Herbal Medicine Center

Archive for April 3rd, 2010

In the majority of cases, the grant of a patent captures the chemistry and purpose of a drug and locks it away for the given number of years. This is the monopoly given to the manufacturer who will police the drug market and sue anyone who comes too close for infringing the patent. The very act of protection discourages future research to develop the drug for new and different purposes. Yet, in one or two cases, research does go on. Most of the time, this represent unofficial interests where physicians experiment with off-label uses, or there is just a simple change so that, what comes in multiple doses, may be spread out through an extended release capsule. Only in quite rare cases is the research real and sanctioned by the original manufacturer. So it is with Pfizer and its now famous little blue pill. In every way, this pill broke the mold. It was a literal game changer. Under development for one purpose, its accidental power to inspire men is now the stuff of legend. But that left Pfizer with an interesting choice. It had already invested millions to develop a drug to help relieve pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Should it just throw all that money away? Although tempting, given the billions of revenue now flowing into its bank account, Pfizer decided to continue developing the drug for PAH. The result is Revatio, the same basic PDE5 inhibitor applied to the arteries in the chest rather than those leading into the penis. It has become a lifesaver. What is interesting is the change of name. Apparently Pfizer did not think patients would believe in the effectiveness of the drug if it continued under it erectile dysfunction name. A whole new brand identity had to be developed.

In a desire to prove the chemistry is applicable to an ever wider range of conditions, there are now trials underway to test whether it is an effective treatment for cancer, multiple sclerosis, strokes and, somewhat surprisingly, some aspects of mental disability. In all cases, the common feature is the ability of the drug to dilate arteries to improve the circulation of blood throughout the body. One of the consequences of improved circulation is a boost to the body’s immune system. If blood moves only slowly, it is possible for the immune response to drop quite dramatically, say in the area of a tumor. Hence the current trial to determine whether local administration to cancer of the throat will have beneficial results. Apparently, the early results look promising.

There is something faintly strange about the idea of viagra becoming as commonly used as an aspirin. What had once seemed so uniquely particular to the male need seems to have a potential relevance to almost everyone. Given that there are eleven different forms of PDE in the human body, this gives us the prospect there may be eleven different uses for viagra. Perhaps other drugs are always going to be less flexible. A painkiller, for example, really only has one reason to exist (ignoring the abuse for pleasure). Yet who is making this decision? Who decides a drug only has one use? For all we know, the majority of drugs licensed for use for one purpose may actually have multiple purposes. Ah, wait! That is the problem. If one drug could treat multiple diseases and disorders, there would be no need for multiple different drugs and pharmaceutical companies would make less money. Let us leave it that there shall only be the brand and generic viagra. For any other disorder, there must be a new and expensive drug.

Despite the best efforts of television shows like “Boston Legal” to show us the serious and inspirational side of the work done by attorneys, most of us feel the lives of lawyers are probably dull and boring. It’s therefore good to be able to bring you news of the fun to be had in the courts. Let’s start with a little background. Being first on to the battlefield with its little blue pills, Pfizer waited with attorneys drawn and cocked. It’s all very well to have a piece of paper with the magic word “Patent” printed on it but, sure as eggs is eggs, someone else is bound to come along with a copy. They will have their own attorneys primed and ready to explode the first patent. After all, no matter how successful a pharmaceutical company, there must also be massive profits for attorneys. The first team claim their wording gives watertight protection – a bit like a condom. The second team claims that the first wording is full of holes – a bit like a condom given to a man by a woman who wants to get pregnant.

We now have to move over to India and China. There are a lot of extremely angry people over there. They have centuries of using different herbs, spices and other natural substances for medicinal purposes. Indeed, there’s a fabulous treasury of different treatments buried in literature available to all who can read it. Ah ha! That’s a bit of a problem. Not that many people who work in the US Patent Office are fluent in foreign languages, particularly when, in many cases, we are talking about old scripts. So, when these modern officers input search terms into their databases, curiously, little or nothing came up from China or India. That’s all changing thanks to a major effort being undertaken in both countries to translate all their old documents into English and to supply this information to the US Patent Office. Why should this matter, you ask. Well, US companies have been reinventing the wheel and patenting it. This is deeply annoying to the people of China and India who suddenly find their well-established medical treatments patented by Big Pharma. To be a valid patent, the product must be original.

This brings us to Horny Goat Weed. Savor the name and understand its medical property. This herb has been known to the practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries. By a strange coincidence, its chemistry is almost identical to viagra (and the two later competing drugs). So when Pfizer sued Eli Lilly alleging infringement of its patent, the clever attorneys for Eli Lilly said Pfizer had not invented anything original and were not entitled to their patent. This week, the court agreed and struck out a part of the original patent. Of course, this case is going to drag on into the appeal system. While we are all waiting for the outcome, you can still buy viagra online. Although the main chains of retail pharmacies throughout the US have said they will lay in supplies of Horny Goat Weed, this may take a little time to organize. Farmers in China must be persuaded to plant extra fields for the US market. On second thoughts, just continue buying either the branded or generic viagra. It works for the attorneys and their profits so it should be good enough for the rest of us.

I know you are thinking right now “Why do I have bulimia? How can I overcome it? And why isn’t anyhing I tried before stopping it and has failed to help?”.

You understand that bulimia is slowly killing you and ruining your life but you can’t stop. It seems like something inside you is stronger that your own will.

Do you want to know what this “something else” is?

Well! It is another part of your brain called the subconscious mind that not only is responsible for your feelings, emotions and non-conscious actions that keep you alive, but it can also work against your own free will.

It is the part of the mind that is responsible for our actions when we do something but we don’t know why we did it. Like when we get angry and explode, then we don’t know why we did it (when there is no conscious explanation for it).

The subconscious mind operates on feelings and senses. And very often people can’t even describe it logically. They just do what the subconscious mind wants.

So, the reason you have bulimia lies in your subconscious mind and to overcome bulimia you need to get rid off your subconscious blockages that always keep you being a bulimic against you will.

This is a major reason why conventional therapy doesn’t work in most cases, because they try to affect the conscious mind of the person only. They don’t change a person’s subconscious. That’s why when bulimics come back home from the clinic or doctor’s room they continue their distractive eating behavior unabated again and again.

One of the common subconscious blockages bulimics have is the “broken eye syndrome”. This is when bulimics see themselves fatter then they are and see their entire environment and other people in a different (wrong) way.

So, in order to overcome bulimia you should really find a way to change your subconscious mind and overcome these subconscious blockages that cause your bulimia.

Without working on your subconscious you will always come back to the same spot when you first started your bulimia and recovery becomes impossible, it is a never ending circle.

To conclude, if you have been unable to stop you bulimia it more that likely is a result of a subconscious emotional blockage. For example, the most common blockage is the “broken eye syndrome”.

If you have a subconscious emotional blockage preventing you from stopping the bulimia, you are unlikely to realize it. An example of this is a bulimic who doesn’t realize that they have “broken eye syndrome” – they see in a mirror a different picture from everyone else: basically their own mind is lying to them.

You are almost certainly not consciously aware of what the blockage is. For example again the “broken eye syndrome” – people are not aware of it, they truly believe that what they see in a mirror is the truth.

Subconscious self-beliefs cannot be identified and changed at the rational thinking level. For example, the “broken eye syndrome” gets worse and worse the longer you have bulimia, because the bulimic brain is constantly working on false information.

Identifying and eliminating your subconscious blockages is the best and really the only way you will ever overcome bulimia.

Dr Irina Webster MD is the Director of Women Health Issues Program which covers different areas of Women Health. She is a recognised athority in the eating disorders area. She is an author of many books and a public speaker.learn more about eating disorders at http://www.bulimia-cure.com