Health: H1N1 Vaccine Weakness, Tanning Beds & Melanoma, Vit D, Autism increase 57% in 4 years, H1NI Vaccines

HEALTH

All of us often make the mistake that very smart people have good judgement too. Read "The Best and the Brightest" by David Halberstam. Very smart people also work for our CIA, NSA, and State Department. Think about how many mistakes they have made in the last quarter century!

Scientists are human and often do not want to admit they made a huge mistake in supporting the use of sunscreens and continually support using more all the time. I believe based on good more recent medical studies that many of our neurological brain diseases are caused by inadequate vitamin D for babies and their mothers. We shall soon seem whether this is correct.

Autism increased by 57% in the last four years and by coincidence, both 2007 and 2008, the levels were the same! Might be a coincidence, but more and more patients and doctors because aware of the benefits of vitamin D for neurological health even though it has been known for a very long time that vitamin D is required for brain development.

There is a strong correlation between a lack of sun and Autism in the northern verses the southern states in the USA!

About 15 or so years ago the French scientists developed a very good UVA sunscreen combined with an UVB block which worked very well. The Bush administration FDA stopped the approval of this sunscreen until late 2006, but still did not approve the UVA block so it could not be used by American sunscreen makers under license. Even with hundreds of sunscreens available in the USA, an ABC study showed only about three had effective UVA block and these are not among the favorite ones sold now. Consumer Reports later found about the same results.

The reason that melanoma mushroomed after UVB only sunscreens were introduced, especially in sunny Australia and in low sun Sweden where they monitored health effects more carefully. Both Australia and Sweden much earlier came to conclude the dangers of long sun exposure with sunscreens made then.

Many Europeans who migrated from Africa had to develop lighter skin likely by epigenetic shutting off or turning on of genes and reduced melanocytes in order to reduce melanin induced darker skin. This allowed our body to store vitamin D required by all cells of the body for overall health, and not just bones, something not appreciated until quite recently. So if they use tanning beds, they need to use them much more to get a tan exposing them to much higher levels of UVA. According to a recent ABC news report, tanning beds double or triple the UVA radiation used compared to the sun.

I realized in the 1980s due to reports out of Australia and Sweden that the sunscreens did not block UVA, the probable source for the mutation of DNA by UVA which can penetrate skin and clothing more easily than UVB, the Burning rays which does not penetrate as much because it reacts with the outside skin. Melanoma also occurs in areas not exposed to sunlight, but my previous statement about the likely penetration of UVA through clothing has not been considered as far as I know.

Carbon Dioxide Blanket Warming of our atmosphere has led to cooler upper stratosphere where ozone is produced. The chemical reaction needed to produce ozone from oxygen is slowed resulting in ozone depletion.Therefore we are subject more intensely to solar radiation, especially near the north and south poles.

Jim Kawakami, Jan 4, 2010 http://jimboguy.blogspot.com or google both ABC sunscreen evaluation.

Autism disorders increased by 57% in just four years, the CDC today reported.

By the end of 2006, one in 110 U.S. kids had an autism disorder diagnosed by age 8: one in 70 boys and one in 315 girls, reflecting a nearly fivefold higher risk for males.

The new CDC estimate of autism prevalence, obtained from analysis of child evaluation records in 11 states, is virtually identical to autism numbers reported for 2007 from a huge telephone survey reported last October. ...

"Two decades ago we were looking at a prevalence of one in 5,000 children. Now we're looking at one in 100. That really is a staggering increase," Geraldine Dawson, PhD, chief science officer of advocacy group Autism Speaks, tells WebMD. ... http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20091218/autism-jumps-57percent-in-just-4-years Dec. 18, 2009 –

Vitamin D Increases Our Immune System: Peoples Pharmacy http://www.peoplesPharmacy.com ... Q. I used to catch lots of colds every year. When I was tested for vitamin D a few years ago, it was really low. I took a lot of vitamin D to get into the normal range.

Since then, I've had only two colds, each three days long. Vitamin D made a huge difference in my immune system.

A. Research shows vitamin D is extremely important for the immune system. It helps to regulate T cells, which are important immune actors. It also turns on the gene that produces cathelicidin, a natural antimicrobial compound that fights infection (Future Microbiology, November 2009).

