Having your cake and eating it too in the field of infectious disease means discovering antibiotics that both attack the bacteria and stimulate the immune system to turn up its defenses. Researchers report a new class of antibiotics which carry out this dual function, providing some hope in the fight against antibiotic resistant bacteria. Functional…
Sometimes researchers reveal background facts more intriguing than the mundane discovery which they publish in the headline, as this article about the spread of Lyme disease demonstrates. Their headline proclaims a model to predict where Lyme disease will next arise within our nation which might make you think “duh!”. In comparing the records of 1992…
Many patients ask how a mold toxin could cause so much trouble in so many body systems? I greatly enjoy sharing insights with patients, so I could easily get side tracked for hours, but even our prolonged visits in the office have to end so I can see the next patient. Without going into the…
When Life Hands You Lemons: Remain Rooted By Dr. Potter’s wife, Jennifer O Word of God Incarnate O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high, O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky; We praise Thee for the radiance that from the hallowed page, A Lantern to our footsteps, shines on…
Many may express frustration towards the academic types of medicine, accusing them of having their heads buried so deep in their labs that they don’t appreciate clinical applications. I agree at times, but this research on the mechanisms by which elderberry inhibits influenza activity could only be done in a lab by such academics. Many…
Everyone is exposed to mold on a practically daily basis. How can it really cause so many different symptoms as functional MD’s claim? Over time, I intend to answer those questions for a long list of symptoms, but for today, let’s look at the brain. Several studies indicate that our delicate neurological system does suffer…
What is the magic ingredient in breastmilk which drives the lifelong benefits for infants who breastfeed? For some this has been like the holy grail, an elusive answer that would explain why breastfed babies journey through life with lower rates of many inflammatory diseases. Both my field of pediatrics and functional medicine has promoted breastfeeding…
The vast advances in genetic testing ushered in a new era in which patients with illnesses are not the only ones to seek therapy guidance from genetic testing. Parents want to know what their children may face in the near and far term of life. Moving beyond the neonatal screening programs for cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria,…
Why can’t we find the one cause of autism? Because… we are searching for what does not exist, the “one” cause. Autism remains a mysterious complexity and much of that complexity may lie in the fact that multiple causes may lead to it. Furthermore, multiple processes interact to produce what we see in children. Dr.…
Everyone is exposed to mold on a practically daily basis. How can it really cause so many different symptoms as functional MD’s claim? Over time, I intend to answer those questions for a long list of symptoms, but for today, let’s look at the brain. Several studies indicate that our delicate neurologic system does suffer…