Orthomolecular Medicine - For Health and Mental Illness

Orthomolecular medicine describes the practice of preventing and treating disease by providing the body with optimal amounts of substances which are natural to the body. The term "orthomolecular" was first used by Linus Pauling in a paper he wrote in the journal Science in 1968. This paper first described the theoretical foundations for what was later to become a specialty within complementary medicine.

The key idea in orthomolecular medicine is that genetic factors are central not only to the physical characteristics of individuals, but also to their biochemical milieu. Biochemical pathways of the body have significant genetic variability in terms of transcriptional potential and individual enzyme concentrations, receptor-ligand affinities and protein transporter efficiency. Diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer, schizophrenia or depression are associated with specific biochemical abnormalities which are either causal or aggravating factors of the illness. In the orthomolecular view, it is possible that the provision of vitamins, amino acids, trace elements or fatty acids in amounts sufficient to correct biochemical abnormalities will be therapeutic in preventing or treating such diseases.Want to learn more? The following essays give a more detailed overview of the nature, efficacy and history of orthomolecular medicine. Continue Reading >>

Wonder drugs may treat many conditions

At the 2008 Congress of European Pharmacological Societies (EPHAR), held July 13-17, 2008 in Manchester, England, Professor Marc Feldmann of the Imperial College London predicted that drugs he helped develop to treat rheumatoid arthritis may prove to be effective for many more medical conditions, including atheriosclerosis.

The drugs, which block a cytokine known as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), include infliximab, etanercept and adalimumab, which have shown a dramatic protective effect in patients afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease. These agents have also shown to be of benefit for other autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, including Crohn's disease, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and ulcerative colitis. Additionally, they have shown promise in the treatment of acute alcoholic hepatitis, a potentially fatal condition.

Cytokines such as TNF-alpha are molecules released by immune cells to alert the immune system that the body is under attack and to initiate a response against the infection. "In autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis, we discovered that cytokines are over-produced causing the immune system to fight itself, resulting in inflammation and tissue destruction," Dr Feldmann explained. "We further found that by blocking just one cytokine – tumor necrosis factor alpha – we were able to block all the cytokines involved in the inflammation, with remarkable clinical results." Continue Reading