Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress….the word for today it seems. For the two years, we have been exploring the use of our product, Cur-OST, in horses with arthritis, navicular disease and laminitis. We have seen some dramatic results, but were somewhat perplexed as to why. We published one trial in the AHVMA journal this year revealing how we were able to reduce joint inflammatory mediators with use of the product. By reducing these mediators, we were able to relieve pain and inflammation, which lead to our results clinically. About 4 months ago, we purchased a device called the FRAS-4. This stands for Free Radical Analytical System, made in Italy and just recently released in the USA. The device was designed and intended for human oxidative stress research, but we have implemented in our clinical trials as well as in our veterinary practice. So, what does the device measure. Specifically, it measures the levels of free radicals or reactive oxygen species as well as the antioxidant potential in a small sample of blood from the patient. What we are looking for is evidence of OXIDATIVE STRESS. Oxidative stress is a clinical situation in which free radicals outnumber the ability of the antioxidants. Free radicals or ROS are unstable oxygen derivatives that can lead to clinical disease such as inflammation if the levels get too high. Antioxidants are molecules that essentially neutralize the free radicals, keeping them in check if you will. There is a tremendous amount of human research that is pointing towards oxidative stress as being a major component to various diseases, including diabetes, cancer, bowell disorders, cardiovascular disease and many others.

So…what have we found out. In our horses trials, specifically those with insulin resistance and laminitis, we have discovered that about 98% of those patients are undergoing oxidative stress. When we put them on the Cur-OST product and recheck them in 14 days, we note that their oxidative stress levels are markedly improved as well as the overall lameness of the horse. We are currently in the process of trying to get our data published for equine veterinarians to view.

After reviewing this new trial data as well as our past data, it appears that the Cur-OST blend is working via two methods to improve patient health and lameness: reducing inflammatory proteins such as PGE-2 and MMP-9 as well as reducing free radical levels and increasing antioxidant potential. That is incredible and so far no side effects…only benefits.

We have been also reviewing overall health of dogs with the FRAS-4 device and are finding similiar results. It does appear that oxidative stress has a major role in many clinical diseases. We are not alone in this viewpoint. There is a tremendous amount of human research data out there to support it. In fact, an article was just released in May 2009 in the journal “Free Radical Biology & Medicine” by authors Ando and Fujita. The article is titled “Metabolic Syndrome and Oxidative Stress” and details how oxidative stress is a key player in the development of insulin resistance in humans and how antioxidants seem to abolish or decrease the clinical disease. Fascinating information.

Stay tuned for more….and thanks for viewing.