This is the best news since chocolate is good for you!

Coffee seems to inhibit MS! At least it did for lab mice that were given an equivalent of 6-8 cups per day. Caffeine Could Stave Off Multiple Sclerosis, Forbes, June 29, 2008.

That is gigantic news in my world. The Wheeled Wonder's -- sorry, this Folgers IV bag keeps getting in the way -- I say, the Wheeled Wonder's body is comprised of 98.9 percent coffee. That's black coffee, Texas tea. So this item came across the wires here at Wonder Central like the espresso shot heard round the world.

In the laboratory, coffee prevented the immune system's attacking T-cells from attaching to the central nervous system.

It prevented the molecule adenosine, one of the four building blocks of DNA, from binding to the adenosine receptor at the cellular level. When adenosine cannot bind to receptors at the cellular level, this in turn prevents T-cells from reaching the central nervous system and setting off the events that lead to the animal version of MS.

i.e., no myelin pizza party for the T-cells. (Incidentally, my wife sometimes purrs that I have the animal version of MS, but here is not the place to kiss and tell.)

As ever with these studies, the results are only preliminary. Researchers must determine if the conclusions translate to humans. Then, since adenosine is used everywhere else in the body, a localized treatment must be devised.

I hear their message: hold your horses. Yes, yes, they have to say that. Meanwhile, most of my horses have already bolted the chute.

So, in the same vein as the vitamin D treatment I'm supposed to wait on but researched for myself and now supplement daily, I've got one thing to say --

Fire up that pot, Rosie, and make it a wicked one!

Those are my fireworks -- celebrate a merry Fourth!

Oh yeah, it's time to talk wine! This is cool like getting to go outside for class. Actually, class, today's word is resveratrol, making the news, clamoring for your attention. And with a name like that, you've got to take a second look!

I've written about this stuff before. It is the powerful antioxidant found in red wine, and seemingly its powers increase by the week. Already a couple years ago it appeared to be the fountain of youth, but as researchers study it, resveratrol accrues more and more benefits to its name.

The news in the past week is that resveratrol might inhibit obesity. Work at the University of Ulm in Germany found that resveratrol prevents the full development of the fat cells we carry in our bodies. (Wine Find: Red wine component resveratrol might fight obesity, lab tests show, by Nathan Seppa, Science News, June 16, 2008.)

Add to this earlier indications that resveratrol could fight cancer, and may very well become the next treatment for diabetes. Sounds like we've really got something major on our hands. Now, have a seat. There's more.

"I told you!"

My earlier comment about the fountain of youth? It's not so fatuous. Ponce de Leon might have saved himself the mortal grief of hacking through the malarial swamps of Florida, and stayed home in the sunny Mediterranean -- because the storied Fountain was right there in his pantry!

As reported earlier in the month by the New York Times, there are New Hints Seen That Red Wine May Slow Aging (by Nicholas Wade, June 4, 2008). Research continues linking resveratrol to prolonging life itself! Sounds crazy, I know. And I realize we hear goofy medical studies every day, like coffee's bad for you, then it's good, then it's bad for you again. But apart from the repeated good test results about resveratrol, I'd urge you to consider two other factors backing these particular studies:

1. "Some scientists are already taking resveratrol in capsule form," according to the Times article, although others think it's too early to begin prescribing. Too early for us, the hoi polloi, that is. David Sinclair, the lead researcher in this field, said several years ago already that all the scientists in his lab drink wine daily. Not only that, but he's giving resveratrol to his wife and parents. Nuff said.

2. If 'follow the researcher's family' isn't convincing enough, how about 'follow the money'? Sirtris, Sinclair's research firm, was purchased last month by GlaxoSmithKline for $720 million. This isn't Monopoly, and that's not play money.

Time and again (most recently in a University of Wisconsin report referenced in the story), resveratrol prolongs the life spans of mice. But not only longer lives, better ones. Even grossly overweight specimens are stronger and more active.

Giving you some ideas, is it? Well, truthfully, the study mice are receiving way more resveratrol than you and I can safely drink! But still, as I pointed out, that doesn't stop researchers from drinking a daily glass of pinot noir, the red wine most laden with resveratrol. (White wine contains negligible amounts, sorry.) Lesser amounts of resveratrol are also found in grapes (in the skins), peanuts and blueberries. One caution: the supplements currently on the market may not be up to speed yet.

