mirrell
-
Posts
183 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Downloads
Store
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Blogs
Events
Posts posted by mirrell
-
-
1.sleeping in on saturdays
2.a great dinner with friends last night
3.my job
4.my cleaning lady who did an amazing job yesterday
5.nicoya
-
1.a great run home from work today, a minute longer than last time but i had to wait for a train and i ran around the parking lot while waiting so i actually ran farther
2.nicoya racing my husband and i on my scooter, he's fast
3.st.patty's day ws yesterday here and i didn't get too drunk and still ran today
4.my cleaning lady showed up today and i thought she wasn't going to
5.making dinner with a friend tonight for our husbands
-
1.a fully stocked fridge
2.warm weather here in seoul
3.a fun walk with nicoya who met some other dogs and won't be angry with me tonight
4.quiz night tonight at the three alley pub
5.my husband jerry
-
1.Frank is here
2.a great run with nicoya
3.i left nicoya alone for 4 hrs and he didn't wreck our place
4.shopping at costco
5.my system engineering students
-
1.cute underwear
2.a great run and i owned that hill
3.my husband made dinner last night and cleaned up
4.found a masters program in australia i want to take
5.nicoya cuddling with me all day yesterday because i am his favorite
-
1. movies that make you laugh out loud really hard
2. buspar
3. good coffee
4. tami
5. pizza
-
wow dean, truly an inspiration. so happy you are enjoying life and spending time with your friends and wife. i pray for you and send you nothing but positive energy. keep up the good fight. mirrell
-
1.56 minute run today, ran home from work with a backpack on
2.amy is home from japan and picking up our extra dog today
3.nicoya howled when i came home today(as everyday)
4.staying in and relaxing tonight
5.good beer
-
1. my friend sangjoon
2.orange juice
3. quiz night tonight
4. great run with my dog yesterday
5. my cleaning lady mrs.shin
-
I have those same feelings since my dad's death. I have gotten a chest x-ray, a full physical, everything. I can't help but think that since I am so much like my dad that it is inevitable that it will happen to me too. mirrell
-
1. my class got cancelled, so I only work 14 hours this semester
2. my friend lenny
3. chicken hofs
4. warmer weather here in seoul
5. oranges
-
1.possibility one of my classes may be cancelled(to teach=less hours)
2.my husband walking nicoya today
3.a great run alone and by the river
4.collagen eye patches to help with wrinkles
5.almost being done my day at work and it is only 1 o'clock
-
1.my mom's first date since my dad died
2.buying a dvd player today
3.my friend rene
4.running with my dog
5.symalin (check my post under alternative therapies)
-
Hi Karen,
no, i am not taking this. i just received this email from my doctor, it is written and researched by him. i am in seoul, sk, and i think the research here is phenomenal.
my dad is the one who had cancer. he died two years ago. however, i just can't seem to leave this board. when my doctor sent me this, i took particular notice of the chemo drug cisplatin and used with conjunction with this had great results. my dad had cisplatin, however, it was not as effective as it could have been.
taking this does not cause any side effects or long term harm.
for the people on this board who are still fighting this disease, i thought it would be useful to have this information.
i hope it helps.
mirrell
-
Silymarin: A Potent Antioxidant,
Liver Protector, and Anti-Cancer Agent
Silymarin is a unique flavonoid complex containing silybin,
silydianin, and silychrisin that is derived from the milk thistle
plant. These unique phytochemicals from the milk thistle have been
the subject of decades of research into their beneficial properties.
Milk thistle's common name comes from the white markings on the
leaves, its milky white sap, and its traditional use by nursing
mothers to increase milk. But it is best known for its use as a
liver protectant and decongestant, which can be traced to the Greeks
and Pliny the Elder (23-79AD), who wrote that it was excellent
for "carrying off bile." The famous English herbalist Culpepper
(1616-1654) used milk thistle to cleanse the liver and spleen, and
to treat jaundice and gallstones.1
Silymarin is derived from the Milk Thistle plant.
