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Stop Health Authorities Claiming that Vaccines are ‘Safe’

http://anhinternational.org/2017/03/01/stop-health-authorities-claiming-vaccines-safe/?utm_source=The+Alliance+for+Natural+Health&utm_campaign=dc51c023e2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_aea8a87544-dc51c023e2-84938700

Today The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) have launched a petition to garner support for what is one of the biggest challenges facing the public in relation to vaccination. It relates to the non-disclosure of scientific information to the public that, through a duty of care, should be issued prior to vaccination consent being given.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPclF6Ff25Q

The so-called vaccination debate has become so polarized in the media that it is assumed people are either entirely pro-vaccine or entirely anti-vaccine. A very large number of people, possibly even a majority, have some concerns about whether they have all the information they need to make an informed decision, especially in relation to the vaccination of their children. Governments and health authorities, along with a predisposed media and many doctors and other health professionals, continue to claim that vaccines are ‘safe’. On the available evidence, this is just not true.

Accordingly, the petition asks just two things from health authorities responsible for vaccination policy and advice: 1) avoid claiming that vaccines are safe when in fact they are not, and 2) ensure that available safety information that is relevant to the population group being asked to consent to vaccination is made available prior to consent being requested. 

We intend to put this petition before major health authorities around the world, from the World Health Organization to the European Medicines Agency, as well as to risk managers like the European Commission and elected representatives, including in the European and English Parliaments.

The petition link is at: https://www.change.org/p/centers-for-disease-control-stop-health-authorities-claiming-that-vaccines-are-safe

An abbreviated link is at: http://bit.ly/2meSUL7

Please circulate the petition links above as widely as you can, using all means available to you, from email, to social media, websites and direct communication.   

CHANGE.ORG PETITION

Stop health authorities claiming that vaccines are ‘safe’

Petition link: http://bit.ly/2meSUL7

This petition is neither pro- nor anti-vaccination. It aims instead to show health professionals, health authorities and governments the public desire for greater honesty over the communication of scientific knowledge about vaccine safety prior to vaccination consent being given.

Vaccination is a form of medical treatment. International and European Union human rights law [1] requires that everyone, with very limited exceptions, must give consent before receiving a medical treatment. Informed consent means that all relevant information should be available before someone is asked to decide about their own, or their child’s, vaccination. This should include the known benefits and risks, as well as any alternatives, to the proposed treatment.[2],[3]

In most cases, this simply doesn’t happen. Members of the public, parents and children are instead generally told by health authorities, doctors or nurses that vaccines are both safe and effective. These views are not supported by the available scientific facts and amount to the public being misled meaning that consent is often misinformed rather than informed.

Health authorities responsible for communicating vaccine safety have been found to conceal information that is of paramount relevance to public health. This has been shown in the UK,[4] Sweden,[5] the USA [6] and in other countries.[7]

While the risk of permanent injury from vaccines following any single vaccination is small, the overall risk of the full vaccination schedule to any child is not well understood and thousands of people have suffered long-term injuries and even death that have been attributed to vaccinations by courts in the USA and elsewhere.

Vaccine manufacturers have made governments liable for vaccine injuries through compensation programs that have now been established in 29 countries [8]. In the USA, $3.5 billion has been paid out in compensation as a result of vaccine injury since 1988.[9] This includes 16,616 cases of vaccine injury and 1,219 vaccine-related deaths, of which 993 injuries and 59 deaths are from the MMR vaccine alone. The UK government is presently trying to appeal a court decision in order to relieve itself of liability from vaccine injuries linked to the Pandemrix swine flu vaccine.[10]

There are over 1300 cases in the USA where compensation has been paid to people who have suffered vaccine-related brain damage (encephalopathy).[11] Serious gastrointestinal reactions have been found to be related to certain vaccines, including rotavirus.[12]

Vaccine side effects are classified by government regulators according to frequency as follows: ‘Very common’ (≥1/10), ‘common’ (≥1/100 to <1/10), ‘uncommon’ (≥1/1,000 to <1/100). The known rates of side effects, that may be underreported in clinical trials conducted by vaccine manufacturers, are generally not communicated to parents or children. Examples of reported side effects in EU licensing authorisations for Cervarix, Gardasil and MMR are referenced below.[13, 14, 15]

Given the very high number of children vaccinated each year, large numbers of children can be seriously and unpredictably affected even when side effects are considered ‘uncommon’, with children sometimes suffering long-term, debilitating or even life-threatening illnesses.

