Reversing Endothelial Dysfunction

Tell us what you are using to treat your MS-- and how you are doing.
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cheerleader
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Post by cheerleader »

Another addition to the program, monitoring salt intake.
A low sodium diet does more than help blood pressure, it improves endothelial function.
Results from a new study suggest that eating a low-sodium diet can also help keep blood vessels working properly.

The study measured the impact of salt restriction on the endothelium, the thin layer of cells that line the interior of the blood vessels and help regulate blood flow.

Overweight and obese study participants with normal blood pressure who restricted the sodium in their diets showed evidence of improved endothelial function compared to participants who did not restrict salt.

The improvement appeared to be unrelated to the impact on blood pressure, suggesting that salt restriction is independently protective of blood vessel function.

"We found that if we reduced the salt in the diet, we saw a direct, positive impact on blood vessels," nutrition researcher and study co-author Jennifer B. Keogh, PhD, tells WebMD.

Salt and the Blood Vessels
It is generally recommended that healthy people eat no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium a day -- about the amount found in one teaspoon (6 grams) of table salt.

But the average American eats more than twice that, even if they rarely pick up a salt shaker, says Mayo Clinic cardiologist Gerald Fletcher, MD, who is a spokesman for the American Heart Association.

"Processed foods are often loaded with salt, even those that don't taste all that salty," Fletcher tells WebMD. "That is why it is so important to read labels.
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Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com
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cheerleader
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Post by cheerleader »

More proof that early endothelial dysfunction can increase MS risk-
This is a new study from the National Health Interview Survey.
Another "smoking" gun...
Smokers who pick up the habit in their early teens may nearly triple their risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later on, according to the first study to look at the relationship between early smoking and MS.

In the general population, the researchers found, 19.3 percent of people had started smoking before age 17, but 32.6 percent of the MS patients had started smoking early. After they accounted for gender, education and other factors that might influence both smoking and MS risk, they found that the early smokers were 2.7 times more likely than never-smokers to develop MS. But for people who started smoking at 17 or older, there was no increased MS risk.
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Smoking changes the natural nitric oxide balance in the body, and makes the endothelium prone to inflammation and breakdown. If this happens early in the body's development, blood vessels will be prone to dysfunction, and the vascular process (which I believe creates MS) begins. It is one of many modern/industrial revolutionary causes of endothelial dysfunction.

AC
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com
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jimmylegs
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Post by jimmylegs »

hey cheer this next tidbit is interesting, although it doesn't reference its sources. i haven't read about cadmium interactions with zinc before - would be interesting to follow up on this.

http://www.tvernonlac.com/cadmium.html
The toxic metal [cadmium] strongly displaces zinc from its proper sites in the body. It replaces zinc in the arteries causing stiffness, inflammation and high blood pressure. High cadmium and low zinc in the arteries can promote aneurysms. It is stored in the body in place of zinc. Many symptoms of cadmium poisoning are the same as those of zinc deficiency such as decreased appetite, dry scaly skin, loss of hair, loss of body weight, decreased body temperature, decreased growth, immune suppression, reduced testosterone activity and impotence, prostate cancer, loss of sense of smell, and copper toxicity. Cadmium is associated with cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many other major degenerative diseases. It's ability to replace zinc is an important reason for this. Zinc is required for over one hundred critical enzymes. Zinc is essential for insulin production, insulin release and it prolongs the action of insulin. Cadmium and copper toxicity are frequently involved in glucose tolerance problems such as hypoglycemia and diabetes.

The toxic effects of cadmium are kept under control in the body and brain by the presence of zinc, [its] primary antagonist. Zinc is very protective against cadmium absorption in the intestines. The increasing prevalence of zinc deficiency increases toxic metal retention and the toxic effects. Refining flour and sugar removes most of the zinc, chromium and selenium. Refined grains including rice and frozen vegetables, promote zinc deficiency due to the low levels in the food and refined sugars and carbohydrates increase the demand for zinc. Sugar from any source including fruits and fruit juices, causes zinc depletion. Whole wheat has a cadmium/zinc ratio of about 1 to 120. White, refined wheat flour has a cadmium/zinc ratio of about 1 to 12. Eating mostly refined foods is a major source of toxicity due to the effect on this ratio. The ideal hair tissue mineral ratio is 1 to 500. Higher levels of protein, iron, calcium and manganese also have a protective effect.

