Anything on Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

[Betty Martini]

Dear Robert:  This is an answer to your post and Richard Kerr's post and 
one by James McIninch who evidently is a Georgia Tech student.  Perhaps I 
can  answer them all by quoting a letter from George L. Tritsch , Ph.D. 
(Ph.D. in biochemistry, Pursue University, 1954) who quotes a recent 
article from a very well respected journal (Cancer Research) and it is as 
recent as June 1995.  I do not know Dr. Tritsch  but he gives his 
credentials as:  1954-56:  Department of Biochemistry, Cornell Medical
                           College, New York
                 1956-59   Rockefeller University, New York
                 1959-1995 Cancer Research Scientist of Roswell Park Center
                           Institute, Buffalo, New York
                 April-95  Retired

There has been a great deal of discussion about the insulin growth factor 
and this discusses IGF as I understand it and as Robert Cohen understands 
it, and has declared to the FDA:

"I am disturbed by the statement made by Land O'Lakes and Cabot Creamery 
that there is a "modest rise in IGF-1 concentration in milk produced by 
BST-supplemented cows."  They further state that this protein is totally 
destroyed during digestion.  This is untrue.  If this were true, there 
would be no such thing as food allergy or the widely used immunization by 
the intestinal route (enteric immunization).  In fact, "allergy to cow's 
milk is the best studied example of food protein allergy."  (J.A. Stein, 
ed., 'Internal Medicine', 1994, page 360-361; Mosby-Year Book Inc.)  The 
unequivocal consequence of drinking milk from BST-supplemented cows is an 
elevated level of IGF-1 in the blood."

"A recent article (Cancer Research, 55:2463-2469, June 1995) from Renato
Baserga's laboratory in Philadelphia has shown clearly that IGF-1 is
required for the establishment and maintenance of tumors.  The mechanism
for this is that IGF-1 protects the cells from apoptosis (programmed cell
death).  IGF accelerates tumor growth and appears to affect the
aggressiveness of tumors.  As the IGF-1 level is decreased, cell death can
take place.  We are talking about IGF-1 levels of 10 nanogram per m1,
i.e., 0.00001 milligram per ml." 

"My concern is that increases in such minute levels could readily enter 
the blood stream of individuals drinking milk from BST treated cows.  As 
an individual ages, indolent tumor cells do appear in various organs 
(breast, ovary, prostate, etc..) which grow slowly with the result that 
clinical cancer is not manifested until old age, or, in many cases, after 
the individual would have died of other causes.  Stimulation of these 
cells by elevated levels of IGF-1 would result in clinical cancer in a 
decade or two or even less.  Furthermore, these levels of IGF-1 could 
stimulate the progression and aggressiveness of childhood leukemias to a 
point that chemotherapy could not be effective, much less curative."

"The widespread  consumption of BST supplemented milk is therefore an 
experiment on an unsuspecting population that could have horrendous 
consequences and overwhelm the health care system.  The experiment would 
take one to three decades when it would be difficult to dismantle a 
well-entrenched BST industry, and still have one to three decades' worth 
of individuals in the pipeline.  I can conceive of no animal experiments 
to test this and to provide hard data to predict the magnitude and time 
frame for this effect.  The risk to benefit ratio of this experiment is 
clearly not in favor of the consumer."

Signed George L. Tritsch      August 7, 1995

About Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.  Please remember that a farmer in 
England got bovine spongiform encephalitis in 1992 or 1993.  He got it 
from a cow!  He later developed Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.  This is a 
well known case.  You could verify this with Dr. Virgil Hulse (503 
535-2623) - its a well documented case.  Pete Hardin with the MilkWeed 
knows about this too 608 455-2400.

Now about the dwarfs in the 1950's they received both human and bovine 
somatrotrophin.  You may remember that the Government did a report - 
Executive Branch of the American Government published this in January, 
1994, a 64 page report.  Incidently, in the appendix, page 65, A-1 it 
tells you that the Russians first used BST in 1936.  One of the growth 
hormones is brought out in the Government report and the other was 
brought out by Moore in 1988, Endocrinology, Volume 122, 2920.  Moore 
discusses BST used on the drawfs!

One of you brought up Robert Cohen.  He's done research on animals and he 
received his B.A. in psychobiology from Southampton College, Long Island 
University.  He conducted research in the field of psychoneuroendocrinology.

He's been researching BST almost since it was put on the market and has
discussed it with scientists all over the world - literally working day 
and night.  I admire him tremendously.  He started this research because 
he was concerned about his children drinking milk.  When he found out how 
dangerous it was he could have just stopped with the warning of his own 
family and friends.  Instead he became concerned for the rest of the 
human race.  He's not made a dime from this project and he devotes day 
and night to gathering information and warning not only his fellow 
Americans but people throughout the world.  That sets him apart from 
those who are only concerned with themselves.  

