Biofilm Basics by Bob Henke of The Post Star

One of the most pervasive life forms is called biofilm. A biofilm is most easily understood by thinking of it as simply a slimy colony of bacteria. It turns out very few bacteria are actually free-living; more than 99 percent live in biofilms.

The nature of these biofilms is exceptionally variable. Some are actually moveable, with the whole group oozing about seeking good habitat. Others fasten to some host or strata and remain there, at times virtually impossible to remove. These little bacteria cities may be composed of a single species of bacteria or there may be several different types living together.

Each bacteria in these aggregations exudes a slippery, sugary substance that forms a case over them all, protecting them from attack by other unicellular animals as well as ensuring that any food produced by the group remains with the group. In some of the larger biofilms, the species involved may have complementary metabolisms, that is one species uses as food the materials excreted by others and vice versa.

Biofilms are found everywhere from on sheer rock faces at the top of mountains to plastic surgery implants. The cause of most childhood inner ear infections is a biofilm and biofilm infections ranging from surgical wound infections to heart valve infections kill more than 40,000 Americans annually, more than die from cancer.

The reason they are so troublesome is because most drugs cannot penetrate the biofilm’s tough exterior. The reason for this and the reason biofilms are so intrinsically dangerous is their ability to communicate and thereby keep all the colony residents working toward a single result.

The nature of this communication is at once fascinating and a critical research need. In simplest form, the communication is chemically based. The individual bacteria pump out streams of chemicals which are varied, depending on the message. Other bacteria receive, make note and take appropriate action before duplicating the chemical sonnet and sending it along. In this way they can change direction, change the permeability of the film to let in nutrients or let out waste products or perform a host of other activities.

One of the key chemical phrases researchers are investigating is called a quorum sensor. This is, simply put, how a bacterium knows it is not alone.

The quorum sensing process works like this: A bacteria routinely produces what is called an autoinducer chemical. When the bacteria in turn senses a great concentration of autoinducer chemical returning to it, meaning there are a lot of other bacteria nearby, the gene for biofilm production is turned on and all members of the cohort begin producing the impermeable covering. Inside an animal, this makes the colony invulnerable to attack from, for example, antibiotics given to cure the sinus infection the biofilm is causing.

If researchers can discover the exact chemical signature of this autoinducer, it may be possible to convince the bacteria they are all alone causing them to abandon the biofilm and travel about, making treatment of the malady much easier and straightforward.

This esoteric-seeming research could ultimately save millions of lives. I wish they could also find something that would make me quit communicating long enough to save mine.

Bob Henke may be contacted by mail c/o The Post-Star, email at bobhenke@capital.net, on Twitter at @BobHenke, or on Facebook.

The practice of Dr. Marcus Ettinger

“Give Yourself and Your Loved Ones the Gift of Health”

December Heart Health Check (Open to the public)
Monday, December 5th thru Friday, December 16th

In addition to all of my standard treatments,during these two weeks, I will be paying extra attention to your cardiovascular health – preventative cardiology. From breakthrough lab testing, nutritional protocols and my new MaxPulse device, for screening the cardiovascular/autonomic nervous system*, I have something for everyone.

PS. my October 28th cardio screening sold-out – 30 spots!

*Autonomic nervous system: Part of the nervous system that was once thought to be functionally independent of the brain. The autonomic nervous system regulates key functions of the body including the activity of the heart muscle, the smooth muscles (e.g., the muscles of the intestinal tract), and the glands.

Dear Patients, Family and Friends:

I hope this e-mail finds you all happy and healthy.

Monday, December 5th thru Friday, 16th – In addition to all of my standard treatments, I will be focusing on your cardiovascular health.  From breakthrough lab testing protocols, nutritional protocols and my new MaxPulse device, for screening the cardiovascular/autonomic nervous system. “Remember, Prevention is the Cure.”

Why? Because Cardiovascular Disease is North America’s #1 cause of [preventable] death and it exceeds the next four causes of death combined.  Also, 70% of our population is either suffering from high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or high cholesterol/triglycerides.  I have the knowledege and ability to handle all of these body challenges – and I want to help!

