Role of mercury toxicity in hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

Abstract

Mercury has a high affinity for sulfhydryl groups, inactivating numerous enzymatic reactions, amino acids, and sulfur-containing antioxidants (N-acetyl-L-cysteine, alpha-lipoic acid, L-glutathione), with subsequent decreased oxidant defense and increased oxidative stress. Mercury binds to metallothionein and substitute for zinc, copper, and other trace metals, reducing the effectiveness of metalloenzymes. Mercury induces mitochondrial dysfunction with reduction in adenosine triphosphate, depletion of glutathione, and increased lipid peroxidation. Increased oxidative stress and reduced oxidative defense are common. Selenium and fish containing omega-3 fatty acids antagonize mercury toxicity. The overall vascular effects of mercury include increased oxidative stress and inflammation, reduced oxidative defense, thrombosis, vascular smooth muscle dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction, dyslipidemia, and immune and mitochondrial dysfunction. The clinical consequences of mercury toxicity include hypertension, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, reduced heart rate variability, increased carotid intima-media thickness and carotid artery obstruction, cerebrovascular accident, generalized atherosclerosis, and renal dysfunction, insufficiency, and proteinuria. Pathological, biochemical, and functional medicine correlations are significant and logical. Mercury diminishes the protective effect of fish and omega-3 fatty acids. Mercury inactivates catecholaminei-0-methyl transferase, which increases serum and urinary epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. This effect will increase blood pressure and may be a clinical clue to mercury-induced heavy metal toxicity. Mercury toxicity should be evaluated in any patient with hypertension, coronary heart disease, cerebral vascular disease, cerebrovascular accident, or other vascular disease. Specific testing for acute and chronic toxicity and total body burden using hair, toenail, urine, and serum should be performed.

I do house calls. In previous blog entries, I stated, I am a physician, 24/7/365.  It is who I am.  I try to advocate for patients and look at cost reduction strategies for patients from getting medications cheaper, finding better sources for nutritional supplements, labs that offer great prices – like my preferred and favorite lab, LAB CORP.  Thank you to Sheryl Grant, Tucson’s Key Account Representative for Lab Corp for assisting with such great lab pricing for LP Internal Medicine.

Recently, a pediatric patient of mine was sick with viral gastroenteritis, also known as the stomach flu.  She couldn’t eat or drink anything without throwing up.  On the first day, she presented to my office not looking good: pale, bent over, not her cheerful self, and very lethargic.  We drew blood, took a throat culture, and performed a physical examination.

On the third day of signs and symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, her mom became worried.  At 8:00 PM I drove over to the family’s house.  I drew additional blood and performed physical exam.  Her first blood work showed low neutrophils and segmented & band neturophils (newly produced bacterial fighting white blood cells) and high atypical lymphocytes, which are associated with viral infections. I wanted to re-run the CBC, liver and kidney function testing, and electrolyte panel.  We tried to get a stool sample, but since she vomited everything she did eat, she wasn’t having bowel movements by the time I got the stool culture kits to the house.

I administered her normal saline 0.9% Sodium Chloride with potassium, magnesium and Dextrose for to raise her blood sugar – which was very low at 58.

She fell asleep during the IV and her color returned to her cheeks.  I spent the 3 hours there talking with her mom and dad.  As most parents do, they worry.  Nobody wants to see their child suffer and be in pain.  Good things in her case where: she was urinating every 3 hours – a good sign – no bloody stool, no confusion, dizziness, or comatose /severe lethargy.

Some leading medical websites say to use Gatorade for hydration and electrolyte replacement for vomiting and diarrhea.  I SAY NO TO GATORADE.    I use apple or orange juice – mainly apple because O.J. is more acidic than apple juice.  One 8 ounce glass of apple juice has 300 to 400mg of potassium, an 8 ounce glass of orange juice has 400-500 mg of potassium, where as 8 ounces of Gatorade has 25mg of potassium.  One cup equals 8 fluid ounces.

Other important electrolytes are sodium and chloride.  Again, Gatorade fails to meet the mark:  8 ounces of Gatorade has 112mg of sodium. Adding in a teaspoon (6 grams) to either the 8 ounces of apple or orange juice will give 2,325mg of sodium chloride!  I usually have moms and dads start with 1/2 teaspoon, which gives 1,162mg of sodium.

