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09-11-2004, 09:21 PM

The message
from (Neil) contains these words:
On Tue, 9 Nov 2004 19:09:15 GMT, Jaques d'Alltrades
wrote:

The honey or jam was to help it go down, but in restoring
some of the sugar which the liver under attack wasn't providing, it gave
some credence to the antidote hypothesis)

Latterly, intravenous sugars are (unless I'm *VERY* out of date) always
administered to restore the blood-sugar levels to normal...

People with liver failure are very vulnerable to hypoglycaemia and
this is watched for very very closely. Treatment is usually by a
steady infusion of 10% glucose with higher concentrations as
needed.Intermittent boluses are used but only when needed not as a
regular item.

Perhaps I didn't make it clear that this was a *VERY* elderly 'cure'.

/snip/

Improve survival yes but my point is these treatments are non specific
and as such very chancy. If you are poisoned with nerve gas ( or
insecticide) you get pralidoxime which is a direct antidote. Morphine
you get naloxone, paracetamol N-acetylcysteamine and so on ( but for
very few more).

But we aren't discussing general panaceas - the discussion was very
specific. I quote from your earlier post:
----------------------
As this was originally about lawn mushrooms and what follows is
undiluted science I offer an apolgy for being a little off topic and
indigestible but I think the ungarnished science is a salutary
reminder. There is no magic serum or curative treatment just some that
tip the odds more in your favour. The following is the current
published medical data and basically the treatment for Amanita
poisoning is that which any big hopsital with a renal unit ,
transfusion unit and ITU would offer. The last resort is a liver
transplant. with lifelong immunosupression to follow.
------------------------

And that's where the sugar bit took off.

With Amanita poisoning you get those things which help your liver and
kidneys cope until they heal themselves. Your survival hinges much
more on time taken to recognise the poison than on a "cure". To call
this a treatment is to elevate routine supportive measures which I
agree are vital and successful to the level of an antidote they are
not.

I don't think we differ there.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
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