Experiences beyond drug treatments?

[Guest guest]

Hi:

I am (unfortunately) a new member of your group. I developed UC

(thought to be Chrohns back in my 20s) then a flare up had me in the

hospital two years back culminating in the replacement of my lower

bowel with an internal pouch just after my 40th birthday. Pouchitis of

course happened next followed by pains and now this latest PSC illness

just diagnosed this last week (docs have been fantastic, yet when they

say my case is mild, which it is, I remember back when I got UC and

they said the same thing...) anyway....

I'm trying to get beyond drug treatments and allopathic paradigms

(which have admittedly kept me alive so far... but my central

question(s) to this group is:

Beyond detailing the lastest magic bullet drug....

1. what are some time tested lifestyle changes that I can make

that you have worked for you?

2. Have any of you focused on the bigger problem of stress and

the autoimmune response?

3. Who has tried the philosophically complementary methods of

Integrative Medicine?

Thanks in advance so much for your support.

Jeff

At 9:02 AM -0500 8/3/04, Barb Henshaw wrote:

Eastern Remedy Clears

Jaundice

Western medicine discovers Chinese

herbal tea works on liver condition

FRIDAY, Jan. 2 -- An Eastern herbal

cure for jaundice has been proven effective by researchers from the

Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

The main ingredient in a Chinese herbal

tea called Yin Zhi Huang activates a liver receptor that enhances the

clearance of the bile pigment bilirubin, the researchers say. Jaundice

is caused by the accumulation of bilirubin in the body.

In Western nations, jaundice is most

commonly treated with exposure to light. This finding could provide an

additional drug therapy for the condition.

The findings are published in the Jan. 2

issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

" This is a wonderful example of

knowledge gained by applying the Western scientific method to an

Eastern herbal remedy, " Lazar, of the University of

Pennsylvania, says in a prepared statement. " It will be very

exciting if a pure compound emerges from the tea leaves as a

pharmacological therapy for neonatal jaundice that is complementary to

the current Western practice of phototherapy. "

Here is the

study:

J Clin Invest. 2004

Jan

A traditional herbal

medicine enhances bilirubin clearance by activating the nuclear

receptor CAR.

Huang W, Zhang J, DD.

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of

Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.

Yin Zhi Huang, a decoction of Yin Chin (Artemisia capillaris) and

three other herbs, is widely used in Asia to prevent and treat

neonatal jaundice. We recently identified the constitutive androstane

receptor (CAR, NR1I3) as a key regulator of bilirubin clearance in the

liver. Here we show that treatment of WT and humanized CAR transgenic

mice with Yin Zhi Huang for 3 days accelerates the clearance of

intravenously infused bilirubin. This effect is absent in CAR knockout

animals. Expression of bilirubin glucuronyl transferase and other

components of the bilirubin metabolism pathway is induced by Yin Zhi

Huang treatment of WT mice or mice expressing only human CAR, but not

CAR knockout animals. 6,7-Dimethylesculetin, a compound present in Yin

Chin, activates CAR in primary hepatocytes from both WT and humanized

CAR mice and accelerates bilirubin clearance in vivo. We conclude that

CAR mediates the effects of Yin Zhi Huang on bilirubin clearance and

that 6,7-dimethylesculetin is an active component of this herbal

medicine. CAR is a potential target for the development of new drugs

to treat neonatal, genetic, or acquired forms of jaundice.

PMID: 14702117 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Barb in

Texas

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[Guest guest]

Welcome Jeff. As a new member myself, I will be watching for the

answers to your questions.

Lee

On Wednesday, August 4, 2004, at 06:50 PM, Jeff Lackney wrote:

>

> 1. what are some time tested lifestyle changes that I can make that

> you have worked for you?

>

> 2. Have any of you focused on the bigger problem of stress and the

> autoimmune response?

>

> 3. Who has tried the philosophically complementary methods of

> Integrative Medicine?

>

> Thanks in advance so much for your support.

[Guest guest]

Responses below (and welcome to a fellow engineer?).

Arne53 - UC 9/77 - PSC 4/00Alive and (mostly) well in Minnesota

From: Jeff Lackney

Hi:

... Beyond detailing the lastest magic bullet drug....

1. what are some time tested lifestyle changes that I can make that you have worked for you?

Low fat (30 gm/day) diet, high potency vitamins, plenty of water & exercise. I can't say that they've helped, but I'm currently asymptomatic. Exercise has always helped my UC. Easy to say, hard to practice - but work isn't the most important thing in my life!

2. Have any of you focused on the bigger problem of stress and the autoimmune response?

Exercise (running, cycling, x-skiing, canoeing, walking - anything!), and something to keep my mind busy (reading, house projects, building projects, etc.). I started another canoe project this summer for work stress (suggested by my spouse of 33 years - she can really read me!).

3. Who has tried the philosophically complementary methods of Integrative Medicine?

No experience.

Thanks in advance so much for your support.

Jeff

[Guest guest]

> 3. Who has tried the philosophically complementary methods of

> Integrative Medicine?

Jeff,

I have participated in some of the Mindfulness programs (classes,

retreats, lectures) offered by the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine

<http://dukehealth1.org/health_services/integrative_medicine.asp>

including most recently their Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class

<http://dukehealth1.org/int_med/stress.asp>. I would very much like to

take the class they give specifically for the chronically ill but, alas,

mindfulness is not cheap and my insurance does not cover the programs. It

is for this reason that I have not been to their clinic.

The programs have helped me a great deal in subtle ways that I find

difficult to articulate. My mind has been opened in unexpected ways. An

opening mind has been the single most important thing in helping me

cope over the past year. For example, a year ago, I did not do support

groups. Most unexpectedly, though the classes I took were very secular in

their orientation, through them I was able to find a way to renew and

strengthen my faith.

My teacher from the class I took this spring, himself an MD, encouraged me

to " embrace the way of not knowing. " This, for me, has become the

definition of living with chronic illness. Not knowing is not denial, or

not learning all that you can about the management of your health --- not

knowing, for me, is letting go of past and future moments and living, as

my dear Maureen encouraged me to put it, " above time. "

I am sorry that your diagnosis brings you here but I was very impressed by

your questions which suggests to me that you are of great courage. Please

write again, either to the group or to me off list

if you would like to hear more about my

mindfulness experiences.

Best Wishes to you and yours,

Shauna (29, AIH'86, Crohns'95, PSC'99, listed @ Duke, MELD =18)

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