Lloyd Wright {dot} org

By Claire Bates

The scientist who discovered hepatitis C in 1989 says he has now created a vaccine against the liver-destroying virus.

Michael Houghton, from the University of Alberta, said the vaccine was developed from a single strain but is effective against all known strains of the disease.

Shares of Gilead Sciences (GILD: 44.69, -2.31, -4.91%) fell 14% Friday morning after the drug maker said a majority of patients enrolled in one of its studies experienced a viral relapse within four weeks of completing the 12-week experimental hepatitis C treatment.

Six of the eight patients that previously had a “null” response but were taking GS-7977 plus the widely used antiviral ribavirin as part of Gilead’s Electron study had a relapse.

The Malfunction of Evidence-Based Medicine

by Daniel L. Scholten

(OMNS, Jan 3, 2012) What follows is an innovative new paper that we feel deserves publication. We concede that this article is a stretch for OMNS in both size and content. However, the nonstandard but thought-provoking aspects of this work need to be presented and we choose to let our readers read or delete. - Andrew W. Saul, OMNS Editor.

by Steve Hickey, PhD and Hilary Roberts, PhD

(OMNS, Dec 7, 2011) Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the practice of treating individual patients based on the outcomes of huge medical trials. It is, currently, the self-proclaimed gold standard for medical decision-making, and yet it is increasingly unpopular with clinicians. Their reservations reflect an intuitive understanding that something is wrong with its methodology. They are right to think this, for EBM breaks the laws of so many disciplines that it should not even be considered scientific. Indeed, from the viewpoint of a rational patient, the whole edifice is crumbling.

German researchers have determined that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG)—a flavonoid found in green tea—inhibits the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from entering liver cells. Study findings available in the December issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, suggest that EGCG may offer an antiviral strategy to prevent HCV reinfection following liver transplantation.

(NaturalNews) Milk thistle's use for liver health for 2000 years was
almost lost under Big Pharma's medical monopoly. Fortunately, it has
experienced a revival as an efficacious natural medicine over the last
few decades. And now, recent milk thistle research indicates it may also
be useful for treating cancer.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, October 12, 2011

What Kind of Medical Study Would Have Grandma Believe that Her Daily Multivitamin is Dangerous?

by Robert G. Smith, PhD

(OMNS, Oct 12, 2011) A newly released study suggests that multivitamin and nutrient supplements can increase the mortality rate in older women [1]. However, there are several concerns about the study's methods and significance.

• The study was observational, in which participants filled out a survey about their eating habits and their use of supplements. It reports only a small increase in overall mortality (1%) from those taking multivitamins. This is a small effect, not much larger than would be expected by chance. Generalizing from such a small effect is not scientific.
• The study actually reported that taking supplements of B-complex, vitamins C, D, E, and calcium and magnesium were associated with a lower risk of mortality. But this was not emphasized in the abstract, leading the non-specialist to think that all supplements were associated with mortality. The report did not determine the amounts of vitamin and nutrient supplements taken, nor whether they were artificial or natural. Further, most of the association with mortality came from the use of iron and copper supplements, which are known to be potentially inflammatory and toxic when taken by older people, because they tend to accumulate in the body [2,3,4]. The risk from taking iron supplements should not be generalized to imply that all vitamin and nutrient supplements are harmful.

The Heat Shock Protein Inhibitor Quercetin Attenuates