Tag Archives: thyroid

Hormone derivative reverses age-related metabolic decline

Posted on by
Advancing age causes a significantly decreased resting metabolic rate.This can lead to age-related increases in body fat along with increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and dementia. Ageing individuals often find themselves overweight or obese which means a reduced life expectancy.
belly fat.jpg
Dieting can trigger a further meta- bolic slowdown. In several studies, scientists have found that replenishing the levels of a DHEA metabolite known as 7-Keto reverses the age-related decrease in metabolic rate in just 7 days.This translates into reductions in weight and body mass index in just 8 weeks!
How 7-Keto Works
Scientists are beginning to uncover the mechanisms of action behind the remarkable ability of 7-Keto to reverse the age-related decrease in resting metabolic rate and to produce various anti- ageing benefits.
Liver Enzymes
Scientific studies indicate that 7-Keto power- fully boosts levels of three liver enzymes that result in stimulation of fatty acid oxidation:
  • Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase
  • Malic enzyme
  • Fatty acyl CoA oxidase
These enzymes accelerate a heat-generating process called thermogenesis, which promotes the burning of fat reserves. Because this thermo-genic effect reverses the age-related decrease in resting metabolic rate, this may explain 7-Keto’s ability to decrease weight and body fat.
Thyroid Hormone
Supplementing with 7-Keto results in elevated levels of the T-3 thyroid hormone. Thyroid hormones regulate metabolic activity, which declines with age.This explains another potential mechanism by which 7-Keto triggers reductions in body weight and body fat.
Interleukin-2
7-Keto has been shown to enhance the production of interleukin-2 in human lymphocytes.When interleukin-2 reacts with its corresponding receptor sites on cell surfaces, it stimulates production and differentiation of various T-lymphocytes, which in turn trigger production of other immune agents.
The result is a broad enhancement of the immune system, which is normally weakened by advancing age.
Study participants experienced decreased immune suppressor cells and increased immune helper cells.Supplementation with 7-Keto may fortify defenses against numerous conditions, including killers such as cancer and AIDS.
DHEA versus 7-Keto
 
DHEA is the body’s most abundant hormone, but its production peaks in the 20s and steadily declines, leading to age-related hormonal imbalances.
DHEA is converted by the body into androstenedione, which is then converted into the male and female sex steroid hormones, estrogen and testosterone. This conversion is highly individualised and some people could end up with excess levels of these sex hormones–which could pose a risk if any of those individuals have a hormone-dependent disease, such as prostate or breast cancer.
Unlike DHEA however, 7-Keto does not trigger higher sex hormone levels.That means that supple- menting with 7-Keto may be a safer way for some peo- ple to benefit from these anti-aging effects including enhancing the immune system, reducing age-related memory loss, and improving cholesterol profiles.
 
Report Reference
 
Colker CM, Torina GC, Swain MA, Kalman DS. Double-Blind Study Evaluating the Effects of Exercise Plus 3-Acetyl-7-oxo-dehydroepiandrosterone on Body Composition and the Endocrine System in Overweight Adults. Abstract presented at 2nd ASEP Annual Meeting, October 14-16, 1999, and published in Journal of Exercise Physiology online, Volume 2 Number 4 October 1999.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Hair Wonder – new products to halt hair loss

Posted on by

As the editor of a magazine totally devoted to anti-ageing you would think I would know enough not to mess around with my hormones. Well I have to confess that is exactly what I did, albeit with a little bit of advice from an anti-ageing doctor.  And with bad consequences – two thirds of my hair fell out.

