Bad Medicine or Selective Reporting?

It does not take much intelligence to understand that world news and the reporting of this information is heavily prejudiced in favor of drug companies and the multi-nationals. To take this a step further perhaps the world's largest media source is bed with the world's largest drug company?

Now wouldn’t that be convenient?

The following are facts to ponder, draw your own conclusion. 

Reuters, world’s largest media source supply the global business community and news media with a range of products including real-time financial data, transaction systems, access to numeric and textual historical databases, news and pictures. Reuters supply the majority of the news you hear on the radio, see on TV or read in the paper.

GlaxoSmithKline is one of, if not the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.  Sir Christopher Hogg has been a non-executive Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline since 2002 (non-executive director since 1993), Sir Christopher Hogg has been a non-executive Chairman of Reuters since July 1985 (non-executive director from May 1984), coincidence or convenient?

Many times over the past years natural health products have received negative press and some to the point of having them pulled from the marketplace on little or no evidence. You name it; all the standards have been hit, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Beta Carotene, herbal remedies and the amino acid group. One of the latest is L-Arginine, this amino acid is commonly used to sustain and promote healthy heart function. I personally take 3 grams per day and have done so for the past 7 years, and I will continue taking this dosage without worry because fear mongering and partial truth is only a smoke screen for the lack of evidence. Misrepresented truth is used daily within the media, the public generally believe what they hear or read. Multi Nationals and pharmaceutical companies take advantage of the press by sugar coating the evidence. When you know the answer the question is never difficult, using test subjects with known health abnormalities allow stacking the deck in favor of pharmaceutical clinical trials, the media just play lapdog.

A warning issued by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2006 suggests that L-Arginine may not help improve heart and circulatory function following a first heart attack, and may be associated with an increased risk of death when used after a heart attack. OTTAWA - Health Canada advised patients who had previously had a heart attack not to use L-Arginine supplements because of a recent study showing an increased potential risk of death when used after a heart attack.

A small sampling of misinformation follows, February 8th, 2006, issue of JAMA we were told that low-fat diets don’t help prevent breast or colon cancer or heart disease. That same week, the New England Journal of Medicine (February 9th issue) published a study that found one of the most commonly used herbs, saw palmetto, was no better than placebo for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia or enlarged prostate. This article kicked off a six-pronged attack on alternative medicine. The Feb. 16th 2006, issue states two studies, the efficacy of vitamin D and calcium for decreasing the risks of bone fractures and colon cancer – both conditions have been found favorable in previous studies. The week following proclaimed glucosamine and chondroitin does not help arthritis conditions. March 13, 2006, The New England Journal published two articles proclaiming that lowering homocysteine levels with B-vitamins does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Prior to these new findings all previous studies consistently showed positive results, all of a sudden they become obsolete with negative reporting, who benefits by reporting negative results? One negative study temporarily eliminates all of the beneficial documented evidence with a single stroke of a pen. The media believe “what’s new is what’s news.”

The L-Arginine study conducted at Johns Hopkins enrolled 153 patients who had just had an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack, MI) and put half of them on L-Arginine (non-sustained-release 500 mg per capsule) and half on placebo. They started at 3 grams daily and increased the dose to 9 grams daily. Their goal was to measure blood vessel and heart function, while also watching the patients for other outcomes (another MI, etc.) for six months. They were still recruiting more participants for the study when they decided to discontinue the study, six months after its initiation, because six patients in the L-Arginine group died, while none in the placebo group died. This of course was trumpeted by the media as proof that L-Arginine is dangerous, especially in people who have recently had a heart attack; let’s examine the research and the findings first.

Of the six patients taking L-Arginine who died;

• one died after having another MI (not uncommon after an acute MI);

• two died from "presumed sepsis," they had been very sick and then hospitalized;

• two were "found dead at home"– no cause of death noted; and

• one died four months after his acute MI and three weeks after stopping L-Arginine supplementation – the cause of death was not listed.

