http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/news/20050722_bamberg.asp
News :: 22/07/2005 -
German Doctors unite on RF health effects from masts
Summary:
A number of German doctors are combining together to put forward their observations of adverse health effects from pulsed high-frequency EMFs (microwave) to the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Dr. Edmund Stoiber. The health effects include headaches, tiredness, inability to concentrate and dizziness, and show an alarming trend.
The following is a foreword written by the doctor who is representing the group, Dr. Cornelia Waldmann Selsam:
- Open letter to Edmund Stoiber, Prime Minister of Bavaria in Germany
These reports show that the people for years have been ill due to pulsed high frequency electromagnetic fields, without the treating doctors recognising the cause. For that reason, people who are receiving the high frequency at home or at work have suffered and are suffering and they receive no therapy. The deciding [effective] therapy is to end the exposure.
The continually repeated assertion in the media by the Radiological Protection Commission (Strahlenschutzkommission), that there is no proof for health risks under the present valid limits, has had the consequence that most doctors, (including myself until a year ago) have not drawn a relationship between the many unexplained illness patterns and high frequency radiation. The doctors do not know that at not one single mobile phone base station have investigations into the health-state of the people been carried out. Thus, the evaluation of the Strahlenschutzkommission in 2001 has no scientific basis.
In Oberfranken, we have just evaluated the medical complaints of 356 people who have had long-term [radiation] exposure in their homes.
The pulsed high frequency electro magnetic fields (from mobile phone base stations, from cable-less DECT telephones, amongst others), led to a new, previously unknown pattern of illnesses with a characteristic symptom complex.
People suffer from one, several or many of the following symptoms: Sleep disturbances, tiredness, disturbance in concentration, forgetfulness, problem with finding words, depressive mood, ear noises, sudden loss of hearing, hearing loss, giddiness, nose bleeds, visual disturbances, frequent infections, sinusitis, joint and limb pains, nerve and soft tissue pains, feeling of numbness, heart rhythm disturbances, increased blood pressure episodes, hormonal disturbances, night-time sweats, nausea.
Even at 10µW/m2 (only 0.06 V/m average) many people are becoming ill.
The symptoms occur in temporal and spatial relationship to exposure. It is no way only a subjective sensitivity disturbance. Disturbances of rhythm, hearing problems, sudden deafness, hearing loss, loss of vision, increased blood pressure, hormonal disturbances, concentration impairments, and others can be proved using scientific objective measures.
Some of the health disturbance disappears immediately the exposure ceases (removal of DECT telephone, temporary moving away from home, permanently moving away, using shielding).
Therefore, the expansion must be stopped immediately. Mobile phone base stations, in whose fields people are exposed to more than 10µW/m2 must be turned off.
DECT telephones must be changed.
Affected people, relatives and doctors must jointly commit themselves and work together with all their energy [to this end].
Evaluation of symptoms of 356 people under long time home exposure to high frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields (DECT,telephones, mobile phone base stations) versus the level of the power flux density in microwatts per square metre.
Foreword - Documented Health Damage under the Influence of High Frequency Electromagnetic Fields
Dr. Cornelia Waldmann Selsam, Karl-May-Str.48, 96049 Bamberg
The results of the evaluations are as follows: (* See below the graph for the definitions of the "Symptom Groups")
It is worth explaining the indicated levels. The values convert approximately as follows:
10 µW/m2 = 0.06 V/m average
100 µW/m2 = 0.2 V/m average
1000 µW/m2 = 0.6 V/m average
* The symptom groups are defined as follows:
Group 1: No symptoms
Group 2: Sleep disturbance, tiredness, depressive mood
Group 3: Headaches, restlessness, dazed state, irritability, disturbance of concentration, forgetfulness, learning difficulties, difficulty finding words.
Group 4: Frequent infections, sinusitis, lymph node swellings, joint and limb pains, nerve and soft tissue pains, numbness or tingling, allergies
Group 5: Tinnitus, hearing loss, sudden hearing loss, giddiness, impaired balance, visual disturbances, eye inflammation, dry eyes
Group 6: Tachycardia, episodic hypertension, collapse
Group 7: Other symptoms (Hormonal disturbances, thyroid disease, night sweats, frequent urge to urinate, weight increase, nausea, loss of appetite, nose bleeds, skin complaints, tumours, diabetes)
If true, this is a very clear trend. For those where it is under 10 µW/m2 70% of the sample (37 people) suffered no adverse health effects. For those where the power flux density is over 100 µW/m2 only 5-6% of the sample (172 people) did not experience adverse health effects. Please look at this graph to see how these levels translate to exposure from a typical mast. Microwave signals are often above 0.6 V/m within 400 metres! There are no counfounding factors listed in the data, but the strength of the trend is extremely pronounced.
This is further evidence to support the potential adverse health effects that may be synonymous with the pulsed Microwave technology that surround us in everyday life. Those in the medical profession are beginning to voice their concerns, and it is worth bearing in mind that they have first hand experience of real people with real problems. It is important not to discard this evidence due to lack of experimental control, as it seems that a number of qualified professionals have independently found the same trends. At the very least this should call for more organised research into these findings.
http://www.tetrawatch.net/links/links.php?id=stoiberlet
Open letter to Edmund Stoiber, president of the federal state of Bavaria, Germany
Dr Edmund Stoiber
State Chancelry
PO Box 220011
80535 Munich
Urgent suspicions of serious health damage from pulsed high frequency electromagnetic fields (mobile phone base stations, DECT phones, W-LAN, Bluetooth etc.) at levels below exposure guidelines.
Dear Prime Minister,
Allow me to represent many doctors personally to you.
For eight months doctors in Oberfranken and another places have been making extremely worrying observations of patients, who live in the vicinity of mobile phone base stations. After initial suspicions at locations in Forchheim, Hirschaid, Walsdorf, Memmelsdorf and Bamberg survey measurements were made of 356 such residents in 40 locations, all in Oberfranken. Meanwhile 64 Hofer doctors, 30 Lichtenfelser, 61 Coburger, 20 from Bayreuth and countrywide, added their names to the Bamberger appeal.
The result all these medical findings is as follows.
Many people have become ill with a characteristic combination of symptoms, which is new to us as doctors, at exposure levels far below the guideline limits, which apply only to thermal effects. Residents in the vicinity of masts have one or more of the following symptoms:
Sleep disturbance, tiredness, headache, restlessness, lethargy, irritability, inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, trouble finding words, depressive tendency, noises in the ears, impaired hearing, dizziness, nosebleeds, visual disturbances, frequent infections, sinusitis, joint and muscle pains, feeling deaf, palpitations, increased blood pressure, hormone disturbances, gaining weight, hair loss, nocturnal sweating, nausea.
The following statements strengthened our suspicions:
Frequently, many residents become sick with these symptoms at the same time, when living near a base station
(e.g. Schweinfurt: Eselshöhe, in Kulmbach: Senioren-Wohnanlage Mainpark, in Hof: Kösseinestraße, in Forchheim: Ortsteil Burk).
Many patients have reported rapid recovery when removed from exposure (by temporary relocation, removal of the source, screening, disconnection).
After relocation, doctors have proven during re-examination of the patients, among other things, that blood pressure, heart rhythm, hormone disturbances, visual disturbances, neurological symptoms, and blood profile have returned to normal.
Many doctors' families have in the course of the last months removed their DECT phones and were thereafter free among other things from headache, concentration disturbances, dizziness, restlessness, tinnitus, and sleep disturbance.
We therefore requested the responsible authorities (Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Conservation and Nuclear Safety, members of the Radiation Protection Commission and the WHO) to organise local health surveys. Despite the serious, medical concern, all the authorities have refused to investigate the (to some degree) intolerable living conditions of those living locally.
Not one official health survey has been made at any base station in Germany! The SSK and the BfS have thus no level of knowledge concerning the long-term effects on resident living in the vicinity. From a medical viewpoint is this unacceptable.
I therefore turn to you to request your assistance for our patients who have no other recourse. We doctors from Oberfranken are ready to help. We urge you to immediately arrange local health surveys among people in the vicinity of base stations, at locations in Bavaria. Our concern is not that there are 'unfortunate individual cases', but that there is a medical disaster spreading to all parts of the population! To investigate our concerns, it must also be possible to switch transmitters off. From a medical viewpoint, we are seeing an emergency situation, which requires rapid action by all political means.
I implore you to take action to avoid health damage among many children, young people and adults.
