From PFPC newsletter: Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children
If you wish the whole issue sent, email me privately.
Judy Ritchie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
DRUG INTERACTIONS/DEATH:
Just as with BAYCOL, drug interactions with ciprofloxacin have
resulted
in fatal outcomes due to potentiation of another drug's effects such
theophylline (4,20), methadone (21), or warfarin (22).
Just like BAYCOL and other fluorinated drugs, ciprofloxacin is a
potent
inhibitor of the thyroid hormone-regulated P 450 enzyme system in the
liver. Of all fluoroquinolones, ciprofloxacin and enoxacin have shown
the
greatest inhibitory capacity (4).
P450 IA2 prevents the metabolism/inactivation of methylxanthines,
thereby causing increased serum concentrations of drugs like
theophylline
and caffeine, which in turn causes excess CNS and cardiac stimulation.
As
mentioned above, CIPRO also elevates serum fluoride levels.
The liver has been identified as a target organ of fluoroquinolone
toxicity in animal studies (23). Already in the 1930s the same was shown
by
Bayer's scientists such as Litzka or Knoll's Kraft who found that ALL
organic fluoride compounds tested (including those used for
fluoroquinolone
production) interfered with thyroid hormone activity in liver and
muscle
tissue. Meanwhile, they also showed "anti-bacterial" activity. This led
to
the development of many fluorinated medications, including the numerous
compounds then used very successfully in the treatment of
hyperthyroidism
(24,25). Kraft invented many fluorinated "medications". When it was
discovered that some of these organic compounds had the same detrimental
effects on teeth and bone as inorganic fluoride - although much less
actual F- was involved - he even filed patents on behalf of Knoll's
using
these compounds in dental preparations (26,27).
Pregnant women should never take ciprofloxacin. CIPRO transfers
through
the placenta. It inhibits P450 1A2 which has been shown to be critical
for
neonatal survival by influencing the physiology of respiration in
neonates.
Mice lacking this cytochrome died shortly after birth and showed
symptoms
of severe respiratory distress (28). Respiratory distress is a
side-effect
of ciprofloxacin also in adults (9). CIPRO also transfers through
breastmilk.
RESISTANCE TO BACTERIA
Taking Ciprofloxacin can spur germs to mutate so that future
bacterial
infections become untreatable. During the last decades a dramatic
increase
in bacterial strains multiresistant to antibiotics, particlularly CIPRO
-
has been reported (30, 31, 32). This increase has led to the occurrence
of
incurable bacterial infections with a fatal outcome, and a particularly
serious problem in connection with hospital-acquired infections.
For example, Clostridium difficile has become one of the most common
acquired organisms in hospitals and long term care institutions. The
organism typically infects patients whose normal intestinal flora has
been
disturbed by the administration of a broad-spectrum antibiotic such as
CIPRO. The diarrhea and inflammatory colitis associated with infection
represent a serious medical and surgical complication leading to
increased
morbidity and mortality, and prolonging hospital stays by an average of
nearly three weeks. This is especially true for the elderly and for
patients with serious underlying diseases who are the most likely to
develop the infection. C. difficile associated diarrhea represents a
major
economic burden to the healthcare system, conservatively estimated at
$3-6
billion per year in excess hospital costs in the U.S. alone (33).
The emergence of this "antibiotic resistance" is a result of the
overwhelming use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine. High
rates of fluoroquinolone resistance have been reported in many countries
(30). For example, in Asia CIPRO no longer can be used to treat
gonorrhea,
because the disease has become resistant to the drug (34).
While the FDA in August 2000 approved CIPRO as the first-line
treatment
against anthrax, a few months later (October 2000) it asked Bayer to
remove
BAYTRIL - its equivalent for animals.
The FDA proposed banning the fluoroquinolones, which chicken and
turkey
farmers have given to birds in their water since 1995 to help shield the
animals from infection. The agency acted after linking the drugs to a
jump
in Campylobacter bacteria immune to the medications. Nearly 18 percent
of
one common strain that infects humans are now immune to the very same
drugs
which were considered the last line of defense against the infection.
Campylobacter is the leading bacterial cause of food poisoning in the
United States. Typically contracted through raw or undercooked meat,
the
germs afflict more than 2 million people and kill some 500 each year in
the
US, according to the CDC.
While Abbot voluntarily withdrew its version of the antibiotic
(SaraFlox), Bayer decided to challenge the FDA. The company had the
option
to comply with the proposed ban or seek a hearing to determine whether
such
a move was justified. Bayer refused to comply with the ban, a move that
kicked off a lengthy process that could take years (35). Meanwhile Bayer
gets to poison the world, AND make huge profits from it...
The AMA has advised its members to prescribe CIPRO very cautiously,
saying the worldwide problem of antibiotic resistance poses future
dangers
worse than the anthrax attacks of today (Orlando Sentinel, October 20,
2001).
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