I want all of you reading this to be tested so we can be sure your heart-health is tip-top.  Please take me up on this and be a part of this screening (ages 30 and up).  You are encouraged to invite family and friends to be tested as well – it’s that important.  I feel this is just another piece of the puzzle in achieving your overall health and wellness goal.  As you all know, I want everyone of you to live a long and healthy life and it begins with educating yourself on your current state of [heart] health. Ignorance is not bliss – it’s expensive and painful!

Some of what we will find out from the MaxPulse Assessment:

1. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) – Determines one’s overall health status and autonomic nerve system. “Meta-analyses of published data demonstrate that reduced cardiovascular autonomic function, as measured by heart rate variability, is strongly associated with an increased risk of silent myocardial ischemia (lack of oxygen to the heart w/o symptoms) and mortality (DEATH).”
2. Differential Pulse Wave Index (DPI) – Overall cardiovascular health.
3. Eccentric Constriction (EC) – Constriction power of vessels from the left ventricle.
4. Arterial Elasticity (AE) – Analysis blood circulation and elasticity and resistance of the arteries.
5. Remaining Blood Volume (RBV) – Remaining blood in the vessels after systolic contraction of the heart.
6. Wave Type – Aging vascular health indicator.
7. Mean Heart Rate – Average beats per minute or heart rate.
8. Arteriosclerosis Progress – 7 pictorial wave types showing typical artery status.
9. Stress Score – Overall stress health compared to resistance levels.
10. Stress Levels – Mental stress, physical stress, and resistance to stress.
11. Changes in pressure, velocity, blood volume, and other indices.

You will receive your MaxPulse results the same day and I will give you a copy to keep. The Max Pulse™ testing device will give both of us a lot of very important data.  The test will also help me to assess your nutritional and/or pharmaceutical needs, as well as show the effectiveness of lifestyle changes, recommended treatments and/or additional diagnostic tests that may be needed.

The MaxPulse Assessment is $50 dollars for an individual, $80 for a couple or $25 if added to your regular visit. You can make an appointment with Stephanie or myself @ (714)639-4360. P.S. We have all spent more than $50 dollars on “things” far less important than testing the health of our heart.

Available cardio related lab tests: (all labs are done at my cost) Please call or e-mail if you have any questions related to blood tests. Full blood panels are also available – at cost.  My most popular cardio combo*

1. *VAP Cholesterol Test – By reporting 22 different components of cholesterol, the VAP Test identifies risks you can’t see with a standard lipid panel. ($75) retail over $200
2. *Cardio C-Reactive Protein (CRP) – Measures vascular inflammation, a strong indicator of future cardiovascular events. ($20) Retail over $75
3. Homocysteine – high homocysteine levels represent an important independent risk factor for coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, peripheral atherosclerosis, and venous thromboembolism (the blockage of a blood vessel by a migrating clot).
4. Fibrinogin – Fibrinogen is a protein that plays a key role in blood clotting.  Fibrinogen is a sticky, fibrous coagulant in the blood that appears to significantly increase the risk of experiencing one of the leading causes of death and disability – stroke. ($20) Retail over $50
5. *Fasting Glucose – Elevated blood glucose (sugar) is an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and elevated blood lipids (fats). ($10) Retail over $25
6. A1C – Elevated A1C, with or without being a diabetic is directly assciated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and ($30) Retail over $60
7. Standard Lipid Panel – Total Cholesterol, Triglicerides, HDL’s, LDS’s and VLDL’s. ($20) Retail over $70

Call today to set your appointment (714) 639-4360.  I Hope to see you soon.

Sincerely,

Dr. Marcus Ettinger

Additional Reading:

Microvascular and Macrovascular Complications of Diabetes

Heart Disease Facts and Statistics

5 ways to make your heart live longer

How to Lower High Triglyceride Levels through Dietary and Lifestyle Changes

Dr. Marcus Ettinger
630 S. Glassell St. #103
Orange, CA 92866
www.advancedhealing.com

Dr. Dao Nguyen, now at McGill University, trained in the University of Washington lab of Dr. Pradeep Singh, a lung specialist who studies bacterial biofilm infections.