Faithfully
Dr. Cornelia Waldmann Selsam
Karl-May-Str.48
96049 Bamberg
Tel:0951-12300 Fax:0951-2972506
Mail:peter.selsam@tonline.de
Microwave - and other forms of electromagnetic - radiation are major (but conveniently disregarded, ignored, and overlooked) factors in many modern unexplained disease states. Insomnia, anxiety, vision problems, swollen lymph, headaches, extreme thirst, night sweats, fatigue, memory and concentration problems, muscle pain, weakened immunity, allergies, heart problems, and intestinal disturbances are all symptoms found in a disease process the Russians described in the 70's as Microwave Sickness.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Microwave exposure decreases brain hormone Norepinephrine. Decrease in Norepinephrine linked to Autonomic Nervous System Disorder, Memory Disturbances
Microwave exposure has been shown to induce a decrease in levels of the brain hormone norepinephrine (Takahashi et al 1994).
J Auton Nerv Syst. 1994 Aug;48(3):213-9. Links
Aspects of hypothalamic neuronal systems in VMH lesion-induced obese rats.
Takahashi A,
Ishimaru H,
Ikarashi Y,
Maruyama Y.
Department of Neuropsychopharmacology (Tsumura), Gunma University School of Medicine, Japan.
To clarify neuronal disturbance in the hypothalamus reflecting the development of obesity in ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH)-lesioned rats, we investigated the contents of neurotransmitters in the hypothalamus after pretreatment by microwave irradiation , contents of neurotransmitter metabolites in third ventricle fluid and catecholamine contents in the adrenal gland. The hypothalamic contents of norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) were selectively decreased , but acetylcholine (ACh) and serotonin (5-HT) levels were not changed from those in controls. In the lateral part of the hypothalamus, also, a significant decrease of NE content was detected. On the other hand, NE and DA metabolites, MHPG, DOPAC and HVA were increased in the third ventricle fluid in VMH lesion-induced obese rats. Wet weight and content of epinephrine in the adrenal gland were decreased, though the content of NE was preserved. These results indicate that a disturbance of NE and DA neurons in the hypothalamus is involved in the development of VMH lesion-induced obesity. In addition, an increment of the activities of NE and DA systems in the central nervous system as a whole and some irregularity in the sympatho-adrenal system might contribute to VMH obesity .
This hormone is essential for control of the autonomic nervous system, and lack of it can lead to autonomic nervous system disorders. For example, if the autonomic nervous system is not working properly, the body will have trouble regulating its temperature - i.e. cooling itself when it is warm and heating itself when it is cold (Gandhi & Ross 1987).
1: Radiat Res. 1987 Jan;109(1):90-9. Links
Alterations in alpha-adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptor binding in rat brain following nonionizing radiation.
Gandhi VC,
Ross DH.
Microwave radiation produces hyperthermia. The mammalian thermoregulatory system defends against changes in temperature by mobilizing diverse control mechanisms. Neurotransmitters play a major role in eliciting thermoregulatory responses. The involvement of adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors was investigated in radiation-induced hyperthermia. Rats were subjected to radiation at 700 MHz frequency and 15 mW/cm2 power density and the body temperature was raised by 2.5 degrees C. Of six brain regions investigated only the hypothalamus showed significant changes in receptor states, confirming its pivotal role in thermoregulation. Adrenergic receptors, studied by [3H]clonidine binding, showed a 36% decrease in binding following radiation after a 2.5 degrees C increase in body temperature, suggesting a mechanism to facilitate norepinephrine release. Norepinephrine may be speculated to maintain thermal homeostasis by activating heat dissipation. Muscarinic cholinergic receptors, studied by [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate binding, showed a 65% increase in binding at the onset of radiation. This may be attributed to the release of acetylcholine in the hypothalamus in response to heat cumulation. The continued elevated binding during the period of cooling after radiation was shut off may suggest the existence of an extra-hypothalamic heat-loss pathway.
This could lead to feeling colder than one would normally when it is cold and feeling warmer than one would normally when it is warm (Way et al 1981).
Bioelectromagnetics. 1981;2(4):341-56. Links
Thermoregulatory physiologic responses in the human body exposed to microwave radiation.
Way WI,
Kritikos H,
Schwan H.
By introduction of an additional compartment in the hypothalamic region Stolwijk's thermoregulatory model has been modified to consider partial heating due to hot spots induced by microwaves. It was found that because of thermoregulatory action, the temperature of the hypothalamus will not increase drastically until the rate of energy deposition exceeds the threshold level of about 50 mW/g. The primary controlling mechanisms are blood flow and sweating. For an energy deposition rate of 10 mW/g in the hypothalamus the increase in blood flow in the skin is negligible and the temperature rise of the hypothalamus as compared with blood temperature is about 0.5 degrees C. It was found that exposure of the head to electromagnetic radiation, in general, causes a decrease in temperature of the trunk and skin. The results show that while the deposition of energy in the hypothalamus at the rate of 10 mW/g produced significant conductive and convective effects, the same total energy uniformly distributed over the cranial cavity produces less significant effects.
An abnormal decrease in norepinephrine levels has also been connected to short-term memory disturbances (Clinton et al 2006),
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2006 Jan;183(4):404-12. Epub 2005 Nov 24. Links
Desipramine attenuates working memory impairments induced by partial loss of catecholamines in the rat medial prefrontal cortex.
Clinton SM,
Sucharski IL,
Finlay JM.
Mental Health Research Institute and Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
RATIONALE: The density of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-IR) axons in the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenic subjects may be reduced by as much as 50% in the deep cortical layers (Am J Psychiatry 156:1580-1589, 1999). Previously, we demonstrated that approximately 60% loss of TH-IR axons in the rat medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) decreases local basal and stress-evoked extracellular dopamine (DA) concentrations, suggesting that moderate loss of DA axons in the mPFC is sufficient to alter the neurochemical activity of the remaining DA neurons (Neuroscience 93:497-505, 1999). OBJECTIVES: To further assess the functional consequences of partial mPFC DA depletion, we examined the effects of 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the rat mPFC on behavior in a T-maze delayed-response task. We also assessed whether chronic administration of the norepinephrine (NE) uptake inhibitor, desipramine (DMI), attenuates lesion-induced deficits in T-maze performance. Previous research indicates that inhibition of NE transport in the mPFC results in a concomitant increase in extracellular DA and NE. RESULTS: Moderate loss of mPFC DA and NE (approximately 50 and 10% loss, respectively) was sufficient to impair delayed-response behavior, in part due to an increase in perseverative responding. Chronic DMI treatment (3 mg/kg delivered via osmotic pumps) impaired performance of control rats but attenuated the deficits in delayed-response behavior in rats previously sustaining loss of mPFC DA and NE (approximately 75 and 35% loss, respectively). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that moderate loss of DA and NE in the prefrontal cortex is sufficient to impair cognitive function, and these behavioral effects are attenuated by inhibition of the NE transporter.
ADHD (Arnsten & Li 2005)
Biol Psychiatry. 2005 Jun 1;57(11):1377-84. Links
Neurobiology of executive functions: catecholamine influences on prefrontal cortical functions.
Arnsten AF,
Li BM.
Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA. amy.arnsten@yale.edu
The prefrontal cortex guides behaviors, thoughts, and feelings using representational knowledge, i.e., working memory. These fundamental cognitive abilities subserve the so-called executive functions: the ability to inhibit inappropriate behaviors and thoughts, regulate our attention, monitor our actions, and plan and organize for the future. Neuropsychological and imaging studies indicate that these prefrontal cortex functions are weaker in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and contribute substantially to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptomology . Research in animals indicates that the prefrontal cortex is very sensitive to its neurochemical environment and that small changes in catecholamine modulation of prefrontal cortex cells can have profound effects on the ability of the prefrontal cortex to guide behavior. Optimal levels of norepinephrine acting at postsynaptic alpha-2A-adrenoceptors and dopamine acting at D1 receptors are essential to prefrontal cortex function. Blockade of norepinephrine alpha-2-adrenoceptors in prefrontal cortex markedly impairs prefrontal cortex function and mimics most of the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, including impulsivity and locomotor hyperactivity. Conversely, stimulation of alpha-2-adrenoceptors in prefrontal cortex strengthens prefrontal cortex regulation of behavior and reduces distractibility. Most effective treatments for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder facilitate catecholamine transmission and likely have their therapeutic actions by optimizing catecholamine actions in prefrontal cortex.
PMID: 15950011 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
and depression (Meyer et al 2006; Charney 1988).
1: J Clin Psychiatry. 1998;59 Suppl 14:11-4. Links
Monoamine dysfunction and the pathophysiology and treatment of depression.
Charney DS.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn 06519, USA.