Smoking cigarettes is the worst source of toxicity as it is the primary metal found in cured tobacco. It is sprayed on the tobacco plant as a fungicide. It is also present in the cigarette papers. In each cigarette the residual cadmium concentration averages 1.4 micrograms. Passive smoke also contains substantial amounts. One pack of cigarettes deposits at least 4 mcg into the lungs which is ten times the amount that the body can assimilate and excrete in a day. It will be retained in the kidneys, blood vessels, brain and lungs. It weakens the immune system and gives rise to the typical smoker’s diseases: lung infections, lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and malignant tumors.
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cheerleader
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Post by cheerleader »

WOW! Thanks for that, Jimmy. I mention cadmium in the paper, as a trace metal found in public water supplies that creates endothelial dysfunction...but I had no idea it was in tobacco, as well. Once again, zinc to the rescue!

Cadmium is often found in the water and soil near mining sites. Looks like it's one of the bad boys of metal for the endothelium, because it combines with oxygen...
Cadmium is usually found as a mineral combined with other elements such as oxygen (cadmium oxide), chlorine (cadmium chloride), or sulfur (cadmium sulfate, cadmium sulfide) All soils and rocks, including coal and mineral fertilizers, contain some cadmium. Most cadmium used in the United States is extracted during the production of other metals like zinc, lead, and copper. Cadmium does not corrode easily and has many uses, including batteries, pigments, metal coatings, and plastics.

Exposure...
Eating foods containing cadmium;(highest levels are found in shellfish, liver, and kidney meats).
Smoking cigarettes or breathing cigarette smoke.
Breathing contaminated workplace air.
Drinking contaminated water.
Living near industrial facilities which release cadmium into the air
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts5.html

Thanks for the heads up , Jimmy. I posted a story a few pages back on a lawsuit w/a lot of people getting MS who lived near a superfund site. Not good.
AC
Last edited by cheerleader on Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com
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AndrewKFletcher
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Post by AndrewKFletcher »

Just finished reading this thread.

Loved the bit about tilting the bed being advised by your consultant Cheerleader.

Question relating to since the bed was tilted: Has your husband shown some significant changes since the bed was modified?

I have a list of parameters somewhere and will post them on the varicose vein poll questions so I can refresh the thread and hopefully encourage more votes with regards to swollen / varicose veins and ms.

http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-6755.html
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cheerleader
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Post by cheerleader »

AndrewKFletcher wrote:Just finished reading this thread.
Loved the bit about tilting the bed being advised by your consultant Cheerleader. Question relating to since the bed was tilted: Has your husband shown some significant changes since the bed was modified?l
Andrew-We've been sleeping in the tilted bed for 2 months. I can't point to any specific improvement, although I have noticed his breathing is more regular. Jeff never had varicose veins, he had petechial spots, which cleared up once we started doing a liver cleanse with milk thistle. I'm on the lookout for improvements, and will post as we see them. Please do check out the paper (highlighted below)...it goes into much greater detail than this thread.

In a fascinating side-line to metal poisoning... there's a wonderful movie starring Ed Harris as Ludwig von Beethoven, in a fictional depiction of Beethoven's last year, called "Copying Beethoven". Watching Beethoven's physical and emotional decline as portrayed brilliantly by Harris is quite moving. Scientists have only recently discovered, by studying a few hairs and fragments of skull with a subatomic photon machine, that Beethoven died from lead poisoning...probably from drinking wine out of a favorite lead cup or taking medicines he was prescribed, ironically, to help his many neurological symptoms.
Beethoven's death

Metals are a large part of this equation, and our modern life...and contribute to breakdown of the endothelium.
AC
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com
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Post by DIM »

Selenium is mercury and aluminum antagonist, zinc is cadmium antagonist and so on!
Every "good" mineral protects from toxic ingredients while alpha lipoic acid and N-acetyl cysteine help body detoxification from heavy metals!
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Post by jimmylegs »

GOOD because i just stocked up on selenium and zinc, and i realized a little while back that there's ALA in my liver tonic blend too :)
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Post by jimmylegs »

hey i went after smoking impacts on zinc a bit more...

The influence of smoking on semen quality, seminal microelements and Ca2+-ATPase activity among infertile and fertile men
T.A. Kumosania, M.F. Elshala, A.A. Al-Jonaida and H.S. Abduljabarb

Tobacco smoking is now increasing rapidly throughout the developing world and is one of the biggest threats to current and future world health. Several studies have addressed the role of cigarette smoking on semen quality, but the exact mechanisms remain inconclusive. In order to evaluate the detrimental effects of smoking on semen quality among Saudi subjects, the levels of different seminal parameters in smokers were compared to non-smokers.

A total of 159 semen samples (61 smokers and 98 non-smokers) from men attending an infertility clinic for routine infertility workup were sub-grouped into fertile or infertile and were compared based on standard semen analysis (according to WHO guidelines), content of metals (magnesium, zinc and cadmium) and plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase activity of sperms.

