The Body is Just A Biochemical Factory or Is It?

 

Following my article posted only a few hours ago here:

Allopathic, vs. Osteopathic and Other Systems of Medicine: A Choice in Therapeutic Regimen

 https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/2024/

 We in conventional medicine unfortunately tend to treat the human body as some kind of biochemical factory producing various hormones, enzymes in health or in disease. We seldom treat the patient holistically as a person with a mind, body and soul. We look at the body as some kind of chemistry with normal and abnormal levels.  Some simple common ones in disease we look for are (examples):

1. Diabetes Mellitus:
• Hormone: Insulin (deficiency or resistance)
• Enzyme: Glucokinase, which is involved in glucose metabolism
• Biochemical process: Impaired glucose uptake and utilization, leading to hyperglycaemia.
2. Hyperthyroidism:
• Hormone: Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3)
• Enzyme: Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO), involved in thyroid hormone synthesis
• Biochemical process: Elevated levels of thyroid hormones leading to increased metabolism, weight loss, and other symptoms.
3. Cushing's Syndrome:
• Hormone: Cortisol (excess production)
• Enzyme: 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, which regulates cortisol levels
• Biochemical process: Excess cortisol production leading to symptoms such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and muscle weakness.
4. Hemochromatosis:
• Hormone: Hepcidin (decreased levels)
• Enzyme: HFE protein, involved in iron metabolism
• Biochemical process: Excessive iron absorption leading to iron overload in tissues and organs.
5. Parkinson's Disease:
• Neurotransmitter: Dopamine (decreased levels)
• Enzyme: Monoamine oxidase (MAO), involved in dopamine metabolism
• Biochemical process: Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the brain leading to motor symptoms like tremors and rigidity.
6. Hypothyroidism:
• Hormone: Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (elevated levels)
• Enzyme: Thyroid peroxidase (TPO), involved in thyroid hormone synthesis
• Biochemical process: Decreased levels of thyroid hormones leading to symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, and cold intolerance.
7. Alzheimer's Disease:
• Neurotransmitter: Acetylcholine (decreased levels)
• Enzyme: Acetylcholinesterase, which breaks down acetylcholine
• Biochemical process: Neurodegeneration and accumulation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain leading to cognitive decline.
8. Gout:
• Metabolite: Uric acid (elevated levels)
• Enzyme: Xanthine oxidase, involved in the metabolism of purines
• Biochemical process: Accumulation of uric acid crystals in joints leading to inflammation and pain.

Even during an Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack, there are several enzymes that are released into the bloodstream due to damage to the heart muscle. These enzymes we used as biomarkers to diagnose and assess the extent of myocardial damage. The main enzymes released during an AMI include:

Creatine Kinase (CK):

CK is an enzyme found in various tissues, including the heart. There are different forms of CK, with CK-MB being specific to the heart muscle (cardiac muscle). Elevated levels of CK-MB in the blood indicate myocardial damage.

Troponin:

Troponin is a complex of proteins found in cardiac muscle cells. Troponin T (cTnT) and Troponin I (cTnI) are specific to cardiac muscle. These proteins are released into the bloodstream when there is damage to the heart muscle. Troponin levels rise within a few hours after myocardial injury and remain elevated for several days, making it a sensitive and specific biomarker for AMI.

Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH):

LDH is an enzyme found in various tissues, including the heart. Elevated levels of LDH in the blood can indicate tissue damage, including damage to the heart muscle. LDH levels may rise within a day or two after the onset of myocardial infarction.

Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST):

AST is an enzyme found in various tissues, including the heart, liver, and muscles. Elevated levels of AST in the blood can indicate damage to these tissues. AST levels may rise within a day or two after an AMI, but it is less specific to cardiac injury compared to CK-MB and troponin.

