Volume 1, Issue 2 
2nd Quarter, 2006


The Risk/Benefit Yardsticks Were Just Moved Off the Field: How Technological Convergence Renders Current Risk Assessment Models Obsolete, and What to Do About It

Douglas Mulhall

page 6 of 7

Calcium phosphate crystals physically block blood vessels and organs. Calcium phosphate comprises about twenty percent of all Mulhallthe plaque in the arteries; the so-called "hard plaque." It is also found in the soft plaque and vulnerable plaque that has been identified as leading to heart attacks. It is not often identified in the soft plaque because it cannot be seen unless a tissue sample is taken and specially stained to reveal these tiny calcium phosphate crystals.

The definition of calcification is the deposit of calcium phosphate in parts of the body where it is not supposed to be. It is different from the normal, healthy process that builds bone and teeth. It is not very different, but that difference is all the difference in the world. Less than one percent of the calcium in the body goes haywire, but this is enough to cause a lot of trouble because calcium phosphate is toxic to human tissue. Calcification, as well as hardening the arteries, hardens the skin. Scleroderma, aging of the skin, is also related to calcification, making movement difficult when it invades the joints.

Better Detection
The good news is we are getting much better at finding calcification. In the last 18 to 24 months, CT or CAT (Computerized Axial Tomography) scanners have been able to show the physical progress of calcification for the first time. Many people do not recognize it because it goes by many other names, such as calcified deposits, calcium buildup, calcium salts, crystallization, dystrophic calcification, micro-calcification, ossification, plaque, spurs, and stones.

Many pathogens have been blamed for calcification in heart disease and for heart disease in general, but the interesting thing is that every time we try and attack them, there has been no impact on reducing heart attacks. For example, Chlamydia, Herpes, and Hepatitis A have all been implicated in heart diseases, yet every time we get rid of them, it does not appear to impact heart disease. 

Nanobacteria
Here's the good news. Recent studies show, for the first time, that researchers have been able to reverse coronary artery calcification with a medical treatment. This is a huge breakthrough. It was discovered when NASA scientists identified a tiny nanoparticle that calcifies, and in the lab they found out how to get rid of it. The particle is called nanobacteria.

The reason I have not mentioned the nanobacteria until now is because it is a completely wrong name. They named it in 1992 when they did not know what it was. It is not bacteria; it is not a virus; and it is not a prion (a microscopic protein particle). It is a self-replicating particle that appears to lack sufficient DNA to replicate in the normal way.

It is now hypothesized that there are extremely primitive, self-replicating organisms out there that use calcium and phosphate and that have been around for several hundred million years. These organisms possess the ability to adapt to many environments, including human beings.

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