Since many Americans don't get enough vitamin D because we stay out of the sun, recommendations for supplementary vitamin D may rise beyond the current RDA of 400 IU daily. Many experts believe vitamin D intake should be five to 10 times higher than that. ... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2010642258_pharmacy03.html

Meta Study Indicates Overall that Vitamin D Supplements Improves Elderly Balance Medscape.com http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/709829?sssdmh=dm1.537483&src=nldne&uac=139471HK

... "Supplemental vitamin D in a dose of 700-1000 IU a day reduced the risk of falling among older individuals by 19% and to a similar degree as active forms of vitamin D," the study authors write. "Doses of supplemental vitamin D of less than 700 IU or serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations of less than 60 nmol/l may not reduce the risk of falling among older individuals."

Limitations of this study include potential publication bias and larger-than-expected variation between trials. "Doses of 700 IU to 1000 IU supplemental vitamin D a day could reduce falls by 19% or by up to 26% with vitamin D3," the study authors conclude. "This benefit may not depend on additional calcium supplementation, was significant within 2-5 months of treatment, and extended beyond 12 months of treatment....Active forms of vitamin D do not appear to be more effective than 700-1000 IU of supplemental vitamin D for fall prevention in older persons." ...

ScienceDaily.com Researchers at Rice and Baylor Found Weakness in Mutating H1N1 Flu Virus 300 Mutant H1N1 viruses examined

The researchers were looking in particular at hemagglutinin (HA), the protein "hook" that allows the virus to attach itself to and infect host cells. It's long been known that five regions of H1N1's HA serve as antigenic sites, the protein fragments that trigger the body's immune system. These antigenic sites, first mapped in 1981, shuffle their amino-acid sequences in the endless cat-and-mouse game that viruses play to survive. ...

For a virus to evade antibodies, all five antigenic sites would have to disguise themselves by mutating. The new finding led the researchers to believe the receptor-binding residues would also have to mutate, but not so much that the binding no longer works. "If the binding is abolished, the virus dies," said Ma, a Rice professor in bioengineering with a joint appointment at BCM.

Such dual-function residues are a likely bottleneck for the virus, he said, because they're under the tightest restrictions. Thus, they could be easier to track over time and may chart a path to predict future mutations that will aid in vaccine design. ... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210111201.htm

Approved Fast Method for Preparing Flu Vaccine: Use Bioreactors Instead of Chicken Eggs

ScienceDaily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091209193506.htm (Dec. 11, 2009) — A shortage of flu vaccines may soon become a problem of the past. Researcher Manon Cox has developed an alternative process for producing large quantities of safe and effective vaccines at twice to four times the usual speed. The process is based on using cells in bioreactors instead of fertilised chicken eggs, which have a limited availability. ...

The prompt availability of sufficient suitable vaccine is always a problem when facing the outbreak of a flu epidemic. At the moment, it takes three to six months to produce a vaccine to counter a new strain of flu virus using chicken's eggs. Moreover, there is no possibility of expanding production capacity in the event of a pandemic as the limited availability of fertilised chicken's eggs needed for production inevitably becomes an insurmountable problem.

Cox's new process demonstrates that it is possible to make a vaccine available in commercial quantities within 45 days. The new production method makes use of a baculovirus that multiplies only inside insect cells, and which cannot spread in vertebrates. The insect cells produce huge quantities of so-called HA proteins, which mobilise the immune system into fighting the flu virus.

The aspect that most slows down the production of vaccine according to the conventional method is the need for fertilised chicken eggs. Furthermore, this creates extra problems if the flu virus is also capable of infecting birds (as was the case in the Netherlands in 2003), as the egg production often grinds to a halt. In addition, the vaccines produced are not suitable for people with an egg allergy. The new production process using insect cells can be used on a large scale, at all times and simultaneously at various locations throughout the world. The process can easily be adapted to new influenza strains and enhance pandemic preparedness.