“A chief cause of the resistance of biofilms is that bacteria on the outside of the clusters have the first shot at the nutrients that diffuse in,” said Pradeep Singh, associate professor of medicine and microbiology at the University of Washington.

“This produces starvation of the bacteria inside clusters, and severe resistance to (their) killing,” added the senior study author, the journal Science reports.

“Bacteria become starved when they exhaust nutrient supplies in the (infected) body, or if they live clustered together in groups known as biofilms,” said study co-author Dao Nguyen, assistant professor of medicine at Montreal’s McGill University.

Preventing pathogenic bacteria from sensing nutrient starvation may present a new therapeutic approach to increasing antibiotic efficacy and preventing drug resistance, researchers claim. A team led by McGill University investigators has found that blocking an active mechanism used by bacteria to respond to starvation by slowing their growth significantly reduces the natural tolerance to antibiotics that infectious organisms develop when nutrient supplies become low.

The investigators work is reported in Science in a paper titled “Active Starvation Responses Mediate Antibiotic Tolerance in Biofilms and Nutrient-Limited Bacteria.” Pradeep K. Singh, Ph.D., Dao Nguyen, Ph.D., and colleagues

Abstract:

Bacteria become highly tolerant to antibiotics when nutrients are limited. The inactivity of antibiotic targets caused by starvation-induced growth arrest is thought to be a key mechanism producing tolerance. Here we show that the antibiotic tolerance of nutrient-limited and biofilm Pseudomonas aeruginosa is mediated by active responses to starvation, rather than by the passive effects of growth arrest. The protective mechanism is controlled by the starvation-signaling stringent response (SR), and our experiments link SR-mediated tolerance to reduced levels of oxidant stress in bacterial cells. Furthermore, inactivating this protective mechanism sensitized biofilms by several orders of magnitude to four different classes of antibiotics and markedly enhanced the efficacy of antibiotic treatment in experimental infections.

You can read all of my biofilm posts here

10/21/2011 (Yelp Post) Please do not use this company! My name is Dr. Marcus Ettinger and I had the misfortune of using this company to move me from a rental home to our new residence. Not only did the crew claim more hours than they actually put in, they effected almost all of our furniture in a negative way. Our Kenmore Elite dryer (top caved-in), speaker fabric on our 56″ TV (shredded), patio Sunbrella furniture fabric (torn), Mattress (torn), Brushed stainless front to our refrigerator (scratched), $1000 french art picture frame (major scratch)….

I talked with multiple parties, including the new VP – No call back – no apologies – no handling. Not only was the crew not trained, O’ Neil didn’t even seam to give a shit.

bottom-line: if you want to take a chance with the health of your personal possessions, than go right ahead and use O’Neil. On the other hand, if you value what you own – use someone else or take out full replacement value insurance.

Personally, I feel these guys don’t give a shit about me or you. bottom line is they just want money and to get a job done as fast as humanly possible.

If you want to talk with me personally about the nightmare I went through with O’ Neil Relocation, please feel free to call me at 714-639-4360

Dr. Marcus Ettinger

Comment from Dennis A. of O’ Neil Relocation-United Van Lines Agent 11/18/2011

Was this before or after we paid your claim and you cancelled your credit card defrauding us of the payment for your move?

My Response Back 11/18/2011

Dennis,

Your payment in which you are talking about was on a per pound rate. This is a standard contract rate. I have paper work that shows I was never offered any insurance coverage and the woman who came to our house never went over any options with us. I cashed the check and then filed a claim with AmEx. AmEx automatically credits back my account while an investigation is under way. I have sent them photographs and all supporting documents. It is in their hand now. I did not cancel my card, I am doing this according to AmEx policy.

Why don’t you come over to my house and see the damage your movers caused. I also put my phone number on my post, so if you have something on your mind you should just call – rather than LIE about what I’m doing.

The funny thing here is that O’Neil Relocation got paid, well, to move me and delivered such a shameful product that it confounds me that you are even commenting here. If it were my business, I would have done everything in my power to make it right. Nothing more the SOP was done. So sad because now you have a pissed off customer.