Governments, health authorities and health professionals have a duty of care to communicate all available, relevant information to parents, guardians or children prior to vaccination consent being given.

Sign this petition if you feel that governments, health authorities and health professionals should have a duty of care to the public and so must stop claiming that vaccines are ‘safe’. They must also not withhold relevant information about vaccine safety that obstructs informed consent.

References

1. Article 3(2)(a), Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:12012P/TXT&from=en .
2. Understanding informed consent – a primer (FindLaw®): http://healthcare.findlaw.com/patient-rights/understanding-informed-consent-a-primer.html
3. ANH-Intl, “Vaccination vs natural immunity – can you make an informed choice.” 15 Feb 2017 http://anhinternational.org/2017/02/15/vaccination-vs-natural-immunity/
4. Gallagher P, “Thousands of teenage girls report feeling seriously ill after routine school cancer vaccination”, The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/thousands-of-teenage-girls-report-feeling-seriously-ill-after-routine-school-cancer-vaccination-10286876.html
5. ANH-Intl, “Swedish cover-up of HPV vaccine side effects—and more”, 4 Nov 2015. http://anhinternational.org/2015/11/04/swedish-cover-hpv-vaccine-side-effects
6. Beck, S. “Vaxxed: Why we should be allowed to watch the movie.” 22 Feb 2017. http://anhinternational.org/2017/02/22/vaxxed-allowed-watch-movie
7. ANH-Intl. “It’s official: HPV vaccine, the most dangerous vaccine yet.” 18 Jan 2017. http://anhinternational.org/2017/01/18/official-hpv-vaccine-vaccine-dangerous-yet
8. Looker C, Kelly H. “No-fault compensation following adverse events attributed to vaccination: a review of international programmes”. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2011; 89: 371-378. http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/5/10-081901/en/
9. HRSA, Vaccine Injury Compensation Data, updated 1 Feb 2017. https://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/data/vicpmonthlyreporttemplate2_1_17.pdf
10. 10.  UK Department of Work and Pensions case with Pandemrix (2017): https://www.hja.net/press-releases/dwps-pandemrix-vaccine-injury-appeal-set-impact-future-compensation-claims
11. Attkisson S. “Vaccines, Autism and Brain Damage: What’s in a Name?” CBS News, 14 Sept 2010. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vaccines-autism-and-brain-damage-whats-in-a-name/
12. Geier DA, Geier MR. Gastrointestinal reactions and rotavirus vaccination based upon analysis of the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) database for 1999. Hepatogastroenterology. 2004; 51(56): 465-9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15086184
13. Cervarix EU marketing authorisation: http://europa.eu/health/documents/community-register/2011/2011022198968/anx_98968_en.pdf
14. Gardasil EU marketing authorisation: http://ec.europa.eu/health/documents/community-register/2010/2010081885368/anx_85368_en.pdf
15. MMR EU marketing authorisation: http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR_-_Product_Information/human/000604/WC500030170.pdf

Further Information

Reposted from The Alliance for Natural Health Campaign – Posted 1 March 2017. http://anhinternational.org/2017/03/01/stop-health-authorities-claiming-vaccines-safe/?utm_source=The+Alliance+for+Natural+Health&utm_campaign=dc51c023e2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_aea8a87544-dc51c023e2-84938700

Seeking Volunteers for Research to Improve Health Prospects of Older Men and Women

Leeds Beckett University research projects seeking to improve health prospects for older men and women need participants. Volunteers are sought for a major research programme undertaken at Leeds Beckett University, which will investigate factors that affect the health and quality of life of the UK’s ageing population.

