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  • Drugs with anti-inflammatory properties may help scoliosis?

    Some time back, I had mentioned that my daughter's compensatory curve had temporarily decreased while she was taking Solodyn, as shown by x-ray. Solodyn is an extended-release formula of minocycline, and has been shown to have much greater effect with its anti-inflammatory properties than just regular minocycline.

    Interestingly enough, my daughter has finished a course of isotretinoin (commonly known as Accutane), which is an extremely powerful acne medicine that was initially used for chemotherapy (and still is in some cases). It is not a medication that should be used lightly, in fact my daughter developed complications from its use (although the doctor who initially prescribed it to her gave her double the dose that should have been used for her weight which led to the complications- and he was a Stanford Medical School grad and top of his class in biochemistry!) and I actually regret having put her on the drug.

    I read a research paper on isotretinoin that stated that after completing a course of this medication, there was a significant decrease in most inflammatory markers in the bloodstream of the people in the study. I believe one inflammatory marker increased (or at least stayed the same) if I remember correctly.

    For any researchers that read this site, it is interesting that my daughter's compensatory curve has basically disappeared in her last x-ray. Is it related to the medication? I obviously don't know...but it makes me believe there may be some validity to Dingo's theories of bug or virus causation, or perhaps just the kind of inflammatory response individuals have. It seems to me it would be interesting to look into whether there was any sort of interaction.

    Anyhow, just an interesting aside that I thought I would share for those people interested in the causes and possible cures of scoliosis.
    Last edited by Ballet Mom; 07-18-2010, 09:11 AM.

  • #2
    bugs and Scoliosis

    BalletMom

    That's really interesting!

    Osteopontin is known to increase in response to infection. (Source)

    So it's no surprise that Dr. Moreau recommended that children with Scoliosis should try to reduce their exposure to harmful pathogens. (Source)

    Reducing exposure to mycobacteria could be a good way to reduce the risk and I would start by cleaning all shower heads in the house on a monthly basis or even changing them annually since they represent an important source of mycobacteria
    Any treatment like Accutane probably wipes out a whole lot of pathogens that reside in the body. There is every reason to suspect that Accutane might have had something to do with your daugter's improvement.

    Interestingly a lot of diseases that used to be thought of as genetic are now believed to be triggered by chronic infections.

    For example new evidence supports the notion that Rheumatoid Arthritis might be triggered by a chronic infection in the digestive tract. (Source)

    I did some googling and sure enough doctors have been using antibiotics to treat RA for quite a while. They weren't exactly sure why it helped but most studies showed that it did. It looks like the may have their answer.

    Here is what one arthritis clinic had to say about their experience with Rheumatoid arthritis and antibiotics. (Source)

    Antibiotics for Rheumatoid Arthritis — Our Experience
    In the past 13 years from January 1988-January 2000, we have treated over 1000 patients who have rheumatoid arthritis with antibiotics.
    The results show that 78% of patients had a better than 20% improvement, and 53% had a better than 50% improvement. 22 % of the patients did not improve. Other findings were as follows:

    1. The earlier the treatment is started in the course of the illness, the better the results.

    2. The milder the disease, the better the response to the antibiotics.

    3. The longer the duration of treatment, the greater the improvement.

    4. The best responders were, on average, younger patients.

    5. Frequently patients worsen initially for a few weeks before noticing improvement due to Herxheimer reaction.

    6. The most effective antibiotics were Doxycycline, Minocycline, and Erythromycin.

    7. Tetracycline, especially at low doses, was not as effective.

    8. The incidence of side effects was minimal and usually mild, even in patients followed for several years.

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Dingo!

      Hope all goes well with your cute little boy! :-)

      My eye is actually on the varicella virus as a likely cause. It infects most kids at the time scoliosis becomes most prevalent, it's known to reside dormant in the nerve cells of the spinal cord for life and can reactivate i.e. shingles.

      At least, I think that could be a trigger for my daughter since she had that weird reaction from it for a few days, when she would have one leg up in grande battement in ballet class while all the other girls would have it down....and she didn't realize it. She thought she was doing it right and they must be wrong! Definite nervous system misfiring. She actually had one of the first chickenpox vaccinations and ended up getting a strange case of chickenpox anyway.

      You'd think if chickenpox was the cause, that cases of scoliosis would be reducing due to the vaccine...so perhaps it was just what caused an inflammatory response for my daughter's case. Does anyone know if the number of scoliosis cases has been reducing in the US lately?

