Megavitamin Therapy Entente Not So Cordiale
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munication has existed, it takes initia- labors have not been subsidized by one It simply has not been subject to the tive and sometimes courage for one or or other of the great cartels. advertising pressures of the pharma- the other to begin to communicate. Every product of the pharmaceutical ceutical industry. The Canadian Pediatric Society and industry comes with a long list of hor- In my opinion there is nothing the College of Family Physicians of rible possibilities. These lists are re- "infra dig" about nature. Some sheet- Canada have established a joint com- quired by law. Despite all the well- anchor treatment in modern medicine mittee to act as a forum for the identifi- known tragedies that have resulted was based on the practices of cation and possible solution of prob- from widespread usage of modern housewives and herbalists! Bella- lems that exist, or may arise, between drugs, physicians often readily con- donna, digitalis, salix bark (aspirin), family physicians and pediatricians demn their colleagues for using water- curare, limes (ascorbic acid), rauwol- who jointly care for Canadian chil- soluble vitamins which have not been fia, hypnotism, acupuncture and a host dren. In addition to the problems of shown to produce any tissue injury. of other worthy treatment modalities practice, a survey of the educational Doctors who condemn the use of these derived from less prestigious fountains needs for both the family physician natural substances, but feel at ease than the modern molecule-jugglers! and the pediatrician is being under- when they prescribe foreign chemi- I submit that the pronouncement taken so that a progressive updating of cals, are in effect puppets of the phar- quoted above is completely irresponsi- both disciplines may continue. Ques- maceutical industry. They can swal- ble and lacking in forethought. I would tions or comments about either prac- low a camel, but they choke on a like to know why the gentleman in tice or medical training of family phy- gnat! question did not take action to stop the sicians and pediatricians relative to the Many of the beneficial effects of marketing of Mandrax in Canada. It health care of Canadian children are any medication can be achieved by has been declared illegal and toxic in sought. These communications can be inert placebos. Indeed, whenever a Europe ten years ago, but remains the forwarded either to Dr. Donald Rice, new product is promoted by the phar- most popular hypnotic in Canada. Yet Executive Director of the College of maceutical industry, an interesting sta- the makers of Mandrax have replaced Family Physicians of Canada, 4000 tistic comparing the value of the new it in Europe with a safer substitute Leslie Street, Willowdale, ON., drug with an inert placebo shows that called Mogadon. This drug is not im- M2K 2R9, or to Dr. Victor Marches- the placebo often achieved 70% of the ported into Canada. sault, Secretary of The Canadian Pe- result obtained with the potentially The Chairman of the Health Com- diatric Society, Centre Hospitalier [dangerous new chemical! The placebo mittee, filling his quixotic role as well Universitaire, Universite du Sher- value of water-soluble vitamins should as he does, ought to turn on his horse brooke, PQ, JIH 5N4. not be deprecated. and aim for the other windmill! Workers in the prestigious Harvard D. Appavoo J. B. McKendry, Medical Research Centre have re- Kerrobert. SK. Coordinator, Family Practice cently debunked the long-held theory Teaching Program, The Hospitalfor Sick Children, that cholesterol and triglycerides are Toronto directly related to arterial and cardiac Entente Not disease. They correctly point out that a R. L. Perkin very small percentage of myocardial So Cordiale Coordinator, Family Practice from Residency Program, infarction patients will be found to In September we printed a letter University of Toronto have unusually high blood lipid levels. a reader who is unhappy with our pol- The same holds true for arteriosclero- icy of running some articles in French tics. The real culprit, they believe, is ("Pas en francais, s'il vous plait" homocysteine. This toxic amino acid CFP 25:987). Below are some of the Megavitamin is rapidly deaminated by pyridoxine. replies. Similar research carried out by Therapy workers in the reputable Minnesota In- Just as C.R.S. Dawes of Winchester, Those who have half a mind to "speak stitute of Technology has adduced evi- Ontario, is probably only one of many out" usually do so! dence to show that large doses of pyri- anglophones who are "frustrated" In a statement to the press, the Na- doxine have a protective action on the when they see French in CANADIAN tional Chairman of the Consumer As- arterial intima. FAMILY PHYSICIAN, I