Arthroleve Update

For my blog readers, I've been pretty busy lately and have fallen a little behind on some of my blog posts. Today, I just wanted to take the opportunity to provide some updates on Arthroleve for promoting joint health.

I formulated Arthroleve using the principles of Evidence Based Medicine and it has been available to consumers since early 2007. Already, University Health Industries has had thousands of people try our product. Recently, the United States Patent & Trademark office has published the Arthroleve patent submission. Click the following text for links: to UVHI's published patent submissions or you can simply search the United States Patent Applications with the search term, "morrow, jarret."

We've launched a new Video MC on our Arthroleve web page fairly recently. To see this new Video MC, simply click the following link: Arthroleve joint health.

Additionally, we've also added several multibox discounts on our Arthroleve product. To view these discounts click: order Arthroleve. Visit our site regularly to see our frequently update content and product offers.




Lastly, we've also extended our multibox discounts to our Zenstral PMS product. Click on the following link: Natural PMS treatment to see some of these exciting new discounts! Zenstral PMS was formulating using the same Evidence Based Medicine principles as Arthroleve!

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Is oral or topical Diclofenac sodium better for muscle or joint pain?

Diclofenac sodium is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to reduce inflammation and to reduce pain in conditions such as arthritis. Two routes of administration are available—oral as well as topical. The efficacy of oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has been established for synovial (joint) and muscle tissue. However, there is little data available on the efficacy of topical NSAIDS. The results of a recent study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (Miyatake et al, 2009) compared the concentration of diclofenac from topical and oral administration.

Dosages compared included a capsule containing 37.5mg of diclofenac sodium vs. 2 tapes containing 30mg of diclofenac sodium for topical application. Concentrations of diclofenac were measured in muscle, synovial membrane, and plasma 12 hours following administration.

Results: The diclofenac concentration was significantly higher in the muscle after topical application compared to oral administration (measured 12h after dosage). However, the concentrations in the synovial membrane was significantly lower after topic administration compared to oral administration. There were no significant differences in plasma diclofenac levels between either route of administration.

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that topical administration of diclofenac sodium may actually be better for muscle pain. In contrast, these study results suggest that oral diclophanc sodium may be a better route of administration for people with joint pain or arthritis.

Side effects of Diclofenac sodium (among others)

1. Cardiac—potential increased risk of heart disease/myocardial infarction
2. Gastrointestinal—ulcers/bleeding.
3. Liver—damage/hepatitis
4. Kidney—adverse kidney effects
5. Other—bone marrow depression, affects blood clotting

Reference:
Miyatake S, Ichiyama H, Kondo E, Yasuda K. Randomized clinical comparisons of diclofenac concentration in the soft tissues and blood plasma between topical and oral applications. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2009 Jan;67(1):125-9.

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Does Garlic actually make you smarter?

Garlic is something that's well known for a lot of different things. One of the first things that comes to most people's mind is the pungent aroma of garlic. Next, on most people's list of associations of garlic include its potential benefits at warding off vampires. However, garlic itself may actually have several potential health benefits.

Potential health benefits of garlic:

• regulating cholesterol levels
• regulating blood sugar levels
• antimicrobial activity
• memory improvement?

Garlic (Allium sativum) is used both as a food as well as a medicinal herb. The results of a recent study involving rats published in the Journal of Medicinal Food (2008) suggests that administration of fresh garlic homogenate actuallly improved both brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) levels) as well as cognitive performance (Haider et al, 2008).


Reference:

Haider S, Naz N, Khaliq S, Perveen T, Haleem DJ. Repeated administration of fresh garlic increases memory retention in rats. J Med Food. 2008 Dec;11(4):675-9.

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Evaluation of night-time splints in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a very common and debilitating condition for which there are no ideal treatment options. For those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, a recent study published in the Journal of Rehabilitative Medicine (Silva et al, 2008), studied the effectiveness of night-time hand positioning splints in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

"OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a night-time hand positioning splint in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

RESULTS: The groups were homogenous for all parameters at baseline. Pain, Health Assessment Questionnaire score, DASH score, grip strength and pinch strength were significantly different between groups over time and satisfaction with the splint was reported as "better" and "much better" by most participants.

CONCLUSION: The use of a night-time hand positioning splint reduces pain, improves grip and pinch strength, upper limb function and functional status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis."

Reference:

Silva AC, Jones A, Silva PG, Natour J. Effectiveness of a night-time hand positioning splint in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial. J Rehabil Med. 2008 Oct;40(9):749-54.

Related blog posts on rheumatoid arthritis:

1. Glucosamine in rheumatoid arthritis.
2. Cod liver oil (omega-3 fatty acids) in rheumatoid arthritis.
3. Ganoderma lucidum (Linzhi) in rheumatoid arthritis.
4. Omega-3 fatty acids in rheumatoid arthritis.
   

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Pycnogenol for osteoarthritis?

Pycnogenol (French maritime pine bark extract)

The results of a recent study published in the journal, Phytotherapy Research, suggest that Pycnogenol may help alleviate pain in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Additionally, pycnogenol helped to improve functional measures.




Dose: 150 mg Pycnogenol per day at meals.

RESULTS: Following treatment with Pycnogenol patients reported:

• An improvement of WOMAC index (Western Ontario and McMaster osteoarthritis index)
  
• A significant alleviation of pain by visual analogue scale

"CONCLUSION: Results show that Pycnogenol in patients with mild to moderate OA improves symptoms and is able to spare NSAIDs."


