The Arthritis Foundation, Juvenile RA and minocycline

Close-mindedness can be hard on oneself, other people and for the planet.

[arthritistoday.org/magazine] I got irate last night reading a free magazine but I kept going and found some helpful information and even reinforcement of my recommendation for use of antibiotics for an autoimmune condition. The complimentary magazine that arrived was, Arthritis Today, Advice from the Experts You Trust, which is published by the Arthritis Foundation. Their motto is, "Take Control, We can help". The cover story is about a medically disabled 26 year old veteran, Mike Jackson, whose photo makes me think cannabinoid deficit not ibuprofen deficit - although ibuprofen does help reduce breakdown of endogenous cannabinoids. He suffered through ten years of military service with osteoarthritis and was given cortisone shots and ibuprofen and later on shoulder surgeries.

I would have given him green leafy vegetables and nutmeg, beans, nuts and seeds, and ibuprofen. The magazine does have an article about cooking with quinoa for gluten avoidance and four recipes that use cocoa powder.

The gluten article mentions that only an estimated 5% of people with celiac disease have been diagnosed. There is a lab test for aiding in diagnosis. Primary symptoms include bloating, digestive pain and constipation is frequently an issue. Joint pain has also been found to be a symptom because the overactive white blood cells from the intestines can travel and cause problems elsewhere in the body. /Speculation/ Celiac disease may be an autoimm

Another nutrition article discusses portion control when using healthy fats or foods that are rich sources like walnuts (1/4 cup sv size) or avocado (one sixth of an avocado sv size). "Go to ArthritisToday.org/MA12 to learn more about the differences between good and bad fats." I went - I don't agree with the article's grouping of all saturated fats as equally "bad" as trans fats. That is a very brief article with a brief list of a few foods and a few risks or benefits. The portion control article was more accurate.

Article on glucosamine was helpful about which chemical form may provide more relief. A 2005 Cochrane Review of trials regarding effectiveness of the supplements found that glucosamine sulfate (GS) trials had more consistantly positive results than trials that used glucosamine hydrochloride (GH). That makes perfect sense to me, although the article mentions that "Oliver Grundmann, PhD, . . . says it isn't clear why the two have different effects." Our average diet is lower in sulfur containing foods than chloride or chloride containing additives. Chloride can interfere with the thyroid gland in a way similar to bromide and fluoride. So thanks for complimentary magazine - I have early symptoms of osteoarthritis but I don't think it was ever added as an official diagnosis yet as I have been actively fighting the degeneration for over a decade with the regular use of magnesium, glucosamine, and Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) among other things. Veterinarians use MSM regularly.[arthritis-msm-supplements.com/msm_for_horses_dmso.htm]

This quote fills me with wrath:

"Even if methotrexate leads to 'clinical remission' (defined here as no more than three swollen joints) in RA, a new study shows the joints might still be eroding." - Shahreen Abedin, Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Nov. 7, 2011

The suggestion is to add more DMARD's in addition to the methotrexate and if there are any slow healing wounds then the article next to it suggests that following the aggressive immune suppressants with skin-graft surgery would make that wound healing problem go away. Reminder - DMARD is a fancy acronym meaing we are using some chemotherapy drugs in an off label use - not for cancer. And the article on the next page encourages parents to use an aggressive mixtures of the immune suppressing drugs in their young children with a diagnosis of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

"Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), as the name suggest, are drugs designed to modify the course of rheumatic diseases." (Gee, vasculitis is part of the group of diagnoses that DMARDs are recommended for. and Minocycline is actually on the list with the note that it is not currently approved for arthritis by the FDA.) Article, "What you need to know about DMARDs"

Why is Benicar plus antibiotics and avoiding excess vitamin D, calcium and free glutamates such a horrible treatment suggestion compared to drugs that make one's hair fall out. Should four year olds be bald - no.

Two young girls diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis were 2012 Arthritis Walk National Honorees along with Mike Jackson. Unlike osteoarthritis which I think has to do with a genetic susceptibility to problems with disruption of nerve and muscle signals that result in the degeneration over time, Rheumatoid Arthritis has been proven to be related to cell wall deficient bacteria by research scientist, Lida Mattman. I posted links and a little more about her work, 2/17/2012: [https://transcendingsquare.com/2012/02/17/cell-wall-deficient-pathogens-l-forms/] [lymebook.com/cell-wall-deficient-forms-mattman] An excerpt that I posted within that article:

"Dr. Hoekstra's mentor, Lida Holmes Mattman, Ph.D., also of Wayne State (now professor emeritus of biology), confirmed the causal role of P. acnes in a laboratory experiment. Dr. Mattman extracted the bacteria from the synovial fluid (which lubricates joints) of human arthritis patients, and injected it into chicken embryos. The chicks then exhibited symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. When she treated the chicks with antibiotics known to disable P. acnes, the disease disappeared."