Dragging our mattress across the flow and burning holes in our fitted sheet

Dragging our bed frame across the wall (3' scratch - needed repainting)

7" long scratch on my $1000 French art poster frame (6'x4' frame)

More to come! Including my e-mails sent to corporate minutes after the move was completed.

From: Dr. Marcus Ettinger mailto:info@advancedhealing.com]
Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2011 6:14 PM
To: ‘audrey copeland’
Subject: RE: Ettinger 10538-1 revised 7/30 Your United Van Lines Quote

Message sent: 30 July 2011 (6:13pm)
Move time 8:15am-2:30pm

Audrey,

Please give me a call on Monday when you get in. We had some problems w/this crew and would like to discuss w/you. They were very carless and I would not recommend sending them out to move any of your other clients. This is our third move w/you and the last two went flawlessly. This one was not good! I will go over the details and the damage report Monday.
This is an assumption here but were these guys subcontracted? The last two crews were so professional, SPOKE ENGLISH, and had a high degree responsibility. I can’t say this for the crew that moved us today.
I am bummed that I have to do this but I can’t let this happen to another of your loyal customers.
Sincerely,

Dr. Ettinger

My Testimonial

Growth at the age of 18 usually pertains to mental and physical changes of an affirmative nature-one entering long awaited adulthood. This transition is a defining moment, submerge within human mushrooming, that manifests the liberating self within-the adult. A period as such begs for last youthful, teenage, adolescent kicks before the initial throw into survival for personal prevail.. We always look back years later, reminisce of the high school times, of its euphoric, trivially troubled, apathetic and awkwardly clumsy moments with jubilance and just sigh. This sort of ease I was not granted with, for at this time I developed a gluten and dairy intolerance.

Starting with just simple pain, it escalated to chronic visits to the bathroom, metamorphose into crude IBS, simultaneously arousing a type of acid relax which brought nothing but unprecedented pain, discomfort, or simply-terrible depressing life. After many visits to the doctor, pills, pills, and more pills were prescribed. The assumed acid reflux did nothing but add to the issues. My stomach felt destroyed. I thought if I limited my food intake, such as spice, and just eat simple foods like bread symptoms would ease-they only showered. The details are terrible of the pain I underwent every day for about a year.

Turning to the internet and easing of pills helped. Soon I was on some holistic herbal pills (name I do not recall), which seemed to help. After months and months I finally stumbled onto a forum that matched my symptoms and I dove into its contents. Having never heard of gluten intolerance, and having an imbedded humor towards lactose intolerance there was no consideration of it. And then, somehow, by some cosmic infinitesimally small chance, Dr. Ettinger had a meager response to someone’s statement on this ambiguous forum. After reluctant search I reached his website and made an appointment. BEST DECISION, EVER.

At this point in time, I entered his office hopeless and depressed. The chemical spark within was never this lifeless. Following thorough dietary details Dr. Ettinger’s immediate response and conclusion was that I, in fact, was gluten intolerant and everything my body digested was poison for it. Skipping the initial shock, it was quite difficult to cope with such news and to develop an acute sensory as well as filtration system to accommodate my bodily needs. Trials and errors persisted, stumbles and falls waved in. Still, improvement showed. Slowly, but in actuality promptly, my body underwent a speedy rehabilitation and I felt amazing.

Remembrance of such joy, such avid taste of my anatomies equilibrium was elusive. I finally returned to my body’s normalcy. I still took in diary, only to realize a bit later that that too was an allergen. After its elimination I never felt better. It has now been about a year since I’ve been gluten and dairy free. It has been difficult but worth it. Crudely, perhaps in a bit exaggerated manner, I do not know if I would have survived without this simple analysis. I can now have gluten and dairy occasionally and feel no symptoms (if necessary). This is not some requested testimonial, there is no higher truth. Dr. Ettinger possesses healing knowledge for all, and I still joke around that he should somehow replicate himself in the health profession for others to benefit from. If I was a millionaire I would definitely pay him generously. Unfortunately I’m not, and I owe him greatly for all he’s done. I still visit whenever I can just for a check-up.

