NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES AND ASPARTAME

 

CHAPTER SIX

HUNTINGTON’S CHOREA

Huntington’s Chorea is essentially a disease of the nervous system. The English word "chorea" itself comes from the Greek word choreia, which means "dance." The name chorea is given to this disease because those affected by it experience jerking movements of the face, arms, and eventually, the entire body. This is then followed by a relentless deterioration of the neurological function. Patients eventually wind up bedridden.

Huntington’s Chorea’s most marked and characteristic feature is a violent spasm affecting the voluntary muscles. There is no sense of loss or of consciousness while these contractions are acting out, as there is in epilepsy. The upper extremities are usually the first affected. All the voluntary muscles are likely to be affected, those of the face rarely being exempted. The patient will experience a great deal of difficulty in performing the simplest of tasks, such as sticking out his/hers tongue out or trying to walk or eat. The body is in constant perpetual motion.

While autopsying Huntington’s Chorea patients, an examination of a cross-section of their brains showed characteristic changes in the internal structure. The characteristic changes were found in each hemisphere of the brain, and in the middle of the four basal ganglia. This area is partly responsible for body movement and coordination and known as the caudate nucleus (so named because it looks like a tail). It was originally thought to primarily be involved with control of voluntary movement; however, it is now known to be an important part of the brain's learning and memory system. The paired nuclei lying adjacent to the frontal horn of the ventricles were badly shrunken from degeneration. These nuclei are called the basal ganglion or striatum. The striatum includes three structures: globus pallidus, putamen, and caudate nucleus. It is part of the brain involved with regulating the intensity of coordinated muscle activity such as movement, balance, and walking. There is a clear connection between nerve damage and the presence of excitotoxic amino acids when found within these regions (Blaylock, 1997).

The striatum plays a vital role in individual movements, such as swinging the arms, and complex patterns of arms and leg movements that are automatic. These movements are already preprogrammed within the striatum so that you do not have to figure out how to perform them each time they are needed. Examination of the striatum of a typical Huntington’s patient under the microscope shows that not all of the neurons in the striatum are destroyed. Rather, the most severe loss is to the small and intermediate sized neurons, with almost complete sparing of the larger neurons. Some neurons are lost in the frontal cortex as well, and the damage is very specific to some neurons while sparing others that are close by.

Scientists have been unable to produce an exact model of Huntington’s disease, however, they have come very close by using only one class of chemical to produce the selective damage that is seen in these brains. These chemicals are excitotoxins (Mclin, Thompason & Steward, 2006).

Scientists have shown that neurotoxins produce neurodegenerative diseases and that there is a recurring pattern seen with excitotoxin accumulation (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2005). They see the same characteristics of energy deficiency in the brain, the mechanisms in place to protect the neurons are impaired, low magnesium, and high calcium accumulation due to the disruption of regulatory control in the neurons involved (Siesjo, Bengtsson, Grampp & Theander, 1989).

 

Figure 17. In photo A, the cross-section shows a normal brain. Photo B shows the typical findings in a case of Huntington’s disease with shrunken caudate nucleus and the adjacent enlarged ventricles.

It is important to recognize the difference between natural dietary amino acids, and pharmaceutically produced amino acid isolates.  Dietary amino acids are absorbed from the gut by an organized digestive process involving acid and alkaline digestive juices that the body uses to break down the long poly-peptide chains of amino acids from food stuff and then absorb them as a singular free form amino acid. This allows a slower release into the blood stream and they are always accompanied in a balanced mixture of other amino acids which are in the proper enzyme-regulated proportion for use by the body. Since they are in competition with one another for the enzyme sites, the body ensures that no one amino acid dominates the others.

However, amino acid isolates that have been artificially separated from the rest of the amino acid chain and reconfigured, as in the case of Aspartame, are now part of a man-made compound without the proper enzyme-regulated proportion for use by the body. Aspartame is then added to foods during the manufacturing process. These amino acids are isolated, as single or dipeptide molecules. This is very different from the 80 to 300 amino acid chains that form natural proteins from dietary sources. The isolates of Aspartame are then incorporated into a compound containing free methanol, aspartate and phenylalanine, which easily break down into formaldehyde, formic acid, and DKP inside the human body (Barua & Bal, 1995).

