL-RD) mice with heat shock protein 65 (HSP-65) promotes early atherosclerosis. J Autoimmun 2000;14(2): Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

35 Continued from page 34 - Heart Disease - Beyond The Stent & Bypass Cardiac Coverup [2] AHA Similarity of tuberculosis and heart disease. Bull Am Heart Assoc 1927;2(5):22. [3] Anestad G, Hoel T. Atherosclerosis and tuberculosis: are they both chronic infectious diseases. Scand J Infect Dis 2001;33:797. [4] Av-Gay Y, Sobouti R. Cholesterol is accumulated by mycobacteria but its degradation is limited to non-pathogenic Heart disease: the greatest 'risk' factor of them all 777 fast growing mycobacteria. Can J Microbiol 2000;46(9): [5] Bajaj G, Rattan A. Prognostic value of 'C' reactive protein in tuberculosis. Indian Pediatr 1989;26(10): [6] Benditt EP, Benditt JM. Evidence for a monoclonal origin of human atherosclerotic plaques. Proc Natl Acad Sci 1973;70(6): [7] Benson RL, Smith KG. Experimental arteritis and arteriosclerosis associated with streptococcal inoculations. Arch Pathol 1931;12: [8] Bruade VI. Cardiovascular diseases in conjunction with pulmonary tuberculosis (pathological-anatomical findings). Sov Med 1966;29(12): [9] CDC Map: TB case rates, United States, Atlanta Georgia: US Department of Health, Education and Welfare CDC; [10] CDC Map total cardiovascular disease 1995 death rate. Atlanta Georgia: US Department of Health, Education Welfare CDC; [11] Chun T. Induction of M3-restricted T lymphocyte responses by N- formulated peptides derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. J Exp Med 2001;193(10): [12] Collins R, Armitage J. MRC/BHF heart protection study of cholesterol-lowering with simvastatin in 5963 people with diabetes: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2003;361(9374): [13] David HL. Bacteriology of the mycobacterioses. Atlanta Georgia: Center for disease control, Mycobacteriolgy branch; [14] Dye C, Scheele S. Global burden of tuberculosis: estimated incidence, prevalence, and mortality by country. JAMA 1999;282: [15] Ellis JG. Plague tuberculosis and plague atherosclerosis. The New England J Med 1977;296(12):695. [16] Ferrari-Sacco A, Ferraro U. Myocardial Infarct and Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Discussion of 2 cases of myocardiocoronary disease appearing during hospitalization in a sanatorium. Minerva Cardioangiol 1966;14(8): [17] Gatfield J, Pieters J. Essential role for cholesterol in entry of mycobacteria in macrophages. Science 2000;288: [18] George J, Shoenfeld Y. Enhanced fatty streak formation in C57BL/ 6J Mice by immunization with heat shock protein-65 arteriosclerosis. Thromb Vasc Biol 1999;19: [19] Gibbs RG, Sian M. Chlamydia pneumoniae does not influence atherosclerotic plaque behavior in patients with established carotid artery stenosis. Stroke 2000;31: [20] Greenland P, Knoll MD. Major Risk Factors as antecedents of fatal and nonfatal coronary heart disease events. JAMA 2003;290(7):8917. [21] Gurfinkel E, Bozovich G. Chlamydia pneumoniae: inflammation and instability of the atherosclerotic plaque. Atherosclerosis 1998;140(Suppl 1):315. [22] Haghighi L, Doust JY. C-Reactive protein in pulmonary tuberculosis. Dis Chest 1966;50(6):6246. [23] Hektoen L. The vascular changes of tuberculous meningitis. J Exper Med 1986:112. [24] Wilson PW. Homocysteine and coronary heart disease: how great is the hazard? JAMA 2002;288(16): [25] Kamyshnikova VS, Kolb VG. Biochemical factors involved in atherogenesis in pulmonary tuberculosis. Probl Tuberk 1984;11:4852. [26] Kamyshnikov VS, Kolb VG. Lipid metabolism and atherogenesis in tuberculosis in experimental animals. Probl Tuberk 1993;4:535. [27] Kazykhanov NS. Lung tuberculosis in patients with atherosclerosis. Sov Med 1965;28(8):3744. [28] Kazykhanov NS. Arteriosclerosis in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Kardiologiia 1967;7(10):137. [29] Kondo E, Kanai K. Accumulation of cholesterol esters in macrophages incubated with mycobacteria in vitro. Jpn J Med Sci Biol 1976;29(3): [30] Kossowsky WA, Rafii S. Letter: acute myocardial infarction in miliary tuberculosis. Ann Intern Med 1975;82(6):8134. [31] Lamb DC, Kelly DE. A sterol biosynthetic pathway in mycobacterium. FEBS Lett 1998;437(1-2):1424. [32] Livingston V. Cancer: a new breakthough. Los Angeles: Nash Publishing; [33] Loehe F, Bittmann I. Chlamydia pneumoniae in atherosclerotic lesions of patients undergoing vascular surgery. Ann Vasc Surg 2002;16(4): [34] MacCallum WG. Acute and chronic infections as etiological factors in arteriosclerosis. In: Cowdry EV, editor. Arteriosclerosis A survey of the problem. New York: MacMillan Co; p [35] Markkansen T, Levanto A. Folic acid and vitamin B12 in tuberculosis. Scand J Haemat 1967;4: [36] Molavi A, Weinstein L. In viro activity of erythromycin against atypical mycobacteria. J Infect Dis 1971;123:2169. [37] Mukherjee M. De Benedictis association of antibodies to Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

36 Continued from page 35 Heart Disease - Beyond The Stent & Bypass Cardiac Coverup heat- shock protein-65 with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and subsequent restenosis. Thromb Haemost 1996;75(2): [38] Netter FH HEART The Ciba Collection of Medical Illustrations. West Caldwell New Jersey CIBA-GEIGY Corporation [39] Nieto FJ. Infections and atherosclerosis: new clues from an old hypothesis. Am J Epidemiol 1998;148(10): [40] Okayama A. Ueshima changes in total serum cholesterol and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease in Japan, Int J Epidemiol 1993;22: [41] Orfila JJ. Seroepidemiological evidence for an association between Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis 1998;140(Suppl 1):115. [42] Osler W. Diseases of the arteries. In: Osler W, MacCrae T, editors. Modern medicine Its theory and practice in original contributions by Americans and foreign authors, vol. 4. Philadelphia, PA: Lea & Fabiger; p [43] Pearson TA, Wang BA. Clonal characteristics of fibrous plaques and fatty streaks from human aortas. Am J Pathol 1975;81: [44] Pearson TA, Dillma JM. Clonal characteristics of cutaneous scars and implications for atherogenesis. Am J Pathol 1981;102:4954. [45] Purwantini E, Gillis TP. Presence of F420-dependent glucose-6- phosphate dehydogenase in Mycobacterium and Nocardia species, but absence from Streptomyces and Corynebacterium species and methanogenic Archaea. FEMS Microbiol Lett 1997;146(1): [46] Qureshi GA, Baig SM. The neurochemical markers in cerebrospinal fluid to differentiate between aseptic and tuberculous meningitis. Neurochem Int 1998;32(2): [47] Rab SM, Rahman M. Tuberculosis in disguise. Brit J Dis Chest 1967;61:904. [48] Rifai N, Ridker PM. Inflammatory markers and coronary heart disease. Curr Opin Lipidol 2002;13(4):3839. [49] Russel DG. Sturgill-Koszycki S why intracellular parasitism need not be a degrading experience for Mycobacterium. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 1997;352: [50] Saikku P, Leinonen M. Serological evidence of an association of a novel Chlamydia, TWAR, with chronic coronary heart disease and acute myocardial infarction. Lancet 1988;2:9836. [51] Smith CB, Friedewald WT. Shedding of Mycoplasma pneumonia after tetracycline and erythromycin therapy. New Eng J Med 1967;276: [52] Stille W, Dittmann R. Arteriosclerosis as a sequela of chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection Herz 1998;23(3): Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 [53] Sutter MC. Lessons for atherosclerosis research from tuberculosis and peptic ulcer. Can Med Assoc J 1995;152(5): [54] Tang S, Xiao H. Changes of proinflammatory cytokines and their receptors in serum from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Zhonghua Jie He He Hu Xi Za Zhi 2002;25(6):3259. [55] Tarakanova KN, Terent'eva GM. Myocardial infarct in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Probl Tuberk 1972;50(4):901. [56] Thom DH, Grayston JT. Association of prior infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and angiographically demonstrated coronary artery disease. JAMA 1992;268:6872. [57] Thomas M, Wong Y. Relation between direct detechion of Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA in human coronary arteries at postmortem examination and histological severity (Stary garding) of associated atherosclerotic plaque. Circulation 1999;99: [58] Tsao TC, Hong J. Increased TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta and IL-6levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid with the upregulation of their mrna in macrophages lavaged from patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. Tub Lung Dis 1999;79(5): [59] Schwartz P. Amyloid degeneration and tuberculosis in the aged. Gerontologia 1972;18(5-6): [60] Weinstein L. Bacterial endocarditis, TB changing presentation. Internal Med News 1982;15(11):2. [61] Xu Q. Dietrich Induction of arteriosclerosis in normocholesterolemic mice and rabbits by immunization with heat shock protein 65. Arterioscler Thromb 1992;12: [62] Xu Q, Kleindienst R. Increased expression of heat shock protein 65 coincides with a population of infiltrating T lymphocytes in atherosclerotic lesions of rabbits specifically responding to heat shock protein 65. J Clin Invest 1993;91: Copyright Food-Borne Bacteria Causes Potentially Fatal Heart Infection ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2011) Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found that particular strains of a food-borne bacteria are able to invade the heart, leading to serious and difficult-to-treat heart infections. The study is available online in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. Continued on page 37

37 Continued from page 36 Food-Borne Bacteria Causes Potentially Fatal Heart Infection The bacteria Listeria monocytogenes is commonly found in soft cheeses and chilled ready-to-eat products. For healthy individuals, listeria infections are usually mild, but for susceptible individuals and the elderly, infection can result in serious illness, usually associated with the central nervous system, the placenta and the developing fetus. About 10 percent of serious listeria infections involve a cardiac infection, according to Nancy Freitag, associate professor of microbiology and immunology and principle investigator on the study. These infections are difficult to treat, with more than one-third proving fatal, but have not been widely studied and are poorly understood. Freitag and her colleagues obtained a strain of listeria that had been isolated from a patient with endocarditis, or infection of the heart. "This looked to be an unusual strain, and the infection itself was unusual," she said. Usually with endocarditis there is bacterial growth on heart valves, but in this case the infection had invaded the cardiac muscle. The researchers were interested in determining whether patient predisposition led to heart infection or whether something different about the strain caused it to target the heart. They found that when they infected mice with either the cardiac isolate or a lab strain, they found 10 times as much bacteria in the hearts of mice infected with the cardiac strain. In the spleen and liver, organs that are commonly targeted by listeria, the levels of bacteria were equal in both groups of mice. Further, the researchers found that while the lab-straininfected group often had no heart infection at all, 90 percent of the mice infected with the cardiac strain had heart infections. The researchers obtained more strains of listeria, for a total of 10, and did the same experiment. They found that only one other strain also seemed to also target the heart. "They infected the heart of more animals and were always infecting heart muscle and always in greater number," Freitag said. "Some strains seem to have this enhanced ability to target the heart for infection." Freitag's team used molecular genetics and cardiac cell cultures to explore what was different about these two strains. "These strains seem to have a better ability to invade cardiac cells," she said. The results suggest that these cardiac-associated strains display modified proteins on their surface that enable the bacteria to more easily enter cardiac cells, targeting the heart and leading to bacterial infection. "Listeria is actually pretty common in foods," said Freitag. "And because it can grow at refrigerated temperatures, as foods are being produced with a longer and longer shelf life, listeria infection may become more common. In combination with an aging population that is more susceptible to serious infection, it's important that we learn all we can about these deadly infections." The study was supported by a Public Health Service Grant; by Public Health Service post-doctoral training fellowships; and an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship. Journal Reference: F. Alonzo, L. D. Bobo, D. J. Skiest, N. E. Freitag. Evidence for subpopulations of Listeria monocytogenes with enhanced invasion of cardiac cells. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2011; DOI: /jmm htm Ulcer-Causing Bacteria Also May Be Associated With Heart Disease DALLAS, May 5 -- Infection by a particularly strong strain of bacteria normally associated with stomach ulcers could be a contributing factor to heart disease, according to a report in today's Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Italian researchers report they have found that the association between the bacteria -- known as Helicobacter pylori (h. pylori) -- and heart disease appeared to depend on the strength, or virulent nature, of the bacteria strain. In their study, the researchers found evidence of the bacteria in 62 percent of people with heart disease and only 40 percent of those without the disease. "The prevalence of infection by Helicobacter pylori was similar in patients with heart attack, unstable chest pain, or chronic chest pain," says the study's lead author, Vincenzo Pasceri, M.D., of the department of internal medicine and cardiology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. "The findings strongly suggest that the association between Helicobacter pylori and heart disease is related to the strength of this bacteria," he says. Though there was a relationship between the bacteria and heart disease, the Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

38 Continued from page 37 Food-Borne Bacteria Causes Potentially Fatal Heart Infection controlled with antibiotics -- did not exacerbate the severity of heart disease. The researchers studied 88 patients who had ischemic heart disease, which causes heart attacks and is the result of poor blood flow to the heart. The control group consisted of 88 patients who did not have heart disease. Researchers say every effort was made to match the groups by body mass index -- a measure of fatness -- and socioeconomic class. The latter was important, Pasceri says, because poorer people tend to get more infections than those with more financial resources. Even with this finding, Pasceri says that an individual with an ulcer because of an h. pylori infection shouldn't necessarily be examined for heart disease. "Screening for heart disease in patients with an ulcer is not a cost-effective strategy, although, of course, patients should be treated for h. pylori infection to heal their ulcer," says Pasceri. "Our results, which show that the risk of heart disease is due only to virulent strains, allow us to treat patients really at risk, enhancing the costbenefit ratio of the treatment." The key factor seemed to be whether the bacteria contained a gene called CagA. Heart disease affected 43 percent of people with the bacteria with the CagA gene, compared to only 17 percent of those infected with bacteria lacking this gene. There was no difference between patients and controls who were infected by the bacteria without the gene. Pasceri says that further research needs to be done to determine the association between h. pylori and heart disease, but he adds that there is increasing evidence that several chronic infections are associated with the development of atherosclerosis in otherwise healthy people. "It is worth noting that such infections have a high prevalence both in Europe and the United States," Pasceri says. "Even a small increase in the risk of ischemic heart disease due to these infections would mean a huge number of heart attacks and cardiac deaths. Prevention and treatment of these infections may be a new strategy for the prevention of ischemic heart disease." H. pylori is one of four organisms often investigated for an association with heart disease. The other three -- including Chlamydia pneumoniae, cytomegalovirus and herpes -- cause low-grade, life-long infections that can produce a smoldering inflammation, the kind that leads to heart disease, according to Paul M. Ridker, M.D., M.P.H, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Ridker wrote an editorial accompanying publication of the research. Several earlier studies suggest an association, but others suggest none. Ridker points out that people with poor access to medical care are more likely to develop infections that are not treated promptly and also more likely to suffer from heart disease. The two may not be related, Ridker says. Ridker adds that while the data are "provocative and interesting," additional research is needed before any definite link can be shown. Helicobacter pylori were discovered in 1983 by two Australian researchers. The tiny, spiral-shaped organisms live in the stomachs of most people but occasionally are the cause of gastritis, the underlying condition for stomach ulcers and some forms of cancer. Co-authors are: Giovanni Cammarota, M.D.; Giuseppe Patti, M.D.; Lucio Cuoco, M.D.; Antonio Gasbarrini, M.D.; Rita L. Grillo, M.D., Giuseppe Fedeli, M.D.; Giovanni Gasbarrini, M.D.; and Attilio Maseri, M.D. ml Continued from page 29 - Infectious Agents and it's not known whether these infections actually contribute to heart disease or if they are just innocent bystanders. Any links between heart disease and other infections that cause inflammation, such as hepatitis A virus, herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and periodontitis (gum disease), have been less frequently studied. Are these infections the same as heart infections? No. Sometimes the heart muscle or the sac that surrounds the heart may get infected by bacteria causing myocarditis or bacterial pericarditis. This usually happens in people with autoimmune disorders or after a severe chest infection, but it may also be brought on by an allergic reaction to medication. It is one of the reasons that heart patients have to take antibiotics before having dental work done (the bacteria can enter the bloodstream through the cuts in your mouth and travel to the heart to do damage). This is a separate situation and will not be covered in this section. How common are the 3 infections suspected of causing heart disease? Very common. Most people will be infected with one of these bacteria or viruses at some point in their lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that between 50% and 85% of US adults are infected with CMV by age About two thirds of the world's population have been infected with H. pylori. 3 Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

39 Continued from page 38 - Infectious Agents C. pneumoniae is the most common; it infects about half of all people by age 20 and about 75% by age How might these bacteria and viruses cause heart disease? There are two main theories to explain how these bacteria and viruses may cause atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). One is that the bacteria/viruses themselves directly attack and damage artery walls. The other theory is that the presence of these bacteria or virus causes other changes in the body, such as the release of chemicals that can accumulate in the blood vessels and clog the arteries, eventually leading to heart disease. 5 A third theory is that the type of infection is less important than the number of different infections you get, a number known as a the total pathogen burden (bacteria and viruses are pathogens). 6 In a study of over 1,000 people with heart disease, the number of infections a person had was directly related to their risk of dying from heart disease. People in this study were tested for 8 different infections, including the 3 main suspects. Those who tested positive to more than 5 infections were nearly 5 times more likely to die or have a heart attack than those who tested positive for fewer than 4 infections. 7 There are other studies showing a similar connection between the number of infections and heart disease, 8-10 but there are also some that don't, including a study of 122 healthy postmenopausal women. 11 Will these bacteria and viruses affect my risk of heart disease? Researchers do not yet know exactly how, or if, these infections affect a person's risk of heart disease. Presently, studies show an association between these infections and heart disease, but there is little proof yet that the infections actually cause heart disease. Heart Disease Risk: C. pneumoniae One study comparing about 100 men and 20 women who had a heart attack at a young age (younger than 45 in men and 50 in women) with 120 healthy individuals found that people infected with C. pneumoniae were about twice as likely to have had a heart attack. If a person was infected with both C. pneumoniae and CMV, their risk was 12 times greater than people with neither infection, and 5 times greater than people with only one infection. 12 Looking at combined results from 13 studies involving more than 600 people, C. pneumoniae bacteria was found in 52% of hardened artery tissue samples taken from people with heart disease, but only 5% of artery tissue samples taken from people without heart disease. 1 Heart Disease Risk: H. pylori There is less evidence that H. pylori affects your risk of heart disease. In general, studies that reported an association were small and not very rigorous. Larger studies have found either no connection or only a weak 1, 13 connection between this bacteria and heart disease. Heart Disease Risk:Cytomegalovirus There have only been a few studies on cytomegalovirus in people with heart disease. The results have been mixed. Among more than 1,000 people in the Framingham Heart Study (62% were women), there was no increased risk of heart disease for people with CMV antibodies. 14 However, another study of over 230 people, including 87 women, found that women with CMV were more likely to have heart disease as those who did not have this virus. In men, CMV was associated with inflammation markers such as CRP that have been linked to heart disease. 15 In a study of 400 seemingly healthy people (more than half were women), those who tested positive for CMV were more likely to have signs of damaged blood vessels. Their blood vessels also did not widen very much in response to nitroglycerin, a medication used to relieve chest pain. 16 In a study of nearly 1,000 people with heart disease (28% were women), those who tested positive for CMV (but not H. pylori or C. pneumoniae) were more likely to die of any cause during the following 3 years. 17 How are infectious agents tested for? Usually through a blood test. If you have been infected with these bacteria or viruses, your body will make antibodies against them. Antibodies are your immune system's customized weaponry for fighting infections each antibody is made to fight a specific kind of infection. After your body has fought off the infection, the antibodies often stay in your blood so that the infection can be recognized and attacked if it reappears. Doctors can tell if you are infected or have been infected in the past with any viruses or bacteria by testing your blood for the specific antibodies. The 3 types of bacteria and viruses suspected of having a role in heart disease are not routinely tested for to determine heart disease risk. You would only be tested for them if you presented symptoms of the ailments that they commonly cause. H. pylori: Diagnosing infection with H. pylori involves taking a blood sample, stool sample, a tissue biopsy of the stomach lining, or a breath test (depending on your healthcare provider's orders). Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

40 Continued from page 39 - Infectious Agents You may be tested if you have a peptic ulcer (a sore in the lining of the stomach or small intestine). C. pneumoniae: A blood test may be given if you have symptoms of bronchitis, sinusitis, or pneumonia. Cytomegalovirus (CMV): A CMV test might be ordered if you are a young adult, a pregnant female, or an immune-compromised patient and have fluor mononucleosis-type symptoms such as fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and fever. Can I prevent myself from being infected? These bacteria and viruses are very common so there is little you can do to protect yourself. Most people will be infected at some point in their lives. There is not yet enough evidence to support taking antibiotics as a preventive measure against heart disease. Currently, there are two large trials underway to better understand if treating these infections can reduce a person's risk of heart disease. How are these infections treated? In many cases you won't receive any treatment because you will not even notice that you are infected with these bacteria and viruses. They often have no obvious symptoms. C. pneumoniae and H. pylori can be successfully treated with antibiotics, usually a 7 to 14 day course. But even after treatment, these bacteria are so common that it's possible you'll be infected again. Because CMV is a virus, it requires an antiviral drug called ganciclovir. While it can't cure the infection, ganciclovir can keep the virus in its inactive state. There is no evidence to show that treating these infections can reduce a person's risk of heart disease. References 1. Danesh J, Collins R, Peto R. Chronic infections and coronary heart disease: is there a link? Lancet. 1997;350: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection. National Center for Infectious Diseases. 10/26/ :45:16. Available at: Helicobacter pylori and Peptic Ulcer Disease. Center for Disease Control. Available at: Accessed May 1, Kuo CC, Jackson LA, Campbell LA, Grayston JT. Chlamydia pneumoniae (TWAR). Clin Microbiol Rev. 1995;8: Fong IW. Emerging relations between infectious diseases and coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis. Cmaj. 2000;163: Espinola-Klein C, Rupprecht HJ, Blankenberg S, et al. Impact of infectious burden on progression of carotid atherosclerosis. Stroke. 2002;33: Rupprecht HJ, Blankenberg S, Bickel C, et al. Impact of viral and bacterial infectious burden on long-term prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease. Circulation. 2001;104: Zhu J, Quyyumi AA, Norman JE, et al. Effects of total pathogen burden on coronary artery disease risk and C-reactive protein levels. Am J Cardiol. 2000;85: Smieja M, Gnarpe J, Lonn E, et al. Multiple infections and subsequent cardiovascular events in the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE) Study. Circulation. 2003;107: Espinola-Klein C, Rupprecht HJ, Blankenberg S, et al. Impact of infectious burden on extent and long-term prognosis of atherosclerosis. Circulation. 2002;105: Ridker PM, Hennekens CH, Buring JE, Kundsin R, Shih J. Baseline IgG antibody titers to Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, herpes simplex virus, and cytomegalovirus and the risk for cardiovascular disease in women. Ann Intern Med. 1999;131: Gattone M, Iacoviello L, Colombo M, et al. Chlamydia pneumoniae and cytomegalovirus seropositivity, inflammatory markers, and the risk of myocardial infarction at a young age. Am Heart J. 2001;142: Folsom AR, Nieto FJ, Sorlie P, Chambless LE, Graham DY. Helicobacter pylori seropositivity and coronary heart disease incidence. Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) Study Investigators. Circulation. 1998;98: Haider AW, Wilson PW, Larson MG, et al. The association of seropositivity to Helicobacter pylori, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and cytomegalovirus with risk of cardiovascular disease: a prospective study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2002;40: Zhu J, Shearer GM, Norman JE, et al. Host response to cytomegalovirus infection as a determinant of susceptibility to coronary artery disease: sex-based differences in inflammation and type of immune response. Circulation. 2000;102: Grahame-Clarke C, Chan NN, Andrew D, et al. Human cytomegalovirus seropositivity is associated with impaired vascular function. Circulation. 2003;108: Muhlestein JB, Horne BD, Carlquist JF, et al. Cytomegalovirus seropositivity and C-reactive protein have independent and combined predictive value for mortality in patients with angiographically demonstrated coronary artery disease. Circulation. 2000;102: Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

