White Spots in the Fingernails

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
101

This summary on Macular Degeneration was prepared by Dr. Daniel J. Murphy.

His biography is impressive, and is given at:

http://www.oklachiropractic.com/seminars.php
He has taught more than 1,000 post-graduate continuing education seminars, including classes in the United States, Canada, Australia, France, England, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, and South Korea.

These education seminars qualify health care professionals with credits toward license renewal. I have attended portions of about a half dozen of his seminars in two states. He hands out a 500 page set of notes. Page one is Zinc Deficiencies. I discussed that with him once. He said he use to mention zinc in passing, but considers it so important that he developed a twenty minute segment on the subject.
In 1987, 1991 and 1995 Dr. Murphy received the “Post-Graduate Educator of the Year” award, given by the International Chiropractic Association.

One of his primary goals is:

“We want to show the doctor the scientific validation of the subluxation and its relationship to structure and function mediated through the nervous system.”

He is a personal friend of my chiropractic son. My son has made arrangements for a number of his seminars in the Pacific Northwest.

Macular Degeneration

      A  randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with Vitamins C and E, Beta Carotene, and Zinc for Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Vision Loss.

Arch Ophthalmol. 2001 (October); 119:1417-1436

AREDS Report Number 8

Principal Investigator: Aaron Kassoff, MD.

Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group

Background: Observational and Experimental Data suggest that antioxidant and/or zinc supplements may delay progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and vision loss.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of high-dose vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and zinc supplements on AMD progression and visual acuity.

Design: The Age-Related Eye Disease Study, an 11-center double-masked clinical trial, enrolled participants in an AMD trial if they had extensive small drusen, intermediate drusen, large drusen, noncentral geographic atrophy, or pigment abnormalities in one or both eyes, or advanced AMD or vision loss due to AMD in one eye. At least one eye had best-corrected visual acuity of 20/32 or better.

      Participants were randomly assigned to receive daily oral tablets containing:

(1) antioxidants (vitamin C, 500 mg; vitamin E, 400 IU; and beta carotene, 15 mg);

(2) zinc, 80 mg, as zinc oxide and copper, 2 mg, as cupric oxide;

(3) antioxidants plus zinc; or

(4) placebo.

Main Outcome Measures:

(1) Photographic assessment of progression to or treatment for advanced AMD

(2) at least moderate visual acuity loss from baseline (15 letters).

Results: Average follow-up of the 3,640 enrolled study participants, aged 55-80 years, was 6.3 years, with 2.4% lost to follow-up. Comparison with placebo demonstrated a statistically significant odds reduction for the development of advanced AMD with antioxidants plus zinc. Both zinc and antioxidants plus zinc significantly reduced the odds of developing advanced AMD in this higher-risk group. The only statistically significant reduction in rates of at least moderate visual acuity loss occurred in persons assigned to receive antioxidants plus zinc. No statistically significant serious adverse effect was associated with any of the

formulations.

Conclusions: Persons older than 55 years should have dilated eye examinations to determine their risk of developing advanced AMD. Those with extensive intermediate size drusen, at least one large druse, noncentral geographic atrophy in one or both eyes, or advanced AMD or vision loss due to AMD in one eye, and without contraindications such as smoking, should consider taking a supplement of antioxidants plus zinc such as that used in this study.

      THESE AUTHORS ALSO NOTE:  Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in the United States and elsewhere among people 65 years or older.  At present, there is no proven treatment that slows or prevents the development of advanced AMD.

Oxidative damage to the retina may be involved in the pathogenesis of AMD. This study on high-dose antioxidant and zinc supplements for AMD was done by the National Eye Institute (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland) as a clinical trial of part of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS). This is a randomized clinical trial designed to evaluate the effect of high doses of zinc and selected antioxidant vitamins (5 to about 15 times the recommended dietary allowance [RDA]) on the development of advanced AMD in a cohort of older persons.

Study Design: The four treatment interventions were double-masked and given as an oral total daily supplementation of antioxidants (500 mg of vitamin C, 400 IU of vitamin E, and 15 mg of beta carotene), or zinc (80 mg of zinc as zinc oxide and 2 mg of copper as cupric oxide to prevent potential anemia), or the combination of antioxidants and zinc, or placebo. Tablets were taken with food to avoid potential irritation of an empty stomach by zinc.