Alterations in noradrenergic and serotonergic function in the central nervous system (CNS) have been implicated in the pathophysiology of depression and the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs. Based on changes in norepinephrine and serotonin metabolism in the CNS, it has been postulated that subgroups of patients with differential responses to norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake inhibitors may exist. Alpha-methylparatyrosine (AMPT), which causes rapid depletion of brain catecholamines, has been used as a noradrenergic probe to test the hypothesis that changes in neurotransmission through the catecholamine system may underlie the therapeutic response to norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. Brain serotonin is dependent on plasma levels of the essential amino acid tryptophan. Rapid tryptophan depletion, in the form of a tryptophan-free amino acid drink, has been used as a serotonergic probe to identify therapeutically responsive subsets of patients. Using these probes, we have recently examined the behavioral effects of reduced concentrations of brain monoamines on depressed patients treated with a variety of serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or the relatively norepinephrine-selective antidepressant desipramine, during 3 different states: drug-free and depressed; in remission on antidepressant drugs; and drug-free in remission. The results of a series of investigations confirm the importance of monoamines in the mediation of depressed mood, but also suggest that other brain neural systems may have more of a primary role than previously thought in the pathophysiology of depression. Noradrenergic and serotonergic probes may be used in time to identify subsets of depressed patients to determine which patients might respond differentially to the new selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs.
1: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006 Nov;63(11):1209-16. Links
Elevated monoamine oxidase a levels in the brain: an explanation for the monoamine imbalance of major depression.
Meyer JH,
Ginovart N,
Boovariwala A,
Sagrati S,
Hussey D,
Garcia A,
Young T,
Praschak-Rieder N,
Wilson AA,
Houle S.
Vivian M. Rakoff PET Imaging Centre and Mood and Anxiety Disorders Division, Clarke Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. jeff.meyer@camhpet.ca
CONTEXT: The monoamine theory of depression proposes that monoamine levels are lowered, but there is no explanation for how monoamine loss occurs. Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) is an enzyme that metabolizes monoamines, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether MAO-A levels in the brain are elevated during untreated depression. SETTING: Tertiary care psychiatric hospital. PATIENTS: Seventeen healthy and 17 depressed individuals with major depressive disorder that met entry criteria were recruited from the care of general practitioners and psychiatrists. All study participants were otherwise healthy and nonsmoking. Depressed individuals had been medication free for at least 5 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Harmine labeled with carbon 11, a radioligand selective for MAO-A and positron emission tomography, was used to measure MAO-A DVS (specific distribution volume), an index of MAO-A density, in different brain regions (prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, caudate, putamen, thalamus, anterior temporal cortex, midbrain, hippocampus, and parahippocampus). RESULTS: The MAO-A DVS was highly significantly elevated in every brain region assessed (t test; P=.001 to 3x10(-7)). The MAO-A DVS was elevated on average by 34% (2 SDs) throughout the brain during major depression. CONCLUSIONS: The sizable magnitude of this finding and the absence of other compelling explanations for monoamine loss during major depressive episodes led to the conclusion that elevated MAO-A density is the primary monoamine-lowering process during major depression.
J Auton Nerv Syst. 1994 Aug;48(3):213-9. Links
Aspects of hypothalamic neuronal systems in VMH lesion-induced obese rats.
Takahashi A,
Ishimaru H,
Ikarashi Y,
Maruyama Y.
Department of Neuropsychopharmacology (Tsumura), Gunma University School of Medicine, Japan.
To clarify neuronal disturbance in the hypothalamus reflecting the development of obesity in ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH)-lesioned rats, we investigated the contents of neurotransmitters in the hypothalamus after pretreatment by microwave irradiation , contents of neurotransmitter metabolites in third ventricle fluid and catecholamine contents in the adrenal gland. The hypothalamic contents of norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) were selectively decreased , but acetylcholine (ACh) and serotonin (5-HT) levels were not changed from those in controls. In the lateral part of the hypothalamus, also, a significant decrease of NE content was detected. On the other hand, NE and DA metabolites, MHPG, DOPAC and HVA were increased in the third ventricle fluid in VMH lesion-induced obese rats. Wet weight and content of epinephrine in the adrenal gland were decreased, though the content of NE was preserved. These results indicate that a disturbance of NE and DA neurons in the hypothalamus is involved in the development of VMH lesion-induced obesity. In addition, an increment of the activities of NE and DA systems in the central nervous system as a whole and some irregularity in the sympatho-adrenal system might contribute to VMH obesity .
This hormone is essential for control of the autonomic nervous system, and lack of it can lead to autonomic nervous system disorders. For example, if the autonomic nervous system is not working properly, the body will have trouble regulating its temperature - i.e. cooling itself when it is warm and heating itself when it is cold (Gandhi & Ross 1987).
1: Radiat Res. 1987 Jan;109(1):90-9. Links
Alterations in alpha-adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptor binding in rat brain following nonionizing radiation.
Gandhi VC,
Ross DH.
Microwave radiation produces hyperthermia. The mammalian thermoregulatory system defends against changes in temperature by mobilizing diverse control mechanisms. Neurotransmitters play a major role in eliciting thermoregulatory responses. The involvement of adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors was investigated in radiation-induced hyperthermia. Rats were subjected to radiation at 700 MHz frequency and 15 mW/cm2 power density and the body temperature was raised by 2.5 degrees C. Of six brain regions investigated only the hypothalamus showed significant changes in receptor states, confirming its pivotal role in thermoregulation. Adrenergic receptors, studied by [3H]clonidine binding, showed a 36% decrease in binding following radiation after a 2.5 degrees C increase in body temperature, suggesting a mechanism to facilitate norepinephrine release. Norepinephrine may be speculated to maintain thermal homeostasis by activating heat dissipation. Muscarinic cholinergic receptors, studied by [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate binding, showed a 65% increase in binding at the onset of radiation. This may be attributed to the release of acetylcholine in the hypothalamus in response to heat cumulation. The continued elevated binding during the period of cooling after radiation was shut off may suggest the existence of an extra-hypothalamic heat-loss pathway.
This could lead to feeling colder than one would normally when it is cold and feeling warmer than one would normally when it is warm (Way et al 1981).
Bioelectromagnetics. 1981;2(4):341-56. Links
Thermoregulatory physiologic responses in the human body exposed to microwave radiation.
Way WI,
Kritikos H,
Schwan H.
By introduction of an additional compartment in the hypothalamic region Stolwijk's thermoregulatory model has been modified to consider partial heating due to hot spots induced by microwaves. It was found that because of thermoregulatory action, the temperature of the hypothalamus will not increase drastically until the rate of energy deposition exceeds the threshold level of about 50 mW/g. The primary controlling mechanisms are blood flow and sweating. For an energy deposition rate of 10 mW/g in the hypothalamus the increase in blood flow in the skin is negligible and the temperature rise of the hypothalamus as compared with blood temperature is about 0.5 degrees C. It was found that exposure of the head to electromagnetic radiation, in general, causes a decrease in temperature of the trunk and skin. The results show that while the deposition of energy in the hypothalamus at the rate of 10 mW/g produced significant conductive and convective effects, the same total energy uniformly distributed over the cranial cavity produces less significant effects.
An abnormal decrease in norepinephrine levels has also been connected to short-term memory disturbances (Clinton et al 2006),
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2006 Jan;183(4):404-12. Epub 2005 Nov 24. Links
Desipramine attenuates working memory impairments induced by partial loss of catecholamines in the rat medial prefrontal cortex.
Clinton SM,
Sucharski IL,
Finlay JM.
Mental Health Research Institute and Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
RATIONALE: The density of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-IR) axons in the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenic subjects may be reduced by as much as 50% in the deep cortical layers (Am J Psychiatry 156:1580-1589, 1999). Previously, we demonstrated that approximately 60% loss of TH-IR axons in the rat medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) decreases local basal and stress-evoked extracellular dopamine (DA) concentrations, suggesting that moderate loss of DA axons in the mPFC is sufficient to alter the neurochemical activity of the remaining DA neurons (Neuroscience 93:497-505, 1999). OBJECTIVES: To further assess the functional consequences of partial mPFC DA depletion, we examined the effects of 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the rat mPFC on behavior in a T-maze delayed-response task. We also assessed whether chronic administration of the norepinephrine (NE) uptake inhibitor, desipramine (DMI), attenuates lesion-induced deficits in T-maze performance. Previous research indicates that inhibition of NE transport in the mPFC results in a concomitant increase in extracellular DA and NE. RESULTS: Moderate loss of mPFC DA and NE (approximately 50 and 10% loss, respectively) was sufficient to impair delayed-response behavior, in part due to an increase in perseverative responding. Chronic DMI treatment (3 mg/kg delivered via osmotic pumps) impaired performance of control rats but attenuated the deficits in delayed-response behavior in rats previously sustaining loss of mPFC DA and NE (approximately 75 and 35% loss, respectively). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that moderate loss of DA and NE in the prefrontal cortex is sufficient to impair cognitive function, and these behavioral effects are attenuated by inhibition of the NE transporter.