In the U.S., the Eclectics, a prominent group of American
doctors who practiced during the 20th century, used it for liver
problems, and to treat varicose veins, menstrual problems, and
spleen and kidney disorders. The plant was also cultivated as a
food, providing leaves for salad, seeds for a coffee-like drink, and
flowers, which were eaten as artichokes are today.1 In 1968, a group
of German scientists discovered the active flavonoid complex
silymarin, which provides milk thistle's medicinal benefits.2
Since then, hundreds of studies have been done on silymarin, and it
is approved in the German Commission E Monographs (the most accurate
information available on the safety and efficacy of herbs) as a
supportive treatment for inflammatory liver conditions such as
cirrhosis, hepatitis, and fatty infiltration caused by alcohol and
other toxins.3
Silymarin is used to:
· Regenerate liver cells damaged by alcohol or drugs
· Decongest the liver (A liver decongestant stimulates bile
flow through the liver and gallbladder, thus reducing stagnation and
preventing gallstone formation and bile-induced liver damage.)
· Increase the survival rate of patients with cirrhosis4
· Complement the treatment of viral hepatitis5
· Protect against industrial poisons, such as carbon
tetracholoride (a colorless gass that leaks into air, water and soil
near manufacturing and waste sites)6
· Protect the liver against pharmaceuticals that stress the
liver, such as acetaminophen and tetracycline1
· Antidote and prevent poisoning from the death cap mushroom,
Amanita phalloides 7,8,9
How does silymarin work?
· As an antioxidant, silymarin scavenges for free radicals
that can damage cells exposed to toxins. Silymarin has been said to
be at least ten times more potent in antioxidant activity than
vitamin E.10-12
· It increases glutathione in the liver by more than 35% in
healthy subjects and by more than 50% in rats.13 Glutathione is
responsible for detoxifying a wide range of hormones, drugs, and
chemicals. High levels of glutathione in the liver increases its
capacity for detoxification.
· Silymarin also increases the level of the important
antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase in cell cultures.14
· It stimulates protein synthesis in the liver, which results
in an increase in the production of new liver cells to replace the
damaged ones.15
· Silymarin inhibits the synthesis of leukotrienes (mediators
of inflammation, which can result in psoriasis, among other
things).16
Scientific studies
As we've seen, silymarin has proved to be successful in treating
alcohol-related liver disease. In one study, researchers assessed
the benefits of milk thistle extract on 170 patients, 91 of them
alcoholics with liver cirrhosis. Subjects received 140 mg. silymarin
three times a day for 41 months. The four-year survival rate was 58
percent in the silymarin group and 39 percent in the placebo group.
The reduced death rate among those taking silymarin was most
pronounced in the alcoholic cirrhosis subgroup. There were no side
effects from silymarin.4
This study is significant for several reasons. Since there were no
side effects, the results support the idea that long-term treatment
is beneficial and not likely to be harmful. These results also
indicate that silymarin may be particularly effective for patients
with alcohol-induced liver damage.
Effective in fighting several cancers
Although German scientists first discovered the protective effects
of silymarin on liver function in the late 1960s, its impressive
cancer-fighting properties were just discovered in the last decade.
While it is not surprising that an antioxidant like silymarin would
have anti-cancer effects, the molecular effects of silymarin that
give it powerful anti-cancer properties have amazed even the
scientific community. In the last few years, researchers have begun
to discover exactly why silymarin has such broad anti-cancer
properties.
Among the most promising cancer fighting strategies that researchers
are trying to develop are angiogenesis inhibitors (which stop the
proliferation of blood vessels that feed tumors), cell cycle
regulators, and selective promoters of cancer cell death. Amazingly,
silymarin has been shown to possess all of these abilities. A review
of research into silymarin's effects on prostate cancer (published
February 4, 2004) concluded that silymarin has a huge potential to
interfere with many molecular events involved in cancer cell growth,
progression, and angiogenesis. The authors also stated that
silymarin has recently entered clinical trials in prostate cancer
patients because of "its non-toxic and mechanism-based strong
preventive/therapeutic efficacy." 17
Because of this you would expect silymarin to have activity against
a broad range of cancer types, and an examination of the literature
shows that silymarin has impressive effects against prostate18,
colon19, ovarian20, skin21, lung22, breast23, and cervical cancers24
in preliminary studies. In the cases of prostate and ovarian cancer,
human clinical trials are currently underway both in the USA and
Europe.