am sure I am sociation of Canada Health Committee Studies carried out in UCLA (San only one of the many bilingual readers warned the public to be careful of doc- Diego) indicate that cognitive skills who enjoy articles in both the French tors who practice megavitamin injec- were recordably enhanced by frequent and in the English languages. tion therapy. I feel certain that he is and prolonged treatment with massive The quotation from Harrowsmith not alone, and realize that in the argot doses of pyridoxine. that "mixing French and English in of rigid-minded colleagues "such We know that pyruvic acid is the one volume . would be intolerably therapy is the hallmark of charlatans most toxic of all metabolites, and is re- maddening to readers in both lan- and quacks". sponsible for cardiomyopathies, hepa- guages" implies that there are only Physicians who denounce the use of tocellular damage, cerebral cortical unilingual citizens in Canada, whether large doses of injectable water-soluble and peripheral nerve lesions. Diabe- anglophone or francophone. vitamins are merely expressing their tics, food faddists and alcoholics couldl Since there is no French publication blind, fanatic commitment to the phar- be spared a great deal of damage if we of family medicine, I would be greatly maceutical industry. They have not gave injections of thiamine instead of disappointed should you alter your concerned themselves with findings of Valium! The fact that thiamine detox- present enlightened policy which rec- independent research workers whose ifiLes pyruvate is not. new informsation. ognizes that through various combina- 1432 CAN. FAM. PHYSICIAN Vol. 25: DECEMBER 1979 tions of opportunity, motivation and determination, some of us have be- come bilingual. J'en profite pour vous feliciter sur le Mbtrin fond et la forme des articles publies (ibuprofen) mensuellement. Bravo egalement 'a Action: Ibuprofen has demonstrated anti-inflammatory, and vomiting, indigestion, constipation, abdominal analgesic and antipyretic activity in animal studies cramps or pain, fullness of the gastrointestinal tract l'artiste Bill Woods, pour avoir si joli- designed to specifically demonstrate these effects. (bloating or flatulence) ment rafraichi Ibuprofen has no demonstrable glucocorticoid effect. Incidence less than 1%: gastric or duodenal ulcer with le visage de la revue. Ibuprofen has been found to be less likely to cause bleeding and/or perforation, gastrointestinal By the way, I am not a displaced or gastro-intestinal bleeding in doses usually used than is hemorrhage, melena, hepatitis, jaundice, abnormal liver acetylsalicylic acid. function (SGOT, serum bilirubin and alkaline misplaced "Quebecker", but an Clinical trials in man have shown activity of a dose of phosphatase). Alberta-born Canadian. 1200-1800 mg of ibuprofen daily to be similar to that of Central Nervous System: Jean-Paul Bugeaud 3.6 grams of acetylsalicylic acid daily. Incidence 3 to 9%: dizziness Indications and Clinical Uses: Ibuprofen is indicated for Incidence 1 to 3%: headache, nervousness Bonnyville, AB. the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Incidence less than 1%: depression, insomnia Causal relationship unknown: paresthesias, hallucina- Contraindications: Ibuprofen should not be used in tions, dream abnormalities. patients who have previously exhibited hypersensitivity I note with keen interest the letter of to it, or in individuals with the syndrome of nasal polyps, Dermatologic: Dr. Dawes, in which he confesses his angioedema and bronchospastic reactivity to acetyl- Incidence 3 to 9%: rash (including maculopapular type) salicylic acid or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory Incidence 1 to 3%: pruritis ignorance of the French language, re- agents. (see WARNINGS). Incidence less than 1%: vesiculobullous eruptions, Ibuprofen should not be used during pregnancy, in urticaria, erythema multiforme veals his willingness to speak for "the nursing mothers or in pediatric patients because its Causal relationship unknown: alopecia, Stevens- anglophone" and assumes that "a safety under these conditions has not been established. Johnson syndrome. Warnings: Anaphylactoid reactions have occurred in Special Senses: francophone who reads no English" patients with known A.S.A. hypersensitivity (see Incidence 1 to 3%: tinnitus will blithely continue forever to read CONTRAINDICATIONS). Incidence less than 1%: amblyopia (blurred and/or Peptic ulceration and gastrointestinal bleeding, some- diminished vision, scotomata and/or changes in colour no English! times severe, have been reported in patients receiving vision). Any patient with eye complaints during ibuprofen. Peptic ulceration, perforation, or severe ibuprofen therapy should have an ophthalmological Are options really limited to "one gastrointestinal