Enzyme Therapy in Sinusitis

Oral therapy with Proteolytic enzymes is used to reduce swelling, edema, inflammations, relive pain and help break up the mucus. Additionally, enzyme therapy influences the immune system by reducing cytokine overproduction.

In 9 clinical studies including 1151 patients with Sinusitis, Enzyme Therapy has proven to be beneficial alone or in combination with antibiotic.
In a retrolective study, including 797 patients, it is demonstrated that a higher number of patients treated with Enzyme therapy are without complain than when treated with Diclofenac or Ibuprofen (Conrad 2000)

The treatment of sinusitis with enzymes was first described by Sasaki 1965 and Yamasaki 1965. Calabria 1966 treated 13 patients with an enzyme-antibiotic combination (trypsin, chymotrypsin, cloranphenicol, streptomycin) and compared them with antibiotic treated patients. The authors described a lesser number of punctures necessary in the oral enzyme treated patients. When chronic sinusitis was classified in 4 different types of affection, it was found that types 1 and 2 were highly responsive to the treatment of enzymes, but in types 3 and 4 this treatment was ineffective in topical use (Ota 1966).

Saporiti 1966 published a successful therapy with alpha chymotrypsin (Chymoser) as local instillation by puncture of the maxillary sinus in patients with purulent chronic maxillary sinusitis.

Kaneko 1967 treated children with paranasal sinusitis successful with enzymes. In a study of patients with chronic sinusitis, Kagitomi 1972 published that ananase (bromelain) in combination with antibiotics was effective, whereas ananase used alone showed very little effect. In a double-blind clinical evaluation of bromelain in the treatment of acute sinusitis the author (Ryan 1967) described that mucosal inflammation was reduced in 83% of those receiving bromelain as compared to only 52% of those receiving placebo. Breathing difficulty was relieved in 78% of patients on bromelain therapy and in 68% of patients on placebo. In summary, good to excellent results were observed in approximately 87% of patients receiving bromelain compared to 68% of those on placebo. Seltzer 1967 comes to about the same results. In a double blind, placebo-controlled study, 49 patients with sinusitis received either bromelain or placebo, in addition to antibiotics. Good to excellent response was demonstrated in 80% of those receiving bromelain as compared to 50% of those on placebo. Complete relief of nasal mucosal edema and inflammation, nasal discomfort, breathing difficulties, headache and pain were evident in a higher percentage of patients on bromelain. The mean standard treatment time required for a therapeutic response was 10 days for those receiving bromelain in contrast to 16 days for those receiving placebo. S. Hine 1966 employed bromelain in treatment of non-operative cases of chronic rhino-sinusitis and described the affectivity as 64%.

Alpha-chymotrypsin was administered oral or by local instillation in patients with paranasal sinusitis. The authors (Sakakura 1966) observed effectiveness in 70% of the patients.

Keller and Maurer 1967 investigated the effect of a new enzyme preparation composed of Lysozym, Papain and Bactricin (LysopainEnzyme Therapy) as sublingual tablets. This preparation was very effective in different inflammations like Laryngitis, c, herpes zoster etc. The authors observed also a benefit in sinusitis in 6 of 11 patients.

In the same year, Taub 1967 published his results with enzyme therapy in a higher number of patients with acute or chronic sinusitis. He treated in a placebo controlled study 59 (30 / 29) patients with bromelain in conjunction with antibiotics. Symptoms and signs of nasal mucosal inflammation and edemas as well as those of breathing difficulties and nasal discharge were improved in a majority of the patients receiving the enzyme + antibiotic medication as compared to a minority of the 30 patients receiving placebo. No side effects were reported. A new enzyme preparation Sfericase is proposed 1983 by Yoshida. Sfericase, produced by a strain of Bacillus sphaericus, has been proven to be effective in some chronic inflammations, such as chronic sinusitis and difficult expectoration associated with bronchopulmonary diseases. Miyoshi 1984 published results with this preparation (orally Sfericase) on 40 patients with chronic sinusitis. After 4 weeks of treatment, a reduction of subjective symptoms for postnasal rhinorrhea of 81.6%, 66.7% for rhinorrhea, and 46.6% for nasal obstruction was observed. However, with respect to objective symptoms, the efficacy rate was 28.9% for redness and 30.8% for swelling of the nasal mucosa, with a somewhat lower rate than that obtained for subjective symptoms. According to the patients’ and physicians’ global assessments, Sfericase was effective in 65 and 57.5% of the cases. None of the patients showed undesirable reactions to sfericase.

