Rudy Segna, MD is the Associate Director Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology & Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. He has served as the Director of Gynecologic Oncology and the Colposcopy Service at the Naval Medical Center in Virginia and has published multiple articles and chapters in medical journals and textbooks. He is the winner of the 2009 and 2008 Patients Choice Awards.
Rudy Segna, MD
Focus: Tell us about how you use glycophospholipids as adjunctive therapy for fatigue in cancer patients.
RS: Fatigue due to chemotherapy is a commonplace complaint. I started suggesting patients use glycophospholipids about eight or nine years ago. Apparently it was a bit of a well-kept secret among patients who were purchasing it online and using it pretty religiously. I’d never heard of it until I learned of a few patients using it. And really, to a person, everyone noticed improvement in fatigue. I began to suggest it to patients complaining of fatigue from treatment. And I noticed that not only did they feel better, but anecdotally, they seemed to tolerate the chemotherapy well. I obviously never did a double-blind study, but I can say that generally they seem to recover quicker in between chemotherapy treatments and to feel better overall. They have an improved sense of well being. In addition, their bone marrow counts do not seem to drop as severely as one might expect. I’d rather not inject the drug Procrit for myleosuppression (low red blood cell count) since that has its own litany of complications. Certainly using a natural supplement is preferable when possible.
Focus: Do glycophospholipids interfere in any way with chemotherapy treatments?
RS: There is nothing in the product that interferes with what I’m giving patients. I regard myself as open to the product. I don’t push it on my patients, but when they complain of fatigue or other effects from chemotherapy, I do recommend it.
Steven Rosenblatt, MD, PhD, LAc, is currently board certified in Urgent Care Medicine, and on staff at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica and at North Hawaii Community Hospital, Kamuela, Hawaii. He was the first Westerner licensed to practice acupuncture in the U.S., is the Founder and past President of the California Acupuncture College, co-founder and Clinical Director of the UCLA Acupuncture Clinic and served as the Program Coordinator of the Complementary Medicine Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He is the author of several research articles and the book “The Starch Blocker Diet”.
Steven Rosenblatt, MD
Focus: How long have you been working with glycophospholipids?
SR: I’ve worked with them extensively for about five years. The reason I like them is because they are one of the few things that actually help repair tissue, and especially repairs mitochondrial function within the cell itself. There are a lot of things I can do as a doctor, but all the vitamins and minerals won’t help unless we’ve repaired tissue on a basic cellular level like this. I use glycophospholipids in conjunction with other supplements and find it very, very effective.
It is a good way to increase energy without using stimulants like caffeine or tonics. It is actually acting on damaged cell walls.
Focus: Are there any specific conditions for which you find it particularly helpful?
SR: Yes. I use it on a lot of my male patients who come in with low testosterone levels. It’s not that it actually replaces hormones, but by repairing the cell wall it seems to increase utilisation of, and sensitivity to, hormones. Adding glycophospholipids to bio-identical hormone supplementation works really well. That’s the whole physiological take-away here, and that researchers focused on the cell wall point out. It’s as if the cell wall is really the “brain” of the cell, rather than the nucleus of the cell. The nucleus is a background genetic blueprint, but the cell wall is where the action really occurs. Sensing and responding to the environment occurs along the cell wall.
Focus: How about hormone replacement for women? Do they respond well when given glycophospholipids?
SR: Yes, but I find that men are underdiagnosed and undertreated, so I simply wanted to mention that.
Focus: And what other conditions do you find it helps?
SR:Well, you’ve got to use it for all your gastrointestinal complaints. Many chronic illnesses start in the gut, and that’s where oxidative stress can be most prominent. I just see so many people with gastrointestinal problems, and I find that glycophospholipids help with absorption, bloating, decreased motility, irritable bowel.
Focus: Do you recommend other lipids, as well?
SR: I do recommend fish oils, I like them, and I feel they have a real place in quenching the inflammatory process. But I don’t feel they’re as reconstructive for the cell as glycophospholipids. I think there’s going to be a whole new group of patients as the baby boomers approach an older age, and this approach is going to be very useful for keeping them feeling alive and cognitively sharp. You can pour all the nutrients you want into the body, but unless they can be absorbed and utilised through the cell wall, they won’t do nearly the good that they should. So I see a major use for this approach going forward.
Disclosure: Prior to 2011, Dr Rosenblatt received compensation from NTI as a medical spokesperson.
Antonio Jimenez, MD, is medical director of an integrative treatment facilities for cancer in Baja, California and in Cancun. He has been active in many complementary medicine groups including ACAM, Prostate Cancer Research Institute, and the Cancer Control Society.
Antonio Jimenez, MD
Focus: Tell us about the role of glycophospholipids in your cancer treatment programs..
AJ: I’ve been using Lipid Replacement Therapy(LRT®) for about eight years. One reason I became interested in it as a physician was the solid research in both animals and humans. The first thing I did was try it on myself. I found really good results with respect to increased energy, and I recommended it to my brother as well, who is a trial lawyer. He also felt it increased his energy and now takes it regularly. What you are doing is repairing the cell membrane, and ultimately all the tissues and organ systems of the body. If you look at cell membrane electrical potential, in a child it is up to 90 millivolts, a healthy adult 70 millivolts, and in those with chronic diseases, it can plummet to 40 millivolts. An advanced cancer patient may only have a cell membrane potential of 15 millivolts, which is very deficient. It becomes very difficult for the cell to transport nutrients and eliminate waste. So maintaining the cell membrane with Lipid Replacement Therapy(LRT®) is very important.
Focus: How fast does one notice results?
AJ: The sicker you are, the faster you notice a difference. I gave some to a very sick cancer patient I met at a conference, and that Sunday she was able to go to church for the first time in months. If you are relatively healthy, you will notice a distinct but subtle difference, and will be most aware of it if you temporarily stop taking it. I would suggest that anybody over 40 utilise Lipid Replacement Therapy(LRT®), and certainly anyone with a chronic illness. Once cells become healthier, then you will notice more than an improvement in energy. Other functions will also improve.