41 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume 7 Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 FEATURED ARTICLES Radiation Exposure and Heart Attacks in Children of Fukushima It is commonly supposed that exposure to radiation causes cancer and leukemia. This is what the risk models of the current system of radiation protection gives as the expected end point of exposure. Thus an individual is exposed and many years later develop cancer. For high doses, it is conceded that there are serious deterministic effects, ending in deaths. I want to discuss a non-cancer result of internal exposure to the nuclide Caesium-137 which is a major long lived contaminant from nuclear reactors, was present in the Chernobyl fallout and in the contamination from Fukushima. I want to consider the effects of chronic exposure of children to this substance and how it will damage their developing hearts. First, we do not need to speculate about this. The data is available. Prof Yuri Bandashevsky carried out a great deal of research on the effects of the contamination of children in the territories of Belarus contaminated by the Chernobyl accident. He established that children with mean body burdens of upwards of 40Bq/kg Cs-137 suffered life-threatening cardiac problems including arrythmias, cardiac insufficiency (angina) and heart attacks (infarctions) which could result in death. Fig 1 below is taken from Bandashevsky s contribution to the conference of the European Committee on Radiation risk in Lesvos, 2009, where he received the Edward Radford Memorial Prize for his important researches. It shows that cardiac arrhythmia anomalies measured by ECG appear in children at contamination levels above about 20Bq/kg. These researches, incidentally, resulted in him being sent to jail for several years by the Belarussian government: he only was released following massive pressure from the European Union and the issuing to him of an EU passport. The question I wish to briefly address is how this could occur, what is the mechanism? Modeling the heart of a child According to ICRP reference human data the mass of a By Chris Busby September 9, Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 child s heart at age 5 is 220g, the tissue alone weighs 85g. The heart is a critical organ and an amazing one. It must pump continuously for the lifespan of the individual. The cardiac myocyte is the most physically energetic cell in the body, contracting constantly, without tiring, 3 billion times or more in an average human lifespan. By coordinating its beating activity with that of its 3 billion neighbours in the main pump of the human heart, over 7,000 litres of blood are pumped per day, without conscious effort, along 100,000 miles of blood vessels (Severs 2000). The number of muscle cells in a heart are known to be 3 x Their cylindrical dimensions are approximately µ long and µ diameter. They cannot be replaced, except very slowly, at a rate of about 1% per year, so damage to the cells is, as all heart attack victims know, very serious. If there are 3 x 10 9 cells in a human heart, in a children s heart where the mass of tissue is 85g, the cell density is 3.5 x cells per kilogram. It has been known for many years that the nuclide Cs- 137 is concentrated in muscle. Let us introduce 50Bq/kg of Cs-137 into this heart muscle tissue. This is 50 tracks per second from the Cs-137 beta particle and maybe another 20 tracks per second from the gamma ray decay of the daughter Ba-137m. This is 70 tracks per second. Each track intercepts about 400 cells. For a child chronically contaminated at this level through living on Cs-137 contaminated areas for one year, the number of tracks is simply 70x 60x60x24x365 = 2.2 x 10 9 tracks per kilogram per year. This means that the number of cells hit by a radiation electron track, per kilogram is 8.8 x For this model we immediately see that every heart cell will be hit by a radiation track about 25 times. If only 1 percent of these tracks caused the cell to die, it means Continued on page 42

42 Continued from page 41- Radiation Exposure and Heart Attacks in Children of Fukushima that the child s heart would lose 25% percent of its functional capability: all the cells would be dead. The necrosis would lead to conduction problems, just like it does in old people, and cardiac arrythmias and heart attacks would ensue. It must be noted that heart muscle cannot regenerate itself except very slowly, indeed it was originally though that heart cells could not replace themselves. Following discovery that Carbon-14 from the 60s atmospheric tests was incorporated into hearts, it was seen that there was a 1% replacement per year. So we see that the heart is the critical organ in the body. The cells when damaged cannot be repaired. This is why the children of Chernobyl have been developing cardiac problems and dying. It is why the adult population of Belarus has been developing cardiac problems and dying Fig 2, Fig 3 [ Bandashevsky 2011]. Fig 1 Number of children without ECG modifications as a function of Cs-137 concentration in the organism (Bandashevsky and Bandashevsky). Fig 2 The dynamics of cardiovascular diseases in the Republic of Belarus Fig 3 Structure of the causes of death in Belarus, 2008 Fukushima We have recently heard that children in the Fukushima contamination area have been suffering heart attacks. This is therefore a predictable development and is a consequence of internal contamination of heart muscle with Caesium-137 and other radionuclides. In view of the seriousness of this development the ECRR committee has decided to release the Bandashevsky presentation at its 2009 Lesvos conference [ Implications for those living on the Fukushima contaminated territories These considerations make it a matter of urgency to begin to carry out clinical investigations and ECG measure-ments on children living in the contaminated territories and ingesting or inhaling Cs-137. Any child found to have cardiac anomalies should be immediately evacuated to clean territory. If it is found that any children are suffering cardiac problems it must be a matter of urgency to evacuate all the children. Implications for radiation risk assessment The concentration on cancer and leukemia as an end point for epidemiological studies of radiation risk is a flawed approach since cancer rates with age have a different trend to heart and circulatory system rates. This problem is clear when retrospective studies of radiation victims are carries out but have not been considered by those using these methods to develop or underpin risk coefficients. Examples include nuclear test veterans, and radium and thorotrast exposed cohorts. The point simply made is that if you die of a heart attack you do not develop cancer. This syndrome is clear for Belarus in Fig 3 and has significant implications for health care in the Fukushima case. The broad spectrum non specific ageing effects of internal nuclide exposures, described Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

43 Continued from page 42 Radiation Exposure and Heart Attacks in Children of Fukushima vividly by Bandashevsky, results is alarming loss of life. This is seen in Fig 4 where the population of Belarus is seen to have moved into negative replacement after the Chernobyl. Fig 4 Demographic index for the Republic of Belarus, [Bandashevsky 2011]. Is the Dramatic Increase in Baby Deaths in the US a Result of Fukushima Fallout? By Janette D. Sherman, M. D. & Joseph Mangano June 22, 2011 Dianuke.org A 35% Spike in Infant Mortality in Northwest Cities since Meltdown U.S. babies are dying at an increased rate. While the United States spends billions on medical care, as of 2006, the US ranked 28th in the world in infant mortality, more than twice that of the lowest ranked countries. (DHHS, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics. Health United States 2010, Table 20, p. 131, February 2011.) The recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicates that eight cities in the northwest U.S. (Boise ID, Seattle WA, Portland OR, plus the northern California cities of Santa Cruz, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, and Berkeley) reported the following data on deaths among those younger than one year of age: This amounts to an increase of 35% (the total for the entire U.S. rose about 2.3%), and is statistically significant. Of further significance is that those dates include the four weeks before and the ten weeks after the -43- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster. In 2001 the infant mortality was per 1000 live births, increasing to in All years from 2002 to 2007 were higher than the 2001 rate. Spewing from the Fukushima reactor are radioactive isotopes including those of iodine (I-131), strontium (Sr-90) and cesium (Cs-134 and Cs-137) all of which are taken up in food and water. Iodine is concentrated in the thyroid, Sr-90 in bones and teeth and Cs-134 and Cs-137 in soft tissues, including the heart. The unborn and babies are more vulnerable because the cells are rapidly dividing and the delivered dose is proportionally larger than that delivered to an adult. Data from Chernobyl, which exploded 25 years ago, clearly shows increased numbers of sick and weak newborns and increased numbers of deaths in the unborn and newborns, especially soon after the meltdown. These occurred in Europe as well as the former Soviet Union. Similar findings are also seen in wildlife living in areas with increased radioactive fallout levels. (Chernobyl Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, Alexeiy V. Yablokov, Vasily B. Nesterenko, and Alexey V. Nesterenko. Consulting Editor: Janette D. Sherman-Nevinger. New York Academy of Sciences, 2009.) Levels of radioisotopes were measured in children who had died in the Minsk area that had received Chernobyl fallout. The cardiac findings were the same as those seen in test animals that had been administered Cs Bandashevsky, Y. I, Pathology of Incorporated Ionizing Radiation, Belarus Technical University, Minsk. 136 pp., For his pioneering work, Prof. Bandashevsky was arrested in 2001 and imprisoned for five years of an eight year sentence. The national low-weight (under 2500 grams, or 5.5 lbs) rate has risen 23% from 1984 to Nearly 400,000 infants are born under 2500g each year in the U.S. Most of the increase in infant mortality is due specifically to infants born weighing less than 750 grams (I lb 10 1/2 oz). Multiple births commonly result in underweight babies, but most of the increase in births at less than 750 grams occurred among singletons and among mothers years of age. (CDC, National Vital Statistics Report, 52 (12): 1-24, 2005.) From an obstetrical point of view, women in the age bracket 20 to 34 are those most physically able to deliver a healthy child. So what has gone wrong? Clues to causation are often revealed when there is a Continued on page 44

44 Continued from page 43 Baby Deaths in the US a Result of Fukushima Fallout? change in incidence, a suspicious geographical distribution, and/or an increase in hazards known to adversely affect health and development. The risk of having a baby with birth defects is estimated at three to four of every 100 babies born. As of 2005, the Institute of medicine estimated the cost of pre-term births in the US at more than $2.6 billion, or $51,600 for each infant. Low birth weight babies, born too soon and too small, face a lifetime of health problems, including cerebral palsy, and behavioral and learning problems placing an enormous physical, emotional and economic burdens on society as a whole and on those caring for them. Death of a young child is devastating to a family. As of June 5, 2011, The Japan Times reported that radiation in the No. 1 plant was measured at 4,000 milliseverts per hour. To put that in perspective, a worker would receive a maximal permissible dose in 4 minutes. In addition there are over 40,000 tons of radioactive water under that reactor with more radioactivity escaping into the air and sea. Fuel rods are believed to have melted and sunk to the bottom of reactors 1, 2, and 3. Tepco, the corporate owner took more than two months to confirm the meltdowns and admitted lying about the levels of destruction and subsequent contamination, resulting in Public Distrust. Over 100,000 tons of radioactive waste are on the site. Why should we care if there may be is a link between Fukushima and the death of children? Because we need to measure the actual levels of isotopes in the environment and in the bodies of people exposed to determine if the fallout is killing our most vulnerable. The research is not technically difficult the political and economic barriers may be greater. Bandshevsky and others did it and confirmed the connection. The information is available in the Chernobyl book. (Previously cited.) The biological findings of Chernobyl cannot be ignored: isotope incorporation will determine the future of all life on earth animal, fish, bird, plant and human. It is crucial to know this information if we are to avoid further catastrophic damage. Source: The Nightmare of Mercury in Heart Tissues Researchers at the Catholic University in Rome have tested patients with advanced congested heart failure and found a marked elevation of mercury in the heart tissue in the order of a massive 22,000 times higher than normal. Because heart tissues absorb a large percentage of mercury entering the boy, cardiologists need to pay attention to the nightmare of mercury toxicity that is threatening our hearts with cardiac arrest. Soviet doctors studied workers exposed to mercury found that the heavy metal had a profound effect on the heart, interfering with its normal contractions, electrical conductivity and overall regulation. They also found that mercury accumulated in the heart tissue and valves. Researchers in Italy found that mercury accumulated in the heart tissue and valves even when very little is found elsewhere in the body. Why this happens is not know, but researchers are clear that mercury adversely affects heart metabolism and worsens cellular function. Mercury adversely affects the myocardium in a sub clinical manner but eventually becomes the background basis for pathological shifts that undermine heart health. The most noticeable shifts are in the beat frequency and voltage. The overall vascular effects of mercury include oxidative stress, inflammation, thrombosis, vascular smooth muscle dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction, dyslipidemia, high LDL cholesterol, low HDL, high triglycerides, immune dysfunction and mitochondrial dysfunction. The clinical consequences of mercury toxicity include hypertension, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, increased carotid IMT and obstruction, CVA, generalized atherosclerosis, and renal dysfunction with protenuria. Mercury blocks the action of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that passes the nerve impulse from the vagus nerve to the heart muscle. Both acetycholine and the nerve receptors in the heart muscle contain thiol (sulfur/hydrogen) proteins. When mercury attaches to the thiol protein in the heart muscle receptors and in the acetylcholine, the heart muscle can t receive the vagus nerve electrical impulse for contractions as well as they might. Mercury accumulates in the heart muscle and heart valves, causing damage by attaching to thiol (SH-) proteins. This damage is indicated by EKG and confirmed by histologic study. As mercury enters ours bodies, if there is sufficient selenium it will mop up the mercury before it can bind to its favourite sulphur sites or pass through the blood-brain barrier. Selenium is excellent antidote for mercury exposure. _content&view=article&id=115&itemid= Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

45 Pollution tied to Disease Risk in L.A. black women January 13, 2012 High Blood Pressure News In a study of more than 4,000 black women in Los Angeles, those who lived in areas with higher levels of traffic-related air pollution were at increased risk of developing diabetes and High Blood Pressure. The researchers, led by Patricia Coogan at Boston University, found that black women living in neighborhoods with high levels of nitrogen oxides, pollutants found in traffic exhaust, were 25 percent more likely to develop diabetes and 14 percent more likely to develop hypertension than those living in sections with cleaner air. Previous research has linked air pollution to health problems such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease and even higher rates of death. "The public health implications are huge, said Dr. Jiu- Chiuan Chen, who studies the effects of air pollution at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, especially for black women, who have higher rates of diabetes and High Blood Pressure than white women. He was not involved in the current work. Forty-four percent of all black women in the U.S. have High Blood Pressure and about 11 percent have diabetes compared with 28 percent and roughly seven percent, respectively, of white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Evidence suggests that longer-term exposure to air pollutants over years confers higher risks of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality than shorter term exposure. One explanation is that cumulative adverse effects that develop over longer durations lead to the genesis of chronic disease. Preliminary epidemiological and clinical evidence suggest that air pollution may contribute to the development hypertension and type 2 diabetes. In a study of more than 4,000 black women in Los Angeles, those who lived in areas with higher levels of traffic-related air pollution were at increased risk of developing diabetes and High Blood Pressure. The researchers, led by Patricia Coogan at Boston University, found that black women living in neighborhoods with high levels of nitrogen oxides, pollutants found in traffic exhaust, were 25 percent more likely to develop diabetes and 14 percent more likely to develop hypertension than those living in sections with cleaner air. Previous research has linked air pollution to health problems such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease and even higher rates of death. "The public health implications are huge, said Dr. Jiu- Chiuan Chen, who studies the effects of air pollution at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, especially for black women, who have higher rates of diabetes and High Blood Pressure than white women. He was not involved in the current work. Forty-four percent of all black women in the U.S. have High Blood Pressure and about 11 percent have diabetes compared with 28 percent and roughly seven percent, respectively, of white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Evidence suggests that longer-term exposure to air pollutants over years confers higher risks of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality than shorter term exposure. One explanation is that cumulative adverse effects that develop over longer durations lead to the genesis of chronic disease. Preliminary epidemiological and clinical evidence suggest that air pollution may contribute to the development Hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes. Black Americans also experience higher levels of air pollution than white Americans, according to the study authors. For their investigation, published in Circulation, the researchers followed participants in the ongoing Black Women s Health Study for 10 years. The women were mainly recruited from subscribers to Essence magazine, and none had diabetes or High Blood Pressure when the study began in Over the course of a decade, 531 women developed High Blood Pressure and 183 women were diagnosed with diabetes. The findings on their relative risks for those conditions take into account several other potential influences, including how heavy the women were, whether they smoked and other stressors, including noise levels at participants homes. Although researchers measured average pollution levels near participants homes for only one year of the tenyear study, Coogan told Reuters Health that air pollution patterns remained relatively constant over the entire study period. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

46 Continued from page 45 Pollution tied to Disease Risk in L.A. black women While Coogan and her colleagues estimated nitrogen oxide concentrations near participants homes, they did not account for commuting habits or exposure to air pollution at work. According to the researchers, Americans, on average, spend about 70 percent of their time at home. In addition to measuring nitrogen oxides, a proxy for traffic pollution, the researchers evaluated levels of fine particulate matter. Many sources contribute to this type of air pollution, including traffic, power plants and industrial processes. Women who lived in areas with higher fine particulate exposures also faced an increased risk of diabetes and High Blood Pressure, although statistically the link was weak and could have been due to chance. Previous reports have suggested that air pollution particles small enough to make their way into the blood stream may contribute to a narrowing of blood vessels, which can lead to High Blood Pressure and reduce sensitivity to insulin. More research needs to be done before these results can be generalized to all women or even all black women living in the U.S., Coogan cautions. Earlier studies did not find a link between air pollution and increased incidence of diabetes or High Blood Pressure in men, she said. Because people don t always have control over where they live, policy makers must recognize the dangers of living and working in areas with high air pollution, Chen said. To reduce the risk of High Blood Pressure and diabetes, he added, individuals can take steps, such as exercising, losing excess weight, quitting smoking and limiting salt intake. SOURCE: Circulation, online January 4, Heavy Metals and Their Link to Heart Disease Ron Manzanero, M.D. Austin Integrative Medicine The purpose of this article is to bring to light the connection between coronary artery disease and heavy metals like mercury and lead. The naysayers say there is no such connection and that an old, proven therapy like intravenous chelation therapy is bogus. Why did I say proven? Well, because in the early 1960 s, published studies in mainstream medical journals clearly demonstrated the benefits of intravenous administered EDTA chelation therapy in relieving symptomatic angina chest pain due to coronary heart disease. Clark and Mosher reported an 87% improvement of coronary artery disease symptoms in the American Journal of Cardiology (1960). Then, in 1963, one of the principle investigators of this therapy did an about-face and wrote an article stating that chelation therapy was of no benefit for cardiovascular disease. The interesting thing about this article was that he cited no study for his conclusion. I think that part of the problem with understanding chelation therapy may have come from chelation doctors themselves. Since its inception and for many decades afterwards, it was the belief that chelation therapy worked simply because it was binding to calcium in hardened atherosclerotic plaque and dissolving the blockage in the arteries. While there was an experimental study published in the journal Surgery in 1962 by Wilder showing that disodium EDTA was releasing calcium from plaque, there has not, at least to my understanding, been a long term study proving this as the true mechanism for chelation therapy. In today s prevailing medical ideology, coronary heart disease is simply due to excess LDL cholesterol and that all one needs is a high dose of a statin drug such as Lipitor or Crestor, as advertised on television. If this were the truth, why have people benefited from chelation therapy over the past 4 decades, and why are there more and more articles discussing the link between heavy metals and coronary heart disease and even worse cardiovascular mortality? Let s explore this. The first thing to understand, in my opinion, is that disease is often due to excess inflammation and to oxidation that is out of control. The fact that this concept was first published in 1957 in the Journal of Gerontology by Dr. Denhan Harman is interesting because this concept underlies the benefits of chelation therapy as well as of statin drug use and both their benefits in coronary artery disease therapy. Let s first consider the following few articles regarding toxic heavy metals. Please bear in mind that the metals in consideration are matters of disease causation from chronic micro-dose exposure, not from the massive-dose exposure that most people and doctors imagine, as if someone drank a gallon of leaded paint. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