Serratopeptidase, a proteolytic enzyme was investigated for the influence on the elasticity and viscosity of the nasal mucus in adult patients with chronic sinusitis. After 4 weeks treatment Serratopeptidase reduced the viscosity but not the elasticity of the nasal mucus. These findings are discussed in relation to mucociliary clearance (Majima 1988).

Wohlrab 1993 published the results from a prospective, randomized, double blind study with 40 patients suffering of sinusitis acuta. The patients were treated with a combination of different enzymes or Diclofenac. After 2 weeks there was no difference in sum-score as well as single score (headache, toothache and edema). But after 2 weeks, the side effects of Diclofenac therapy increase, whereas the side effects of Enzyme Therapy were negligible. The numbers of recidivist was smaller in the enzyme treated group.

Meletis 2000 as well as Maurer 2001 included in their publications the beneficial effect of bromelain for the treatment of sinusitis.

Summarizing, in 11 clinical studies (one of them is retrolective) including 1161 patients it is demonstrated that Enzyme therapy alone (early stages) or in combination with antibiotics (later stages) reduce healing time for more that 20%, reduce recidivists and has practically no side effect.

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Wheatgrass for Seborrheic Dermatitis

In a word, yes wheatgrass can work very well for seborrheic dermatitis. I would recommend applying a little wheatgrass spray to the affected area(s) twice daily.

A particular type of yeast, Malassezia, may be linked to seb derm via immune suppression, but a direct causal link has not been proven. Hormonal changes may also be a factor. There are also some medical conditions and medications associated with the condition.

Because of the immune nature of seb derm, I don't prescribe anti-fungals as they, like steroid creams, can further suppress the skin's immune status. By comparison, wheatgrass somehow stimulates the skin's immunity which may be why it can help overcome the condition by natural means.

--- by Dr. Chris Reynolds from http://drwheatgrass.com.au
    Foto credit: dermatlas.med.jhmi.edu

FYI what is Seborrheic Dermatitis?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Seborrhoeic dermatitis (also seborrheic dermatitis AmE, seborrhea, informally seb derm) (also known as "seborrheic eczema"[1]) is an inflammatory[2] skin disorder affecting the scalp, face, and torso. Typically, seborrheic dermatitis presents with scaly, flaky, itchy, and red skin. It particularly affects the sebaceous-gland-rich areas of skin. In adolescents and adults, seborrhoeic dermatitis usually presents as scalp scaling (dandruff) or as mild to marked erythema of the nasolabial fold.

For further information about the benefits of wheatgrass, please visit:

www.miraclewheatgrass
www.facebook.com/miraclewheatgrass
www.facebook.com/premiumwheatgrass
youtube.com/naturalwheatgrass

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Sex gives clues to new lung cancer treatment

Research into an enzyme that produces a hormone released after sex has inspired Australian National University chemists to create new treatments for small-cell lung cancer.

Led by Professor Chris Easton and PhD student Ms. Lucy Cao from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology at ANU, the team are working to reduce the number of small-cell lung cancer deaths by building new drugs that target the biology underlying the disease. Their work has been published in the latest edition of The Royal Society Chemistry journal, Medicinal Chemistry Communications.

“Given that one in every 28 Australians are diagnosed with lung cancer and it is the most common cause of cancer death, there is a real need to develop new pharmaceuticals to treat this disease. Although it is still early days our results are very promising,” said Professor Easton.

