FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE BLOG 

Includes over 800 monographs reporting on emerging studies in the medical and scientific literature of practical clinical importance, easily searched for content.

Mood disorders and thyroid autoimmunity

Mood disorders and thyroid autoimmunity are linked by aberrant levels of hematopoietic/neuronal growth factors...even before hypothyroidism has developed, and also in relatives of thyroid autoimmunity subjects, growth factors necessary for healthy brain function are at levels associated with a range of mood disorders including bipolar, depression and psychosis. They also include an important reminder that antibodies can predict clinical disease years in advance.

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Systemic inflammation drives brain neurodegeneration

n a richly valuable paper published recently in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience the authors describe the ways in which systemic inflammation causes neurodegeneration in the brain associated with cognitive decline and a host of neuropsychiatric disorders. In the short term this manifests the anorexia, malaise, depression, and decreased physical activity known as sickness behavior (SB) that occurs with inflammation due to infection. Permanent cognitive and behavioral changes due to neurodegeneration occur when inflammation is chronic. Discerning and targeting the causes of inflammation offers opportunities for treatment.

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Traumatic brain injury and chronic neuroinflammation

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) even in it's milder forms can initiate a process of chronic neuroinflammation that causes a range of chronic neurodegenerative disorders. ..Judicious application of natural anti-inflammatory agents to minimize side-effects along with other measures guided by objective measurements is a standard for treating traumatic brain injury that can be applied to other neurodegenerative disorders as well.

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Nigella sativa, a true 'wonder medicine'?

Nigella sativa, also known as black cumin, produces seeds with a mind-boggling wealth of medicinal virtues. For colleagues and others who may not be familiar with the abundance of scientific evidence for the use of Nigella sativa seed extract in clinical practice, this selection of citations serves as an introduction to its wide range of indications.

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Neuropsychiatric illness in non-celiac gluten sensitivity

Neuropsychiatric illness can result from neuroinflammation due to a variety of causes. Recent studies offer more evidence that depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders can be a manifestation of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. A paper published in Gastroenterology Research and Practice explores the pathophysiologic mechanisms by which gluten sensitivity can present as a variety of neuropsychiatric conditions in the absence of celiac disease.

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