I wish HR was still around

[scratchinghead]

For newbies that stands for "Hepatitis Researcher" username.
He was a very intelligent doctor that gave very intelligent observations on vitamins and nutrients that could be used while waiting for HCV treatment.

I found this while researching Holy Basil supplements on bodybuilding websites (it is supposed to raise testosterone, but this abstract says it has *positive* effect on liver. I use the word *positive* very liberally since I don't want anyone rushing to think anything is going to change).

Anyway, I would love to see what HR would say:

Hepatoprotective activity of Ocimum sanctum
Hepatoprotective activity of Ocimum sanctum alcoholic leaf extract against paracetamol-induced liver damage in Albino rats.
Lahon K, Das S.
Source

Department of Pharmacology, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, India.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:

There is a lack of reliable hepatoprotective drugs in modern medicine to prevent and treat drug-induced liver damage. Leaves of Sacred/Holy Basil, i.e. Green Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), belonging to family Lamiaceae are used traditionally for their hepatoprotective effect. We wanted to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of Ocimum sanctum and observe whether synergistic hepatoprotection exists with silymarin.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Albino rats (150-200 g) were divided into five groups. Groups A and B were normal and experimental controls, respectively. Groups C, D and E received the alcoholic extract of Ocimum Sanctum leaves (OSE) 200 mg/kg BW/day, silymarin 100 mg/kg BW/day and OSE 100 mg/kg BW/day + silymarin 50 mg/kg BW/day p.o., respectively, for 10 days. Hepatotoxicity was induced in Groups B, C, D and E on the eighth day with paracetamol 2 g/kg BW/day. The hepatoprotective effect was evaluated by performing an assay of the serum proteins, albumin globulin ratio, alkaline phosphatase, transaminases and liver histopathology. The assay results were presented as mean and standard error of mean (SEM) for each group. The study group was compared with the control group by one-way ANOVA, followed by Bonferoni's test. A P-value of <0.01 was considered significant.
RESULTS:

In groups C, D and E, liver enzymes and albumin globulin ratio were significantly (P < 0.01) closer to normal than in group B. Reduction in sinusoidal congestion, cloudy swelling and fatty changes and regenerative areas of the liver were observed on histopathological examination in groups C, D and E, whereas group B showed only hepatic necrosis.

CONCLUSION:
The Ocimum sanctum alcoholic leaf extract shows significant hepatoprotective activity and synergism with silymarin.

[scratchinghead]

I'm almost down to my 10% goal and still gaining muscle mass thanks to www.musclehack.com and www.leangains.com and www.ergo-log.com articles.
Every week I add 2-4 reps to my set. I am taking a ton of supplements and protein and a little worried for my liver but the liver panel is stable around 200. Not sure how great that is.. . .
My problem is my cheat days where I binge way too much on carbohydrates.

[working dog]

hi scratchin....hr did have a lot of interesting things to say.....i will say theres a big difference without hep c for me...even before i knew i was svr i noticed a difference.....my muscles are finally getting in shape after years of getting weaker..and i'm almost 60....i can lift really heavy stuff and can't wait to get on a ski...still overweight though..the triple fat intake .......i was only 2/2 and still had stuff going on before tx.....the new tx coming up look real good......billy

[Dee1956]

Thank you for the link, he is an MD, if you look at the bottom right corner under experts you can see many of his posts.
Merrybe created it to help people with HCV

[Idyllic]

He was an interesting guy. A PhD, I thought. He sure knew a lot about tests, assays and the like. Back then he was involved in the development of a few:

I think this one of the few posts where he reveals a little about himself.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Just-Received-Lab-Results---Comments-Welcome-and-needed/show/95175#post_737653

[Dee1956]

I agree with you, he had a lot of knowledge, really glad that his posts are still available.  Gauf also had some of HR's information in his journals.  It was very interesting.  I remember Evangaline recommending his older posts on nutrition.    He had a list of nutritional supplements that were good for the liver
I believe his posts are down in the right hand corner "most viewed health pages" so he is still remembered.  I am grateful to him for his time.  During the time that I could not treat his information was very helpful

[LadyFoxx]

I am with you I love BASIL

[orphanedhawk]

Thanks for filling us in on his background.

[copyman]

HR is an MD. He has done much research in liver disease. One thing not many people know is he invented the Labcorp NGI Quanture blood test. Some feel this is the most accurate test to measure viral load. Down to <2

Also an expert on the FibroScan. He is one of a only handful of doctors in the USA with this expensive machine.

I had the pleasure of speaking with him on the phone several years ago. All I can say is he is a wealth of knowledge.

[desrt]

I agree with you that HR is sorely missed. I think we ran him off with one too many 'what-should-I-do-about-the rash-on-my-@ss?' type questions.
Fortunately, someone made a Health Page with threads that have some of his best input:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/HepResearcher-doctor-on-various-topics/show/38?cid=64

As for the study, I don't about  "Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, India" and "There is a lack of reliable hepatoprotective drugs in modern medicine to prevent and treat drug-induced liver damage.", but here in the US, NAC is relatively cheap and easy to come by both OTC in pharmacies and is used all the time in hospitals to treat Tylenol related liver damage.

I was fortunate to get info on that directly from HR.

[orphanedhawk]

Hmmm, holy leaf basil with Thai anything~ yum.

I recall HR, though I didn't know he was a doctor,  he hasn't been here in a long, long time.
        If you're interested in things that are protective for the liver,  try doing searches on curcumin the active ingredient in turmeric and my fav, coffee.