Summary Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in the Western world. The effort of research should aim at the primary prevention of CVD. Alongside statin therapy, which is maintained to be an effective method of CVD prevention, there are alternative methods such as vitamin B substitution therapy with folic acid (FA), and vitamins B12 and B6. B‐vitamins may inhibit atherogenesis by decreasing the plasma level of homocysteine (Hcy)—a suspected etiological factor for atherosclerosis—and by other mechanisms, primarily through their antioxidant properties. Although Hcy‐lowering vitamin trials have failed to demonstrate beneficial effects of B‐vitamins in the prevention of CVD, a meta‐analysis and stratification of a number of large vitamin trials have suggested their effectiveness in cardiovascular prevention (CVP) in some aspects. Furthermore, interpretation of the results from these large vitamin trials has been troubled by statin/aspirin therapy, which was applied along with the vitamin substitution, and FA fortification, both of which obscured the separate effects of vitamins in CVP. Recent research results have accentuated a new approach to vitamin therapy for CVP. Studies undertaken with the aim of primary prevention have shown that vitamin B substitution may be effective in the primary prevention of CVD and may also be an option in the secondary prevention of disease if statin therapy is accompanied by serious adverse effects. Further investigations are needed to determine the validity of vitamin substitution therapy before its introduction in the protocol of CVD prevention.

The results of the treatment of 24 subjects--10 of them diabetic--with peripheral obstructive arterial disease of the lower limbs by transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) have been studied. The chronic ischemia of the lower extremities was complicated with ulceration in 12 and initial or advanced gangrene in 6 patients. All patients had been treated with antiplatelet drugs, pentoxifylline, and vasodilating drugs for many years. The drug therapy was continued, and TES was given daily for twenty minutes. The results were estimated after four to eight weeks of hospitalization and during a one-year follow-up in numerous cases. Except for 4 patients the improvement was very significant in all cases: the pain disappeared, the gangrenous process of the toes stopped, regression or complete healing of the ulceration could be observed, and the painfree walking distance increased. The oxygen saturation measured on the toes increased significantly during electrical stimulation. The blood pressure measured in the tibial artery showed very different changes. According to these observations TES appears to be a useful method superior to drug therapy in curing arterial circulatory disturbances of the lower extremities.

SUMMARYHomocysteine has been established as a serious, independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. An elevated plasma homocysteine concentration is accompanied by increased cardiovascular risk; therefore, it can be assumed that lowering the plasma homocysteine level results in a decreased risk. Vitamin B complex (folic acid, and vitamins B6 and B12) substitution therapy decreases the plasma homocysteine level, inhibits oxidative stress, and ameliorates some biochemical and clinical parameters that indicate the progression of atherosclerosis. Vitamin E administration may also reduce atherogenesis through its antioxidant effect. The effectiveness of B and E vitamin substitution in decreasing cardiovascular risk has been suggested by cohort as well as prospective and retrospective studies undertaken during the last two decades. On the other hand, recent large, randomized clinical trials did not substantiate a beneficial effect of homocysteine-lowering B vitamin supplementation or vitamin E antioxidant therapies in reducing cardiovascular risk in humans. We analyzed eight B vitamin and four E vitamin trials from a critical point of view, and in this article we reviewed and commented on their results and focused on the contradictions found in them. We showed that the possible factors implicated in the failure of vitamin therapies included inappropriate designs. The protocols neglected an essential fact: that the impact of some confounding factors, such as concomitant use of statins, acetylsalicylic acid, folic acid, and other drugs, might have led to bias and an inappropriate interpretation of the data. The cardiovascular protective and preventive effects of statins and aspirin might have reduced or abolished the possibility of observing a difference in the number of events between the vitamin and placebo groups for the clinical endpoints. We concluded that the vitamin preventive effect on cardiovascular disease may not be rejected in reference to the negative trial evidence. Homocysteine, Vitamins, and AtherosclerosisDuring the last 40 years a number of animal experiments with homocysteine treatments, individual reports of subjects with hyperhomocysteinemia (either due to genetic abnormalities or other causes), as well as epidemiological and statistical studies have suggested that homocysteine is an emerging, independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases [1]. Genetic studies of the mutation in the methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene also provided strong evidence that the association between homocysteine and cardiovascular disease and stroke is causal [2]. The relationship between the clinical manifestations of hyperhomocysteinemia and arteriosclerotic changes was found first in autopsied children who died from distinct metabolic forms of homocystinuria [3].Homocysteine may promote vascular disease by inducing endothelial dysfunction through oxidative stress [4,5]. According to the currently accepted theory, autooxidation of the thiol (SH) group of homocysteine generates hydrogen peroxide and the...