Offers hope for the prevention of cancer and as an adjunct treatment
The novel and unique ways that silymarin fights cancer means that it
may offer hope not only for the prevention of cancer, but also for
the treatment of cancer, both alone and when combined with existing
cancer drugs. This is because silymarin has shown direct tumor
killing properties of its own, and is also synergistically effective
with two popular chemotherapy agents, doxorubicin and
cisplatin.25,26,17
Why isn't silymarin being hailed as a cancer drug in the medical
world?
With such an impressive list of accomplishments you would expect
silymarin to be quickly developed as a broad-spectrum cancer
fighter. But as a natural, herbal product that has been used for
more than 30 years primarily for liver problems, it has a strike
against it. If it were a new drug that had been developed and
patented by a pharmaceutical company, it would be hailed as a
potential breakthrough in the fight against cancer. But no
pharmaceutical company wants to spend millions of dollars doing
research on an herb that can't be patented.
Unfortunately, interest in researching silymarin's efficacy at
fighting cancer in humans has only been promoted by a small group of
dedicated scientists who have recognized silymarin's novel,
powerful, and multiple cancer fighting properties. One can only hope
that silymarin's natural origins don't condemn it to becoming only a
scientific curiosity.
Silybin/Phospholipid Complex (Silyphos)
Two recent innovations in silymarin supplementation have greatly
enhanced the benefits we can obtain from silymarin. The first was
the discovery that silybin, one of several flavonoids found in
the "silymarin fraction" extracted from milk thistle, is the most
potent constituent. Because of this, techniques were developed to
further purify silymarin to obtain pure silybin. Because silybin is
now recognized as the active flavonoid in silymarin, most recent
research has utilized pure silybin rather than silymarin itself.
One of the inherent problems with oral silymarin or silybin
supplementation is its very poor absorption. Recently, a new complex
of silybin and natural phospholipids was developed. This improved
product is known by the name of Silyphos. By complexing silybin with
phospholipids, scientists were able to make silybin into a much more
soluble and better-absorbed form.
This silybin/phospholipid complex (Silyphos) was found to have
significantly improved bioavailability, up to ten times better
absorption, and greater effectiveness.27,28,29 This dramatically
enhances the benefits of silybin, because typical silymarin extracts
and silybin are very poorly utilized when taken orally.
How safe is silymarin?
Milk thistle has been safely used as a medicinal herb for centuries.
Although its effects can be quite dramatic, it is gentle and well
tolerated.
Speak with your health care professional if you have cancer and are
on chemotherapy drugs, before taking this or any other herb. Studies
show that some chemotherapy drugs have a synergistic effect with
silymarin and may increase the drug's effects. If you're taking
drugs known to cause liver damage (like acetaminophen), silymarin
may help repair and prevent future damage.
An antidote to environmental toxins
James Duke, Ph.D., a leading authority on healing herbs, says "Even
if you don't have liver damage or liver disease, milk thistle helps
improve liver function by helping the liver remove toxins from your
body."30 In this modern world filled with environmental and chemical
toxins, silymarin is an antioxidant you just might want to add to
your nutritional supplement regimen.
While milk thistle and silymarin have had decades of very positive
results for protecting the liver, recent studies into silybin's
remarkable anti-cancer properties have provided even more compelling
reasons to consider supplementation. And now, with the advent of the
more potent and much better utilized Silybin/Phospholipid Complex
(Silyphos), the amazing benefits contained within the milk thistle
are available to everyone.
References
1. Presser, Arthur. Pharmacist's Guide to Medicinal Herbs. Smart
Publications, Petaluma, CA, 2000.pp 259-260.
