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01 October 2017

A New Era of Chronic Disease in America and What's Behind It

A New Era of Chronic Disease in America and what's behind it
Richard Lear, Brown University, researchgate.net, August 2017 - full text

Abstract

A new era of disease is fast emerging in the US. The 21st century model of chronic disease turns the old model upside down. The spotlight has long been on cancer and heart disease, which once were both growing exponentially. Now, among forty fast-growing diseases, the incidence of only three cancers and one cardio-vascular related condition are growing. In their place, four relatively new fast-growing disease groups have emerged: 1) neurological; 2) autoimmune; 3) inflammatory and 4) metabolic disease. A single molecule called peroxynitrite operates at the heart of more than forty fast-growing chronic diseases and conditions in the US. This fast-acting anion creates more than 130 biochemical disruptions in vivo. Among the most troubling is the nitration of L-tryptophan and L-tyrosine, which are precursors to critical neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. Peroxynitrite also damages the blood brain barrier (BBB). Such biological markers are hallmarks of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, autism, bi-polar disorder and depression. The endogenous culprit – peroxynitrite – is well documented. But what about the exogenous cause? There is now increasing evidence that our modern electrical environment is imposing biological stress on our bodies. Dr. Martin Pall’s voltage-gated ion theory provides evidence to support the connection. He cites two dozen studies that show microwaves from cell phones trigger the internal mechanism that creates an over-production of nitric oxide and peroxynitrite. The connection between the spectacular growth in the use of electronics and wireless technologies and the explosion of chronic disease is more than a simple correlation. Few are aware of the chronic disease epidemic that is going on right now in the US. Fewer still have heard of the peroxynitrite connection. Almost no one recognizes the crucial role that the cell phone in our pocket may be playing with our health. Yet our electrical environment has dramatically changed. And now electrical energy stands as the chief suspect driving this new era of disease in America.



All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being  self-evident -- Arthur Schopenhauer

There has been a largely unrecognized explosion of chronic disease in the US. More than 170
million Americans are currently suffering from chronic, germless diseases. There is compelling
evidence that these diseases are not caused by germs like bacteria or viruses. Instead they are
triggered by a single molecule made in the body. This molecule is called peroxynitrite.
Elevated levels of peroxynitrite have been associated with more than 60 chronic diseases.
While thousands of scientists have long recognized the pivotal role of peroxynitrite in disease,
few policy makers and physicians are aware of the connection. And the general public remains
completely in the dark. The scope of the problem is extensive. The annual economic burden
for just forty fast-growing chronic diseases and conditions in the US is more than $2.5 trillion.

The quintessential paper on peroxynitrite was funded by the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) and published in 2007. The study, “Nitric Oxide and Peroxynitrite in Health and
Disease,(1)” identifies more than 130 biological disruptions caused by peroxynitrite within the
body, which, in turn, lead to dozens of diseases. A paper I published on ResearchGate last
summer, “The Root Cause in the Dramatic Rise in Chronic Disease,( 2) ” associates peroxynitrite
with 40 of the fastest-growing diseases, all of which have more than doubled since 1990.

Many of these diseases and conditions were relatively unknown until the 1990s. Now most
have become household names like autism, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel
syndrome, hypothyroidism, erectile dysfunction, bipolar disorder, just to name a few. Other
more familiar diseases and conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, melanoma,
sleep apnea, asthma, depression, and leukemia, have also sky-rocketed in the US.

Four New Categories of Disease

Statistics gathered from the CDC, NIH and NCBI confirm the real-world evidence of the
massive toxicity peroxynitrite imposes and the resulting disease impacts on our society. The
growth of so many chronic ailments is evidence of a new era of disease in the US. The 21st
century model of chronic disease turns the old model upside down. The spotlight has long been
on cancer and heart disease, which once were both growing exponentially. Now, among forty
fast-growing diseases, the incidence of only three cancers and one cardiac-related condition are
growing. In their place, four relatively new fast-growing disease groups have emerged: 1)
neurological; 2) autoimmune; 3) inflammatory and 4) metabolic disease.

