News Stuff

Ricin Is Deadly Poisonous A news item caught my eye, about attempted attacks on President Obama and others, using the castor oil bean toxin called ricin. I wrote about this years ago (1993) in my book of that year The Complete Guide to Food And Environmental Allergies, which was published by Thorson’s, now an imprint of Harper Collins. Here’s an extract from that writing:Nature has seen fit to endow a number of plants with the capacity to synthesize substances that are toxic to humans and other animals. Humans are probably only able to tolerate the majority of foods because of the discovery of fire, which cooks away toxins (although several plant toxins are heat-stable). Farmers and veterinarians have known for years that animals become sick if they graze on certain types of plant (for example, bulls become enraged if they eat loco weed – ‘loco’ being Spanish for crazy). Many plant substances are toxic to humans in quite small quantities, including deadly nightshade, acorns and hemlock. Ricin, the toxic principle in caster seeds (Ricinus communis), is one of the most deadly poisons known: a minute drop on the tip of a needle was used in an infamous political assassination on the streets of London in 1978. The fact is that all plants, including edible ones, contain quantities of poisons. Carrots, for example, contain a nerve toxin: caratotoxin. And someone once pointed out that if cabbage had to undergo the tests that drugs are now subjected to before being pronounced fit for humans, it wouldn’t pass. Obviously, most often the amounts of poison in foods are tolerable. Toxicity is a matter of degree.

Ricin Is Deadly Poisonous A news item caught my eye, about attempted attacks on President Obama and others, using the castor oil bean toxin called ricin. I wrote about this years ago (1993) in my book of that year The Complete Guide to Food And Environmental Allergies, which was published by Thorson’s, now an imprint of Harper Collins. Here’s an extract from that writing:Nature has seen fit to endow a number of plants with the capacity to synthesize substances that are toxic to humans and other animals. Humans are probably only able to tolerate the majority of foods because of the discovery of fire, which cooks away toxins (although several plant toxins are heat-stable). Farmers and veterinarians have known for years that animals become sick if they graze on certain types of plant (for example, bulls become enraged if they eat loco weed – ‘loco’ being Spanish for crazy). Many plant substances are toxic to humans in quite small quantities, including deadly nightshade, acorns and hemlock. Ricin, the toxic principle in caster seeds (Ricinus communis), is one of the most deadly poisons known: a minute drop on the tip of a needle was used in an infamous political assassination on the streets of London in 1978. The fact is that all plants, including edible ones, contain quantities of poisons. Carrots, for example, contain a nerve toxin: caratotoxin. And someone once pointed out that if cabbage had to undergo the tests that drugs are now subjected to before being pronounced fit for humans, it wouldn’t pass. Obviously, most often the amounts of poison in foods are tolerable. Toxicity is a matter of degree.

We all know that Tamiflu is a scam. But we are so used to these things being criminally hushed-up, that it comes as quite a shock when one of the world’s leading medical journals accuses Roche of massaging data to make their drug look effective when it isn’t. The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has alleged that pharmaceutical giant Roche is deliberately hiding clinical trial data about the efficacy of Tamiflu in patients with influenza. According to experts writing for the BMJ, global stockpiling and routine use of the drug are not supported by solid evidence [meaning it’s worthless and doesn’t work]. Moreover, the BMJ openly accuses Roche of concealing neurological and psychiatric adverse events caused by Tamiflu. In an open letter published online October 29th, Fiona Godlee, MD, editor-in-chief of BMJ, writing to Dr. John Bell, Professor of Medicine at Oxford University and a Roche board member, told him of concerns that surfaced years ago about the reliability of Tamiflu research.

We all know that Tamiflu is a scam. But we are so used to these things being criminally hushed-up, that it comes as quite a shock when one of the world’s leading medical journals accuses Roche of massaging data to make their drug look effective when it isn’t. The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has alleged that pharmaceutical giant Roche is deliberately hiding clinical trial data about the efficacy of Tamiflu in patients with influenza. According to experts writing for the BMJ, global stockpiling and routine use of the drug are not supported by solid evidence [meaning it’s worthless and doesn’t work]. Moreover, the BMJ openly accuses Roche of concealing neurological and psychiatric adverse events caused by Tamiflu. In an open letter published online October 29th, Fiona Godlee, MD, editor-in-chief of BMJ, writing to Dr. John Bell, Professor of Medicine at Oxford University and a Roche board member, told him of concerns that surfaced years ago about the reliability of Tamiflu research.

