June 2005

Top health website features JVSR research

One of the most popular alternative health websites on the Internet -- www.mercola.com ‑‑ featured a research report from the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research that explored the link between chiropractic and basic physiological processes that influence oxidative stress and DNA repair.

The lead researcher was Christopher Kent, DC, who serves on the board of directors of the World Chiropractic Alliance and is president of the Council on Chiropractic Practice.

The research compared the serum thiol levels of patients with active disease to subjects with 8‑52 weeks of chiropractic care and subjects who had been under chiropractic care for 52‑312 weeks. They found statistically significant differences in the serum thiol levels in all of the three groups.

Mean serum thiol levels were lowest in patients with active disease as well as patients with initial musculoskeletal complaints. Asymptomatic subjects under chiropractic care demonstrated higher mean serum thiol levels than patients with active disease. Mean serum thiol levels were highest in the group with 52‑312 weeks of chiropractic care.

Serum thiols are a measure of human health status. It is a surrogate estimate of DNA repair enzyme activity, most notably poly ADP ‑‑ ribose polymerase or PARP. Higher numbers indicate a better rate of DNA repair.

The Mercola site noted: "Researchers found that chiropractic care could affect the basic physiological processes that influence oxidative stress and DNA repair" and that "independent of age, sex or taking nutritional supplements, long‑term chiropractic care of two or more years re‑established a normal physiological state in patients."

In addition, the Internet report concluded, chiropractors apply spinal adjustments to correct disturbances of nerve function; thus, chiropractic care appears to improve a patient's ability to adapt to stress.

In his comments following the report, Joseph Mercola wrote: "I'm a strong believer in traditional chiropractic philosophy, which places a strong emphasis on the body's innate healing wisdom and relies much less on Band‑Aids like drugs and surgery." Mercola is an osteopath and chairman of the family medicine department at St. Alexius Medical Center. His site is ranked as the "most visited natural heath content site" by alexa.com, a web rating company owned by Amazon.com. It ranks higher than the Life Extension Foundation, the Atkins Center, Prevention Magazine and websites by Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil and Julian Whitaker.