47 Continued from page 46 Heavy Metals and Their Link to Heart Disease The first article from the March 26, 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 289, No. 12 by Nash, et al, it is shown that women in their 40s and 50s, who are moving from peri-menopause to early menopause and who were in the upper half of the normal blood lead level, had a statistically significant higher incident rate of elevated blood pressure compared to those women who were in the lower half of the normal lead level. The article then clearly discusses the mechanism of how lead, which is stored and later released from our bones as we age, will enter the blood stream and deposit in arteries, thus inhibiting the relaxation and dilation of these very arteries. The end result is a more narrowed artery. If you ve ever tried to suck through a skinny straw versus a wide fat straw, you ve probably noticed that it required more force to do so. Likewise, your heart has to exert more pressure and force to pump blood through narrowed arteries versus wider dilated arteries. (Many of our prescription drugs lower blood pressure by causing a relaxation of the arteries!) A key point of this article is that the lead levels that caused hypertension were in the standard normal range. Clearly, it does not require massive dose exposure to bring about a toxic effect from this heavy metal. This hypertension is a result of normal bone aging and thinning causing a release of stored lead from the bones in microgram doses. I also found it interesting that nowhere in the article do the authors indicate the approved therapy for lead detoxification, which is intravenous EDTA chelation. I guess they re content to prescribe another drug, which only treats the number but doesn t really get to the root of the problem. Before going on, I should add that our body is exposed to environmental heavy metals like lead and mercury from our drinking water, food, dental amalgams, old leaded paints, and largely from atmospheric contamination from coal burning plants, the vast majority occurring in China. (Texas also has its share of coal burning plants.) The body attempts to eliminate these heavy metals via its own chelating molecule, glutathione. But unfortunately, much of the heavy metals are stored in connective tissue like our bones. This explains why, in the above study, the women were getting more micro-dose exposure of lead from their own osteopenia, or thinning of the bones! The journal Circulation (2006; 114: ) explored the relationship between blood lead levels above 10 micrograms/dl and illness and concluded that lead exposures remain a significant determinant of cardio- vascular mortality in the general population, constituting a major health problem. (Emphasis mine) The standard lead range in many laboratories is normal up to 25 or even 50 mcg/dl! Again, I point out that the article failed to discuss how intravenous EDTA chelation therapy is the approved therapy for lead removal from the body. A similar statement was made in the April 2009 issue of Environmental Health regarding lead: Lead is a multi-targeted toxicant, affecting cardiovascular, renal, and nervous systems and may contribute to morbidity and mortality (Emphasis mine) The conclusion of this article was that older women with higher concentrations of blood lead might be at higher risk for death from coronary artery disease. Again, we see a correlation between lead in microgram doses and cardiovascular disease and mortality. A more recent study published in Circulation (2009; 120: ) by Weisskopf, et al, also concludes that blood lead levels have been associated with increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease. The article very importantly makes the distinction that the lead exposure is a cumulative result over years of exposure versus the sudden massive dose toxicity we all think of when we hear the word toxicity. They point to the notion that serum blood testing may have severe limitations on accurately diagnosing total body concentration of lead and propose the idea of using bone x-rays as an alternative and more accurate way to determine lead accumulation. (Blood serum levels only show what is floating through the blood stream, not what is buried in the body s tissues.) The principle investigator, Dr. Weisskopf states: The findings with bone lead are dramatic. It is the first time we have a biomarker of cumulative exposure to lead and the strong findings suggest that past exposures to lead represent an important predictor of cardiovascular death (Emphasis mine) It was also found that men with the highest level of bone lead concentrations were at a six times higher risk for cardiovascular disease compared to men with the lowest lead levels. What might the reasons be for lead and this link to cardiovascular death? According to the authors, there are several mechanisms, one being an increase in oxidative stress from the lead. In the 1957 article I quoted that disease and aging is a problem of inflammation and oxidation. Oxidation is what causes iron to rust. Oxidation is what causes our LDL, bad cholesterol, to become problematic. Oxidation can cause blood vessel inflammation and atherogenic disease. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

48 Continued from page 47 Heavy Metals and Their Link to Heart Disease Lastly, I don t want to leave the toxic metal mercury out of the discussion. There was a press release in May 30, 2007 from the Ohio State University Medical Center s lipid studies center announcing that mercury s link to heart disease can be traced to activation of [an enzyme] which triggers a process leading to plaque buildup in blood vessel walls (also published in the International Journal of Toxicology). (Emphasis mine.) To summarize, we live in a toxic world with daily environmental exposures to lead and mercury, as well as a host of other toxic metals and poisons, which biologically accumulate in the body, especially in our bones. As we begin to age, there is a process of normal bone thinning which releases micro-doses of these toxic metals back into the blood stream and tissues. The end effects of this re-exposure are in the multitudes, however, for the purpose of this article and the topic of chelation therapy for cardiovascular disease, I d like to highlight the following tidbits: Lead is proven to cause blood vessel narrowing and hypertension (AMA Journal) Lead is proven to be a causative factor for death due to cardiovascular disease (Circulation Journal, Environmental Health) Lead causes oxidative destruction (Circulation Journal) Mercury can trigger plaque formation in the coronary arteries (International Journal of Toxicology) Given that the original studies on EDTA chelation were proven to have a benefit by relief of angina in patients with cardiovascular disease and given that the FDAapproved therapy for lead detoxification is EDTA chelation therapy, perhaps mainstream medicine needs to reconsider their flawed notion that chelation is a useless treatment for heart disease. By today s standard of medical care, lead and mercury are not even on the radar screen! Yet, by the above studies it is clear that lead and mercury do play a role in not only cardiovascular disease, but also cardiovascular mortality! It is my contention, as well as that of thousands of other doctors worldwide that EDTA chelation still should play a significant role in the treatment of coronary artery disease. The mechanism of benefit is probably that of heavy metal removal and not a rotor-rooter effect of calcium removal. In an already diseased and narrowed artery from atherosclerosis, the relief of angina symptoms as proven in the 1960 s -48- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 studies on EDTA could have been because of lead removal from the arteries and subsequent increase in blood vessel diameter and improved blood flow dynamics. Also, one has to consider the reduction in oxidative damage to the arteries and cholesterol by steady removal of lead and mercury. One of the more current understandings of statin cholesterol drug benefits is their anti-inflammatory effect. It remains to be proven that massive lowering of LDL and total cholesterol extends life. In fact, considering that our natural anabolic (build, repair, restore) hormones like testosterone and estrogen all derive from cholesterol, we might be doing more harm than good in the current severe lowering of total cholesterol as practiced by pharmaceutical driven mainstream medicine. Cholesterol is required in optimal brain neurotransmitter functioning and this may explain why there is an ever-increasing occurrence of elderly individuals who suffer from a statin drug cognitive dysfunction syndrome. It is my opinion that intravenous EDTA chelation therapy, along with other complimentary types of therapy, need to be one part of the overall plan of optimally treating cardiovascular disease. The above studies, while not clinical trials on chelation therapy, are highly suggestive that toxic metals like lead and mercury are causative factors in heart disease and that some form of chelation therapy would be beneficial. Indeed, it is the anecdotal evidence of people receiving benefit from chelation therapy over a time span of 50 years that supports this. The Cesium Deception: Why the Mainstream Media is mostly reporting Iodine Levels, not Radioactive Cesium By Mike Adams (NaturalNews April 07, 2011) Virtually all the numbers you're seeing about the radioactivity coming out of Fukushima are based on iodine-131 which only has a halflife of 8 days, not the far more dangerous cesium-137 which has a half-life of 30 years. So while the mainstream media reports that "radiation levels are falling rapidly" from the 7.5 million times reading taken a few days ago, what they're not telling you is that the cesium-137 radioactivity will take 30 years just to fall by 50 percent. Continued on page 49

49 Continued from page 48 The Cesium Deception It's the great global cover-up in all this: What happens to all the radioactive cesium being dumped into the ocean right now? It doesn't just burn itself out in a few months like iodine-131. This stuff sticks around for centuries. As part of the cover story, the FDA now says it will test "all imported food products coming from Japan" ( This claim is, of course, ridiculous on its face. Even without this Fukushima emergency in the works, the FDA only tests a tiny fraction of all the food imported into the USA. This agency has no existing infrastructure under which it could test ALL the food being imported from Japan. The very idea is ludicrous. As this ABC News story reveals, the FDA says it's "really stretched" just to inspect a mere two percent of imported food: The FDA likes radiation! Even if the FDA could magically test all the food being imported from Japan, what allowable level of radiation would the FDA claim was "safe" in those foods anyway? Remember, this is the agency that has long supported the mass irradiation of the U.S. food supply as a way to kill e.coli and salmonella. For all we know, FDA bureaucrats equate radiation with safety and might actually declare radioactive seafood from Japan to be safer than non-radioactive food because, they would say, the radiation "kills salmonella." Why eating radioactive food is FAR more dangerous than nuclear fallout The other element in all this that's hardly being reported in the press is that when you eat radioactive food, the threat to your health increases exponentially. That's because internal radiation is far more deadly to your body than external radiation. It all comes down to the law of the inverse square of the distance between you and the radiation source. A speck of radioactive dust that's one meter away from you, for example, is twice as dangerous as that same speck four meters away. But if you eat that radioactive speck (because it's part of a fish you're consuming, for example), then suddenly it's inside your body. So now it might only be a millimeter away from your internal tissues, meaning you've decreased the distance between you and the radiation source by one thousand times. Because if the law of the inverse square of the distance, you have now magnified the radiation intensity by one million times (because one million is the square of one thousand) Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 So a speck of radiation that might have been a "low level" if it were floating around in the air around you can suddenly become fatal if you consume it. And that's what people are now facing with Japan's seafood. Yet everybody is being told that it's all perfectly safe, no problem, no worried, don't even think about it. Where does the radiation go in your body? We're all being lied to about the "safety" of radioactive food, you see. And there's more to it than what has been discussed here, actually: If a fish takes in radioactive cesium and it gets distributed throughout the body of that fish in the way that potassium would normally get distributed (because cesium follows nearly the same biological pathways as potassium), then the radioactive cesium has become part of the fish flesh. When you eat that fish, your body breaks down the fish tissues, then reabsorbs the cesium into your own body, distributing the cesium into your own muscle tissues where potassium would normally go. You are what you eat, after all. And if you eat radioactive cesium, then you quickly become a walking radioactive dirty bomb from the inside. If it's invisible, it must be safe They don't tell you that on CNN, folks. I'm willing to bet their "info babe" news models don't even have a clue about the laws of physics in the first place. So while they're all telling you that eating irradiated seafood from Japan is perfectly safe, the truth is that it could very well be quite deadly if you're eating fish that contain high levels of cesium. So you might wonder, then, are fish being detected with cesium in their tissues? You bet they are! You'll find the details in these news stories: and 0m0na008000c... The extremely high levels of radiation even have the local fishermen freaked out. "I can't go out to fish because of the radiation," one Japanese fisherman told ABC News ( But don't worry, we're told. It's all safe to eat. The FDA is in charge, after all. And remember what governments always say about radiation and chemicals: If it's invisible, it MUST be safe!

50 Hypertension: Heavy Metals, Useful Cations and Melanin as a Possible Repository By Pfeiffer CC and Mailloux RJ. Princeton Brain Bio Center, Skillman, New Jersey Abstract Popular belief has often attributed the disproportionate occurrence of hypertension in blacks to the increased social stresses faced by the minority population. Evidence now points to a more biologically relevant explanation of black hypertension, an increase in levels of heavy metals. Preferentially bound to melanin, cadmium, lead, and copper have implications not only in the etiology of black hypertension, but in the etiology of all hypertension. Of course, hypertension is heterogeneous by nature and cannot be attributed solely to any single cause. However, the indictment of the heavy metals, as well as a deficiency of other cations such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium, warrants a more nutritional approach and less reliance on current pharmacological therapy in selected cases. Melanin should be investigated as a storage bank for useful cations. If real, such a cation reservoir would explain the heat tolerance capacity of blacks and other dark-skinned tropical races. Med Hypotheses Jun;26(2):125-30, PMID: Melanin May Be Body s Natural Defence against Obesity-related Diseases November 7, 2008 Top News A team of American researchers has for the first time observed the production of large quantities of melanin in fat tissues among extremely obese people undergoing weight loss surgery. Melanin is a pigment that gives the skin, the hair, and the iris of the eye their natural colour. Ancha Baranova, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Microbiology at George Mason University, claims that melanin production has never before been identified in fat tissue. She believes that the antioxidant, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, could be the body s natural defence against obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, fatty liver disease, polycystic ovary syndrome and some cancers. Stockpiling extra calories is difficult even for specialized fat cells; having too much lipid molecules takes its toll on the fat cells, producing oxidative stress, she says. It s not unthinkable that these cells would adapt and produce melanin as a form of self-protection. As a side benefit, melanin may suppress inflammatory properties of the extra pounds of the fat, she adds. Ancha agrees that a larger study is needed to confirm the role that the body s production of this compound plays in fat tissue, but insists that her team s two-year study suggests that melanin-based therapies may someday be used to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases among the morbidly obese. This opens an entirely new avenue for medical interventions because the process of biosynthesis of melanin is relatively easy to meddle with. We hope that this study will spur the development of preventive medications aimed at curtailing devastating metabolic complications in obese and overweight populations, she says. The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers from INOVA Fairfax Hospital and the National Cancer Institute. Its findings appear in the current Web edition of the FASEB Journal, and will be published in the March 2009 print edition. (ANI) body%e2%80%99s-natural-defence- The heart of the wise man lies quiet like limpid water. ~ Cameroon proverb A letter from the heart can be read on the face. - Kiswahili The man may be the head of the home but the wife is the heart. Kenya (Gikuyu) The best part of happiness lies in the secret heart of a lover. - (African Proverb). One thread for the needle, one love for the heart. Sudan Love looks not with the eyes, but with the heart. Therefore, is winged cupid painted blind. William Shakespeare -50- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

51 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume7, Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 This is a brief overview of Ancient Egyptian Medicine and in no way represents an exhaustive study of the subject. For more on Kemetic Medicine contact Sehu Khepera Ankh. Ancient Egyptian Medicine is as old as the civilization itself which encompassed all areas of holistic and specialty medicine. From the latest geological dating of the Sphinx (Hor em Akhet) monument we can reasonably deduce that the healing arts were established in Egypt by at least 10,000 BCE. The unique feature of Ancient Egyptian Medicine is its reliance on the mystical and metaphysical skill of the physician (Sunnu(t)). Despite its emphasis on energetic theories and practices, it was no less scientific in its pharmacopeia and surgical procedures. The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus demonstrates the medical scientific and surgical techniques, mostly associated with the brain, face and skull, of the ancient priest/ess doctors. Due to the sophistication of the olden civilization it was significant that an equal as sophisticated medical system be devised and this is exemplified in the vast pharmacopeia and healing modalities all of which were gained from plants, herbs, shrubs and fauna. James Henry Breasted, an Egyptologist who worked during the late 1800 s stated, The current conclusion regarding the Ancient Egyptian, a conclusion in which myself heretofore shared, has been that he was interested in scientific principles, if at all, solely because of the unavoidable necessity of applying them in practical life. This scientific emphasis is found in the manner in which they performed complex surgeries such as, for example, trephination and the setting of broken bones. These techniques are still used today by modern medicine doctors and so in many cases what seems like modern medical discoveries of the Greek period were already being used some thousands of years before the FEATURED ARTICLES KEMETIC MEDICINE By Sehu Khepera Ankh Kemetic Yoga Association Greek period in North East Africa (10,000BCE). There was a skilled approach in combining more hidden or esoteric healing practices with purely empirical and scientific measures. In the Lure of Medical History- Pharmacy of Ancient Egypt it states the Egyptian medical practice was of two orders: (1) The Superior, or Magic, consisting of incantations, prayers for the removal of sortileges, and commentaries on oracles; and (2) the Customary Dogma or common practice. This conceptual practice of combining incantations and prayers (Hekau- Magical Words of Power) with empirical procedures proved to be a very powerful combination in healing the physical and mental sick and those that became injured by various means. The Physicians however were held to procedural guidelines as well and were not to rely on their own whims but to consult the medical texts in matters of cathartic procedure in diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. In the book, The Old Egyptian Medical Papyri, on page 35, Chauncey D. Leake writes, Dr. Owesi Temkin has summarized various views on these matters, indicating that gradual tendency to support the empirical rationality of the Chief Egyptian medical texts. This is in accord with the position of Herman Ranke and also of Herman Grapow. Grapow emphasizes the differences in the medical papyri depending upon whether they are to be used as textbooks, or merely as collection of recipes for practicing physicians. In the textbooks, the diagnoses are coherently expressed in sentence form. In the formularies the prescriptions employ loosely connected words and concepts. This same formula of diagnoses, treatment and prognosis is still used today by modern doctors. The principle difference with the Sunnu(t) as compared to modern physicians was their use of purely natural substances; in as such in ancient times there were no allopathic medicaments Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 Yet the priest(esses) physicians were able to make pills, suppositories, poultices among other curing agents. All of this is documented in the principle medical papyri. Continued on page 52

52 Continued from page 51 Kemetic Medicine Dr. Charles Finch states, The Egyptians were well versed in many pathological syndromes. The identification of a disease necessitates acute and painstaking clinical observation, often over many years, and many of the ones described in the medical papyri are known today. Egyptian physicians understood the origin of parpalegia and paralysis from spinal cord injuries and recognized the traumatic origin of neurological symptoms such as deafness, urinary incontinence, and priapism. They described many syndromes of cardiac origin". The principle medical papyri are: Ancient Egyptian Medical Papyri: 1) Edwin Smith Papyrus 2) Ebers Papyrus 3) Hearst Papyrus 4) The Chester Beatty Papyri 5) Berlin Papyrus 6) The London Medical Papyrus 7) The Ramseeum Papyri 8) The Carlsburg Papyrus 9) The Brooklyn Papyrus 10) The Kahun Papyrus From these we learn of their expertise in areas such as dentistry, brain injuries, therapeutics as well as a highly advanced practice in areas of women s health, children s health and veterinary medicine. These and other profound medical discoveries by the olden physicians are still as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago which is supported by the growing "green" culture. The very basis of Egyptian Medicine was the healing of the sick by addressing the deep and penetrating issues of the mind. Thus coherence was sought between the mind and body. From these we learn of their expertise in areas such as dentistry, brain injuries, therapeutics as well as a highly advanced practice in areas of women s health, children s health and veterinary medicine. What this means is that the priest physicians knew that physical ailments were caused by mental afflictions such as worries, intense cares or mal adaptive behavior born of vice conjoined with the ariu (karmic basis) of each human being. Thus, the whole system was taken into consideration and managed integratively, including at the level of the soul of the human being or animal. Therefore, they saw the human or animal not only merely as a biological entity -52- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 but a complete system which needed to be healed from the deepest aspects to the outer aspects. Although the physicians understood and recognized the penetrating issues of the mind and soul, nonetheless, applied themselves rigorously to understanding the scientific principles and empirical observation that goes into theories of maintaining the health of the physical body; therefore, the medical practice was undiminished and all encompassing. In this wide ranging concentration on the full system, they truly enacted a healing of the human person and thus transcended treating only symptoms to treating the root causes of the disease at the very source; the soul. In essence they viewed the human being as a soul struggling for enlightenment in the search for liberation from pain and suffering. Therefore, each individual patient was treated as a confused divinity and not simply as a person. When this confusion is ameliorated then the personality discovers her or his true divine nature and thus transcends the condition of the body whether it be in good health or disease. This system can still be used today and this is why the video presentation was made to illustrate how these healing practices and theories are actually timeless and are much needed today as is indicative of the condition of the current medical system in its failure to curb the chronic disease epidemic. Thus there is urgent necessity to evaluate, adjust and change some aspects of the current medical paradigm to address the deeper realities of the human experience. Ancient Egyptian Physiology: Brief Overview: This is by no means an exhaustive treatise on Kemetic Physiology and serves only for informational and educational purposes. For more details into this area contact Sehu Khepera. In Kemetic medicine the heart (Ab) is seen as the center of the body because it is from the heart that blood is sent to profuse the entire terminal cardiovascular system (cells of the body) with oxygen. The heart has a dual function of collecting oxygenated blood from the lungs and deoxygenated blood from the body s periphery via the venous system. Thus the heart handles the blood fluid in a dual manner as demonstrated by the two atria which collects the blood and two ventricles which distributes blood volume. In as such, the heart represents duality (the four cardinal points of the universe; earth, air, water fire,), upon which singularity is the basis. What this means is that the human organism, from the Kemetic perspective, is a manifestation of undifferentiated consciousness and as such has a dual nature. Thus, we have two hands, two Continued on page 53

53 Continued from page 52 Kemetic Medicine arms,two legs, two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two ovaries, two testicles, two kidneys etc. Therefore, the body is a dual system or a system that relies on the homeostasis and synchronicity of that coupled system to maintain its optimal health. When the body is placed under objective and strict scrutiny of a meditative mind in equipoise it is discovered that the body is a small segment of the total experience of the human entity. In as such the Ab is also the organ that is weighed on the scales of Maat in the form of a heart shaped vase, in the judgment hall that is presented in the Papyrus and Coffin Text genres of Ancient Kemetic literature. Maat signifies order, righteousness and truth and is symbolized by an ostrich feather which is a symbol of the Goddess Maat. How this relates to Kemetic Medicine is that the heart on the balance scales of Maat is actually a metaphor for the unconscious mind of a human being. In the judgment hall, the heart (unconscious mind) is weighed against the feather of Maat. If the heart is drawn with guilt, remorse and extreme self centeredness it will be heavier than the feather of Maat and therefore the mind would go through periods of suffering, misery and will be inflicted with afflictions such as fear, anger, jealousy, desire. Thus these afflictions are the basis upon which disease is born in the body. Conversely, if the unconscious mind has been made light by a life of virtue, peace and righteousness it will be as light or lighter than the feather of Maat, metaphorically; depending upon the depth of the profundity of attainment of righteous order in life of a given individual. Thus a mind that has been made light by a life of truth will not be afflicted by the anomalies that are created by the mind and thus there is a great reduction in the possibilities of such individual actually suffering from disease. However, a life of virtue does not necessitate nor otherwise presuppose that a given righteous personality will never get ill in his or her life time as all beings in time and space are under the influence of ari (karma). The heart as the center of the body is related to the heart shaped vase in the following manner. The physical organ, the heart is the center of health for the body. If the mind is attuned to the cosmic order and made light through a life of virtue, then there would be lightness in the body as well. What this means is that the relative health of the mind has a direct influence on the relative health of the body. Thus, when the body is afflicted it is due to an infusion of negative energy into the body from the anomalies of the mental continuum of a human being. Therefore, physical diseases are mirror images of the state of mind of a human being. Looking at the body is a look into the mind. Thus, the mind body connection is not merely healthy body healthy mind. But rather, more poignantly it is a righteous and disciplined mind leads to a healthy body. This however does not indicate that a person with an unrighteous disposition, will all of sudden feel pain in the body and disease of the physical constitution or does it indicate that a saint or sage would never get ill. Thus, the ariu (karmic basis) of the individual patient must also be taken into account. Therefore, Kemetic Medicine is very sophisticated, complex and cannot be simplified to gain a true understanding of it. What the Kemetic Medical paradigm illustrates however is that if there is a habitual tendency towards vice as acted out through the impetus from an impure mind it will eventually show up in the body as a disruption in the proper functioning of the organ and or vascular system. Therefore, the ancient Kemites cleverly knew this and so logically centered their physiologic studies and investigations at the heart and moved from there to the pulse centers at the throat, wrist, thighs, lower legs and feet. By understanding the pulse system of the human being, one can gain insight to the disease process that has taken place within the physical body and as such gain insight into the nature of the person s mind. Thus, from a practical perspective modalities would be applied to the body or ingested along with spiritual counsel and recitation of specific formulas to rectify the mental anomaly that is showing up in the body. Spiritual counsel would be given to assist the patient in overcoming life conditions and situations that lead either to vice, impurity or general every day stressors that can grow in magnitude so as to make life difficult to handle. Therefore, it is not to only heal the body, or to only focus on the mind; but to work both at the mental and physical levels in harmonization. Further, the spiritual dimension of a human being was not left out of the equation. Thus, incantations and spiritual rituals along with counsel in relation to life problems and the human condition would be offered to the patient as well. In utilizing the heart as the center of the physical body; the philosophy of Swadj was employed. Swadj means to green the body, or to make the body green. This is done by ingesting green leafy vegetables, and green drinks that act to energize the body s cells. They employed this philosophy because leaves of plants captures sunlight and congeals it as the chlorophyll molecule which is stored in the chloroplast aspect of the plant cell. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