      The other possibility I'm keying in on is perhaps scoliosis could be an auto-immune disorder from inflammatory response processes. My daughter has an excess inflammatory response to everything. Even bug bites I found out this summer.

      Anyhow, it's all very exciting. If I was a researcher I would love to research what is causing scoliosis and looking for a cure and not just genetics that predispose people to it.

      Comment


      • #4
        Oh, I forgot to add....it's very interesting because Europe and the United States' medical professions also seem to be at odds on the use of isotretinoin (Accutane) as well as bracing.

        Apparently Europe believes that the US prescribes way too high dosages of isotretinoin and causes unnecessary complications/side effects. The key is the higher the dose, the less likely to relapse. Unfortunately, the higher the dose the more toxic on the body. Isotretinoin is not an antibiotic, it is a form of high dose Vitamin A.

        Anyhow, after my experience not only do I agree with Europe on bracing, I also agree with them on isotretinoin! Interesting differences in philosophies.

        Comment


        • #5
          genes

          BalletMom

          If I was a researcher I would love to research what is causing scoliosis and looking for a cure and not just genetics that predispose people to it.
          You and me both. Fortunately the tide is turning.

          This was from the NY Times a few weeks ago.

          A Decade Later, Genetic Map Yields Few New Cures

          One sign of the genome’s limited use for medicine so far was a recent test of genetic predictions for heart disease. A medical team led by Nina P. Paynter of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston collected 101 genetic variants that had been statistically linked to heart disease in various genome-scanning studies. But the variants turned out to have no value in forecasting disease among 19,000 women who had been followed for 12 years.

          The old-fashioned method of taking a family history was a better guide, Dr. Paynter reported this February in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
          Heredity turns out to be a lousy predictor of disease... again. If genes don't cause heart disease what's doing it?

          High Blood Pressure Could Be Caused By A Common Virus, Study Suggests

          Ouch!

          I don't know if Scoliscore is a good test or not. But if recent history is any indication large studies might show that it's not that relevant.
          Last edited by Dingo; 07-18-2010, 11:44 AM.

          Comment


          • #6
            rate of scoliosis

            Balletmom

            Does anyone know if the number of scoliosis cases has been reducing in the US lately?
            According to Dr. Douglas Kiester (source) the rate of Scoliosis is dropping.

            The natural incidence of scoliosis is falling.
            According to Dr. Moreau the rate of infantile scoliosis is much higher in Europe than it is in America. (source)

            In regards to infantile scoliosis, we do not know at this point since we did not yet test this form of scoliosis, as infantile scoliosis is such a rare disease in North America. In principle, the tests should work but we need to assess such possibilities in Europe where the cases are more frequent.
            Here is a study that reviewed a Scoliosis outbreak in Jamaica.

            Observations on idiopathic scoliosis aetiology and natural history in Jamaica

            Thus, in Jamaica, there has been almost an epidemic of idiopathic scoliosis which started around 1963 and began to fall off after 1982.
            All of this evidence supports an environmental cause.
            Last edited by Dingo; 07-18-2010, 11:43 AM.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Dingo View Post

              According to Dr. Douglas Kiester (source) the rate of Scoliosis is dropping.

              That's very interesting Dingo!


              I also just looked up on the CDC website and it says this:

              Varicella vaccine is a live virus vaccine, and may result in a latent infection, similar to that caused by wild varicella virus. Consequently, zoster in vaccinated persons has been reported.
              I didn't realize that this vaccine was a live virus. It looks like the virus can still lay dormant in people, even with the vaccine! So this may account for some lessening of the rate of scoliosis, but may explain why many people are still getting it, (assuming that perhaps varicella might be a cause of scoliosis).
              Last edited by Ballet Mom; 07-18-2010, 12:29 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                pathogens

                Balletmom

                You are right. The environmental component could be chickenpox, or pretty much anything common to children.

                The human body contains about 10 times as many bacteria as it does human cells. Sometimes it's the balance of bacteria that is the problem.

                Bacteria as a Predicter of Colorectal Cancer
                "Our findings suggest that some bacterial signatures are more frequently detected in subjects with polyps, early lesions that can develop into cancer, while other bacterial signatures are less frequently observed in such individuals" says Tyler Culpepper, a researcher on the study.
                In other cases the problem isn't a particular pathogen but the way that multiple pathogens work together. Evidently recurrent ear infections may result when different types of bacteria work together to defeat the immune system.
                Bacterial Communication Encourages Chronic, Resistant Ear Infections

                This article talks about how wheat is destroyed by two harmful fungi.
                Fungi's Genetic Sabotage in Wheat Discovered

                These fungi know how to defeat a defense gene in wheat which in turn triggers an autoimmune disease. After they trigger the disease they eat the dead tissue.

