Zytaze Dietary Supplementation Enhances Botox Injections?

A patient with spasmodic dysphonia recently asked me whether Zytaze dietary supplement would help enhance the effectiveness of the botox injections I perform to treat spasmodic dysphonia. This dietary supplement is made in Europe and each pill contains Zinc Citrate 25mg and Phytase 500mg. Phytase is an enzyme that effectively breaks down phytates commonly found in whole grain products and cereals. Phytase basically enhances zinc absorption in the gut. So what's so special about zin…

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"The Flu" vs "H. Flu" (Hint, they are not the same thing)

Electon microcope image of the influenza virus. Image from Wikipedia . Prior to 1933, the flu was thought to be caused by the bacteria Haemophilus influenzae and not a virus. Since 1933, we now know that the flu is actually caused by the influenza virus (types A, B, and C). However, there is much confusion among patients and even healthcare professionals who still erroneously consider Haemophilus influenzae and the flu or influenza to all be the same thing... they absolutely are not! …

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Supplement Octanoic Acid May Help with Vocal Tremor

A fascinating study came out August 2019 that treated patients with vocal tremor with an over-the-counter supplement called octanoic acid , more commonly known as caprylic acid . The theory behind using octanoic acid (OA) comes from the observation that OA works similarly to alcohol (but without the side effects); alcohol often helps reduce limb and hand tremor and is thought to act centrally within the olivocerebellar region of the brain. Given that OA is thought to work the same way a…

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Allergy Shot Given to CATS to Help People with Cat Allergy

A company has reversed the traditional allergy shot given to people with bad allergies and created an allergy vaccine which is given to cats to make them less allergic for people. Essentially, this new vaccine makes cats become hypoallergenic! Published in July 2019, the study outlined the use of a novel protein containing Fel-d1, the saliva protein that makes cats so allergic to people, along with a particle derived from the cucumber mosaic virus and a tetanus toxin–derived universal T-c…

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Can Reflux Medications Cause Allergies?

Image courtesy of Areeya at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net Reflux medications are wonderful to treat symptoms of heartburn as well as reflux-triggered throat problems . However, there is growing concern that long-term use of reflux medications is associated with other health problems including nutritional deficiencies along with increased risk of bone fracture, pneumonia, and other infections including Clostridium difficile infection where proton pump inhibitors may carry a high risk equivalent t…

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Animation of Botox Injection to Treat Spasmodic Dysphonia

A new animation has been created in cooperation with Intronix Technologies that demonstrates the steps involved to treat spasmodic dysphonia with EMG guided botulinum toxin. Spasmodic dysphonia is a neurologic condition characterized by vocal breaks during speech due to spasms of the vocal cord muscles. The most common type of spasmodic dysphonia is adductor spasmodic dysphonia where the vocal cords suddenly and involuntarily comes together causing the person’s voice to suddenly break off…

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