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.
Glaucoma neurodegeneration ameliorated by mitochondrial support
...dietary supplementation with a single molecule (vitamin B3/nicotinamide), or Nmnat1 gene therapy, significantly reduces vulnerability to glaucoma by supporting mitochondrial health and metabolism...By providing a new molecular and metabolic link between increased neuronal vulnerability with age and neurodegeneration these findings are of critical importance for glaucoma and possibly other age-related diseases.
Mercury exposure at low levels induces autoimmunity
Methylmercury, at low levels generally considered safe, was associated with subclinical autoimmunity among reproductive-age females. Autoantibodies may predate clinical disease by years, thus methylmercury exposure may be relevant to future autoimmune disease risk.
Fatigue: inflammation and autoimmunity
Severe fatigue, associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or another disorder, has as a core underlying cause chronic inflammation...there are sufficient robust multiple lines of evidence to support the proposition that the severe fatigue and profound disability experienced by people with the neurodegenerative, neuro-immune and autoimmune diseases discussed here is largely driven by peripheral immune activation and systemic inflammation either directly or indirectly by inducing mitochondrial damage.
Coffee is a liver elixir
Coffee has been documented in a multitude of studies to have metabolic, cardiovascular and brain benefits, and it is especially salubrious for the liver. A paper just published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology handily summarizes several of the virtues that coffee has for liver function.
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.
Antioxidants in excess can increase inflammation and blunt benefits of exercise
Antioxidants, even glutathione, taken in excess can increase rather than ameliorate harmful inflammation...The use of antioxidants must be calibrated with careful consideration of the balance between protective and suppressive effects according to the needs of the individual patient.
Thyroid in heart, metabolism, brain, kidney; vital importance of T3
Thyroid disorders have widespread impact and although subclinical hypothyroidism and low triiodothyronine (T3) syndrome are common they are frequently overlooked in practice.
High homocysteine is a risk factor for colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer can be added to the list of conditions for which high levels of homocysteine are a risk factor according to a study recently published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Perhaps more important than the association of high homocysteine with low levels of vitamins B12, B6 or folate is the fact that homocysteine is a biomarker for inflammation.
Schizophrenia, brain inflammation and depression
Schizophrenia shares underlying processes of brain inflammation in common with depression that are important for treatment.
Oral magnesium helps asthma in children—reduces inflammation, supports glutathione
Oral magnesium helps asthma in children—reduces inflammation, supports glutathione
Blood sugar dysregulation damages learning and memory
Blood sugar dysregulation damages learning and memory