So, a fruity glass on a beautiful summer's evening might do your spirit and your body a lot of good ...

Go, little book, and wish to all
Flowers in the garden, meat in the hall,
A bin of wine, a spice of wit,
A house with lawns enclosing it,
A living river by the door,
A nightingale in the sycamore!

Robert Louis Stevenson

In this space, I avoid politics. Still, I challenge every American to watch this movie. Even if you can't stand this man, he raises so many questions that it is healthy (sorry, couldn't resist) to consider them anyway -- even if your sole purpose is to poke holes in the dozens of points that are made.

Sicko is easily Michael Moore's best, and therefore most important, work. That comes from someone who often finds his arguments childish. But here, his illustrations are not only undeniably hard-hitting, but so stark and preposterous that they are impossible to ignore. Even the controversial Cuban stunt ultimately comes through with plenty of merit. You'll see.

The movie was released last week on DVD. Rent it, if only to understand the opposition in election 2008. Don't bury your head in the sand.

Greetings friends, from my netherworld.

I've spent much of the past few weeks on my back, taking care of some developing pressure sores.  It's a weird existence -- I sleep a lot -- but I'm doing fine.  This has happened before, and I know how to buckle down and get this business out of the way and back to normal.  As I told a friend of mine today, it seems a couple times a year I have to go into pre-crisis mode and tune out everything else except mending my body for a while.  I can't wait to get back on my feet (so to speak) and eat and exercise like a horse to get strong again.

I have been writing on my old laptop.  Unfortunately, the old buggy can't handle the online experience and my blog has suffered.  Sorry I just disappeared on my friends like that, no visits to your sites, no replies to your comments.  This might be a dress rehearsal for a couple weeks from now, when I head down to the East Texas woods where (as their former governor would say) there aren't any Internets.  I haven't decided how to handle my blog during those months I'm away, but sooner or later I'll be back on track.

The rest of my time has been spent wrestling with my lousy insurance company and its doctors, trying to get simple approval for a new seat cushion.  But that's another story ... enough about me already!

This day's big news is more proof of the benefits of vitamin D against MS.  A study finds correlation of higher vitamin D intake with lower incidence of MS.  In simpler terms, there is some sort of preventive benefit in taking vitamin D.  (You can't exactly say it prevents MS, like a vaccine would, because not enough is known yet.  But they are in the right ballpark.)

Earlier studies seemed to show improvement in MS people who take vitamin D.  That got me taking a supplement.

Don't have MS?  Vitamin D is still good for you.  It strengthens your bones and muscles, and may even play a part in preventing diabetes and cancer.

Yet doctors say that vitamin D deficiency is almost epidemic in our country.  We don't get nearly enough of it.  That's frightening, because we start losing bone mass at 40, especially women.

Most adults should get 400-600 IU (International Units).  A supplement typically contains 400 IU.  So will a couple classes of milk.  Other sources are cheese, fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines), egg yolk, butter, and fortified cereals and juices.

Another great source is sunlight.  Your body naturally produces vitamin D in the sun.  Well-known dermatologist Nicholas Perricone recommends 10 minutes in the sun daily.

You can overdo vitamin D, though.  To be safe, avoid levels around 5,000 IU, and don't supplement more than 600 IU per day.  Enjoy the benefits, but be smart and watch your levels.  Be strong like bull!

Thanks for all the well wishes, folks.

This is from the HealthTalk network:

Back by Popular Demand:

30 Minutes of Q&A With Nurse Piper

In our October question-and-answer session we had more questions than we had time!  That's why we wanted to give you another chance to get your questions answered by MS expert, Nurse Piper Paul.

Attend our live show online on Thursday, December 14, to ask anything you want about MS symptoms, treatments, research and more!

BONUS: Attend live online to be automatically entered to win an iPod shuffle, the sleek MP3 player from Apple that weighs less than a car key.