54 Continued from page 53 Kemetic Medicine Thus when a human being ingests green vegetables they are in essence ingesting particles of the sun that has been collected in the leaves of plants. The philosophy of greening coincides with the dictum of firstly looking at the heart and examining the entire system from there. In as such Kemetic Medicine places emphasis on preventation of disease by collecting into the mind and body philosophies and foods that lead to good health. The emphasis on the heart center is not to say that the endocrine system was ignored; not at all. In Kemetic Medicine the endocrine system is part and parcel of the vascular apparatus which includes the lungs and the heart. In this area of Kemetic Medicine it gets very complex as the endocrine system was attuned with and worked through the Sefech Ba Ra (7 Souls of Ra; Psycho Spiritual Energy System, Chakras). In as such the major healing deities are the God Ptah and the Goddess Sekhmet. Sekhmet represents the life forces while Ptah represents the mind. Thus, for good health a balance must be struck by the energetic system and the mind which reflects in a healthy endocrine and blood vascular system. Philosophically, for health of the body, according to the Kemetic paradigm, there must be health of the fluid systems. In this manner the fluid systems are seen metaphorically as tributaries of the Nile River with the central channel of the energetic system being the main body of the river. Hence, for good health one must drink lots of clean water; whose subtle essence is the energetic quality of the Divinity Hapi. Therefore when one is drinking water it is not simply a fluid, but rather, a cosmic force or energetic expression of the universe. Thus when we eat green leafy vegetables we are ingesting the energetic quality of the deities Ra and Asar and when we ingest water we are taking in the energetic quality of God Hapi. Therefore, we are eating the Gods and Goddesses and they in turn give our body optimal health. And since they are immortal Gods and Goddesses, they cannot go out of existence if we eat them because they regenerate on their own power (water is in great danger now because of the damming of rivers and massive use of water by soda and beer companies; Maat philosophy talks about not polluting the water). However, the same cannot be said about animals. The eating of animals causes much suffering to the animals and in turn to the people who eat them. Modern science now says that the earth s population will level off at about 9 billion people by the year 2050 upon which the rate of increase of the human population will slow and may even see a small decline. Now (November 2011) we are at about 7 billion people. To feed all of the people in the developed world, who mostly eat a meat based diet, 120 billion land animals are killed each year; Not to mention the trillion or so sea animals that die each year as a result of the need for mass human consumption. By the time 2050 comes around this number will be quite larger. Thus in essence, to feed all of these people a meat based diet will take the continued and escalation of cattle ranch farming techniques that cause much misery to the animals in which they live in deplorable conditions. Not to mention that there would be increase in starvation in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia because the cattle are fed grain, not grass. The grain that the cattle are being fed to fatten them for human consumption could be better utilized to feed all of the people in Africa and Asia who are starving each and every day. In the XXIII Mind and Life Conference in Dharamsala India, Matthieu Ricard cited that, 1.4 billion poor people could be fed 775 million tons of grain used yearly for raising livestock. He further stated, 25 million people could be fed throughout the year if the inhabitants of the USA would avoid eating meat for one day a week. Therefore, a plant and grain based diet is not only healthier as is proven by science, and personal experience, but also it is more efficient metabolically and psychically to eat the cosmic powers, the higher energetic elements of the universe rather than the dense muscle of animals which underlies the moral issue of the mass genocide of animals; which brings us back to the balance scales of Maat. It has been proven that in cultures where there is predominantly a meat based diet there are high prevalence of metabolic disease such as diabetes and the concomitant diseases such as cardiovascular disease and stroke. The number one killer of people in large industrial nations is cardiovascular disease. Hence, a meat based diet does not bring health to the vascular system but rather causes disease of the vascular system. Now since the populations of industrial nations are mainly eating animals that are essentially slaughtered for no other reason than profit based upon human consumption, it causes heaviness and dullness of the mind which reflects in the body as disease. This occurs because there is no proper ritual to thank and appease the mind and subtle energies of the animals. Hence when proper rituals are performed it acts as a calming effect on the environment and psyche of those who participate in the ritual killing and consumption of the animal. Thus the cosmic powers are placated and so the wrathful aspects of the deities are not activated. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

55 Continued from page 54 Kemetic Medicine When animals are slaughtered as they are in the slaughterhouses, the animals die with strong feelings of fear, anger, irritability, sadness, hostility and emotional suffering. Hence, there is a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease in people who based their diet on animal and dairy products as the human body consumes these negative energies which in turn are absorbed by the unconscious mind, the heart, Ab. The negative energies that are ingurgitated into the unconscious mind are then reflected back into the physical body and there ferment into tangible disease. The negative energies cause a disruption in the vascular, endocrine and organ systems of the body. Therefore, broadly speaking, the problem of disease is a problem of the impure energies that a human being absorbs into their psyche. Thus, since the heart is also seen as the seat of the emotions and the seat of the mind, music therapy was also employed to harmonize the emotions and bring the heart rate and blood pressure to a healthy level by causing a dispersion of the negative energies and collection of positive powers through sound. Nonetheless, in the case of infections antibiotics were used. They made their own antibiotics out of coarse bread. Therefore all aspects of medicine were employed with the philosophical premise and physiological fact that the heart is the center from which health or disease permeates while the ethical and moral condition of the mind is the conduit by which the body is maintained in health or disease. Therefore the combining of herbs such as carminatives were not crude inventions but rather very thought out and scientifically tested modalities which assisted in the healing of the patient. This is significant because the Sunnut believed that people were healed by self correction and she employed certain cosmic powers to assist the patient with his or her own self correction. Thus the Sunnut was an assistant to the individual s own power for self healing. For the Sunnu or Kemetic naturopathic practitioner the idea is to align the patient with proper forces for healing and then let the process take its course. In as such healing occurs and the patient dispenses with the negativities that caused the disease and thus return to health and proper livelihood. em Hetep, Sehu Khepera Ankh Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 Ancient Egyptian Medicine and the Concept of Heart Failure Saba MM, Ventura HO, Saleh M, Mehra MR. Cardiomyopathy and Heart Transplantation Center, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA Abstract Background: The cardiac glosses of the Ebers papyrus comprise the concepts and notions of the Egyptian physicians about the heart and its diseases. We sought to analyze some of the cardiac glosses of the Ebers papyrus, focusing on those which may describe early concepts of the syndrome of heart failure. Methods and Result: Review of Joachim's German translation and both Bryan's and Ghalioungui's English translations of the Ebers papyrus. One clinical scenario describes patients with "weakness of the heart" or "cardiac dysfunction: "His heart is bored," "The heart weakens," "This means that the heart does not speak or that the vessels of the heart are dumb. Its information under your hands normally appears because of the air with which they are filled is missing..." Debility that has arisen in the heart." The other clinical scenario supplies information about patients with heart failure and "fluid retention" or "congestion": "His heart is flooded. This is the liquid of the mouth. His body parts are all together weak"..."his heart is over flooded..." Conclusion: Whether or not Egyptian medicine and the contents of the papyri paved the way for future knowledge, the clinical scenarios included in the Ebers papyrus may represent one of the earliest documented observations of the syndrome of heart failure. PMID: The Ancient Egyptian Heart Probably the most interesting aspect of the ancient Egyptian's concept of the heart is that their ancient beliefs remain with us today, not as science, but within the very fiber of our emotions, our poetry and our song lyrics. When we refer to our hearts in regard to love, or any other emotion, we are invoking a living memory of Continued on page 56

56 Continued from page 50 The Egyptian Heart the ancient Egyptian belief system. For this reason, the heart was one of the only organs not removed from the body during mummification. Of course there was concern that the heart might testify against the deceased, so in order to prevent this, a heart scarab was often wrapped within the bandages. The inscription on the scarab would most likely consist of Chapter 30 from the Book of the Dead: The Egyptians believed that the heart, rather than the brain, was the source of human wisdom, as well as emotions, memory, the soul and the personality itself. Notions of physiology and disease were all connected in concept to the heart, and it was through the heart that God spoke, giving ancient Egyptians knowledge of God and God's will. For this reason it was considered the most important of the body's organs. However, despite the ancient Egyptian's seemingly advanced medical and surgical knowledge, the heart's role in blood circulation was not precisely understood. It was felt that from the heart, channels (metu) linked all parts of the body together. These channels delivered not only blood, but also air, tears, saliva, mucus, sperm, nutriment and even bodily waste. In fact, the only real function of the brain was thought to be to pass mucus to the nose, so it was one of the organs that were discarded during mummification. Probably to some extent, this concept of channels may have had some symbolism with the Nile. Ancient Egyptians were thought to be in good health if the metu were clear and without blockage. Disease was caused when a channel became blocked, much like an irrigation canal cannot deliver water if it is blocked. O my heart which I had upon earth, do not rise up against me as a witness in the presence of the lord of things; do not speak against me concerning what I have done, do not bring up anything against me in the presence of the great god of the west..." The heart amulets began taking the form of a vase with lug handles, perhaps symbolic of blood vessels, from the New Kingdom onward. Chapter 29b of the Book of the Dead states that these should be made of seheret stone (cornelian), but they were often made from other materials. In the final judgment portrayed by the Book of the Dead, the heart of the deceased was shown being weighed against the feather of Ma'at, a symbol of universal truth, harmony and balance. Anubis was sometimes shown adjusting the balance of the scales slightly in favor of the deceased, to ensure it into the underworld. The heart was thought to be given back to the deceased in the afterlife. So today, when we confront our lovers, we speak from the heart, and when we break up, it is our heart that is broken, in only another of many memories of our ancient Egyptian roots Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

57 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume 7, Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 FEATURED ARTICLES Phytochemicals and Cardiovascular Disease By Barbara V. Howard, PhD and David Kritchevsky, PhD A Statement for Healthcare Professionals from the American Heart Association Circulation. 1997; 95: Epidemiological studies have often shown relationships between vegetable/fruit intake and coronary heart disease that are not clearly attributable to major macronutrients or known vitamins and minerals. This suggests that other components of plants may be important in lowering risk of cardiovascular disease. Although the literature contains studies of a myriad of possible plant components, many of these studies are small or poorly controlled. Further, the supposition itself has led to claims of miracle ingredients with supposed mitigating effects on cardiovascular as well as other chronic diseases. A substantial body of evidence has accumulated in three areas: plant sterols, flavonoids, and plant sulfur compounds. This review summarizes the state of knowledge in these three areas and explores possibilities for future work. Plant Sterols The plant kingdom contains a number of sterols that differ from cholesterol by having ethyl or methyl groups or unsaturation in the side chain. The predominant ones sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol can be present in Western diets in amounts almost equal to dietary cholesterol. 1 The most prominent is β-sitosterol, which differs from cholesterol in that it has an ethyl group at carbon 24 of the side chain. In the early 1950s it was noted that the addition of sitosterol to the diet of cholesterol-fed chickens or rabbits lowered cholesterol levels in both species and inhibited atherogenesis in the latter. 2 Sitosterol or mixtures of soy sterols were studied extensively as cholesterol-lowering agents between 1950 and The preparations achieved cholesterol lowering of approximately 10%. 4 The mode of action appears to involve inhibition of cholesterol absorption, although the plant sterols themselves are absorbed very poorly. 5 The mechanism of inhibition of cholesterol absorption is believed to be through crystallization and co-precipitation. Ingestion of 1 g of β-sitosterol reduced absorption of cholesterol by 42% in a meal containing 500 mg of cholesterol. 6 The decrease in plasma cholesterol is probably due to an increase in LDL receptor activity. However, the decline in plasma cholesterol is relatively less than the decrease in absorption, presumably because of a compensatory increase in cholesterol synthesis. This area merits reinvestigation using newer technologies. In the 1980s it was demonstrated that sitostanol, a 5-α saturated sitosterol derivative, reduced the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and serum cholesterol more effectively than sitosterol and at doses below those of sitosterol. 7 In a recent study 8 sitostanol was interesterified with margarine, and the resultant product (1.9 to 2.6 g sitosterol per day) exhibited a hypocholesterolemic effect in a population with mild hypercholesteremia. The mean 1-year reduction in plasma cholesterol was 10.2%. The sitostanol was not absorbed and did not appear to interfere with absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Squalene, a sterol precursor also found in plant products, was originally suggested to have a cholesterol-lowering effect, but earlier studies in animals showed that it had no positive influence on atherosclerosis. 2 Sitosterols and squalene are present in both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated vegetable oils and thus may be responsible for some of the variable cholesterol-lowering effects observed in studies using these products; this may explain differences observed between various sources and degrees of refinement of olive oil. Other cholesterollowering alcohols in rice bran oils include esters of triterpene alcohols that inhibit hepatic cholesterol esterase and tocotrienols that inhibit HMG Co-A reductase. 9 However, there is conflicting evidence as to whether rice bran oil decreases plasma cholesterol levels in humans. 10 Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

58 Continued from page 57 - Phytochemicals and Cardiovascular Disease Finally, cafestol is a terpene present in coffee. Some studies but not others have suggested that coffee intake may be associated with changes in plasma cholesterol that may be explained by the presence of this compound. Suggestions have been made that the manner of preparation may influence the effect of coffee; filtering may remove some cholesterol-raising compounds. Flavonoids Flavonoids are derivatives of 2-phenyl-1-benzopyran-4- one with varied chemical structures present in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds The major flavonoid categories are flavonols, flavones, catechins, flavanones, and anthocyanins. The main dietary sources of these compounds are tea, onions, soy, and wine. The main flavonoid in onions is quercetin glucoside and the main flavonoid in tea is quercetin rutinoside. Flavonoid intake has been inversely associated with coronary heart disease in the Zutphen Elderly Study, 13 the Seven Countries Study, 14 and a cohort study in Finland. 15 In the Zutphen Elderly Study, 13 for example, a flavonoid intake of 0 to 19.0 mg/d was associated with a coronary heart disease mortality rate of 18.5 per 1000 person-years, compared with a mortality rate of 7.8 among those who consumed more than 29.9 mg/d (30 mg/d represents approximately five to six cups of tea per day). It should be pointed out that some flavonoids exert toxic effects (gastrointestinal or allergic), especially if taken in large amounts. Systematic work is needed on the major classes of flavonoids to categorize their structure, efficacy, and potential adverse effects. The link between flavonoids and atherosclerosis is based partly on the evidence that some flavonoids possess antioxidant properties and have been shown to be potent inhibitors of LDL oxidation in vitro. For example, the phenolic substances in red wine inhibit oxidation of human LDL. 16 Flavonoids have also been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation and adhesion, 17 which may be another way they lower the risk of heart disease. Isoflavones in soy foods have been reported to lower plasma cholesterol and also to have estrogenlike effects. 18 Plant Sulfur Compounds Naturally occurring sulfur-containing compounds (the allium family) may influence plasma cholesterol and atherosclerosis. These substances are found especially in garlic, onions, and leeks, the most prominent of these being garlic. Garlic oil was in the pharmacopeia of the Babylonians and other ancient peoples. 19 Garlic oil or garlic has been shown to be hypolipidemic in humans, with a recent meta-analysis suggesting that one half clove -58- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 of garlic per day lowered serum cholesterol by approximately 9%. 20 The same amount of garlic was shown to reduce cholesterol levels and severity of atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits. 21 Garlic contains a number of compounds, but those thought to be the most active are diallyl disulfide and its mono S oxide (allicim). The mechanism of hypocholesterolemia may be the inhibition of cholesterol synthesis. 22 Garlic has also been reported to inhibit platelet aggregation, 23 decrease coagulation time, 24 and lower blood pressure. 25 Garlic in large quantities, however, can actually have significant side effects, such as anemia or allergic manifestations. 19 Much more work is needed in the chemistry and pharmacology of the sulfur-containing compounds in plants. Conclusions Plant sterols, flavonoids, and sulfur-containing compounds represent three classes of compounds found in fruits and vegetables that may be important in reducing risk of atherosclerosis. Within these categories are multiple possible compounds, most of which are not well characterized and whose modes of action are not established. In addition, many other plant products (ie, antioxidant vitamins, phytoestrogens, and trace minerals) may also be linked to the atherosclerotic process. These plant micronutrients will clearly be the topic of future research. As work continues on all of these compounds, other unrecognized components will be identified. Nutritional databases must be further developed to include better information on micronutrients, and large population-based studies that contain collected dietary data should be reanalyzed using improved nutritional databases to quantify consumption of plant sterols, flavonoids, and sulfur-containing compounds and to assess possible relationships with atherosclerosis and other chronic diseases. In addition, careful metabolic studies using newer techniques to measure cholesterol absorption and lipoprotein metabolism must be conducted to define the mechanism of action of each of these micronutrients. Finally, a direct assessment of the influence of micronutrients on lipoprotein profiles, hemostatic factors, and cardiovascular disease must be made. It should be recognized that some micronutrients may not act alone but in concert with other dietary components. Thus, benefits may come from the integration of several dietary components. Until more of this information is gathered and fully understood, consumption of a balanced diet containing a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain products is recommended as the most prudent way to ensure optimum consumption of macronutrients and micronutrients. Continued on page 59

59 Continued from page 58 Phytochemicals and Cardiovascular Disease Footnotes Phytochemicals and Cardiovascular Disease was approved by the American Heart Association Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee in November References 1. Miettinen TA, Tilvis RS, Kesäniemi YA. Serum plant sterols and cholesterol precursors reflect cholesterol absorption and synthesis in volunteers of a randomly selected male population. Am J Epidemiol. 1990;131: Abstract/FREE Full Text 2. Pollak OJ, Kritchevsky D. Sitosterol. Monogr Atheroscler. 1981;10: Medline 3. Lees AM, Mok HYI, Lees RS, McCluskey MA, Grundy SM. Plant sterols as cholesterol-lowering agents: clinical trials in patients with hypercholesterolemia and studies of sterol balance. Atherosclerosis. 1977;28: CrossRefMedline 4. Vahouny GV, Kritchevsky D. Plant and marine sterols and cholesterol metabolism. In: Spiller GA, ed. Nutritional Pharmacology. New York, NY: Alan R Liss Inc; 1981: Tilvis RS, Miettinen TA. Serum plant sterols and their relation to cholesterol absorption. Am J Clin Nutr. 1986;43: Abstract/FREE Full Text 6. Mattson FH, Grundy SM, Crouse JR. Optimizing the effect of plant sterols on cholesterol absorption in man. Am J Clin Nutr. 1982;35: Abstract/FREE Full Text 7. Heinemann T, Leiss O, von Bergmann K. Effect of low-dose sitostanol on serum cholesterol in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Atherosclerosis. 1986;61: CrossRefMedline 8. Miettinen TA, Puska P, Gylling H, Vanhanen H, Vartiainen E. Reduction of serum cholesterol with sitostanol-ester margarine in a mildly hypercholester-olemic population. N Engl J Med. 1995;333: CrossRefMedline 9. Rukmini C, Raghuram TC. Nutritional and biochemical aspects of the hypolipidemic action of rice bran oil: a review. J Am Coll Nutr. 1991;10: Abstract 10. Lichtenstein AH, Ausman LM, Carrasco W, Gualtieri LJ, Jenner JL, Ordovas JM, Nicolosi RJ, Goldin BR, Schaefer EJ. Rice bran oil consumption and plasma lipid levels in moderately hypercholesterolemic humans. Arterioscler Thromb. 1994;14: Abstract/FREE Full Text 11. Kuhnau J. The flavonoids: a class of semi-essential food components 190 their role in human nutrition. World Rev Nutr Diet. 1976;24: Medline 12. Cook NC, Samman S. Flavonoids: chemistry, metabolism, cardioprotein effects, and dietary sources. The Journal of Nutrional Biochemistry. 1996;7: CrossRef 13. Hertog MGL, Feskens EJM, Hollman PCH, Katan MB, Kromhout D. Dietary antioxidant flavonoids and risk of coronary heart disease: the Zutphen Elderly Study. Lancet. 1993;342: CrossRefMedline 14. Hertog MGL, Kromhout D, Aravanis C, Blackburn H, Buzina R, Fidanza F, Giampaoli S, Jansen A, Menotti A, Nedeljkovic S, Pekkarinen M, Simic BS, Toshima H, Feskens EJM, Hollman PCH, Katan MB. Flavonoid intake and long-term risk of coronary heart disease and cancer in the seven countries study. Arch Intern Med. 1995;155: CrossRefMedline 15. Knekt P, Jarvinen R, Reunanen A, Maatela J. Flavonoid intake and coronary mortality in Finland: a cohort study. BMJ. 1996;312: Abstract/FREE Full Text 16. Frankel EN, Kanner J, German JB, Parks E, Kinsella JE. Inhibition of oxidation of human low-density lipoprotein by phenolic substances in red wine. Lancet. 1993;341: CrossRefMedline 17. Gryglewski RJ, Korbut R, Robak J, Swies J. On the mechanism of antithrombotic action of flavonoids. Biochem Pharmacol. 1987;36: CrossRefMedline 18. Dwyer JT, Goldin BR, Saul N, Gaultieri L, Bakarat S, Adlercreutz H. Tofu and soy drinks contain phytoestrogens. J Am Diet Assoc. 1994;94: CrossRefMedline 19. Kritchevsky D. The effect of dietary garlic on the development of cardiovascular disease. Trends in Food Science and Technology. 1991;2: CrossRef 20. Warshafsky S, Kamer RS, Sivak SL. Effect of garlic on total serum cholesterol: a meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 1993;119: Jain RC, Konar DB. Effect of garlic oil in experimental cholesterol atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis. 1978;29: CrossRefMedline 22. Sendl A, Schliack M, Löser R, Stanislaus F, Wagner H. Inhibition of cholesterol synthesis in vitro by extracts and isolated compounds prepared from garlic and wild garlic. Atherosclerosis. 1992;94: CrossRefMedline 24. Samson RR. Effects of dietary garlic and temporal drift on platelet aggregation. Atherosclerosis. 1982;44: Letter. CrossRefMedline 25. Bordia A, Bansal HC, Arora SJ, Singh SV. Effect of the essential oils of garlic and onion on alimentary Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

