Rich Murray: Smith: fibromyalgia & aspartame & MSG 6.27.1 rmforall

Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a common
rheumatologic disorder that is often difficult to treat
effectively. CASE SUMMARY: Four patients
diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome for two to
17 years are described. All had undergone
multiple treatment modalities with limited success. All
had complete, or nearly complete, resolution
of their symptoms within months after eliminating
monosodium glutamate (MSG) or MSG plus aspartame from their diet.
All patients were women with multiple comorbidities
prior to elimination of MSG. All have had recurrence of symptoms
whenever MSG is ingested. DISCUSSION:
Excitotoxins are molecules, such as MSG and
aspartate, that act as excitatory neurotransmitters,
and can lead to neurotoxicity when used in
excess. We propose that these four patients may
represent a subset of fibromyalgia syndrome
that is induced or exacerbated by excitotoxins or,
alternatively, may comprise an excitotoxin
syndrome that is similar to fibromyalgia.
We suggest that identification of similar patients and
research with larger numbers of patients must be
performed before definitive conclusions can be
made. CONCLUSIONS: The elimination of
MSG and other excitotoxins from the diets of
patients with fibromyalgia offers a benign treatment
option that has the potential for dramatic
results in a subset of patients. PMID: 11408989
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Ann Pharmacother 1998 Feb;32(2):196-200
Possible lansoprazole-induced eosinophilic syndrome.
Smith JD, Chang KL, Gums JG.
Department of Pharmacy Practice
University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To report a case of myalgia with
eosinophilia related to lansoprazole
administration. CASE SUMMARY: A 50-year-old white
woman developed severe myalgia 1 week after
starting lansoprazole. During the
treatment course, the patient was also found to have
eosinophilia. The myalgia and eosinophilia
resolved 40 days after lansoprazole was stopped and
18 days after prednisone therapy was begun. The
patient was not rechallenged with lansoprazole.
DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, this is the first
reported case of lansoprazole-induced
eosinophilic syndrome. Clinically, it is
difficult to distinguish between eosinophilia-myalgia
syndrome and eosinophilic fasciitis, which are
probably part of a continuum of eosinophilic
disorders. This patient presented with symptoms
of both syndromes. Although other causes
cannot be completely ruled out, the time course
strongly suggests that lansoprazole was the
causative agent. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to
consider medications when diagnosing
patients with hypereosinophilia and/or myalgia.
PMID: 9496405

Expert Opin Pharmacother 1999 Nov;1(1):71-80
Management of essential hypertension.
Terpening C, Gums JG, Grauer K. terpening@...
University of Florida, Departments of Pharmacy
Practice and Family Medicine
625 SW 4th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32601, USA.
terpening@...

Hypertension, in spite of a very high prevalence,
remains undertreated. This is not due to a lack of
effective therapeutic modalities.
Non-pharmacological treatments can be effective in many
patients. If those treatments fail to reduce
blood pressure sufficiently, the physician can choose
between numerous classes of antihypertensive
agents. However, interpatient variability in
response to these agents is high, and use of
multiple agents is frequently necessary. Thus, no
single class has proven to be superior for the
majority of patients. This article will review the
different non-pharmacological and pharmacological
methods available to treat hypertension, as
well as the guidelines that are available to aid
in proper selection of a treatment regimen.
Publication Types: Review Review, tutorial
PMID: 11249566

Terpening CM.
The FDA: protector or puppet?
Pharmacotherapy. 2000 Jul;20(7):860-1. No abstract available.
PMID: 10907979

Gums JG.
Empathy to apathy: a consequence of higher education?
Pharmacotherapy. 1994 Mar-Apr;14(2):250-1.
No abstract available. PMID: 8197049

Christopher Miles Terpening
Information current as of: 09/09/1999
post doc aso pharmacy practice,uf
Campus mg-58 445 (352) 392-3155
po box 100486 gainesville fl 32610-0486
Home u of f box 100846 gvn fl fl 32611
Email cterpeni@...

John G Gums
Information current as of: 09/28/1999
professor pharmacy practice,uf
Campus j486 jhmhc (352) 392-4541
po box 100486 gainesville fl 32610-0486
Home 3626 nw 23rd pl gainesville fl 32605-2666
(352) 335-1124 Email gums@...

Siegfried O Schmidt
Information current as of: 01/27/1900
clin ast prof community hlth & fam med,uf
Campus w oak clnic (352) 376-5071
po box 103588 gainesville fl 32610-3588
Home 8120 sw 36th ave gainesville fl 32608-3629
Email siggy@...
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Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@...
1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe NM USA 87505 505-986-9103

M.I.T. (physics and history, BA, 1964), Boston U. Graduate School
(psychology, MA, 1967): As a concerned layman, I want to clarify the
aspartame toxicity debate.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/618
long 40K summary

Excellent 5-page review by H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter",
Jan 2000, "Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html http://www.sunsentpress.com/
H.J. Roberts, M.D. HJRobertsmd@... sunsentpress@...
Sunshine Sentinel Press 6708 Pamela Lane West Palm Beach, FL 33405
800-814-9800 561-588-7628 561-547-8008 fax
1038 page text "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic"
published May 30 2001 $ 85.00 postpaid data from 1200 cases
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html 34 chapters
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