ADHD (Arnsten & Li 2005)
Biol Psychiatry. 2005 Jun 1;57(11):1377-84. Links
Neurobiology of executive functions: catecholamine influences on prefrontal cortical functions.
Arnsten AF,
Li BM.
Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA. amy.arnsten@yale.edu
The prefrontal cortex guides behaviors, thoughts, and feelings using representational knowledge, i.e., working memory. These fundamental cognitive abilities subserve the so-called executive functions: the ability to inhibit inappropriate behaviors and thoughts, regulate our attention, monitor our actions, and plan and organize for the future. Neuropsychological and imaging studies indicate that these prefrontal cortex functions are weaker in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and contribute substantially to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptomology . Research in animals indicates that the prefrontal cortex is very sensitive to its neurochemical environment and that small changes in catecholamine modulation of prefrontal cortex cells can have profound effects on the ability of the prefrontal cortex to guide behavior. Optimal levels of norepinephrine acting at postsynaptic alpha-2A-adrenoceptors and dopamine acting at D1 receptors are essential to prefrontal cortex function. Blockade of norepinephrine alpha-2-adrenoceptors in prefrontal cortex markedly impairs prefrontal cortex function and mimics most of the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, including impulsivity and locomotor hyperactivity. Conversely, stimulation of alpha-2-adrenoceptors in prefrontal cortex strengthens prefrontal cortex regulation of behavior and reduces distractibility. Most effective treatments for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder facilitate catecholamine transmission and likely have their therapeutic actions by optimizing catecholamine actions in prefrontal cortex.
PMID: 15950011 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
and depression (Meyer et al 2006; Charney 1988).
1: J Clin Psychiatry. 1998;59 Suppl 14:11-4. Links
Monoamine dysfunction and the pathophysiology and treatment of depression.
Charney DS.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn 06519, USA.
Alterations in noradrenergic and serotonergic function in the central nervous system (CNS) have been implicated in the pathophysiology of depression and the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs. Based on changes in norepinephrine and serotonin metabolism in the CNS, it has been postulated that subgroups of patients with differential responses to norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake inhibitors may exist. Alpha-methylparatyrosine (AMPT), which causes rapid depletion of brain catecholamines, has been used as a noradrenergic probe to test the hypothesis that changes in neurotransmission through the catecholamine system may underlie the therapeutic response to norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. Brain serotonin is dependent on plasma levels of the essential amino acid tryptophan. Rapid tryptophan depletion, in the form of a tryptophan-free amino acid drink, has been used as a serotonergic probe to identify therapeutically responsive subsets of patients. Using these probes, we have recently examined the behavioral effects of reduced concentrations of brain monoamines on depressed patients treated with a variety of serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or the relatively norepinephrine-selective antidepressant desipramine, during 3 different states: drug-free and depressed; in remission on antidepressant drugs; and drug-free in remission. The results of a series of investigations confirm the importance of monoamines in the mediation of depressed mood, but also suggest that other brain neural systems may have more of a primary role than previously thought in the pathophysiology of depression. Noradrenergic and serotonergic probes may be used in time to identify subsets of depressed patients to determine which patients might respond differentially to the new selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs.
1: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006 Nov;63(11):1209-16. Links
Elevated monoamine oxidase a levels in the brain: an explanation for the monoamine imbalance of major depression.
Meyer JH,
Ginovart N,
Boovariwala A,
Sagrati S,
Hussey D,
Garcia A,
Young T,
Praschak-Rieder N,
Wilson AA,
Houle S.
Vivian M. Rakoff PET Imaging Centre and Mood and Anxiety Disorders Division, Clarke Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. jeff.meyer@camhpet.ca
CONTEXT: The monoamine theory of depression proposes that monoamine levels are lowered, but there is no explanation for how monoamine loss occurs. Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) is an enzyme that metabolizes monoamines, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether MAO-A levels in the brain are elevated during untreated depression. SETTING: Tertiary care psychiatric hospital. PATIENTS: Seventeen healthy and 17 depressed individuals with major depressive disorder that met entry criteria were recruited from the care of general practitioners and psychiatrists. All study participants were otherwise healthy and nonsmoking. Depressed individuals had been medication free for at least 5 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Harmine labeled with carbon 11, a radioligand selective for MAO-A and positron emission tomography, was used to measure MAO-A DVS (specific distribution volume), an index of MAO-A density, in different brain regions (prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, caudate, putamen, thalamus, anterior temporal cortex, midbrain, hippocampus, and parahippocampus). RESULTS: The MAO-A DVS was highly significantly elevated in every brain region assessed (t test; P=.001 to 3x10(-7)). The MAO-A DVS was elevated on average by 34% (2 SDs) throughout the brain during major depression. CONCLUSIONS: The sizable magnitude of this finding and the absence of other compelling explanations for monoamine loss during major depressive episodes led to the conclusion that elevated MAO-A density is the primary monoamine-lowering process during major depression.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
42 Million Americans Take Sleeping Pills: Up 60% Since 2000
It just goes to show just how much money the Pharmaceutical Industry is raking in thanks to the cell phone industry. And both of these are supposedly regulated by the FDA - or was that the other way around.
February 7, 2006
Record Sales of Sleeping Pills Are Causing Worries
By STEPHANIE SAUL
Americans are taking sleeping pills like never before, fueled by frenetic workdays that do not go gently into a great night's sleep, and lulled by a surge of consumer advertising that promises safe slumber with minimal side effects.
About 42 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled last year, according to the research company IMS Health, up nearly 60 percent since 2000.
But some experts worry that the drugs are being oversubscribed without enough regard to known, if rare, side effects or the implications of long-term use. And they fear doctors may be ignoring other conditions, like depression, that might be the cause of sleeplessness.
Although the newer drugs are not believed to carry the same risk of dependence as older ones like barbiturates, some researchers have reported what is called the "next day" effect, a continued sleepiness hours after awakening from a drug-induced slumber.
Ten percent of Americans report that they regularly struggle to fall asleep or to stay asleep throughout the night. And more and more are turning to a new generation of sleep aids like Ambien, the best seller, and its competitor, Lunesta. Experts acknowledge that insomnia has become a cultural benchmark — a side effect of an overworked, overwrought society.
"Clearly, there's a significant increase in people who report insomnia and, from my perspective, that is the result of our modern-day lifestyle," said Dr. Gregg D. Jacobs, a psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard. Or at least that is an impression that drug makers are clearly trying to capitalize on, he said.
And that concerns him and some other researchers who warn that despite their advertised safety, the new generation of sleep aids can sometimes cause strange side effects.
The reported problems include sleepwalking and short-term amnesia. Steven Wells, a lawyer in Buffalo, said he started using Ambien last year because his racing mind kept him awake at night. But he quit after only one month, concerned about several episodes in which he woke up to find he had messily raided the refrigerator and, finally, an incident in which he tore a towel rack out of a wall.
"The weird thing was that I had no recollection of it the next day," said Mr. Wells, who added that he found the episodes frightening.
Ambien's maker, Sanofi-Aventis, said the drug had been used for 12 billion nights of patient therapy. "When Ambien is taken as prescribed, it's a safe and effective treatment," said Emmy Tsui, a company spokeswoman.
A Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman, Susan Cruzan, said she was not aware of an unusual number of complaints with the drugs.
Drug makers spent $298 million in the first 11 months of 2005 to convince consumers that the sleep aids are safe and effective. That was more than four times such ad spending in all of 2004.
In the last year, much of the advertising surge has been a result of competition from Lunesta, which the drug maker Sepracor introduced last April to compete with Ambien. Through November, Sepracor led the sleeping pill advertising field, spending more than $185 million, according to figures from TNS Media Intelligence, which did not have final figures for December.
In response, Sanofi-Aventis, marketing both Ambien and its controlled-release version, Ambien CR, spent $107 million from last January through November, according to TNS. That was nearly double its ad spending on Ambien in 2004.
Even the most infrequent television viewers would have trouble missing the Lunesta ads, which feature a luna moth fluttering around the bed of a peaceful sleeper. Dr. Jacobs said that in one hour of prime-time television recently, he saw three ads for sleeping pills: two for Lunesta and another for Ambien.
"You've got the patient population being bombarded with advertising on TV," Dr. Jacobs said. "You've got increased advertising to physicians. You've got a formula for sales going up dramatically."