Reference:

Cisár P, Jány R, Waczulíková I, Sumegová K, Muchová J, Vojtassák J, Duraćková Z, Lisý M, Rohdewald P. Effect of pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) on symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. Phytother Res. 2008 Aug;22(8):1087-92.

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SAMe in Osteoarthritis?

Arthritis is a very common condition with approximately 15% of the population in developed nations suffering from some form of arthritis. In fact, osteoarthritis as a result of gradual loss of cartilage, people who suffer from it experience pain and immobility.

Today, I read a recent study published in the journal, Critial Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, which discussed how SAMe or S-adenosylmethionine, may work in the treatment of osteoarthritis (Blewett et al, 2008).

“There are numerous clinical reports showing that SAMe supplementation is an effective treatment for osteoarthritis however little is known regarding the mechanism of action.”

“Research has identified SAMe as a potential safe treatment for osteoarthritis, that may actually regenerate cartilage.”

Potential mechanisms:

• Reduce inflammatory mediators (TNFalpha)
• Signal proteoglycan synthesis (cartilage component)
  
• Treatment with SAMe reduces oxidative stress and liver damage
• Increasing membrane phospholid methylation for more “fluid” cell membranes

S-Adenosylmethionine is one of the key ingredients found in Arthroleve™

Reference:
Hosea Blewett HJ. Exploring the mechanisms behind S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2008 May;48(5):458-63.

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Folic Acid Supplementation for Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a very common skin disorder that affects millions of Americans. In fact, it is believed to affect approximately 2-3% of the population. Frequently, people with psoriasis develop red scaly patches. These psoriatic plaques, as they are often referred to as, are areas of excessive skin production and inflammation. Though the actual cause of psoriasis is unknown, genetic factors are thought to be involved. Overall, psoriasis can impact the quality of life of people who suffer from this skin condition.



Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory disease involving the spine and peripheral joints that develops in patients with psoriasis. Further, psoriatic arthritis develops in 5-10% of patients with psoriasis.

A recent study published in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment discussed the role of folic acid supplementation in patients with psoriasis.

Background:
“Relative deficiency of folic acid may occur in conditions such as pregnancy and hyperproliferative or chronic inflammatory disorders.”

Conclusion: “Folic acid supplementation appears as a reasonable therapeutic option in patients affected by chronic inflammatory skin diseases, such as moderate to severe psoriasis; in particular, those with concomitant hyperhomocysteinemia, low plasma folate and additional cardiovascular risk factors.”

Reference:
Gisondi P, Fantuzzi F, Malerba M, Girolomoni G. Folic acid in general medicine and dermatology. J Dermatolog Treat. 2007;18(3):138-46.

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Dietary Supplements for Elite Athletes?

To parallel the Summer Olympics in Beijing, I've written a series of articles about dietary supplements that may help to improve athletic performance. This series of articles is still active and in progress on my other blog: Dr. Jarret Morrow's Dietary Supplement Research Updates. Currently, there is a series of six articles on dietary supplements for athletes. Here is a summary:

Carbohydrate/protein gels improve endurance?

Echinacea alters Eythropoietin levels?

Part 3 in article series for ergogenic dietary supplements

Common dietary supplements used by elite athletes…

Does ZMA actually work?

Creatine monohydrate, 15 years later and still going strong…

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Breakfast of Champions?

Today, I've just recently read what Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter with 2 gold medals and 2 world records at the Beijing Olympics, ate prior to his race. To my complete surprise, Usain Bolt fueled up on Chicken McNuggets from McDonald's prior to the race....

"I'm lovin it."

From a nutritional stand point, it would not take very much to question this choice, but given that he set 2 world record times (100m 9.69/200m 19.30) and won 2 Olympic gold medals, it's hard to imagine that he would have ran much faster with a healthier breakfast. The last sprinter to win both the 100m and 200m events at the same Olympic games was Carl Lewis in 1984.

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A wrinkle in time...

As we age, many of us become concerned about how our appearance changes. Both men and women alike spend an untold amount of money on Botox®, Restylane®, and cosmetic surgery. Are there any simpler ways to prevent wrinkles?

The results of a recent study which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest that our diets may actually affect how our skin ages. To some, this revelation is not too much of a surprise. However, what specifically can we do to ensure that our skin does not age prematurely?

The results of this recent study suggest that there are four things that we can do to help prevent wrinkles and to promote better skin-aging appearance.

1. Higher intake of Vitamin C is associated with a lower likelihood of a wrinkled appearance. However, I would encourage an intake through healthy dietary sources. Vitamin C, when taken in excess, can result in complications including kidney stones.

2. Higher intake of linoleic acid (omega 6 fatty acids) is associated with a lower risk of skin atrophy and age-related dryness.

3. Higher intake of fat in your diet may also result in an increased likelihood of wrinkles as well as skin atrophy. Of course, there are other benefits to eating a healthy, low fat diet which may include lowering your cardiovascular risk.

4. Higher carbohydrate diets are also associated with a greater likelihood of both wrinkles and skin atrophy. Further, most people are aware that eating both carbohydrates and fat in excess can lead to both obesity as well as diabetes.

“CONCLUSIONS: Higher intakes of vitamin C and linoleic acid and lower intakes of fats and carbohydrates are associated with better skin-aging appearance. Promoting healthy dietary behaviors may have additional benefit for skin appearance in addition to other health outcomes in the population.”

Reference:
Cosgrove MC, Franco OH, Granger SP, Murray PG, Mayes AE. Dietary nutrient intakes and skin-aging appearance among middle-aged American women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Oct;86(4):1225-31.

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