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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #4 - Recorded August 12, 2005

Doctors Best at Calming Patients' Fears

According to DrKoop.com, Doctors are receiving high grades from patients about alleviating patients’ anxiety and stress about their health.  The study found that doctors who discuss options with their patients, rather than simply showing patients a video tape, had much better success with reducing patient fears.

The study concluded that using a videotape is an excellent educational tool, but that it can't replace a positive patient-doctor relationship.

Chiropractors have been leaders in asserting a positive patient-doctor relationship.  In addition, the touch factor introduced by chiropractic treatment may also have a calming effect.

For more information, surf to DrKoop.com

Update to Nutrition Story

In HealthBeat Podcast #2, we discussed a story about how the European Union is about to impose restrictions on the sale of Vitamins and related substances.  Across the ocean, U.S. Representative Susan Davis (D-CA) has introduced a bill that proposes to revise the “unreasonable risk” clause of The Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act by significantly altering Food and Drug Administration’s burden of proving that an ingredient is unsafe for use in dietary supplements.

According to the American Herbal Products Association, this new bill is the same as one introduced in the last Congress, with the addition of one new section that appears to be a direct response to a recent decision by the United States District Court to overturn portions of the Food and Drug Administration’s 2004 ban of the herbal supplement ephedra. In that case, the court was asked to rule on FDA’s use of risk-benefit analysis and on its reliance on data about one dose of ephedra to ban smaller amounts.

The American Herbal Products Association says that this new bill, HR 3156, would accomplish the following:

• establish legislative authority for the use of risk-benefit analysis in evaluating an ingredient’s unreasonable risk;

• would specify that “presence of even a relatively small risk of a serious adverse health effect” would be considered unreasonable in the absence of a “sufficient benefit;” and

• would specifically permit FDA to ban any dietary supplement “even though there are uncertainties as to the levels of a dietary ingredient that may present a risk.”

The bill would affect marketers of herbal dietary supplements by amending the law in several ways.  It would require companies to submit to the FDA every six months a list of their products and product labels and, at the discretion of the FDA, a quantitative listing of all ingredients. It would also mandate submission of serious adverse event reports to FDA.

For more information, surf to the American Herbal Products Association, www.ahpa.org

Headache and Sleep

A recent study, published in the July 2005 issue of the journal Headache conducted a study that characterized sleep parameters and complaints in a large clinical sample of migraineurs and examined sleep complaints in relation to headache frequency and severity.

The relationship between headache and sleep has been documented at least anecdotally in medical literature for well over a century and clinical texts allude to the importance of sleep as a headache precipitant. A small number of empirical studies have emerged, but the precise nature and magnitude of the headache/sleep association and underlying mechanisms remained poorly understood.

The data from the study support earlier research and anecdotal observations of a substantial sleep/migraine relationship, and implicate sleep disturbance in specific headache patterns and severity. The short sleep group, who routinely slept 6 hours per night, exhibited the more severe headache patterns and more sleep-related headache. Sleep complaints occurred with greater frequency among chronic than episodic migraineurs.

The study concluded that future research may identify possible mediating factors such as primary sleep and mood disorders. Prospective studies are needed to determine if normalizing sleep times in the short sleeps would impact headache threshold.

For more information, surf to http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/hed

A recent Reuters story discussed how Broccoli may help beat bladder cancer

According to a recent Yahoo Health article, Eating broccoli may help prevent or slow the spread of bladder cancer, according to preliminary study findings.

Working in the laboratory, U.S. researchers found that certain compounds in broccoli appear to interfere with bladder cancer cells -- especially aggressive cells that tend to spread quickly around the body.

The Studies author, Dr. Steven Schwartz said that "Preliminary evidence suggests that these compounds may have some biological activity in slowing the growth of bladder cancer cells."  He further "cautioned that these results are very preliminary, and it's too early to determine, for instance, how much broccoli people need to eat to get this benefit

Nutritionally, Phytochemicals are physiological active components found in foods that help to prevent certain diseases, such as cancer causing agents.

As always, HealthBeat advises patients to discuss any nutritional advice with a qualified healthcare professional before implementing any dietary modifications.

For more information, surf to - http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050803/hl_nm/broccoli_bladder_cancer_dc

Parker College and ICA

According to a press release from the International Chiropractic Association, Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas , Texas has become a formal affiliate of the International Chiropractors Association (ICA). ICA ’s Board of Directors unanimously voted to accept Parker’s application to become an affiliated college on June 28th, and enthusiastically welcomed Parker College into the official ICA community.

ICA has enjoyed a strong and positive relationship with Parker College over the years and in fact, Parker is the only chiropractic college that automatically signs up every student as an ICA member so that they may have the benefit of member communications and publications during their educational experience.

For more ICA information, surf to - http://www.chiropractic.org/

WFC and Chiropractic Identity

The World Federation of Chiropractic’s 8th Biennial Congress, held at the Sydney Convention Centre, Australia from June 14-18, 2005, produced a historic milestone for the chiropractic profession worldwide.

There was unanimous agreement on the most appropriate public identity for the chiropractic profession within health care. This Identity states that Chiropractors are “the spinal health care experts in the health care system.”  That leading statement, is then supported by several other important concepts.

Over 100 delegates and observers from national associations in 36 countries, including both the ACA and the ICA, were present on June 15 when the WFC Assembly voted to accept recommendations found in the April 2005 Report of a 40-person WFC Identity Task Force. 

According to the WFC’s Press release - The public identity of the chiropractic profession, if it is to be effective and successful, should be similar in all countries.

The Task Force feels that this identity must be clear, concise and immediately relevant to both the public and the profession.

For more information, surf to www.wfc.org and click on the IDENTITY tab.

NJ and Verbal Threshold

According to the Association of NJ Chiropractors, the ANJC - The New Jersey Supreme Court issued two landmark decisions on verbal threshold in New Jersey in some recent case decisions.  In these cases, the Supreme Court held that there is no longer a requirement that a patient establish a significant, subjective impact on their life from the injury. 

However, the decisions were silent as to exactly which cases this new verbal threshold test would apply to and whether cases already dismissed under the old verbal threshold test could be revived.  The consensus among lawyers was that the new test would only apply to those cases still pending or on appeal when the NJ Supreme Court issued their decisions on June 14, 2005.   

ANJC legal consultant Jeff Randolph, Esq., and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America have been researching the issue of reviving old cases since June and have determined that a little used Court Rule may possibly allow for the revival and reinstatement of cases dismissed on verbal threshold grounds as far back as February 2003.  However, there are very specific legal criteria that a case must meet in order to be revived under the rule. 

According to AIB.org - No fault laws, where they are used to reduce insurance injury costs, include a tort threshold. A tort threshold is a way of defining when an accident victim can bring suit for pain and suffering damages. When an individual’s injuries fall "below the threshold" the individual recovers for only economic losses; non-economic losses such as pain and suffering are not compensated.

For more information, surf to http://www.anjc.org

Chiropractic Corner

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