A regular mental exercise routine of reading the latest research keeps a functional medicine doctor like myself sharp and able to apply the latest research findings to the care of patients. Without reading and writing these articles, my mental muscles could get rusty and stiff. This weekly habit is great and all, but now and then, getting away from the busy clinic to focus more intently on these medical advances is needed. That is where a recent conference concerning Autism, PANS/PANDAS, as well as Lyme and tick borne diseases in children, allowed me three days to deep dive into advancing our care of both pediatric and adult patients.
In order to introduce some of these advances and hardwire them into our clinic’s daily routine, I will be doing a special series of blog posts. Rather than following my normal pattern, I will take a different conference session topic for each article and summarize the insights and breakthroughs gleaned from this amazing conference. Hearing so many others across the nation advancing functional pediatric care and sharing insights was quite encouraging. Hearing the leaders of pediatric functional medicine teach a multitude of insights which we already implement at Sanctuary was also encouraging. With the newer research coming out, we can all sharpen our already effective root cause approach and bring greater restoration to our patients present and future.
The coming weeks will include a variety of topics which mainly focus on children’s health but will also include insights helpful for adults in our practice as well, many of which we have already started implementing. By the time this runs, I will have already been training my staff to apply such cutting-edge therapies for the benefit of our patients. To give you a little taste of what is coming in the next several weeks, take a minute to read through these quick-takes.
- Cerebral Folate Deficiency has been found at a high prevalence in children with Autism. When our bodies produce antibodies against the receptors that carry folate into our brains, insufficient folate passes through the blood brain barrier. Then, lacking adequate folate, the nervous systems of young children struggle to develop and function appropriately. Testing and treating this condition shows promise for children with Autism and some adults who are not diagnosed until later in life.
- Healthy brains need healthy guts. Besides the necessity for our GI tract to absorb all the needed nutrients and energy sources that our hungry nervous system needs, the immune interaction between gut bacteria and our enteric immune system serves to lead us to either optimal function or non-optimal dysfunction. Understanding the interaction and how to keep the gut healthy is critical for healthy brains.
- Sulfurophane from broccoli may be the next major NrF2 upregulator for anti-oxidant therapy in children and adults. This chemical from broccoli needs a little help to be released from the food itself, but in sufficiently active amounts, this phytochemical activates our primary anti-oxidant metabolic pathway called Nuclear receptor factor 2 or NrF2. Once this NrF2 is activated, multiple other important pathways kick into gear to benefit our bodies.
- Food is foundational to health. Okay, this is not new, but besides introducing some new concepts and research, it is good to review the basics. Just talking about the new findings and insights could leave one forgetful of the foundation concepts. Forgetting the foundations means all the new concepts would not have anything on which to stand. Establishing the foundations means adding additional therapies can hope to restore healthier more abundant lives.
- PANS and PANDAS come in multiple shapes and sizes. Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric syndrome and Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with strep could explain your child’s sudden change in behavior. Yes, children have their moods that can turn on a dime without notice, but when change is negative and intensely without a subsequent return to baseline, you may be dealing with PANS or PANDAS. I will review some of the causes of these frightening disorders in one article and some of the treatments in another.
- One reason that conventional medicine is not successful with Lyme and other tick borne infections like Babesia and Bartonella is that they don’t employ sufficient breadth of therapies to control the infections or support the immune system. It is hard enough to get conventional doctors to even recognize the presence of these infections, but it’s nearly impossible to get them to apply the necessary breadth of treatments for long enough to work. I will share some of the insights of herbal therapies that Sanctuary is employing as well as some new tools in our toolbox.
- Recovery from chronic illness takes time. Sometimes, our patients expect a quick fix for issues that have been present for years. True, we want our patients to return to their healthier more abundant lives as quickly as possible, but there are no shortcuts to that restoration. I will share the message of hope and patience we and others in the pediatric functional medicine world offer to our patients.
- Our patients often want to really understand their illness. We believe that all should have a basic understanding of what is making them ill, what is stealing their optimal life from them. Knowing the enemy helps one know how to fight. I will take some time to explain the mechanisms through which Lyme causes a variety of bodily dysfunctions so you can be equipped to fight back.
- While none of us like to hear the newest 5 letter word curse word ‘COVID’, research into the pathophysiology or mechanisms of acute and chronic COVID illness has helped us understand Lyme disease better. Clinical experience in adult and pediatric functional medicine clinics confirm that both of these debilitating diseases work through common inflammatory pathways. In some cases, COVID or its vaccine have even triggered Lyme flares. I will discuss how to tell the difference and whether knowing the difference impacts treatment approach.
- Methylene blue as a new therapy has gotten a lot of press recently. This old medicine has found new targets in recent years. Having been used in the past to treat a condition called methemoglobinemia and for some chemotherapy side effects, it now has a role in oxidative stress conditions and tick born infections. I will introduce you to this exciting advancement and how we can use it for your restoration.
- The term “mast cell” comes up practically daily in our office. We care for countless patients with mast cell activation both pediatric and adult. Since other articles on our site have addressed the generalities of mast cells, the article from the conference will focus on the interplay between mast cells and developing brains which may lead to autism symptoms.
- Having finished these articles and maybe a few others that I believe you will find interesting, I will then continue further research updates on autism from the final lecture of the conference. That one lecture will keep me busy with 2-4 autism articles per month for the rest of the year.
Okay, I have been started writing the articles rather than teasing you with these summaries. I hope you enjoy this special conferences series as much as I enjoy writing them. The healthier more abundant life for you and/or your children may arise from these insights and I am thankful to be able to share them with you.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
