http://www.natmedtalk.com/ A discussion forum which explores the importance of whole foods, supplements and natural herbal/holistic remedies. en Fri, 12 Apr 2019 03:10:13 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.natmedtalk.com/images/styles/natmed/misc/rss.jpg http://www.natmedtalk.com/ http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30818&goto=newpost Tue, 09 Apr 2019 13:21:42 GMT According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in every 59 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism, up from one in... According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in every 59 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism, up from one in every 150 in 2000. They report that "about half a million people on the autism spectrum will become adults over the next decade, a swelling tide for which the country is unprepared."

The apparent rise in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its stubborn resistance to treatment has spurred a legion of researchers to enter the field and explore the disability in innovative ways.

Currently, effective treatments for ASD include behavioral therapy, speech and social therapy, psychiatric medications, and dietary and nutritional approaches. However, no medical treatments have been approved to treat core symptoms of ASD such as social communication difficulties and repetitive behaviors.

One promising avenue of autism research involves the gut microbiome, which is the collection of microbes that lives in our intestines and helps us in many ways including digestion of our food, training our immune system and preventing overgrowth of harmful bacteria. Recent research suggests our gut microbiomes also affect brain communication and neurological health. Worldwide, interest is growing in the idea that changes in normal gut microbiota may be responsible for triggering a vast range of diseases.

In a new study, "Long-term benefit of Microbiota Transfer Therapy in Autism Symptoms and Gut Microbiota," published in Scientific Reports, Arizona State University researchers Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, Ph.D., James Adams, Ph.D, and lead author Dae-Wook Kang, Ph.D, demonstrate long-term beneficial effects for children diagnosed with ASD through a revolutionary technique known as Microbiota Transfer Therapy (MTT), a special type of fecal transplant originally pioneered by Dr. Thomas Borody, an Australian gastroenterologist. Remarkably, improvements in gut health and autism symptoms appear to persist long after treatment.

At two years post-treatment, most of the initial improvements in gut symptoms remained. In addition, parents reported a slow steady reduction of ASD symptoms during treatment and over the next two years. A professional evaluator found a 45% reduction in core ASD symptoms (language, social interaction and behavior) at two years post-treatment compared to before treatment began.

"We are finding a very strong connection between the microbes that live in our intestines and signals that travel to the brain," said Krajmalnik-Brown, a professor at the Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology at the Biodesign Institute and ASU's School for Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment. "Two years later, the children are doing even better, which is amazing."

"Many kids with autism have gastrointestinal problems, and some studies, including ours, have found that those children also have worse autism-related symptoms," said Krajmalnik-Brown. "In many cases, when you are able to treat those gastrointestinal problems, their behavior improves."

Roughly 30-50% of all people with autism have chronic gastrointestinal (GI) problems, primarily constipation and/or diarrhea that can last for many years. That chronic discomfort and pain can cause irritability, decreased attention and learning, and negatively impact behavior.

An earlier study with only vancomycin (an antibiotic) had found major temporary improvements in GI and autism symptoms, but the benefits were lost a few weeks after treatment stopped despite use of over-the-counter probiotics.

So, the question at hand was what's going on in the gut, and how does it affect both physical and behavioral symptoms of autism, and how can we develop a long-lasting treatment?

Krajmalnik-Brown, Kang and Adams have shown that by transferring healthy microbiota to individuals lacking certain gut bacteria, it is possible to "donate" a more diverse set of bacteria into the patient and improve gut health.

In Australia, Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) was initially developed by Borody. At his Centre for Digestive Diseases in Sydney, Borody has overseen more than 18,000 FMTs for various disorders since 1987. He pioneered in Australia the use of FMT for colitis and Clostridium difficile infection, and was the first to use oral FMT to treat children with ASD. Only one dose of FMT is usually enough to cure C. Difficile infections, but his patients with autism were far harder to treat. He discovered that three months of daily FMT was required to treat his autism patients, but eventually resulted in significant improvements in both GI and autism symptoms.

Based on his experience with his patients, Borody led the design of the clinical treatment used at ASU for this study. The MTT approach involves 10 weeks of treatment, including pre-treatment with vancomycin, a bowel cleanse, a stomach acid suppressant, and fecal microbiota transfer daily for seven to eight weeks.