Date: Thursday, December 14, 2006

Time: 5:30 PM PST, 6:30 PM MST, 7:30 PM CST, 8:30 PM EST

Location: On the Internet

Guests: Piper Paul, R. N., Registered Nurse specializing in neurology at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington

Trevis Gleason, HealthTalk host

Day of Event Link: http://www.healthtalk.com/multiplesclerosis/programs/10_589/index.cfm

How to participate online: It's OK if you haven't registered prior to the event -- we'd still love for you to attend.

On Thursday, December 14, approximately 10 minutes prior to the program time, access the following Web address from any computer: http://www.healthtalk.com/multiplesclerosis/programs/10_589/index.cfm

Be sure to install Media Player for Mac or Windows and test it before the webcast.  Find easy download instructions at http://www.healthtalk.com/wmpdownload.cfm

Thank you for taking part in this program.

We wish you and your family the best of health,

The Multiple Sclerosis Network Team

Last week, Dr. David Sinclair of Harvard published a study where obese mice live longer, and better, taking resveratrol. Resveratrol is the antioxidant found primarily in red wine.

Now I'm not saying that we Whopper-gobbling Americans are obese, but we probably ought to be sipping that wine, or eating our veggies that also pack the antioxidants.

Sinclair has been at the cutting edge of resveratrol research, and has uncovered bigger and bigger results. This one is significant because resveratrol is proving itself not only as a life-extending agent, but also a life-enhancing agent. The test animals were more nimble until death, and their livers smaller and healthier. Now Sinclair and associates are looking at additional uses for resveratrol, including as a treatment for diabetes.

Plus I have a soft spot for obese mice.

Experts caution not to rush out devouring resveratrol supplements. These are early results. They need to be verified, duplicated, debated. Cures for obesity and diabetes are at least a few years away.

Yet Sinclair admits that he, his wife, parents and "half my lab" are taking resveratrol.

Wink.

30 minutes of live MS Q&A on the Internet with Nurse Paul tomorrow, Tuesday, October 24.

From HealthTalk, the health education organization:

"We had such a great response from our audience during last month's question-and-answer session that we wanted to give you another chance to get your MS questions answered by MS expert, Nurse Piper Paul.

"Join in our live Internet event on Tuesday, October 24, to get answers to your questions about injection techniques, embarrassing symptoms, cognitive problems, and just about anything else you might want to know more about.

"BONUS: Be sure to attend this program live on the Internet for your chance to win a pair of QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones by Bose, the smaller, sleeker version of high-performance headphones with award-winning noise reduction technology."

Time: 8:30-9 PM EDT

The guest, Piper Paul, R.N., specializes in neurology at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.

There is a short registration form.

About 10 minutes prior to the event, log on to http://www.healthtalk.com/multiplesclerosis/programs/10_587/index.cfm

Be sure to install and test Media Player for Mac or Windows before the webcast. Find easy download instructions at http://www.healthtalk.com/wmpdownload.cfm

Researchers are starting clinical trials of an oral tablet to treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. At least 85 percent of those diagnosed have relapsing-remitting MS, and until now, all of the approved treatments require regular injections. Just think: treatment without site reactions, flulike symptoms or other horrible reactions!

You can get in on the ground floor of this study, and begin taking this new medication right away. The drug company, Veritas Medicine of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is seeking volunteers, and you can apply through the Internet.

The CLARITY Study is a double-blind clinical trial of oral cladribine in treating MS. Cladribine is a chemotherapy treatment for hairy cell leukemia, but limited research with MS has been promising. In some cases, researchers have noticed improvement in MS symptoms.

Read the Medline profile of cladribine.

Here is a hopeful blurb listed by MS guide Sarah Beaubien at About.com:

Cladribine, Oral Treatment For MS, Granted Fast Track Status

On September 21, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track status to cladribine for the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. Cladribine could be the first oral treatment for disease modification in multiple sclerosis. The FDA believes that results from Phase I and II trials were positive enough that its evaluation should be expedited. Generally, treatments are designated as Fast Track when they have the potential to address unmet medical needs in serious medical conditions. The status will grant cladribine priority review by the FDA. The multiple sclerosis community is excited about a possible alternative to the injectable treatments currently available.

This is a press release where drug companies Serono and IVAX announced positive outcome of trials with oral cladribine.

