Nicholas Corrin, M.S., L.Ac.
info@eclectichealing.com
Increasingly, chronic inflammation is being seen to lie at the root of life-threatening, modern diseases. For example, cardiovascular disease, still the number one killer in the US, was commonly thought to be due to cholesterol and to the slow, mechanical build up of plaque on arterial walls. Instead, we are now coming to understand that the real cause is chronic, undetected infection (1) that give rises to inflammation (2) and to the formation of vulnerable plaque. (3) So-called vulnerable plaque is an unstable clot or globby deposit in arteries that can easily be dislodged, traveling to the heart, carotid artery or brain, and precipitating cardiac infarct, or stroke. Unlike ordinary plaque, which is readily seen on angiograms, vulnerable plaque evades detection: an arteriogram will not detect the presence of this vulnerable plaque. However, high speed MRI's are now being developed which can see the presence and location of vulnerable plaque deposits. (4) The kind of ordinary plaque that is picked up by regular angiograms - and synonymous with what is popularly known as “clogged arteries” - is most often surgically treated with angioplasty or bypass surgery. Yet it is not this type of plaque that causes most heart attacks, and the body has an innate capacity to re-route blood from blocked arteries through new arterioles that it will generate (rather like re-routing traffic through back roads when a section of freeway is shut down). It has been estimated that as much as 85% of heart attacks are in fact due to vulnerable plaque, and therefore, to chronic infections.
Vulnerable plaque consists of clotted globs of infection within the blood which have become entangled with an inflammatory immune response. The immune response has encircled the infection, but not fully disposed of it. It stays there in a manner not dissimilar to circulating immune complexes. But whereas CICs move through the bloodstream, vulnerable plaque stays put, parked on the arterial wall. Until something causes it to rupture and parts of it to break free, with disastrous consequences such as heart attack or stroke. The clot, or plaque, is a kind of precarious obstruction within the artery itself. The plaque is attached to the wall, but not firmly anchored into it. As a result, it can easily be dislodged by the rushing pulsations of arterial blood itself, and also by fluctuating tensions held in the walls of the artery that are caused by an overly active sympathetic nervous system, a condition known as sympathiconia. (5)
Inflammation is a natural response of the body to injury or infection. The body sends an onrush of blood to the site, which is what causes the redness, swelling and possibly fever. Both red and white blood cells are despatched. The red cells bring oxygen and other necessary nutrients for cellular repair. The white blood cells mount an immune response against infection. This reaction is normal, healthy and for the most part, should not be interfered with, unless the body cannot cope and is overwhelmed.
However, when inflammation is chronic, this means that the body is unable to cope. Chronic inflammation is typically due to chronic, underlying infection. It can also be due to the presence of circulating allergens, accumulations of toxic heavy metals or dangerous industrial residues such as dioxins, pcbs and xeno-estrogens. The infections remain unresolved because of a failure of the immune system to remove them. The reason for this is largely connected with a severe imbalance in the autonomic nervous system, which itself is chronically stuck in sympathetic mode. According to the eminent researcher and leading Japanese immunologist, Toru Abo MD, chronic inflammation is consistent with sympathiconia, or chronic over-activation of the sympathetic nervous system (and consequent under-activation of the parasympathetic nervous system) (6).
Immune cells can be divided into two main categories: lymphocytes and granulocytes. In a normal healthy adult, the ratio of lymphocytes to granulocytes should be around 30:70. But in a condition of symapthiconia, excess numbers of granulocytes are produced, and it is these leukocytes that are most engaged in fighting bacterial infections outside the cell. Production of granulocytes is under the control of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. So when that branch is in high gear, large numbers of granulocytes will be consistently manufactured by the body. This is intrinsically an imbalanced situation. The body is basically being held in an ongoing fight-or-flight mode. Granulocytes, unlike lymphocytes, attack infectious micro-organisms by generating reactive oxygen, which is a way of killing them. However, when granulocytes are over-active, when they “miss” their targets through mis-reading the battlefield conditions (7), or when they simply overestimate the presence of bacterial infection, they will attack the body's own tissues, degrading them with reactive oxygen. Since much of this attack is aimed at epithelial tissue which replicates rapidly, the ensuing damage can could lead indirectly to other infections or to mutations in the DNA itself under the barrage of granulocytes. According to Dr. Abo, this is how many cancers will arise: genes in rapidly replicating epithelial tissue will be damaged by excess numbers of granulocytes, leading to mutant genes and thence to cancer. There are no genes per se that will produce cancer. Only mutant genes and damaged DNA create cancer.
Both steroids and NSAIDs are routinely prescribed by MDs for an extremely wide variety of health conditions. Whereas NSAIDs such as aspirin have proven preventive effects for heart disease and stroke by their anticoagulant factors, they can also cause internal bleeding and subsequent organ damage. Steroids, such as prednisone, on the other hand, can be even more deleterious in the longterm. Since steroids are cholesterol based substances, they build up in the body as oxidized fat stored in tissues. Steroids actually induce symapthiconia, according to the longterm research of Dr. Abo and his colleagues. Because a chronically overactive sympathetic nervous system induces a) inflammation and b) excess reactive oxygen, these conditions will lead to lipid peroxidation, which is clearly linked with early aging, cellular damage degenerative disease. Todays steroids are eve more potent than those of previous generations of drugs. Their suppressive effects are very strong. However, this suppression only takes care of symptoms, driving the real cause of the malfunctioning deeper into the system and coating the body's interior with layers of oxidized fat. Anti-inflammatories only mask over the problem because they do not address the logic of disease causation. That logic is: Chronic inflammation is caused by a) Chronic infection and b) Chronic over-activation of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system.
Information is power. The more informed we are, the more we can take charge of our own health, and prevent or reverse dangerous degenerative conditions. Infections and consequent chronic inflammation affect vast numbers of people at lie at the root of the majority of heart attacks, cancers and nemrodegenerative diseases. Further details about several of these conditions and preventive treatment strategies using potent nutraceutical compounds can be found at www.gordonresearch.com. Also, the energy circuitry of the body has amazing capacities to heal our bodies when treated with bio-electrical and bio-frequency medicine. Such medicine dates back many thousands of years, and is now available in modern, hi-tech form. When coupled with oral chelation and nutrient supplementation therapy, an extremely effective form of medicine is generated that can help us avoid later surgical interventions, and prevent the likelihood of heart disease, strokes or cancer.
©Nicholas Corrin & Eclectic Healing Arts, 2009
This article is meant to inform, and is for educational purposes only. In no way is it intended to diagnose or to treat any condition or disease, nor is it intended to prescribe or to suggest to prescribe anything. It is recommended that no actions be taken independently of a consultation with a qualified medical health professional. It is strongly recommended that no-one seek to self-diagnose or to discontinue or replace any medication they may be on without full discussion with their physician.