Best regards,

-Rokas

Bronchiolitis

My son Alex started having breathing problems at 4 months of age. You could hear the congestion in his nose and the rattle in his chest. By 5 months he developed pneumonia. Alex was referred to by his pediatrician to a specialist at St Joseph’s hospital, who placed him on a few put him on multiple medications.

At 7 months, Alex developed bronchiolitis (def. swelling and mucus buildup in the smallest air passages in the lungs (bronchioles), usually due to a viral infection). Again, he was seen by the specialist and put on more meds. Also, Alex had 3 double ear infections and 5 single ear infections with in 8 months of age.

Our baby has endured being forcefully held down so that the x-rays could be taken, vials and vials of blood taken from him for testing, etc… The specialist diagnosed him with chronic sinusitis, allergies and asthma.

Alex has been prescribed the following by his previous doctors: Prednisone 2x/day, Pulmicort 3x/day, Albuterol, 2x/day, Nasonex, Augmentin, and Orapred. We did see improvement for a week or so but the symptoms always returned and the same rounds of medications were prescribed over and over again. I would get-up at 5:00am to give him his breathing treatments and would drive home from work at lunch so I could give him his mid-day breathing treatment. These breathing treatments, alone, took 40 minutes to administer 3x/day.

We had our first visit with Dr. Ettinger, on May 4th, after being highly recommended by a close friend. Within 2 weeks of under Dr. Ettinger’s care, Alex was taken off all medications listed above. He has been in Dr. Ettinger’s care for about 2 months now and his breathing problems have disappeared.

Previously, a cold to Alex was a guarantee for major medications. Now, no more waiting days to get a Dr’s appointment, no more endless waits in a waiting room, full of sick children and no more trips to urgent care at 2:00am.

Alex is now a happy 10 month old. I can’t tell you how stressful our life was before meeting Dr. Ettinger. I highly recommend Dr. Ettinger and deeply thank him for all his help. Dr. Ettinger’s approach has been a complete success.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Gonzales

Chiron, the master of the healing arts and his student Achilles

I have been to at least 10 chiropractors in my lifetime and Dr. Ettinger is the ONLY one that has done it perfectly. The previous chiropractors I’ve been to, for some reason, couldn’t  ever get my neck to adjust. I came to Dr. Ettinger and it was amazing how good he gets it to go. Even the lower back – he does it perfectly.

I’ve been to Dr’s that would do table-drops to adjust my lower back and MAN, that just made it worse! This just confirms that there are many chiropractors that do not know how to do their work right. Maybe, you just have to be born with the gift and Dr. Ettinger is one of the “chosen few” born with such a gift.

When I get a migraine, I come right in, he adjusts me, and the migraine INSTANTLY goes away. Dr. Ettinger is the answer to my chiropractic prayers, a true miracle.

Thank you Dr. Ettinger, you are #1 in my book.

C. George

Dear Dr.  Ettinger,

I wanted to thank you for you and your wife’s guidance through my weight-loss with Ultra-Lite.

I had spent more than 20 years well over 200 pounds and had tried other programs with limited results, unable to successfully lose over 30 pounds.  Ultra-Lite was the first program that I could maintain focus, eat real food (no processed foods), while losing weight. No loss of skin tone (wrinkles) and I actually ended up looking younger.

Your weekly guidance and check-ins were essential for me because I had decided not see any of my losses during weigh-ins (did not look at the scale and I did not want to know how much I was losing).  I was told weekly that I had great weight-loss but never the exact amount.  Having my measurements taken was important also because I knew I was losing inches, but I didn’t need to know the specifics. Sometimes my inches lost was greater than a weight loss. Others on the program, I am sure need to use the specific, weight-loss, information for motivation and they will get it. But for me, I would have just played around with the numbers and try to get away with cheating if I had known my exact weight-loss.  For me, not knowing my exact weight-loss enabled me to focus on just staying on program.

After a few weeks the healthy eating resulted in more energy with, of course, my cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels going down.  I lost 65 pounds in a matter of 7 months. Getting rid of all the size 20-24 clothes was so rewarding and now living a healthy lifestyle is very satisfying.