      Comments:  Data from AREDS demonstrate that treatment with zinc alone or in combination with antioxidants reduced the risk of progression to advanced AMD risk reductions for AMD by those

taking antioxidants alone was 17%, and for zinc alone 21%. The risk reduction for those taking antioxidants plus zinc was 25%. The probability of developing advanced AMD by five years among participants assigned to receive placebo varied within from about 27% to about 43%. Results to date find no statistically significant deleterious effect of antioxidants on mortality. The antioxidant formulation included only three antioxidants: beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Individual effects of each of these components cannot be evaluated. AREDS was designed to assess whether active treatment with antioxidants and/or Zinc could reduce the risk of developing advanced AMD. The results are consistent in demonstrating that, compared with the placebo group, participants assigned to receive antioxidants plus zinc had the largest reduction of the risk of developing advanced AMD or visual acuity loss. Participants assigned to receive either zinc or antioxidants seem to have a lesser benefit from the study medication. Although both zinc, and antioxidants plus zinc, significantly reduce the odds of developing advanced AMD, the only statistically significant reduction in rates of at least moderate visual acuity loss occurred in persons assigned to antioxidants plus zinc. Persons who smoke cigarettes should probably avoid taking beta carotene. Based on data from AREDS, persons older than 55 years should have dilated eye examinations to determine their risk of developing advanced AMD. Those with extensive intermediate size drusen, at leastonelarge druse, or noncentral GA in one or both eyes or those with advanced AMD or vision loss due to AMD in one eye, and without contraindications such as smoking, should consider taking a supplement of antioxidants plus zinc such as that used in this study. The AREDS investigators have no commercial or proprietary interest in the supplements used in this study.

      ************************************************



         KEY POINTS FROM DAN MURPHY:

(1) Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in the world for those 65 years or older.

(2) There is no proven medical treatment that slows or prevents the developmentof age-related macular degeneration.

      Oxidative damage to the retina may be involved in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. Antioxidants protect against oxidative damage.

(4) Those using antioxidants plus zinc had the largest reduction of the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration or visualacuity loss.

(a) Risk reductions by those taking antioxidants alone

was 17%.

(b) Risk reduction by those taking only zinc was 21%.

(c) Risk reduction for those taking antioxidants plus zinc was 25%.

(3) The antioxidants used were: vitamin C 500 mg;

vitamin E 400 IU; beta carotene 15 mg.

(6) The zinc used was 80 mg.

(7) No significant or serious adverse effect were associated with any of the antioxidants or zinc formulas used.

(8) This study clearly shows that zinc is especially important in preventing age-related macular degeneration. The best book I have read to detail the necessity of antioxidants is: The Antioxidant Miracle, By Lester Packer, Wiley& Sons,

102

Just yesterday afternoon, I saw coffeekitten eat a medium fries and 3 burgers at Burger Death®, and half a frozen pizza. A few minutes at the USDA Nutrient Database and some arithmetic show he scarfed down 10.3 mg of zinc. The DRI for zinc (“RDA” is kind of passé), for guys is 11 mg. (not 15 mg) I think it’s very safe to assume sometime yesterday morning and yesterday evening he took in another .7 mg, but if anyone thinks I’m going to ask to measure his penis, you’re out of your mind.

It’s either easy to get plenty of zinc, or teenagers are models of healthy diet.

103

Doesn’t he have a family priest or minister to deal with such issues?

104

Will Reuters do?

Aluminum in Drinking Water Tied to Alzheimer’s

By Jacqueline Stenson

SAN DIEGO (Reuters Health) - Adding support to a controversial theory linking aluminum with Alzheimer’s disease (news - web sites), new research indicates the disease is more common in regions of northwest Italy where levels of aluminum in drinking water are highest.

And when the investigators studied the effects of one form of the metal on two types of human cells in the lab, they found it hastened cell death.

“We were absolutely surprised by these results,” said study author Dr. Paolo Prolo, a researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles. “I did not expect any effect from aluminum.”

In findings released here Monday at the annual Experimental Biology meeting, Prolo and colleagues focused on monomeric – single molecule – aluminum. This is the type that can be most easily absorbed by human cells, he said.