The team are investigating an enzyme, known as PAM, which activates a number of important peptide hormones. These include calcitonin, which promotes cell proliferation, and oxytocin, dubbed the ‘love hormone’, as it produces feelings of contentment following orgasm. Imbalances in peptide hormones have been shown to cause inflammatory diseases, asthma, and various cancers.

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Enzyme could be a key to stopping the cancer

We are able to show that caloric restriction slows down aging by preventing an enzyme, peroxiredoxin, from being inactivated. This enzyme is also extremely important in counteracting damage to our genetic material," says Mikael Molin of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology.


By gradually reducing the intake of sugar and proteins, without reducing vitamins and minerals, researchers have previously shown that monkeys can live several years longer than expected. The method has also been tested on everything from fishes and rats to fungi, flies and yeasts with favourable results. Caloric restriction also has favourable effects on our health and delays the development of age-related diseases. Despite this, researchers in the field have found it difficult to explain exactly how caloric restriction produces these favourable effects.

Using yeast cells as a model, the research team at the University of Gothenburg has successfully identified one of the enzymes required. They are able to show that active peroxiredoxin 1, Prx1, an enzyme that breaks down harmful hydrogen peroxide in the cells, is required for caloric restriction to work effectively.
The results, which have been published in the journal Molecular Cell, show that Prx1 is damaged during aging and loses its activity.

Caloric restriction counteracts this by increasing the production of another enzyme, Srx1, which repairs Prx1. Interestingly, the study also shows that aging can be delayed without caloric restriction by only increasing the quantity of Srx1 in the cell. Repair of the peroxiredoxin Prx1 consequently emerges as a key process in aging.
"Impaired Prx1 function leads to various types of genetic defects and cancer. Conversely, we can now speculate whether increased repair of Prx1 during aging can counteract, or at least delay, the development of cancer."

Peroxiredoxins have also been shown to be capable of preventing proteins from being damaged and aggregating, a process that has been linked to several age-related disorders affecting the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The researchers are accordingly also considering whether stimulation of Prx1 can reduce and delay such disease processes.

* source ScienceDaily (Oct. 31, 2011)

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What is the difference between Tray Grown and Field Grown Wheat Grass?

Nutritionally speaking there is actually a quite a difference. First of all, any wheat grass is good for you. However, The tray-grown wheatgrass is usually grown in a warm greenhouse or indoors under fluorescent lightning. The grass will be harvested and juiced for consumption after 7-10 days of accelerated growth cycle. Because it grows so quickly in the warm conditions, the plant does not reach its full vegetative development for a maximum nutritional content. It has a relatively high level of simple sugars and simply is not given the time to convert these sugars into complex carbohydrates, vitamins, enzymes, and proteins.

Many consumers of the fresh juice do not realize that it is made of a plant that has not reached its full nutritional potential. Wheat grass grown outdoors in its natural climate has much higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll than tray-grown grass, due to vast differences in the growth process.

The accelerated growth in the tray-growing process also causes the plant to put most of its energy into growing leaves rather than roots. Thus very few minerals are absorbed through the roots to be utilized in producing the important complex nutrients.

Its rapid growth cycle produces simple sugars. People generally drink the tray-grown juice for therapeutic reasons and it’s purported energy boost. E-gaho winter organic Wheatgrass is grown outdoors in Australia, which has the most ideal climate for wheatgrass cultivation.

It is grown over three months through the winter. The visible grass grows very little until the spring, but the roots grow deep in our organic soil and have all winter to absorb the abundance of nutrients in the mineral rich organic soil.

There are significant differences in the nutritional profiles of the dehydrated whole plant powder and the fresh juice obtained from tray-grown wheatgrass, although highly regarded by many as high potency.

In fact, E-gaho winter organic Wheatgrass has every nutrient the human body needs to survive, except vitamin D, which is produced naturally by your skin from sunlight. It is known that a vegetables nutritional content is a direct result of the soil where they are grown.

Therefore the ideal choice is a organic cultivated whole plant powder, packed with all nutrients to support your body's antioxidant and nutritional needs.

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