Research studies about turmeric or its derivative, curcumin, frequently catch my eye, especially this one that looked at turmeric and glaucoma. Researchers had apparently been testing systemic administration of turmeric for glaucoma (a disease of high pressure inside the eye that can result in blindness). The poor ability of turmeric to dissolve in water had…
No, I am not writing a veterinary piece this week on zoo animals. I am referring to Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders related to Streptococal infections. PANDAS is a well-known acronym in the medical world for several decades, yet a still mysterious constellation of symptoms with even more mysterious mechanism by which it wrecks havoc in…
It is difficult to go anywhere these days without seeing teens staring down at a smart phone screen. Meanwhile the epidemic of ADD and ADHD type symptoms has everyone up in arms. These researchers asked a simple question, “Could social media use be connected with developing ADHD?” I am not shocked by their findings of…
Just who does this American Academy of Pediatrics thinks they are? Just because they control board certification for all pediatricians, set the guidelines for pediatric well and sick care, and are the largest influence in mainstream pediatrics does NOT give them the right to make outrageous claim that we in functional medicine have been making…
We do a lot of adrenal function testing in our functional medicine office. In order to monitor how a patient’s cortisol goes up and down throughout the day (higher in morning, lower in evening and night hours), we use saliva testing to determine need for therapy. Between our high cortisol, stressed patients, and our low…
I know I will hear from a number of my patient’s parents when this leaks out. I suspect that many will begin with “I knew it all along”. In this article, researchers describe their process for using 24 different metabolite markers in an algorithm to separate autism from non-autistic children. These markers primarily focus on…
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) attacks many patients relentlessly while others experience intermittent attacks interspersed with periods of quiet. In looking for answers to why some progress to these relentless attacks and how to treat them, scientists may have found a key to unlocking answers and therapies. As evidenced by the series of logical steps they followed,…
Health care cost sharing ministries are programs that any mother should love. Caring for those who suffer ill health should take many forms including sharing the financial burdens. Our moms taught us to share our toys. The Bible teaches us to share with those in need. Cost sharing ministries like Samaritans and others (Medishare, Christian HealthCare Ministry, Liberty Share,…
Have you ever started reading something so deep and so complex that you pause on the second page realizing you already are in over your head? I confess, this article “Advances in Biomarker-Guided Therapy for Pediatric- and Adult-Onset Neuroinflammatory Disorders: Targeting Chemokines/Cytokines” from Frontiers in Immunology did that to me. I am in awe of…
Researchers recently reported intriguing findings from a mouse study. Mice who had circadian rhythm disruptions were found to have higher levels of IL-6 (Interleukin 6) after LPS (lipopolysaccharide) challenge. I know you are just as excited as I was to hear this. Okay, maybe you don’t get as excited about IL 6 and LPS as…