While there have been suggestions that aluminum cookware might pose a risk for Alzheimer’s, the type of aluminum used in pots and pans consists of multiple molecules and does not appear to affect human cells, according to Prolo. “There is almost no evidence that the cookware is dangerous,” he said.

When the researchers tested water in regions of northwest Italy in 1998, they found that total aluminum levels – including monomeric and other types of aluminum – ranged from 5 to 1,220 micrograms per liter, while monomeric aluminum levels alone ranged from 5 to 300 micrograms per liter.

Environmental officials generally recommended that total aluminum levels be below 200 micrograms per liter, Prolo noted.

After comparing this data to death rates from Alzheimer’s in those regions, the researchers found that the disease was more common in areas with the highest levels of monomeric aluminum.

Back in the lab, Prolo and colleagues then tested the effects of monomeric aluminum on human immune-system cells and bone cancer cells. Ideally, human brain cells would be tested but these are not readily available because a biopsy of a patient’s brain is necessary to acquire them, he said.

“We found that a very low quantity of aluminum added to our cell cultures was modifying cellular processes” like normal cell death, Prolo told Reuters Health.

When the aluminum was paired with beta-amyloid, a protein found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, the combination killed off even more cells.

Because aluminum could kill both types of human cells, these findings raise the question of whether aluminum is potentially involved in other diseases, Prolo said.

But much more research is needed to understand how the metal does or does not affect people, he added.

105

It’s a news release about aluminum(not zinc), not an actual study, and it has squat to do with the OP. News releases are designed to draw in readers, and thus are not the place to gather scientific data. Besides, the last line belies the panic you seem to be spreading-“But much more research is needed to understand how the metal does or does not affect people, he added.”

106

You keep using that word.

I do not zinc it means what you zinc it means.

107

It was a joke, son.

I’ll still pass.

108

That sentence speaks for itself.

109

Sunday Schedule

10:00 AM Worship
10:30 AM Communion
10:45 AM Sermon: “Should the Adulteress Have Been Stoned? (Can you blame her? They were going to throw rocks at her!)”
11:00 AM Penis Measuring

You goyim are weird. :wink:

110

My thoughts exactly. Either this guy is totally taking us for a ride, or he’s cuckoo for them zinc-packed cocoa puffs.

111

You forgot something.

12:45 PM - Hotdish potluck in the fellowship hall - if your last name starts with A-M, bring a main dish, everyone else bring Jell-O.

Regards,
Shodan the Lutheran

112

I zinc it’s time this thread was allowed to zinc without trace (elements)

113

[QUOTE=John W. Kennedy]
In other words, you believe that magic is superior to science.

Thomas Edison said in late 1902, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” Sounds a little bit llike Dr Pheiffer’s law 75-80 years later.

Thomas Edison on the 'Doctor of the Future' | Snopes.com

Some books on your science over magic:

Over Dose (The Case Against the Drug Companies, Prescription Drugs, Side Effects, and Your Health) Cohen, Jay S., MD, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, a member of Penguin Putnam Inc., New York, 2001

What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You, Strand, Ray D., MD with Donna K. Wallace, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 2002

The Big Fix (How the Pharmaceutical Industry Rips Off American Consumers) Greider, Katharine, BBS PublicAffairs, New York 2003

Death by Prescription (The Shocking Truth Behind an Overmedicated Nation), Strand, Ray D. JD with Donna K. Wallace, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 2003

The Truth About the Drug Companies (How They Deceive Us And What To Do About It) Anell, Marcia, MD, 2004

Overdosed America (the “s” is made into a dollar sign) (The Broken Promise of American Medicine), Abramson, John MD, HarperCollinsPublshers, 2004

Hope or Hype (The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises), Deyo, Richard A. MD MPH and Donald L. Patrick, PHD, MSPH

On the Take (How America’s Complicity with Big Business Can Endanger Your Health), Kassirer, Jerome P., MD, Oxford, University Press, 2005
This was written for a non-medical journal that was keyed to the magazine theme of the supernatural, occult, etc: (References are cited.)