2. Wagner, H., et al. "The Chemistry of Silymarin (Silybin), the
Active Principle of the Fruits of Silybum marianum." Arzneim-Forsch
Drug Res. 1968; 18:688-96.
Abstract
3. Blumenthal M, Busse W Goldberg A, eds. The Complete German
Commission E Monographs. 1998; Austin, TX: American Botanical
Council; Boston: Integrative Medical Communications.
4. Ferenci P, et al. Randomized, controlled trial of silymarin
treatment in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. J Hepatol
1989;9:105-13.
Abstract
5. Berenguer J and Carrasco D. Double-blind trial of silymarin
versus placebo in the treatment of chronic hepatitis. Muench Med
Wochenschr 1977; 119, 240-260.
6. Wagner H. Plant constituents with antihepatotoxic activity.
Natural Products as Medicinal Agents (Beal JL and Reinhard E, eds.)
1981; Hippokrates-Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.
7. Faulstich H, et al. Silybin inhibition of amatoxin uptake in the
perfused rat liver. Arzneim-Forsch Drug Res 1980;30:452-4
Abstract
8. Tuchwever B, et al. Prevention of silybin of phalloidin induced
acute hepatoxicity. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 1979;51:265-75.
Abstract
9. Catalina MV, Nunez O, Ponferrada A, Menchen L, Matilla A,
Clemente G, Banares R. [Liver failure due to mushroom poisoning:
clinical course and new treatment perspectives] [Article in Spanish]
Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2003; Aug-Sep;26(7):417-20.
Abstract
10. Awang D. Milk thistle. Can Pharm J 1993; 422, 403-404.
11. Wagner H. Antihepatotoxic flavonoids. Plant Flavonoids in
Biology and medicine: Biochemical, Pharmacological, and Structure-
Activity Relationships. 1986; Alan R. Liss, New York, pp. 545-558.
12. Adzet T. Polyphenolic compounds with biological and
pharmacological activity. Herbs Spices Med Plants 1986;1,167-184.
13. Valenzuela A, et al. Selectivity of silymarin on the increase of
the glutathione content in different tissues of the rat. Planta
Medica 1989; 55, 420-422.
Abstract
14. Muzes G, et al. Effect of the bioflavonoid silymarin on the in
vitro activity and expression of super oxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme.
1991; Acta Physiol Hungarica 78, 3-9.
Abstract
15. Fiebrich G and Koch H. Silymarin, an inhibitor of lipoxygenase.
Experientia 1979; 35,148-150.
16. Nassuato G, Iemmolo RM, Strazzabosco M, et al. Effect of
silibinin on biliary lipidcomposition: experimental and clinical
study. J Hepatol 1991; 12: 290-5.
17. Singh RP, Agarwal R, Prostate cancer prevention by silibinin,
Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2004 Feb;4(1):1-11).
Abstract
18. Zi X, Agarwal R. Silibinin decreases prostate-specific antigen
with cell growth inhibition via G1 arrest, leading to
differentiation of prostate carcinoma cells: implications for
prostate cancer intervention. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1999; 96: 7490-
7495.
Abstract
19. Yang SH, Lin JK, Chen WS, Chiu JH.Anti-angiogenic effect of
silymarin on colon cancer LoVo cell line. J Surg Res. 2003; Jul;113
(1):133-8.
Abstract
20. Gallo D, Giacomelli S, Ferlini C, Raspaglio G, Apollonio P,
Prislei S, Riva A, Morazzoni P, Bombardelli E, Scambia G. Antitumour
activity of the silybin-phosphatidylcholine complex, IdB 1016,
against human ovarian cancer. Eur J Cancer. 2003; Nov;39(16):2403-
10.
Abstract
21. Singh RP, Agarwal R, Flavonoid antioxidant silymarin and skin
cancer, Antioxid Redox Signal. 2002 Aug;4(4):655-63.
Abstract
22. Sharma G, Singh RP, Chan DC, Agarwal R, Silibinin induces growth
inhibition and apoptotic cell death in human lung carcinoma cells,
Anticancer Res. 2003 May-Jun;23(3B):2649-55.
