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An Unscientific Mind
...and where are the cheering crowds??
December 29, 2008
You want to know what is wrong with medicine and medical treatment in the United States?
Look no further than this. In December of 2006, a possible revolutionary treat for both Type I and Type II diabetes was announced in Canada. Dr. Michael Salter and Dr. Hans Michael Dosch of The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada found that injections of capsaicin into the pancreas of mice with a condition similar to Tyep I and Type II diabetes reversed those conditions overnight. (Link to the hospital's official announcement.)
Let me qualify this by saying that it is not a cure (the injections only worked for a few weeks) and it was mice, not humans. This is not a slam dunk, but it is a promising discovery.
The first problem these two had was getting their results published. This was largely due to the fact that Dr. Salter is a neurologist, and their research related to neurological issues (the capsaicin injection works on nerve cells in the pancreas.) Most medical professionals view diabetes as a endocrine and/or autoimmune problem, and so could not seem to make the connection. Even after the researchers jumped through hoops to finally get their results published, why is this news being so largely ignored by the US medical community?
It was only by chance that I came across this two years ago. I have been waiting with eager anticipation that this news would splash into the US press, that I would finally see some signs that someone in this country, anyone, would acknowledge it. Hey, American Diabetes Association, have you heard the news? You have a lot of clout and research dollars, put a spotlight on this! What is everyone waiting for?
Could it be that treating diabetes is just too big a business? After all, as the American Diabetes Association website claims, "The total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2007 was estimated to be $174 billion. Medical expenditures totaled $116 billion and were comprised of $27 billion for diabetes care, $58 billion for chronic diabetes-related complications, and $31 billion for excess general medical costs." (ADA: Direct and Indirect Costs of Diabetes in the United States expands on this a bit.)
What would happen if a simple shot administered every couple of months would eliminate all the complications and problems? Guess a lot of medical professionals would have to find a new line of work. A lot of pharmaceutical companies could end up with surplus production capabilities. And, of course, capsaicin is not all that expensive to produce.
Want to know more? Use your search engine of choice and look for "Dr. Michael Salter", "Dr. Hans Michael Dosch", and diabetes. The information is out there. You'll find the information is mostly in mainstream Canadian sources, and "alternative medicine" sites in other countries.
But don't expect to find much from any US sources. And as for the ADA, the silence is deafening.
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