Everyone gets over a broken heart, sooner or later, they say. Well, it’s also literally true. Heart cells, it has been discovered, can replicate themselves and re-grow. The old model of a myocardial infarction (the classic “heart attack”) is just bunk. Like all the many scientific myths of medicine and so-called science, this old story […]

Everyone gets over a broken heart, sooner or later, they say. Well, it’s also literally true. Heart cells, it has been discovered, can replicate themselves and re-grow. The old model of a myocardial infarction (the classic “heart attack”) is just bunk. Like all the many scientific myths of medicine and so-called science, this old story […] The post Broken Hearts Mended Easily appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.

Asian AIDS Lets call is Asian AIDS or A2IDS. A new 2012 scourge of Mankind is emerging in the Far East (or is that the Far West for us Californians?) Well, it’s something new to worry about, along with asteroids, nuclear fallout, global pandemic, Mayan curses and all the other 2012 hoopla. It looks like AIDS… but it isn’t. The person’s immune system goes down (fails) but they don’t necessarily die. Most importantly, it’s NOT a viral infection. There is no HIV (or at least all patients are HIV negative). Still, it’s a massive new alarm.

Asian AIDS Lets call is Asian AIDS or A2IDS. A new 2012 scourge of Mankind is emerging in the Far East (or is that the Far West for us Californians?) Well, it’s something new to worry about, along with asteroids, nuclear fallout, global pandemic, Mayan curses and all the other 2012 hoopla. It looks like AIDS… but it isn’t. The person’s immune system goes down (fails) but they don’t necessarily die. Most importantly, it’s NOT a viral infection. There is no HIV (or at least all patients are HIV negative). Still, it’s a massive new alarm.

Dr. Brian Goldman talks about the mistakes doctors make. In any other profession, we accept a proportion of goofs. Stuff happens. But in the medical profession, goofs are not allowed! It can cost someone their life…  

Dr. Brian Goldman talks about the mistakes doctors make. In any other profession, we accept a proportion of goofs. Stuff happens. But in the medical profession, goofs are not allowed! It can cost someone their life…   The post Doctors Make Mistakes? Can We Talk About That? appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.

OK, more summer stuff… Check Out The Appalling Drowning Statistics I didn’t choose this topic because it’s pleasant but because it’s informative (you know me!) I give this knowledge most years, in the hope it will one day save a life. Accidental death is a relatively rare form of demise, though proportionately higher in younger people, since they don’t get the disease spectrum of older folks. Drowning is one of the commoner accidental deaths, after road traffic accidents, of course. Did you know that in cold Northern waters (these figures are from the UK and would apply to the north Atlantic and north Pacific, but not necessarily the Caribbean) 55% of drownings occur within 10 feet of safety? That’s surprising. Also 66% of victims are good swimmers. How can that be? It tells us that people in the water can get into difficulty within seconds and rapidly become helpless. Typically, when a victim realizes that they cannot keep their head above water, they tend to panic. This leads to the classic “surface struggle”, where they flounder and thrash in the upright posture, out of control.

OK, more summer stuff… Check Out The Appalling Drowning Statistics I didn’t choose this topic because it’s pleasant but because it’s informative (you know me!) I give this knowledge most years, in the hope it will one day save a life. Accidental death is a relatively rare form of demise, though proportionately higher in younger people, since they don’t get the disease spectrum of older folks. Drowning is one of the commoner accidental deaths, after road traffic accidents, of course. Did you know that in cold Northern waters (these figures are from the UK and would apply to the north Atlantic and north Pacific, but not necessarily the Caribbean) 55% of drownings occur within 10 feet of safety? That’s surprising. Also 66% of victims are good swimmers. How can that be? It tells us that people in the water can get into difficulty within seconds and rapidly become helpless. Typically, when a victim realizes that they cannot keep their head above water, they tend to panic. This leads to the classic “surface struggle”, where they flounder and thrash in the upright posture, out of control.