Thank you again,

M.D.
Orange, CA

The Ultra Lite weight-loss/diabetes reversal program is different from the vast majority of other weight-loss programs on the market today – it’s not just a quick fix. The Ultra Lite program is a long-term weight stabilizer that will re-train your body to limit the cravings for food, especially carbohydrates (breads, sugar, etc…).

According to Body4Me.com, when using the Ultra Lite program, you learn to live a healthier life, as the program emphasizes healthier eating and exercise as opposed to potentially risky weight loss pills and meal replacement methods. Another reason that the program has received good reviews is that it is effective for both men and women. The program not only teaches participants to following a healthier lifestyle, it’s also tailored to fit each person differently. Other weight loss programs are not individualized, as the Ultra Lite program is, and often have different results for different people.

*The average client on the Ultra Lite program can expect to lose an average of 2.5-3.0 pounds per week, over a typical 10 week program, with an average of 2.0-2.5 pounds thereafter.  The average client who enrolls on the Ultra Lite program needs to lose between 25 and 35 lbs. Clients have lost as much as 100 pounds following this program. A common by-product of following the Ultra Lite program is: blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride normalization, as is clearer and more vibrant skin, sharper memory, and renewed energy.

*Based on clinical observation of clients on the Ultra Lite Program at my office in Orange, CA.

“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.”

“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.” Buddha

Do we create/influence our level of health and ill health/disease?

In over 22 years of helping thousands of patients, I would say that at least 90+% of our current state of health is self-created. 10% +/- is pure genetics, which may be influenced, negatively or positively, by our daily acts.

So, which diseases are predominately caused by US, knowingly/on-purpose (smoking, poor eating habits, lack of exercise, drugs, excessive alcohol, chemicals, avoidable stressors….) or unknowingly (basically, lack of knowing that the acts just listed are health damaging)?

First and foremost:

• Diabetes (pre-diabetes and insulin resistance)
• High Cholesterol
• Hypertension / High Blood Pressure
• Obesity / Over-Weight
• Osteoporosis
• Heart Disease
• Cancer

Other conditions that are very strongly related to what we do or don’t do to our body:

• Alzheimer’s
• Auto Immune Conditions (middle age onset)

Which diseases respond the best to lifestyle modification (diet, exercise and target nutritional supplementation) than the do to potentially dangerous drugs?

• Diabetes (pre-diabetes and insulin resistance)
• High Cholesterol
• Hypertension / High Blood Pressure
• Obesity / Over-Weight
• Osteoporosis
• Heart Disease
• Stomach and GI Conditions (Ulcer, Ulcerative Colitis, Irritable Bowel Disease, Crohn’s Disease…)
• Eczema
• Cancer (as a preventative more so than a treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation are even worse as a long-term treatment, as success is only measured as, “being alive five years post original diagnosis, no matter what the state the cancer is in at that time”).

The above disease states, as well as many more not listed, can and have be treated, with almost 100% effectiveness, utilizing lifestyle modifications, alone.

Here is a set of questions to see if there needs to be some attention paid to the topic of health. Please email me back with your responses and/or questions (cut and paste) – info@advancedhealing.com. If you are presently under active care, then this would apply to anyone you know that would benefit from my help.

Do you or someone you know have any of the above conditions?

1. If there was an easy, safe, affordable and effective way to reverse the condition/disease would you be interested in knowing more about it?
2. Is there something stopping you from getting better?
3. Is there something about your present state of health that needs changing? What is it?
4. If on a medication, would you like to get off of it, if it were possible?
5. Do you ever complain about how bad you feel?
6. Do you move with pain or lack of breath?
7. Does having more energy, living longer and healthier interest you?
8. Would you like to save money on your health care spending?

In 22+ years of active practice I have helped thousands of people, just like you, live happier and more productive lives. All without the use of harmful drugs. There is no better time to make your health a priority, than right now. You owe it to yourself to live every day to the fullest, without pain or illness.

I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Marcus Ettinger