The initial open-label study, led by Krajmalnik-Brown and Adams, and published in the journal Microbiome in 2017, concluded that "this exploratory, extended-duration treatment protocol thus appears to be a promising approach to alter the gut microbiome and improve GI and behavioral symptoms of ASD. Improvements in GI symptoms, ASD symptoms, and the microbiome all persisted for at least eight weeks after treatment ended, suggesting a long-term impact." The present study now shows the benefits are extended beyond eight weeks to at least two years post-treatment.

The ASU team compared differences in the microbiome of children with autism compared to typically developing children. At the start of the study, children with autism were found to have lower diversity in their respective gut microbes and were depleted of certain strains of helpful bacteria, such as Bifidobacteria and Prevotella. "Kids with autism are lacking important beneficial bacteria, and have fewer options in the bacterial menu of important functions that bacteria provide to the gut than typically developing kids," Krajmalnik-Brown said.

FMT treatment substantially increased microbial diversity and the presence of helpful bacteria in the gut, such as Bifidobacteria and Prevotella. After two years, diversity was even higher and the presence of beneficial microbes remained.

"We originally hypothesized that our therapy would be efficient to transform the dysbiotic gut microbiome toward a healthy one. In our original paper in 2017, we reported an increase in gut diversity together with beneficial bacteria after MTT, and after two years, we observed diversity was even higher and the presence of beneficial microbes remained," Kang said. He added that this may be one of the reasons for success in improving the gut health, but further mechanistic studies are warranted to define specific roles of gut microbes in the context of autism.

The work done at ASU is not only about treating patients but also about learning from the treatment in order to develop better formulations and optimize dosing.

"Understanding which microbes and chemicals produced by the microbes are driving these behavioral changes is at the heart of our work," Krajmalnik-Brown said. The team's new publication reports that the study demonstrated that two years after treatment stopped the participants still had an average of a 58% reduction in GI symptoms compared to baseline. In addition, the parents of most participants reported "a slow but steady improvement in core ASD symptoms."

"Every family completed the study, and every family returned two years later for a follow-up evaluation," said Adams, citing the families' dedication to the research. "The treatment was generally well-tolerated with minimal adverse effects."

"This is a world-first discovery that when we treated the gut bacteria in these children during our clinical trial two years ago to reset their microbiome with FMT, positive results are still continuing to be improving two years from the original treatments. I would call it the highest improvement in a cohort that anyone has achieved for autism symptoms," said Borody.

Professional evaluation revealed a 45% decrease in ASD symptoms compared to baseline. Researchers note that although there may be some placebo effect, much of that effect appears to be real. At the start of the study, 83% of participants were rated as "severe" autism. At the end of the study, only 17% were "severe," 39% were "mild/moderate," and 44% were below the cut-off for mild ASD.

Greg Caporaso, at Northern Arizona University, a leading expert in microbiome data science and a co-author on these studies, helped to analyze the microbiome data to better understand bacterial changes as a result of MTT.

"Drs. Krajmalnik-Brown, Kang and I are excited about the results, but we want to caution the public that we need larger clinical trials for this to become an FDA-approved treatment," said Adams. Professional expertise is required for safe and effective treatment.

MTT improves GI distress by introducing key strains of beneficial bacteria and helping to raise levels of biodiversity within the gut, boosting health overall.

Adams has both professional and personal reasons for doggedly pursuing ways to help children with autism because he knows the situation first-hand. His daughter was diagnosed with autism just before her third birthday. Adams, a President's Professor at ASU's School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, and the chair of Materials Sciences, is also president of the Autism Society of Greater Phoenix, the largest parent support group in Arizona.

"Dr. James Adams is the reason why I started working on autism," Krajmalnik-Brown said. "I had the methods to do all of the measurements and assessments in the microbiome part of the work, and he had the autism knowledge."

Adams recruited patients, supervised clinical work and ASD assessments, and guided the patients through the trials, and Krajmalnik-Brown led the microbiome evaluations and helped plan the study.

All of the participants in the study exhibited chronic GI symptoms from infancy, including chronic constipation and/or chronic diarrhea. The treatment benefits extended beyond their physical symptoms, even causing some parents to note how much their children's behavior had improved over time.

