INTERESTING TIMES

http://www.telegram.com/article/20110710/NEWS/107109970/1237

Makes the case that as we age, we should get our ducks in a row for the possibility that we ourselves might not make the best decisions about money in our old age.

http://www.jarrow.com/product/188/Neuro_Optimizer consider this product via Vitacost



MY QUESTIONS
what are food sources of citicholine? can we get it from eating brains?
there is choline in eggs and liver. is there citicholine?? how much??
how easily does choline convert to citicholine?
can we support the conversion?
can we by pass this supp using diet???

CHOLINE DEFICIENCY is common (not citicholine, mind you!)
suspect if: fatty liver, hemorrhagic kidney necrosis, infertility, growth impairment, bone abnormalities, hypertension, cancer, atherosclerosis, glaucoma, neuro dz: Alzheimer's,. bipolar. LABS: incr ALT, incr HCYS

( notes, some background, links )

The level at the high bridge putin was 5.32. That's medium, or maybe medium-high. It was just right. The group was 10 kayakers including Joey, Craig and Michael that I've paddled with before. Several of the group were men who'd been in the "fast group" on Opal yesterday, or were just plain old new. Ken, Ben who works at Nike, Bradley, etc. I rode with and followed Bruce. Joey instructed both Craig and I to follow him, and when I told him that on the ride up it got him going. He's a cell biologist at age 60 with an illustrious career that discovered (with others of course) kinesin which is this very cool little walking protein that goes up a track inside our neurons. Axonal transport. He was interesting to follow on the river, reminded me somewhat of Dick with the way he would give instructions and then set out to lead. He wasn't easy to follow, either. I could never tell what he was going to do next, and he would paddle really hard to make difficult moves. One thing is for sure, if you start your beginners out following him, they will get to be better boaters fast. After a while I learned to hang back and see generally what channel he was headed down, and then read the close up water for myself. I cut a lot of corners and took one tenth as many strokes, and enjoyed it more. Funny how different people's river styles can be. I guess I'm lazy.
( about the river and more random train of consciousness )

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/740517?src=mpnews&spon=12

Turns out that Liberals have more grey matter in the anterior cingulate cortex, making it possible to hold opposing views and consider subjects in complex ways, whereas conservatives have bigger amygdalas giving rise to greater fear and disgust responses, and also more religious thinking.

*pearl: gut flora decr after age 50 causes decrease in immune function in elderly
*drT gives vit A protocol for chronic viral infx too

( notes )

Because mercury bio-accumulates, and otters are SO carnivorous, they are like the canary in a coalmine for the detection of mercury. The Wisconsin Dept of Natural Resources asked all the otter trappers for the carcasses and tested various tissues for mercury levels. The levels were highest in fur, with descending concentrations in these tissues: liver, kidney, muscle, and brain. Methyl-mercury made up a greater percentage of total Hg in brain and muscle compared to liver and kidney tissue. So far none of the otters appears to be sickened by their mercury load. The levels in the fur are directly related to the levels in internal tracking, so I suspect future research may follow living otters to see what they're taking in. "A gradient" in tissue concentrations was noted from north to south, but they don't say which way the gradient goes. Perhaps more to the south, like in fish? We shall see.

SOURCES
http://dnr.wi.gov/environmentprotect/pbt/research/OtterSummaryAbstract.pdf
http://www.springerlink.com/content/m4pg0184615kr4hk/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17926081

Also, at http://www.glc.org/glad/projects/basu09/ they are monitoring eagles and otters for biomarkers. The specific aims of this proposal are: 1) Exposure Assessment : to determine tissue mercury and PBDE levels in river otters and bald eagles from several Great Lakes states, with a focus on animals collected from existing statewide monitoring programs in Michigan and Wisconsin; 2) Health Assessment : to determine river otter and bald eagle health status by means of neurochemical biomarker studies on key receptors (muscarinic, glutamate) and enzymes (monoamine oxidase, cholinesterase) in physiologically important brain regions; 3) Risk Characterization : to determine if there is a statistical association between mercury and PBDE exposure (Aim #1) and alterations in neurochemical biomarkers (Aim #2); and 4) Education and Capacity Building : to build capacity among academic researchers and government/state managers and to disseminate results to scientific and regulatory communities.

Here's Mercola's latest post on the subject.

We already knew we were getting a lot of mercury from fillings, but the dental profession and FDA continued to say they were "safe and effective"... safe and effective.. safe and effective.. safe and effective... It's the same mantra they use for vaccines containing lord knows what toxins... safe and effective... Now we know to be suspicious when that mantra comes out. Then somewhere along the line some dentists got real and decided they wanted to stop poisioning their patients, and suddenly had more business than they knew what to do with. The old-school dentists who still said fillings that were 50% mercury were safe and effective started losing ground. The FDA follows the money, like a dog follows a biscuit. I'm not a cynic, I'm a realist. =-] Too bad my brain is already frying/fried from the 20 mercury laden fillings that I got when I was a child.

I just learned yesterday that high dose N-acetyl-cysteine is dangerous for people with a high mercury load because it mobilizes it and is thought to transport it across the blood brain barrier and INTO the brain. I did not know this and took NAC along with detox protocols so I probably worsened my own problem. I wonder if taking NAC with a chelator is of any help in removing said toxin from the brain?

America produces remorseless killers in bulk. One hundred years ago, Jack the Ripper riveted the attention of the Western world by doing away with five people. This culture would barely notice such modest exploits--so many have surpassed the quaintly amateurish Ripper that we cannot remember their names, much less their crimes. Squadrons of soulless assassins do not germinate by chance. These avenging Phoenixes arise from the neural wreckage of what once could have been a healthy human being.
--Lewis, Amini and Lannon, A General Theory of Love, p281

This quote out of context may be a little confusing but let me just say that this book explains why we have so many youth who can and do torture and kill other living beings. Without compunction. It has to do with a lack of proper limbic bonding in infancy, and the ensuing lack of development of the communal and familial mammalian brain. Our current cultural climate has everything to do with a multiple generation emphasis on success in the workplace at the expense of family and community, and it has everything to do with horrific parenting practices such as the (supposedly character-building) neglect espoused by Dr Spok.

Headaches can be divided into two major categories, known as primary and secondary headaches. Primary headaches are those that occur for no known cause, and are grouped as either migraine, tension, or cluster headaches. They are said to not be caused by an underlying medical condition, and constitute 90% of all headaches. Secondary headaches are because you have a tumor, bleed, infarction, infection, or other brain injury. Some 12% of all Americans suffer from headaches.
( more )

NEW FEDERAL ACTION
US feds began emergency action Weds 11/24/10 (takes 30 days)
to outlaw 5 chems used to make synthetic marijuana
will be schedule 1 along with cocaine, heroin, etc
emergency ban-->illegal for 1 year while DEA and DHS study them
may not kill industry, will create new black market
15+ states and some Euro nations have already banned them
manufacturers already reformulating to circumvent bans, are in touch with distributors

came to DEA attention in 11/08 when US Customs analyzed "spice"
in 2010 customs seized a 110lb load
law enforcement will use chemical tests
will focus on distributors, not users
( notes )