• Biennial (every two years) mammography imaging for women ages 50 to 75
• Mammography imaging decision-making for women between 50 and 75 years old should be individualized to each woman
• At-home breast self-examination is not recommended
• Magnetic Resonance Imagine (MRI) and digital mammography are not recommended as screening methods

As you may have noticed, the biggest differences are 1) changing the screening mammography starting age from 40 years old to 50 years old, 2) stopping screening mammography at 75 years old, 3) discouraging breast self-examinations and 4) the necessity for screening mammography for women ages 50 to 75 seems to be less, with the USPSTF recommending mammography only every two years, and this recommendation stems upon the individual needs and desires of each woman. This means that the screening can be done more or less than every two years depending the discussion between each woman and her primary care physician.

The USPSTF arrived at these conclusions based on the accuracy of discovering breast cancer using the screening measures laid out in 2002, which included yearly screening mammography starting at 40 years old and at-home breast self-examination. According to the studies done since 2002, there has been insufficient "evidence to assess benefit and harm" of these measures in discovering breast cancer.

You can find out more information at: http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm.

 

Treatment Spotlight: Biopuncture

By Aurora Sedmak, ND

 

What is Biopuncture?

Biopuncture is an exciting technique where the physician injects ultra-low doses of mostly botanical extracts locally to specific areas of pain or inflammation.

Who Would Benefit from Biopuncture?

Many people could benefit from Biopuncture who have suffered from long-term painful and/or inflammatory conditions such as chronic pain, muscle spasm, headaches, allergies and asthma.

How Does Biopuncture Work?

Biopuncture stimulates the immune system surrounding the affected area. For example, someone with chronic shoulder pain would receive Biopuncture to the shoulder area. These injections not only to help relieve pain but also help to stimulate healing of the tissues surrounding the shoulder. As another example, someone with asthma would receive Biopuncture just under the skin above the lungs (not in the lungs) to help reduce chronic inflammation that can cause asthma symptoms.

Is Biopuncture Safe?

Yes. Most of the injections are done just under the surface of the skin (known as subcutaneous) or sometimes into the muscle (intramuscular (IM)) or deeper. To compare, immunizations are done intramuscularly. And of course, the physician giving the Biopuncture injections are well-trained. Also, the substances used for injection are given in very low doses so there is a very small chance of side effects and if there are side effects, they are generally very minor.

Is Biopuncture Effective?

Yes, because Biopuncture works to treat the cause of chronic pain and inflammation. Most conventional treatments such as anti-inflammatory drugs only suppress the chronic pain and inflammation, but do nothing to promote healing.

Where Can I Find Out More Information about Biopuncture?

You can go to www.biopuncture.info or ask Dr. Sedmak.

 

Food Allergies, Intolerances and Sensitivities

By Aurora Sedmak, ND

 

Food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities play a relatively small role in conventional medicine, but I find them to be helpful in both determining what may be going on with a patient and well as how to treat him or her. You may have heard of people being "allergic" to food, but what does being "allergic" really mean?

As the title suggests, there is actually more than one way a person's body can react negatively to a food, and the reaction depends on how the body and the immune system responds. A true food allergy is when a person eats, or sometimes even comes close to, a food that causes either a rash, itching, or an asthma attack. This is the body's immune system causing an IgE reaction. Besides food, other IgE reactions include environmental allergies that can result in hay fever and asthma attacks. Environmental and food allergens can be tested with the common "skin prick" test where different foods and environmental allergens are introduced into the skin with a needle prick. A positive IgE reaction occurs when the area pricked becomes red and swollen.

Food intolerance occurs when a person does not have enough enzymes to digest a certain food, which leads to intestinal irritation usually resulting in diarrhea and/or vomiting. You likely know someone that has a dairy intolerance. People with dairy intolerance do not produce enough of the enzyme, called lactase, that digests the lactose sugar in dairy. This lack of the lactase enzyme leads to maldigestion of lactose. The extra lactose causes intestinal irritation, which leads to diarrhea.

Diagnosing and treating food sensitivities is much more difficult. Technically they could be called food allergies because an immune reaction does occur, but I like to call them food sensitivities because it helps to distinguish IgE reactions from IgA, IgM and IgG reactions. If you are sensitive to a food, you could have an immune reaction at the lining of your digestive system, known as an IgA reaction. You could also have an immune reaction when the food crosses over into the bloodstream from the digestive tract, in which case an IgM and/or an IgG reaction can occur. To diagnose food sensitivities, I first run a digestive function test called GI-2 © (Diagnos-Techs, Inc) which tests for five common IgA reactions: gliadin (gluten, found in most grains including wheat), casein (the protein portion of dairy), soy, corn and peanuts. The GI-2 test also tests for general digestive function, because often these patients have digestive complaints. To test for IgM and IgG reactions, I order a blood test which tests the patients immune system cells against 115 different kinds of food. I think of this test mostly for people with an autoimmune disease, such as autoimmune thyroid conditions (e.g. Hashimoto's disease, etc.) and rheumatoid arthritis. However, most chronic complaints can be due to a food sensitivity, which is why some practitioners tend to focus mainly on testing and treating food sensitivities.

If there are any positive findings with any of these tests, food avoidance is recommend;. Food avoidance is necessary for food allergy (IgE) reactions to avoid asthma attacks. People with any food allergy reactions should always carry an epinephrine pen (Epi pen) in case accidental contact or ingestion occurs. Epinephrine works by opening up the airway so the affected person does not suffocate. If a patient tests positive for a food IgA reaction I recommend food avoidance plus supplements (usually containing a combination of botanicals, vitamins, minerals and amino acids) and homeopathic remedies for digestive tract healing and inflammation reduction. I also recommend food avoidance for patients with positive IgM and IgG reactions, as well as supportive therapies to help reverse the overreaction of the immune system—I treat each patient uniquely depending on his or her body and condition.

Why does it seem like there are more people with food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities? There are many theories out there and I suspect it is a combination of many factors. One theory is that there are more toxins and chemicals overall in our environment, which puts an added stress on everyone's body and makes us more susceptible to having any kind of chronic condition or disease. Farming methods have also changed over the past few generations. Current farming methods strip the soil, leaving fewer nutrients in our crops as well as more pesticides are used. More pesticides in our food increases the chemical load on our bodies. Also, many people eat foods that are more convenient. These foods are more refined and have more preservatives in them which our bodies cannot process and could theoretically cause damage to our bodies.