Emily Gregg, Matthew Lees, Mathew Butterworth & Dr Theocharis Ispoglou

The three-stranded programme, conducted by PhD students Mathew Butterworth, Matthew Lees and Emily Gregg of the University’s School of Sport, seeks to look at dietary intake and physical activity levels of men and women aged up to 75, as well as gaining a better understanding of the age-associated loss of muscle mass. The research will also explore the differences between older adults who have a history of falls and those who do not.

Dr Theocharis Ispoglou, who is overseeing two of the projects, said he expected that the findings would inform communities and policy makers about what needs to be done to best help the UK’s ageing population.

In the first stage of his research, PhD student Mathew Butterworth investigated interplay between dietary intake, physical activity levels, and physical performance of men and women during their early retirement years (65-75) when there is an acceleration of decline in muscle mass and strength.

“We are hoping to find out how diet and exercise can be used to improve functional status, muscle and bone health in this age group; our preliminary findings suggest that dietary intakes are inadequate in this population which results in reduced muscle mass and strength” he said.

“Loss of muscle and strength is a natural part of ageing and has a number of health consequences. These include osteoporosis and a greater risk of falls. These risks increase greatly at age 80 years and over. Increasing the amount of protein in the diet would help, but high protein diets make people feel fuller, so they are less likely to be able to get enough of the other nutrients and energy that they need from food.  Amino acids are important because they are the building blocks of proteins. Therefore, for stage two of the research we are looking for volunteers between the ages of 60-80 years of age to investigate how nutritional supplements containing amino acids affect the appetite of older people in comparison to protein supplements”.  

PhD student Matthew Lees is looking for volunteers from two age groups: 18-45 years and 60 to 80 years, to gain a better understanding of the age-associated loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia).

“The loss of muscle mass and strength with age is a natural and inevitable process and can lead to a number of health consequences including osteoporosis, an increased risk of falls, and greater risk of mortality,” explained Matthew. “Such risks increase greatly in those aged 80 years plus. Given our ageing population, there is an urgent need to identify the causes of sarcopenia and to find ways in which dietary protein and exercise training may help people maintain muscle mass, functional capacity and quality of life. It is unclear if and how the ageing process affects the muscle’s response to essential amino acids or resistance exercise. Furthermore, it is not clear to what extent the adoption of a sedentary or active lifestyle affects these processes either.”

Researcher Emily Gregg is investigating the differences between older adults who have a history of falls and those who do not. Her study will explore the ability of those adults to perform a number of tasks such as standing and walking from a chair and balance tasks. Alongside this, muscle strength will be measured and scans of muscles and bones will be performed.

Emily, who is also looking for volunteers for the research, said:

“It is hoped that the research findings can help identify and understand why some older adults are at a greater risk of falling over and in the long term help to prevent these falls, reducing the negative effects of falling amongst older adults.

“Falling in the elderly poses a substantial problem in the UK. There has been lots of previous research focussed around falls and a wide range of factors which increase the risk of falls have been identified. Generally, these factors are linked to balance and stability, strength and power, and movement ability. However, there has been a lack of agreement about which factors are most important. “

Further Information

If you would like to volunteer to take part in the study or would like more information Tel: 0113 812 5978;  email Mathew Butterworth at m.butterworth@leedsbeckett.ac.uk , Matthew Lees at m.lees@leedsbeckett.ac.uk  or Emily Gregg at e.l.gregg@leedsbeckett.ac.uk .

Source

"Julia Williams" j.t.williams@leedsbeckett.ac.uk 

If Only Half of America is Properly Vaccinated, Where are the Epidemics?

by Gretchen DuBeau

Reprinted from http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/295562-if-only-half-of-america-is-properly-vaccinated-where-are-the

In 2014, an outbreak of whooping cough (pertussis) broke out in the San Diego area. Of the 621 individuals who were infected, nearly all of them were completely up to date on all preventive vaccinations. If vaccines are given to protect from disease, how could this happen?