One can of diet soda pop yields about as much phenylalanine as a large bowl of beans. However, beans are natural to the body and not pharmaceutically produced (Bowen & Evangelista, 2002).

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Yes, it is true that Aspartame is the most tested product in the world; however, it is not true that it is safe. Does "most tested" imply safe for human consumption? More importantly, what were the results of these studies and how was Aspartame approved? An in-depth look at the history of Aspartame approval reveals a trail of suspicious methods and possible collusion between the FDA and the G. D. Searle Company. Upon closer examination, the available research revealed that the manufacturers, G.D. Searle and Monsanto, along with the FDA are manipulating the public into believing that Aspartame is safe and allowing it to be used in everything from children’s vitamins to vaccines.

Aspartame is a neurotoxin. It is also known as NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. It is made up of aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. Since it was discovered by accident in 1965 by James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company while testing an anti-ulcer drug, it has been a part of one of the biggest controversies in FDA history.

Despite the numerous studies presented to the FDA since 1964, there has been no prevailing evidence that establishes the safety of Aspartame especially in everyday consumption. However, Aspartame and its amino acid isolates have been implicated as one of the causes of neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS and seizures. Yet, Dr. Arthur Hall Hayes Jr. overturned the board of inquiry’s decision and approved Aspartame for dry goods in 1981 and carbonated beverages in 1983 even though Dr. John W. Olney found that oral intake of all excitotoxic amino acids cause brain damage in mice and informed G.D. Searle that aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of mice.

In a prepared statement by Dr. John W. Olney, M.D. titled, "Aspartame Board of Inquiry," Dr. Olney showed how aspartate and several other structural analogs of excitotoxic amino acids have well-established brain damaging and neuroendocrine disruptive effect when administered systemically to various animals species. Animals of any age are vulnerable, however, young animals are more vulnerable at lower doses than adults are (Olney, 1980).

Brain damage occurs with oral administration of aspartate and glutamate because neurotoxins have free access from blood to certain brain regions that lack BBB. Because humans develop much higher glutamate and aspartate plasma levels from a given intake load than do experimental animals, humans are at a much higher risk for either brain damage or neuroendocirne degeneration than animals.

In 1974, Dr. Olney demonstrated to G.D. Searle that oral administration of Aspartame to infant mice results in lesions in the Circumventricular Organs (CVO) regions of the brain with minimal loading doses required to destroy the central neurons. Searle claimed that Aspartame does not damage monkey brains based on their own experiments. However, because all the animals Searle tested developed brain tumors, convulsions and died, the tumors were removed from the animals and were kept under lock-and-key for close to a year before the FDA would be allowed to view them (Evangelista, Sweet Misery, 2005).

Due to Searle’s persistent tendency to avoid performing experiments of appropriate design to clarify the safety of Aspartame, Searle failed to establish the safety of their product and then decided to do the unacceptable-experiment on humans without sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the chemical they would be ingesting.

Section 1 of the Nuremberg Code begins with the following two sentences: "The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, over-reaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved, as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision" (Nuremberg Code, 1949).

In 1906 the Pure Food and Drugs Act was established as part of our government protection plan. The

FDA’s mission is to protect the safety and wholesomeness of food. The agency's scientists test samples to see if any substances, such as pesticide residues, toxins, poisons and bio-hazardous chemicals are present in unacceptable amounts. If contaminants are identified, FDA takes corrective action.

The FDA knows more about the toxicity of Aspartame than any other agency and yet has been a co-conspirator with the manufacturers of Aspartame to hide the truth about the irreparable damage this man-made chemical has and will create within the human body.