How did this happen you may ask?  Well in common with many woman of a certain age I started to suffer sub-optimal levels of the metabolism controlling hormone made by the thyroid gland but with no particular symptoms. But after a girlfriend, who had none of the symptoms either – she was slim and full of energy – I decided to take a blood test with my GP.  It confirmed that I was indeed short of the hormone and that I should supplement with thyroxine – first a small dose of 0.25mg and then 0.50 mg.
So I supplemented by taking the tiniest of pills first thing in the morning for several years.  Then in a conversation in Harley Street with an anti-ageing doctor,  I was advised to take a freely available supplement called Potassium Iodide – which can be bought on the net. So I started taking this for several months instead of my thyroxine. What I did know was that Potassium Iodide is the supplement you are advised to take if there is a nuclear blast as it protects the thyroid gland from radiation.  Added to which you are only supposed to take it short term as a build up is ‘toxic’.  I did notice after a month or so that I had a metallic taste in my mouth, that the skin on my back felt rough, I was getting strange spots on my face, my neck was swollen and I was having difficulty swallowing – but thought these were symptoms of hypochondria. I later discovered that these were symptoms of ‘toxicity’.
It was only when I ran out of the supplement and didn’t replace it with thyroxine that I suddenly noticed large amounts of hair in the bath plug hole, then all around my home and also it was coming out in handfuls and I was starting to see my scalp! And I had really thick hair which hairdressers always used to comment on….
So I turned to the internet for more information.  And concluded that my sudden hair loss was a symptom of one of the following:
  • Too much testosterone – which meant I was turning into a man and suffering from male-pattern baldness.  This was the worst possible scenario because then it never grows back!
  • It was stress-induced.  That was a possibility and had happened once before.
  • My thyroid was in need of thyroxine to help it function properly and hair loss – albeit temporary was a symptom. 
I concluded that my lack of thyroxine was to blame and started taking my tablets again and paid a visit to my GP for a blood test just in case there was something else. I also started eating all the things that help promote hair growth such as fish oils, selenium and tocotrienol (vitamin E).
So what was I to do about my hair disaster while waiting for the thyroxine levels to build up and my hair to grow back which would take several months? 
It was suggested that I try hair loss products.  But being sceptical – we have all seen men with those spray on colour thickeners – which sprays the scalp as well as the hair. But I was to learn that there are lots of new products nowr with ingredients that can really help you make the most of your hair when you need to.
anti-hairloss_assortment.jpg
I tried the range from Hair Wonder which is aimed at halting hair loss caused by the menopause and stress, and contains phytokeratin to strengthen the hair and provitamin B5 to add shine.  The range includes shampoos, conditioners and a hair follicle boosting lotion and  a hair thickener. 
Surprisingly the one product I thought would be terrible was the one I most recommend –  the hair thickener!  Expecting to end up with hair that looked dull, lifeless and weighed down by the product, I could not have been more wrong.
Hair Wonder’ Henna Plus Fluid Hair Volumiser contains a range of ingredients that add volumn and strength to the hair without making it sticky, including henna, organic extracts and phyto keratin.  After washing your hair your spray it on and then blow dry.  And it does make a difference – OK you don’t get your hair back instantly but it does look and feel a whole lot better. 
The Anti-Hair Loss Lotion is also a great product because its applied directly to the scalp to stop further hair loss occuring. Trials in France revealed that it can increase hair growth by 25% in just four days.
The gloss shampoo is gentle and contains amino acids, Red ginseng and biotin to promote healthy hair follicles and gloss.
Whilst I realise that hair loss is often a symptom of a health issue that cannot always be sorted with a topical product, the range of Hair Wonder products does not contain any of the harsh ingredients that can make hair condition worse. It does help to give body, volume and shine which is a big step in the right direction when hair loss can be very distressing.  And they are not being sold at the rip-off prices.
I can only speak for my hair which is on the road to recovery – with a little help!
The anti-hair loss shampoo costs £9.99 (200ml), the hair lotion £16.99 (75ml) and the hair thickener £7.99 (150ml). There are several other products in the range.  Buy at www.naturalorigin.com
Enhanced by Zemanta

Dental X-rays increase risk of thyroid cancer, says expert

Posted on by

image

London: Multiple exposures to dental x-rays may be associated with increased risk of developing thyroid cancer, according to new research.

A collaborative study by scientists from Brighton, Cambridge, and Kuwait showed that the risk of thyroid cancer increased with increasing number of dental x-rays taken.

About 1900 new cases of thyroid cancer are diagnosed each year in Great Britain and the incidence rates more than doubled from 1.4 to 2.9 per 100,000 persons between 1975 and 2006. Increasing use of sensitive diagnostic techniques is not considered to account for all this increase and the researchers believe other causes need investigation.

The research team was led by Dr Anjum Memon (pictured), senior lecturer and consultant in public health medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, a partnership between Brighton and Sussex universities, and NHS Brighton and Hove.

The thyroid gland is situated in the neck, and will be exposed to radiation from many dental x-rays. It is known to be highly sensitive to ionising radiation, particularly in children, and dental radiography, a source of low-dose diagnostic radiation, is often overlooked as a potential hazard to the gland.

The researchers studied 313 thyroid cancer patients in Kuwait where dental treatment is free and where the incidence of thyroid cancer is relatively high compared to Britain. They said the results of their study, although the largest case-control study on the subject, should be treated with caution because the data were necessarily based on self-reporting by the participants. Comprehensive historical dental x-ray records were not available from the clinics.

