Patients With Meniere’s Disease Respond To Chiropractic Care

The June 2, 2008 issue of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research reports that patients with Meniere’s disease responded very well to a short course of chiropractic care.

Meniere’s disease is characterized by attacks of vertigo or dizziness accompanied by any of four associated symptoms: nausea, inner ear pressure, low-frequency hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

In the study, ten patients who had been medically diagnosed with Meniere’s were placed under chiropractic care. When their case histories were taken, it was discovered that nine out of the ten reported a history of neck trauma, mostly from car accidents. All ten had subluxations in the upper neck region and all ten had similar misalignments of the atlas, or top vertebra.

All ten patients responded well to the chiropractic adjustments. Eight of the ten experienced a complete resolution of their Meniere’s symptoms. Of the two who had remaining symptoms, both had the Meniere’s clear up but one had residual problems swallowing and one had residual tinnitus.

Two of the patients’ symptoms cleared up instantly after the first adjustment, three within 24 hours, one after three visits, one after two days and three after one week.

Commentary: While ten patients is not enough people to make solid conclusions, we find it intriguing that all ten patients had histories of neck trauma, all ten had similar misalignments of the top vertebra and all responded very well to care and very quickly.

The author concludes, "All patients with a history of vertigo or dizziness should be questioned about a history of trauma, especially whiplash from an automobile accident, contact sports injury, or serious falls. Patients often forget these accidents, thinking that they were not hurt because they did not break any bones and were not bleeding."

We agree and suggest that everyone, especially those with a history of vertigo and trauma get a chiropractic examination.

Anti-inflammatory Causes Side Effects In Children

A June 16, 2008 report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that the anti-inflammatory Enbrel causes "life threatening" side effects in children with psoriasis. The makers of the drug have been seeking approval for expanded use of the drug in children.

Enbrel is currently used to treat adults with psoriasis and adults and children with arthritis. According to the FDA, Enbrel causes infections and cancers in some children, which is why they are currently investigating the link between cancer in children and the entire class of drugs that includes Enbrel.

In a study of 211 children who received the drug, two serious infections were observed. Nine children taking the drug have developed cancer since its introduction in 1998 and 14 deaths of young patients taking the drug have occurred overall.

The drug’s maker, Amgen, wants to expand use of the drug to include treatment in children with plaque psoriasis, a condition that is not life threatening. The FDA report says that the benefits to using Enbrel in children would have to be "substantial" to justify its use given the potential side effects.

The FDA report also calls for a change in the current label which warns of "mild" side effects. The new label should say "that etanercept [the generic name of Enbrel] therapy in pediatric patients may lead to moderate to severe infections and can result in serious outcomes, including deaths and hospitalizations," the review says.

Enbril generated $5.3 billion in sales for Amgen in 2007.

Dramatic Rise In Premature Births Caused By C-Sections

A study in the June 2008 issue of the journal Clinics in Perinatology finds that the dramatic rise in premature births (before 37 weeks of gestation) is due to the dramatic increase in C-section deliveries in the United States.

Previous research in the March 26, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that one-in-eight births in the United States is premature. That amounts to more than 520,000 babies per year.

Why the concern? Because preterm babies have double the risk of being born with major birth defects than full-term babies. About 60 percent of babies born at 26 weeks experience long-term disabilities, such as chronic lung disease, blindness, deafness and neurological developmental problems. They are three times more likely to die during the first year of life, especially in the first month.

Quoted by the Washington Post, Dr. Alan Fleischman, medical director of the March of Dimes said, "The analysis revealed that 92 percent of the increase in singleton premature birth is due to C-sections. That is amazing statistic."

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a C-section should not be performed unless there are medical indications it is necessary.

The proportion of infants delivered by C-section has increased from 5 percent in 1975 to 30 percent today. Many of them are done because the mother requested it, rather than medical necessity.

Anti-Psychotic Drugs Useless In Those With Aggressive Behavior

The January 5, 2008 issue of the British medical journal Lancet reports on study findings that say the standard practice of giving anti-psychotic drugs to learning disabled patients who exhibit aggressive behavior has proven to be useless.

Up until now, no studies had ever been done to see if such treatment was effective. Why?

Lead researcher Peter Tyrer says it was always assumed these aggressive patients were the same as other, non-aggressive patients. This didn’t turn out to be the case.

86 patients in Australia, England and Wales were studied. One group was given the first-generation anti-psychotic drug haloperidol, the second group was given a second-generation drug called risperidone and a third group got a placebo.

While aggression and other behavioral factors improved in all three groups, the placebo group experienced the greatest improvement.

"What our research shows is that [giving patients anti-psychotic] drugs [is] no better than not giving drugs," said Tyrer.