Christmas Hiatus

Work has caught up with me, and I will need to continue the blog starting with the first Monday in January. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Bromelain

Bromelain is an enzyme, or group of enzymes, contained in the stems and fruit of pineapples. The enzymes are called proteases because they degrade proteins. Bromelain is concentrated in the stem; eating pineapple is not a good dietary source. The extract is most often used in powder form as a meat tenderizer. However, it has also been used since the late 1950s as a herbal medicine.

Bromelain is an anti-inflammatory. It has been used to treat many conditions, including arthritis, sinusitis, or any type of swelling. Often supplements are prepared in combination with other proteolytic enzymes. Good clinical evidence for its effectiveness is lacking however,. Small studies have suggested that it may help alleviate pain following running, but data show little benefit in people with osteoarthritis or multiple sclerosis. A diet rich in pineapples and other fruits would probably be more beneficial to overall health. .

Coming Up On Monday…Hallucinogens

Proliferative Injection Therapy

Proliferative injection therapy, or prolotherapy, was first investigated in the 1940s. It is a procedure designed to strengthen connective tissue, such as ligaments and tendons, and relieve pain. The therapy involves injecting a solution of proliferants, sometimes called irritants, into areas where ligaments or tendons attach to bone. The irritant is most often a solution of either dextrose, lidocaine (an anesthetic), cod liver oil, or glycerine. The theory is that the solution will promote inflammation in the injection site and that this would, in turn, promote repair of the tissue. Ankles, knees, and loer back are some of the sites considered for the treatment. The technique is still under investigation, however. Some data suggest that, by itself, the therapy is ineffective but may have some benefit when used in combination with other approaches.

A recent study funded by the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine showed that the act of inserting a needle itself is sufficient to cause inflammation similar to that seen with and irritant. (1) These results suggest that any benefits of prolotherapy are due to the act of injection and not the proliferant. The authors of the study point out that clinical investigations of the procedure should account for this confounder.

Reference

1. Jensen KT, Rabago DP, Best TM, Patterson JJ, Vanderby R Jr. Early inflammatory response of knee ligaments to prolotherapy in a rat model. J Orthop Res. 2008 Jun;26(6):816-23.

Coming Up On Friday…Pineapples