[jss]

Harrison,

What an opportunity! I have a couple of questions for Dr Poehlmann. BTW: If you or anyone reading this can answer them yourself... please do.

1. My father is developing an ever worsening case of rheumatoid arthritis. I have searched clinicaltrials.gov to see what research is currently being transformed into treatments for autoimmune diseases, with particular attention to lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, and have noticed a common thread; that ALL trials involve palliative care and symptom management; that is, there seem to be no imminent treatments for rheumatoid diseases that are hopeful in resulting in cures for at least a few patients. Question: Is there such research extant at a stage to which the general public would not be aware that could result in a cure for some patients? Or are we still "just" learning about the disease?

2. The "Natural foods", "Organic foods" and yes, "alternative treatments" advocates make all kinds of claims in which they claim to be able to cure everything from stage IV melanoma to making someone immune from EVER getting sick again. While I have little confidence in such claims, their logic is plausible; that is, remove toxins which the human body is not designed to manage, and the body can more effectively keep itself healthy.
- Is there any scientific research that suggests that in at least some people that an "organic" lifestyle can cure or mitigate the symptoms of rheumatoid diseases?
- While you would certainly be prohibited from publishing a list, can you mentally list specific individuals that you can show by clinically means have been cured of rheumatoid diseases with such treatments? That is, in addition to cessation of pain, they have "normal" RF, ANA, ESR, etc... levels?
- If so, are the specific biological and chemical mechanisms by which these cures occurred known? What are they?
(Harrison: I know this question seems adversarial, but it is NOT. While I challenge many assertions made by the aforementioned groups, I FULLY expect that science will one day prove many more of their assertions, even if the mechanisms have yet to be discovered)

Thanks, Jeff