Neurological 

Neurological disease may be the most troubling. Thirteen neurological diseases and conditions
have exploded since 1990 and there are now more than 198 million instances of these diseases
and conditions in the US population today. In the past generation alone, autism has grown at
2094%, Psycho-social – attentional problems - 809%, Alzheimer’s - 299% and Bi-polar
disorder in children, has increased by a staggering 10,833%. Please note that four conditions
which are sometimes referred to as mental health conditions are included in the neurological
category. While all four have a psychological component, each also shares the same biological
underpinnings with the other neurological conditions. In particular, individuals experiencing
neurological conditions listed here share a profound imbalance of neurotransmitters, including
deficiencies in dopamine and serotonin. Additionally, pervasive neuron death, a hallmark of
neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS, is also a chief characteristic of conditions
like depression, bi-polar, ADD, anxiety and other psycho-social conditions. Here is a snapshot
of the growth and magnitude of the societal impact from eleven neurological conditions:

Autoimmune

Autoimmune disease is also on the rise. The term autoimmunity was barely known to the
general public in 1990. Now it is commonplace and few are not touched by it. Autoimmune
disease is notable for the multiplicity of symptoms associated with the disease. Sufferers report
headaches, digestive problems, cognitive impacts, memory deficits, poor sleep, joint pain and
muscle pain. Many contend that autoimmune disease arises from an individual’s immune
system attacking itself. Multiple biological systems seem to be affected including neurological,
immune, digestive, musculoskeletal and skin.

According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), more than
50 million Americans are affected by as many as 85 different autoimmune conditions.

The spectacular emergence of these diseases has not gone unnoticed by millions of Americans.
There are now more than 704 million instances of just forty fast-growing diseases and chronic
conditions in the US population. So far there has been very little media coverage about what
appears to be an epidemic of chronic disease in America. Meanwhile, most still believe the US
is the healthiest nation in the world. Yet, by all accounts the precise opposite may now be the
case. The medical community has been slow to recognize or at least articulate the larger story.
Few medical professionals seem to have made the key connections between so many chronic
conditions. Instead medical research and treatment approaches are being pursued in silos.

While forty of the fastest growing chronic diseases all share in common high levels of
peroxynitrite plus six identical bio-markers, the medical community and public seem to be
blinded to these scientific insights. At the heart of it, there seems to be a breakdown in
communication between the scientific community and the rest of us. Or it could be that there
is deep skepticism over the “pure elegance” of there being a single unifying chronic disease state.
It may be that it seems just too good to be true. Yet, who would guess that the underlying
biological conditions for sleep disturbances and Alzheimer’s are similar? Or that obesity,
leukemia and panic disorder all arise from a single molecule and share the same six biological
markers?

External Causes

If peroxynitrite is the internal cause for the dramatic growth of chronic, germless disease in
America, is there a single external trigger, or even a group of identifiable external causes? It turns
out that a range of environmental toxins and chemicals are chiefly suspect. Dr. Stephanie
Seneff, a senior research scientist at MIT, postulates one chemical which has become prolific,
called glyphosate, as a chief candidate. This chemical, more popularly known as Roundup, has
been increasingly added to the wheat supply in the past two decades. There is increasing evidence that it triggers peroxynitrite and the destruction of aromatic amino acids like tyrosine,
tryptophan and phenylalanine. Decreases in these amino acids leads to shortages in production
of dopamine and serotonin and the increased prevalence of neurological disorders. Dr. Pal
Pacher, the lead author on the landmark NIH paper on peroxynitrite, blames soft drinks and
fast food diets, which include high fructose products. Others point to the growing prevalence
of pesticides such as paraquat. This chemical synergizes with peroxynitrite to create
Parkinson’s-like symptoms in mice as a likely suspects.

The role of our Intensifying Electrical Environment

Most concerning is the potential threat from our electrical environment. There is growing
scientific evidence that points to our intensifying electrical environment as the strongest link.
As unsettling as this theory may be to most of us, there is now substantial science, showing that
electrical pollution created by microwave radiation from wireless devices may be stealthily
stealing our health.

In a recent study (3), Dr. Martin Pall, Ph.D., winner of a 2013 Global Medical Research award,
identifies the bio-electrical mechanism. Pall’s paper outlines the process by which electrical
energy from wireless technologies in the form of microwave signals activate systemic biological
imbalances and unleashes disease. In this process, microwave radiation at frequencies like those
used in cell phones and Wi-Fi disrupts the flow of calcium ion messengers, which in turn
triggers other crucial biological changes. The result is increased levels of peroxynitrite, which
then leads to biological chaos and ultimately to one, or more chronic conditions.