60 Continued from page 59 Phytochemicals and Cardiovascular Disease Hyperlipemia. Atherosclerosis. 1975;21:15-19 CrossRefMedline 26. Mansell P, Reckless JPD. Garlic. BMJ. 1991;303: Editorial. FREE Full Text Copyright 1997 by American Heart Association Can Dietary Flavonoids influence the Development of Coronary Heart Disease? By Helle Margrete Meltzer and Karl Egil Malterud Abstract The flavonoids constitute a large group of secondary plant metabolites being ubiquitous among higher plants. The biological activity of flavonoids was discovered during the 1930s, when it was found that several vegetables and fruits contained substances different from vitamin C and yet able to counteract the capillary fragility characteristic of scurvy. The "P vitamins" (as they were once called) were, however, not accepted as vitamins, and they are now regarded as members of the large and diffuse class of "nonnutrients". Today, extensive research is directed towards the elucidation of the importance and the potential therapeutic value of flavonoids in the treatment of, e.g., cancer and cardiovascular diseases. In this paper, recent research on flavonoids is reviewed with emphasis on the possible correlation between dietary flavonoid content and reduced risk for cardiovascular disease. Introduction Recently, the preventive and therapeutic potential of food and beverages has received increased scientific attention. Large epidemiological surveys have shown a relationship between the consumption of fruit and vegetables and reduced risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease (I), and some of the works even indicate that raw vegetables give the strongest protection (2-4). An expression like "the French paradox" has appeared, based on the interesting observation that the French have comparable plasma cholesterol levels to the Americans, and comparable fat intakes, but nevertheless a far lower incidence of coronary disease (5). The high French consumption of red wine has been implicated in these differences (6). Others claim that they can be explained by olive oil, or the consumption of garlic. Does red wine, olive oil and garlic have anything in common? (apart from "the good life" which such a consumption surely is an expression of, important in itself for health). Several components in fruits and vegetables have drawn attention as possible candidates when the effects are to be explained, as illustrated in Table 1. For each of the candidates, there is evidence that they may have an effect. To assess their single and combined effects is an enormous task, which beginning. This article is only at its focuses on the flavonoids, a group of naturally occurring compounds which recently has attracted considerable attention as dietary constituents with potential importance for health (7-9) (Fact column 1). Chemical structure Flavonoids have a common skeleton of diphenylpyranes (C6-C3-C6), i.e. two benzene rings (A and B) connected by a heterocyclical pyran- or pyron ring (Figure I). The flavonoids are often hydroxylated in the positions 3,5,7,3', 4', and 5'. The presence or absence of a hydroxyl group in the 3 position determines the division into the two main subgroups of flavonoids: 3-hydroxyflavonoids (flavonols, flavanonols and catechins) and flavonoids with an unsubstituted 3-position (flavones and flavanones) (Figure 1). The most common flavonoid in food is quercetin, while catechins nutritionally are the most important of the flavonoids in beverages, due to their high concentration in tea. More than 4,000 flavonoids have been described, and the number of characterized substances is continually increasing ( 1 0). From a nutritional point of view, flavonols and flavones are of special interest due to their potential protective role in carcinogenesis, atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Both flavonols and flavones are usually present in our food as glycosides, D-glucose being the most common sugar. Other sugars can be galactose, rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, in addition to glucuronic acid. The preferred binding site for the sugar unit is in the C3 position, glycosylation in the C7 position being somewhat less common (1 1,12). The sugar-free part of the molecule is called the flavonoid aglycone. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

61 Continued from page 53 Can Dietary Flavonoids influence the Development of Coronary Heart Disease Due to the enormous variation in substitution types and substitution patterns, (hydroxylation-, methoxylation-, sulphation-and glycosidation patterns in addition to C- methylation, C-glycosylation and prenylation) more than 1,000 different flavonol and flavone glycosides have been described, and more than 20 million different combinations are theoretically possible (1 3). Table 1. Some dietary substances suggested to be associated with decreased risk of disease. Vitamins (e.g. ascorbic acid, a-tocopherol) Minerals (e-g. selenium, zinc, manganese) Dietary fibre Glucosinolates Indols Flavonoids Terpenoids (including carotenoids) Phytosterols Proteinase inhibitors Sulphur compounds from onion and garlic FACT COLUMN 1: HISTORY Flavonoids have been known as plant pigments for more than one hundred-years. In periods, their biological effects and importance have been discussed intensively. Around 1940 the opinion was that flavonoids had vitamin properties. In the 1970s, the flavonoids were suspected of having mutagenic and carcinogenic effect, while in the 80s and 90s, considerable research has been directed towards their activity as antioxidants and radical scavengers, as well as their anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic properties. In a human context, interest in flavonoids originates from studies by the Nobel laureate Szent-Gyorgyi and co-workers in the 1930s (83,84), when they reported that a number of substances in vegetables and fruits (different from vitamin C) could heal the capillary fragility (with associated haemorrhage) characteristic of scurvy. For years there was an argument as to whether the flavonoids, often designated as bioflavonoids or vitamin P, had a direct, independent effect on tissue metabolism (especially capillary fragility), or if their role rather was of a synergistic nature. Around 1950 it was agreed that the flavonoids had physiological significance, but that their most important and possibly single role was their influence on capillary resistance. The effect seemed to be independent of vitamin C. In spite of this, flavonoids were taken off the list of effective drugs by the US Food and Drug -61- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 Administration in At this point there were more than 200 flavonoid-containing preparations on the American market. Interest in the biological effects of flavonoids has increased tremendously the last years (85), and several thousand articles have been published on the theme. In addition to the more important effects mentioned in the main article, the are some more exotic ones. Among them are inhibition of tooth decay(86,87), protection against snake venom (88), or effect against dandruff (89)! Several books, such as (90-92) and reviews, e.g, (21,24,93) have been published. Function in plants Numerous functions of flavonoids in plants have been demonstrated or suggested. These include pigmentation (to attract pollinators), protection of the plant from UV light and microorganisms, defence against grazing animals, regulation of enzyme activity and signal substances for nitrogenfixating bacteria (14,15). The flavonoids are omnipresent in higher plants. In foods, we find flavonoids as natural colour substances (the anthocyanins, a subgroup of flavonoids, have a strong red, purple or mauve colour and may give a blue colour when combined with other substances in plants; chalcones and aurones are yellow), taste components and as antioxidants (16). Flavones and flavonols can be pale yellow or creamy coloured. Some colours are only visible to pollinating insects, which can sense UV radiation invisible to humans. Thus they can sense "flavonoid colours" not visible to man. Presence in foods Flavonols and flavones are mainly present in the leaves and outer parts of plants, but small amounts have also been detected in roots (1 1,12). One exception is onions, where the bulb contains considerable amounts of quercetin 4'-glycosides. We receive approximately 70% of the flavonoids in the diet from beverages and fruit. Some herbs and spices have high concentrations, and large amounts are also found in some well known medicinal plants. For centuries lay people and medical professionals have used herbs containing flavonoids in attempts to heal inflammations, diabetes, allergies, headaches, the common flu, cancer etc. (13). Propolis, made by bees from plant exudates (usually from buds), is used to protect the hive entrance and is often rich in flavonoids. From old times the peoples of Asia have been drinking green tea as a medicinal remedy because of its presumed pharmacological effects. Green Continued on page 62

62 Continued from page 61- Can Dietary Flavonoids influence the Development of Coronary Heart Disease tea is an important source of flavonoids in the East (17). Our knowledge about the dietary intake of flavonoids is sparse and partly contradictory. In 1976 Kiihnau (18) estimated the daily flavonoid intake in the USA to be approximately 1 gram, 100 mg thereof being flavonols and flavones, but these estimates have not been confirmed. Hertog et al. (19) have improved the old analytical methods, and their results are shown in Table 2. Based on the analysis of five common flavonoids, the flavonoid content of the Dutch diet was estimated to be 28 mg/day (as aglycones). In areas with a very high intake of plants and herbs/spices, the intake of flavonoids is believed to be as high as 2-3 gl/day. Many factors influence the flavonoid content of plants, among others the conditions of growth, ripeness and season. Growth beneath glass reduces the levels of flavonoids, and in general, processed foods have 50% lower concentrations than fresh (20). A subgroup of flavonoids, the isoflavonoids, are mainly found in the Leguminosae, soy beans being an example of a food with a substantial content of isoflavonoids. Biological effects Recently, the antioxidant properties of the flavonoids have become a subject of considerable interest (2 1-23), but in addition, several other properties have been reported, some of which are shown in Table 3 (1 3,16,24,25). Among the effects can be mentioned modulation of enzyme activity, e.g. cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenases, phospholipase A2, hyaluronidase and 5'-iodothyronine deiodinase. Inhibition of LAR (lens aldose reductase) and of ACE (angiotensin convertase) has also been described. These effects provide a broad potential for medical effects and usage, and in particular, work is presently being conducted with flavonoids and cancer (Fact column 2). In this paper, however, we will concentrate on the possible impact flavonoids may have on coronary heart disease. In this context, we will discuss the antioxidant properties of flavonoids. Coronary heart disease The composition of the diet influences the risk for developing coronary heart disease, and not least "the French paradox" and other phenomena show that the influence is not limited to the effect of saturated fat and cholesterol (5). The mechanisms underlying the development of atherosclerosis are not completely understood, but it is generally believed that early in the -62- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 process, macrophages in the artery walls take up modified LDL (low density lipoprotein) from plasma by a route independent of the LDL receptor, and the receptor involved (often called the scavenger receptor) only recognizes modified, e.g. oxidised LDL. We know that native LDL can be modified by all the most important types of cells in the vasculature, including endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and macrophages. There is some evidence that cellularly produced 15- lipoxygenase may be involved in the process (49). Oxidised LDL has strong atherogenic properties, e.g. by chemoattraction of monocytes and by the macrophages being inhibited from migrating back into the plasma. This leads to an accumulation of macrophages, saturated with cholesteryl esters, in intima. Gradually the macrophages are transformed to foam cells, which may then develop into fatty streaks. A fatty streak can further develop into fibrotic plaques, which become calcified and lead to reduction of the lumen (26). Oxidised LDL is also cytotoxic, and may harm endothelial cells. This damage is accompanied by release of factors stimulating platelet aggregation and early growth of thrombosis. The combination of thrombogenesis and reduced intraluminal volume may lead to infarction. Thus, substances protecting against the oxidation of LDL are of considerable interest in the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease (27). In addition, substances with antithrombotic properties will be of interest. a-tocopherol (vitamin E), retinyl stearate, y- tocopherol and Pcarotene have been reckoned among the most important antioxidants. All are fat soluble. It is, however, well known that the content of antioxidants in an LDL particle of a healthy adult can vary widely, and it is tempting to speculate that the dietary content may have an impact. The cytosolic levels of antioxidants also influence the oxidation of LDL. Best known among these is ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which can react directly with superoxide and hydroxyl radicals and in vitro can reduce the tocopheroxyl radical back to atocopherol. To our knowledge, no attempts have been made to quantify the flavonoid content of human LDL. Flavonoids as antioxidants Many flavonoids are strong antioxidants; for a review, see, e.g. (21). Several in vitro studies have shown flavonoids to have stronger antioxidant properties in Continued on page 63

63 Continued from page 62 Can Dietary Flavonoids influence the Development of Coronary Heart Disease some assay systems than a-tocopherol. Usually, the optimal antioxidant activity of flavonoids is related to neighbouring phenolic hydroxyl groups (usu8lly in the 3'- and 4'-position), a double bond between C2 and C3 in conjugation with a carbonyl group at C4, and hydroxyl groups at C3 and C5 (28). Flavonols combining these properties, such as quercetin, can scavenge radicals such as superoxide, hydroxyl, alkoxyl and peroxyl. However, some flavonoids are strong antioxidants and radical scavengers without having this structure (29,30). It is well known that flavonoids seem to have vitamin C sparing effects (31,32), and it has been assumed that this is related to their antioxidant properties. "Vitamin C2" was once suggested as a name for some flavonoids, but this was never generally accepted (3 1, 33). Moreover, recent data (34) indicate that the vitamin C sparing effect is not as easily explained as earlier believed. LDL As previously mentioned, data have gradually accumulated indicating that oxidation of LDL is an important factor in the development of atherosclerosis (reviews, see (35-37)). Atherogenesis is, however, a very complex process (38). In in vitro experiments, flavonoids inhibit the oxidation of LDL triggered by cellular (e,g. macrophages) as well as noncellular factors (e.g. copper ions) (39-47). Scavenging of free radicals participating in oxidative processes may thus be an explanation for some of the observed effects of flavonoids. Other mechanisms, such as protection of a-tocopherol, have also been suggested. In addition, quercetin reduces the cytotoxic effects of oxidized LDL (46,48). The mechanism underlying this effect is not known. Because 15-lipoxygenase has been suggested to participate in the oxidation of LDL (49), it is of particular interest that several flavonoids inhibit this enzyme (5O,5 1). Frankel et al. have shown that phenols extracted from red wine inhibited Cu catalysed oxidation of human LDL ex vivo (52). This has been corroborated by other studies (53,54). Recent experiments show that soybean isoflavonoids given to rhesus monkeys reduce LDL levels and increase the levels of HDL (high density lipoprotein) in plasma, and thus would be expected to have a beneficial effect in connection with coronary heart disease (107). So far, it is not known whether this effect also applies to humans. Platelet aggregation Since the 1950s it has been known that flavonoids may have an antithrombotic effect and inhibit platelet aggregation (55). The effect is well documented both in vitro and in vivo in animal experiments, as well as ex vivo in humans (56). The mechanisms behind the antiaggregatory effect seem complex. In many cases, inhibition of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, resulting in increased CAMP levels, seems to be important (57), but this is apparently not the case for the antiaggregatory flavonoids in green tea (58). A number of other mechanisms have been suggested: an influence on the metabolism of arachidonic acid (with reduction in thromboxane levels) (59,60) - receptor antagonism to tromboxane receptors have also been reported (61), as well as an increase in the levels of prostacyclin (62). Many flavonoids are strong inhibitors of lipoxygenases, but have differing effect on cyclooxygenase (63, 64). Reduction of calcium levels (60), inhibition of "platelet activating factor" (58), scavenging of free radicals (65) and reduced liberation of proaggregatory enzymes (66) have been observed. Apparently, the antiaggregatory effects of flavonoids are due to several more or less separate mechanisms. One would expect the substantial effect of flavonoids on arachidonic acid metabolism to result in antiinflammatory properties, and this has indeed been demonstrated, mainly in animal experiments in vivo, but also in experiments with human cells in vitro (67-7 1). In this case, as well, several mechanisms seem to be involved. The literature is reviewed in, e.g. (24,72). In summary, the antiinflammatory, antiaggregatory and antioxidative/radical scavenging effects of flavonoids are well documented in in vitro systems, and the results point at several, partly independent, mechanisms. One can not disregard the possibility that still other effects may be of importance; inhibition of xanthin oxidase (produces superoxide radicals), myeloperoxidase (produces hypochlorite, another prooxidant) and angiotensin convertase (gives angiotensin 11, which increases blood pressure) has also been reported for the flavonoids. Therapeutic use Medical use of plants rich in flavonoids goes back to ancient times. This practice was probably based on experience, and only lately has the use of flavonoids and flavonoid-containing preparations been based on rational biochemical knowledge. The ability to counteract capillary permeability was the Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

64 Continued from page 63 Can Dietary Flavonoids influence the Development of Coronary Heart Disease first biological effect shown for flavonoids. A number of pharmaceuticals, both with natural flavonoids and semisynthetic derivatives, take advantage of this effect, as shown in several clinical studies (73,74). A flavonoid with an unusual structure, silybin (from the thistle Silybum marianum, "Mariendistel" - an ancient medical plant from central Europe (75)), has hepatoprotective effect and is included in many pharmaceuticals. Its clinical effect is well documented (review, see (76)). Another flavonoid, catechin (cyanidanol), also showed promising clinical activity against hepatic disease, but turned out to give serious side effects, probably of immunological nature (Fact column 3). Preparations from Crataegus (hawthorn), containing oligomeric flavonoids as their (putative) main pharmacologically active ingredients, are used to treat mild heart insufficiency. A Japanese multicenter study testing such a product showed significant improvement compared to a placebo group (78). Studies designed to reveal the mechanisms of Crataegus preparations have recently been reported, e.g. ( ). Crataegus based pharmaceuticals can interact with digitalis; thus such preparations should not be administered at the same time. Pharmaceuticals based on extracts from Ginkgo hiloha, an ancient Chinese medicine, have gained substantial use in large parts of Europe the last years. In Germany alone 4.2 million prescriptions with such preparations were dispatched in 1990, representing a market value of 263 million DM (79). Usually, partially purified extracts of the plant with a specified content of terpenoids and flavonoids, regarded as the main effective ingredients of the plant, are employed. A number of clinical studies have been performed testing the effect of Ginkgo preparations against age-related cerebral insufficiency, and a meta-analysis of some of these studies showed a clear clinical effect (80). However, for many of the claimed effects of flavonoids, effects that are seemingly in accordance with claims from folk medicine and results from in vitro and animal experiments, clinical data are lacking. So far, acceptable clinical intervention studies testing the effects of flavonoids against atherosclerotic and thrombotic disease have not been conducted. In the cases where clinical trials have been conducted, they have often not been able to confirm the promising results from in vitro and animal experiments. Flavone acetic acid, a synthetic flavonoid, is an example of this: This compound was chosen by the Cancer Research Campaign (UK) to a phase I, and later a phase I1 clinical trial. Both in vitro and animal experiments showed the antitumor activity of this compound to be substantial. But only minimal activity could be demonstrated in humans! The process was reviewed in an article with the title: "Flavone acetic acid - from laboratory to clinic and back" (8 1). Bioactive compounds from natural sources have often had a disadvantage compared to their synthetic relatives: They are difficult to give effective patent protection. Because of this they have to some extent been regarded as economically uninteresting to the pharmaceutical industry. As flavonoids are tested in clinical trials, they apparently show another handicap: They are highly sensitive to their chemical surroundings. Due to this, well established results may be difficult to reproduce in new experimental settings. This may complicate the therapeutical use of flavonoids. FACT COLUMN 3: SIDE EFFECTS By and large, flavonoids are relatively nontoxic to higher animals (94-96,114), and seem to be devoid of teratogenic effects (97). As long as the diet is the sole source of flavonoids, the risk of becoming intoxicated seems small. Clinical trials with large doses of the flavonoid catechin (cyanidanol) have, however, showed serious side effects, probably due to immunological reactions (98,99). The dosages in these cases were more than 1 gram/day. The acute LD50 for flavonoids tested in animal experiments normally seems to be above I gram/kg body weight. The mutagenic effect shown for a number of flavonoids in Ames test seems to be of less relevance in a cancer context than the antimutagenic effect shown for flavonoids. Dermatitis induced by flavonoids has been reported. In several of these reports raw extracts of plants were employed, and there is no direct evidence for flavonoids being the triggering factor. Some articles, however, describe tests using pure substances (1 15,116), and here it appears that certain flavonoids can produce dermatological reactions, although the large majority are inactive. Propolis, well known for its allergic skin reactions (117), is normally rich in flavonoids, but other substances seem to be responsible for the allergy (1 18,119). Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

65 Continued from page 64 Can Dietary Flavonoids influence the Development of Coronary Heart Disease Some isoflavonoids are oestrogens. Their activity is relatively low, and consumption of soy beans, a rich source of isoflavonoids, does not seem to have adverse oestrogenic effects in humans. It has long been known that sheep grazing on isoflavonoid-rich clover species get hormone balance disturbances, and recently it has been shown that coumestrol, the most active isoflavonoid oestrogen, (but only found in very small amounts in soy beans), disturbs oestrus in female mice and produces abnormal sexual behaviour in male mice (1 20). Epidemiological studies Recently, results from several epidemiological studies have been published, including relative precise estimates of the intake of flavonoids (7,82,111,112). Much of this work comes from the Netherlands, and was initiated by a workshop held in Wageningen in 1990 with the title "Nonnutritive anticarcinogens in foods". Thanks to multidisiplinary co-operation between chemists, nutritionists and epidemiologists, methods were developed for analyses of important food flavonoids. Later, the content in the most relevant Dutch food items were analysed and the Dutch dietary intake was estimated, based on the dietary data. Further, the results were attached to the Seven Countries Study which started in the 1960s. Results from the food analyses are shown in Table 2. The Zutphen study (7) comprised 805 men from the town Zutphen in Holland being between 65 and 84 years of age when the study started in The average flavonoid intake (estimated as the sum of the five most important flavonoid aglycones) was 26 mg/ day. Most of the flavonoids (61 %) came from tea, 38% from vegetables and fruit (mainly onions, kale, endives and apples). The intake was related to the risk of developing cancer and coronary heart disease the following five years. In this period, 43 men died from coronary heart disease while 38 men had myocardial infarction. The flavonoid intake was inversely related to coronary heart mortality (P for trend=0.003), while the correlation to the incidence of a first infarction was much weaker after adjustment for known risk factors as age, body mass index, smoking, serum cholesterol, blood pressure, physical activity, consumption of coffee, and further for the intake of energy, vitamin C, vitamin E, p-carotene and dietary fibre (P=O. 15). Coronary heart mortality was reduced by more than 50% in the group belonging -65- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 to the upper tertile compared to the lowest tertile of flavonoid intake. The flavonoid intake was not related to cancer incidence or mortality. As a first attempt to include the flavonoids in the classical epidemiological cause-effect models for coronary heart mortality, the Dutch group estimated the flavonoid intake around 1960 for the 16 cohorts being part of the Seven Countries Study (82). The average flavonoid intake was inversely correlated to coronary heart mortality in the cohort after 25 years of followup, and explained 25% of the variance. When adjustments were made for other risk factors, saturated fat explained 73% of the variance, smoking 9%, while flavonoids explained 8%, independent of the intake of the vitamins E, C and alcohol. This study can easily be criticised in the Zutphen study, but nevertheless the results can, e.g. since all estimates were far more uncertain than be an indication of flavonoids being at least a factor to be controlled for in future epidemiological studies. The Zutphen Study results have recently found support in a publication from Finland (1 11). Here, men and women between 30 and 69 years, with no signs of coronary disease at start, were followed for 26 years. The flavonoid intake was estimated on the basis of dietary reports at the start of the study, and the flavonoid values from the Dutch food item analysis. The intake was far below the Dutch: only 3.4 mglday as a median, with a range from 0 to 41.4 mg. 64% of the flavonoids came from onions and apples. During the study period, 473 persons died of coronary disease. There was a significant inverse correlation between flavonoid intake and both total and coronary mortality among females, when corrected for age, smoking, serum cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index. Among the men, the trend was the same, but significant only for total mortality. The latest of the hitherto published epidemiological studies on dietary flavonoids also comes from Zutphen (112). In this work, 552 men between 50 and 69 years of age were followed in a prospective study investigating the relationship between flavonoid intake and stroke. After correction for confounders (including antioxidant vitamins) it was found that the quartile with the highest flavonoid intake (more than 28.6 mg/day) had significantly fewer cases of stroke than the quartile with the lowest flavonoid intake (less than 18.3 mg/d) (RR 0.27; 95% confidence interval ; P for trend Continued on page 66