San Diego public health official Dr Wilma Wooten argued that the cause was related to a decrease in the protection offered by vaccines after the first year. This answer is most revealing, in that it speaks to the actual efficacy of vaccines. It also shows that the concept of herd immunity is largely myth - and completely misunderstood.

The theory of herd immunity states that when a critical mass of the population (usually stipulated at 95%) is vaccinated against a disease, the possibility of outbreaks is eliminated. This is the main argument that is used to shame parents who wish to refuse certain vaccinations for their children: by not vaccinating, they put the health of the “herd” at risk.

However, if vaccines start losing effectiveness after the first year, as Dr Wooten says, then constant revaccination would be required, since the immunity offered is only temporary for most vaccines. Achieving the required rate of protection is virtually impossible under this paradigm.

Of course, if we look back over the decades and note the lack of rampant epidemics in our nation, while remembering that vaccine protection is in perpetual decline, the myth of herd immunity quickly unravels. Our society has never achieved this level of herd immunity, yet not a single major outbreak of disease has occurred.

Noted author and neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, MD, offers this analysis:

It was not until relatively recently that it was discovered that most of these vaccines lost their effectiveness 2 to 10 years after being given. What this means is that at least half the population, that is the baby boomers, have had no vaccine-induced immunity against any of these diseases for which they had been vaccinated very early in life. In essence, at least 50% or more of the population was unprotected for decades.

After a recent outbreak of measles at Disneyland, the state legislature in California took the extraordinary measure of rescinding religious and philosophical exemptions for vaccinations, even for children at higher risk of vaccine injury. State Sen. Richard Pan, who led the fight, argued that it was imperative to public health to maintain herd immunity among the general population, and that to ensure 95% compliance, vaccination had to be mandatory. The law he authored, which risks the health of many vulnerable children, accomplishes nothing - because herd immunity is a myth.

The argument for herd immunity was actually developed out of observations of natural immunity, not vaccination. Statisticians observed that populations were protected when sufficient members contracted the wild form of a disease, and subsequently acquired lifelong immunity. With vaccines, however, evidence shows that unvaccinated children may catch infectious diseases from vaccinated children. What is true of natural immunity is not true of vaccination.

The herd immunity argument has always been inconsistent. On the one hand, the theory goes, people who cannot receive vaccines for whatever reason are protected from the disease through a high level of vaccination in the rest of society. On the other hand, the theory continues, parents who don’t vaccinate their children put the health of wider society at risk. How can a handful of people not getting vaccinated be protected from getting sick, while at the same time being so disease-ridden that they make others sick? This doesn’t make sense.

While herd immunity may not exist, herd mentality most definitely does. Health authorities, media commentators, and schools and their parent-teacher associations waste no opportunity in perpetuating this myth. Proponents have done such a thorough job of convincing the public that a parent who questions it is treated like someone who thinks the earth is flat or believes climate change is a conspiracy. On the contrary: an unprejudiced view of the science about vaccines, and an examination of history, clearly show that the herd immunity theory is - and always has been - flawed. 

Vaccines may have a place in our medical arsenal, but they are not the silver bullet they’re portrayed to be. Year after year the pharmaceutical industry, looking for lucrative new profit centres, churns out new vaccines. They use pseudo-science to convince the public that these products are safe and effective, and they use public shaming to convince the citizenry that non-compliance is a public health threat. This entire racket completely falls apart with a close examination of the herd immunity myth. Until we are honest in our assessment of both the safety and efficacy of vaccines, kids will continue to be hurt, rights will continue to be trampled, and mythology will continue to trump science.