THE WITCH DOCTOR

In the deep and dark recesses of the damp and putrid hideaway where the light of day never reaches, the caldron simmers and bubbles as the Witch Doctor stirs its brew. Something for everyone.

No! No! No! It’s not that way at all.

In the newly constructed, modern rectangular building, with wide open, spacious and well lit hallways, with bright and sunlit rooms running down both sides, the “Witch” Doctor practices his “dark arts.” Daily, he makes the rounds performing his mystical rituals. With smiles, and words of encouragement and hope, he dispenses with ease from his vast storehouse of pills, powders and potions. Daily comes improved health and well being, and all too often, as well as maiming, disability, the specter of death and even death itself.

An ever-present shadow (1) hovers over his shoulder. It guesses and second-guesses his every movement and decision. Its constant interference hampers the efforts of this “Witch” Doctor.

He deplores this constant “shadow.” It contributes daily to the downside and death that all too often results.

The “shadow” admits "that the managed health care industry and employer groups pits against doctors and patients, noting: “They are also on opposite sides of a cultural divide, with entrepreneurial doctors on one side and huge, impersonal managed care organizations on the other.”

This “shadow” came out of “hiding” to admit “blunders.” At the National Press Club, he (2) said these “medical accidents and mistakes kill 400,000-people a year, ranking behind only heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death.”

“Mistakes alone kill more people each year than tobacco, alcohol, firearms or automobiles,” he said. Our “Witch” Doctor dispenses contraindicated care to 20% to 30% of patients treated. Medical errors result in the deaths of an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 each year (3).

The American people do “not have anywhere near the best health in the world.” Of 13 countries in a recent comparison, the United States ranks an average of twelfth (second from the bottom) for 16 available health indicators." This comparison ranks the US behind Japan, Sweden, Canada, France, Australia, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Belglium.

We all mourn the deaths of the 3000+ that occurred on 9-11. However, our “Witch” Doctor and his minions are responsible for the equivalent number of deaths every three days or a total of one hundred eleven 9-11’s every single year.

It barely receives attention, except for those who huddle and mourn around the gravesites or other places over a thousand times a day. This goes virtually unnoticed by those directly involved. No governor shows up. No big city mayor shows up. No politician looking for votes shows up. Only the grieving family and friends.

These blunders are buried, both figuratively and literally.

One gross example:

At a seminar in Washington, the lecturer was speaking of the damage done to the new born caused by too vigorous assistance in the birth process. At this point a woman (nurse) arose and told of her assisting a “Witch” Doctor at a birth. The doctor PULLED THE BABY’S HEAD OFF. She ran from the room, with the doctor following. In the hallway, he berated her, told her if she spoke of this she would never work in a hospital again, and ordered her to return to the birthing room. The medical records indicated “stillborn.”

(1) Commonly referred to as an HMO.

(2) Dr. David Lawrence, CEO of Kaiser Permanente

(3) JAMA, Vol. 284, No. 4, July 26, 2000

114

[QUOTE=David G. Underhill]

115

Have tried three times to post. Unsuccessful. Will try again tomorrow.

116

Thomas Edison said in late 1902, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

Over Dose (The Case Against the Drug Companies, Prescription Drugs, Side Effects, and Your Health) Cohen, Jay S., MD, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, a member of Penguin Putnam Inc., New York, 2001

What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You, Strand, Ray D., MD with Donna K. Wallace, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 2002

The Big Fix (How the Pharmaceutical Industry Rips Off American Consumers) Greider, Katharine, BBS PublicAffairs, New York 2003

Death by Prescription (The Shocking Truth Behind an Overmedicated Nation), Strand, Ray D. JD with Donna K. Wallace, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 2003

The Truth About the Drug Companies (How They Deceive Us And What To Do About It) Anell, Marcia, MD, 2004

Overdosed America (the “s” is made into a dollar sign) (The Broken Promise of American Medicine), Abramson, John MD, HarperCollinsPublshers, 2004

Hope or Hype (The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises), Deyo, Richard A. MD MPH and Donald L. Patrick, PHD, MSPH

On the Take (How America’s Complicity with Big Business Can Endanger Your Health), Kassirer, Jerome P., MD, Oxford, University Press, 2005

This was written for a non-medical journal that was keyed to the magazine theme of the supernatural, occult, etc: (References are cited.)