                People who think all of these common diseases of unknown origin are triggered by heredity don't read much. When it comes to young people it's hardly ever heredity.
                Last edited by Dingo; 07-18-2010, 06:35 PM.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Your links are always interesting, Dingo.

                  I had just heard recently that there are more bugs than human cells in the human body! It was in a speech given by Dr. Francis Collins, head of NHS. I think I must have seen it on C-Span.

                  It's a little unnerving to think about. As he said (in effect), hopefully most of them have no harmful intent!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Scary but unfortunately true

                    BalletMom

                    It's a little unnerving to think about. As he said (in effect), hopefully most of them have no harmful intent!
                    It's a safe bet that A LOT of these bugs are harmful or have the potential to become harmful. There is a whole lot of sickness in the world and it's not all caused by pollution and stress. And as bad as sickness is I have no doubt that parasites harm people in even stranger ways.

                    Various parasites have evolved the ability to take over the mind's of insects.

                    Exhibit A)
                    NatGeo: Parasitic Mind Control

                    Exhibit B)
                    NatGeo: Zombie Snails

                    Exhibit C)
                    Here is another creepy video. A species of parasite evolved the ability to take over crickets. It causes the cricket to find water, jump in and drown. Then it crawls out.
                    A worm comming out of a cricket

                    There are a lot of mentally ill people in the world and humans certainly aren't immune to bugs. Some of this disease is probably caused by parasites that damage the brain to encourage specific behaviors that are beneficial to the parasite.

                    Sound crazy?

                    Well...

                    NPR.org: Sneaky Parasite Attracts Rats to Cats

                    When you see a cat pounce on a rat, it seems like a classic story about a predator and prey.

                    But scientists have recently discovered that sometimes the main actor is actually a tiny parasite in the rat's brain that makes the normally fearful rat think "oh how nice" when it smells a cat.

                    The parasite wants the rat to be caught by the cat because it needs to be in the cat's stomach to reproduce. New research sheds light on how this surprising little organism can manipulate a rodent to do its will.
                    Last edited by Dingo; 07-19-2010, 06:54 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Dingo View Post
                      There are a lot of mentally ill people in the world and humans certainly aren't immune to bugs. Some of this disease is probably caused by parasites that damage the brain to encourage specific behaviors that are beneficial to the parasite.
                      My favorite disease (and yes, epidemiologists are required to have a favorite disease ), is rabies, which best transmits itself through blood to blood contact, and, thus, causes animals to bite.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Battle of the Bugs

                        Dingo, Ballet Mom & hdugger -

                        well, this answers everything ;-) I now have more material for paranoia than the recent Gulf Oil Spill has provided! Interesting that raw garlic seems to ward off most of the pathogens that have been discussed here. I haven't crossed the threshold that would find me wearing it, but it has become part of my daily diet - keeps my germaphobia at bay, therefore serving some additional psychological support. It's a buggie world, daily battle, and uphill fight - giving new meaning to the old adage, don't let the bed bugs bite! Can bed bugs (and the like) get rabies?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          epidemiologist

                          Hdugger

                          You are an epidemiologist? Right on!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Dingo View Post
                            Hdugger

                            You are an epidemiologist? Right on!
                            I trained to be an epidemiologist, and worked in the field for a few years, and then drifted back to the tech world.

                            So, I understood it once, but I'm not sure how fully I recall now

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Dingo View Post
                              BalletMom


                              Any treatment like Accutane probably wipes out a whole lot of pathogens that reside in the body. There is every reason to suspect that Accutane might have had something to do with your daugter's improvement.
                              Hi Dingo,

                              I was thinking along the lines of the anti-inflammatory properties of the drugs my daughter took helping possible inflammation in her spine. However, you may be right that the Accutane could have just wiped out whatever pathogen (if any) that may have been residing in her central nervous system.

                              I happened upon this:

                              Since Accutane is fat (lipid) soluble, it is one of the few drugs that is able to cross the blood brain barrier and get into the central nervous system.
                              Would I ever love to place some isotretinoin in a petrie dish with the chicken pox virus...and other possible candidates ...and see what happens!

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