When we become dehydrated and low in sodium and potassium, they can worsen sign and symptoms.  Low sodium, known as hyponatremia, may cause nausea, vomiting, headache, seizure, coma, lethargy, muscle cramps, neurological deficits, and, in severe cases, respiratory arrest.

Low potassium, known as hypokalemia, may cause fatigue/malaise, weakness, cramps, constipation, low blood pressure (as does dehydration itself – as it is called hypovolemia or low blood plasma), and cardiac symptoms.

If someone is not eating with the stomach flu, keeping up blood sugar is important.  If he or she can keep the apple or orange juice with salt down, then he or she will get about 25 grams of carbohydrates (sugar).  Whereas, 8 ounce of Gatorade has 14 grams of sugar in the form of glucose-fructose syrup and sucrose syrup.  PLUS GATORADE CONTAINS RED DYE #40 – WHICH STRUCTUALLY IS SIMILAR TO A SULFA DRUG (Sulfonamides) – see a full list – they are not just antibiotics – they contain drug groups such as diuretics, anticonvulsants, sulfonylurea (diabetic medication), sulfasalazine/mesalazine (5-ASA), and Celebrex!

Summary:

IF YOU HAVE THE FLU OR ANOTHER CONDITION THAT CAUSES VOMITING AND/OR DIARRHEA, YOU NEED TO WATCH YOUR HYDRATION LEVEL, AS WELL AS ELECTROLYTE BALANCE.  LAB WORK IS NECESSARY TO MONITOR THIS.  I.V. FLUIDS MAY ALSO BE NEEDED.

If you want a doctor who will work with you on  multiple levels and will do house calls when you’re ill, please give me a call at LP Internal Medicine.

All Good Medicine,

Dr. Pearson

One of my biggest frustrations as a physician is having to charge people for the care I give.  I wish we all had health insurance that covered my services, supplements, and other integrative therapies – because I know they work better than some pharmaceuticals without harmful side effects, and the integrative therapies treat the root cause of the problem, not merely masking the signs or symptoms.

Today, a student called me inquiring about setting up an appointment for acne, constipation, and some other things.  Unfortunately, as a student she doesn’t have insurance coverage.  I gave her the prices of my discounted time of service fees and estimated lab fees.  They were too much for her budget.

In medicine you can’t promise results.  You can only have confidence in results based on personal history of therapies and from well constructed research studies.  While listening to her signs and symptoms, differential diagnoses were popping in to my head, and I felt I knew where to begin on the diagnostic workup.  As I always say, “A physician must first properly diagnose, before he can properly treat.”

It broke my heart that she couldn’t afford to come in and see me.  I know I could have given her my all and found some answers to her underlying problems.  Honestly, I trust few doctors.  Either they are so over booked because of the broken healthcare system they work in or they just don’t give a damn.  I’m in private practice.  I’m one of a few doctors still in private practice.  No big medicine, HMO, large group or big pharma influences here. My first office visit with patients is scheduled for 90 minutes.  Many run long as 120 minutes.  My follow up visits are always 30 minutes; most run 40 to 60 minutes.  I see on average only 8 patients a day because of the considerable time I spend with patients.  I don’t know how doctors practice good medicine when they only spend 7 to 10 face-to-face minutes with patients.

If anyone can donate or knows someone who is willing to donate money to assist patients in my clinic who cannot afford quality healthcare, please contact me. I am not a non-profit clinic. However, if there is anyone or a group of people out there who would like to donate $25,000 to $50,000 per year, many people: families, children, pregnant mothers, women, and men could be helped out greatly. I am in the process of creating a 501c3 to operate a specialty non-profit clinic in conjunction with my for-profit professional corporation clinic, LP Internal Medicine. This IRS classification of a non-profit clinic will allow all donations to be fully tax deductible under current IRS tax code. The proposed non-profit clinic name at the current time is “L.S.P. Integrative Community Medical Center.” L.S.P. comes from Luberacki, Schofield, and Pearson, in memory of our family.