Not only has the biological mechanism, or more aptly, the chain of causation between electrical
fields and high levels of peroxynitrite been identified, but there is now extensive theoretical
and epidemiological science to back it up. International science connecting microwaves with
biological effects has actually been established for more than forty years. In 1971, a U.S. Navy-
commissioned report (4) surveyed the science, much of it culled from outside the US. The
report cites more than 2,300 scientific studies that directly link microwave signals with 132
biological effects and chronic diseases. Notably, almost all of the biological underpinnings of
the forty fastest-growing diseases and chronic conditions identified in the Root Cause paper are
listed in this this seemingly prescient report.

More recently, the 2012 BioInitiative Report (5), a 1,540-page study co-authored by a group of
twenty-nine international scientists, cites more than 3,000 scientific studies that associate low-
level exposures from electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with dozens of diseases and biological
effects in humans such as autism, brain cancer, breast cancer, leukemia, oxidative damage,
biochemical imbalances, blood-brain-barrier damage, and DNA/ chromosome damage. It should be no surprise that peroxynitrite is associated with every major disease discussed in this
paper.

As the above examples illustrate, the science connecting wireless signals and other forms of
electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with biological effects and disease is substantial. Yet few are
aware of the depth of the science. Despite the fact that there are now more than 6,000
scientific studies that link EMR with at least 185 biological impacts and more than 50 diseases,
federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates cell phones,
still contend the weight of the science is ‘inconclusive.’

Humans Are Electrical Creatures

The idea that even low levels of electrical energy can affect our health should not be surprising.
It is well established that humans are electrical creatures and our biological welfare depends
critically on a delicate balance of electrical activity. Our brains and hearts depend on electrical
impulses to function. Doctors use EKGs to measure the electrical activity of the heart and
EEGs to gauge the electrical health of the brain. Trillions of cells exchange electrical messages
sent across our nervous system, and these electrical messages coordinate and orchestrate our
entire body chemistry.

The key components of these biological communications (neurons, neurotransmitters, ions) all
depend crucially on low-level electrical energy. Even the cells in humans are electrical. When
healthy, each human cell operates at around 25 millivolts. So, given the electrical nature of our
bodies, it should be no surprise that biological disruptions to our bodies like the increased
levels of electrically-charged calcium ions between cells occur.

A New Era of Chronic Disease

Chronic disease statistics culled from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), NCBI and PubMed are staggering. In the U.S. population of 322
million, the number of instances of 40 fast-growing chronic diseases and medical conditions has
mushroomed beyond 700 million. That’s an average of more than 2.1 diseases and chronic
conditions for every American! The accelerated growth of each of these forty conditions began
around 1990. About the same time, the exponential growth of wireless devices was just
beginning. At that time there were only about 16 million cell phones in the US. There are now
about one billion wireless devices. That is a growth of over 6150% in just one generation.

Conclusion

We’re living in a new era of disease. Germs are no longer fully to blame for our ill health.
Neurological, autoimmune, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases are growing out of control
and crippling the US economy. Increased health costs and lost productivity are the direct
results. Insurance companies are overwhelmed. The social, psychological and emotional costs
to sufferers and families are incalculable. There are no vaccinations or cures. Chronic diseases
are persistent and often last a lifetime.

The internal cause is already known. Scientists agree peroxynitrite sits at the heart of more than
60 major chronic diseases and conditions. Yet the public remains in the dark. Yet almost no US
government-funded research is taking place. Several external triggers are also known. Some
say chemicals in our diet are to blame, others point to our intensifying electrical environment.

We’ve quietly entered this new era of disease, where electrical energy creates both a benefit
and a cost. Is the electrical energy around us is creating biochemical chaos in our bodies by
increasing levels of a single toxic molecule? If so, we either need to find ways to neutralize the
molecule, or dial back the electrical energy around us. Or do both.

Few are aware of the chronic disease epidemic that is going on in the US right now. Fewer still
have heard of the peroxynitrite connection. Almost no one recognizes the crucial role that the
cell phone in our pocket may be playing with our health.

Until we realize that we’ve entered into a new era of chronic disease, we’re unlikely to
recognize the greater problem – it is likely self-imposed.

References:  [see original paper]

A New Era of Chronic Disease in America and what's behind it (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319288113_A_New_Era_of_Chronic_Disease_in_America_and_what's_behind_it [accessed Oct 1, 2017].

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