Oral Combination
Enzyme Formula for Difficult to Treat Joint Disease
by Michael Loes, M.D., M.D.(H.) from The Doctor's
Prescription for Healthy Living - Volume 2, Number 5 Both rheumatoid arthritis
(RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) often present as progressive
disabling diseases. RA and SLE frequently cause internal organ damage
secondary to chronic inflammatory responses. These inflammatory responses
can be modulated, and arrested before irreversible damage ravages and
individual. These types of patients are some of the most difficult patients
a pain specialist sees. A balanced approach must be considered - one that
uses the best conventional medicine, as well as nutritional, and alternative
strategies available to preserve life and function.
The drugs that we
use such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids,
gold salts and methotrexate are of some benefit but are extremely toxic
and can result in damage to the bones and joint matrix. And when it comes
to young children and inflammatory diseases, we still have only these
extremely toxic drugs. It is tough to see young children on corticosteroids,
but doctors try to control the complications the best that we can.
Now, thanks to a mountain
of evidence, we know that a specific combination of systemic oral enzymes
called Wobenzym N, available at health food stores, may be one of the
best medicnes for both adults and children with difficult-to-treat inflammatory
/ joint conditions.
In both rheumatoid
arthritis and SLE, the immune system is out of control and turns on the
body. Although medical science is unsure of the exact cause of either
rheumatoid arthritis or SLE, we do know that for some reason the body's
immune system begins to form antibodies that cause a chronic inflammation
of the joints.
Enzymes Accelerate
Elimination of Circulating Immune Complexes
Both rheumatoid arthritis and SLE are immune and inflammatory diseases,
but few conventional treatments address their underlying systemic condition.
Most treatments reduce the inflammation and pain but do nothing to start
the healing process. In this sense, enzymes may be superior. Their influence
on the immune system is profound and they stimulate healthy production
of cytokines that quench inflammation and rev up immunity to produce a
cleansing effect, helping to cleave or break up circulating immune complexes
(CICs) at the center of the body's RA or SLE immune / inflammation firestorm.
Enzymes and Difficult-to-Treat
Rheumatoid Arthritis
In rheumatoid arthritis, the thin membrane surrounding the joints (synovium)
becomes swollen and extremely inflamed. As these attacks continue to occur,
the bones and joint tissues are weakened and eventually destroyed, destroying
the integrity of the joint, including cartilage which provides a cushioning
effect.
By knocking down inflammation,
enzymes allow healing to occur. A sampling of the studies on Wobenzym
N:
Excellent early results
using the patented enzyme formula Wobenzym N were noted by researchers
writing in 1985 in Zeitschr. f. Rheumatologie. In this study, patients
took eight Wobenzym N tablets four times daily. Sixty-two percent of patients
improved.
A 1988 report in Natur-
und Ganzheitsmedizin showed that the same formula can prevent further
flare-ups and helps to lower levels of inflammatory-related circulating
immune complexes in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Another study also
published in Natur- und Ganzheitsmedizin in 1988 noted that Wobenzym N
has demonstrated produced similar benefits to gold therapy but without
toxic side effects.
Most recently, researchers
from the Ukrainian Rheumatology Centre, in Kiev, tested Wobenzym on 78
patients with severe, crippling RA and who were using other prime treatment
drugs. All of the RA patients showed a decrease in CIC concentrations,
averaging between 28 and 42 percent, and decreases in rheumatoid factors.
Twenty percent of patients reduced their NSAID doses by 50 to 75 percent.
One patient stopped taking methotrexate and experienced a clinical remission
of the disease. Morning stiffness scores improved. More than half the
patients rated thier treatments with Wobenzym as good, compared to only
about a third of the patients using only medical drugs.
"The study results
therefore confirm that Wobenzym is a new and quite effective antirheumatic
agent, which also presents the properties of a second-line agent,"
said the Russian researchers at the Second Russian Symposium on Oral Enzyme
Therapy in St. Petersburg, Russia, 1996.
At this same conference,
researchers presented findings on Wobenzym and juvenile arthritis. In
the study, among 10 children from the Paediatric Clinic of the Institute
of Rheumatology of the Russian Academy of Medical Science, 10 children
with JCA were given five tablets three times a day. They could also receive
treatment with one NSAID in addition to Wobenzym. In the children, the
number of actively inflamed joints was reduced from 44 to 15, especially
in the second month. One patient with psoriatic arthritis experienced
a significant reduction in dermal signs of the disease. The drug proved
effective generally after four to five months of treatment.
Enzymes Benefit Persons
with SLE
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) most often strikes young women
between the ages of 20 to 40.
The condition is characterized
by severe fatigue and butterfly rash across the face; debilitating pain
and sweeling often occur in the hands, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles or
feet. There may also be morning stiffness in the joints. Other signs and
symptoms of lupus include a worsening of the butterfly rash across the
face following sun exposure; a pale or blue tinge to the fingers when
exposed to cold; and possibly hair loss.
Lupus is a serious
condition because it may also cause diseases of the internal organs, including
the heart, brain, lungs, and kidneys, as well as bleeding, anemia, and
chronic infections. With proper treatment, however, lupus can be controlled,
and sufferers can expect normal life expectancy.
While lupus is usually
not a primary cartilage destroying disease, people with lupus may be put
on high dose steroids for long periods of time and their joints wear out
sooner.
Enzymes also help
to dissolve circulating immune complexes and antibodies that cause severe
inflammation or SLE. According to D.A. Lopez, M.D., associate clinical
professor of medicine at the University of California at San Diego Medical
School and co-author of Enzymes: The Fountain of Life, animals suffering
from this inflammatory condition, when given combination enzymes, have
shown significant improvement.
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