Newsletter - November 15, 2004

November 15, 2004 - In this Issue

Help for Alzheimer's - Computer Memory for the Brain
by Lakshmi Sandhana – Wired magazine
Americans growing taller and wider
by Terry Grossman, M.D. – Medical Director
Flu Vaccination Alternatives -- Food, Herbs, Hand Sanitizing and More
Stress Causes Forgetfulness
Bug Busters for the Cold & Flu Season
by Kathryn Hurt – Registered Nurse
Non-Surgical Face Lift?
Pre-Pregnancy Multivitamins Prevent Prematurity
by Allsion McCook, Reuters News
Longevity Evaluations at FMI
by Ardis Boyd – Practice Manager

Help for Alzheimer's - Computer Memory for the Brain
by Lakshmi Sandhana – Wired magazine

In this era of high-tech memory management, next in line to get that memory upgrade isn't your computer, it's you.

Professor Theodore W. Berger, director of the Center for Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California, is creating a silicon chip implant that mimics the hippocampus, an area of the brain known for creating memories. If successful, the artificial brain prosthesis could replace its biological counterpart, enabling people who suffer from memory disorders to regain the ability to store new memories.

DR. GROSSMAN'S COMMENTS: Even though physicians still have only a vague understanding of how the brain works, they are beginning to make serious inroads into developing repair processes for serious brain diseases and injuries. Engineers don't have to know how a computer works to fix it. Similarly, doctors don't have to understand exactly how the brain works to repair it as well. The most critical part of the brain for creating memories is the hippcampus, a small horseshoe-shaped region deep in the brain. This report describes rapid progress in developing a prosthetic hippocampus. "If you were looking at the output [of the prosthesis] right now, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the biological hippocampus and the microchip hippocampus," according to Dr.Theodore W. Berger. This could help put an end to the tragedy of Alzheimer's disease. It could also herald the beginning of microchip implants for people with normal or above average memory and intelligence. Don't look for The Human Brain 2.0 in stores anytime soon, but it may be available sooner than you might think.

Americans growing taller and wider
by Terry Grossman, M.D. – Medical Director

American adults are now avering nearly 25 pounds heavier than they were 40 years accoring to a newly released government report. The average man weighs 191 pounds, and the average woman weighs 166 pounds.

DR. GROSSMAN'S COMMENTS: As accustomed as we have become to seeing overweight Americans, these results are shocking. The average man is 5'9'' tall and weighs 191 pounds. For average body buid, an ideal weight for men this height is less than 160. The average woman is 5'4'' tall and weighs 166 pounds. Ideal weight for women this height of average build is no more than 130. This means that, as a nation, we are 31-36 pounds overweight. This is a public health catastrophe. If you are presently overweight, please read chapters 4-9 of the new book I just completed with co author Ray Kurzweil entitled "Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever." Pay particular attention to Chapter 8, "Change Your Weight for Life in One Day."

Flu Vaccination Alternatives -- Food, Herbs, Hand Sanitizing and More

Rosemary Ellis, the editorial director of "Prevention" magazine, offers tips on how to avoid the flu, how to build up your immune system, how to beat the flu once you've got it and more.

DR. GROSSMAN'S COMMENTS: In addition to the sensible tips discussed in this article, there are even more aggressive steps you can take to treat the flu if you get it. Try "bowel tolerance" doses of vitamin C (as much vitamin C as you can take without getting loose stools; if that isn't enough, come in to our clinic and get an intravenous vitamin C infusion. We find that these can make you feel better quicker and shorten the course of illness.

Stress Causes Forgetfulness

We all know that stress can make us forgetful, but researchers have now identified the specific biochemical pathway by which this happens. In a study published in the journal, Science, on Oct. 29, a team of researchers found that stressful situations over which an individual has no control activates a brain enzyme called proteins kinase C (or PKC). PKC is involved in abstract reasoning and the kind of memory that is associated with concentration. Having identified the enzyme associated with this type of memory loss, which is also active in bipolar disorders and schizophrenia, physicians may now have new tools available to treat these diseases.

Birnbaum et al. Protein Kinase C Overactivity Impairs Prefrontal Cortical Regulation of Work, Science 2004 306: 882-884

Bug Busters for the Cold & Flu Season
by Kathryn Hurt – Registered Nurse

Here we are at the beginning of the Holiday Season and spending more time with family and friends. You will enjoy it more fully by staying well and remembering these healthy tips...

Non-Surgical Face Lift?

New Procedure Uses One's Own Skin Cells to Reduce Wrinkles:

Oct. 29, 2004 -- What if you could make your skin look younger and erase the wrinkles without the face-freezing effect of Botox or the surgery of a facelift?

During a new procedure known as Isolagen, a small piece of skin tissue is removed from behind a patient's ear and sent to a laboratory for processing. After several weeks, millions of fibroblasts — cells which produce collagen and elastin — are grown. The patient's own cells are then re-injected into their wrinkles.

Read more... Non-Surgical Face Lift?

Pre-Pregnancy Multivitamins Prevent Prematurity
by Allsion McCook, Reuters News

Women who take multivitamins before becoming pregnant are less likely to give birth to premature babies, new study findings suggest.

According to the research, conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, women who took multivitamins before conceiving were half as likely to deliver their babies before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

DR. GROSSMAN'S COMMENTS: Most pregnant women are advised by their doctors to take multivitamins only AFTER they get pregnant. Yet, only 30% of pregnant women were taking vitamins BEFORE they got pregnant. Premature deliveries represent a cause of untold suffering for millions of families and providing appropriate medical for for premature infants is enormously expensive. Multiple vitamins cost a few pennies a day. The cost: benefit ratio that woukld accrue if fertile women were advised to take a multivit every day ---even before pregnancy or whther they plan to get pregnant or not --- is enormous. Since "half of U.S. pregnancies are unplanned" per this article, it is imperative that public health officials and primary care physicians assume the responsibility for encouraging fertile women to take mutivitaminss at all times, both before and after conception.

Longevity Evaluations at FMI
by Ardis Boyd – Practice Manager

We are entering a new frontier of medicine wherein you can now take control of your health, discover your genetic tendencies, and make INDIVIDUALIZED lifestyle choices that will extend your life. Dr. Grossman, our medical director, developed our longevity program after working with thousands of patients from all over the world during the past 10 years. By undergoing one of our Longevity Evaluations, you will join individuals who have come to visit us for all parts of the U.S. and around the world to gain the knowledge and tools to live longer, healthier and younger lives. You will accomplish this by undergoing a comprehensive series of the latest medical tests available.