Robert Cohen once said to me: "A Polish gentlemen by the name of 
Copernicus developed a theory (which had overwhelming opposition) that the 
Earth (and man) was not the center of the solar system.  Copernicus took 
scientific facts - clues which when added together allowed him to 
develop a theory.  I have no scientific credentials.  I have studied the 
sciences and have done research but I do not possess a Ph.D. in my field.
However, a good researcher is one who can step outside of a problem and 
observe that problem from three (or more) dimensions.  A good researcher 
develops a theory.  If that researcher is well funded he is able to test 
his hypothesis."

Remember high school algebra or geometry?  You are given proofs.  A + B= C.
If A is equal to 2 and C is equal 5 what is B?  The cube root of 27!

Anyway, please follow for a moment the mind of Robert Cohen:

Given:  Human ICF-1 has 70 amino acids.
Given:  Bovine IGF-1 has 70 amino acids.
Given:  Human IGF-1 AND Bovine IGF-1 are identical.  The 70 amino acid 
        chain is structurally identical.  

Given:  BST (or bGH) is a bovine growth hormone.
Given:  BST (or hGH) is a human growth hormone.

Given: (According to Hammond and Collier of Monsanto) Bovine milk has 
       been reported to contain trace levels of BST (Malvern 1977) 
       although it is not clear how it enters the milk, since no BST 
       receptors have been identified on the surface of the mammary gland 
       (Akers, 1985).  While the lactating mammary glands of dairy cows do
       not appear to have receptors for BST, it is conceivable that the
       galactopoietic effect of BST may be mediated, at least in part,
       through IGF-1, since this somatomedin has a stimulatory effect on
        mammary growth (Malvern, 1987). 

This is Bob's conclusion:  Since Monsanto admits that BST may be mediated 
by IGF, he agrees with Monsanto and furthermore hypothesizes that since 
IGF is identical between humans and cows, then IGF in humans can act in 
the same galactopoietic way in humans that Monsanto suggests it works in 
cows.

Furthermore, if this is evidence that BST does induce effects where there 
are no receptors, and IGF actually does the work and is identical, then 
BST can exert effects in humans.  THIS IS COHEN'S HYPOTHESIS!

FDA tried real hard to get us to believe that BST was destroyed by 
pasteurization.  It is not!  If Cohen had the resources, he would test 
the effects of BST on human subjects (who have the same receptor for IGF 
as cows).

By genetically engineering a cow's natural hormone, Monsanto created a 
monster.  While attempting to increase the milk production Monsanto's 
research revealed a component of milk that will prove to be more 
hazardous then the act of breathing asbestos fibers into the lungs or 
exposing skin to the ultra-violet rays of our sun or even the harmful 
effects from inhaling the particles in the smoke of cigarettes, according 
to Cohen.  Monsanto made it possible for Bob to discover and then to 
relate to you the facts concerning IGF or insulin-like growth factor. 
Consider this analogy that I used just yesterday at a press conference:
"IGF is to cancer as gasoline is to fire!"

James, I mentioned at the heart of the controversy on BST are the studies 
and data cited in August, 1990 Science, Ref. 42, rBGH article by J. C. 
Juskevich and C. G. Guyer.  That Monsanto and the FDA collaborated on 
this article and refuse to release the data.  You said: "Sure they will.
Write them with the study name and the name of the PI. They'll send you a 
copy."  James, they won't.  Cohen filed a Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) request for the full report on the experiments, including the 
details on affects on 28 different tissues and organs.  He believes the 
evidence will reveal a vast array of damaging abnormalities.  His request 
was denied by the FDA, which claimed disclosure of the data would result 
in "competitive harm" to Monsanto.  He even petitioned Congress and the 
General Accounting Office (GAO) to investigate a massive fraud and 
conspiracy.  

On June 7 an attorney for Ralph Nader's group wrote the Department of 
Health and Human Services about the denial saying: "It is difficult to 
understand how an exemption applies to the studies sought by Mr. Cohen 
when both Monsanto and Eli Lilly have shared them with competing 
pharmaceutical companies.  The 1990 Science article referred to by Cohen 
was jointly written by the FDA and Monsanto... It is clear these 
companies were sharing information, which would nullify any claim that 
public disclosure would result in competitive harm."

Robert Cohen said anybody able to perform simple math could take the 
spleen weights of animals from table #@ on page 878 of the Science paper 
and observe something critically wrong.  The average male rat receiving 
an injection of this hormone had developed a spleen which was 39.6% 
heavier than the spleen of the control group male.  The spleen weight of 
the average female had grown 46.0%  These are not normal reactions and 
signify unusual occurrences.  Such abnormal spleen growth in humans would 
often be an indication of a developing leukemia.  The spleen is an 
important part of our lymphatic system.  Spleens manufacture white and 
red blood cells.  Spleens act as sentinels defending the body and 
guarding against attack by foreign invaders.  A spleen growth in the 40% 
range indicated a sick animal whose system was screaming an internal cry 
for help.  Apparently, getting this drug approved and keeping their jobs 
meant more to the men at Monsanto than truth.  Wouldn't it have been 
natural for these men and women of science, after discovering this spleen 
abnormality, to look at animals who took rbGH orally?