Here a short summary about Cladribine: Potential Oral Treatment for MS

Finally, these are medical study abstracts of Cladribine Treatments in Multiple Sclerosis

IMPORTANT ANECDOTAL NOTE: I took cladribine in 1998. I have primary-progressive MS, and the doctors, who were up on the latest research, didn't know what else to throw at me. For several months, I went in for seven subcutaneous injections in the belly, every 3-4 weeks. I did not experience the horrendous side effects you normally associate with chemotherapy (perhaps I was on low dosages). In fact, I noticed no effects at all, either bad or good. In my final interview, I raised the front of my foot off the ground, but there was nothing else after, so it was probably my body's own placebo reaction. That's my experience only--one in almost a half-million cases, and a particularly aggressive one at that.

So, personally I'm ambivalent, but if you're up for being a test subject and really want to try something new, I say go for it.

To find out if you can take part

Click here to answer a short series of questions to help determine whether you can take part in this study. You are under no obligation to participate, and Veritas Medicine pledges that all information you submit will be held in confidence. Find out now if you qualify:

CLARITY Clinical Research Study Questionnaire

With the election just over three weeks away, I know you're all busily evaluating your candidates.

Hm ... where do these people stand on the issues that really matter to me, like the war ... taxation ... and by golly, getting my garbage picked up?

These are the issues that have concerned and overturned governments all the way back to Plymouth Rock.

Now, since you are here, you have an interest in health, or disability, or general smartaleckiness. Therefore I suggest an additional criterion in choosing candidates that fulfills all three interests, and so, applies to you, dear reader.

Stem cells.

Stop, stop, stop. Don't run. I'm not going to launch into my stock tirade on the issue. I appreciate your visit too much to impose. Instead I want to bring your attention to an ingenious little litmus test proposed by Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter, specifically for this 2006 election. (Read Alter's thought-provoking column here: Newsweek: Pledge Promises. )

Like me and others, Alter, a cancer survivor, is stunned by the hypocrisy that torpedoed a workable compromise measure that would have allowed full-scale research to proceed while addressing the ethical reservations of legitimate opponents. The measure would have allowed use of tens of thousands of stem cells that are discarded by fertility clinics. These are stem cells that are being disposed of today, here and now, without benefiting healing research or anything else for that matter. But the legislators who supported the presidential veto which killed the compromise measure assiduously avoid addressing this and other simple, logical questions.

Though these so-called legislative representatives' obstructive actions aren't saving lives--as I say, the clinics flush the cells regardless--they offer no explanation other than ... simple obstinate opposition. Puzzling.

But just coincidentally, it's an election year! Maybe, perhaps, I wonder if they are minding certain vocal minority constituencies?

Huh. Those guys, silly!

To which Alter in his clever column replies:

Fine, you are against the research in spite of any logic, so I'll take you at your word, that you are absolutely opposed because of deep-seated, almost mystical, morality.

Then, you wouldn't mind signing a paper that I've brought along with me here, pledging that if and when the research eventually leads to cures of horribly excruciating, debilitating, life-threatening, or even simply irritatingly itchy physical conditions, that you will, on the basis of your firm and supra-rational ethics, refuse all such stem cell-derived treatments. So help you God. Amen.

Please, sign right here.

Of course, being hypocrites, any one of them would scoff and laugh it off as a preposterous put-on if you suddenly confronted them on the campaign trail with just such a pledge contract.

But I believe that is an eminently fair pledge to demand of accountable representatives, and one not to be trifled with--just as their constituents' futures and families ought not to be trifled with. I mean, really, they are asking for our votes--just as we asked for their vote last summer. Quid pro quo.

Actually, this is a pledge that ought to be distributed to the media. Maybe some reporter with genuine access to candidates will pick up the question and make hay with it.

My rep, Judy Biggert, is on board, as are my senators. How about yours?

Check them here, On the Issues.

Took me five days, but now I feel good. Still a little bit stuffed from the cold, but should be good as new by tomorrow.

Thanks for the well wishes. I never did train my Dragon voice-recognition for my "cold voice." I could have done it, so that it would recognize my scratchy voice with stuffed sinuses--I would probably sound a lot like Droopy Dog, "It's my birthday and I'm so happy." Only thing was, I couldn't speak more than a couple sentences without coughing. It wouldn't have been worth it.