One financial analyst, Jon LeCroy of Natexis Bleichroeder, said Lunesta's ad campaign last fall was tied to the new season of "Desperate Housewives," whose audience is about 55 percent female. Studies have shown that women have insomnia more frequently than men.
Last week, Sepracor's stock jumped $8.53 in one day, after Sepracor reported a profit and remarkably strong use of Lunesta in its first year on the market, with sales of $329 million. More than 213,000 doctors wrote 3.3 million prescriptions for it last year, the company says.
Sepracor announced the addition of 450 people to its current sales force of 1,500 to increase marketing of the drug to physicians.
Sanofi-Aventis, with a sales force of 3,000, is working to shift patients from Ambien, which loses its patent protection in October, to the newer version, Ambien CR. The newer pill has a quickly dissolving outer layer meant to immediately induce sleep, with a slower-dissolving inner layer to sustain sleep.
Another drug in the class is Sonata, marketed by King Pharmaceuticals. Because it is short acting, Sonata is recommended for people who have trouble falling asleep but no trouble staying asleep.
Drugs in the class are frequently referred to as "Z" drugs, a play on both their effect and the Z's in their generic names, like zolpidem (Ambien) and eszopiclone (Lunesta). All aim at a brain neurotransmitter that is believed to reduce neural activity.
Another new entrant to the market, Rozerem, by the Japanese company Takeda Pharmaceuticals, has been available in drugstores since September but has not yet been heavily advertised. The drug works by a different mechanism from the others, acting on the brain's melatonin receptors, which are believed to play a role in sleep-wake cycles.
Mr. LeCroy, the analyst, who is also a medical doctor, predicts the advertising will intensify if Neurocrine Biosciences and its partner Pfizer are permitted to introduce their new sleeping pill, Indiplon; an F.D.A. decision on that is expected in May.
"That's going to make the competition get more cutthroat," Mr. LeCroy said, predicting that the market for branded sleeping pills, currently about $2 billion a year, could grow to $3.8 billion, even with Ambien set to go generic. "This is only going to get crazier."
The Carlat Psychiatry Report, a newsletter by Dr. Daniel J. Carlat, a psychiatrist in Newburyport, Mass., reviewed the Z drugs recently and concluded that their differences were merely subtle. But Dr. Carlat warned that Lunesta, because it was longer acting, was more likely to cause next-day sleepiness problems "in comparison with some of its cousins."
Dr. Carlat cited a 1998 study in Britain, published in The Lancet, which found that taking zopiclone, the compound known as the "mother" of Lunesta and marketed in Europe, was linked to an increased risk of automobile accidents.
But Sepracor's chief financial officer, David P. Southwell, said that Lunesta, while a chemical variant of zopiclone, was a totally different drug. He referred a reporter to the F.D.A.-approved label, which lists clinical studies of next-day effects showing there was no consistent pattern of impaired mental functioning the day after Lunesta use.
The possible role of Ambien was investigated in connection with well-chronicled transportation disasters in 2003 — the crash of the Staten Island Ferry, which killed 11 passengers, and an accident involving a Texas church bus in Tallulah, La., which killed 8 passengers. The assistant captain who was piloting the ferry, like the bus driver, had a prescription for Ambien, but there was no evidence either had taken it before the crashes.
Dr. David G. Fassler, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, said he was concerned that the heavy marketing and prescribing of the sleep medications would lead to use in patients who have underlying conditions that are left untreated.
"I'm concerned that difficulty sleeping can be a sign of multiple disorders, including problems with anxiety and depression," he said, expressing worry that patients who are not thoroughly evaluated might be treated for their insomnia while other problems, like anxiety or decreased appetite, are not addressed.
In clinical trials, the most common side effect of the drugs, however, is that people wake up feeling sleepy the next day.
Dr. Daniel J. Buysse, a University of Pittsburgh psychiatrist who has consulted for the industry on sleeping pills, said they were a rare example of drugs in which the desired effect and the major side effect were the same thing. "One occurs when you want it, and the other occurs when you don't," he said.
Another problem associated with using sleeping pills is a condition commonly called traveler's amnesia, in reference to the frequent use by people who travel across time zones. Such amnesia can occur when people return to daytime activities too quickly after taking the drugs.
The labels carry warnings that the drugs should be used only when people can devote a full night to sleeping. In some cases, however, users have reported that they awakened during the middle of the night in sleepwalking states, but — like Mr. Wells, the lawyer in Buffalo — had no recollection of their activities.
The amnesiac effects of Ambien were a factor in the acquittal last week of a United States Air Force linguist who had been charged with raping a colleague while the two were stationed in Qatar. The woman who said she was the victim, also a linguist, testified that she was not sure whether the incident was a dream because she had taken Ambien, according to the Stars and Stripes report on the military trial, which occurred in Britain.
Dr. Buysse said such bouts of nocturnal uncertainty occur occasionally with various Z drugs.
"There have been some case reports of people who have been sleepwalking only when taking the drug," Dr. Buysse said. "I think it's rare, and it's the kind of thing that no one is going to have a very good estimate of. But if it happens to you, who cares if you're the only person of many?"
February 7, 2006
Record Sales of Sleeping Pills Are Causing Worries
By STEPHANIE SAUL
Americans are taking sleeping pills like never before, fueled by frenetic workdays that do not go gently into a great night's sleep, and lulled by a surge of consumer advertising that promises safe slumber with minimal side effects.
About 42 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled last year, according to the research company IMS Health, up nearly 60 percent since 2000.
But some experts worry that the drugs are being oversubscribed without enough regard to known, if rare, side effects or the implications of long-term use. And they fear doctors may be ignoring other conditions, like depression, that might be the cause of sleeplessness.
Although the newer drugs are not believed to carry the same risk of dependence as older ones like barbiturates, some researchers have reported what is called the "next day" effect, a continued sleepiness hours after awakening from a drug-induced slumber.
Ten percent of Americans report that they regularly struggle to fall asleep or to stay asleep throughout the night. And more and more are turning to a new generation of sleep aids like Ambien, the best seller, and its competitor, Lunesta. Experts acknowledge that insomnia has become a cultural benchmark — a side effect of an overworked, overwrought society.
"Clearly, there's a significant increase in people who report insomnia and, from my perspective, that is the result of our modern-day lifestyle," said Dr. Gregg D. Jacobs, a psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard. Or at least that is an impression that drug makers are clearly trying to capitalize on, he said.
And that concerns him and some other researchers who warn that despite their advertised safety, the new generation of sleep aids can sometimes cause strange side effects.
The reported problems include sleepwalking and short-term amnesia. Steven Wells, a lawyer in Buffalo, said he started using Ambien last year because his racing mind kept him awake at night. But he quit after only one month, concerned about several episodes in which he woke up to find he had messily raided the refrigerator and, finally, an incident in which he tore a towel rack out of a wall.
"The weird thing was that I had no recollection of it the next day," said Mr. Wells, who added that he found the episodes frightening.
Ambien's maker, Sanofi-Aventis, said the drug had been used for 12 billion nights of patient therapy. "When Ambien is taken as prescribed, it's a safe and effective treatment," said Emmy Tsui, a company spokeswoman.
A Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman, Susan Cruzan, said she was not aware of an unusual number of complaints with the drugs.
Drug makers spent $298 million in the first 11 months of 2005 to convince consumers that the sleep aids are safe and effective. That was more than four times such ad spending in all of 2004.
In the last year, much of the advertising surge has been a result of competition from Lunesta, which the drug maker Sepracor introduced last April to compete with Ambien. Through November, Sepracor led the sleeping pill advertising field, spending more than $185 million, according to figures from TNS Media Intelligence, which did not have final figures for December.
In response, Sanofi-Aventis, marketing both Ambien and its controlled-release version, Ambien CR, spent $107 million from last January through November, according to TNS. That was nearly double its ad spending on Ambien in 2004.
Even the most infrequent television viewers would have trouble missing the Lunesta ads, which feature a luna moth fluttering around the bed of a peaceful sleeper. Dr. Jacobs said that in one hour of prime-time television recently, he saw three ads for sleeping pills: two for Lunesta and another for Ambien.
"You've got the patient population being bombarded with advertising on TV," Dr. Jacobs said. "You've got increased advertising to physicians. You've got a formula for sales going up dramatically."
One financial analyst, Jon LeCroy of Natexis Bleichroeder, said Lunesta's ad campaign last fall was tied to the new season of "Desperate Housewives," whose audience is about 55 percent female. Studies have shown that women have insomnia more frequently than men.
