Medical opinion by John F. Ruhland, ND

Do you have health-related questions for Dr. John, the Naturopathic Doctor? Send them to the WA Free Press at 1463 E Republican #178, Seattle WA 98112, or email to WAfreepress@gmail.com. Please keep questions short. Health information in the WA Free Press should not be construed as medical advice. Always make your own choice regarding medical treatment by seeking multiple sources of information and consulting with your personal physician.

Macular Degeneration, Aluminum and Mercury Toxicity

Dear Nature Doc,

One year ago, my ophthalmologist diagnosed me with macular drusen. This year, he said I have macular degeneration. My whole life revolves around seeing and reading, and I am very depressed. Is it true, that there is no cure for macular degeneration?

I am so sorry for what you must be going through. Please note that there is reason to be hopeful. I have now treated several patients with macular degeneration, with very good results. There are excellent herbal and amino acid therapies, and some important vitamins and minerals that will slow down, and even stop the disease progression. There is also a good chance of reversing some damage. Begin with drinking carrot juice and eating fruits high in flavanoids, and taking oral anti-oxidants, especially Vitamin C, carotenoids, and selenium. Zinc supplementation is very important in some people. No single treatment works for everyone, so consult with a naturopath as soon as possible. Two therapies you probably have not heard about are very high dose Vitamin C, in the range that Linus Pauling recommended. There have been several studies demonstrating its effectiveness. Another very effective treatment is hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Three studies, one from the US, one from Yugoslavia, and one from Japan, show promising results in people using HBOT for macular degeneration. Send me a SASE if you would like me to send you more information. Please include your phone number and your email address. Dr. Ruhland, 4002 25th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98108.

Dear Nature Doc,

I was recently reading that aluminum has been tied by various studies with Alzheimer's Disease, and that use of aluminum cookware could contribute to higher aluminum contamination in the body. I unfortunately have been using an aluminum stovetop espresso maker for many years, and I'm a bit afraid of its effect now. I've heard that it is possible to purge accumulated metals from the body by taking various types of supplements or medicines, and I'm wondering if there's a good method to purge aluminum, and whether such a method would have any potential harmful side effects.

Research has been available for many years showing a correlation between elevated bodily burdens of aluminum and dementia such as Alzheimer's disease. What may be a surprise to some is that the correlation is stronger for mercury than it is for aluminum. Indeed, University of Calgary researchers published findings in 1999 demonstrating the formation of neurofibrillar tangles in nerves exposed to mercury, whereas they found none in nerves exposed to aluminum. Neurofibrillar tangles are also found in prion disease and abuse of some narcotics. They are one of the two diagnostic markers for Alzheimer's disease (see the journal NeuroReport, 12(4):733-737, 2001). Previous research demonstrated that mercury may cause the formation of amyloid plaques, the other diagnostic marker for Alzheimer's disease.

Most people have the ability to detoxify a small amount of aluminum without much trouble. More good new is that both mercury and aluminum can be removed from the body by a process called chelation, which we covered in this column in issue #57, May-June 2002. See also issue # 37, January-February 1999, for a discussion of amalgam fillings. This articles are available on the back-issue archive at www.wafreepress.org as well as at www.drruhland.com. It is important that mercury dental fillings, euphemistically called "silver" fillings, are removed prior to taking the powerful substances that can chelate these toxic metals. Depending on the bodily burden of mercury, it is best to be prepared for a very long, slow process to reduce the bodily burden, especially of mercury. Aluminum removal rarely causes serious side-effects. Mercury can be much more harmful when it is removed, and the faster you remove it, the greater your exposure to mercury's toxic effects.

Some physicians may prescribe injections of Desferal for aluminum toxicity. For mercury toxicity, DMSA, lipoic acid, and calcium EDTA are commonly used. It has taken me more than five years to develop a successful protocol for testing and removing toxic metals. You do not mention if you have any symptoms of metal toxicity. If you do, begin with lab testing to determine if there is a heavy metal toxicity, and specifically which metals are present. Please do not attempt to detoxify without the supervision of someone who has such experience.