66 Continued from page 65 Can Dietary Flavonoids influence the Development of Coronary Heart Disease 0.004). Tea, being the main source of flavonoids in the investigation, gave similar results, while the reduction in stroke associated with increased intake of p-carotene and vitamin C was not significant. In fact, vitamin E seemed to have a positive correlation with the total amount of strokes, but this correlation was not statistically significant. Evaluation of dietary flavonoids is problematical 1. Hitherto, it has been assumed that most flavonoids are broken down, to a larger or smaller degree, by intestinal bacteria, or that they undergo major structural changes in the gastrointestinal tract. Possibly, completely different metabolites are present in the body after absorption than those ingested. Thus, nutritional consequences of the flavonoids are not necessarily a result of the flavonoids in themselves, but of enteral or post absorptive interactions and degradation products. For this reason, one has to distinguish sharply between experiments where flavonoids are given orally and by other routes, and also between in vivo and in vitro studies. So far we cannot disregard the possibility that the health impact of flavonoids primarily is a result of what happens in the intestine, e.g. through their influence on our immune system or intestinal bacteria. 2. Flavonoids usually co-occur with other active substances in foods, like vitamin C, and one has to consider that eventual effects of flavonoids are dependent on interactions with other dietary components. 3. The effects of flavonoids seem to be mainly preventive, and it is much more difficult to study (unknown) effects of prevention than treatment. 4. Flavonoids seem to have a broad spectrum of effects, and this may make rational applications more difficult, even if a broad-spectrum effect can be therapeutically beneficial. Furthermore, there does not seem to be any effect for which the flavonoids constitute the only responsible agent. 5. The metabolism and pharmacokinetics of flavonoids in humans is not very well understood. Flavonoids can be metabolized and degraded by the intestinal microflora, but they can also be metabolized hepatically and even enter the enterohepatical circuit. In flavonoid research, high priority is given to finding out how and to what degree flavonoids are absorbed in humans (22), and studies on this theme are presently performed by several research groups, e.g. (127,128). Some results concerning the biological activity of flavonoid metabolites have recently been published (45,113), but a lot still remains to be done in this field. 6. A standard method of approach to assess the function of dietary components has been to compose diets without the substance to be studied, follow an eventual modulation of metabolic processes, and then follow these processes when the substance is reintroduced (depletion/repletion studies). It is virtually impossible to compose a diet free of flavonoids but still adequate when it comes to regular nutrients. At the same time, such a diet has to be acceptable to the human subjects. These aspects make human experiments difficult to design. The emerging results from epidemiological and clinical studies indicate that these problems may be overcome, even though results may be difficult to interpret. The evidence obtained from clinical and epidemiological studies so far seem to indicate that flavonoids may, indeed, possess important biological activity. Conclusion Although no flavonoid-specific biological functions have been demonstrated so far, a growing amount of evidence indicates that the intake of flavonoids may be of considerable importance to health. A multitude of promising in vitro experiments have been carried out, but relatively few clinical trials or epidemiological studies. As natural substances with limited patentability, they have attracted only moderate interest from the pharmaceutical industry, and this has limited the total research effort in the field. Recent epidemiological studies indicate that the flavonoids should be taken into consideration, and controlled for, in epidemiological studies of coronary heart disease. The assessment of the impact of the flavonoids on human health is difficult because of the high complexity of the antioxidant system of the body, and the picture is complicated further by the flavonoids also having mechanisms of action which are largely independent of the antioxidant system. Helle Margrete Meltzer, Ph.D., Nordic School of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Univ. of Oslo, P.O. Box 1046, Blindern, N Oslo, Norway. Karl Egil Malterud, Prof.* Dept. of Pharmacognosy, Institute of Pharmacy, The Univ. of Oslo, PO Box 1068, Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition/Naringsforskning Vol41:50-57, cle/download/1753/ Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

67 Heart Attack Deaths Higher in Blacks than in Whites By Genevra Pittman November 7, 2012 Reuters Black men and women are more likely to die of a heart attack or heart failure than whites in the United States, according to a new study. Researchers said those disparities could be explained by black adults' higher rates of smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure, and the finding that they tend to be heavier than whites. The study's lead author said the result is "distressingly similar" to racial differences seen in data from the 1990s, despite public health efforts to address them. "The sad fact is, we really don't see an awful lot of movement in terms of that long-standing disparity. It's pretty much where we were the last time we looked at it," Dr. Monika Safford, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told Reuters Health. Her team's findings are based on close to 25,000 middle-aged and older adults who had blood and urine tests and a general health check in 2003 through At that point, none of them had heart disease. Over the next four-plus years, 659 people in the study developed any kind of heart disease, including heart attacks and heart failure. About one-third of those "events" were fatal. Every year during the study, 4 in 1,000 black men died from heart disease, on average, compared to 1.9 of 1,000 white men, the researchers found. Among women, 2 in 1,000 blacks died of heart disease each year, compared to 1 in 1,000 whites. Safford and her colleagues found the extra deaths in blacks could be explained by their higher heart risks to begin with. For example, close to one in three black men and women had diabetes at the study's onset, versus one in six white participants. "There are no surprises here," Safford said. She said genetics may put black adults at higher risk for uncontrolled high blood pressure. When it comes to high cholesterol, fewer of them are on statins. And blacks may not be accessing quit-smoking programs - or other preventive care - as often as whites. "The question is, did they have problems before (dying of heart disease) that weren't picked up? And maybe it's because they're not getting the same quality healthcare," said Dr. Carl "Chip" Lavie, from the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, who wasn't involved in the new research. "The obvious implications are, we need to do a better job in African Americans of getting their risk factors treated, and probably getting them to recognize symptoms of cardiovascular disease." More ethnic disparities Another report published alongside Safford's found heart-disease differences aren't limited to blacks and whites: among Latinos in the United States, cardiac risks were common but varied widely. Of more than 15,000 Cubans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Central and South Americans living in four U.S. cities, researchers found 80 percent of men and 71 percent of women had at least one "risk factor" for heart disease. Those included diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking and obesity. Heart disease and related risks were more common among people who'd lived in the U.S. for longer, or were second- or third-generation immigrants. Risks also varied by study participants' country of origin. Obesity and smoking, in particular, were most common among Puerto Ricans, Dr. Martha Daviglus from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her colleagues reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association. She said some groups of Latinos, such as Puerto Ricans, appear to have more heart-related problems than white and black Americans, while others, like South Americans, tend to have fewer. "They can't all just be considered one generic population," said Dr. Patrick O'Malley, an internist at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland who didn't participate in the new studies. "What we knew until now was based on a group of Hispanics, mainly Mexican-Americans, and as you can see, risk factors vary among all of the other Hispanic/Latino groups," Daviglus told Reuters Health. That's because people from different countries eat and exercise in different ways, have different degrees of cultural acceptance when it comes to smoking, and adapt to living in the U.S. differently, she said. Addressing disparities Across the board, the average 45-year-old man has a 60 Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

68 Continued from page 67 - percent chance of having a stroke, heart attack or heart disease sometime in his life, according to another analysis of multiple long-term studies. A 45-year-old woman has a 56 percent risk. Even middle-aged adults who are non-smokers, normal weight and have no other heart risks have a more than 30 percent chance of eventually developing heart disease, a team led by Dr. John Wilkins of Northwestern University in Chicago concluded. Safford and Daviglus both emphasized the importance of targeting health and education programs to people in communities that need them, whatever their race or ethnicity. "We need to educate these communities, we need to provide them means to improve their lifestyle," according to Daviglus - such as with free quit-smoking programs and exercise classes. "The good news is that we know what the fixes are - now we just have to buckle down and do them," Safford said. O'Malley told Reuters Health that although doctors should be more aware of higher risks for blacks and some Latinos - and possibly treat those patients more aggressively - issues such as economic and educational disparities will have to be addressed to create significant changes in health trends. heart-attack-deaths-higher-in-blacks-than-in-whites?lite Nutritional Supplements That Lower Your Blood Pressure without Drugs Green coffee bean extract the antioxidant for hypertension Coffee is made by roasting green coffee beans. The extract from the unroasted bean, referred to as green coffee bean extract, contains potent medicinal compounds called chlorogenic acids. Scientific studies have demonstrated that these compounds can reduce high blood pressure. Don t worry about the caffeine: green coffee bean extracts contain only about 10% caffeine by weight, a high daily dose contains no more than about 20% of the caffeine content of a strong cup of coffee Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 How does green coffee bean extract work? Chlorogenic acids are phenolic compounds contained in vegetables and fruits, but very abundant in green coffee bean extract. This extract is believed to reduce hypertension because it reduces oxidative stress and improves nitric oxide (NO) levels. Nitric oxide penetrates the membranes of almost all the cells in your body and helps regulate many cellular functions. In blood vessels, NO is vital because it regulates the tone of the endothelial cells the cells that line the inside of blood vessels and helps dilate blood vessels so that blood flow is unrestricted. If the epithelial cells are impaired, they can cause spasms or constrictions in the blood vessels, which can then lead to hypertension. Free radicals in your blood vessels can also lead to hypertension. This theory arises from scientist s observations in lab research that hypertension can be produced experimentally by various oxidative molecules, such as superoxide (also referred to as ROS, or reactive oxygen species). Superoxide disables nitric oxide by forming peroxynitrite, a potent constrictor of arteries. 2 Consequently, the theory is that antioxidants such as green coffee bean extract may play a role in maintaining healthy blood pressure levels. Scientific studies Several double blind, placebo-controlled studies have demonstrated green coffee bean extract s antihypertensive benefits. In a Japanese study 117 men with mild hypertension took green coffee bean extracts at three different potencies for one month. After 28 days, the results showed a significant improvement in blood pressure as compared to placebo in the groups taking 185 mg as well as the group taking 93 mg of green coffee bean extract. Systolic blood pressure (the top number) in the group taking 93 mg of green coffee bean extract was reduced by about 4.7 points, and in the group taking 185 mg it was reduced by about 5.6 points. Diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) was reduced by about 3.2 in the group taking 93 mg, and by about 3.9 in the group taking 185 mg. There were no adverse effects from taking the extract, and the researchers concluded that daily use of green coffee bean extract has blood pressure-lowering effect in patients with mild hypertension. 3 In another similar Japanese study subjects with mild hypertension received 140 mg of green coffee bean extract each day. Blood pressure, pulse rate, body mass index, routine blood test, hematochemistry, urinalysis Continued on page 83

69 African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic Volume 7, Issue 12 NEWSLETTER November/December 2012 FEATURED ARTICLES Towards An Africology of Knowledge Production and African Regeneration - Excerpt By Dani Wadada Nabudere RIP Marcus Garvey Pan African Institute/University The Cradle and the World. Dr. Louis Leakey s archaeological discoveries in East Africa dispelled any doubts about the Cradle of Humanity being located in the Great Rift Valleys of East Africa. It is here that humanity originates fully as sapiens sapiens, despite attempts to assert the contrary by scientists who are ideologically driven by race theories [Diop, 1981: 25-68]. Even before Leakey made the historic discoveries, the Greeks had long recognised the originality of the people in the Nile Valley. Writing in the first century BC, Diodorus of Sicily had observed that the Nubian or Ethiopian people whom he visited seemed to be the first to emerge from the bowels of the earth and begin to live. He also observed that most of the practices adopted by the Egyptians were of Nubian or Ethiopian origin and, especially, the college of priests, which were almost in all respects identical in the two nations [Quoted in Obenga, 1995: 73-4]. An outstanding British historian on Africa, Roland Oliver, with this in mind stated what most scholars have increasingly come to accept: It seems that we all belong, ultimately, to Africa. Almost certainly, the Garden of Eden, in which our ancestors grew gradually apart from their near relatives in the animal kingdom, lay in the highland interior of East Africa, where equatorial forest belt is broken by mountains and high savannah parklands running south from Ethiopia to the Cape. At the heart of this region lies the Great Rift Valley, its floor strewn with spectacular lakes, its sides rising steeply to the high plateaux surmounted by the blue cones of a thousand volcanic peaks [Oliver, 1991: 1]. Roland Oliver adds that the recent findings of molecular biology had revealed that the planet was not merely first colonised from Africa: it was also largely recolonised by the first fully sapient men spreading out, again from Africa, to the rest of the world, within the last 25,000 years. He observes that if this new knowledge were to spread and pondered over by the next generation of scientists across the whole spectrum of intellectual disciplines, the outside world will learn to think of Africa with more respect and that Africans themselves will face their fellows with a new confidence [Ibid: 252]. Oliver concludes that should this hypothesis become established, then a major revision of the existing literature of prehistory would become necessary, but the resulting modifications of generally received opinion should be less far-reaching than for the other continents [Ibid: 26]. But this respect and confidence as well as the major revisions of literature on the prehistory of humankind (but also of the history of the world) will not come on their own. This effort will require a new crop of African scholars themselves not just to be proud of the fact that the Cradle of Humankind was located in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, but also to follow this up by demonstrating themselves as Cheick Anta Diop and those who have followed him have done: that the civilisational achievements of Egypt were achievements of those of the African people and that those achievements were later to become archetypes that streamed from the Cradle to the rest of humankind in the rest of the world. Such new discoveries will reveal that the achievements of early humankind in the Cradle were in fact to become the common heritage of the whole world, showing their universal character. But what is it that we are talking about here? We are talking about the need for a mental/psychological revolution involving the understanding of ourselves historically and in the present. The records are there for us to interpret and apply to our situation. The restatement of the fact that Africa was the Cradle of Humankind will not of itself mean much unless we can Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

70 Continued from page 69 Towards an Africology of Knowledge Production and African Regeneration demonstrate that it was from here that the original ideas that formed human knowledge and wisdom were created and to highlight those ideas that were crucial to human existence, but which have been used for purposes of greed and self-glorification in the modern world. More importantly, research in this area should lead to the creation of a new philosophy that can reconcile man with himself [Diop, 1981: 361]. Carl Gustav Jung, referred to above, was convinced of the originality of humanity in African when in 1925 he made his first trip to Africa starting with East Africa, in the course of his studies. For him, the only way to understand humanity was to see it from its originality face to face with men of the other epoch and who seemed to have put their imprint on Egypt. He was not impressed by the so-called Asiatic elements in the Egyptian civilisation nor the attempt to look at Egypt from the West, from the direction of Europe and Greece but from the south [Rice, 1990: 254-6]. Among the archetypes that Jung saw streaming out of Egypt to the rest of humanity were the divine kingship, the Great Individual, the festival of renewal, the Gods, the Divine Animals, the symbolism in early Egypt, the symbolism of the Tomb, the evolution of the burial customs, the Temple, the ancient Egyptian psyche and experiences of the species, the pyramids and the texts in the Temples as psychoanalytical primers. Jung noted that the most important achievement of the Egyptian-Africans was the knowledge they were able to assemble as they moved from the unconscious to the conscious. This is description of the emergence of Homo sapiens sapiens as they moved from the Cradle of East Africa northwards, eastwards and westwards. This description is about how the universe was formed as humankind became conscious and aware of self and how humankind begun to engage in different kinds of activities that made them human. In this way, the first Africans built up their first civilisation in the Nile Valley and established the first political society that lasted several millennia. Some of these achievements, which were later challenged by the invading forces were restated in the first African renaissance recorded in the Memphite Theology by the Pharaoh Shabaka of the Cushite (Nubian and Ethiopian) dynasties who tried to recapture Egypt s old glory and reassert it. This was done in 716 BC in a document also called the Memphite Manifesto. In the Manifesto Shabaka, made an attempt to discover and reinvent the past glory and preserve it. He tried to remodel Egypt from the past after disruptions of several centuries by outsiders. The subject of the text was Memphis, its mythic and political significance as the location where the creation emerged from the primal waters and the seminal locus of pharaoh kingship [Assmann, 1996: 346]. The creator-god, Atum is referred to in the Manifesto as the Universe and is depicted in the text as unfolding in the world and at the same time creating it. In this way, the Egyptian cosmologies depicted in a combined way both an account of the birth of the world with a report on the emergence of consciousness and the idea political rule. The elevation of Memphis to the royal capital of a reunified Egypt was, according to Assmann, a feat of cultural renewal, which provided the impetus for the ensuing renaissance. The Memphite text also gives an account of how knowledge was created from the word and language. Assmann calls this an anthropological discourse which begins with how Atum created knowledge through the seed and hands of Amun and how subgods emerged in pairs referred to in the text. These creations are also referred to as the teeth and lips, which are said to have formed the frame for the tongue that in turn created everything by naming them: That the eye sees, the ear hear, and the nose breathes air is in order to make a report to the heart. This it is that makes all knowledge originates. The tongue, it is that repeats what is thought by the heart. Assmann observes that the process of creation is here conceived in bodily terms, Phallus and hand the traditional physical symbols of creativity - are represented as teeth and lips. The genuine creative organs are heart and tongue. He adds that since the Egyptians made no distinction between body and mind/spirit, knowledge and language, originate in the heart on the basis of the perceptions reported to it by the eyes and the ears: The knowledge formed in the heart is communicated by the tongue, but the ear also hears, which creates a basis for communication in language-the basis of knowledge creation [Ibid: 352]. The text then relates how all the gods were born, how divine speech recorded in the hieroglyphs originated from which it was thought out by the heart and commanded by the tongue. With this all trades and all arts were carried out with the action of the arms and the Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

71 Continued from page 70 Towards an Africology of Knowledge Production and African Regeneration walking of the legs, the movement of all limbs in accordance with the instructions of those words that were thought up by the heart and uttered by the tongue and thereby providing all things. Assmann points out that this is the most elaborate Egyptian account of creation by the Word, which differs from the biblical account in two ways. The first is the role of the heart that is the planned conception of creation- an idea absent from the Bible. The second is the role of script, the hieroglyphs mentioned on two occasions in the text. He adds that these two points are closely related: For what the heart thinks up are not the names of things but their concepts and their forms. Hieroglyphic script is a rendering of the forms and relates to the concepts thought up by the heart and given outward and visible form by hieroglyphic script [Ibid: 353]. We shall see below how true this understanding the process of language is to the African oral literature and how this can help us to clear the confusion that Plato and Aristotle brought to the concept logos or the word. God Ptah is depicted in the text as the artist and craftsman, who endow things their design, their immutable forms and which are depicted by the written signs. Here is introduced another god-thoth-who now becomes the god of the tongue, but also of the god of hieroglyphic script. According to the text, Thoth is able to transform the thoughts of the heart into spoken and written language. In this, creation is at the same time an act of the articulation-conceptually, iconically, phonetically of the world. The written signs originate at the same time as the things they stand for and the names they bear. The totality of all creation is encompassed in the term all things and all hieroglyphs. The hieroglyphs are the Forms of the things that constitute the totality of the real world. Thus Thoth, the god of the script, does not have to invent words like Plato tried to do in imitation of the Egyptian philosophy, but to find what is in the structure of things. He records all the things that exist: what Ptah created [Ibid: 354]. According to Gadamer, Plato separates the name from the thing in order to create the Idea for the thing to be understood on its own. This is because the word was understood primarily as a name. We see that this was also the case with the Egyptians, except that for them the word and the name stood for real entities expressed in form. For the Greeks, on the other hand, the name did not represent a true being. This belief in the word (logos) and doubt about it, constituted the problem that the -71- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 Greek Enlightenment saw as the relationship between the word and thing. Thereby the word changed from presenting the thing to substituting for it. The name that is given and can be altered raised doubt about the truth of the word. This is how dialectics was also brought in from the Egyptians by Plato to deal with the problem they had created for themselves in denying that the word/name was capable of producing truth. Thought in this case became dependent on itself and the ideas it produces were equally independent. Hence it is not the word that opened the way to truth, but the ideas that could be created and dialectically related in form. Thus, unlike the Egyptians, for the Greeks, the word (logos) is a stream that flows from thought and sounds through the mouth. Language is peripheral to the process and that is why at a later stage, the word is represented by a sign to which meaning is attributed. Gadamer observes: It must be admitted that every development of scientific terminology, however, confined its use may be, constitutes a phase of this process. For what is a technical term? A world whose meaning is univocally defined, inasmuch as it signifies a defined concept. A technical term is always somewhat artificial insofar as either the word itself is artificially formed or as is more frequent-a word already in use has the variety and breadth of its meanings excised and assigned only one particular conceptual meaning, in contrast to the living meaning of the words in spoken language [Gadamer, 1989: ]. For the Egyptians, the sign represented by hieroglyphs are, as we saw above, merely forms of the things that constitute the totality of the real world. The hieroglyphs represented the real world. Thus we can see that we are coming to the point where we must see that the restoration of the original philosophical and cosmological framework, which the Egyptian-Africans attached to the world and its power of creation of the Universe. The word and its resulting in language, and its attribution to god Thoth as the recorder of the knowledge created through them becomes essential for comprehending the world of the African linguistic world. Here language emerges as the living reality that is created by the beingness of Africans with meaning that springs from their culturally and historically constructed out of their ontological being. What we have to do is to construct a science of Africology, which can help us recover this originality of the African Universe and thought.

