Sea Anemone, Rue Plant Assist in Treatment for Autoimmune Diseases

Ivanhoe Newswire reported in an article called Natural Treatments for Autoimmune Diseases on December 17, 2007 that there may in fact be natural or holistic treatments for autoimmune diseases.

An autoimmune disease is one in which the immune system actually attacks our tissue in our own bodies! Put another way the bad cells attack our good cells. There are about 70 diseases including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The cause or causes of these diseases is not known; however, some scientists think that there might be environment causes, genetic causes or perhaps a virus which triggered it. Stress, it seems, is a contributing factor.

For me I believe stress triggered a virus in my body which over the years because an autoimmune disease. There are medications for many of the autoimmune diseases. I look at what I eat and feel that stress management which includes exercise and Yoga contribute to how well I am doing.

At the University of California at Irvine tests were done on blood cells in-vitro i.e in test tubes - these same cells I mentioned above. What researchers did was block the bad cells that were turning on the good ones. The tests that were done on rats stopped the diseases. They were specifically looking at M.S., juvenile diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis but certainly those of us with other names are hopeful.

What did the scientists use? In a sentence they used compounds from sea anemone venom and a compound from a shrub called a rue plant.

When I was looking up what a rue plant is I came upon some interesting information. "Rue -- Ruta graveolens -- is a European perennial herb.... a distinctively sharp and aromatic fragrance that verges on being "stinky." .....although it was not native to the New World, it has been widely accepted as a magical herb by the indigenous people of Central and South America and among African-Americans as well. It is used in love spells and more often in protection spells. " This definition can be found at this website.