Cadmium concentration was found significantly higher in smokers than in non-smokers either in fertile or infertile group (2.9 ± 0.4 vs 1.4 ± 0.7; 2.9 ± 0.5 vs 1.3 ± 0.7 μg L− 1; respectively). Together with this increase in seminal Cd a significant decrease in Ca2+-ATPase activity (21.5 ± 2.8 vs 33.71 ± 1.2; 20.7 ± 1.5 vs 35.07 ± 2.9 mmol min− 1 mg− 1 protein, p < 0.05), decrease in seminal zinc (109.8 ± 8.1 vs 189.7 ± 9.9 mg L− 1, p < 0.01) and decrease in sperm motility (41.9% ± 2.9 vs 46.01% ± 2.5; 9.8% ± 2.4 vs 15.3% ± 2.7, p < 0.05) were found.

Our data demonstrate that cigarette smoking affects both Ca2+-ATPase activity and motility of the spermatozoa. These effects may be attributed to increased seminal cadmium and reduced zinc concentrations.[/quote]
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Post by jimmylegs »

ewwwww i used to work in water treatment, they really do truck off the sludge from sewage treatment to spread on fields, tasty
http://www.arltma.com/CadmiumToxDoc.htm
The most common sources of cadmium toxicity are foods such as rice and wheat which are grown in soil contaminated by sewage sludge, super phosphate fertilizers and irrigation water.
Large ocean fish such as tuna, codfish and haddock concentrate within their tissues relatively large amounts of cadmium. Oysters, although containing large amounts of cadmium also contain large amounts of zinc which serves to protect against cadmium toxicity.
Besides contaminated produce and organ meats such as liver and kidneys, a significant source of cadmium toxicity is a diet high in refined foods. Zinc, which normally protects against the toxic effects of cadmium, is largely removed during the milling process, leaving cadmium behind.
i'm wondering how phosphate = cadmium toxicity
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cheerleader
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Post by cheerleader »

jimmylegs wrote:ewwwww i used to work in water treatment, they really do truck off the sludge from sewage treatment to spread on fields, tasty
Jimmy, someday you need to write a memoir about your various jobs...
i'm wondering how phosphate = cadmium toxicity
Tobacco leaves may accumulate relatively high levels of cadmium (Cd). The presence of cadmium in soils originates from both natural and anthropogenic sources. In particular, phosphate fertilizers can contain high Cd levels due to the presence of cadmium in the phosphate rock used for their manufacture.
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18256720
Glad to know zinc, selenium, alpha lipoic acid and NAC are fighting the metal baddies for us!
AC
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com
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jimmylegs
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Post by jimmylegs »

LOL you're not the first to say cheer hehehe ;) i think the list might be posted on here somewhere to a rather disbelieving response... maybe i should go update that :roll: lol
Jimmy, someday you need to write a memoir about your various jobs...
re fertilizer, phosphates and cadmium WHAT THE HELL
no wonder the zinc in our soil and food is getting depleted.
:outrage smiley:
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Post by mrhodes40 »

Did you see that on the drug pipeline sticky DIgnan posted a thing about useing albuterol along with copaxone? It results in a better outcome.

Albuterol is a drug used for asthma that results is relaxation of the smooth muscles so airways relax and also a side effect is vasodilation.

Just wanted to throw it in here cause it is related.
marie
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cheerleader
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Post by cheerleader »

Thanks, Marie...I hadn't seen that. It always cracks me up to see pharma combining various drugs with Copaxone. This one is interesting because it appears the study was motivated by the immunomodulatory effects of salbutamol...but it was probably the vasodilation response which caused the better results in vivo.
Here's a study that may have prompted the clinical trial...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11772115
Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
The beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist salbutamol (albuterol) has been used for many years in the treatment of bronchospasm in patients with asthma. In this patient group, salbutamol is a relatively safe and inexpensive drug, and is easy to administer. Within the last few years, there has been increasing evidence that salbutamol might have immunomodulatory properties both in vitro and in vivo, in different animal models as well as in humans. This has led researchers to consider salbutamol as a potential therapy for several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). In this article, we review the literature presenting such evidence, and discuss the possible mechanisms by which salbutamol influences the immune system. We conclude that salbutamol might be an interesting add-on therapy in patients with MS and that further research is warranted.
AC
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com
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Post by patientx »

It's not just Copaxone:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18926575

This is just the abstract, but you can follow the links to the full text. The interesting thing is that one of the authors is the man of the hour, Zamboni.
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