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Monday, February 7, 2011 – Daily News – 5A Vitality & health Childhood joint pain and fainting in the elderly DEAR DR. GOTT: Regarding your past columns about “growing pains,” I had such severe pain in my knees as a young teen that I could barely walk. I was told it was due to a growth spurt and to just learn to live with it. I had no fevers, redness or swelling, but just a few years later was hit with MCTD, including rheumatoid arthritis. I am happy that you told the child’s granny to look for other symptoms, such as fever, etc., but I think the pediatrician should have looked into doing some blood work to rule out other possibilities. On another topic: For all those elderly people out there who have “faint- ing fits,” the “woozies” or the “spins,” drink a couple of glasses of water. My dad used to conk out for no apparent reason, and it usually turned out that he did not consume enough fluids and overused laxa- tives. We would get him to the ER and after IV hydra- tion, he would snap out of it. Removal of laxatives from the house and closer monitoring of his fluid intake helped keep him on his feet. DEAR READER: Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is an uncommon autoimmune disorder, meaning that the body’s immune sys- tem attacks itself. It is sometimes referred to an as overlap disease because it causes symp- toms similar to those associated with lupus, polymyositis, scleroder- ma and, sometimes, rheumatoid arthritis. MCTD most often occurs in women in their 20s and 30s. Symptoms generally occur gradually with signs of lupus appearing first in most cases. Most sufferers are first diagnosed with lupus because of this, but as symptoms progress, the diagnosis of MCTD is then made. Symptoms may include Raynaud’s disease (which may present years before other symptoms), malaise (feeling unwell), fatigue, mild fever, swollen joints and/or hands, puffy fin- gers, myalgia (muscle pain) and arthralgias (joint pain). There is no cure, but treatment is available. Mild cases may not require treatment at all. Moderate to severe cases may need daily medica- tion with non-steroidal K W I K K U T S Family Hair Salon $200 REGULAR HAIRCUT off with coupon Not good with other offers 1064 South Main St., Red Bluff • 529-3540 Reg. $13.95 Expires 2/28/11 Dr. Peter Gott anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as over-the- counter ibuprofen or naproxen sodi- um and prescrip- tion ibuprofen, oxaprozin and others. These work to reduce inflammation and pain. Methotrex- ate and corticos- teroids, such as pred- nisone, may also be pre- scribed. These drugs work to suppress the immune system, thus reducing inflammation and pain. Other immunosuppressant drugs may be used if symptoms are more like one particular disorder, rather than an equal or near-equal combination of them. For example, those primarily with lupus-like symptoms may benefit from drugs used to treat lupus. There are no known risk factors for developing MCTD, and there is no known cause. Complica- tions of the disease and its treatment can include heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, possible pregnancy complications (studies currently conflict) and side effects of long- term corticosteroid use. Now to your advice regarding fainting. Dehy- dration can be a serious problem, especially when combined with laxative overuse. This is especially true in the elderly who may already be on several medications and have other health concerns. Laxatives should only be used sparingly, if at all (unless directed by your doctor), because they can cause dehydration and dependence. To provide related information, I am sending you copies of my Health Reports “Managing Chronic Pain” and “Con- stipation and Diarrhea.” Other readers who would like copies should send a self-addressed stamped No. 10 envelope and a $2 check or money order for each report to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title(s) or print an order form off my website at www.AskDr- GottMD.com. Dr. Peter H. Gott is a retired physician and the author of several books, including “Live Longer, Live Better,” “Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Diet” and “Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Cookbook,” which are available at most bookstores or online. His website is www.AskDrGottMD.com (MCT) — Winter is not good to our skin. The wind chaps. The dry air wicks. The combination blows us into the arms of the billion-dollar cosme- ceutical industry, which awaits with pricey over-the-counter potions and serums promising to undo the season's damage. But these companies often promise much more than simple moisturizing. Their products can, according to their advertising, "help to boost oxygen microcirculation." They can reset "the skin's aging clock by converting rest- ing stem cells." They contain ingredi- ents that can "turn on digestive enzymes that will only go after scars and wrinkles" or "help to promote col- lagen production." In short, they can utterly transform your old, dry, thin- ning, wrinkled skin. Tempting. But is it true? Yes and no, say dermatologists and scientists. Mostly no, but really it's hard to say. The creams do moisturize — even the cheapest ones will do that — and that does help make the skin appear more supple and healthy. As for the other claims, few studies have been published in medical journals to show the products work as advertised or are safe to use. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't require companies to prove that cosmetic products are safe or effective. "Efficacy is very vague in terms of over-the-counter products," said Dr. Simon Yoo, assistant professor of der- matology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. "With- out any oversight, it is difficult to say whether these do anything." At the same time, the FDA has expressed concerns over some claims made by companies selling anti-aging creams. Marketers of cosmetics are generally are not allowed to state that their product alters the structure or function of the body or treats or pre- vents disease — to make a "drug claim." The FDA maintains a list of more than 80 companies — including such beauty giants as L'Oreal, Avon and Revlon — that the agency believes may be importing, manufacturing or shipping creams with drug claims. The FDA also has sent a handful of warning letters to cosmetics compa- nies, mostly small ones, for making drug claims, a spokeswoman for the agency said. "It is a good example of how peo- ple can use science-y-ness to try and fitness Do anti-aging skin creams work? The press materials for ReVive Peau Magnifique Youth Recruit, which costs $1,500 for four ampuls of serum at Neiman Marcus, say it "resets the skin's aging clock by con- verting resting adult stem cells to newly minted skin cells." But ReVive founder Dr. Gregory Bays Brown acknowledged that "we did not do peer-reviewed studies. There is literature out there that other people have done." Brown, a plastic surgeon, said the sell a product," said Dr. Ben Goldacre, who wrote about moisturizers in his book "Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks and Big Pharma Flacks." "It is used decoratively as marketing in a way that is meaningless." Companies rarely publish studies showing their products are effective, said dermatologist Dr. Vesna Petronic- Rosic of the University of Chicago Medical Center, though they generally look into the potential for skin irrita- tion. Some companies cite scientific evi- dence that anti-aging ingredients work, but they decline to provide those studies or to show that the product contains enough of the substances to have an effect. Take, for example, "The Youth As We Know It Moisture Cream" from Bliss, which sells for $79 for 1.7 ounces at Sephora. The package says the cream contains the "10 most important anti-aging ingredients we've found in 10 years of giving 'great face.'" The label also says it helps to "pro- mote collagen production," "boost oxygen microcirculation" and "improve skin's firmness," among other things. Asked to provide scientific studies showing that the anti-aging ingredients work, Bliss spokeswoman Brooke Temner wrote in an e-mail: "There are studies on the raw materials executed by our raw material suppliers that demonstrate the ingredients' function- ality, however, Bliss is not at liberty to share this proprietary information." "When formulating our products, we adhere to the standards of the fed- eral Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act," Bliss vice president of communica- tions Katie Welch wrote in an e-mail. company has done a study, included in his patent, to show that one of the ingredients, epidermal growth factor, gets into the lower layers of the skin and increases cell turnover. The research was not published in a peer- reviewed journal. "It is inefficient, but it's enough to increase cell turnover," he said. "It is sort of crude, and we were able to show that." Scientific data do exist on epider- mal growth factor, some of it pub- lished by Brown in peer-reviewed medical journals before he founded ReVive. "There is quite a lot of information on these active ingredients in the sci- entific and patent literature — most can show effects on cell proliferation (in a test tube or petri dish) or in ani- mal models of wound healing," said Natalie Medlicott, an associate profes- sor at New Zealand's National School of Pharmacy at the University of Otago and an expert in epidermal growth factors. But without published studies on the creams themselves, it's impossible to know whether the epidermal growth factor in them is effective. "The usual difficulty with such products is whether or not the large protein mole- cules such as the epidermal growth factor remain active in the formulation and, if they are active, whether they actually get delivered across intact skin," Medlicott said. Telomerase, another ingredient in Peau Magnifique Youth Recruit, is "an enzyme that activates and differenti- ates dormant adult stem cells into brand new skin cells" and "repairs DNA fragmentation," according to the product's press materials. But what effect does the telomerase in this product have on a customer's skin? "We don't know exactly," Brown said. "We know stem cells line the hair follicle and sweat glands. They are on the surface. We don't know if it has an effect on those cells." Professional Personal Convenient • Premium Digital *NOW OPEN* Bareroot Trees and Berries are in! Time to plant 1 1/2 miles South of Red Bluff 12645 Hwy 99E (530) 529-2546 Ask about our Open Fit Technology Discreet and Comfortable Red Bluff Community Center 1500 So. 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