These deaths cannot be attributed to taking L-Arginine, these are statistical and by chance – the researchers even admit this. The major problem with this study and before making any conclusive statements regarding the safety of L-Arginine, these researchers could not even prove that the patients actually absorbed L-Arginine; Plasma L-Arginine levels were the same in both the test groups.

CNN.com said, “Bottom line: just say no to L-Arginine for heart failure.” The study had nothing to do with heart failure!

MSNBC.com said, “Dietary supplement may harm heart patients. Six volunteers taking L-Arginine died, researchers say. Heart attack patients should avoid the dietary supplement L-Arginine…”

The research was related only to patients with recent heart attack; but that did not stop the media coverage. Persons normally taking L-Arginine read this type of information and suddenly discontinue, fearing it may kill them, talk about manipulation.  

SAFETY OF L-ARGININE

Another study from Italy on the benefits of taking L-Arginine for myocardial stress in cardiac surgery preliminary results.

Colagrande L, Formica F, Porta F, Brustia M, Avalli L, Sangalli F, Muratore M, Paolini G.

Surgical Science and Intensive Care Department, Cardiac Surgery Clinic, University of Milan-Bicocca, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy. lcolagrande@yahoo.it

BACKGROUND: L-Arginine in addition to cardioplegia stimulates the release of nitric oxide and increases coronary blood flow, decreasing platelet activation and leukocyte adhesion. The aim of our study was to determine the feasibility and the efficacy of the addition of L-Arginine to antegrade and retrograde blood cardioplegia in reducing myocardial damage and stress.

METHODS: Twenty-eight consecutive patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting were randomized to receive 7.5 g of L-Arginine in 500 ml of cardioplegic solution. To assess safety of use of L-Arginine, hemodynamic evaluation was performed before sternum opening, at sternum closure, and 1 hour after arrival in the intensive care unit to measure cardiac index, systemic and pulmonary vascular resistances, and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. Moreover, transesophageal echocardiography was performed to assess myocardial contractility. To determine the effects on myocardial stress, blood samples were taken from the retrograde coronary sinus catheter for lactate, interleukin (IL)-2 receptor, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha levels. Serum samples (preoperatively, 2, 18 and 42 hours after aortic cross-clamping removal) were also analyzed to measure creatine phosphokinase, creatine kinase-MB mass, cardiac troponin T, platelets, and leukocytes.

RESULTS: We found statistical differences for IL-2 receptor, IL-6, TNF-alpha, platelets and leukocytes, in favor of the treated group, and decreasing trends in creatine kinase-MB mass and troponin T levels.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows the positive effects of the addition of L-Arginine to cardioplegia. Reduced IL-2 receptor, IL-6 and TNF-alpha indicate a decrease in myocardial stress. Safety of Arginine is related to lower values of systemic vascular resistances and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure observed in group A postoperatively, that could improve the patient's outcome in terms of a reduced need for inotropic support. Moreover, the decrease in platelet and leukocyte count in the treated group might express a reduced no-reflow phenomenon and a better reperfusion, limiting endothelial injury from oxygen radical production.

The media reported these flawed studies but not the positive studies, the media are guilty of selective reporting and without consequences, someone always benefits; don’t want to loose the pharmaceutical advertising revenues. The media has neither the time nor the expertise to dissect a medical journal, so how can they truly report them for accuracy?

The public continues to be misled by those with money and power, manipulating the masses by the media for profit. Well you know they have your best interest in mind; “now shut up and open wide and take your medicine.”

When is enough, enough and when will accountability come into play?

It will change when we begin to think for ourselves, the Internet is a useful instrument for digging out the truth, their time is coming to an end, now we just need to get the public off theirs.

If it was good for hundreds of years then it probably still is, if you feel better when taking your supplements then continue taking them; trust me it will not be your supplements that do you in, big business will take care of that for you.