Can Salovum or SPC-Flakes Stop Vertigo in Meniere’s Sufferers?

Can Salovum or SPC-Flakes Stop Vertigo?

On May 7th 2017 an article was published by The Express newspaper online with the headline,”Ménière’s disease sufferer: Getting my life back“

In the article a British Meniere’s sufferer explained mainly how her positive attitude has helped her.

The mind can be very powerful as we can see from a positive point of view in the placebo effect with many illnesses and conversely how stress, worry and anxiety can increase the symptoms of Meniere’s.

In the Express article Kelly Boyson described how the drugs given to her did not help and how she became like prisoner in her own home for eight months.

Kelly said, “I have left-side Méniere’s rather than in both ears so for me, the first indication is losing pressure in that ear, similar to when you’re landing in a plane. Next, I can’t hear anything and then tinnitus starts. By then, my head’s spinning, I’m feeling sick, I can’t stand up, my coordination goes and I lose control of my body.

I get about two minutes’ warning before the full attack occurs. There is nothing I can do to prevent it.

I just have to let it run its course, which can be up to three hours.

There is no cure for Ménière’s, just treatments you can try to ease symptoms. After my diagnosis, I was treated with steroid injections and in November 2015, I had a grommet placed in my ear to help reduce pressure. That worked for a while until it dropped out. But nothing’s worked particularly well so I don’t take medication now.

I’ve changed the way I eat, as a low-salt diet can help reduce the amount of attacks. I also take Salovum, which is concentrated egg yolk powder, to help reduce inflammation and it seems to be working. Although I still get tinnitus, I haven’t had a severe attack for months. It’s brilliant because I feel like I’m getting my life back on track.”

Tackling the inflammation that is causing the symptoms is something discussed at length in The Need for Balance – Dealing with the Causes of Meniere’s  where identifying the root cause of that inflammation and resulting Meniere’s symptoms in general then how to deal with it.

The use of Salovum and its partner product spc-flakes are made by a Swedish company. The claims are that it is a treatment for patients who suffer from various inflammatory conditions and are presumed to have a low amount of AF, therefore normalizing fluid flow.

This is of clinical significance for Meniere’s, Vertigo and Migraine. It has also been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect which was seen in studies of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Colitis Ulcerosa and Crohn’s disease.

What is “AF” and why is this significant to the Meniere’s sufferer?

A 2010 clinical study published in Acta Otolaryngol and listed on PubMed.gov came to the conclusion:

“Intake of antisecretory factor (AF)-inducing SPC-flakes significantly reduced vertigo in patients suffering from Ménière’s disease (MD). The positive effect may be due to a modulation of the transport of water and ions in the endolymphatic space.”

Whenever I do research into any possible cause or solution for Meniere’s (and there are several of both: see here ) I always check how many of the emails I have received from sufferers over the past 13 years mention them. In this case only one email discussed SPC-Flakes. That said it is a very useful email. Howard who lives in Japan wrote this in 2015:

Dear Menieres Help.com,

My main complaint now with Menieres is distorted visual signals. Damaged oculomotor reflex due to distension of the inner ear labryinth by endolymphatic hydrops.  Oscillopsia.  Dizziness when I move the head.  Visual objects move to the right when I move the head to the left.

At first I thought that the previous attacks of rotational vertigo had depleted the population of vestibular hair cells
to the point where I am no longer able to regain a proper oculomotor reflex. But since I sometimes seem to have some degree of improvement, and then I lose it again, this cannot be a permanent cellular defecit.  I think it is better explained by a fluctuating endolymphatic volume.

It would appear that the No. 1 thing to do to prevent total loss of vestibular function when “burnout” eventually
comes along, i.e., to prevent total destruction of the membranous labyrinth due to swelling of the canals, is to collapse the labyrinth back to its normal size and shape by doing either one, or both, of 2 things.

1) remove excess endolymph by attempting to reabsorb the excess fluid,

2) stop over-production of endolymph.

I think we’re more interested in 2), stopping the overproduction of endolymph. If it could be done permanently, that would have to be far, far more effective in restoring the balance.

As you know, in Sweden, it was found that when Menieres patients consumed SPC flakes for 2 or 3 months, the hydrops temporarily resolved in about half of the patients. When they stopped consuming, the symptoms returned a few weeks later, but further consumption for a few days brought things back to normal again.

Since SPC flakes up-regulates anti-secretory factor (AF) in the blood, it is clear as crystal that up-regulation of AF must be our primary therapeutic target. But not temporarily. Permanently.
Further Internet research reveals that the hormone vasopressin retains water in the semicircular canals by acting via aquaporins. It is evident that if production of AF were to stop, there would be no brake on vasopressin and so the canals are bound to distend and swell. Both vasopressin and AF are apparently produced by the pituitary gland.

The pituitary gland is the part of the human body damaged most easily by background, low level radiation.  So it comes as no surprise to learn that there has been a 600% increase in Ménière’s disease in Fukushima Prefecture here in Japan in the 3 years following the nuclear disaster:

I believe that this indirectly gives us a pointer to the way in which we should try to permanently resolve this insidious condition.  Namely, permanently restore serum levels of AF by permanently re-balancing pituitary hormone secretions.”

Howard makes good points about the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is part of the endocrine system and both the endocrine system in general and particularly the thyroid gland (also affected by radiation) have been linked to causing Meniere’s symptoms.

I cannot state with any authority whether Salovum and SPC Flakes have helped or can help Meniere’s symptoms or not. I never personally used either during the 7 years I suffered ( I have been free of Meniere’s since 2012 – read my story here ) and from 13 years of correspondence with sufferers I have not received any reports, either positive or negative.

Salovum is now available in the UK on prescription and SK Flakes can be purchased in the US.

Whether this treatment is legit or not, whether the results are real or placebo, as suggested by some, the fact is it is a ‘treatment’. If this treatment can eliminate vertigo then it should be taken seriously and must be worth trying.

Is it possible that Salovum or SPC-Flakes Stop Vertigo in Meniere’s Sufferers?

It seems possible given the above but there are simply not enough first hand accounts known to Meniere’s Help to comment more than that.

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By Mike Spencer

Founder of Meniere’s Help

Researcher and author of Managing Meniere;s Disease and The Need for Balance – Dealing with the Causes of Meniere’s

Help other Meniere’s sufferers. Have you had any experience with Salovum or SK Flakes? email Mike at meniereshelp@gmail.com or tell us all about it in the comments box below.