THE WITCH DOCTOR

In the deep and dark recesses of the damp and putrid hideaway where the light of day never reaches, the caldron simmers and bubbles as the Witch Doctor stirs its brew. Something for everyone.

No! No! No! It’s not that way at all.

In the newly constructed, modern rectangular building, with wide open, spacious and well lit hallways, with bright and sunlit rooms running down both sides, the “Witch” Doctor practices his “dark arts.” Daily, he makes the rounds performing his mystical rituals. With smiles, and words of encouragement and hope, he dispenses with ease from his vast storehouse of pills, powders and potions. Daily comes improved health and well being, and all too often, as well as maiming, disability, the specter of death and even death itself.

An ever-present shadow (1) hovers over his shoulder. It guesses and second-guesses his every movement and decision. Its constant interference hampers the efforts of this “Witch” Doctor.

He deplores this constant “shadow.” It contributes daily to the downside and death that all too often results.

The “shadow” admits "that the managed health care industry and employer groups pits against doctors and patients, noting: “They are also on opposite sides of a cultural divide, with entrepreneurial doctors on one side and huge, impersonal managed care organizations on the other.”

This “shadow” came out of “hiding” to admit “blunders.” At the National Press Club, he (2) said these “medical accidents and mistakes kill 400,000-people a year, ranking behind only heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death.”

“Mistakes alone kill more people each year than tobacco, alcohol, firearms or automobiles,” he said. Our “Witch” Doctor dispenses contraindicated care to 20% to 30% of patients treated. Medical errors result in the deaths of an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 each year (3).

The American people do “not have anywhere near the best health in the world.” Of 13 countries in a recent comparison, the United States ranks an average of twelfth (second from the bottom) for 16 available health indicators." This comparison ranks the US behind Japan, Sweden, Canada, France, Australia, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Belglium.

We all mourn the deaths of the 3000+ that occurred on 9-11. However, our “Witch” Doctor and his minions are responsible for the equivalent number of deaths every three days or a total of one hundred eleven 9-11’s every single year.

It barely receives attention, except for those who huddle and mourn around the gravesites or other places over a thousand times a day. This goes virtually unnoticed by those directly involved. No governor shows up. No big city mayor shows up. No politician looking for votes shows up. Only the grieving family and friends.

These blunders are buried, both figuratively and literally.

One gross example:

At a seminar in Washington, the lecturer was speaking of the damage done to the new born caused by too vigorous assistance in the birth process. At this point a woman (nurse) arose and told of her assisting a “Witch” Doctor at a birth. The doctor PULLED THE BABY’S HEAD OFF. She ran from the room, with the doctor following. In the hallway, he berated her, told her if she spoke of this she would never work in a hospital again, and ordered her to return to the birthing room. The medical records indicated “stillborn.”

(1) Commonly referred to as an HMO.

(2) Dr. David Lawrence, CEO of Kaiser Permanente

(3) JAMA, Vol. 284, No. 4, July 26, 2000

117

This just sounds like a UL, and I figured it would be easy to track down. It wasn’t. I only found one other mention of the story

http://www.southernnevada.us.mensa.org/0304_mindbets/archive_032003/view.php3

I guess his post is his cite.

118

David G. Underhill, your posts have become increasingly off-topic, and the last few have had nothing to do with Cecil’s column at all. If you wish to start a debate about medical practices, I advise you to start a new thread in Great Debates.

119

I know of Thomas Edison as a great inventor of electrical & mechanical objects, but what exactly are his qualifications in practicing medicine?

120

This will be my last post, inasmuch as the material apparently has been less than welcomed.

This is all anecdotal.

Sixth grade student (Thai) with white spots in his fingernails. Had his mother put him on zinc with calcium and magnesium. Student immediately began functioning in an outstanding manner. I told him I would make him the top math student in his class. It didn’t take long. His teacher challenged him by saying there was one other girl in his other class that was on par with him. Eventually, his teacher told him he was heads and shoulders above the other student. When he made student of the month with five “A’s” and a “B,” he told me he had been the class trouble maker and never dreamed he would ever receive an “A.” He continued to shine and received all “A’s.” He went on to graduate from the 8th grade in the top ten percent of his class. The group was honored by the University of Nevada in Reno with a dinner. They were presented with a certificate and a collegiate dictionary. (It was a costly venture for me. I tutored as a volunteer, and even loaned the mother $275.00 when the child’s grandmother went into the hospital in Thailand. Mother was a maid in a local hotel, and I never expected to be repaid. Expectations fulfilled.)

