I have some info on file, but sadly, some website addresses are missing. Google would help out, of course. Here is some for what it's worth to you.:
> Some physicians have reported good results from treating Lyme disease with > artemisinin. These are experimental or untested applications of the product. > > When Dr. Rowen discovered a report by Drs. Henry Lai and Narenda Singh, > bioengineering professors at the University of Washington, that indicated > that the herb "might provide a safe, non-toxic, and inexpensive alternative > for cancer patients", he started using it with cancer patients. "Chinese > Herb Cures Cancer" by Dr. Robert Jay R Rowen, Second Opinion, May 2002. Dr. > Lai and his colleague, Dr. Singh, had found its use dramatically killed > breast-cancer cells and leukemia cells while leaving normal breast cells and > white blood cells unscathed. > > According to Lai, it is believed to work because when artemisinin or any of > its derivatives comes into contact with iron, a chemical reaction ensues, > spawning charged atoms that chemists call free radicals. Cells need iron to > replicate DNA when they divide, and since cancer is characterized by > out-of-control cell division, cancer cells have much higher iron > concentrations than do normal cells. What Lai did was to pump up cancer > cells with even more iron and then introduce artemisinin to selectively kill > them. Lai theorizes that more aggressive cancers such as pancreatic and > acute leukemia, which are characterized by more rapid cell division and thus > higher iron concentrations, may respond even better. > > Dr. Rowen also reported on an article that appeared about a year ago in a > major cancer journal demonstrating significant artemisinin anticancer > activity in a wide variety of laboratory cultured cancer cells. Cancers > resistant to common chemotherapy drugs showed no resistance to artemisinin. > International Journal of Oncology 18; pp.767-773, 2001 > > ... > Henry Lai, a bioengineering researcher at the University of Washington, > reasoned why not target cancer cells with the anti-malaria treatment? The > thrust of the strategy, according to Lai, is to pump up cancer cells with > even more iron and then introduce artemisinin to selectively kill them. > > In the experiments, Lai subjected sets of both breast cancer cells and > normal breast cells to either: > > 1. A compound known as holotransferrin, which binds with transferrin > receptors to transport iron into cells and thus further increases the cells' > iron concentrations. > 2. A water-soluble form of artemisinin; or > 3. A combination of both compounds. > Cells exposed to just one of the compounds showed no appreciable effect, Lai > reports. But the response by cancer cells when hit with first > holotransferrin, then artemisinin, was dramatic, he says. > > www.pathlights.com > Oil properties > Wormwood oil is a toxin, neurotoxin and an abortifacient. Prolonged consumption of this drink became known as 'absinthism'. The > symptoms included auditory and visual hallucinations, hyper excitability, > intellectual enfeeblement, addiction and in extreme cases brain damage. > > It is widely believed that it was absinthe that drove the painter Vincent > van Gogh to suicide. > > In 1915 the French banned the production of a drink called absinthe because > of its narcotic and habit-forming properties. > > Chemical composition The main chemical components of Wormseed oil are: a-thujone, b-thujone, sabinene, myrcene, trans-sabinol, trans- sabinyl acetate, linalyl acetate and geranyl propionate. Precautions Wormwood oil should not be used in aromatherapy since the component thujone is a convulsant and neurotoxin Drink enough absinthe and you'd see lots of green fairies--or pink elephants. Absinthe was embraced by the artists and bohemians of the Parisian demimonde, who thought it unleashed the imagination, increased mental acuity, and so on. Oscar Wilde, who had more than a casual acquaintance with absinthe, wrote, "After the first glass you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world." Was the stuff really so bad? Many point to the ingredient wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), which contains the neurotoxin thujone. Thujone is chemically similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and some say that even chronic absinthe drinkers couldn't consume enough thujone to > do real damage--you'd pass out in a drunken stupor first--and that the real > culprit was alcohol. > > These days it's all pretty much academic--absinthe remains illegal in most > places. It's still made in Spain and the Czech Republic and can be sold in > the UK. But the concentration of thujone in the modern product is much less > than in the old days. . . . > > --CECIL ADAMS > > > > Infamous "van Gogh" beverage contains potent toxin with curious brain > effects, UC Berkeley scientists discover 22 Mar 2000 > > By Kathleen Scalise, Public Affairs > > BERKELEY -- Long suspected to have contributed to psychoses, fits and > hallucinations in such famous artists and writers as van Gogh, Poe and > Baudelaire, the liqueur absinthe they cherished contained a potent toxin > that UC Berkeley scientists now say causes neurons to seriously malfunction. > > The researchers report their findings in this week's edition of the journal, > Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. > > "Based on what we've discovered, large consumption of old absinthe would > have greatly disrupted the nervous system," said scientist John Casida, a UC > Berkeley professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology. "Our findings > could explain many of the symptoms described in the literature." > > Casida said it was not previously known how the neurotoxin alpha-thujone, > found not only in absinthe but also in many popular herbal medicines, acted > on the body to bring about poisoning or whether the mechanism could account > for strange behaviors noted in many 19th century absinthe drinkers. Vincent > van Gogh, Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Baudelaire were among them. > > The UC Berkeley researchers discovered that alpha-thujone acts on the same > brain receptor responsible for a form of epilepsy. The receptor controls the > chloride channel that regulates excitation and keeps neurons under control. > > "Basically, alpha-thujone blocks the channel and allows the neurons to fire > too easily," said UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher Karin Höld, co-author > of the study along with Casida; fellow UC Berkeley postdoc Nilantha > Sirisoma; and two collaborators at Northwestern University Medical School, > Tomoko Ikeda and Toshio Narahashi. > > "In light of the findings on how alpha-thujone works, it's not surprising > that absinthe had such a remarkable effect," Casida said. > > Symptoms described, for instance, in Wilfred Niels Arnold's 1992 book on > Vincent van Gogh and others who consumed quantities of the popular 19th- and > early 20th-century liqueur included forms of bizarre and psychotic behavior, > hallucinations, sudden delirium, convulsions, and even suicide and death. > > "The question has been sitting around for a century waiting for someone to > say how absinthe and alpha-thujone might work," Casida said. "We decided to > take a look at it in terms of where the toxin goes in the body and what > happens to it." > > Absinthe is made from grain alcohol and the common herb wormwood. The herb > yields a bitter oil used to produce various formulations of absinthe. This > liqueur was very popular until it was banned broadly in the early 20th > century. > > While the historical aspects are interesting, Casida said he is more > concerned about herbal concoctions consumed today that contain > alpha-thujone. Many have not been subjected to rigorous toxicology tests, he > said, including wormwood oil and cedarleaf oil, which are readily available > at herbal medicinal outlets and contain quantities of the neurotoxin. > Wormwood oil often is used to treat loss of appetite and stomach, liver and > gall bladder disorders. The National Institutes of Health, which funded > Casida's study, have slated alpha-thujone products for further scientific > review next year. > > > > > From: "Dan Nave" > > I don't know how accurate this is, but I have had several people tell me > > that it was the high alcohol content of the absinth and the excessive > > alcohol consumption of the absinth drinkers that caused the damage... > > Dan > Absinthe was made from wormwood, Artemisia absinthium, and was accused > > of causing neurological damage. > > -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com Silver List archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html Address Off-Topic messages to: silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com OT Archive: http://escribe.com/health/silverofftopiclist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@eskimo.com>