Abstract
23. Zi X, Feyes DK, Agarwal R, Anticarcinogenic effect of a
flavonoid antioxidant, silymarin, in human breast cancer cells MDA-
MB 468: induction of G1 arrest through an increase in Cip1/p21
concomitant with a decrease in kinase activity of cyclin-dependent
kinases and associated cyclins, Clin Cancer Res. 1998 Apr;4(4):1055-
64.
Abstract
24. Bhatia N, Zhao J, Wolf DM, Agarwal R, Inhibition of human
carcinoma cell growth and DNA synthesis by silibinin, an active
constituent of milk thistle: comparison with silymarin, Cancer Lett.
1999 Dec 1;147(1-2):77-84.
Abstract
25. Scambia G, De Vincenzo R, Ranelletti FO, et al,
Antiproliferative effect of silybin on gynaecological malignancies:
synergism with cisplatin and doxorubicin, Eur J Cancer. 1996 May;32A
(5):877-82.
Abstract
26. Dhanalakshmi S, Agarwal P, Glode LM, Agarwal R, Silibinin
sensitizes human prostate carcinoma DU145 cells to cisplatin- and
carboplatin-induced growth inhibition and apoptotic death, Int J
Cancer. 2003 Sep 20;106(5):699-705.
Abstract
27. Morazzoni P, Montalbetti A, Malandrino S, Pifferi G, Comparative
pharmacokinetics of silipide and silymarin in rats, Eur J Drug Metab
Pharmacokinet. 1993 Jul-Sep;18(3):289-97.
Abstract
28. Schandalik R, Gatti G, Perucca E, Pharmacokinetics of silybin in
bile following administration of silipide and silymarin in
cholecystectomy patients, Arzneimittelforschung. 1992 Jul;42(7):964-
8.
Abstract
29. Comoglio A, Tomasi A, Malandrino S, Poli G, Albano E.,
Scavenging effect of silipide, a new silybin-phospholipid complex,
on ethanol-derived free radicals, Biochem Pharmacol. 1995 Oct 12;50
(
:1313-6 Abstract
30. Duke, James. A. The Green Pharmacy. Rodale Press. 1977
-
1.my dog Nicoya
2.dinner at a friends tonight
3.paxil
4.red wine
5.interesting dream last night
-
hello, sorry for my late reply. WHEN A LIFEMATE DIES,STORIES OF LOVE, LOSS AND HEALING edited by Susan heinlein, Grace Brumett, and Jane-Ellen Tibbals. I hope you find it. Mirrell
-
I hope for that too Shellie. mirrell
-
Hi Berisa,
I hope you are doing better. I have been thinking about my dad a lot as well. If I could go back to that one night when he died, I wish I could hold his hand all over again and just tell him to relax, everything would be ok. thinking of you mirrell
-
When my dad died my aunt bought this book for my mom. "When a lifemate dies". I think I have read it at least 4 times. It isn't really light reading, but it does make me feel like other people know how I feel, or at least my mom feels. Mirrell
-
sharyn,
i have a lump in my throat. i know that this isn't going to be an easy time. but your post made me feel envious that you were so lucky to get this sign. all my best thoughts and wishes are sent your way. strength to you in this next part of your journey. mirrell
-
embrace the tears and move on from there. thinking of you both mirrell
-
there is no map for grieving. i am so sorry for your loss. the grieving process is so different for everyone. how will you get through it? i don't know. but i know you will. because you have to. because your mom would want you to. because you must be strong. and carry on. because right now, you don't belong in heaven. things aren't going to be easy. and nobody can expect you to be a pillar. there is no way but right through it. and there is no right way. it may take months, years, or days. but you will get through it. here is wishing you strength, tears and happiness for this next part of your journey. thinking of you. mirrell
-
Shellie, I am so sorry that things are so hard for you right now. Please take some time for you. Take care of you. I am thinking of you. Mirrell
:1313-6
5 for 3/19
in GENERAL
Posted
1.a beautiful day
2.my mom
3.my sister nina
4.my sister niki
5.buspar