There are many more examples such as enzymes expressed by the liver. The liver is a vital organ responsible for numerous biochemical processes in the body. Several enzymes are produced or predominantly expressed by the liver, and changes in their levels can indicate liver dysfunction or specific liver disorders. Here are some important liver enzymes and their clinical significance during liver disorders:

1. Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT):
• ALT is primarily found in liver cells and is released into the bloodstream when liver cells are damaged. Elevated ALT levels are commonly seen in liver diseases such as hepatitis, fatty liver disease, and liver cirrhosis. ALT is often used as a marker of liver inflammation and injury.
2. Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST):
• AST is found in various tissues, including the liver, heart, and muscles. Elevated AST levels can indicate liver damage, but they are less specific to liver injury compared to ALT. AST levels can be elevated in liver diseases such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.
3. Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP):
• ALP is an enzyme found in the liver, bones, bile ducts, and other tissues. Elevated ALP levels can indicate liver diseases that affect bile flow, such as cholestasis, bile duct obstruction, or liver tumours. ALP levels may also be elevated in bone disorders.
4. Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase (GGT):
• GGT is found in various tissues, with high concentrations in the liver. Elevated GGT levels can indicate liver diseases such as hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, and bile duct obstruction. GGT levels are particularly sensitive to alcohol consumption and may be used as a marker of excessive alcohol intake.
5. Bilirubin:
• Bilirubin is a pigment produced during the breakdown of red blood cells. Elevated bilirubin levels can indicate liver diseases such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, or bile duct obstruction. Jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes, occurs when bilirubin levels are significantly elevated, indicating liver dysfunction.
6. Prothrombin Time (PT) and International Normalized Ratio (INR):
• While not enzymes, PT and INR are measures of blood clotting function, which are influenced by the liver's production of clotting factors. Prolonged PT and elevated INR can indicate liver dysfunction, particularly in advanced liver disease such as cirrhosis, where the liver's synthetic function is impaired.

Monitoring these liver enzymes and other markers can help us diagnose liver disorders, assess the severity of liver disease, and monitor treatment responses.

So, clinicians in allopathic conventional medicine are interested in all these above biochemical pathologies. They look for them, not bothering why or how the patient got them. 

If they are too high or too low, we need to treat their expression using some drugs that can act as an inhibitor or blocker. We can successfully do all these as long as we continue to give the drug. Unfortunately, the underlying causes are still there like a flowing river. We seldom address their root causes to treat them, nor do we teach the patients how to deal with them through health education.

If a doctor who is interested in looking only at the results of the blood tests whether high, normal or low, and not how or why he has them, say, given in the above examples, then he is only looking at the disease the person has, and not looking or treating how or why the patient has them. He is only looking and treating body parts. He is treating the body as some kind of a chemical factory producing them, and not the patient as a person that has a body, mind and soul. He is only interested in the disease, not the health of the person. Such an approach falls outside the ambit of the official definition of health clearly defined buy the World Health Organization (WHO) that clearly states, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

WHO remains firmly committed to this principle and definition set out in the preamble of its Constitution.

Doctors need to be reminded the quotes of two greatest physicians of all who said:  

“Treat the person, not the disease” (Hippocrates: Father of Ancient Medicine)

“It is much more important to know what sort of a patient who has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has”. (Sir William Osler. Father of Modern Medicine).

By knowing how and why the person has the disease, say as shown in his blood tests above (example) or in other radiological examination, scans, biopsy or other investigations, the clinician would be able to go into the root causes of the diseases rather than its effects (abnormalities in the biochemical, haematological, immunological, serological values, etc). Once the root causes are identified, only then   can the physician educate the patient on how to prevent, or even permanently cure him as a person, and not the disease he has. This would be more fitting to the definition of health prescribed by WHO and both the ancient and modern Father of Medicine. Just prescribing drugs to a patient will not cure him of his chronic ills.

Treating him with drugs only is like treating the patient as a chemical factory producing abnormal biochemistries and pathologies. We have not gone into his root causes as the patient is a person with a body, mind and soul.  

 “The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.” (Sir William Osler)

Even genetic diseases need not necessarily mean the faulty genes must express themselves if we managed to keep all other compounding factors in control.  

We do not blame patients who went away to look for some other alternative treatment when they have been taking all the prescription medicines for years with no cure in sight.

The word “cure” means a patient needs only application of the medicine or only one treatment. 

There are many other complementary and alternative systems of medicine practiced around the world, each with its own unique principles and techniques, and a lot of patients seek a cure from other systems of medicines when they found drug-based conventional medicine has not cured them except just to control their disease.

WHO reported that at least 80 % of the world population especially in the middle-income countries of Africa and Asia uses some kind of an alternative or traditional medicine. Each medical system has its advantages and disadvantages, its strength and weakness.

Due to their very high acceptances by societies around the world, I think it is best to choose the best therapeutic modality from each system and integrate them into one such as in integrative medicine where conventional mainstream medicine is used together  with other systems to achieve the best healthcare