Drug companies pushing to replace nutrition with pharmaceuticals

Drug companies pushing to replace nutrition with pharmaceuticals; take your meds even if you have no symptoms


(NaturalNews) Medications are nutrition. That's essentially the
rationale behind a couple of Big Pharma corporations' decision to give a
failed Alzheimer's drug a second chance.

In early August, Pfizer
and Johnson & Johnson said they were ending large-scale clinical
trials of their experimental drug bapineuzumab in patients with mild to
moderate Alzheimer's disease, because patients taking it did not show
signs of improved memory or thinking skills.

That was
disappointing to millions of Alzheimer's sufferers and their families,
though the results of the trials were all but expected by researchers
and investors who believed the drug had little chance to succeed.

Such
pessimism is driven by a new belief among scientists who think the
disease is actually a decades-long process "in which the toxic protein
beta amyloid gradually builds up in the brain before dementia sets in," Reuters reported.

If at first you don't succeed...

That
belief has led scientists to conclude; therefore, that clinical trials
for new Alzheimer's drugs should be conducted years in advance, before
the disease has had a chance to do its damage - though some experts
think Big Pharma will balk at such a notion after already spending
billions on failed trial.

"Even though the scientific rationale
might still be valid and strong and not adequately tested in the phase
of the disease where you might expect the therapy to work, that may be
lost to investors," Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minn., told the newswire service. "I hope that is not the case."

Neither
company has said yet whether they intend to conduct trials in people
who have risk factors for Alzheimer's but do not yet have symptoms, but
the companies - who are developing the drug
jointly - are set to present data in September showing whether or not
the drug reduced levels of beta amyloid and other so-called biomarkers in the brain. That data will determine whether bapineuzumab is appropriate for use in earlier trials.

In short, Big Pharma wants to treat a disease even before it ever shows up. What's more, an unproven medicine, rather than nutrition, is being pushed as the most effective way to deal with Alzheimer's.

There's
a better way to guard against Alzheimer's that doesn't cost billions of
dollars, risk your health or drive up the cost of medications.

Antioxidants and other natural nutrients

According
to prior Alzheimer's research, evidence shows that the build-up of beta
amyloid plaque is a major component of the disease. They show that high
levels of beta result in neuronal cell death, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information at
Bethesda, Md. In addition, researchers have found that beta amyloids
can increase in the absence of friendly endothelial nitric oxide (eNOS),
which is essential to the proper function of our vascular system. While
more research is needed, some studies have shown a relationship between
the disease and the chemical resveratrol, which can increase eNOS and
thereby lower levels of the plaque seen in Alzheimer's (resveratrol "is a
natural protective compound found in high concentrations in red grapes,
red wine, purple grape juice, peanuts, and some berries," wrote NaturalNews.com's John Phillip).

There's more causal evidence.

"Our
data suggest that endothelial NO (nitric oxide) plays an important role
in modulating APP (amyloid precursor protein) expression and processing
within the brain and cerebrovasculature," one study by the National Institutes of Health has concluded.

Other
evidence suggests the naturally occurring antioxidant carnosine can
also drastically reduce the formation of beta amyloid plaques, as can
carcumin, the primary ingredient in curry.

Research is ongoing
but it seems odd to try to replace a nutrient-based solution with an
unproven medication that could have damaging side effects.


Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/037378_drug_companies_nutrition_pharmaceuticals.html