The News Review:
- Herbs, As Nature Made Them
- Engineering Advances Made In “Regenerative Medicine” By…
- Exclusive health care worth extra cash for some
- The Big Question: Should we be worried by the latest step towards…
- Bones Hold Key to Blood Renewal.
Herbs, As Nature Made Them
Washington Post - Jun 20, 2006
But in some areas, particularly in ethnic communities, many people buy their medicinal herbs in raw plant form. People with roots in China, Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent often use herbs in this form because of cultural tradition, because they’re less expensive than processed supplements or because some herbs are not available as extracts. Experts say many people also make the mistake of thinking "natural" products are safe, although medicinal herbs can be toxic and are subject to only loose government regulation. While herbal medicines in any form pose risks, those purchased raw may pose some additional dangers, according to physician Steven Bratman, chief author of a comprehensive herb database, the TNP Natural Health Encyclopedia. Because raw plants are not subjected to the kind of chemical analysis that manufacturers generally perform when processing extracts, Bratman said, potency may vary. Some herbal mixes, such as those used in Chinese medicine, he said, contain plants in the Aristolochia family, which can be toxic to the kidneys. Indian herbal medicines, he said, may contain heavy metals — such as lead, mercury and arsenic — that also can be toxic… While herbal medicines in any form pose risks, those purchased raw may pose some additional dangers, according to physician Steven Bratman, chief author of a comprehensive herb database, the TNP Natural Health Encyclopedia. Because raw plants are not subjected to the kind of chemical analysis that manufacturers generally perform when processing extracts, Bratman said, potency may vary. Some herbal mixes, such as those used in Chinese medicine, he said, contain plants in the Aristolochia family, which can be toxic to the kidneys. Indian herbal medicines, he said, may contain heavy metals — such as lead, mercury and arsenic — that also can be toxic. Some toxic plants may also be mistaken for harmless ones, particularly given that some plants go by several names. In the Washington area, fresh, dried or powdered herbs are most likely to be found in herbal shops and ethnic groceries. (For examples, see the.
Engineering Advances Made In “Regenerative Medicine” By…
RogueRiverNews.com - Jun 19, 2006
The findings, which have been published in the journal Biomaterials, are a basic step toward a long-term goal that may ultimately change the face of medicine. The concept is to help the body repair tissue or organ damage, or grow new tissues, with possible applications in everything from burn victims to nerve damage or heart disease. “Regeneration is going to be the future of medicine,” said Robert Peattie, an associate professor of chemical engineering at OSU. “It may take 10 or 20 years to get there, but the ultimate goal is to help the body fix itself, and tissue growth is the first step in that process. ”
But before implanted tissues can grow and survive, Peattie said, they must be able to create the tiny capillary blood vessels that will provide oxygen and nutrients - a goal that is still elusive. Crossing that threshold, he said, is the object of the OSU research and would be a significant advance in this field. The growth of new blood vessels has plenty of biological precedent - cancerous tumors, in fact, accomplish this feat very well… This concept might provide a way to help burn victims with severe skin damage. It might aid people who have damage to heart muscle as a result of blocked blood vessels and heart attacks, or provide an alternative to dialysis for patients in kidney failure. Regeneration of entire limbs is not unheard of in nature - salamanders or crabs do it all the time. Humans routinely replace all of the cells in their bone structure about every year. And it might even be possible to develop therapies that could help patients with nerve damage or paralysis - including cases that are now considered hopeless. “For humans, nerve regeneration is extremely difficult, one of the most difficult of all types of tissue regeneration, but it’s not impossible,” Peattie said. “We’re still a long way from being able to do that, but it’s going to be achieved at some point.
Exclusive health care worth extra cash for some
East Valley Tribune - Jun 19, 2006
And she gets an hour of undivided attention to talk about her health. Briskman is one of a growing number of people who have turned to
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