"It is very unusual to see steady gradual improvement after the conclusion of any treatment," said Adams. "We only conducted the long-term follow-up study after several families told us that their child was continuing to improve significantly." Krajmalnik-Brown stated that the data suggests that the MTT intervention transformed the gut environment into a healthier status, leading to long-term benefit on both GI and ASD symptoms.

Adams said many of the participants in the trial shared common traits, including birth by C-section, reduced breastfeeding, increased antibiotics, and low fiber intake by the mother and child, all of which lead to limited biodiversity in their gut bacteria. Due to the open label nature of the study and the small sample size used, more research is needed in order to verify the usefulness of MTT as a therapeutic.

The initial study involved a "first-generation" estimate as to optimal dose and duration of treatment, and it was enough for 90% of the children to have substantial benefit. The team is now working on optimizing the dosing and duration to try to improve benefits even more, and to determine if booster doses may be needed in some cases.

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Krajmalnik-Brown and Adams are working now on a larger placebo-controlled trial in adults with ASD to verify their results. More information on that study is available at autism.asu.edu. They also hope to do another study for children with ASD pending future funding.

The microbiota formulation used in the original study was developed at the University of Minnesota by Alexander Khoruts and Michael Sadowsky, who developed innovative methods for collecting microbiota from healthy, carefully-screened donors and purifying and freezing them. They licensed their technology to Finch Therapeutics, who provided financial support for the manufacturing of the therapeutic microbiota used for the study. ]]> Mental Health jfh http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30818 http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30816&goto=newpost Fri, 05 Apr 2019 16:23:47 GMT I have been trying various vitamin patches; most have worked OK but this patch made me feel really light headed. I gave it a rest for a week and... I have been trying various vitamin patches; most have worked OK but this patch made me feel really light headed. I gave it a rest for a week and tried to use it again but after half an hour, the same light-headedness returned.


The full ingredients are at the end of this link:

https://www.patchmd.com/MultiVitamin...cal-Patch.html

Do you think the high doses of the individual nutrients have caused this? ]]> Eyes of the Universe http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30816 http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30814&goto=newpost Tue, 02 Apr 2019 12:16:58 GMT Hi there, I have recently been diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called Sarcoidosois.(Causes Myotosis(muscle inflammation) in my quadriceps... Hi there, I have recently been diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called Sarcoidosois.(Causes Myotosis(muscle inflammation) in my quadriceps muscles). I was looking for a natural way to treat it when I found that a friend of mine who had Hashimotos disease had reversed it using the Paleo Diet.(hashimoto disease is when the immune system attacks the thyroid gland)

I am giving it a try and will tell you how I go. Has any one else used a diet to overcome an auto-immune disease? By the way, the paleo diet is meat, vegetables and fruits. No grains, no dairy, and no legumes. ]]> richag77 http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30814 http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30813&goto=newpost Mon, 01 Apr 2019 21:46:12 GMT Do you want to be a guinea pig? Then try the Impossible Burger made in a lab and including GMO ingredients. It will be 20 years until we really know... Do you want to be a guinea pig? Then try the Impossible Burger made in a lab and including GMO ingredients. It will be 20 years until we really know the health effects but you can eat it now and roll the dice. Even worse is that they are going to reduce livestock and real meat as they see fake meat as a wonderful replacement. Real meat will slowly become less common and certainly more expensive just as they have done with organic foods. Oh, the horror!

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...d-farming.aspx ]]> General Discussions Ajax http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30813 http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30812&goto=newpost Sun, 31 Mar 2019 15:28:46 GMT Put 4 oz. drinking water in a bowl. Add 1 tsp. organic jojoba, 1 tsp. organic glycerin, 8 drops Oman frankincense, and 1 dropper 4,000mg full... Put 4 oz. drinking water in a bowl. Add 1 tsp. organic jojoba, 1 tsp. organic glycerin, 8 drops Oman frankincense, and 1 dropper 4,000mg full spectrum hemp oil for pets. Stir with fingers and apply all over the body. ]]> General Discussions Mike65Denver http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30812 http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30811&goto=newpost Sat, 30 Mar 2019 09:21:23 GMT I’m hoping to get some insight / opinions on what maybe going on for me. In the last year, my overall health has dipped somewhat, not so much... I’m hoping to get some insight / opinions on what maybe going on for me.

