SAN ANTONIO (April 24, 2008)—How do mercury emissions affect pregnant mothers, the unborn and toddlers? Do the level of emissions impact autism rates? Does it matter whether a mercury-emitting source is 10 miles away from families versus 20 miles? Is the risk of autism greater for children who live closer to the pollution source?

A newly published study of Texas school district data and industrial mercury-release data, conducted by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, indeed shows a statistically significant link between pounds of industrial release of mercury and increased autism rates. It also shows—for the first time in scientific literature—a statistically significant association between autism risk and distance from the mercury source.

“This is not a definitive study, but just one more that furthers the association between environmental mercury and autism,” said lead author Raymond F. Palmer, Ph.D., associate professor of family and community medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio. The article is in the journal Health & Place.

Dr. Palmer, Stephen Blanchard, Ph.D., of Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio and Robert Wood of the UT Health Science Center found that community autism prevalence is reduced by 1 percent to 2 percent with each 10 miles of distance from the pollution source.

Posted: 02/12/2009

Case 1

Mr. X is a healthy, active 33-year-old man who travels frequently for his job as a sales representative. He has a history of 1 depressive episode, which occurred at age 24 when he was attending graduate school. He was treated over a 6-month period with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), and he has not had a recurrence since. In his late 20s, he was diagnosed with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Until recently, he was able to control his symptoms by carefully managing his diet, which he did by maintaining a high fiber intake and by avoiding foods that trigger his symptoms. His workup at the time of diagnosis by a gastroenterologist included colonoscopy and other laboratory tests to exclude other bowel pathology.

Over the past year, the IBS has increased in severity, resulting in cyclical constipation and associated abdominal spasms every 3 to 6 weeks. The IBS has begun to interfere with his work productivity, because he must take time off every few months. He has tried lactulose as a laxative, and he has increased his bran fiber intake, but there has been no improvement.

He is seeking control of his symptoms, but he prefers to try dietary measures before resorting to medications. He has no symptoms of depression and no recent major life stressors, other than a heavy workload. There are no bowel symptoms suggestive of peptic ulcer disease. Similarly, there are no “red flags” or systemic symptoms, such as weight loss, that would suggest the presence of other chronic diseases.

The physical examination reveals a healthy, young man with a body mass index of 26. The cardiovascular and respiratory examinations are normal. The abdominal examination, on deep palpation, reveals slight tenderness over the large bowel, mild distension, and an absence of masses. The rectal examination is normal, and test results for occult fecal blood are negative. The mental status examination is normal, and the constipation and associated abdominal spasms within normal limits.

What are some options for improving his symptoms?

Case 2
Mrs. Y is a 44-year-old woman with diarrhea-predominant IBS that was diagnosed a year ago after she underwent a complete gastroenterologic workup to exclude other pathologies. Her symptoms are persistent, and this causes her inconvenience at work, limits her social activities, and affects her ability to perform daily functions. Because of her IBS, she leads a sedentary lifestyle.

She has tried an anxiolytic for the abdominal pain and loperamide for the diarrhea, but the abdominal distension, bloating, and painful spasms continue. She takes fiber in various forms, including Metamucil® and wheat bran, but the fiber supplements do not seem to control the diarrhea. She admits that life is stressful and has been in counseling for a few months.

What else can she try to better control her IBS symptoms?

Now we are learning that SRB not only acts as a great fiber when combined with the artichoke extract so you have the ideal ratio of soluble to insoluble fiber for optimal assistance with toxin removal but now you have documentation that you are also providing vital anti-inflammatory benefits. This research has documented that some of these benefits are because SRB inhibits several key inflammatory enzymes. Thus you now have scientific explanation for the reports in the literature about SRB being helpful in Diabetes and Arthritis, but now we have the mechanism of action for these benefits.
However, SRB in my mind is crucial to supporting healthy intestinal flora and thus in reducing leaky gut and lowering the tendencies to food sensitivities. If you treat everyone with a detox program, as I do, Beyond Fiber should be a standard part of your management of most patients. We have also seen research that SOLUBLE fiber can help carry out toxins so with a world of toxic patients, many of whom have excessive levels of inflammation, it seems that Beyond Fiber should be a part of many patients supplement program. 
I usually start with small doses of even 1/2 tsp for a few days, as there will be some gas and stool changes in many at first, particularly if you are ingesting the SRB along with some of the other detox ingredients in my POWER DRINK.

If you believe, as I do, that most of us require a daily probiotic then
with the SRB, you will be providing key PREBIOTIC support to whatever
probiotic you choose. If you should also be lowering the total body burden of heavy metals, then using either Beyond Chelation-Improved alone or with the ZEOLITE products, there will be stool changes and some increased frequency and looseness to bowels for a time, from 2 weeks to 3 months depending on how aggressively you choose to increase the levels of the “power drink”. I usually want most patients over about 4+ weeks to have gradually increased their intakes of Fiber and other power drink ingredients to hopefully 1 level tsp of each. Then, over time raise that to a slightly heaping teaspoonful or more of all 4 ingredients. It is not essential to go to 1 tablespoon doses, as this is really a life time program and hurrying it along with higher dosages does not seem to be that useful.

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19627211

J Med Food. 2009 Jun;12(3):615-23.

Pro-inflammatory enzymes, cyclooxygenase 1, cyclooxygenase 2, and 5-lipooxygenase, inhibited by stabilized rice bran extracts.

Roschek B Jr, Fink RC, Li D, McMichael M, Tower CM, Smith RD, Alberte RS.
HerbalScience Group LLC, Naples, Florida 34110, USA.

Rice bran, the outer bran and germ of the kernel and a by-product of rice milling, is rich in phytonutrients but has been underutilized because of lipid content instability. New methods for the processing of rice bran have yielded a stabilized form that is increasingly used in foods and dietary supplements. Recent studies have documented a role for stabilized rice bran (SRB) in treating diabetes and arthritis, although little is known of the bioactive compounds that impart these health benefits. Here we characterize the chemical composition of three extracts of SRB and identify the functional bioactives contributing to the inhibitory properties against three key pro-inflammatory enzymes (phytonutrients, COX2, and 5-lipoxygenase [5-LOX]) that control the inflammatory cascade involved in impaired joint health, pain, and arthritis. One extract (SRB-AI) demonstrated significant COX1 and COX2 inhibitory activities with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) values for COX1 and COX2 of 305 and 29 microg/mL, respectively, but no 5-LOX inhibition. The second extract (SRB-AII) inhibited COX1, COX2, and 5-LOX with IC(50) values of 310, 19, and 396 microg/mL, respectively. The third extract (SRB-AIII), a blend of SRB-AI and SRB-AIII, inhibited COX1, COX2, and 5-LOX with respective IC(50) values of 48, 11, and 197 microg/mL. Analysis of the extracts by direct analysis in real time time of flight-mass spectrometry revealed that SRB-AI, SRB-AII, and SRB-AIII contain over 620, 770, and 810 compounds, respectively. Of these, 17 were identified as key bioactives for COX and/or LOX inhibition. These SRB extracts have applications for functional foods and dietary supplements for control of inflammation and joint health.

PMID: 19627211 [PubMed – in process]