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 when mold toxins get too high.
Our world is a dangerous place, not only thanks to industrial pollution, but also thanks to the contributions of nature as it fills our world with a variety of chemicals. While our clinic works with a multitude of individuals affected by mold toxins, we also appreciate those dealing with other biotoxins including those from algae sources.
Everyone wants to talk about the gut-brain axis these days for good reason. So many brain diseases are being found to have contributing factors originating in the intestinal tract that other are searching for more connections. Mostly we have a lot of correlations, meaning we know there is a connection, but don’t have a mechanism to explain the connection.
Correlation does not equal causation. We hear that often in medicine. For example, we know there are correlations between maternal illness during pregnancy and autism. We know that these two conditions, maternal illness and infant autism, travel together, but we don’t have a mechanism of action to prove that the former causes the latter.
We are truly a whole person. Functional MD’s like myself recognize how our body, minds, and spirits interact even though we don’t always understand fully the mechanisms. Still, we appreciate when studies support what we practice on a daily basis. This study looked at how cognitive behavioral therapy could lower inflammation and affect inflammatory messengers of our immune system.
Our brain has been a mystery for millennia as philosophers and researchers attempted to understand how we remember. We now understand that memory occurs in the brain with changes in the electrical properties of nerve cells and changes in the network interactions of those nerves located in various brain regions.
Anyone found to be unaware of the tight connection between inflammation and dementias like Alzheimer’s and Fronto-Temporal Dementia needs remedial neurology classes if they intend to practice medicine in the 21st century. Countless studies underscore the correlations between higher inflammatory states and dementia, but we need more studies like today’s spot-light on the role of inflammasomes in amyloid beta and tau pathology to explain how it works.
I constantly tell my patients that if their illness were so simple to have one simple “cause” then someone else would have already “fixed” it for them. We have all grown up in a world of medicine where the one-cause-one-disease model has prevailed leading us to all stumble when real life and its illnesses are not that simple.
The brain
and especially its memory function have long fascinated mankind. Its capacity to remember facts, events, and
more has remained a challenging mystery despite countless attempt to probe the
process. As a listened to a genomics
podcast by Illumina called, Illumina Genomics on iTunes, Dr. Ted Abel at the
University of Iowa discussed his team’s research into how our brains retain
long-term memories using acetylation and epigenetics.
A fellow functional MD, Ken Sharlin MD, alerted me to this article on Facebook. While no surprise to anyone in functional medicine, researchers found that the inflammatory marker, CRP (C reactive protein), correlated with faster cognitive decline in middle age study participants. The cohort study group of over 12,000 men and women to note that as the CRP marker rose,
Patients often ask whether their stress might be directly changing them physically; I always answer yes, and describe how our emotional and spiritual state interlaces with our physical condition. While they may be apparently distinct, both play an integral role in both good and bad health. Because of this, we at Sanctuary always pay careful attention to both as we care for their health needs.
Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall of some conversation, listening in? Well, researchers are trying to do just that as your sweet little baby’s poop sends messages to his or her developing brain.
Research methods over recent decades have allowed scientists to “see” so many more bacteria in our guts and how they interact with our bodies.
