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MAST CELL DISEASE A COMMON HEALTH PROBLEM MAST DISEASE CELL HEALTH COMMON PROBLEM Understanding the Causes of Chronic Degenerative and Allergic Diseases Mast cell disease may be a cause of much chronic, inflammatory and allergy-like illness and can be difficult to treat because hidden syndromes may be involved. Various holistic therapies can help overcome these conditions. continue here my articles in NEXUS on uncovering the hidden causes 0 the recent explosion of chronic and/or environmental illnesses. The role here of Mast Cell Disease (MCD) is largely unknown to the majority o both orthodox and holistic practitioners. Yet MCD is beginning to be recognised as far more common than was previously understood, and is being found to play a key role in inflammatory and allergy-like diseases. A\ least some of the time, MCD may ultimately occur in some people due to their having another hidden illness, porphyria, which | have previously addressed in NEXUS (vol. 18, no. 1). In this article, | examine what mas cells are, the symptoms and diseases that occur when they malfunction, what causes such malfunctioning, and what to do to overcome this little- understood problem. Mast cells occur in the skin, lungs, peritoneum, nasal and gastrointestina mucosa and in the brain. Mast cells are a link between the immune, endocrine and nervous systems. They are involved in the regulation o blood-brain barrier permeability (BBBP) (NEXUS vol. 18, no. 3). Mast cells are also involved in allergic or allergy-like reactions. The release o istamine and/or other mediators from mast cells is altered from the norm in people with mast cell disease. In this disease, there is an increase in the number of mast cells or these cells do not function normally. They may degranulate too readily, releasing histamine or other harmful substances. People with MCD often get sick easily from exposure to stress, sunlight, eat, light, cold, environmental chemicals and electromagnetic fields EMF). These factors tend to cause their mast cells to degranulate. The sensitivity to heat or stress is a clue that BBBP may be ongoing in MCD. Like porphyria, MCD may turn out not to be rare. Very few people get ested for MCD. The full-blown life-threatening form of this problem, often involving an excess of mast cells, is called mastocytosis. More chronic orms are called mast cell disease or mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). Mast cells are created in the bone marrow and are also involved in wound ealing and defence against micro-organisms. Mast cells are present in most tissues surrounding blood vessels and nerves, and are especially prevalent in tissues that interface with the external world, such as the skin, mucosa of the lungs, digestive tract, mouth and nose and the conjunctiva in he eyes. In addition to being implicated in allergies and allergy-like illnesses, mast cells play a key role in inflammatory diseases which plague modern man. The possible symptoms of MCD include itching, low blood pressure, high blood pressure, shock, flushing, headache, dizziness, swelling, runny nose, wheezing, asthma, bone pain, muscle pain, abdominal pain or discomfort, nausea, tachycardia, vomiting, malabsorption, stomach ulcers, diarrhoea, Mast cell disease may be a cause of much chronic, inflammatory and allergy-like illness and can be difficult to treat because hidden syndromes may be involved. Various holistic therapies can help overcome these conditions. by Steven Rochlitz, PhD © September 20II Post Office Box 2154 Cottonwood, AZ 86326, USA Email: info@wellatlast.com Website: http://www.wellatlast.com by Steven Rochlitz, PhD © September 20II Post Office Box 2154 Cottonwood, AZ 86326, USA Email: info@wellatlast.com Website: http://www.wellatlast.com NEXUS ¢ 37 FEBRUARY - MARCH 2012 www.nexusmagazine.com