What is Pseudocholinesterase Deficiency? Fibroneuralgia? Are There Natural Treatments for Lou Gehrig’s Disease?
Question for Dr. Leia: Recently my brother-in-law was diagnosed with this frightening disease Lou Gehrig’s, I was curious if there had been any studies on holistic methods or alternative health modalities which could help. My brother-in-law is now in his sixties.
Dr. Leia’s Answer: Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), is a rare serious neurological disease which affects the motor neurons which control the voluntary muscles in the body. It is usually a progressive and fatal disease of which modern medicine has not yet been able to find the cause.
Currently, the NIH, or National Institutes of Health is conducting research in their laboratories to determine the causes of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. So far, the drugs which they are testing on this disease have proven to be ineffective and have even contributed to the further increase and progression of the symptoms.
It is estimated that ALS affects about 30,000 people in the United States, with 5,000 new patients diagnosed each year. Even though it is considered an untreatable disease, there have been some reports of people halting the progress of their disease, and even reversing their symptoms. I feel that all things are possible and that miracles of all kinds can, and have occurred, in relation to all types of human disease and illness, and that miracle cures do indeed happen.
Since I have had no experience treating this disease, I will refer you to a book by Eric Edney which is devoted to studying and compiling different natural remedies and treatments for diseases, including Lou Gehrig’s disease. Fortunately, Eric has lived long enough to gather a great deal of information about Lou Gehrig’s disease and develop a program to beat it.
The references in this book states that heavy metal and chemical toxins have been found to exist in higher amounts in Lou Gehrig’s patients. However, only a few people who have a higher added toxic burden go on to develop this disease.
A possible explanation could be that the body is unable to respond efficiently by detoxifying these elements from the body. The body’s detoxification system is affected and inadequate. So with this in mind, it might be a good idea to have a hair analysis test for heavy metal toxins.
This is a simple test using a small amount of new growth hair which is cut from the nape of the neck and sent into a reputable laboratory for analysis. Any Naturopathic doctor or natural health practitioner could assist you in this testing.
A pioneer in neurological and brain function is David Perlmutter, MD, and his book entitled “The Better Brain Book”, which describes in detail a specialized diet and supplement program for many neurological diseases, including Lou Gehrig’s disease.
You might also want to visit an Acupuncturist to see if they can assist with controlling the symptoms. Acupuncture seems to be effective with dealing with neurological problems. However, it would be wise to peruse the above-named books to learn more.
Good luck in your endeavors.
Dr. Leia Melead
Question for Dr. Leia: My mother is a senior who is 86 years of age and is suffering from fibroneuralgia. She has had a severe pain in her bottom right jaw for months. We have to been to dentists, medical doctors, and even neurologists. None of them has an answer. Can you help? I was thinking of acupressure or acupuncture.
Dr. Leia’s Answer: I wanted to clarify for other readers that there is not a typo regarding the subject of your question, but to distinguish the difference between fibroneuralgia and fibromyalgia. Fibroneuralgia refers specifically only to nerve pain and can involve one specific nerve or many nerves in the body, in this case, nerves which innervate the tempomandibular joint or TMJ joint as you have described for your mother.
Fibromyalgia, on the other hand, is a broader term describing a chronic pain syndrome which can involve both the muscles, joints and nerves of many or different parts of the body, usually not just limited to just one part or area of the body.
Nerve pain irritation or fibroneurlagia is difficult to treat and sometimes more difficult to find the causative factor. Acupuncture may be helpful in alleviating the pain in your mother’s case, and in my opinion, would be an excellent choice to try for her condition.
Traditionally, nervous system disorders and nerve and muscle pain respond well to Acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture, a 4000 year old medical treatment, involves inserting thin, sterile needles into specific points of the body, called acupoints. These acupoints lie along meridians or energy conduits of the body and have far reaching effects upon all parts of the body including the deeper tissues and organs and nerves.
Acupressure does not involve needles, but uses the fingers or an object to gently press upon the acupoints of the body to stimulate these points. I would recommend Acupuncture if your mother has a strong constitution and is not bothered by needles. It might prove more effective because of its ability to more deeply stimulate the nerves, although Acupressure can be almost as effective in the hands of an experienced and knowledgeable technician.
When seeking out an Acupuncturist, you may want to find someone who has had experience doing Facial Acupuncture and who has worked with different types of neurological disorders.
Dr. Leia Melead
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Click here to learn about Cranial Sacral Therapy for TMJ
Question for Dr. Leia: I have pseudocholinesterase deficiency and could you tell me what are some of the things it can do to correct this disorder or ensure that I am safe.
Dr. Leia’s Answer: Pseudocholinesterase deficiency is generally a genetic or an inherited trait. Sometimes, other causes can include liver disease, chronic infections (TB), extensive burns to the body, malignancies, malnutrition, pesticide organophosphate poisoning, uremia, and other toxic medications or drugs.
People with this deficiency lack a certain enzyme which is needed to inactivate or break down these drugs: succinylcholine (a skeletal muscle relaxant), procaine(a numbing agent), and cocaine. Pseudocholinesterase deficiency is a condition which occurs rarely, in about 1 out of 2500 people.
Usually, there are no overt signs and symptoms that would indicate that you have this deficiency, although there may be a personal or family history of a drug reaction to any of the drugs mentioned above. If you were to have or have had, a surgical procedure which requires the administration of certain skeletal muscle relaxants, your body would not be able to inactivate the drug in a timely manner, and this would result in a prolongation of the drug’s actions of paralysis on your body. This means that you would need to be resuscitated in order to come out from under the drugs effects.
It is extremely important for you to have a medical alert bracelet indicating that you are pseudocholinesterase deficient just in case you need to have surgery or emergency surgery sometime in the future. Then the medical staff will know not to administer these certain types of drugs to you.
If indeed, the cause of your deficiency is an inherited and genetic problem, then there is no known cure for this condition. Prevention would be to keep away from all of the causes and drugs listed above. You can go here to read about the deficiency in detail:
Pseudocholinesterase Deficiency
I hope that this helps you to understand this rare disease.
Dr. Leia Melead
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