Fw: Tuesday 06/18/02

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Subject: Tuesday 06/18/02

1. From: "dawn meredith" <dmeredith@...> "Kathi" <pureheart@...> Hi all. Yesterday I read again on this subject, trying to be sure I am doing the right thing. Does anyone know why all the experts appointed by Judge Pointer have (allegedly) said that silicone is not harmfull? I was so horrifiied reading this stuff yesterday. There are just no clear answers it seems. Some experts, not many tho, saying it is harmful and the ones appointed by Pointeer saying silicone does not cause illness. I did also discover 28 books online on this subject, wish there was a lot more information on these books, or that I had found them months ago and gotten them form the liabrary to read. Have others gone under the knife of explant as scared as I am? What is this stuff is not harming me? Since I am not ill, but have the bad short term memory and other cognitive problems, I am feeling such confusion and sadness as my explant date looms, in 3 days Scared and sad, Dawn. ----- 2. post to forum from Lea: This is just a reminder to all the criminals who are pushing breast implants for their own high-class lifestyles. We might be quiet for the moment; however, something is building to help to eliminate and expose these moneymongers for who they really are...several people we know are working on exposes of breast implant corruption. This vicious circle of deception must stop. The manufacturers and their high-priced corrupt lawyers, the distributors, many creepy low-life plastic surgeons, and the pharmaceuticals are getting rich on millions of very sick women who have been poisoned by these deadly breast implants. The good doctors who are trying to help us to get well have suffered a great loss. If they dare to speak out, they will be in danger of losing their practices. This is true of any of the scientists who did help and continue to help, but very few are left. This is true of some good lawyers, too, who have tried to help to find us justice, because these powerful people get to them as well. This is an example of why many plastic surgeons have lost all respect. About a month ago, a young woman called me for help. She had been born with just one breast, and at fifteen she was implanted with one of Dow Corning's poison bags of silicone. Her life is destroyed; she lost her position as a teacher and almost lost her husband because he did not believe that the implant was making her so very sick. She contacted a plastic surgeon and asked if he would remove the implant. When she told him that the implant was making her sick, he became very angry and told her to keep her mouth shut or he would not remove it. He did not want to hear anything about the problems with breast implants. She had to obey this uncaring and arrogant surgeon because he thinks that he is the cat's meow. He did not want her to have the implant after the surgery either, he said, because it was garbage! Ironically, this is probably the only time that he told her the truth! He knows that these devices are garbage, but he continues to implant them anyway. This "garbage" will go to our Dr. Blais to be analysed. Before explantation, I advised this woman to ignore the plastic surgeon and to befriend all the nurses instead. This worked! We picked up the implant and fibrous capsule from the hospital's pathology department for her because she faxed them a letter to arrange this. I have so many stories like this, and they will be told; however, we know that there are some wonderful plastic surgeons, and it is not my intent to paint them all with the same brush as the unconscionable ones. My doctors have me on a massive dose of Prednisone and two different antibiotics because of a serious flare. I promise all of you that they will pay a very high price for their terrible injustice to all women of the world. We will overcome this corruption! Our suffering will not be in vain! Love you all.......Lea 3. from Patti, talk with Dr. Blais Hi ladies, I spoke to Dr. Blais back in the early '90's regarding the Mycobacterium Avium Intracellulare infection found in my (l) breast. His opinion was that it came from an infected breast implant more than likely the McGhan (3M) manufactured implant that came from the Santa Barbara facilities. This is only one (and probably the rareist) of many bacterias found in women with breast implants. Love, Peace, & Tolerence, Patti pattiz1122@... 