I won't go into all the article but tell you that Robert Cohen found Judy 
Juskevich retired from the FDA and living in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  He 
asked her how she could ignore the evidence in this experiment.  Her 
response was she had never carefully reviewed the data and simply wrote 
what she was told to write by Dr. Margaret Miller.  Dr. Miller was 
working for Monsanto and was one of three persons who were investigated 
by Congress for conflicts of interest in this drug application.  

Lisa Watson, a Monsanto spokeswoman, appeared on a Canadian television 
show called "The Fifth Estate."  On that 9/29/94 broadcast she said: "Out 
of those 10,000 dairy farmers and 800,000 cows we had only received 95 
complaints from dairy farmers."  At that time the FDA had actually 
received complaints concerning nearly 9,500 BST treated cows contracting 
mastitis.  Interestingly, someone just called me about a farmer who has 
been using BST for years (even before approval) and how the offspring of 
these cows have had "extra heads and extra legs", and this kind of thing 
has been reported.

The Canadian TV program also reported that Canadian government officials, 
while debating legalization of BST, received multi-million dollar bribes 
from Monsanto officials.  One wonders what does not get reported.  As 
Robert Cohen says: "If Monsanto bribed officials in Canada, is it 
possible that they did the same in the United States?  Nah, not Monsanto."

    "Ethics?  Morality?  From Monsanto?"

The Congressional record of May 7, 1985 (Volume 131, No. 58) published a 
condemnation of the research techniques used in experiments which were 
severely flawed.  Shocking testimony reveals thousands of complaints 
received by the FDA from aspartame use, which has been associated with 
hundreds of ailments including blindness, cancer, multiple sclerosis and 
other symptoms of human suffering.  This is just another example of a 
disturbing phenomena.  Scientists cheat.  It's a way of getting drugs 
approved.  It can mean career advancement and financial gain.

Yesterday filmed by the media I poured out Diet Coke right here in 
Atlanta, the home of Coca Cola, and reported to the world that NutraSweet 
(aspartame) is a chemical poison.  Dr. Moser of NutraSweet (Monsanto) who 
is their consultant hired to defend their product when it gets exposed, 
said "This is nutritional terrorism!"  For once, he was right - 
NutraSweet has terrorized the nutrition industry and poisoned our food 
supply!

Monsanto has learned the political game.  They even hired the respected 
ex-surgeon general, C. Everett Koop to act as a lobbyist.  On February 6, 
1994, Koop issued the following statement about BST treated milk:

"Unfortunately, a few fringe groups are using misleading statements and 
blatant falsehoods as part of a long running campaign to scare consumers 
about a perfectly safe food. (He was speaking about BST treated milk).  
Milk from cows given supplemental bovine somatrotropin is the same as any 
other milk.  So, there should be no doubt in the minds of consumers that 
the milk they drink is just as safe, nutritious and wholesome as it has 
always been.  Every issue and every question about BST has been 
thoroughly and carefully studied  by the federal government and several 
independent scientific institutions.  Consumers can continue to enjoy 
milk and dairy foods with complete confidence."

Bob Cohen says with friends like this, the American public does not 
need enemies! He called and wrote Dr. Koop and faxed a letter to him on 
April 3, 1995.  He did not return telephone calls, letters or his fax.
The next time Bob Cohen faxed Dr. Koop it was without respect and did not 
expect a response.  Along with a detailed letter he wrote him a poem 
which I will share you with you:

"There once was a doctor, I shout.
It seems to the world he's sold out.
Taken drug company money, and written quite funny,
I don't like what he's written about!

Cancer's the answer, he protected us once, when integrity seemed to matter,
But money corrupts, and Monsanto has plenty, and it seems that C. 
Everett's getting fatter."

Bob Cohen says when a man is "purchased" like the respected Dr. Koop, it 
invalidates all of the good work he has previously done.  Let the world 
know that C. Everett Koop, and others, like him, have prostituted 
themselves by blindly accepting money from Monsanto and using the 
prestigious station of their previous office to influence naive and 
trusting Americans."

Gentlemen, what I'm trying to say is we can't just blindly believe what 
we are told.  We must be concerned with the health and welfare of our 
fellow man.  I hope we don't see anymore Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, but I 
personally believe we're in for an epidemic of medical problems.  Until 
we started distributing warning flyers on aspartame worldwide in April, 
1994 containing symptoms and diseases triggered by aspartame, most people 
never associated their medical problems with this chemical poison.  Even 
on Internet since June there has been great controversy over my warning 
remarks.  Yet, people listening in to these controversies and seeing 
their symptoms outlined got off of NutraSweet.  Their posts to my email 
say things like "I can see again (methanol converts to formaldehyde in 
the retina), I can walk again (triggers fibromyalgia), my joint pain is 
gone (from the methanol), my memory has come back and my headaches are 
gone, etc." 

My posts have been to warn you and the public at large.  Don't drink the 
milk and don't use aspartame (marketed as NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc.)
if you value your health.  Help us warn others.  Aspartame documentation 
on request including a research report with case histories taken from the 
net.




Betty Martini
Domain:  betty at pd.org
UUCP:  ...!emory!pd.org!betty