Last week, Sepracor's stock jumped $8.53 in one day, after Sepracor reported a profit and remarkably strong use of Lunesta in its first year on the market, with sales of $329 million. More than 213,000 doctors wrote 3.3 million prescriptions for it last year, the company says.
Sepracor announced the addition of 450 people to its current sales force of 1,500 to increase marketing of the drug to physicians.
Sanofi-Aventis, with a sales force of 3,000, is working to shift patients from Ambien, which loses its patent protection in October, to the newer version, Ambien CR. The newer pill has a quickly dissolving outer layer meant to immediately induce sleep, with a slower-dissolving inner layer to sustain sleep.
Another drug in the class is Sonata, marketed by King Pharmaceuticals. Because it is short acting, Sonata is recommended for people who have trouble falling asleep but no trouble staying asleep.
Drugs in the class are frequently referred to as "Z" drugs, a play on both their effect and the Z's in their generic names, like zolpidem (Ambien) and eszopiclone (Lunesta). All aim at a brain neurotransmitter that is believed to reduce neural activity.
Another new entrant to the market, Rozerem, by the Japanese company Takeda Pharmaceuticals, has been available in drugstores since September but has not yet been heavily advertised. The drug works by a different mechanism from the others, acting on the brain's melatonin receptors, which are believed to play a role in sleep-wake cycles.
Mr. LeCroy, the analyst, who is also a medical doctor, predicts the advertising will intensify if Neurocrine Biosciences and its partner Pfizer are permitted to introduce their new sleeping pill, Indiplon; an F.D.A. decision on that is expected in May.
"That's going to make the competition get more cutthroat," Mr. LeCroy said, predicting that the market for branded sleeping pills, currently about $2 billion a year, could grow to $3.8 billion, even with Ambien set to go generic. "This is only going to get crazier."
The Carlat Psychiatry Report, a newsletter by Dr. Daniel J. Carlat, a psychiatrist in Newburyport, Mass., reviewed the Z drugs recently and concluded that their differences were merely subtle. But Dr. Carlat warned that Lunesta, because it was longer acting, was more likely to cause next-day sleepiness problems "in comparison with some of its cousins."
Dr. Carlat cited a 1998 study in Britain, published in The Lancet, which found that taking zopiclone, the compound known as the "mother" of Lunesta and marketed in Europe, was linked to an increased risk of automobile accidents.
But Sepracor's chief financial officer, David P. Southwell, said that Lunesta, while a chemical variant of zopiclone, was a totally different drug. He referred a reporter to the F.D.A.-approved label, which lists clinical studies of next-day effects showing there was no consistent pattern of impaired mental functioning the day after Lunesta use.
The possible role of Ambien was investigated in connection with well-chronicled transportation disasters in 2003 — the crash of the Staten Island Ferry, which killed 11 passengers, and an accident involving a Texas church bus in Tallulah, La., which killed 8 passengers. The assistant captain who was piloting the ferry, like the bus driver, had a prescription for Ambien, but there was no evidence either had taken it before the crashes.
Dr. David G. Fassler, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, said he was concerned that the heavy marketing and prescribing of the sleep medications would lead to use in patients who have underlying conditions that are left untreated.
"I'm concerned that difficulty sleeping can be a sign of multiple disorders, including problems with anxiety and depression," he said, expressing worry that patients who are not thoroughly evaluated might be treated for their insomnia while other problems, like anxiety or decreased appetite, are not addressed.
In clinical trials, the most common side effect of the drugs, however, is that people wake up feeling sleepy the next day.
Dr. Daniel J. Buysse, a University of Pittsburgh psychiatrist who has consulted for the industry on sleeping pills, said they were a rare example of drugs in which the desired effect and the major side effect were the same thing. "One occurs when you want it, and the other occurs when you don't," he said.
Another problem associated with using sleeping pills is a condition commonly called traveler's amnesia, in reference to the frequent use by people who travel across time zones. Such amnesia can occur when people return to daytime activities too quickly after taking the drugs.
The labels carry warnings that the drugs should be used only when people can devote a full night to sleeping. In some cases, however, users have reported that they awakened during the middle of the night in sleepwalking states, but — like Mr. Wells, the lawyer in Buffalo — had no recollection of their activities.
The amnesiac effects of Ambien were a factor in the acquittal last week of a United States Air Force linguist who had been charged with raping a colleague while the two were stationed in Qatar. The woman who said she was the victim, also a linguist, testified that she was not sure whether the incident was a dream because she had taken Ambien, according to the Stars and Stripes report on the military trial, which occurred in Britain.
Dr. Buysse said such bouts of nocturnal uncertainty occur occasionally with various Z drugs.
"There have been some case reports of people who have been sleepwalking only when taking the drug," Dr. Buysse said. "I think it's rare, and it's the kind of thing that no one is going to have a very good estimate of. But if it happens to you, who cares if you're the only person of many?"
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (and School Phobia) Caused by EMF?
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Caused by EMF?
From Gauss Tsushin (the newsletter of Japan's Gauss Network), No. 68 August 15, 2004
"About 70% of withdrawn children have chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) with reduced blood flow to the brain," says Kumamoto University Medical School Professor Teruhisa Miike regarding his investigation of cerebral blood flow among children failing to attend school, which showed reduced blood flow in 75% of the cases. He says that their failure to attend school is not a "psychological problem," but a serious illness accompanied by disorders in central nervous system function and immune function. "If you force them to go to school, they risk having real psychological problems as a result," he says.
This chronic fatigue syndrome may be caused by electromagnetic waves according to a study by Ryoichi Ogawa, a physician in Kobe, whose view that "Reduced cerebral blood flow may possibly result from the influence of electromagnetic waves from IT equipment" was introduced in the Sunday Mainichi weekly of May 4-11, 2004. An excerpt from this article is given below.
Dr. Ogawa noted that about 80% of his CFS patients were frequent users on a daily basis of cellular phones, personal computers, TV games and other IT devices, and decided to conduct a clinical investigation into a possible cause-effect relationship of cellular phones and desktop-style personal computers to CFS, a "poorly understood condition" in which general clinical tests show no abnormalities.
The subjects were 40 young people, 20 male and 20 female, ranging in age from 12 to 32, who had received treatment for CFS, and an additional 25 male and 25 female healthy family members of the patients, ranging in age from 15 to 35, for a total of 90 people. The investigation was performed using the "Super Doppler Method" to measure the speed of blood flowing during a period of one second in the ophthalmic artery located in the upper part of the eyelid. This artery branches off from the internal carotid artery, which carries blood from the heart to the brain, and this method of testing was established for clinical investigation of blockage of cerebral blood vessels.
The subjects were asked to use a cellular phone, holding it to their left ear for 30 seconds. Prior to use, all of the subjects showed normal blood flow of 10 cm/sec. in the ophthalmic artery of both left and right eye, but after using the cellular phone, this dropped to less than 5 cm/sec. in all of the subjects. When blood flow in this artery is less than 5 cm/sec, it is considered a sign of reduced cerebral blood flow.
The subjects were also asked to use a personal computer, sitting within one meter of the screen for 15 minutes of normal use. When measurements were made directly afterward, it turned out that the blood flow was reduced to less than 5 cm/sec in both eyes among all of the patients who had been treated for CFS. Even among the healthy group, about 78% showed a reduction to less than 5 cm/sec in both eyes.
In addition, the subjects were tested again for speed of blood flow in the ophthalmic artery 30 minutes after finishing their use of these devices. The results showed all of the healthy subjects to have recovered normally to 10 cm/sec, so in their case it was learned that the reduction in cerebral blood flow was temporary. Among the subjects who had received treatment for CFS, however, only 60% had recovered normally. This demonstrates a possibility of some kind of effect on cerebral blood flow by IT equipment, and that these patients will need to take care regarding electromagnetic fields in their daily lives after treatment.
Message from Pat Ormsby, Japan
Starmail - 22. Dez, 16:38
From Gauss Tsushin (the newsletter of Japan's Gauss Network), No. 68 August 15, 2004
"About 70% of withdrawn children have chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) with reduced blood flow to the brain," says Kumamoto University Medical School Professor Teruhisa Miike regarding his investigation of cerebral blood flow among children failing to attend school, which showed reduced blood flow in 75% of the cases. He says that their failure to attend school is not a "psychological problem," but a serious illness accompanied by disorders in central nervous system function and immune function. "If you force them to go to school, they risk having real psychological problems as a result," he says.
This chronic fatigue syndrome may be caused by electromagnetic waves according to a study by Ryoichi Ogawa, a physician in Kobe, whose view that "Reduced cerebral blood flow may possibly result from the influence of electromagnetic waves from IT equipment" was introduced in the Sunday Mainichi weekly of May 4-11, 2004. An excerpt from this article is given below.