4. Therapies For Rheumatoid Arthritis And Psoriasis Biotech therapeutics took center stage at the EULAR rheumatology meeting in Stockholm this week, with new studies supporting the use of both Immunex's Enbrel and & 's Remicade in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Meanwhile, interim phase III data for Abbott's D2E7 continues to support approval. If approved, D2E7 will compete directly with Enbrel and Remicade. Biogen received a complete response letter for Amevive for the treatment of psoriasis. Biogen stated that no additional trials were required, although some additional data and clarifications were requested by the FDA. Interestingly, the stiffest biotherapeutic competition to Amevive may prove to be Enbrel. RA and psoriasis have several similarities in underlying pathology, including an overproduction of TNFa, the cytokine inhibited by Enbrel, Remicade, and D2E7. DeCode scientists published a much improved genetic map of the human genome this week in Nature Genetics. Although an important scientific achievement, the implications for DeCode's business are not immediately clear. Companies Covered: Abbott, Biogen, DeCode, Genta, Geron, Immunex, & , Millennium, Regeneron, TKT, Vertex. http://www.biospace.com/news_story.cfm?StoryID=9114319 5. The Link Between Inflammation and Diabetes Jun. 17, 2002 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New research presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association shows inflammation plays a pivotal role in the development of type 2 diabetes. Inflammation is typically the way the body responds to injury. However, if the immune system malfunctions, this inflammatory process can damage healthy tissue. Recent research shows inflammation may play a role in diseases that are not typically considered inflammatory diseases, such as heart disease. In much the same way doctors have found a link between inflammation and heart disease, they have now found a link between inflammation and diabetes. Researchers say there are several markers of inflammation that are increased in people who have diabetes. Bruce Duncan, M.D., Ph.D., from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, studied more than 10,000 people for nine years who did not have diabetes at the start of the study. In the follow-up, Dr. Duncan and colleagues found an association between higher levels of inflammatory markers and the onset of type 2 diabetes. He says, "Higher levels of these markers led to two to three times the risk of developing diabetes." Researchers presented the results of another study to determine the effects of rosiglitazone (also known as Avandia) on these inflammatory markers. Rosiglitazone is used to lower blood sugar levels among diabetics. In this study, not only did blood sugar levels fall in patients who took the drug, but all markers of inflammation were reduced in these patients as well. Paresh Dandona, M.D., Ph.D., from the State University of New York at Buffalo, says this kind of anti-inflammatory treatment may help prevent the onset of diabetes in those at risk for developing it. He points out that eating induces an inflammatory state in everyone. Normally, inflammation occurs for three or four hours after eating but will then taper off. Though people can't avoid eating, Dr. Dandona says they can avoid what and how much they eat. He says, "If people eat Mc's-type meals every three or four hours, and many do, they spend most of their time in a pro-inflammatory state." Researchers say the finding that inflammation is linked to the onset of type 2 diabetes may open new avenues for the prevention and treatment of the disease. SOURCE: Reported by Ivanhoe Health Correspondent Stacie Overton at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Francisco, June 14-18, 2002 6. Australian Scientists Say Can Rebuild Immune System By SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists have used stem cells to grow an organ in mice critical to the immune system, saying the technique could be used to restore the human immune system in AIDS-HIV and cancer patients. "We are very confident that this work will be able to progress to humans within the next three to five years," said Gill from Monash University Medical School in Melbourne. Gill and fellow researcher Boyd said on Tuesday they had discovered a "small population of cells that can generate a complete and functional thymus." The thymus, a small lymphoid organ situated in the neck, is critical in generating cells vital to the immune system, including infection-fighting T-cells. But the thymus' ability to generate T-cells is dramatically reduced by aging, viruses, chemotherapy or genetic abnormalities. By the age of 20 the thymus, the only organ which produces T-cells, is down to one percent functionality. AIDS-HIV patients suffer life-threatening infections because their immune system is destroyed as the deadly virus kills large numbers of T-cells. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy also destroys large quantities of the infection-fighting cells. "Hence the need to replace the thymus in people with the virus or undergoing chemo," said Boyd. Gill and Boyd, whose research was published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Immunology, said they had grown thymus organs in several mice and believed the same could be achieved in humans as the immune systems were strikingly similar. Boyd told Reuters they had discovered that epithelium stem cells injected into mice attracted haemopoetic stem cells and converted them into infection fighting T-cells. "Once you have those handles, the stem cells of both epithelium and the T-cells, then you can rebuild a thymus the way you want it to be," Boyd said. "You can use gene therapy to make the whole thing resistant to HIV infection, we