To exemplify my commitment to providing, quality, affordable healthcare, I keep my overhead costs low. It’s me and an off-site virtual receptionist/scheduling service that run the daily operations of LP Internal Medicine. Currently, I am the only employee at LP Internal Medicine. Volunteers and occasional paid contractors help out when needed. My other overhead costs are internet connection, phone line for fax, cell phone for after hours emergencies, website fees, and my lease. When I negotiated my lease, I was aggressive and got an all inclusive lease that covers rent, electricity, water, everything. I do everything I can to keep operating overhead costs low so patient pricing stays low.

Please, if you have any suggestions, resource referrals, private or public donation sources, or generous individuals and families who would like to make this vision a reality, please contact me directly by email at LPearson@LPInternalMedicine.com or by phone at 520.302.4033.

I have many female patients come in who are currently taking birth control pills, also referred to as oral contraceptive pills (OCP).  In my years of practice, I cringe to hear that women are put on OCPs to control acne, menstrual cramps, and other non-contraceptive reasons.  The OCPs use synthetic estrogen and progesterone.  Theses molecules are similar, but not identical to the body’s estrogen and progesterone.  However, bioidentical estrogen and progesterone, often referred to as compounded hormones, have the same structure and work with the body’s natural functions instead of against them, as with the synthetic versions.  Remember, there are non-hormonal birth control devices such as FemCap (http://www.femcap.com)

Here are some links to support my rationale for not using OCPs for non-contraceptive use.

I like being a leading physician in Tucson and a leading specialist in the U.S. in digestive disorders, celiac disease, and endocrinology.  However, I don’t always have to reinvent the wheel for my blog posts.  I found an interesting website I want to share.

The site is called DrYourSelf.com.  The first article I read on this site was how to advocate for a hospitalized family member to receive vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that will help with recovery.  Believe me, the grilled cheese sandwiches, milk, and pasta they serve in hospitals is horrible recovery food – devoid of nutrients, not to mention on the top of the list of the most allergenic foods!

Check it out.  See what you think.

There are so many more articles and links on the page.

There have been many news articles, talk show episodes, and water cooler discussions about hCG and weight loss.  Dr. Oz recently dedicated an episode on hCG and it’s effects.  It amazes me that there are people out there who have not tried it nor who are educated about hCG but like to put in their two cents of misinformation about hCG.

In my endocrinology practice, I have seen many people’s lives transformed because of the hCG diet.  I screen all patients prior to starting hCG with not only routine blood work, but expanded blood work to rule out hypothyroidism and other metabolic conditions.  I closely monitor patients during the hCG protocol and follow up after they completed the 30 day diet and injection protocol.

Yesterday, in fact, I had a male and a female patient state hCG changed their lives.  The male patient lost 47 pounds and reports feeling great.  My female patient, in her fifties, reported she feels like she is 30 years old again, less mental fogginess, more energy, and has developed such as positive attitude towards life once again.

Be aware of hCG products on the internet.  THEY ARE NOT MEDICAL/PHARMACEUTICAL GRADE HCG.  You can only get medical grade hCG from a licensed physician.  Such called homeopathic hCG preparations sold on the internet and drugstores are NOT medical grade hCG – no matter what the false advertising states.  Medical grade hCG is prescription only and is dispensed by a pharmacy.  Here in Tucson, I recommend that patients fill their prescription at  Prescription Lab Compounding pharmacy.  They prepare the medical grade hCG in a sterile environment and dispense it to patients in a sealed, injection container.  If you purchase hCG that requires you to mix the powdered form at home – it is my advice NOT to use it.  You cannot control a sterile environment at home.  In my professional opinion, it is dangerous.

If you are interested in hCG, please schedule an hCG appointment at LP Internal Medicine.  All patients are required to be seen in the office, have a physical examination, and have recent blood work performed prior to starting hCG.

LP Internal Medicine does not dispense hCG from the office, nor do we require patients to join a “program.”  We simply charge our patients for the office visit that covers the physical exam, medical history review, and education on the hCG diet and injection protocol.

You don’t have to spend $600 or more a month for an hCG program.  The initial hCG visit at LP Internal Medicine is $150.  The cost of the prescription at a pharmacy ranges from $65 to $85.  If patients do not have insurance to cover the required blood work, we offer discounts on blood work for patients without insurance coverage.