Sharing God's love in remote corners of the world

Lhasa, China (Formerly Tibet) is a beautiful, interesting place with a terrible problem. The problem is a disease endemic to this region, known as Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). KBD terribly affects the children of Tibet, inflicting them with severe arthritis, deformities, and extreme pain.

The physicians at Medicines sans frontieres spent ten years investigating this disease but were unable to develop a treatment protocol or discover a cure for KBD.

Last year, an organization that I have been very fortunate to be associated with was asked by the government of China to investigate this disease. I happened to be conducting research on enzyme-related biochemical reactions and KBD appears to involve problems in enzyme catalysis.

My hypothesis is that the Glutathione Peroxidase-1 enzyme (GPX1) enzyme, which is seleno-dependent, is not functioning properly in KBD victims and therefore the victims experience gross deficiencies in selenium, iron and other trace essential elements.

This summer (July) Innovative Humanitarian Solutions was invited to investigate this hypothesis by initiating a clinical trial in the Lhasa region. This trial will be overseen by the Centers for Disease Control in Lhasa, China under the Direction of Dr. Zugang Jiang.

Dr. Richard Gunasekara, Ph.D., a University of Houston-Victoria professor and well-known geneticist will accompany a research team to Lhasa to oversee the trial initiation and to collect data for genetic screening of the population related to this disease.

Conducting work of this nature isn't cheap, but investigating the cause and developing a treatment protocol for a disease is infinitely less expensive than caring for its victims after they have contracted it.

The half-brother of Jesus Christ named James once asked the question, "If a brother or sister is naked and without daily food and they come to you and you tell them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled" but you do not feed and clothe them, what good is that?"

The Christian life is a life of action. R. Buckminster Fuller once said, "God is a verb". If you understand this and would like to help support the work of Innovative Humanitarian Solutions in Lhasa, providing hope for children of KBD, then please click here: www.innovativehs.net.

Please label your support : Tibet-trial so we will know where to post the funds.

May God richly bless you,

Jeff Cokenour