may even be able to make a thymus that is resistant to chemotherapy," he said. Boyd said the thymus, about the size of a fingernail or pea, was grown in mice by simply injecting the epithelium stem cells under the skin. Once a thymus was grown it could be transplanted into position, he said. To date there had been limited success with thymus transplants as they are invariably rejected by the recipient. http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=IGYPZEG0ALBYSCRBAEKSFFAKEEATIIWD?type=sciencenews & StoryID=1101049 7. Protein Essential For Switching On T-Cell Response A minor change in a cell protein impairs the ability of a key type of immune cell to marshal the body's defenses against disease, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study appears in the June 14 issue of Science. The researchers also found that the change causes these white blood cells, known as T-cells, to multiply out of control and to attack the body's own tissues. Specifically, the study, by Connie Sommers, Ph.D. and her colleagues, found that the protein dubbed "LAT," for short, plays a critical role in coordinating a normal immune response. "This discovery not only provides important insight into how the immune system functions, but may also lead to a better understanding of certain cancers of the immune system," said Duane , M.D., Director of the NICHD. "This advance may also lead to insights into a variety of new therapies for autoimmune diseases-those disorders in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues." The immune system is made up of cells and tissues involved in recognizing and attacking foreign substances in the body. T-cells are responsible for distinguishing between molecules foreign to the body and "self" molecules --those produced by the body. When T-cells recognize a foreign substance such as a virus or bacterium, they become activated and begin the complex immune response that rids the body of the foreign invader. Before T-cells can carry out this important task, the foreign molecule must bind to a molecule known as a receptor on the T-cell's surface. This binding process is analogous to the way a key fits into a lock. In turn, the binding triggers a number of chemical reactions-called signaling pathways--within the T-cell, enabling it to react to the disease-causing substance. Two key signaling pathways that lead to activation in all cells are the calcium pathway and the Ras pathway. The LAT (linker for activation of T- cells) protein was first identified at the NICHD in the laboratory of Lawrence E. Samelson, M. D., one of the study's co-authors. In T-cells, this protein functions by chemically linking the receptor to both the calcium and Ras downstream signaling pathways. In the current study, the researchers mutated a specific amino acid in the LAT protein in mice. At two weeks of age, the mice with the mutated LAT protein exhibited a partial block in T-cell production. However, by four weeks of age, abnormal T-cells had rapidly expanded and the mice showed signs of autoimmune disease. The researchers discovered that the LAT protein produced by the mutated mice, while retaining the ability to connect T-cell activating receptors to the Ras signaling pathway, could not connect the receptors to the calcium signaling pathway. "The results of our study indicate that T-cells don't develop normally if they don't get a calcium signal," said Love, M.D., Ph.D., one of the study's authors and head of the Section on Cellular and Developmental Biology at NICHD's Laboratory of Mammalian Genes and Development. "They also show that coordinating the activation of the Ras and calcium signaling pathways is essential for a normal immune response." The study raises the possibility that some autoimmune disorders in humans may result from mutations that cause unbalanced or uncoordinated signaling in T cells. Next, researchers plan to study the effects of mutating other amino acids in the LAT protein. They also plan to determine if some human autoimmune diseases or disorders in which T-cells duplicate faster than normal, such as certain types of lymphoma and leukemia, are caused by mutations that result in an unbalanced cell signaling response. The NICHD is part of the National Institutes of Health, the biomedical research arm of the federal government. The Institute sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. NICHD publications, as well as information about the Institute, are available from the NICHD Web site, http://www.nichd.nih.gov, or from the NICHD Clearinghouse, 1-800-370-2943; e-mail NICHDClearinghouse@.... http://www.sciencedaily.com/print/2002/06/020618073505.htm 8. Ramping Down Damage Awards HIGH COURT NARROWS DISABILITIES LAW Associated Press The Supreme Court barred Americans from seeking damage awards from cities and government boards that refuse to build wheelchair ramps and make other accommodations for the disabled. Justices on Monday again narrowed a landmark disabilities law that forbids discrimination against the disabled at work and other places. http://news.findlaw.com/ap/a/w/1154/6-17-2002/20020617090005_09.html