Meanwhile, the new production process has already been put through clinical trials involving three different strains of flu virus in 460 healthy people. None of the test subjects injected with the vaccine developed symptoms of flu, while 4.6% of those taking part in the control group contracted the disease naturally. Three follow-on studies involving approximately 3,000 people showed no striking or frequent side-effects. The vaccine also appears to protect people from influenza viruses that have undergone genetic changes and in more than 50% of cases, it results in better antibody production than the flu vaccines currently available.

Vaccines for the flu virus contain the HA protein (haemagglutinin) which, once in the bloodstream, puts the body in a state of high alert. The protein also stimulates the production of flu-specific antibodies. The same protein is found on the surface of a flu virus. When a vaccinated person encounters a flu virus , the antibodies produced attach to the proteins on the surface of the virus and inactivate the virus.

Mayo Clinic: UVA radiation and melanoma.

Tanning Beds Have Three Times More Melanoma Causing UVA, presumably to increase the rate of tanning, but not know if the time and intensity of time spent in tanning beds really cause melanoma over and above those who just spend a lot of time in sun with only UVB protective sunscreens. I am also not aware of the assumptions the researchers made to prove tanning beds do indeed cause more melanoma. They seem to often use an example of a redhead who can't get tans in the sun getting melanoma in a tanning bed. I recall that only 4,000 or so out of 50 million people who use tanning beds get melanoma! http://www.skincancerguide.ca/melanoma/what_causes_melanoma.html

Mayo Clinic on Melanoma ... Melanoma occurs when something goes awry in the melanin-producing cells (melanocytes) that give color to your skin. Normally, skin cells develop in a controlled and orderly way — healthy new cells push older cells toward your skin's surface, where they die and eventually are sloughed off. This process is controlled by DNA — the genetic material that contains the instructions for every chemical and biological process in your body. But when DNA is damaged, new cells may begin to grow out of control and can eventually form a mass of cancerous cells.

Just what damages DNA in skin cells and how this leads to melanoma is a matter of intense study. Cancer is a complex disease that often results from a combination of factors, including environmental and genetic factors, rather than from a single cause. Still, excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a leading factor in the development of melanoma, whether the radiation is from the sun or from tanning lamps and beds. ...

UV radiation is produced by the sun. UV light is divided into three wavelength bands — ultraviolet A (UVA), ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet C (UVC). Only UVA and UVB rays reach the earth — UVC radiation is completely absorbed by atmospheric ozone, a naturally occurring substance that filters UV radiation. Commercial tanning lamps and tanning beds also produce UV radiation.

UVB light causes harmful changes in skin cell DNA, including the activation of oncogenes — a type of gene that, when turned on, can change a normal cell into a cancerous one. But UVA light may be more likely to damage melanocytes, leading to melanoma. Tanning lamps and beds mainly produce UVA radiation. UV radiation is most intense at the equator and at high elevations, but no matter where you live, your skin absorbs UV radiation whenever you're outdoors unless you wear protective clothing and sunscreen.

Other causes of melanoma
UV light doesn't cause all melanomas, especially those that occur in places on your body that don't receive exposure to sunlight. This indicates that other factors may contribute to your risk of melanoma. ... http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/melanoma/DS00439/DSECTION=causes

Making Stronger Dose Seasonal Flu Vaccines for Weak Immunity Seniors Shows Common Sense Finally Reigns! Reuters Dec 23, 2009 The vaccine uses a higher dose to produce a stronger immune response and better protect the elderly against seasonal flu, the Food and Drug Administration said.

The vaccine will be available for immunizing people in the fall of 2010 ahead of the next flu season, said Sanofi Pasteur, the company's vaccine unit.

The FDA said "non-serious" events such as redness and injection-site swelling were more frequent with the high dose vaccine. The rate of serious problems was comparable with Sanofi's regular-dose Fluzone.

The new vaccine was approved based on studies showing a stronger immune response compared with the original Fluzone. The company must conduct further studies to verify the high dose version decreases seasonal flu after vaccination, the FDA added. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; editing by Andre Grenon) http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2316757020091223

Harvard Heart Letter Highly Recommends Vitamin D Supplements 75% People Heart Disease Vitamin D Lack

Because our body needs a huge amount of vitamin D, I strongly suspect that problem women have with osteoporosis is due to our body's need of vitamin D for every tissue in our body.