They said the results provide good evidence to warrant more research in settings where historical dental x-ray records are available and where doses of radiation can be estimated.

Dr Memon said the findings were consistent with previous reports of increased risk of thyroid cancer in dentists, dental assistants, and x-ray workers which suggest that multiple low-dose exposures in adults may also be important. He said dental x-rays have also been associated with an increased risk of brain and salivary gland tumours.

He said: “The public health and clinical implications of these findings are particularly relevant in the light of increases in the incidence of thyroid cancer in many countries over the past 30 years.

“It is important that our study is repeated with information from dental records including frequency of x-rays, age and dose at exposure. If the results are confirmed then the use of x-rays as a necessary part of evaluation for new patients, and routine periodic dental radiography (at 6–12 months interval), particularly for children and adolescents, will need to be reconsidered, as will a greater use of lead collar protection.”

He added: “Our study highlights the concern that like chest (or other upper-body) x-rays, dental x-rays should be prescribed when the patient has a specific clinical need, and not as part of routine check-up or when registering with a dentist.”

He concluded: “The notion that low-dose radiation exposure through dental radiography is absolutely safe needs to be investigated further, as although the individual risk, particularly with modern equipment is likely to be very low, the proportion of the population exposed is high.”

The research team, whose findings have been published in Acta Oncologica, 2010; 49:447-453, called for further studies using dental X-ray records.

The research was funded by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) and was administered by the Kuwait University Research Grant Administration.
Lead researcher was Anjum Memon with Sara Godward, Dillwyn Williams, Iqbal Siddique and Khalid Al-Saleh.
————————————————————————————————————————

About Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) is partnership between the University of Brighton, University of Sussex and the local NHS health community. At BSMS, we identify research areas in medicine where we believe we can make a rapid and real difference. Our focus is on the continuous improvement of population health and medical treatment to deliver more personalised healthcare for patients, by applying basic science to answer fundamental clinical questions. BSMS brings together the combined expertise of the universities of Brighton and Sussex and the local NHS health economy, to deliver research which is directly translated into health gains for the population.
Thyroid cancer statistics from Cancer Research UK.

www.bsms.ac.uk

Underactive thyroid may be sign of longevity

Posted on by

image

New York: Low thyroid activity, one of the most treated conditions in the United States, may actually be a sign of longevity, US researchers have discovered.

While they said it was far too soon for people taking thyroid pills to stop, they will be looking to see if the thyroid may hold the key to a long life, at least for some people.

Dr Martin Surks and colleagues at the Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York studied hundreds of people who had lived to be 100, and found evidence that people with low thyroid activity were more likely to be in that group.

Dr Surks told a meeting of the Endocrine Society, specialists in human hormones: “We studied a large group of Ashkenazi Jews with exceptional longevity.”

They used a large national survey of health to see what the average hormone levels are for people of various ages.

The thyroid, located in the neck, is a master gland, secreting hormones that affect metabolism. Doctors usually check its activity by an indirect measure — looking at levels of TSH, or thyroid stimulating hormone.

High TSH levels suggest the thyroid is underactive, a condition known as hypothyroidism. Low levels suggest it is overactive, known as hyperthyroidism.

People with low thyroid function may lose hair, gain weight and feel sluggish, while those with overactive thyroids may lose weight, feel their hearts race and have trembling hands Both can be easily treated with a daily pill.

The researchers found 15 to 20 percent of people over the age of 60 had TSH levels that suggest an underactive thyroid gland. He told the meeting he believed that may be normal for older people and may in fact be a sign of longevity.

“We estimate that 70 percent of old people whose TSH was minimally elevated and who were considered to have hypothyroidism were actually in their age-specific limits,” Surks added.

The research looked at 200 Jews who had lived to be 100, and 400 of their children. Two genetic changes were linked with low thyroid function but also with extreme old age.

Metabolic rate affects life span in animals. For instance, elephants have slow metabolic rates, slow heartbeats, and can live for decades, as opposed to mice, which have fast metabolisms and live for just months.

It may be, Surks said, that people with low thyroid function in old age were “elephants” with a slow metabolism who can live longer, as compared to ‘mice” with fast metabolic rates who may have shorter natural life spans.

“If you are an older person with high TSH, this suggests you are on the road to a long life,” Surks said.

What worries him is that millions of people in the United States are being treated for hypothyroidism. “In North America, thyroid hormone is used at the drop of a hat,” he said.

His group is seeking to see if that might interfere with a person’s natural life span.