Original Source: Lida H. Mattman, Ph.D., Cell Wall Deficient Forms--Stealth Pathogens, 2nd Edition, CRC Press (1993), CRC Press, 2000 Corporate Blvd. N.W., Boca Raton, FL 33431. I found the excerpt posted within a Lyme's disease article: [shoptown.com/Dean/ALS2Lyme.htm] [4]

I knew a preschool child with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis whose mother was curious about the possibility of alternative treatments but she was never able to talk her Medicaid doctor into trying antibiotics instead of methotrexate. She did find moderate use of vitamin D and calcium foods and increased magnesium foods helpful for reducing the number of bad days her child experienced. I don't know how they are doing now. I don't think Minocycline would help an adult with osteoarthritis but it would be likely to help the two little girls with Juvenile RA more than Methotrexate would in the long run. Immune suppression will not support the healthy white blood cell's ability to find the cells that have been colonized by the cell wall deficient forms of the Propioni acnes bacterium.

In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, a hallmark of conventional medical treatment is the use of steroids, which can provide symptomatic relief, but no cure. The danger here, cautions Dr. Hoekstra, is that such drugs "give a free and clear run to the bacteria involved (Propioni bacterium acnes). If such a patient is ever to subdue this microorganism, they must have a competent immune system, and to have this, they must be off the steroids."[link #4]

Gluten intolerance and celiac disease can have overactive white blood cells causing damage in the joints and in osteoarthritis damage to joints results over time. Genetic differences may be triggering more food allergen recognition in white blood cells in sensitive people. So elimination diets can help identify which foods are better to limit for life and to consider as treats. Over use of the trigger foods can increase coagulation of the allergen protein clumps in joints and inflammation damage occurs over time.

The girls with Juvenile RA on the other hand may be sensitive briefly during disease flair up when there are too many white blood cells for other reasons (P. acnes) and they start reacting to more foods and other external allergens but get rid of the infection and the food sensitivities would gradually go away as the intestines healed and the number of white blood cells returned to a normal number. So avoiding gluten or other flair up foods while treating the underlying cell wall deficient bacterial infection might eventually lead to fewer flair ups with less severe symptoms and the treats might become a normal food to use again.

Some people can be gluten intolerant genetically and some can be gluten intolerant while having sensitive digestive problems for other reasons. Just like lactose intolerance some people have it for life and some only have it after a digestive sickness.

Juvenile RA means one is born with problems. I was never able to breathe well and was covered with eczema blotches during my infancy. Born with problems from birth will really reduce life expectancy when methotrexate is chosen, but even with generally good control the later degeneration is somewhat inevitable as the CWD bacteria continue to parasitize preferred organs and tissue types. Based on the life cycle of the T. cruzi and T. brucei in a chronically infected human then 20 years plus 15 years is the expected timeline for early cardiac or CNS symptoms to start appearing. The spirochetes of syphilis have been linked to megalomania / obsessive compulsive tendencies in the later stages of the disease. At age 45 almost 46 I am actually doing pretty well if my mother's Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever was lingering in her system.

This is not a pleasant thought but wouldn't treatment options for a 2 and 4 year old that didn't involve eventual hair loss be a prettier thought?

So as defined earlier the goal of therapy with DMARDs is to achieve 'clinical remission' or to get the pain narrowed down to only three swollen joints - or fewer - but not necessarily all the way to zero. And so swollen painful areas are considered a normal part of clinical remission and, worse, the irreversible degeneration was found to be ongoing even during this wonderful state of 'clinical remission'.

A potential side effect of many of the immune suppressing drugs is osteoporosis.

I enjoyed the article with tips for packing for a major move with less pain (more organized = less work = less pain) near the end of the magazine - I think I will enroll in the Arthritis Foundation and continue getting their magazine. I do have one toe with loss of range of movement where an old injury had occurred.

Update: After examining both feet, the broken toe actually isn't that different from the other foot's toe now. Early calcification is reversible with a change in diet and hormonal balance.

Their motto "Take Control, the Arthritis Foundation can help." I did find some helpful info, recipes and other tips that will assist me in my continued battle to control my chronic degenerative condition. First impressions can close a mind, going back for a second look can open doorways and minds. I don't have to agree with everything to find value in some things.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes. Thanks.