About Gretchen DuBeau

Gretchen DuBeau is Executive Director of Alliance for Natural Health USA - www.anh-usa.org/gretchen-dubeau/

Reprinted from

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/295562-if-only-half-of-america-is-properly-vaccinated-where-are-the

50 Studies the AAP Avoided to Mention - Vaccine Safety Commission

Reprinted from http://vaccinesafetycommission.org/studies.html

There is a robust, worldwide body of published science from highly esteemed scientists questioning the safety of many different aspects of vaccines - how come we never hear from them? The majority of the most compelling science has been published since 2010. Below find 50 such studies to consider, sorted chronologically, and note that these studies only represent a portion of the published work implicating vaccinations in a wide variety of negative health outcomes.

The American Academy of Pediatrics made representations to President Trump in a letter dated 7 Feb 2017 that are utterly indefensible and inaccurate, as any rational review of the studies below quickly demonstrates. For example, the AAP wrote:

"Claims that vaccines are unsafe when administered according to expert recommendations have been disproven by a robust body of medical literature...we write to express our unequivocal support for the safety of vaccines."

We contend that the AAP's statements to the President are baseless, reckless, and easily refuted. The AAP's letter alone supports the President's desire to field a Vaccine Safety Commission and do all we can to make vaccines as safe as possible. Please click here for a list of all 50 studies detailed below.

2017

1. Yale Scientists Find Strong Association Between Vaccinations and Anorexia, OCD, and Anxiety Disorder

Temporal Association of Certain Neuropsychiatric Disorders Following Vaccination of Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Case-Control Study Frontiers in Psychiatry, January 2017, Douglas L. Leslie, Robert A. Kobre, Brian J Richmand

Summary: "Subjects with newly diagnosed anorexia nervosa were more likely than controls to have had any vaccination in the previous 3 months [hazard ratio (HR) 1.80, 95% confidence interval 1.21-2.68]. Influenza vaccinations during the prior 3, 6, and 12 months were also associated with incident diagnoses of AN, OCD, and an anxiety disorder. Several other associations were also significant with HRs greater than 1.40 (hepatitis A with OCD and AN; hepatitis B with AN; and meningitis with AN and chronic tic disorder). This pilot epidemiologic analysis implies that the onset of some neuropsychiatric disorders may be temporally related to prior vaccinations in a subset of individuals."

2. Italian Scientists Find Unexpected Contaminants in all Pediatric Vaccines, Including Lead, Stainless Steel, Tungsten, Iron, and Chromium

New Quality-Control Investigations on Vaccines: Micro- and Nanocontamination International Journal of Vaccines and Vaccination, January 2017, Dr. Antonietta M. Gatti, Stefano Montanari

Summary: Scientists found contaminants in all vaccines that are not listed on the label of the vaccines. "The analyses carried out show that in all samples checked vaccines contain non biocompatible and bio-persistent foreign bodies which are not declared by the Producers, against which the body reacts in any case. This new investigation represents a new quality control that can be adopted to assess the safety of a vaccine. Our hypothesis is that this contamination is unintentional, since it is probably due to polluted components or procedures of industrial processes (e.g. filtrations) used to produce vaccines, not investigated and not detected by the Producers. If our hypothesis is actually the case, a close inspection of the working places and the full knowledge of the whole procedure of vaccine preparation would probably allow to eliminate the problem."

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2005

2004

2002

2001

2000

1999

1995

Source: JB Handley - https://medium.com/@jbhandley/vaccine-safety-commission-50-studies-the-aap-failed-to-send-president-trump-bdc03a4ca8c9#.9e33brh96

Reprinted from http://vaccinesafetycommission.org/studies.html

© 2017 Vaccine Safety Commission who may be contacted via info@vaccinesafetycommission.org   http://vaccinesafetycommission.org

72 Years of Fluoridation Doubt, say Researchers

NYSCOF@aol.com  to editor@nytimes.com

After 72 years of Fluoridation, Uncertainty Persists

While pushing through a country-wide fluoridation mandate last year, Israel’s policy-makers and public health officials ignored or denied valid evidence, produced by experts in their fields and respected science groups, showing that fluoridation science has not been settled according to researchers in the Journal of Risk Research, August 2016. The same is true of US fluoridationists, reports the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. (NYSCOF)