In the last year, my overall health has dipped somewhat, not so much energy, a few joint issues and just generally not feeling my usual self. I decided to see a Kinesiology and he muscle tested me and said that I had Penecillium, which is a mold - and I know from reading up on it that this in turn can lead to mycotoxins. With muscle testing he determined that many of my current issues were down to this mold. The remedy was coconut oil and again, reading up on this, it is a powerful anti-fungal. He said that I needed to take three level teaspoons a day at certain times of the day as the timings were the most beneficial for the organs that have been affected.

I love coconut oil and do use it for cooking, so I had some raw organic coconut oil just ordered in. On taking the first teaspoon in the afternoon, it made me feel a little nauseous but it passed after a few hours. The morning dose was no problem and the evening dose was no problem. However, I woke up this morning after having had the first day of the three doses and I feel awful; light-headed, my physical and emotional energy dull. I haven’t changed anything except taking this coconut oil.

I have read about something called ‘die off’ which is a reaction to a bacterial cleanse.

Has anyone had a similar experience using coconut oil as a remedy?

Thank you ]]> General Discussions Eyes of the Universe http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30811 http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30807&goto=newpost Fri, 22 Mar 2019 16:04:44 GMT Hi, This is a bit embarrassing for me :oops::oops:, but I need to try and find some answers, if at all possible, as my life is being ruined by... Hi,

This is a bit embarrassing for me :oops::oops:, but I need to try and find some answers, if at all possible, as my life is being ruined by this terrible condition I have developed. :(

End of first week in Feb this year, I started getting an itchy rash on my bottom and like a cut in the crack which has split open, is very sore and doesn't seem to be healing. My rash is much worse when it is hot and in bed at night is a complete nightmare, as is sitting for a long time, which is very difficult when driving and it's hard to concentrate once the itching starts! :( Also, when I am just walking about it will start itching too, as it gets hot down there and not long after, my bottom started itching, I also started itching in my vaginal area and the external parts have started to itch like mad when I am walking about, as if they are constantly rubbing on my knickers, but it's never been a problem before! :confused:

The rash is red and dry on my bottom, kind of like exzema or psoriasis and the skin around there has become all thick, dry and horrible, though I do manage to keep it moisturised with shea butter cream. There is no discharge, except from when I itch the rash and make it weepy. The rash and vagina itching get very hot and then the itching gets worse.

Over the weeks since I developed this awful condition, I have applied (Externally and internally), ACV, lavender and tea tree oils, calendula oil, some over the counter anti itch creams (Which you can only use for a short time and they weren't that effective anyway!), aloe vera and witch hazel gel to cool the burning down and more recently, I have been trying dead sea salt and epsom salt baths (Though I haven't had that many of these) and been using blackseed oil externally and internally for a week and three days and finally, colloidal silver, in a cream and I also consume a little bit each day. Oh and I also bought some baking soda and made it into a paste, but I think it was much too strong as it burned like you wouldn't believe and I had to wash it off! :roll:

I am totally at my wits end with this, it is so debilitating and nothing I do seems to work, the itching and burning will stop for a while, but then it's straight back again and if I'm out and it starts, it's a complete and utter nightmare!!!

I don't eat a high carb diet, or lots of sugar and I consume raw kefir every day and have done for a couple of years now. I am very healthy apart from this itchy nightmare that seems to have no cure!!! :(

Surely if this was a fungal/bacterial infection of some kind, then all the anti fungal/bacterial/viral things I have tried so far, would have killed it off? I don't want to go the doctor because I am too embarrassed and I really don't think they will be able to give me anything if all the things I am trying are having no proper, long lasting, effect. :(:(
I did consider it being some kind of cancer down there, which I am not that worried about as I know about natural cures, blackseed oil being one of them, so maybe it will just take a while to heal me. ]]> StormsMum74 http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30807 http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30805&goto=newpost Tue, 19 Mar 2019 10:44:46 GMT I have just been diagnosed with motor neurone disease, or ALS. Does anyone have experience wit this? Love, A. I have just been diagnosed with motor neurone disease, or ALS. Does anyone have experience wit this? Love, A. ]]> Other Diseases Annemieke http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30805