Surks noted that having a low thyroid function before about age 50 is a separate condition and appropriately treated with hormones.

He also plans studies to see what the biological function of having high TSH levels might mean for cells and ageing.

Cellular Therapy

Posted on by

Cellular therapy – also known as live cell therapy, cellular suspensions, glandular therapy, fresh cell therapy, embryonic therapy, refers to certain treatments in which the processed tissue from animal embryos, foetuses or organis, is injected or taken orally.

The theory is that the material from the organs correspondents with the ailing or diseased organ. The animals cells work by regenerating the unhealthy organ.

The organs and glands used include thymus, liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen, heart, ovary, testis, brain, pituitary and thyroid. They can be given individually or in combination.

The Swiss physician Paul Niehans (1882-1971) is known as “the father of cell therapy”. He founded the famous Clinique La Prairie in Clarens-Montreaux in Switzerland.

There are other clinics, mostly in Europe, offering this therapy in various forms.
There are several variations of cell therapy: the actual organic matter used can be frozen, freeze-dried or suspended in a serum. It can also be taken orally or injected intramuscularly. The cells are usually taken from the embryos of sheep or lambs.

The US company Cell Life Forever, for example, offers oral live cell therapy for the brain, prostate, muscle, skin, testical, kidney, heart, liver, bone marrow and placenta, amongst others.

The company sources its product in France and says that it is checked by the French government’s Institute Alfred Fournier laboratory.

Cell Life Forever says: “Some people may feel or see changes immediately, while others may take a number of supplements and not see any changes. “

The company says that it is unique in providing live cells. In Germany for example, Opotherapy treatments use products altered by sterilisation.

www.celllifeforever.com

The Baxamed Clinic (Basel, Switzerland) offers “biomodular cell therapy”, which it says can be used as a preventative measure against ageing and also in the the treatment of various diseases.

The fetal cells are sourced from bovine and sheep organs from controlled herds in Australia and New Zealand.

Diseases that can be treated by biomodular cell therapy include congestive heart disease, sexual impotence, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, chronic fatigue, many auto-immune diseases and Down Syndrome. The treatment is customized to each patients’ needs. The products are injected intramuscularly, usually without any negative reaction.

RNA Products

RNA products are made exclusively of biologically active Ribonucleic Acids from fetal organs. These are essential components ov every single cell in the body. They are responsible for carrying out the instructions embedded in the nucleus of the cell for the growth and maintenance of the cell. During the time of youth there is an abundant supply of RNA to ensure the cells health. After the age of 40, though the amount of RNA in each cell dwindles as time passes and chronic degenerative diseases based on a malfunctioning cell repair system start to occur. These products supply the cells with the missing RNA. They come in single organ preparations and in combination products. For a general revitalisation, the RN 13 is commonly used. RN 13, as the name says, contains the RNA of 13 different organ systems. The main strength of RNA though is the successfull treatment of many degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, MS, Post Polio Syndrome and others. The effect of RNA treatment comes on over an extended period of time. Depending on the site and severity of the disease, the effects are usually noticeable within 1 to 3 weeks, In severe cases, the treatment should be repeated every 1 to 2 years.

Thymus Therapy

The Thymus product we use contains 50 mg Thymus Extract with standardized polypeptides including Thymosin. It is used in the treatment of:
Impaired Immune Function
Old Age
Opportunistic Infections
Chronic Infections
Rheumatoid Diseases
Support of Cancer treatments
Prevention of Allergies

The most important system in the human body is the immune system. it is responsible for fighting off infective agents such as bacteria and viruses. More important though is its neuroendocrine ability. Research has shown that there is an important link between Thymus hormones and other hormones in the entire body. Thymus hormones induce other glands to produce their specific hormones. In addition, a healthy immune system is of the essence to prevent autoimmune diseases from developing. Thymosin is used not only in the treatment of disease, but also as a preventive measure. The usual course of treatment involves 10 intramuscular injections given over a period of 3 weeks.

The Center for Holistic Life Extension, San Ysidro, California

482 W. san Ysidro Blvd, Suite 1365, San Ysidro, California 92173
TL 01152 664 624 9639

This clinic uses embryonic cells from the blue shark to treat patients.

Health Center Clinique Lemana, Switzerland

Royal Plaza, Grand Rue 97 Case Postale 347
CH-1815 Clarens-Montreaux
T: +41 021 961 38 12
F: +41 021 961 3813
email: admin@lemana.com

This clinic uses Cellvital therapy