January 25, 2017, is the 72^nd anniversary of water fluoridation - the addition of fluoride chemicals into public water supplies intending to reduce tooth decay. Safety and efficacy doubts continue today

Israel researchers, Anat Gesser-Edelsburg PhD, Head of Health Promotion Department, School of Public Health, University of Haifa, and Dr Yaffa Shir-Raz report that:

“In this study, we argue that the policy makers themselves …[carry] out what they accuse others [fluoridation opposers] of doing. They share only partial, biased information in order to support their case, and convey information in terms that misrepresent the actual situation.”

From the beginning, respected US scientists and physicians criticized fluoridation but were ignored (i.e., Waldbott). Voices of opposition were suppressed since the early days, according to Chemical and Engineering News.

Criticism persists today, i.e. Legal Scholar Rita Barnett-Rose; Historian Catherine Carstairs, Phd; Social Scientist Brian Martin PhD; investigative reporters in Scientific American, Chemical & Engineering News, Newsweek and ABC-TV.  In fact, US public health bureaucrats ignore their own published evidence of fluoride’s potential harm i.e. New York State Department of Health and Virginia Department of Health.

Gesser-Edelsburg and Shir-Raz explain that some studies, including recent ones, show no benefit from fluoridation; some even report adverse effects and that those studies were ignored by officials. For example, three expert committees (NRC, SCHER, YORK) revealed:

 “that there is uncertainty surrounding both the safety and the efficacy of fluoridation,” they report.

They add,  “A Cochrane systematic review (2015) “concluded that there is very little updated and high-quality evidence indicating that fluoridation reduces dental caries, while there is significant association between fluoride levels and dental fluorosis [discoloured teeth].”

Lawyer Paul Beeber, NYSCOF President says,

“The truth is that fluoridation is a dark blot on scientific integrity.  We should be eulogizing fluoridation not honouring it.”

Today’s PR gurus coach fluoridationists to avoid mentioning risks because then “opponents are likely to win.”

Source:  New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.

Further Information 

Contact:  Paul Beeber JD on Tel: 516-433-8882, nyscof@aol.com  www.FluorideAction.Net

How to Cure the Sick Health Care System: An Open Letter to President Trump From Leaders in Functional/Integrative/Natural Health and Medicine

by Joseph Pizzorno, ND, Editor in Chief

Extracted from Integr Med (Encinitas).; 16(1): 8–11. Feb 2017.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5312748/

President Trump

One of the biggest and most important challenges you face is our failing health care system. Although the United States spends far more per capita on health care than the next closest country spends, our outcomes are dismal. Virtually every measure shows that Americans suffer poorer health and more chronic disease than those in most other advanced countries.

Unfortunately, almost all the health care reform initiatives being discussed are merely rearranging the chairs on the Titanic: arguing about who pays, who has control, and how to subtly ration. The problem is not how we make health care available. Rather, the problem is the health care being provided.

The key reasons for this growing crisis are as follows:

1. We have a disease management and symptom relief system, not a health care system;
2. We treat end-stage disease rather than the health of each unique individual;
3. Virtually all the passive determinants of health - nutrition, toxicity, and social - now promote disease;
4. Government, at all levels, has supported competition-preventing regulations and crony capitalism;

The solution to the ailing disease management system is to address the real causes of disease. We have several recommendations to accomplish this:

1. A broader definition of public health that includes such critical concepts as helping and supporting farmers to grow foods with higher nutrient density and working with industry to decrease the presence of disease-inducing metal and chemical toxins in the air, water, food, packaging materials, health and beauty aids, home and yard chemicals, etc;
2. Primary care that addresses the true causes of disease rather than simply short-term relief of symptoms;
3. Personalized health promotion rather than generic care for disease;
4. A reimbursement and regulatory system that prioritizes health promotion and disease prevention rather than expensive drugs and procedures;
5. Creation of a presidential commission - composed of change agents rather than vested interests - to provide the US Congress with guidance for creation of a real health care system.