But enough with the phlegmy details. While I was down, I happened to catch a show called Scientific American Frontiers. There was a great segment about colds. Alan Alda followed cold-researcher Dr. Ronald Turner of the Medical University of South Carolina.

One by one, Turner is ticking down the list of potential cures by running double-blind studies. He gives college kids colds by emptying a little pipette of water in their nostrils while they are lying down. The water is infected with rhinovirus, or "nose virus," which causes between 30 and 40 percent of colds. When they return to the center, most have a cold, and Turner breaks out those home remedies and alternative medicines we've all heard of.

Here's what I learned:

-- What we call "a cold" is one of more than 200 different viruses.

-- There might never be a cold vaccine, not because of a drug company conspiracy, but because the potential side effects of various active agents are worse than the disease itself. For example, given a choice between taking a 90-percent effective cold vaccine with a slight 10-percent risk of liver damage, wouldn't you opt instead for the cold?

-- As a cure, Vitamin E doesn't work.

-- Zinc doesn't work.

-- Echinacea doesn't work.

-- Nothing works, besides rest and drinking liquids. As you know, you'll be over most colds within a week.

-- With that said, you can treat the symptoms, and it pays to respond to them as early as possible. Symptoms generally worsen during the first 48-72 hours, and in that time mucus left unchecked can spread the virus to other areas of your body, i.e., to your sinuses through blowing your nose, or to your throat by dripping. Treat symptoms with first-generation antihistamines (chlorpheniramine, brompheniramine or clemastine) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen or naproxen). If these fail to control nasal obstruction and coughing, begin taking an oral decongestant like pseudoephedrine and a cough suppressant like dextromethorphan, cough drops or gargling with salt water.

-- As of the show's taping in 2001, Turner hadn't yet tested Vitamin C. He did suggest that for the antioxidant properties of Vitamin C to work, they would have to be present in your system already before the cold infection, meaning you would have to be taking Vitamin C throughout the cold season for it to be effective.

-- You catch cold by either inhaling an airborne virus or touching something that has the virus (it can live for three hours on objects such as telephones or doorknobs). The way to prevent colds then is to wash your hands regularly, keep them away from your eyes and nose (where the viruses like to enter through the mucus membranes), avoid those who have colds and watch that they cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing.

-- If symptoms persist beyond 7-10 days, see a doctor. You may have an infection like strep, staph, flu, pneumonia or sinusitis. Don't mess around with these.

Alda said something funny. He felt deflated that his tried-and-true remedy (I forget what it was) was sunk. Now he felt helpless. He told Turner he would probably keep doing what he was doing before. Turner laughed and shrugged, saying he understood. He probably hears that a lot. He seemed to imply that there's something to be said for the psychological factor.

Hope this is helpful to you.

Sources:

View the segment: Scientific American Frontiers--Cold Comfort

CommonCold.org

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Health Matters, December 2004

All right, ladies, hands out, fingers together.

Is your ring finger longer than your index finger?

If so, you are genetically predisposed to be a top athlete.

So say British researchers in a recently published article. Finger length is set already in the womb, and a longer third finger seems to correspond to higher testosterone levels. This is corroborated by earlier studies that show ring-finger length in males corresponding to sperm count and aggressive behaviors.

I have a strong suspicion this is the case, because every time my wife becomes angry with me her dainty little ring finger grows. That's when I know to turn tail and run.

Now I'm on my way out the door to see my niece's volleyball game, and we'll see if this is true.

MS affects everyone differently, and everyone but everyone has questions. Here is your chance to get yours answered.

The Q&A portions of HealthTalk's monthly MS programs are always popular, but there never seems to be enough time to get to everyone. Therefore, this month they devote the entire 30 minutes to live questions with an MS expert. Guest Piper Paul, R.N., is a Registered Nurse specializing in neurology at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.

Ask Nurse Paul about treatment options, progression, lifestyle, nutrition, research or anything else on your mind. And since this takes place on the Internet, you don't even have to get out of your jammies.

Bonus: Attend to be entered to win one of three iPod shuffles, the MP3 player from Apple that weighs less than a car key.