Dr. Ogawa noted that about 80% of his CFS patients were frequent users on a daily basis of cellular phones, personal computers, TV games and other IT devices, and decided to conduct a clinical investigation into a possible cause-effect relationship of cellular phones and desktop-style personal computers to CFS, a "poorly understood condition" in which general clinical tests show no abnormalities.
The subjects were 40 young people, 20 male and 20 female, ranging in age from 12 to 32, who had received treatment for CFS, and an additional 25 male and 25 female healthy family members of the patients, ranging in age from 15 to 35, for a total of 90 people. The investigation was performed using the "Super Doppler Method" to measure the speed of blood flowing during a period of one second in the ophthalmic artery located in the upper part of the eyelid. This artery branches off from the internal carotid artery, which carries blood from the heart to the brain, and this method of testing was established for clinical investigation of blockage of cerebral blood vessels.
The subjects were asked to use a cellular phone, holding it to their left ear for 30 seconds. Prior to use, all of the subjects showed normal blood flow of 10 cm/sec. in the ophthalmic artery of both left and right eye, but after using the cellular phone, this dropped to less than 5 cm/sec. in all of the subjects. When blood flow in this artery is less than 5 cm/sec, it is considered a sign of reduced cerebral blood flow.
The subjects were also asked to use a personal computer, sitting within one meter of the screen for 15 minutes of normal use. When measurements were made directly afterward, it turned out that the blood flow was reduced to less than 5 cm/sec in both eyes among all of the patients who had been treated for CFS. Even among the healthy group, about 78% showed a reduction to less than 5 cm/sec in both eyes.
In addition, the subjects were tested again for speed of blood flow in the ophthalmic artery 30 minutes after finishing their use of these devices. The results showed all of the healthy subjects to have recovered normally to 10 cm/sec, so in their case it was learned that the reduction in cerebral blood flow was temporary. Among the subjects who had received treatment for CFS, however, only 60% had recovered normally. This demonstrates a possibility of some kind of effect on cerebral blood flow by IT equipment, and that these patients will need to take care regarding electromagnetic fields in their daily lives after treatment.
Message from Pat Ormsby, Japan
Starmail - 22. Dez, 16:38
Monday, March 05, 2007
Long-term microwave radiation exposure leads to abnormal T4/T8 cell ratio. Abnormal T4T8 ratio leads to Viral, Fungal, and Bacterial Infections
7. Exposure to long-term microwave radiation has been shown to change a particular form of white blood cell (lymphocyte) ratio - known as the T-helper/T-suppressor (T4/T8) cell ratio - from normal to abnormal.
1: Med Pr. 1998;49(1):45-9. Links
[Levels of immunoglobulin and subpopulations of T lymphocytes and NK cells in men occupationally exposed to microwave radiation in frequencies of 6-12 GHz]
[Article in Polish]
Dmoch A ,
Moszczynski P .
Oddzialu Wewnetrznego Szpitala Miejskiego w Kielcach.
Immunoglobulin concentrations and T-lymphocyte subsets in workers of TV re-transmission and satellite communication centres were assessed. An increase in IgG and IgA concentrations, an increased count of lymphocytes and T8 lymphocytes, an decreased count of NK cells and a lower value of T-helper/T-suppressor ratio were found. Neither disorders in immunoglobulin concentrations nor in the count of T8 and NK cells had any clinical implications.
PMID: 9587910 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed
Abnormalities in this T-lymphocyte ratio have been shown to lead to an increased susceptibility to viral, fungal, and bacterial infections. Symptoms include sore throats, low-grade fevers, weakness, persistent fatigue, and swollen lymph glands.
T-cells are particularly valuable in relationship to the control of viral and fungal infections. T-cells play a major role in direct and indirect control of bacterial infections (Blumberg and Schooley, 1985; Braverman and Pfeiffer, 1982). Severe defects in T-lymphocyte functions can lead to an increased susceptibility to viral, fungal, and bacterial infections and may also be an indicator of the degree of exposure to environmental carcinogens and toxins (Blumberg and Schooley, 1985). Most T-lymphocyte immunodeficiencies are due to intrinsic abnormalities in the lymphoid/stem cells (Blumberg and Schooley, 1985). The only curative therapy for T-lymphocyte defects and genetic diseases is the replacement of the normal lymphocyte stem cells. Bone-marrow transplantation is the primary therapy for T-lymphocyte defects. Bone-marrow therapy may have a future role for patients with AIDS and/or other T-helper cell deficiencies.
I began studying T-cell ratios (T-helper/T-suppressor) because of the increasing number of patients that I saw complaining of viral-like illness of unknown etiology, e.g., sore throats, low-grade fever, weakness, persistent fatigue, and swollen glands . About 50% of these patients have had T-cell abnormalities. Decreases in T-helper cells are found in viral illness and chronic disease. There may be a new syndrome, a pre-AIDS related complex (pre-ARC). Increases in T-helper cells occur in autoimmune diseases, healing ulcers, and forms of leprosy. T-helper cell deficiency is likely to be an increasing problem even in non-AIDS patients. (Braverman) http://www.pathmed.com/p/119,320.html
1: Med Pr. 1998;49(1):45-9. Links
[Levels of immunoglobulin and subpopulations of T lymphocytes and NK cells in men occupationally exposed to microwave radiation in frequencies of 6-12 GHz]
[Article in Polish]
Dmoch A ,
Moszczynski P .
Oddzialu Wewnetrznego Szpitala Miejskiego w Kielcach.
Immunoglobulin concentrations and T-lymphocyte subsets in workers of TV re-transmission and satellite communication centres were assessed. An increase in IgG and IgA concentrations, an increased count of lymphocytes and T8 lymphocytes, an decreased count of NK cells and a lower value of T-helper/T-suppressor ratio were found. Neither disorders in immunoglobulin concentrations nor in the count of T8 and NK cells had any clinical implications.
PMID: 9587910 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed
Abnormalities in this T-lymphocyte ratio have been shown to lead to an increased susceptibility to viral, fungal, and bacterial infections. Symptoms include sore throats, low-grade fevers, weakness, persistent fatigue, and swollen lymph glands.
T-cells are particularly valuable in relationship to the control of viral and fungal infections. T-cells play a major role in direct and indirect control of bacterial infections (Blumberg and Schooley, 1985; Braverman and Pfeiffer, 1982). Severe defects in T-lymphocyte functions can lead to an increased susceptibility to viral, fungal, and bacterial infections and may also be an indicator of the degree of exposure to environmental carcinogens and toxins (Blumberg and Schooley, 1985). Most T-lymphocyte immunodeficiencies are due to intrinsic abnormalities in the lymphoid/stem cells (Blumberg and Schooley, 1985). The only curative therapy for T-lymphocyte defects and genetic diseases is the replacement of the normal lymphocyte stem cells. Bone-marrow transplantation is the primary therapy for T-lymphocyte defects. Bone-marrow therapy may have a future role for patients with AIDS and/or other T-helper cell deficiencies.
I began studying T-cell ratios (T-helper/T-suppressor) because of the increasing number of patients that I saw complaining of viral-like illness of unknown etiology, e.g., sore throats, low-grade fever, weakness, persistent fatigue, and swollen glands . About 50% of these patients have had T-cell abnormalities. Decreases in T-helper cells are found in viral illness and chronic disease. There may be a new syndrome, a pre-AIDS related complex (pre-ARC). Increases in T-helper cells occur in autoimmune diseases, healing ulcers, and forms of leprosy. T-helper cell deficiency is likely to be an increasing problem even in non-AIDS patients. (Braverman) http://www.pathmed.com/p/119,320.html
Sunday, March 04, 2007
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years left to live." - Albert Einstein
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years left to live." - Albert Einstein
At Cornell Univ. honeybees in a hive relocated into a new building became disoriented. After extensive research ruled out other causes, someone noticed the hive was next to the building's electric transformer. The bees were confused by 60 hz magnetism strong enough to interfere with homing and communication to gather nectar and pollen.
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/RofD4.html
From Alfonso Balmori
In a recent study carried out with bees in Germany, only few irradiated bees (with DECT) returned to the beehive and required more time to reach the hive. The weight of honeycombs is also smaller in the bees that were irradiated.