Changes taking place in both Qi Gong Masters and their patients during Qi Gong treatment were evaluated using the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test. During the Qi Gong state, on the Qi-Gong Master's body, as well as the body of the patient being treated, acupuncture points CV5 (Shi Men) and CV6 (Qi Hai)-- located below the umbilicus-- show changes from +4 in the pre-Qi Gong state to between -3 and -4 during the Qi Gong state. Before and after the Qi Gong, there is a normal +4 response to the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test at these acupuncture points. Similar changes were also observed on acupuncture points CV17 (Shan Zhong), CV 22 (Tian Tu), Yin Tang (at an area just between the eyebrows: the pituitary gland representation area, colloquially known as the "third eye") and GV20(Bai Hui), the entire pericardium meridian & triple burner meridian, their acupuncture points, the adrenal glands, testes, ovaries and perineum, as well as along the entire spinal vertebrae, particularly on and above the 12th thoracic vertebra, medulla oblongata, pons, and the intestinal representation areas of the brain located just above and behind the upper ear. Using these findings as criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of reaching the Qi Gong state, we were able to reproduce during the experimental trials similar changes in ourselves and the patient being treated with therapeutic effects comparable to those of the Qi Gong Master. Beneficial effects of external Qi Gong treatment given by a Qi Gong practitioner 1 to 3 times for 10-20 seconds each (although most Qi Gong masters take 3-20 minutes per treatment) often resulted in improvement of circulation and lowering of high blood pressure, as well as relaxation of spastic muscles, relief of pain, and enhanced general well-being, all of which resemble acupuncture effects. In order to reproduce the same procedure with others, we selected 4 children ranging between 8 and 11 years of age who had no knowledge of Qi Gong or Oriental medicine. One of these four children, the 8 year old, was able to consistently reach the same Qi Gong state after less than a half day and another child, 11, after less than 2 days. Within a week, the other two were sometimes able to reproduce the Qi Gong state but not always. Using the Qi Gong state thus obtained, it was found that this type of Qi Gong energy is directed to specific directions from the hand and can even penetrate wooden or metal doors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality around the world. The prevention of CVD is a main goal of health care. Vitamins, especially those with antioxidant potency, may have a role in the prevention of and therapy for CVD. Antioxidant vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids are able to decrease the rate of oxidative stress, which may have a principal role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and CVD. Vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , and folic acid, as well as vitamin D, also contribute to maintenance of cardiovascular health and can induce cardioprotective effects. Although most of the randomized controlled trials on vitamins failed to show the benefit of vitamin supplementation for cardiovascular outcomes, a number of observational and cohort studies, meta-analyses, and stratified analyses of large vitamin trials appeared to show an effect in some aspects of cardiovascular prevention. Moreover, many of the vitamin trials for secondary prevention are biased by use of vitamins and drugs effective for cardiovascular prevention; therefore, the conclusions drawn from them supporting the effectiveness of vitamin substitution for the prevention of CVD may be inappropriate. To summarize, there are abundant data suggesting the role of vitamins in cardiovascular health and in the primary prevention of CVD; however, examinations using new concepts and new study designs are needed to establish the effectiveness of vitamin supplementation in the therapy for and prevention of CVD.