Time: Thursday, September 28, 8:30-9:00 p.m. EDT (5:30-6:00 p.m. PDT)

To attend: About 10 minutes before the event, log on to http://www.healthtalk.com/multiplesclerosis/programs/10_586/index.cfm

Be sure to install Media Player for Mac or Windows and test it before the webcast. Find easy download instructions at http://www.healthtalk.com/wmpdownload.cfm

Today, a study announced that those who drink fruit or vegetable juice three times a week are 76 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's. Big results.

The key word is antioxidants. Otherwise known as vitamins A, C and E, among others. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with them, especially the skins (peels). The skins are protective--and eating a range of different-colored produce presumably gives us a diversity of protections. The antioxidants in the peels combat potentially troublesome agents in our body called free radicals, that can lead to all sorts of bad and deadly diseases.

Dr. Andrew Weil also speaks of the anti-inflammatory properties of antioxidant-rich foods. These keep the blood vessels and vital tissues supple and young.

The active antioxidants cited in today's study are the polyphenols. These are being studied to explain the so-called "French paradox": how those in the south of France, whose lifestyle generally includes a fatty diet and even smoking, often enjoy surprisingly long lives. These people also drink a lot of red wine. The dark wine-grapes, and their skins which give the wine its color, are rich in polyphenolic antioxidants.

So there is a lesson in today's study of natural juices. But don't stop there. Eating a variety of vegetables and fruits confers a bundle of other healthy benefits. Plus, in addition to this, now I'm going to give you a big shortcut. Why settle for a triple, when you can hit a grand slam?

There is a category of foods so laden with antioxidants that some are calling them "superfoods." These include dark grapes, dark grape juice and red wine, particularly pinot noir. A glass a day will do you a whole lot of good. But there are many others, some perhaps even more valuable.

At the low end of the spectrum are peanuts and spinach. But higher up, on a par with red wine, is green tea. There is a saying about it: one cup of green tea is better than none, and two are better than one. Shoot for two cups daily.

But it gets even better. White tea, increasingly popular, is even healthier than green tea. It's antioxidant dynamite.

And now I'll top even that. Because chocolate--luscious ambrosia of the gods--is just as rich or richer in these powerful properties. You heard me. Chocolate. Daily. In your mouth. Good for you. You're welcome.

When I say powerful, I mean that researchers are looking at these compounds as the fountain of youth. Not just to stay healthy, but to actually prolong life.

Commenting after the findings of one of the first studies on resveratrol, the potent antioxidant in dark grapes, that early study's scientists seemed somewhat hesitant, almost embarrassed, about their incredible results. They stressed that their conclusions had yet to be duplicated and confirmed. But one of them also confided that everyone in the lab was now drinking wine.

You can go overboard on some or all of these things, not because antioxidants are bad for you, but because of other rather obvious drawbacks. Too much wine in a day ... well, that's a no-brainer. Too much chocolate or peanuts can jack up your fat intake. Peanuts are an oil, and chocolate is processed with oil. In fact, in chocolate you want to look for the highest percentage of cocoa possible, 70 percent or more. Healthy chocolate is bitter chocolate. What do you want me to do about it?

Instead of chocolate, try a daily mug of hot cocoa. Hot cocoa cuts out a lot of the calories and fat found in solid chocolate. Read your labels when buying.

OK, here's the list for you, in rough order:

• hot cocoa (the fans are going wild!)
• white tea
• green tea
• pinot noir, or other red wine
• dark grape juice
• dark grapes
• peanuts
• other fruits and vegetables with A, C and E: berries, oranges, citrus, orange juice, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, chard, kale ... aw heck, there are dozens. Just fruits and vegetables, period.

One more thing, a caution. When you see "miracle" or "super" in front of anything health-related, get out of your red flags and wave 'em. Something like "superfoods," even coming from a wheeled wonder, should set the suspicion bells in your mind a-clanging. So I'm saying, don't just take my word for it--or anyone's word when it comes to putting something in your body. Think, is this stuff for real? Can it be overdone, or will it conflict with whatever medicines or conditions are currently on my plate?

Research, Google, question, learn.

But while you're doing so, go ahead and enjoy a chocolate.

Researchers are grafting nerve fibers around spinal cord injuries. The fibers grow to resume function at the injury site.

This is years away, but exciting.

