Following are excerpts from testimony given to a Congressional Committee. (Emphasis added to key points.)
I came before this committee to testify, first, in regard to a theory of my own which suggests a link between air pollution and the majority of cases of disease in the respiratory system, the skin and the middle ear, diseases that are frequently incurable by operations or medicines. Second, some of these diseases, for example, asthma, eczema, the common cold, have been the reasons for much money being spent in research but with very little progress being reported for understanding their cause and developing better methods of treatment. Third, and most important, because there is a form of specific treatment that has been available for several years, found effective in 89 to 90 percent of these individuals, and that, if used as directed, could help the majority of these patients. Up to this point, NIH has not shown any interest in this method.This form of treatment consists of injections with an FDA approved product made from ordinary house dust, found most effective in the treatment of house dust allergies, and is known as house dust antigen.
There exists an abundance of statistical evidence connecting air pollution with many diseases like upper respiratory disorders, asthma, chronic emphysema, eczema, and cancer of the lung. In Japan there is a National Registry of Air Pollution Diseases wherein new cases of asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema are registered every year for the purpose of helping to evaluate the success of the measures taken for the control of air pollution. My own belief in a connection between air pollution and human disease has been constantly corroborated -- first, by the clinical histories of my patients in reference to the effects that different levels of pollution have in the organism; second, by concluding, as I have, that air pollutants are the most important component of house dust -- the raw material that is used in the manufacture of house dust antigen -- the specific product that has controlled the symptoms of 500 of my patients.
As of this date, I have found five types of disorders connected with air pollution which respond well to therapy with house dust antigen and represents a very large percentage of our population of chronic patients.The first, perennial allergic rhinitis, is the most common disease affecting our population. It is known as chronic catarrh, or sinusitis. It can cause nasal stuffiness, sneezing, post nasal drip, frequent sore throats or colds. It is also the reason why frequent respiratory infections occur in certain children and represent one of the main reasons for disease in childhood.
The second, chronic middle ear catarrh, is the primary cause of middle ear disease in children and young adults. It is frequently complicated by infections that may be resistant to all forms of treatment, by decreased hearing or dizziness. The third, a group of chest diseases -- asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema -- account for most of the coughing and much of the shortness of breath in our population known as eczema, dermatitis, and housewives' eczema, which causes most of the itching in our population itching that is often unfortunately blamed on nerves or psychosomatic reasons. Fifth, chronic eye irritation is another disease generally considered to be the result of air pollution in areas with smog. These five groups of conditions have consistently shown improvement when treated with house dust antigen.
From the clinical histories of my patients I have learned that these diseases develop in areas with high levels of pollution and improve in areas where pollution is low. In any given area, symptoms can be seen to fluctuate with changes in the factors that also cause fluctuations in air pollution levels -- changes in temperature, barometric pressure, and wind velocity.
There is an annual, seasonal period of air pollution increase during the cold months of the year, from the end of September until the end of May. This is the period of the year in which the greatest frequency and severity of respiratory and skin diseases occur, followed by improvement during the summer months when the level of pollution is only half as high as that obtained in December. Throughout the year, there is a daily period of air pollution increase between 4 and 12 a.m., the highest occurring at 8 or 9 a.m.
It is between these hours, especially at 8 a.m., that there is an increase in the severity of respiratory symptoms like runny nose, sinus headaches, and shortness of breath, or the temporary hearing loss and dizziness that occurs when there is middle ear catarrh.
There are irregular periods of air pollution increases, causing the aggravation of symptoms I mentioned before, which occur during conditions of increased humidity or increased barometric pressure: During rain or snow, during the passage of cyclones or tornadoes, during periods of temperature inversion, or when the air is stagnant.
The concentration of pollutants in an immediate air supply is proportional to the amounts of pollutants produced in that place. Amounts of pollutants are similar at the same period of time in the same place because the number of agents producing it is fairly constant.An increase in cold, humidity, or barometric pressure causes the contraction of air, which, in turn, causes a progressive increase in the concentration of pollutants, explaining why there is so much sickness during these periods. Conversely, a rise in temperature, an increase in wind velocity, a decrease of humidity or barometric pressure promotes the decrease of pollutants and also is seen to decrease the amounts of sputum produced, as well as the coughing, sneezing, itching, dizziness, et cetera.
I decided to approach this subcommittee after I had lost all hope of being heard by the medical community or the NIH in my efforts to have them verify the efficacy of the medical approach I propose. I have been told to apply for a research grant, although it is common knowledge that research grants are available only to institutions or to doctors associated with research institutions. I lack these requirements. Nevertheless, I feel that the interests of patients comes first and this form of dust antigen therapy seems, by clinical and literary evidence, to be the only hope for millions of individuals. And it has been available since 1963! I would like to request that this subcommittee use its influence so that my ideas can be verified objectively by NIH. May I say also that, if my request is honored, that I be allowed to inform this subcommittee at regular intervals about the progress of this investigation, one that can be carried out in a very short period of time as an intramural project in NIH and at a much lower cost to the taxpayers than some of the present projects being carried out for these identical conditions.
Note: Dr. Palacios did not get the funding that he sought. However, he continued to treat patients successfully with the dust antigen until his retirement in 1997. He lives in Northern Virginia.
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