Stever H, Kuhn J, Otten C, Wunder B, Harst W. Verhaltensanderung unter elektromagnetischer Exposition.Pilotstudie. Institut fu¨ r mathematik. Arbeitsgruppe. Bildungsinformatik. Universita¨t Koblenz-Landau; 2005. http://agbi.uni-landau.de/materialien.htm
See also
www.mikrowellensmog.info/bienen.html web from Dr. Ferdinand Ruzicka, Doz University.
and
http://canterbury.cyberplace.org.nz/ouruhia/
and
Firstenberg, A. 1997: Microwaving Our Planet: The Environmental Impact of the Wireless Revolution. Cellular Phone Taskforce. Brooklyn, NY 11210.
With best regards
Alfonso Balmori. Spain
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/?p=665
The effects of EMR are being felt by wildlife and the environment as a whole, Birds, bees, worms, trees are all being affected. We need to fight for not only the future of mankind but for the future of the whole environment.
Vienna physicians are displaying information posters in doctor's surgeries. They state radiation from mobile phones is far from being harmless as they have been told by the cell phone companies. They have therefore, in order to act responsibly, the Chamber of Doctors in Vienna, Austria, has decided to inform people about potential medical risks.
http://www.mast-victims.org/index.php?content=journal&action=view&type=journal&id=111
His findings, and subsequent related work by Dr Cyril Smith (Smith and Baker, 1982), seem relevant also to the earlier and more generally accepted studies on bees and homing pigeons, both of which are known to have receptors which are able to sense the Earth's magnetic field and its variations, which they use to help direct their survival behavior. My own extraordinary first experience of complete disorientation below the lines may also be relevant; I had never experienced this before, though I have done so since, most notably after I had held up a fluorescent tube for over an hour, to be photographed under the lines; the next day, after a distressingly sleepless night, I found what looked like a burn on that shoulder.
http://www.bewisepolarize.com/man-made%20emf%20sources.htm
Our cheap transistor radios can pick up and separate out hundreds of
radio signals at levels of a few hundreds of microvolts/metre. More
sophisticated communications receivers can work down to levels of about
10 microvolts/metre. Radio-astronomers work on informational signals
from stars at less than 1 microvolt/metre - this is a power level of
about 0.000 000 000 001 microwatt/cm2 (1 attowatt/cm2 !!). We can now detect
and create pictures from signals from spacecraft at our outer planets using
transmit powers similar to those use by mobile phones of a few watts!
Honeybees have been shown to be sensitive to magnetic flux differences
of 1 nanotesla (10 microGauss) [4][Theoretically humans could also be
sensitive down to less than this level (pineal thermal noise c. 0.24
nanotesla - Smith, 1985). Various sea creatures can detect voltage
gradients of a few 10's of microvolts/metre.
Biological stochastic resonance from regular pulsing EMFs can
effectively amplify coherent signals (like power EMFs) by vast amounts.
What arrogant nonsense to suggest that living systems need to be
"cooked" before they realize they are being bombarded by signals and
that microwaves of 100 volts/metre are harmless to us.
http://members.aol.com/gotemf/emf/animals.htm
Honey bees navigate by observing changes as small as 0.6% in the Earth's
magnetic field (2.5 mG out of 400 mG). Other studies have shown that
other animals, such as sea turtles and homing pigeons, can navigate using
the Earth's magnetic field as a guide. In order to navigate to
precision, it is necessary to have many magnetosomes with a permanent
dipole moment which are able to maintain their direction in the Earth's
magnetic field while being buffeted by Brownian thermal fluctuations.
V.3. Animals: Honey bees follow B fields (Walker/Bitterman, J. Comp.
Physiol. 157, 67-73, 1995, and Science 265, 95, 1994) down to a few mG DC
accuracy and sea turtles turn when B varies at earth's locations (Science
264, 661 (1994). [DH: Note that detection of DC fields is not detection
of AC fields, and it certainly is not cancer promotion. The honey bees
are insensitive to AC fields. See introduction and Sec. VIII.,
Bibliography for more data on animals.]
42. "Honeybees Can Be Trained to Respond to Very Small Changes in
Geomagnetic Field Intensity," M.M. Walker and M.E. Bitterman, J. Exp.
Biology 145, 489-494 (1989). (A)
At Cornell Univ. honeybees in a hive relocated into a new building became disoriented. After extensive research ruled out other causes, someone noticed the hive was next to the building's electric transformer. The bees were confused by 60 hz magnetism strong enough to interfere with homing and communication to gather nectar and pollen.
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/RofD4.html
From Alfonso Balmori
In a recent study carried out with bees in Germany, only few irradiated bees (with DECT) returned to the beehive and required more time to reach the hive. The weight of honeycombs is also smaller in the bees that were irradiated.
Stever H, Kuhn J, Otten C, Wunder B, Harst W. Verhaltensanderung unter elektromagnetischer Exposition.Pilotstudie. Institut fu¨ r mathematik. Arbeitsgruppe. Bildungsinformatik. Universita¨t Koblenz-Landau; 2005. http://agbi.uni-landau.de/materialien.htm
See also
www.mikrowellensmog.info/bienen.html web from Dr. Ferdinand Ruzicka, Doz University.
and
http://canterbury.cyberplace.org.nz/ouruhia/
and
Firstenberg, A. 1997: Microwaving Our Planet: The Environmental Impact of the Wireless Revolution. Cellular Phone Taskforce. Brooklyn, NY 11210.
With best regards
Alfonso Balmori. Spain
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/?p=665
The effects of EMR are being felt by wildlife and the environment as a whole, Birds, bees, worms, trees are all being affected. We need to fight for not only the future of mankind but for the future of the whole environment.
Vienna physicians are displaying information posters in doctor's surgeries. They state radiation from mobile phones is far from being harmless as they have been told by the cell phone companies. They have therefore, in order to act responsibly, the Chamber of Doctors in Vienna, Austria, has decided to inform people about potential medical risks.
http://www.mast-victims.org/index.php?content=journal&action=view&type=journal&id=111
His findings, and subsequent related work by Dr Cyril Smith (Smith and Baker, 1982), seem relevant also to the earlier and more generally accepted studies on bees and homing pigeons, both of which are known to have receptors which are able to sense the Earth's magnetic field and its variations, which they use to help direct their survival behavior. My own extraordinary first experience of complete disorientation below the lines may also be relevant; I had never experienced this before, though I have done so since, most notably after I had held up a fluorescent tube for over an hour, to be photographed under the lines; the next day, after a distressingly sleepless night, I found what looked like a burn on that shoulder.
http://www.bewisepolarize.com/man-made%20emf%20sources.htm
Our cheap transistor radios can pick up and separate out hundreds of
radio signals at levels of a few hundreds of microvolts/metre. More
sophisticated communications receivers can work down to levels of about
10 microvolts/metre. Radio-astronomers work on informational signals
from stars at less than 1 microvolt/metre - this is a power level of
about 0.000 000 000 001 microwatt/cm2 (1 attowatt/cm2 !!). We can now detect
and create pictures from signals from spacecraft at our outer planets using
transmit powers similar to those use by mobile phones of a few watts!
Honeybees have been shown to be sensitive to magnetic flux differences
of 1 nanotesla (10 microGauss) [4][Theoretically humans could also be
sensitive down to less than this level (pineal thermal noise c. 0.24
nanotesla - Smith, 1985). Various sea creatures can detect voltage
gradients of a few 10's of microvolts/metre.
Biological stochastic resonance from regular pulsing EMFs can
effectively amplify coherent signals (like power EMFs) by vast amounts.
What arrogant nonsense to suggest that living systems need to be
"cooked" before they realize they are being bombarded by signals and
that microwaves of 100 volts/metre are harmless to us.
http://members.aol.com/gotemf/emf/animals.htm
Honey bees navigate by observing changes as small as 0.6% in the Earth's
magnetic field (2.5 mG out of 400 mG). Other studies have shown that
other animals, such as sea turtles and homing pigeons, can navigate using
the Earth's magnetic field as a guide. In order to navigate to
precision, it is necessary to have many magnetosomes with a permanent
dipole moment which are able to maintain their direction in the Earth's
magnetic field while being buffeted by Brownian thermal fluctuations.
V.3. Animals: Honey bees follow B fields (Walker/Bitterman, J. Comp.
Physiol. 157, 67-73, 1995, and Science 265, 95, 1994) down to a few mG DC
accuracy and sea turtles turn when B varies at earth's locations (Science
264, 661 (1994). [DH: Note that detection of DC fields is not detection
of AC fields, and it certainly is not cancer promotion. The honey bees
are insensitive to AC fields. See introduction and Sec. VIII.,
Bibliography for more data on animals.]
42. "Honeybees Can Be Trained to Respond to Very Small Changes in
Geomagnetic Field Intensity," M.M. Walker and M.E. Bitterman, J. Exp.
Biology 145, 489-494 (1989). (A)