Progress reported on spinal cord repair

CLEVELAND, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Neuroscience researchers from several U.S. universities report they recently bypassed a roadblock in spinal cord repair.

When an injury occurs in the spine, the body's defense is to build a scar to prevent further injury. However, the scar also stops all neural traffic from moving, leading to paralysis.

Researchers from Drexel University, University of Arkansas and Case Western Reserve University said they found a way around the obstacle, Case Western Reserve's Science Daily reported.

The researchers regenerated the severed nerve fibers around the initial lesion by taking a peripheral nerve from the leg of the same animal with the spine injury. They then jump-started neural traffic by allowing the nerve fibers to exit.

This was accomplished by using an enzyme that stopped molecules that inhibit growth, allowing the nerve fibers to reconnect with the spinal cord.

The breakthrough could mean a bright future for the aid of paraplegics and quadriplegics, Science Daily said.

(Copyright 2006 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.)

More proof that curry is great for your noggin. This study focuses on the elderly, but if you read widely you'll find curry is good for everyone.

The cool thing is, like fish, you only have to eat curry once in a while to derive benefits. Fish in any form, even fish sticks, can help you even if eaten only once a month. From this study, curry could help even if eaten every six months.

Popular curry spice is a brain booster

Call it yellow ginger, haldi, turmeric or E100, the yellow root of Curcuma longa, a staple ingredient in curry, is turning out to be gratifyingly healthy. Now Tze-Pin Ng and colleagues at the National University of Singapore have discovered that curry eating seems to boost brain power in elderly people.

Curcumin, a constituent of turmeric, is an antioxidant, and reports have suggested that it inhibits the build-up of amyloid plaques in people with Alzheimer's. Ng's team looked at the curry-eating habits of 1010 Asian people unaffected by Alzheimer's and aged between 60 and 93, and compared their performance in a standard test of cognitive function, the Mini Mental State Examination. Those people who consumed curry "occasionally" (once or more in 6 months but less than once a month) and "often" (more than once a month) had better MMSE results than those who only ate curry "never or rarely" (American Journal of Epidemiology).

"What is remarkable is that apparently one needs only to consume curry once in a while for the better cognitive performance to be evidenced," says Ng, who says he wants to confirm the results, possibly in a controlled clinical trial comparing curcumin and a placebo.

From New Scientist magazine, 04 August 2006.

"I knew it." I was trembling, shaking my fist at my computer.

"What, honey?" said my wife. "Settle down."

"You see, what did I tell you all along?" I read from the screen, "Researchers discover a cellular signal that aggravates the symptoms of MS."

"Weird," she said, "I've never heard anything like that before."

"I've been saying it all along," I said, "what do you think is going to happen when you hold a pulsing little radioactive doodad a couple inches from your brain? Besides, it's MSlog.com -- good information."

"All right, but you'd better read some more about this." She shrugged and went back to her office.

I was filled with righteous indignation. I phoned all my friends. We discussed conspiracies, and how keen are my powers of observation.

When it was time to give my jaw a rest, I hung up the phone. I clicked on the link to read the details of the cellphone companies' nefarious schemes. No doubt the government was in on this, too. Bite me, Cheney!

That's when I learned that German experimenters are blocking a transmitting protein called NF-kB, in order to limit a specific disruptive signal that triggers many common MS symptoms. Disruptive signals that come from within myelinated nerve cells.

In other words, not Nokia cellular signals, but human cellular signals.

Oops.

Now I've got to crawl into the dumpster and find my cell phone again. Without my wife finding out.

The New York Times ran a series of articles showing the historic strides in human health within the past 100 years. Researchers compared the medical records of Civil War veterans with modern records. The results illustrate a huge difference in life now and then. That sounds obvious, but the rate of improvement is unique throughout human history.

If you've read me a while, you've heard my weird saying that it's a great time to be disabled. But in actuality, it simply a great time to be any sort of alive (at least in the First World). We have so much available to help us that none of our forebears enjoyed. That's difficult to remember when we deal with the routine frustrations of our present bureaucratic health-care system.

It's important to remember that the major health-care discoveries were made within only the most recent century. Before the First World War of 1914-1918, there were some vaccinations, but nothing was known of microbes and bacteria and keeping a sterile healing environment, and the first antibiotic, penicillin, wasn't even invented. Even since then, we have eradicated only a few diseases, like polio and small pox, and these still reappear at the abyssal edges of humanity. Mankind's only just opened his black bag of medicine.

