| Vol.
I, No. 7 | May
Day / Mother's Day | Apr.
20th, 2001 |
Health
& Medicine
Vital Signs . Vital
Signs:
A Talking Cure for Depression; Gene Therapy for
Alzheimer's ... and more - The "talking cure" holds its
own ...
As
more and more of us are learning that depression is a chemical imbalance and
should be treated with drugs, a study by British researchers found that
counseling was as effective in treating mild to moderate depression
as antidepressants. The
study, published in the March 31st British Medical Journal, also
found that the majority of the patients in the study chose counseling over
medication as their treatment.
.
The
study followed 300 patients, predominantly women, over a 12 month period and
found that, although the antidepressants worked more quickly (recovery was
about a month earlier), results were equal at the end of one year.
One-third of the people in the study were randomly assigned to either
medication or psychotherapy. The rest were given a choice. The
researchers found that recovery was better for those who chose
counseling than for those "randomized" to it. They also
found that the people who chose medication were likely to be more severely
depressed.
.
In their conclusions, the
researchers from the University of Nottingham Medical School said, "We
recommend that general practitioners should allow patients to have their
choice of treatment. However, if the patient does not have a
preference, antidepressant drugs should be prescribed because counseling is
a scarce resource that is best reserved for those patients who express a
preference for it." They also warned that "... the
counselling offered in the study was of a high standard; patients were
referred within two weeks, and all the counsellors were experienced."
.
This
"caveat" raises the question as to whether antidepressants are in
part a remedy for a lack of high-quality counseling, as well as for chemical
imbalances in the brain.
. - Gene
therapy for Alzheimer's Disease ...
In a ground-breaking operation
reported in the April
11th New York Times, surgeons implanted genetically engineered
cells into the brain of a woman with early stage Alzheimer's in an effort to
halt the progress of this debilitating disease. This is the first time
that gene therapy has been used to treat Alzheimer's. A similar
operation, performed on aged monkeys, not only halted brain cell atrophy,
but actually "revived" the cells.
.
Normally,
cells in the higher regions of the brain produce a "nerve growth
factor" that stimulates a special center in the brain called the
nucleus basalis. This center is stimulated by "nerve growth
factor" to produce a chemical called acetylcholine. Without
acetylcholine the parts of the brain responsible for memory, attention,
personality and proprioception cannot function properly. In Alzheimer's the
cells that produce nerve growth factor are destroyed and the nucleus basalis
never gets the message to produce acetylcholine.
.
The
gene therapy involved altering the patient's skin cells to turn them into
"tiny nerve growth factor pumps." These "pumps" were
injected next to the nucleus basalis. The hope is that the new cells
will produce enough nerve growth factor to renew acetylcholine-starved cells
in the brain and restore higher brain function. Only one side of the
Oregon woman's brain was treated so that researchers could compare the
progress of the treated side with the untreated side.
.
With
the population bulge of the baby boomers aging, a successful therapy could
be in high demand, not only for Alzheimer's patients but for those with
other dementias - or even the effects of normal aging.
. - The
other sense of smell ...
In his fascinating and wide-ranging article
"Surfing the Odornet: Exploring the Role of Smell in Life and
Healing in Alternative Therapies," Larry Dossey provides us with an
interesting look at pheromones. Dossey is Executive Editor of Alternative
Therapies and has published several books about mind-body healing,
complementary medicine, and the concept of "non-local mind."
He explains that these substances, which are most likely produced in various
glands, especially in the skin, can travel across distance and affect our
thoughts and behavior.
.
How do
pheromones work? The VNO (vomeronasal organs) are two tiny
"pits" in the front of the nasal septum leading to two short
tubes. These tubes connect to the limbic system -- the oldest part of
the brain that regulates sexuality, emotion, mating, maternal instinct, and
other basic instincts. The VNO doesn't respond to smells per se; our
olfactory system, located high in the nose, does that. And we're not
even conscious of VNO responses, the way we are of the olfactory system
response to, say, fresh-baked cookies or turpentine. The VNO is the
organ responsible for initiating those deeper responses we sometimes call chemistry.
.
According
to Dossey, we are stirred, attracted, repelled, calmed -- all via pheromones
and the VNO ... and we don't even know it's happening.
. *******
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