Please be clear: We do not want to “throw out the baby with the bathwater.” Conventional medicine is miraculous in so many areas. Injury, life-threatening situations, developmental disabilities, overwhelming infection, organ failure - the list of successes is long. Unfortunately, the medical model that works so well for these kinds of conditions has failed for everyday health and chronic disease. We have invested huge resources researching, promoting, and rewarding the end-stage disease treatment model. The time has come to reconsider our priorities.

As widely recognized leaders in functional, integrative, and naturopathic medicine who have dedicated their professional lives to reforming medicine, we present here our suggestions on how to cure our sick health care system.

Joseph Pizzorno, ND, Editor in Chief

moc.mhnoisivonni@onrozziprd

http://twitter.com/drpizzorno

Acknowledgement Citation

Reprinted from Integr Med (Encinitas).; 16(1): 8–11. Feb 2017.  www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5312748/

Vitamin C Effective in Targeting Cancer Stem Cells

VITAMIN C is up to ten times more effective at stopping cancer cell growth than pharmaceuticals such as 2-DG, according to scientists in Salford, UK. The research, published in Oncotarget,[1] is the first evidence that Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can be used to target and kill cancer stem cells (CSCs), the cells responsible for fuelling fatal tumours.

Dr Michael P. Lisanti, Professor of Translational Medicine at the University of Salford, said: “We have been looking at how to target cancer stem cells with a range of natural substances including silibinin (milk thistle) and CAPE, a honey-bee derivative, but by far the most exciting are the results with Vitamin C.

“Vitamin C is cheap, natural, non-toxic and readily available so to have it as a potential weapon in the fight against cancer would be a significant step.”

Cancer stem-like cells are thought to be the root cause of chemotherapy resistance, leading to treatment failure in patients with advanced disease and the triggers of tumour recurrence and metastasis (regrowth).

The Salford team set out to assess the bioenergetics of cancer stem cells - the processes which allow the cells to live and thrive – with a view to disrupting their metabolism.

Focusing on energy-transfer, they measured the impact on cell lines in a laboratory of 7 substances, the clinically-approved drug stiripentol, 3 natural products  - caffeic acid phenyl ester (CAPE), silibinin and ascorbic acid - and experimental pharmaceuticals, such as actinonin, FK866 and 2-DG.

While they found that natural antibiotic actinonin and the compound FK866 were the most potent, the natural products also inhibited CSC formation, with Vitamin C, outperforming 2-DG by tenfold in terms of potency.

Vitamin C has previously been shown to be effective as a non-toxic anti-cancer agent in studies by Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling and was recently shown to reduce mortality by 25% on breast cancer patients in Japan. However, its effects on CSC activity have not been previously evaluated and in this context, it behaves as an inhibitor of glycolysis, which fuels energy production in mitochondria, the ‘powerhouse’ of the cell.

Dr Gloria Bonuccelli, lead author and another member of the team added: “This is further evidence that Vitamin C and other non-toxic compounds may have a role to play in the fight against cancer.

“Our results indicate it is a promising agent for clinical trials, and a as an add-on to more conventional therapies, to prevent tumour recurrence, further disease progression and metastasis.”

Reference

1. Gloria Bonuccelli, Ernestina Marianna De Francesco, Rianne de Boer, Herbert B. Tanowitz and Michael P. Lisanti. NADH autofluorescence, a new metabolic biomarker for cancer stem cells: Identification of Vitamin C and CAPE as natural products targeting “stemness”. Oncotarget. DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.15400. February 16, 2017

www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget/index.php?journal=oncotarget&page=article&op=view&path%5b%5d=15400

Source and Further Information

Please contact Gareth Hollyman  on Tel: 0161 295 6895; g.b.hollyman@salford.ac.uk    www.salford.ac.uk/home-page/news/press-office