That's important to bear in mind. Human beings have existed for millions of years. And only the last four generations have had a checkup, an aspirin on hand, prenatal care, fresh fruit from around the globe, or much of anything that forms our routine hygiene or medical care, much less any of our advanced treatments (imperfect though they may be) for hundreds of diseases and conditions.

I'll write more about these findings--there's a lot there. But here are some figures from a side-graphic that the Times ran. The results point not only to a longer life, but a much better quality-of-life.

People today have fewer chronic illnesses

From surveys of union Army veterans (1860s) and recent National Institutes of Health surveys (source: Dora Costa, MIT; New York Times)

In white men ages 50-64:

Difficulty bending
1860s: 44 percent
1994: 8 percent

Difficulty walking
1860s: 29 percent
1994: 10 percent

Joint problems
1860s: 45 percent
1994: 20 percent

Back problems
1860s: 39 percent
1994: 32 percent

Paralysis
1860s: 5 percent
1994: 1 percent

Valvular heart disease
1860s: 19 percent
1980: 2 percent

Heart murmur
1860s: 28 percent
1994: 2 percent

Decreased breathing sounds (includes air or fluid around lungs)
1860s: 12 percent
1994: 5 percent

Abnormal breathing sounds (causes include emphysema, asthma, pneumonia)
1860s: 20 percent
1994: 3 percent

Plus all attending have a chance to win one of three iPod nanos from Apple. They are pencil-thin and have color screens.

Oh yeah, the conference ...

MS affects everyone differently. The disease varies in type, relapse rate, visible and invisible symptoms, and reactions to medications.

That's why it's important to customize and revisit your treatment plan to ensure you're getting the best care for your unique situation. But what factors do doctors consider when matching the therapy to the patient? How do they determine that a treatment isn't working? And what do the emerging treatments mean for MS patients?

Get answers to these and other questions you might have about the evolving treatment landscape.

On Thursday, between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM, Patrick Parcells, M.D., will answer your questions. He is neurologist at Hampton Roads Neurology, Inc., in Newport News, Virginia.

To participate by phone, call 800-601-8584 about 10 minutes before the program.

To participate by Internet, visit http://www.healthtalk.com/multiplesclerosis/programs/10_584/index.cfm about 10 minutes before the program. You'll need Windows Media Player (available for free at http://www.healthtalk.com/wmpdownload.cfm -- Mac version available.)

  "You're doing a great job, Abe," the assistant says. "This is not going to take long. Hold on."

  All kinds of vague movement and clicking of machinery surround me, but I'm concentrating on that left eye. And the assistant. Dr. Laser is zapping me. Smooth sailing, so far.

  "Very good, Abe," the assistant says. "About 30 seconds to go. Keep that left eye open."

  Thirty seconds, that's great. I can do that.

  Hey wait, smell that?

  Somebody is making fondue. Must be for the party they are throwing for the doctor. The receptionist said it was his birthday. How thoughtful--fondue is the perfect party food. (I'm thinking this while I'm on the operating table.) What a cool office.

  "Twenty seconds."

  You're counting me down? Aw, assistant, you're the best. You've got fondue in store. Did I mention it's the perfect party food?

  "Looking good, Abe."

  Man, I ought to tell someone to take that fondue off the burner. I love the smell of burning cheese, but you don't want to ruin it. It's starting to remind me of the drill at the dentist's, when you smell the burning of your own tooth enamel.

  "Only 10 seconds."

  Wait. That's no fondue! That's my eye burning! Ah man ...

  "There."

  My vision returns on the right side, hazy, but still there. I don't know if I like that it smells like Cheetos, but at least it still works.

  If you have questions for the doctor, or comments on the article, please write. I'll make sure he sees them.

  And, the eyes are doing great.

The administration's only veto torpedoes a rare bipartisan push to advance U.S. medicine and technological competitiveness.

This will be an issue for the next two years.

Number of days until the shroud is lifted:

914

Meanwhile, 3,000 average Iraqis died in the last month alone, and now a couple hundred Lebanese, but save the zygotes!