72 What your Heart and Brain are doing When You're in Love By Elizabeth Landau February 12, 2010 Poets, novelists and songwriters have described it in countless turns of phrase, but at the level of biology, love is all about chemicals. Although the physiology of romantic love has not been extensively studied, scientists can trace the symptoms of deep attraction to their logical sources. "Part of the whole attraction process is strongly linked to physiological arousal as a whole," said Timothy Loving (his real name), assistant professor of human ecology at the University of Texas, Austin. "Typically, that's going to start with things like increased heart rate, sweatiness and so on," When you catch sight of your beloved and your heart starts racing, that's because of an adrenaline rush, said Dr. Reginald Ho, a cardiac electrophysiologist and associate professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here's how it works: The brain sends signals to the adrenal gland, which secretes hormones such as adrenaline, epinephrine and norepinephrine. They flow through the blood and cause the heart to beat faster and stronger, Ho said. The response is somewhat similar to a fast heartbeat while running on a treadmill, although exercise has other benefits, he said. For people with serious heart problems, love could actually be dangerous, Ho said. That's because when the heart rate goes up, the heart uses more oxygen, which can be risky for an older person with blood vessel blockages or who has had a prior heart attack. But good medicines such as beta blockers help curb the adrenaline response, Ho said. It is also likely that norepinephrine, a stress hormone that governs attention and responding actions, makes you feel weak in the knees, said Helen Fisher, professor at Rutgers University and author of the book "Why Him? Why Her? Finding Real Love by Understanding Your Personality Type." Fisher's research team did brain imaging of people who said they were "madly in love" and found activity in the area of the brain that produces the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine and norepinephrine are closely related. "What dopamine does is it gives you that focused attention, the craving, the euphoria, the energy and the motivation, in this case the motivation to win life's greatest prize," she said. This norepinephrine response has never been precisely studied in relation to romantic love, but the system seems to be more activated in people in love, she said. 12/health/love.heart.brain_1_heart-rate-stress-hormone- Scientist Predicts Eugenic Society in 5 Years: Gene Tests to Determine Lover's Compatibility It seems we may be heading into a new era of eugenics, and in the future, instead of choosing to settle with partners we love, we may be choosing them based on the compatibility of our genes, a leading scientist has warned. By Christine Hsu July 13, 2012 It seems we may be heading into a new era of eugenics, and in the future, instead of choosing to settle with partners we love, we may be choosing them based on the compatibility of our genes, a leading scientist has warned. Professor Armand Leroi, of Imperial College London, predicts that the ever declining cost of DNA testing means that we may be heading toward a society that is based on genetic superiority. Leroi told the Euroscience Open Forum 2012, in Dublin, that he expects that in five to 10 years, it will become standard practice for young people to pay to access their entire genetic code, according to The Telegraph. Naturally, the future generation's desire to have a healthy baby will then lead them to request access to view the genetic blueprint of any prospective long-term partner. He told researchers attending the major science conference in Dublin that with the information, future couples could then use IVF to weed out offspring with incurable disease. However, he added that it is unlikely that people will Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

73 Continued from page 72 Scientist Predicts Eugenic Society in 5 Years have the "luxury" of using the technology to design babies by intellect or eye color, but will instead focus on stopping genetic diseases. Speaking in a session titled I human: are new scientific discoveries challenging our identity as a species, Leroi said the cost of genetic sequencing has been falling so quickly that it is going to become very, very accessible, very, very soon. As an example, he said that the cost of genetically sequencing a person has fallen from $1 billion more than a decade ago to about $4,000. He noted that in some ways eugenics are already here, with tens of thousands of babies with Down s syndrome and other illnesses being aborted every year. "These processes are very well established in most European countries," he told the conference on Thursday. "Many of the ethical problems that people raise when they speak of neoeugenics are nought once you offer gene selection or mate selection as a eugenic tool. We are actually beginning to identify the genes that make a human. "The search for an essence is a 2,000-year-old myth. What we are left with is a sense of capacity and the role of genes in the way they give us these things," he added. I am certain genome sequencing will be available on the NHS (UK health service) within our lifetimes. It is going to be very, very accessible very, very soon. Danish neurobiologist Lone Frank predicts that some countries will embrace the idea. "Some cultures will say, 'Let s get a lot of genomes out on the table and see who s got the best one'," she said, according to the Daily Mail. However, she added that others will see it as an attempt to play God. Philippa Taylor, of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said that society must "recognize and resist the eugenic mind set," the Daily Mail reported. "Our society s increasing obsession with celebrity status, physical perfection and high intelligence fuels the view that the lives of people with disabilities or genetic diseases are somehow less worth living," Taylor said to the UK-based paper. "We must recognize and resist the eugenic mind set. Our priorities should be to develop treatments and supportive measures for those with genetic disease; not to search them out and destroy them before birth," she added Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 Could your friends be making you sick? Toxic relationships are linked to cancer, depression and heart disease By Daisy Dumas 28 January 2012 It may be wise to keep your friends close and your enemies not quite so close, after all. Relationships may be as vital to good health as a balanced diet and plenty of rest, new research suggests. Scientists at UCLA's school of medicine have found that negative social interactions can lead to increased inflammation, which may in turn cause a host of illnesses from cancer to heart disease and high blood pressure. Call these friends? The stress caused by negative relationships can lead to inflammatory diseases, say scientists Published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, the study gives solid grounding to the anecdotal evidence that being upbeat and positive - and surrounding one's self with people with that do not represent competitive or toxic relationships - may be one way to avoid getting sick. Taking a group of 122 healthy young people, the California-based scientists monitored stressful events and compared them to the body's production of two inflammation-causing proteins. Relying on the age-old method of capturing emotions - the diary - scientists recorded the group's competitive and frictional moments and compared them with the chemicals found in swabs from the inner cheek. Continued on page 74

74 Continued from page 73- Could your friends be making you sick? Those who had a negative few days preceding the swab had a higher proportion of the proteins responsible for conditions including high blood pressure, risk of heart disease, cancer and depression, according to Science News. A similar peak in the pro-inflammatory proteins also occurred after participants were subjected to a stressinducing numbers quiz and then asked to give a public speech. The results - which may bring a whole new light to many a bad relationship - are thought to be grounded in evolutionary survival mechanisms. While the modern link between stress and illness is welldocumented, psychologist Nicholas Rohleder from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, told Science News that inflammation fends off infections that may once have been the result of fight or flight encounters. Without the dangers humans once faced when it came to getting through each and every day, stress may lead to unchecked chronic inflammation, he said. Hair Gives a Heads-Up on Heart Attack Risk By Stephanie Pappas 02 September 2010 Stress may make you want to pull out your hair, but those tresses could be the key to measuring just how much stress you're under, according to a new study. The study found that the stress hormone cortisol can be measured in hair, providing the first long-term record of chronic stress that doesn't rely on a person's memories. High levels of cortisol in hair were associated with heart attacks, the researchers reported online today in the journal Stress. [Stress and 9 other Destructive Human Behaviors] The findings could provide a new way to research chronic stress, according to the researchers. If the results can be replicated, the test may eventually be used in the doctor's office to identify people at high risk for cardiovascular disease. A record of stress The hair on your head is dead, but its follicle, or root, is alive. Substances like cortisol, which get released into the bloodstream when you're stressed, can seep into the follicle from the tiny blood vessels in the skin of the scalp. As the hair grows, traces of cortisol get trapped in the shaft, providing a way for researchers to measure the hormone over time. Because hair grows about 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) per month, most people have many months' worth of records of cortisol levels sitting on top of their heads. Previous measures of cortisol in blood or urine could record only a few hours' or days' worth of the hormone. "[Hair] tells me what happened to you in the last 10 months," study researcher Gideon Koren, a professor of pediatric medicine and toxicology at the University of Western Ontario, told LiveScience. "I can even see how things change monthly." Koren had previously used hair samples to measure drug toxicity in infants whose mothers used cocaine and heroin while pregnant. He learned that other colleagues were using similar methods to detect steroids in the systems of bodybuilders. If hair could accurately measure body-boosting steroids, he realized, it might also hold a record of other hormones, like cortisol. Previous research had found that the cortisol persists in the hair for at least six months, and in the case of several Peruvian mummies, up to 1,500 years. Hair and heart attacks To test the idea, Koren and his colleagues took hair samples from 120 men who checked into the cardiac unit of the Meir Medical Center in Israel. Half of the men were diagnosed with heart attacks, while the other half had other diagnoses like chest pain and infection. Only men were studied because heart attacks are more common in men, and because hormonal differences between men and women could skew the results. The researchers analyzed the cortisol levels in the 1.2 inches (3 cm) of hair closest to the scalp, representing about the last three months of the patients' lives. They found that cortisol levels were significantly higher in men who had heart attacks compared with men who had other illnesses. When the researchers split the men into quartiles based on their cortisol levels, they found that of the men with the lowest levels, 32 percent had heart attacks. In the men in the uppermost quartile of cortisol, that number jumped to 68 percent. The results held even after controlling for other heartattack risk factors like cholesterol levels and body mass index (a measure of body fatness). Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

75 Continued from page 74 Hair Gives a Heads-Up on Heart Attack Risk "It's not the only one, of course, but cortisol is an important determinant of acute myocardial infarction," Koren said, using the technical term for heart attack. Testing the test The results will need to be replicated with larger numbers of patients before hair-cortisol testing goes mainstream, Koren warned. Other research has shown that cortisol levels in the hair do match cortisol levels in the blood, but Koren and his colleagues aren't yet sure if their results will apply to women. They also didn't test whether hair cortisol levels matched people's subjective feelings of stress. If the test works, however, it could be a noninvasive way to measure stress over time. That's important, Koren said, because people's long-term memories of stress aren't always reliable. "It could be another tool for us, if it's possible to do and not expensive," said Alicja Fishell, a psychiatrist at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. Fishell, who has collaborated with Koren before but was not involved in the current study, said the findings could one day prove useful to research in her area, reproductive health, because the effect of chronic stress on pregnant women and fetuses is not well-understood. "We need to have a good study that really correlates" the relationship between stress and later psychiatric problems in women at different reproductive stages of life, Fishell said. Lab uses Skin Cells to help Repair Heart Muscle By Andrei Mihai May 23, 2012 Another breakthrough in biology and medicine was reported, as scientists were able, for the first time, to take skin cells from patients who had suffered heart failure and make them repair the cardiac muscle. The technique had been tested only on rats and it seemed decades could pass until it would become suitable for humans, but in lack of anything better, doctors applied it, and it worked out remarkably fine, marking the beginning of a new era in the quest for replacement cells to treat tissue affected by disease, Israeli researchers declared. The research relies on a technique called human-induced pluripotent stem cells, or hipscs, a recently-discovered source which can be a good replacement for the much more controversial stem cells technique. Basically what you do is take cells from the patient and inject new genes into their nucleus, along with a chemical cocktail. Basically, these new elements reprogram the cells to their youthful stage, and teach them to do other things as well. The major advantage here is that if the body sees its own cells, it will recognize them as friendly cells and the immune system will not attack. The bad thing is that so far, studies have only shown hipscs from younger (under 60 years) and healthy people who are able to adapt to this new situation and transform their cells. So far, this doesn t seem to work out for elderly and diseased patients. But scientists are confident in this technique, and believe it can be used in many more exciting cases. What is new and exciting about our research is that we have shown that it s possible to take skin cells from an elderly patient with advanced heart failure and end up with his own beating cells in a laboratory dish that are healthy and young, said Lior Gepstein, a professor of cardiology at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. Basically, it is the equivalent to the stage of his heart cells when he was just born. Heartbeat, not Battery, could One Day Power Pacemakers By Deena Beasley November 5, 2012 Reuters LOS ANGELES - Your own beating heart may generate enough electricity to power a heart-regulating pacemaker, ending the need for expensive surgeries to replace expiring batteries, according to an early study of an experimental energy-converting device. Researchers at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor tested an energy-harvesting device that runs on piezoelectricity - the electrical charge generated from motion, according to the study which was released at the annual American Heart Association scientific conference on Sunday. The approach is a promising technological solution for Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

76 Continued from page 75 Heartbeat, not Battery, could One Day Power Pacemakers pacemakers, because they require only small amounts of power to operate, said M. Amin Karami, the study's lead author and a research fellow at the university. The implanted devices, which send electrical impulses into the heart to help maintain a normal heartbeat, have to be replaced every five to seven years when their batteries run out. Researchers measured heartbeat-induced vibrations in the chest. They then used a "shaker" to reproduce the vibrations in the laboratory and connected it to a prototype cardiac energy harvester they developed. Measurements of the prototype's performance, based on a wide range of simulated heartbeats, showed the energy harvester generated more than 10 times the power required by modern pacemakers. The device is about half the size of batteries now used in pacemakers and includes a self-powering back-up capacitor, Karami said. Researchers hope to integrate their technology into commercial pacemakers. "What we have proven is that under optimal conditions, this concept is working," Karami said, adding that the next step is to integrate the device into a pacemaker. The researcher, who presented the study here at a scientific meeting of the American Heart Association, said the technology might one day also power other implantable cardiac devices, such as defibrillators. The study was funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. About 700,000 people worldwide who have heart rhythm disturbances get a pacemaker or defibrillator each year. In the United States, pacemakers sell for about $5,000, which does not include the cost of surgery, a hospital stay and additional care. heartbeat-not-battery-could-one-day-power-pacemakers?lite High Intake of Cholesterol shown to actually Repair Damaged Brains June By Ethan A. Huff (NaturalNews) Including high-cholesterol foods as part of a healthy diet may not be the poor dietary choice we -76- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 have all been told it is, suggests a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine. It turns out that cholesterol actually helps increase production of an important component of the nervous system that facilitates proper nerve cell communication, and prevents the onset of brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. The study focused specifically on patients with a condition known as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), in which nerve cells are unable to properly manufacture protective myelin sheaths. It is these myelin sheaths, which are composed of lipid fats and proteins, that allow nerves to communicate and send appropriate electrical signals that trigger movement and cognition, and that protect nerves from damage. Cholesterol, which is commonly dismissed as harmful and something that people should avoid, actually contributes to producing and maintaining myelin sheaths. Without it, as evidenced by the recent studies, individuals with PMD -- and potentially all individuals -- are at a higher risk of developing cognitive illness and brain degradation. And particularly those with PMD, low-cholesterol diets are almost sure to leave them exceptionally prone to nerve damage. "This six-week-long cholesterol treatment delayed the decline in motor coordination," wrote the scientists in their report. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine in Germany fed a group of mice with PMD a high-cholesterol diet for six weeks, as well as another group of PMD mice a lowcholesterol diet. Those on the high-cholesterol diet stopped experiencing cognitive decline, while the lowcholesterol mice continued to get worse. Cholesterol appears to be beneficial for everyone Though the researchers attributed their findings about cholesterol specifically and solely to those with PMD, the implications for all individuals are striking, as the study further reinforces the idea that cholesterol is a necessary component of proper brain and nervous system function in everyone. This unconventional concept has been confirmed in several earlier studies, including a comprehensive study published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. ( "Cholesterol acts to interlock 'lipid molecules,' which stabilize cell membranes," writes Shane Ellison, M.S., in his book Health Myths Exposed. "[C]holesterol is a vital building block for all bodily tissues. Lowering such a vital molecule is absurdity. To illustrate, imagine that your house represents your body and the Continued on page 77

77 Continued from page 68 High Intake of Cholesterol shown to Actually Repair Damaged Brains nails holding it together cholesterol. Now start pulling each and every nail out of the house. What happens? The house turns to a pile of rubble. The same is true for the human body." Cholesterol-lowering statins are responsible for destroying health, causing Alzheimer's What this all means for statin drugs, which mainstream medicine has ridiculously dubbed 'miracle drugs,' is that their cholesterol inhibiting properties can cause serious health problems down the road. By interfering with the liver's natural function of producing cholesterol, statin drugs can actually strip the body of much-needed cholesterol, and cause serious nervous system and cognitive damage. The key to promoting healthy cholesterol levels in the body is not to take synthetic drugs, but rather to achieve vibrant health through proper diet and exercise, which includes a diet rich in healthy saturated fats and, yes, even cholesterol. "Saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet are not the cause of coronary heart disease," says Dr. George V. Mann, M.D., professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. "That myth is the greatest scientific deception of this century, perhaps of any century." ir_alzheimers.html Continued from page 3 The Shabaka Texts ////// [They heeded in time] and brought him to [land. He entered the hidden portals in the glory of the lords of eternity]. //////. [Thus Osiris came into] the earth at the royal fortress, to the north of [the land to which he had come. And his son Horus arose as king of Upper Egypt, arose as king of Lower Egypt, in the embrace of his father Osiris and of the gods in front of him and behind him.] There was built the royal fortress [at the command of Geb ///]. Geb speaks to Thoth: ////// Geb speaks to Thoth: //////. //////. [Geb] speaks to Isis: ////// Isis causes Horus and Seth to come. Isis speaks to Horus and Seth: "[Come] /////////." Isis speaks to Horus and Seth: "Make peace //////." Isis speaks to Horus and Seth: "Life will be pleasant for you when //////." Isis speaks to Horus and Seth: "It is he who dries your tears //////." //////. //////. The Gods who came into being in Ptah: Ptah-on-the-great-throne //////. Ptah-Nun, the father who [made] Atum. Ptah-Naunet, the mother who bore Atum. Ptah-the-Great is heart and tongue of the Nine [Gods]. [Ptah] ///////// who bore the gods. [Ptah] ///////// who bore the gods. [Ptah] /////////. There took shape in the heart, there took shape on the tongue the form of Atum. For the very great one is Ptah, who gave [life] to all the gods and their kas through this heart and through this tongue, in which Horus had taken shape as Ptah, in which Thoth had taken shape as Ptah. Thus heart and tongue rule over all the limbs in accordance with the teaching that it (the heart, or: he, Ptah) is in every body and it (the tongue, or: he Ptah) is in every mouth of all gods, all men, all cattle, all creeping things, whatever lives, thinking whatever it (or:he) wishes and commanding whatever it (or:he) wishes. His (Ptah's) Ennead is before him as teeth and lips. They are the semen and the hands of Atum (Atem fertilized himself by masturbation). For the Ennead of Atum came into being through his semen and his fingers. But the Ennead is the teeth and the lips in this mouth which pronounced the name of everything, from which Shu and Tefnut came forth, and which gave birth to the Ennead. Sight, hearing, breathing - they report to the heart, and it makes every understanding come forth. As to the tongue, it repeats what the heart has devised. Thus all the gods were born and his Ennead was completed. For every word of the god came about through what the heart devised and the tongue commanded. Thus all the faculties were made and all the qualities determined, they that make all foods and all provisions, through this word, to him who does what is loved, to him who does what is hated. Thus life is given to the peaceful and death is given to the criminal. Thus all labor, all crafts are made, the action of the hands, the motion of the legs, the movements of all the limbs, according to this command which is devised by the heart and comes forth on the tongue and creates the performance of every thing. Thus it is said of Ptah: "He who made all and created the gods." Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

78 Continued from page 77 The Shabaka Texts And he is Ta-tenen, who gave birth to the gods, and from whom everything came forth, foods, provisions, divine offerings, all good things. Thus is recognized and understood that he is the mightiest of the gods. Thus Ptah was satisfied after he had made all things and all divine words. He gave birth to the gods, He made the towns, He established the nomes, He placed the gods in their shrines, He settled their offerings, He established their shrines, He made their bodies according to their wishes. Thus the gods entered into their bodies, Of every wood, every stone, every clay, Every thing that grows upon him In which they came to be. Thus were gathered to him all the gods and their kas, Content, united with the Lord of the Two Lands. The Great Throne that gives joy to the heart of the gods in the House of Ptah is the granary of Ta-tenen, the mistress of all life, through which the sustenance of the Two Lands is provided, owing to the fact that Osiris was drowned in his water. Isis and Nephthys looked out, beheld him, and attended to him. Horus quickly commanded Isis and Nephthys to grasp Osiris and prevent his drowning (i.e., submerging). They heeded in time and brought him to land. He entered the hidden portals in the glory of the lords of eternity, in the steps of him who rises in the horizon, on the ways of Re the Great Throne. He entered the palace and joined the gods of Ta-tenen Ptah, lord of years. Thus Osiris came into the earth at the Royal Fortress, to the north of the land to which he had come. His son Horus arose as king of Upper Egypt, arose as king of Lower Egypt, in the embrace of his father Osiris and of the gods in front of him and behind him. M. Lichtheim: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol.1, pp The Shabaka Stone The Shabaka Stone is a artifact from the Nubian Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, around 700 BC, incised with an important Egyptian religious text, the Memphite Theology. It is a stone slab measuring 66 cm in height and 137 cm in width. The text claims to contain the surviving content of a worm-ridden, decaying -78- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 papyrus that was found as pharaoh Shabaka was inspecting the temple of Ptah in Memphis, Egypt. Shabaka was a king of the expansionist Nubian dynasty, whose capital was in the Sudan. Shabaka, concerned about the loss of the information on the papyrus, had the rest of the text written into this stone. However, in later years, the stone was used as a millstone and so some of the hieroglyphics were damaged. Nevertheless, it has been a fruitful source of insight into the culture and religious doctrines of the ancient Egyptians. The Shabaka Stone is also noteworthy in that it places Ptah as the center of existence and as the creator god. It is the principal surviving source of these traditions about Ptah. Garlic What is it? Garlic is an herb. It is best known as a flavoring for food. But over the years, garlic has been used as a medicine to prevent or treat a wide range of diseases and conditions. The fresh clove or supplements made from the clove are used for medicine. Garlic is used for many conditions related to the heart and blood system. These conditions include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, heart attack, and hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Some of these uses are supported by science. Garlic actually may be effective in slowing the development of atherosclerosis and seems to be able to modestly reduce blood pressure. Some people use garlic to prevent colon cancer, rectal cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer. It is also used to treat prostate cancer and bladder cancer. Garlic has been tried for treating an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia; BPH), diabetes, osteoarthritis, hayfever (allergic rhinitis), travelers Continued on page 79

79 Continued from page 78 Garlic diarrhea, high blood pressure late in pregnancy (preeclampsia), cold and flu. It is also used for building the immune system, preventing tick bites, and preventing and treating bacterial and fungal infections. Other uses include treatment of fever, coughs, headache, stomach ache, sinus congestion, gout, rheumatism, hemorrhoids, asthma, bronchitis, shortness of breath, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, high blood sugar, and snakebites. It is also used for fighting stress and fatigue, and maintaining healthy liver function. Some people apply garlic oil to their skin to treat fungal infections, warts, and corns. There is some evidence supporting the topical use of garlic for fungal infections like ringworm, jock itch, and athlete s foot; but the effectiveness of garlic against warts and corns is still uncertain. There is a lot of variation among garlic products sold for medicinal purposes. The amount of allicin, the active ingredient and the source of garlic s distinctive odor, depends on the method of preparation. Allicin is unstable, and changes into a different chemical rather quickly. Some manufacturers take advantage of this by aging garlic to make it odorless. Unfortunately, this also reduces the amount of allicin and compromises the effectiveness of the product. Some odorless garlic preparations and products may contain very little, if any, allicin. Methods that involve crushing the fresh clove release more allicin. Some products have a coating (enteric coating) to protect them against attack by stomach acids. While garlic is a common flavoring in food, some scientists have suggested that it might have a role as a food additive to prevent food poisoning. There is some evidence that fresh garlic, but not aged garlic, can kill certain bacteria such as E. coli, antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enteritidis in the laboratory. Historical Perspective on the Use of Garlic - Excerpts By Richard S. Rivlin Abstract The objective of this review is to examine briefly the medical uses of garlic throughout the ages and the role that it was considered to play in prevention and treatment of disease. Interest in the potential benefits of garlic has origins in antiquity and is one of the earliest documented -79- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 examples of plants employed for treatment of disease and maintenance of health. Garlic was in use at the beginning of recorded history and was found in Egyptian pyramids and ancient Greek temples. There are Biblical references to garlic. Ancient medical texts from Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India each prescribed medical applications for garlic. In many cultures, garlic was administered to provide strength and increase work capacity for laborers. Hippocrates, the revered physician, prescribed garlic for a variety of conditions. Garlic was given to the original Olympic athletes in Greece, as perhaps one of the earliest performance enhancing agents. It is of interest that cultures that developed without contact with one another came to similar conclusions about the efficacy of garlic. Modern science is tending to confirm many of the beliefs of ancient cultures regarding garlic, defining mechanisms of action and exploring garlic s potential for disease prevention and treatment. Interest in the potential benefits of garlic has origins in antiquity and is one of the earliest documented example of plants used for maintenance of health and treatment of disease. In this review, we consider briefly the highlights of garlic usage throughout the ages. It is fascinating to observe how ancient cultures developing in isolation from one another came to many of the same conclusions about garlic s action and efficacy. Ancient Egypt. The earliest known references indicate that garlic formed part of the daily diet of many Egyptians. It was fed particularly to the working class involved in heavy labor, as in the building of the pyramids. Indeed, a recurring theme throughout early history is that garlic was given to the laboring classes, presumably to maintain and increase their strength, thereby enabling them to work harder and be more productive. Whether garlic was also consumed with the same diligence by the upper classes is less certain. It is of interest in this connection that when King Tutankhamen s tomb, which dates from 1500 BC, was excavated in 1922, cloves of garlic were clearly identified (Green and Polydoris 1993, Kahn 1996). What purpose did the garlic serve in the tomb? Did it have religious significance? Was it a reminder of daily life of Egypt, or was it left by a careless workman during a lunch break? We do not know the answers to these questions, but the presence of garlic in the tomb is strong evidence that the vegetable was in use at the time. The authoritative medical text of the era was the Codex Ebers, which consisted of a number of volumes. Several Continued on page 80