For sixteen years, Dr. Adrian Gross and Dr. Jacqueline Verrett, toxicologists working for the FDA, vehemently objected to Aspartame approval. The travesty lies not just in the fact that Aspartame is not safe but also that the manufacturer filtered out what they didn't want the agency to see. All the studies showing the convulsions, seizures, brain tumors, and neurodegenerative destruction were mysteriously made to look innocuous (Olney, 1996).

On January 10, l977, a 33-page letter was written by FDA Chief Counsel Richard Merrill recommending to U.S. Attorney Sam Skinner that a grand jury investigate G.D. Searle for apparent violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.331(e) and Act 18 USC 1001, for "their willful and knowing failure to make reports to the Food and Drug Administration required by the Act 21, U.S.C. 355 (i) and for concealing material facts and making false statements in reports of animal studies conducted to establish the safety of Aspartame." This action did not prove promising (Martini, 2007). It was Jerome Bressler of the FDA who wrote the Bressler Report on Aspartame safety in regards to G.D. Searle’s testing. Bressler claimed the FDA removed 20% of the written work because of how poorly the testing was done (Bressler, 1977).

Up until 1981, Aspartame wasn't fully approved because the FDA knew it caused brain tumors and seizures in lab animals (Gross, 1987). It wasn't approved until President Ronald Reagan got into office when it was obvious that a political tug a war was going on between the head commissioner and G.D. Searle. Soon the manipulation, lies and deceit worked in G.D. Searle’s favor and Aspartame found its way into America's unsuspecting stomachs. Interestingly, when the FDA Commissioner, Jere E. Goyan, Ph.D. wouldn't approve of Aspartame, President Ronald Reagan wrote an executive order making the FDA Commissioner powerless to oppose Aspartame (Gordon, 1987). He was ultimately fired, and Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. was appointed in his place. Even then, there was so much residual opposition to Aspartame that Dr. Hayes had no choice but to set up a Board of Inquiry that ironically ended up advising him "not to approve Aspartame." Dr. Hayes overruled his own board, approved the use of Aspartame in carbonated beverages, and then curiously left his appointed position for greener pastures as a consultant with a subsidiary of the G.D. Searle Company, manufacturers of Aspartame!

On June 5, 2004, former president Ronald Reagan died. He had been suffering with Alzheimer's disease for 10 years. Maureen Reagan, his daughter died of brain cancer in 2001. The question posed was Aspartame a part of their daily diet, and if so could it have been the factor that created these diseases?

As Dr. Russell Blaylock states, "Although excitotoxins are widely distributed in our food supply, we may not be able to depend upon the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protect us from these toxic, excitatory amino acids" (Blaylock, 1994)

Those most susceptible to the deleterious effects of excitotoxins are the very young and the very old. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) excludes many of these substances because it is a built-in protective mechanism for the central nervous system. However, the BBB is not fully developed in the very young, and it is easily damaged by excitotoxins that cause brain insults in older people.

In 1984, Norma Vera, a medical secretary, was placed for a period at the offices of G.D. Searle International, Inc in Coral Gables, Florida to work with Dr. Miguel Ortega in assisting him in translating Aspartame studies done in Mexico, Argentina, and Guatemala. The human experiments were carried out in six villages and then the field notes from the studies were sent to Mexico for compilation, printing and binding. The villages were broken up into three groups, consisting of fifteen to twenty subjects, in a combination of males and female subjects with the majority being very young people. The test subjects were told that the Aspartame that they would be taking in was a derivative of the papaya fruit (Affidavit of Norma Vera, 2004).

It was not long before the translation of these studies, from Spanish to English, revealed that Aspartame was hazardous to the health of the people being tested. It became Dr. Ortega’s mission to insure that Aspartame was never approved for human consumption. The study results were obvious and chilling. In all six study groups of those given Aspartame, 70% to 80% developed astrocytomas. Ms. Vera stated, "Aspartame usage seemed to cause the brain fluid to thicken and to slow down or completely stop the transmission of signals between brain cells and resulted in Alzheimer’s-like problems." Twenty-five percent to 30% of the groups developed behavioral problems that caused them to become irritable and argumentative, and 10% to 20% of the females in the groups had spontaneous bleeding episodes (Affidavit of Norma Vera, 2004).