Sixth grade student with five “F’s” and a “C” in math. Got rid of the white spots in his fingernails and he was off and running. According to the school, he was fourteen months behind in reading ability. The school wanted to put him in an IEP (Individual Education Program). Parents declined and ask if I would help. I told him I would make him the top math student in his class. Shortly thereafter he went into the 7th grade and was immediately placed in the advanced math class. I told him it would take a little longer inasmuch as he was with all the really good math students. He went from September to February when he came home and told his mother he was number one in his math class. (The teacher posted all grades on the BB with a PIN number and his was on top. That same month he was named student of the month with “A’s” in all subjects. He received a certificate for math and student of the month. The award was accompanied with a $50.00 gift card from Best Buy. He wants to be a Doctor and to qualify for the medical magnet High School; he had to achieve a 3.5 GPA during the first reporting period in the 8th grade. This month, he graduated from the 8th grade with all “A’s” in all subjects for the entire year. So much for zinc facilitating rational thought. (And probably a better than average tutor.)

An 8th grade girl that was mainstreamed right out of Korea into the 3rd grade. She had all “F’s” and had only three redeeming qualifications. She spoke good English, had nice handwriting and an incredible smile. Got rid of her white spots in the nails and she “came alive.” I never promised to make her the top math student in her class. I was concerned about getting her through the 8th grade. She knew NOTHING about math. 4x5, 3x8, 4x6 – NOTHING. She was the most fun of any student I have been associated with. She told me her parents didn’t think she could perform, but that she would fool them and “Work my butt off.” She did and went on to receive a plaque for making the greatest class contribution in Geography. It was a major assignment in which she had to make a presentation. After we had researched the subject, and she wrote the presentation, I told her she had to stand in her room and make the presentation ten times. The crowning glory came when she completed the presentation during last period on a Friday. She asked the teacher how she did, and the teacher said “It was perfect and given exactly as I would have given it. You receive an “A.” “As she left the class room, her girlfriend came up to her and said, “What did you get, I bet I beat you. I got a “B.” Did you get a “C.?” My student said ‘I GOT AN “A.” She told me she was going to take Algebra in high school. I could only hang my head, but she went on to excel and loved it. She also took Algebra II, and in showing me one of her test results said the teacher told her she had received the highest score in the class (a 97%). I never ever saw a report card but saw enough papers to let me believe she was receiving A’s and B’s. She was unhappy with her science grade as an eight grader and was permitted to retake it during the summer to improve her grade. She did that and received an “A.” She had a major segment in English on Mark Twain. I helped her research and prepare a composition on one of Twain’s “dark” piece which turned out to have been written after the death of his wife and child. She received an “A,” and I though maybe I had provided a little too much assistance. She allayed that fear when later she brought out seven more papers on the Twain segment with all “A’s” I provided no assistance on the other seven papers. She graduated from high school this June. I occasionally called her “Miss Sunshine” in recognition of her attitude and disposition.

A little zinc had life changing impact on these three students. I have been engaged in volunteer work since 1975; sometimes working as many as 60 hours a week I have had life changing impact on several other individual students. One 8th grade female Korean girl without white spots in her nails had trouble with Algebra. I got her late in the school years but she was bright and went from all “D’s” on her tests to all 100’s. She went on to be named female student of the year. She took Junior ROTC. As a retired Army officer, I was able to get her off to a good start. Close order drill and some academic stuff and she made history at her school. She went on to be named the first freshman to make Cadet of the Year. She needed no help as a freshman, but said she didn’t want to get behind in Geometry. I never took Geometry, but successfully tutored four students. Three were prior to my days of checking fingernails.

I present the above in hopes that at least one parent will recognize a child as needing some zinc to prevent a seventeen year history of behavioral problems as existed in the case of Fran and the Oysters.