Consumer Reports Health Letter reported that we can store months of vitamin D to get us through the winter. But because so many use sunscreens all year because they are afraid of skin cancer, no thanks to recommendations given by Dermatologists. Skin cancer including melanoma increased sharply when sunscreens were introduced, especially in sunny Australia and low sun exposure in Scandinavia.

Being low in vitamin D means that calcium/vitamin D supplements will not help keep your bones safe. Putting calcium in the bones needs vitamin D, but our body needs vitamin D to survive so our bones get very little bone buildup because the needed vitamin D has higher priorities for every tissue in our body to maintain our health. Could the toxic bone drugs serve the function of vitamin D? Wouldn't it be cheaper and safer to just go to 5,000 or more IU of vitamin D3.

Lack of enough vitamin D3 leads to "coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, heart failure, muscle pain, infection, some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, depression, asthma, and memory loss." ... in addition to osteoporosis.

Earlier I reported that Boston University treated people low in vitamin D were given 50,000 IU, yes 50,000 IU weekly until levels high enough to indicate that storage of vitamin D in our tissues for future use. As I roughly recall the supplements were given for 8 weeks. Once the levels were up, they switched to a level of 50,000 IU every other week to maintain adequate vitamin D levels.

A nurse in Eugene, Oregon, was so low in vitamin D that she had to be given daily injections of 30,000 IU vitamin D3! A friend in sunny Southern California was so low in vitamin D due to a lack of enough sun exposure that a conservative doctor gave her 50,000 IU monthly and increased her daily dose. Her frequent colds stopped.

Strongly recommend you go to your primary care doctor for your vitamin D test during your regular health checkup. Since most of you don't go to the doctor often enough, I recommend you go as quickly as possible to test for 25-hydroxyvitamin D, a inactive metabolic product which gives us a clue to the levels of vitamin D3 in our blood streams and tissues.

Jim Kawakami, December 12, 2009, posted http://jimboguy.blogspot.com

Boston Univ Found 50,000 IU of Vitamin D2 (D3) Weekly for Eight Weeks Treated Deficiency Then Every Other Week

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2009) — Boston University School of Medicine researchers (BUSM) have found that 50,000 International Units (IU) of vitamin D2, given weekly for eight weeks, effectively treats vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D2 is a mainstay for the prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency in children and adults. Continued treatment with the same dose of vitamin D2 every other week for up to six years after the initial eight-week period prevents vitamin D deficiency from recurring with no toxicity.

The BUSM study appears online in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones because it helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus from the food we eat. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets in children and the painful bone disease osteomalacia in adults. Vitamin D deficiency can also cause osteoporosis and has been linked to increased risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases including influenza, according to senior author Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, director of the Bone Healthcare Clinic and the Vitamin D, Skin and Bone Research Laboratory at Boston University School of Medicine.

Of the 86 patients researchers studied, 41 patients who were vitamin D deficient received eight weeks of 50,000 IU of vitamin D2 weekly prior to starting maintenance therapy. For those patients, the mean pre-treatment 25-hydroxyvitamin D status (25(OH)D) level was 19 ng/ml, which increased to 37 ng/ml after eight weeks of weekly therapy. These patients were then treated with 50,000 IU of vitamin D2 every other week and had a mean final 25(OH)D level of 47 ng/ml.

For the 45 patients who received only maintenance therapy of 50,000 IU of vitamin D2 every two weeks, the mean pre-treatment 25(OH)D level was 27 ng/ml and the mean final level was 47 ng/ml.

"Vitamin D2 is effective in raising 25(OH)D levels when given in physiologic and pharmacologic doses and is a simple method to treat and prevent vitamin D deficiency," said Holick, who is also director of the General Clinical Research Unit and professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at BUSM. "While treating and preventing vitamin D deficiency, these large doses of vitamin D2 do not lead to vitamin D toxicity."

According to Holick, this is the first study demonstrating the efficacy of a prescription therapy to prevent vitamin D deficiency longterm in routine clinical practice.