Approximately 90%of the subjects experienced either grand mal or petite-mal seizures and 90 – 95% experienced headaches or migraines within a very short time after ingesting Aspartame. The group experienced tremors in muscles, vertigo, disorientation, and loss of balance and loss of memory. One woman began bleeding profusely, had a miscarriage, and was eventually removed from the study (Affidavit of Norma Vera, 2004).

In 1985, Dr. Ortega, who was adamant about Aspartame never being approved, was directed by G.D. Searle to destroy all his records. Dr. Ortega refused to do so and as of today, no one has been able to contact or locate him. It is as if he has vanished off the face of the earth.

Aspartame is not only a deadly substance but the forces behind its approval process have demonstrated to be equally as deadly. Animals and humans alike were subjected to a multitude of "guinea pig" tests as they were unknowingly used in experiments. Aspartame should have never been approved based on the information submitted to the FDA, including the information that was not submitted. It is a fact that politics and those with 'hidden agendas' illegally affected the regulatory processes, misused and abused their authority, to bring to market this toxic food additive.

To coin a phrase, "The truth is out there!" However, it has been difficult to come by. Countless victims, including investigators, lawyers, doctors, lay people, teachers, educators, regulators, and whistleblowers, have managed to piece together this highly complex puzzle and now see this issue for what it is. The evidence is overwhelming. Nevertheless, many physicians are afraid of the truth for it would go against their belief in their own system. When a patient comes to them with any of the symptoms listed on the FDA’s adverse reaction list and they are not questioned to whether they are users of Aspartame, that neglected action should be considered medical negligence. The same understanding holds true to the layperson that has a responsibility to do their own research and self-testing.

 

To get to the truth, one would have to punch holes into the world with a propensity for creating a false reality of health. There are large government health associations and many other so-called health groups that have received substantial money, contributions, or stipends from the manufacturers of Aspartame in regards to promoting their product. The very people who are supposed to be helping the public are willingly accepting underhanded bribes, in the name of financial support for their cause, for their own voracious greed and because of this diabolical system, the truth is screaming to be set free.

In 1993 the FDA approved Aspartame as an ingredient in numerous food items and removed all restrictions from Aspartame allowing it to be used in everything, including all heated and baked goods.

Concerns about Aspartame frequently revolve around symptoms and health conditions that are allegedly caused by this artificial sweetener. In February of 1994, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the listing of adverse reactions from Aspartame reported to the FDA (DHHS, 1994). Aspartame in the food supply accounted for more than 75 % of all adverse reactions reported to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) to adverse reactions to this substance in the food supply from 1981 to 1995 (Food Chemical News, 1995). In 1995, FDA Epidemiology Branch Chief Thomas Wilcox reported that there are over one hundred thousand complaints now registered at the FDA and 92 different symptoms, including death; health conditions including Parkinsons, ALS, seizures Alzheimer’s and MS have been reported by physicians and consumers to the FDA. (Department of Health & Human Services, 1993).

However, the FDA now has plans to discourage or even misdirect complaints about Aspartame to the suicide hotline. Apparently, they don’t have the manpower to handle all the calls. The saddest fact about all of this is that most victims have not taken the time to educate themselves about the misinformation disseminated out by the companies manufacturing this poison. In December 1992, G.D. Searle's patent extensions on Aspartame expired, allowing other companies to produce Aspartame as well.

As Dr. James Bowen told the FDA many years ago: "the only responsible action would be to immediately take Aspartame off the market, fully disclose its toxicities, offer full compensation to the injured, public and criminally prosecute anyone who participated in the fraudulent placement of Aspartame on the marketplace. That includes those who work so diligently to keep it on the market as well." The FDA still finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general-purpose sweetener in food.

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