This week we take a look at a potential alternative treatment and alternative thinking regarding the cause of inflammatory diseases.

First, we look at an "exotic supplement" called "Padma Basic". The "Dear Pharmacist" column in Tulsa World reports, "It works for rheumatoid arthritis by calming an overactive immune system that is bent on destroying cartilage and bone. The destruction occurs thanks to TNF (tumor necrosis factor), which signals the attack. Padma contains an herb "Pterocarpus santalinus," which inhibits TNF and T-cell proliferation in a similar way to prescription drugs like Humira, Remicade and Enbrel. It could improve inflammatory conditions among them, Crohn's disease, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis."

The full article can be read by clicking here.

Next, we take a look at "worms" as theoretical cause of inflammatory diseases. Rheumatology News reports, "Diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were rare before the 1920s, when public health efforts began making significant strides in cleaning up the water supply, modernizing sewage treatment, and improving farming practices. These efforts clearly had major benefits in curtailing or eliminating exposure to many disease-causing pathogens, but they also had the unintended consequence of removing exposure to beneficial or even necessary organisms."

Dr. Joel V. Weinstock has been, "looking for something in the environment that had been protective and had been lost. 'It occurred to us that the deworming of the population-a major public health project early in the 20th century-took place at the same time as the incidence of immunologic diseases really took off,' he said."

You can read this report at Rheumatology News by clicking here.

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