Quest Diagnostics, the nation's leading provider of diagnostics testing, information and services, analyzed the specimens used in the study. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026161850.htm

Harvard Heart Letter Highly Recommends Vitamin D Supplements 75% People Heart Disease Vitamin D Lack

The best way to get enough vitamin D is through food, right? No, according to the latest Harvard Heart Letter, which says supplements are the best way for Americans to raise their body’s level of vitamin D, which in most cases too low right this moment.

In fact, the Harvard report notes that at least one-third of Americans and 75 percent of people who have cardiovascular disease are vitamin D deficient. To make that determination, the report states that “deficient” is defined as less than 20 nanograms of 25-hydroxyvitamin D per milliliter of blood (ng/mL); “insufficient” is from 20 to 30 ng/mL, and “sufficient” as any level greater than 30 ng/mL. The Vitamin D Council, however, states that everyone should maintain a level of 50 to 80 ng/mL, which means that according to their standards, a great many more people would be classified as being vitamin D deficient.

Vitamin D deficiency is a serious problem, as this vitamin plays a critical role in bone strength (including osteoporosis and fractures associated with falls), coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, heart failure, muscle pain, infection, some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, depression, asthma, and memory loss. ...

Vitamin D is called the Sunshine vitamin for good reason: the body makes vitamin D (which is really a hormone and not a vitamin at all) in a process that begins when sunlight strikes the skin. That’s when the body converts a type of cholesterol into pre-vitamin D, which they circulates throughout the body in the blood. When it reaches the liver, this organ converts it into a biologically inactive substance called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is the substance that is measured to identify your vitamin D level.

The final touch is provided by the kidneys, which adds an ingredient that results in active vitamin D for the body. The majority of people could get all the vitamin D they need if they exposed their skin to sun, without sunscreen, for five to ten minutes daily, depending on the time of year and the distance away from the equator. The Vitamin D Council notes that the skin produces about 10,000 IU vitamin D when it is exposed to 20 to 30 minutes of summer sun, which is 50 times more than the US government’s recommendation of 200 IU daily.

Both Harvard and the Vitamin D Council recommend that individuals have their vitamin D levels checked to determine their level. A physician can order a vitamin D test or tests can be ordered online that consumers can do at home and submit for their results. When it comes to taking vitamin D supplements, recommendations from Harvard are for 800 to 1,000 IU daily, while the Vitamin D Council recommends 5,000 IU daily. Consumers should talk to a knowledgeable medical professional about their supplementation needs. Vitamin D supplements are available alone, while multivitamins often contain 400 IU, and some calcium supplements also contain vitamin D. http://www.emaxhealth.com/1275/83/34767/supplements-best-way-raise-vitamin-d-levels.html

University of Nebraska Recommends 2,000 IU (International units) of Vitamin D3 Available at Costco . Vitamin D Council recommends 5,000 IU daily while Boston U Study uses 50,000 IU weekly to bring up the levels and permit storage of vital vitamin D and then biweekly 50,000 IU to maintain adequate levels. Many of the Brain Problems with children may be partially due to inadequate vitamin D in the mother. Brain development and synapse connections need vitamin D.

... Vitamin D is necessary for every tissue in our body, according to Dr. Robert P. Heaney, vice president of research for Creighton University whose research specialty is calcium and vitamin D metabolism. He says we all need more vitamin D than we're getting. Heaney recommends adults take 2,000 IU (international units) each day. However, check with your doctor on your specific need for vitamin D.

“Not getting enough vitamin D lowers our resistance to not only infections but diseases from diabetes to cancer,” he says.

For example, one study shows that having adequate vitamin D could decrease your risk of an influenza-like illness by up to 50 percent, according to Heaney. So if you're traveling and want to avoid the flu, take along plenty of vitamin D.

“Everything is affected by a lack of vitamin D,” he says. “Brain, heart, blood, skin, bones, muscle, reflexes. We've got a lot of machinery in our body, and they all need vitamin D.”

“We in the northern part of the states lack sun exposure,” Bessmer adds. “Even when we have sun, it comes at an inadequate angle to provide enough vitamin D. That's why taking vitamin D, especially during winter months, is a good thing.” ... http://www.omaha.com/article/20091211/LIVING01/712119844