Acne and your diet
Acne is a disease of Western societies. When people migrate from the Third WorId to the West and change their diets, they start getting Western diseases. Acne is a disease caused by the ENTIRE WESTERN DIET and not by one or two foods such as chocolate.
The western diet is high in sugar, refined foods, fats, and processed foods. Many of these have a high glycemic index and this is thought to be the main factor that causes acne. High glycemic index foods raise blood sugar and this causes increased release of insulin.
It is insulin that promotes acne. More information concerning this theory is available in the article in the section concerning information about skin diseases. If people want to try the diet it is available from the Australian Women’s Weekly via the internet.
To get the Women's Weekly Teenage Anti-acne Diet:
go to www.the main meal.com.au
then to Red Meat & Nutrition
then to Teenage Anti-acne diet
The biological agents for psoriasis
The biological agents are synthesized proteins that block chemicals needed for the immune system to work. Different agents target different chemicals. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme now subsidizes some of these for the treatment of bad cases of psoriasis. However, the agents can only be prescribed by dermatologists and only for patients with extensive psoriasis that has failed to respond to at least three other forms of treatment apart from creams. More information about the biological agents is available in the section concerning information about skin diseases.
Patients with psoriasis should be aware that 1 in 6 psoriatics has a sensitivity to gluten and benefits form a GLUTEN FREE DIET. Some patients even clear on such a diet. More information about this diet is available from the Coeliac Society.
The biological agent efalizumab (trade name - Raptiva) has been withdrawn from the market. This occurred because of three patients developing degeneration of the nervous system while using the drug. This complication has not occurred with the other biological agents.
Adalimumab, a new biological agent that blocks TNF, has been added to the P.B.S. Psoriatics who meet the criteria will receive subsidized treatment for life as long as they demonstrate a response to the drug.
Ustekinumab has been added to the P.B.S. This monoclonal antibody does not block TNF but blocks cytokines that are involved in the genesis of psoriasis. It has to be injected every three months.
Medicare fraud
The Health Insurance Commission (HIC) has audited doctors performing skin surgery and claiming payment for flap repairs. This followed a marked increase in the number of Medicare payments for flap repairs in the last few years (see the following article). Several doctors have been found guilty of over servicing and have been forced to repay the HIC thousands of dollars. Some have been suspended fro Medicare (their patients will not be able to claim rebates for services performed by these doctors) for various periods of time.
The HIC audit has had a desired effect because the number of payments for flap repairs has decreased.
For more information see the article on flaps and biopsies
Vitamin D and cancer
Vitamin D protects against some cancers. More research is reinforcing the fact that some sun exposure is good for you. Studies of populations in Australia, Europe, and The United States of America have found that certain cancers are less common in their populations in regions closer to the equator. The reason is thought to be vitamin D which is produced by the sun when it is exposed to ultraviolet light.
A recent prospective study from Nebraska found that women who took vitamin D developed 66% fewer cancers over 4 years, compared to those who took calcium alone, or placebo tablets. There were fewer internal cancers such as breast and colon cancer.
Laboratory studies have demonstrated the anti-cancer effects of vitamin D. One such study from Stanford University showed that vitamin D and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used in combination kill prostate cancer cells in tissue culture. The combination was far superior to either agent used alone. Clinical trials of this combination will soon start to see if it is useful to treat this cancer which is the most common cancer in men.
For more, see the article in the section on information about skin diseases. *
To news page 2 (safe sunbathing - how to get a tan)
To news page 3 (AIDS - origin and spread)
To news page 4 (desensitization of milk allergy)
To news page 5 (peanut allergy)
To news page 6 (how to prevent shingles)
To news page 7 (coeliac disease)
To news page 8 (vitamin D prevents colds)
To news page 9 (vaccination prevents melanoma)
Photographs of past and upcoming conference destinations:
