Friday, March 9, 2012

Disease Name Misleading; Does not Lead to Proper Cure and Research

Effective Cures Can be Cheap

This came from an article in ASH written by Mike Adams entitled " Disease Name Game"  As in the recent blog post that DX could be made better, naming the diseases could be made better too.  In the Chinese medicine, the name of the disease indicates the cause.  Knowing that the approach to the cure could be clearer, the treatment protocol more relevant.

Cause and effect relationship

Thus for instance, osteoporosis which is described as a disease  "caused by weakening of the bone"is actually a symptom;   the cause is not indicated in the name. What actually causes osteoporosis -  you guess it calcium deficiency.

Or diabetes.  We are entirely clueless as to what the name means.  If it were termed as Excessive Sugar in the Body Disease, then the cure would be to avoid sugar food, and to lower the blood sugar level.  Diabetes?

Or the cancer name which describes the uncontrolled growth of malignant cells.  Thus the cure is to remove the cancer mass or tumor, but it does not describe cause.  And in the end, not knowing what the cause is, the disease over the years of health care does not get controlled nor the methods or protocol improve.

Or atheriosclerosis,  or hyperlipedimia which describes the hardening of arteries and occlusion of the blood vessel lumen;  the second one is about elevated lipids or cholesterol level.

Go to the cause;  do not mask the symptom

Using fever as an anology, the fever is not the disease but a symptom so it is enough that the fever be masked with analygesic antipyretic;  the cause, an infection must be discovered and removed by medication of anti biotics.  That is the logical wise disease management protocol that must be followed.

Yet for the chronic lifestyle disease, the symptoms are the ones being treated;   not the cause.  For high elevated BP, most of the treatment focus on lowering BP, the symptoms.;  for cancer, the tumor and not the cause is treated.  And so with medical research;  the cure for the symptoms are the center/focus of research, not the cause.

Mike Adams suggests that the disease name game improve to improve diagnostics and disease cure.

What do you think;   the cook country hospital that correct recognition of the disease improve cure rate significantly without additional resources?  The disease name directs the MDs  mindset and observation and focus

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