80 Continued from page 79 Historical Perspective on the Use of Garlic of the treatments authorized the use of garlic. The Codex Ebers is one of the earliest sources indicating prescription of garlic for the treatment of abnormal growths. It is probable that these growths represented malignancies of one kind or another. Abscesses would also have fit into this category. The Codex also prescribed garlic for circulatory ailments, general malaise and infestations with insects and parasites. Biblical. According to the Bible, the Jewish slaves in Egypt were fed garlic and other allium vegetables, apparently to give them strength and increase their productivity, as it was believed to do for the indigenous Egyptian citizens. The Jewish people must have developed some fondness for garlic, because when they left from Egypt with Moses, it is written that they missed the fish, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions and the garlic (Num. 11:5). It is unlikely that garlic had religious significance for the Jews, although this possibility cannot be excluded. The Talmud, a Jewish religious text dating from the 2nd century AD, prescribes patterns of behavior, including the consumption of garlic for the treatment of infection with parasites and other disorders. Although in contemporary life one does not tend to ascribe romantic properties to garlic, its use was recommended by the Talmud to promote relations among married couples, perhaps as an aid to procreation. Ancient Greece. Excavations of ancient Greek temples have unearthed garlic, and the palace of Knossos in Crete, dating to BC, contained well-preserved garlic when it was excavated. As with the Egyptians, garlic was associated with strength and work capacity. Garlic formed an important part of the military diet, particularly when soldiers were off to battle. There is evidence that during the earliest Olympics, which originated in Greece, garlic was fed to the athletes before they competed conceivably functioning as one of the first of the so-called performance enhancing agents used in competitive athletics. If so, one wonders whether there were prescribed doses, clinical trials and limits placed on the amounts consumed. One imagines that there must have been someone in authority supervising the activities of the athletes as they prepared themselves for the sports competition. Hippocrates, widely regarded as the father of Medicine, made garlic a part of his therapeutic armamentarium, advocating its use for pulmonary complaints, as a cleansing or purgative agent, and for abdominal growths, -80- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 particularly uterine. As in the cultures discussed above, garlic appears to have been consumed primarily by the lower classes. It appears not to have been a favorite food item among the ruling classes and its presence in religious temples was not permitted, a proscription also found in certain Asian cultures. Ancient Rome. As in Greece, the Romans perceived garlic as an aid to strength and endurance; it was fed to both soldiers and sailors and was part of a ship s manifest when it set out to sea. With the emergence of Rome as a leading power, Greek medicine and its traditions gradually were transferred to Rome. The leading medical authority was the Greek, Dioscorides, who served as the chief physician for Nero s army. He was the author of a fivevolume treatise that recommended garlic because it cleans the arteries. It should be noted that the circulation of the blood was not discovered until hundreds of years later, and contemporary beliefs held that arteries transported air throughout the body, whereas veins were known to transport blood. Clearly, the concept that cardiovascular status may be improved by garlic, presently a subject of active research, has origins in antiquity. Garlic was also recommended for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, for treatment of animal bites and for alleviation of joint disease and seizures. Medicine in Rome was greatly influenced by the writings of Pliny the Elder, a Greek physician who wrote the five-volume Historica Naturalis. Twentythree uses for garlic were listed for a variety of disorders. Among these was that garlic was believed to confer significant protection against toxins and infections, a finding corroborated by contemporary investigations of the effects of garlic upon activities of P 450-2E1 and other hepatic degradative diseases. Ancient China and Japan. The use of garlic as a food and as a medicinal agent has ancient origins in Asia. The best estimate is that by or before 2000 BC, garlic was in wide use in China and formed part of the daily diet, particularly when consumed together with raw meat (. Records dating from that era suggest that garlic was also used as a food preservative. In ancient Chinese medicine, garlic was prescribed to aid respiration and digestion, most importantly diarrhea and worm infestation.. As a spicy food, its regular consumption was recommended but in limited quantities. Evidence also suggests that garlic was Continued on page 81

81 Continued from page 80 Historic Perspective on the Use of Garlic utilized to treat sadness or depression as well. Chinese medicine has historically been associated with the use of combinations of herbs to form a healing tonic, rather than the administration of single agents. Allium was evidently frequently used in combination therapy. Fatigue, headache and insomnia were often treated with garlic. There are also indications that garlic was used to treat and improve male potency). It is believed that garlic was introduced in Japan later than in China, probably 2000 years ago. Ancient India. Garlic has been associated with the healing process in India from the time of the first available written records. Three ancient medical traditions, i.e., Tibbi, Unani and Auryvedic, made extensive use of garlic as a central part of the healing efficacy of plants. The leading surviving medical text, Charaka-Samhita, recommends garlic for the treatment of heart disease and arthritis 2000 years ago as listed in. A later manuscript, dating to 300 AD, advanced the use of garlic for infections, infestations and worms, weakness and fatigue, and a variety of digestive disturbances. This text, nearly as old as the Charaka- Samhita, is known as the Bower manuscript because, after being found in an ancient tomb, it was purchased by a British Army officer, Hamilton Bower, late in the 19th century, who then made it available to scholars. Garlic was also observed to have a diuretic effect. It is possible that the mobilization of fluid from the extravascular space may have been due to improved cardiovascular function resulting from garlic treatment. It is now well recognized that garlic, appropriately used, will reduce blood pressure, improve elevated serum cholesterol, decrease platelet aggregation (Steiner and Lin 1999) and protect vascular endothelial cells from damage by LDL); all of these effects are of potential cardiac benefit. Some religious sects did not permit the consumption of garlic or onions, rather as the Greeks and Romans proscribed garlic in the temples. Garlic either was not permitted or fancied by the upper Brahmin classes, whereas in other castes, it was applied externally to help repair cuts, bruises and infections, and it comprised one of a number of perceived aphrodisiacs available from natural plant sources. Study finds Heart Chelation Therapy Effective but Raises Questions By Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield, CNN November 5, 2012 (CNN) -- In results that are stunning cardiologists, a new study shows a "fringe" alternative treatment for heart disease was found to be very effective at preventing heart problems -- but the report is so controversial even its lead author is questioning the results. The patients in the study had had heart attacks, and were assigned to receive either a placebo or a series of intravenous drug infusions called chelation therapy, an unorthodox treatment that has long been looked down upon by cardiologists. In the report -- the first large, long-term trial of chelation for heart patients -- the therapy reduced the risk of heart attacks, deaths, strokes and other cardiovascular problems by 18%. "If this were true, it would be significant. It would put this therapy in the same ballpark as high blood pressure drugs, or drugs used to lower cholesterol," said Dr. Steven Nissen, chair of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, who doubts the results of the study. A doctor with the American Heart Association warned that the results "should not be interpreted as an indication to adopt chelation therapy into clinical practice. (The study) raises more questions that must be answered before we're ready to act on the observations reported today," said Dr. Elliott Antman, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Even the lead author of the study tempered his enthusiasm about the results by warning that they might not be valid. "The most exciting part of this study is that there may be an unexpected signal of benefit," Dr. Gervasio Lamas, Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

82 Continued from page 81 Study finds Heart Chelation Therapy Effective but Raises Questions chief of Columbia University Division of Cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida, said in a press release put out by the American Heart Association. "We need to understand whether the signal is true, or whether it occurred by chance." Safety concerns Doctors who practice chelation welcomed the new study results, which were announced at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Los Angeles. These doctors believe chelation can help remove heavy metals from the body. Chelation is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of lead poisoning, but doctors are free to use it for other purposes. "I'll be pushing this data to my patients, and I'll be reaching out to local cardiologists, because chelation should be a part of the regular regimen for heart patients, like taking an aspirin or a statin," said Dr. Kirti Kalidas, who charges his heart patients in Orlando, Florida, around $3,000 for a full round of chelation treatments. This enthusiasm is exactly what frightens many doctors. Chelation is already popular -- more than 100,000 people said they'd used it in the past 12 months, according to a 2007 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- and they fear the new study results will encourage more people to use it. In 2006, the CDC reported that two children and one adult had died after receiving chelation. They all developed dangerously low calcium levels, which can cause the heart to stop beating. In this new study, one patient receiving the therapy died and another had a "severe adverse event." Both events were "possibly or definitely related to study therapy," according to the study author's slide presentation. A patient who received a placebo solution also died, and another had an adverse event. It wasn't clear from the presentation exactly how the patients were harmed, and Lamas, the lead study author, declined to answer questions about the study until the research is published in a medical journal. Some doctors worry patients will hear only the positive results of the study and not the possible dangers, and would opt for it over proven treatments such as bypass surgery. "I'm fearful that patients will hear the sales pitch for this treatment and, not being well-versed in medicine, will succumb to the seduction of this therapy," said Nissen, -82- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 adding that chelation might sound more appealing than an invasive procedure like bypass surgery. Dr. Kimball Atwood agrees. In an article about the chelation trial, Atwood and his colleagues labeled the $30 million study funded at taxpayer expense by the federal National Institutes of Health "unethical, dangerous, pointless, and wasteful" and called for it to be abandoned. "These new study results will encourage chelationists, and state medical boards will be loathe to step in because the chelationists have this study on their side," said Atwood, a clinical assistant professor of anesthesiology at Tufts Medical Center. "Every now and then somebody will get killed," he added. Kalidas, the doctor who practices chelation, disagreed, saying this study would help -- not hurt -- patients. "Chelation has been lifesaving for hundreds of my patients," he said. Dangerously low calcium levels According to the Mayo Clinic, some doctors think chelation helps heart patients because the medication being infused into patients binds to calcium in their clogged arteries, sweeping it away. But "sweeping" calcium away is a double-edged sword. While it might help unclog coronary arteries, it might also lead to deadly low calcium levels in the blood, as happened to the three people whose deaths were described in the CDC report. That's one reason why the National Institutes of Health required that the infusions be done at a slow rate -- over a period of three hours or more -- so problems like low calcium levels could be caught easily. In a series of letters to the study's authors, the Department of Health and Human Service's Office for Human Research Protection cited several concerns about the study, including that the researchers hadn't followed the rules about doing the infusions at a slow rate. In one letter, the government overseers expressed concern that infusions were performed in "shorter than recommended" times in 440 instances, involving 251 subjects. The study was stopped from September 2008 until June 2009 to respond to the government's concerns. A question of significance In addition to possible safety problems, there are concerns that the study was poorly done and doesn't actually show that chelation works. Continued on page 83

83 Continued from page 82 Study finds Heart Chelation Therapy Effective but Raises Questions In the study, researchers divided the patients into two groups. One group of 839 patients received 40 infusions of a chemical drug solution called disodium EDTA. Another group of 869 patients received infusions with a placebo solution of salt and sugar water. Neither the patients nor the doctors knew who was receiving which treatment. Among the patients receiving chelation, 26% went on to have a cardiovascular event, such as death, heart attack or stroke. Among the placebo group, 30% went on to have a cardiovascular event. According to the authors' analysis, this four-percentagepoint difference was barely statistically significant, leading Lamas to note that the difference may have been by chance, not because chelation actually worked. Further watering down the report is the fact that a relatively large number of patients -- 17% -- dropped out of the study. Experts say patients usually drop out of studies when things aren't going well -- when they're having bad side effects, for example, or when the therapy isn't working. But since they dropped out, their results can't be included in the study. "This study was so badly done and the results are so marginal from a statistical perspective that this therapy can't be recommended," said Nissen, the Cleveland Clinic cardiologist. "Making a treatment decision about a life-threatening disease based on poor-quality scientific data can be dangerous," he added. "History has taught us that when this happens, considerable harm can come to patients." The future of chelation Kalidas, the chelation practitioner in Florida, said he hopes these new study results will help persuade insurance companies to start paying for chelation. But insurance companies usually only pay for treatments that are FDA approved -- and there's little chance the FDA would approve chelation for heart disease based on this study, experts say. "This would never pass muster at the FDA," said Nissen, the former chairman of the FDA advisory panel that examines applications to put new heart drugs on the market. Continued on page 68 Nutritional Supplements That Lower Your Blood Pressure without Drugs and subjective symptoms were recorded throughout the study. In the green coffee bean extract group, but not the placebo group, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) decreased significantly during the study. There was no difference in body mass index and pulse rate between groups, nor were there any apparent side effects. A study of the effect of green coffee bean extract on hypertensive laboratory animals found that a single dose reduced blood pressure, reduced oxidative stress and improved nitric oxide levels. The animals were fed diets containing green coffee bean extract for eight weeks, and when compared to the placebo group, showed a reduction in blood pressure. The researchers concluded that dietary chlorogenic acid (from green coffee bean extract) reduces oxidative stress and improves nitric oxide levels by inhibiting excessive production of free radicals in arteries, which ultimately results in hypertension. Rosemary extract protects your brain and blood flow with antiplatelet activity Rosemary has been used for thousands of years as a savory spice, food preservative, and in cosmetics and hair products. It has also been used commercially as an antimicrobial food preservative for the past several decades. There is not much direct scientific evidence to show that rosemary lowers blood pressure but a lot showing other, often related, health effects. We know for certain that it has a lot to offer as a nutritional supplement, especially in the prevention of some types of cancer, allergies and the progression of Alzheimer s disease. Plus rosemary extract is used widely as a folk remedy in Morocco for hypertension and diabetes. Therefore we recommend it in a comprehensive natural approach to high blood pressure. How does rosemary extract work? Rosemary extract offers a number of health benefits by: Preventing blood platelets from sticking together Inhibiting the oxidation of LDL (bad cholesterol) Inhibiting angiotensin-converting enzyme Providing powerful antioxidant protection Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

84 Continued from page 83 Nutritional Supplements That Lower Your Blood Pressure without Drugs Protecting brain cells from the normal effects of aging Possibly slowing down the progression of Alzheimer s disease Inhibiting growth of cancer cells Helping reduce allergy symptoms, especially to dust mites Increasing potency of vitamin E Scientific studies A recent study at the College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea, investigated the antiplatelet activity of rosemary extract on laboratory animals and found that it has the potential for being developed as a remedy for preventing blood platelets from sticking together. It has also been shown to inhibit the oxidation of LDL (bad cholesterol). Another study at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, found that rosemary extract has the highest rate of inhibiting angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) when compared to lemon balm and oregano. Tuberculosis is 500,000- Years-Old By Mohit Joshi 07 December 2007 Washington: Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have found that Tuberculosis is 500,000-years-old. They have found the most ancient evidence of the disease in a 500,000-year-old human fossil from Turkey. The finding has suggested support for the theory that dark-skinned people who migrate northward from low, tropical latitudes produce less vitamin D, which can adversely affect the immune system as well as the skeleton. Prior to this discovery in western Turkey, which helps scientists fill a temporal and geographical gap in human evolution, the oldest evidence of tuberculosis in humans was found in mummies from Egypt and Peru that date to several thousand years ago. Paleontologists spent decades prospecting in Turkey for remains of Homo erectus, widely believed to be the first human species to migrate out of Africa. After moving north, the species had to adapt to increasingly seasonal climates. John Kappelman, professor of anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin, and researchers from the United States, Turkey and Germany found this specimen of Homo erectus as a young male based on aspects of the cranial suture closure, sinus formation and the size of the ridges of the brow. They also found a series of small lesions etched into the bone of the cranium whose shape and location are characteristic of the Leptomeningitis tuberculosa, a form of tuberculosis that attacks the meninges of the brain. After reviewing the medical literature on the disease that has re-emerged as a global killer, the researchers found that some groups of people demonstrate a higher than average rate of infection, including Gujarati Indians who live in London, and Senegalese conscripts who served with the French army during World War I. The research team identified two shared characteristics in the communities: a path of migration from low, tropical latitudes to northern temperate regions and darker skin colour. People with dark skin produce less vitamin D because the skin pigment melanin blocks ultraviolet light. And, when they live in areas with lower ultraviolet radiation such as Europe, their immune systems can be compromised. Kappelman said that it is likely that Homo erectus had dark skin because it evolved in the tropics. After the species moved north, it had to adapt to more seasonal climates. The researchers hypothesize the young male s body produced less vitamin D and this deficiency weakened his immune system, opening the door to tuberculosis. Skin colour represents one of biology s most elegant adaptations. The production of vitamin D in the skin serves as one of the body s first lines of defences against a whole host of infections and diseases. Vitamin D deficiencies are implicated in hypertension, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease and cancer, Kappelman said Before antibiotics were invented, doctors typically treated tuberculosis by sending patients to sanatoria where they were prescribed plenty of sunshine and fresh air. Continued on page Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012

85 Continued from page 84 Tuberculosis is 500,000-yearsold No one knew why sunshine was integral to the treatment, but it worked. Recent research suggests the flush of ultraviolet radiation jump-started the patients immune systems by increasing the production of vitamin D, which helped to cure the disease, Kappelman said. The findings are published in the Dec. 7 issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. (ANI) WHERE IS YOUR HEART? The ancient Egyptians said it is the center of the body and all of the senses and organs, including the brain answer to it. The heart gives certain sounds when it is sick. The heartbeat is the first sound we hear. The beat of the African drum was based on the heartbeat. The heart carries the emotions, the hopes, the dreams, wisdom, the memory, the soul and the personality. We all have heard the best way to take care of the heart is to drink in moderation, stop smoking, exercise, eat fresh food, decrease salt and trans fatty acids and cholestrol in the diet. But what about those other problems like heavy metals, electrolyte deficiencies, diuretics, salt, radiation, food-borne bacteria, bacterial infections, pollution, gmo s, pharmaceuticals, etc.? They are also causing heart disease. So it is not completely all our fault. Some things we have no control of or do we? Phytochemicals such as flavonoids have been used since antiquity. Heart disease in Africa before the colonists was rare. The types of African root foods, fermented beverages such as millet and sorghum, spices, fresh green vegetables all lead to a very healthy lifestyle. Increasingly, flavonoids are becoming the subject of medical research. Many drugs available today are either from plant source or modified from the plant derived compounds. Flavonoids are among the most ubiquitous polyphenolic compounds found in nature that show wide range of biological activity viz. anticancer, antiviral, antioxidant, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antiallergic, antimicrobial and antiprotozoan etc. This is course is going to lead to increased flavonoids in the diet by inducing the genetic modification of plants. Nothing is sacred here. Hypertension in Blacks is not a new subject and it is not just a problem in the West. As Africans adopt Western culture, high blood pressure is becoming the norm. However, we can learn to control our hypertension by controlling our diet. We need to understand that white -85- Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012 salt is like white sugar, all the nutrients have been bleached out. In addition, all oils are not the same. Flavonoids like fresh garlic, onions, and spices like cayenne need to be incorporated more into our diets. Garlic has truly been around for a while, not only as a culinary herb but in rituals from birth to death. Garlic keeps vampires away. Wonder if that has something to do with the blood/heart? Sometimes we let our hearts rule our head. But this is where truth is found. Consciousness is truth. In Kemetic medicine, the heart represents duality and the four cardinal points of the universe (earth, air, water and fire). In the judgment of one s sins, the heart is weighed with a feather on the scale of Maat. Maat signifies order, righteousness, harmony, balance and truth. It is through the heart that God speaks. Our hearts run on electricity as well. This is where melanin comes in. The electrical system of your heart is the power source that makes this possible. Your heartbeat is triggered by electrical impulses that travel down a special pathway through your heart. The flow of electrons that allows blood to carry oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body also depend upon electrolytic balance. Without oxygen, the body dies. Phases of the Heart Heartbroken - suffering from grief or disappointment To have heart to have courage A kind heart - a kind/good/generous person Have one's heart in one's mouth - to be extremely anxious or fearful Have one's heart in the right place - to be well intentioned To have a heart - is to care deeply Have a heart! - show some compassion To have a Heart of a Lion to never give up People who wear their heart on their sleeve - express their emotions freely and openly, for all to see. A heart of gold - pure and sweet. A heavy heart - sad or depressed A change of heart A change of mind Heartless or Cold-Hearted Cold, cruel, without a heart The Heart is life. The Heart is synonymous with love. To live is to love and the heart is the center of it all. So we end this year with a heavy heart and trust that we all have our hearts in the right place. See you next year. Blackherbals A Marcus Garvey Pan-African University s Community Site of Knowledge HAPPY HOLIDAYS

86 Mission Statement Our aim at The African Traditional Herbal Research Clinic is to propagate and promote the awareness in Afrikan peoples at home and abroad of their health, biodiversity, history and cultural richness. We gather pertinent information on these issues and disseminate these freely to our people in Uganda, the rest of the continent, and anywhere in the Diaspora where Afrikans are located. One of the main ingredients for increasing poverty, sickness, exploitation and domination is ignorance of one's self, and the environment in which we live. Knowledge is power and the forces that control our lives don't want to lose control, so they won't stop at anything to keep certain knowledge from the people. Therefore, we are expecting a fight and opposition to our mission. However, we will endeavor to carry forward this work in grace and perfect ways. Where there is no God, there is no culture. Where there is no culture, there is no indigenous knowledge. Where there is no indigenous knowledge, there is no history. Where there is no history, there is no science or technology. The existing nature is made by our past. Let us protect and conserve our indigenous knowledge. C ALENDAR OF E VENTS SPECIAL EVENT: CLINIC OPENING PLACE: AFRIKAN TRADITIONAL HERBAL RESEARCH CLINIC TIME: Herbs of the Month Garlic to Heal your Hypertension and High Blood Pressure Garlic may be useful as an alternative treatment for high blood pressure, a perennial killer amongst Africans and African-Americans. This has been widely noted by alternative health care providers specializing in the health of Africans and those in the Diaspora. Garlic has long been known to be good for the heart. Garlic supplements have previously been shown to lower cholesterol and reduce high blood pressure in those with untreated hypertension. According to studies by American scientists at the University of Alabama (published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), the key to Garlic s positive effect is allicin, which is broken down into sulphur compounds so good for the heart and the blood. These compounds react with red blood cells and produce hydrogen sulphide which relaxes the blood vessels, and keeps blood flowing easily. Afrikan Traditional Herbal Research Clinic 54 Muwafu Road, P.O. Box Ntinda, Kampala, Uganda East Africa Phone: +256 (0) clinic@blackherbals.com ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED Mailing Address Street Number and Name City, Country, etc. BULK RATE US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO Traditional African Clinic November/December 2012