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.
Side sleeping helps clean brain through glymphatic transport
The major finding of our study was that waste, including Aβ, removal was most efficient in the lateral position...
Migraine, depression, Alzheimer's and lipid metabolism
"Taken together, our findings suggest it is possible that migraine is a neurologic disorder of 'minor' sphingolipid dysmetabolism..."
Brain blood flow reduction associated with kidney function
A study just published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology demonstrates that impairments in kidney function consistent with mild CKD (chronic kidney disease) are associated with reduced blood flow in the brain.
Social anxiety ameliorated by fermented foods
"...these results suggest that consumption of fermented foods that contain probiotics may serve as a low-risk intervention for reducing social anxiety."
Stunning discovery links brain and immune system
Investigators report in the prestigious journal Nature the stunning discovery of a central nervous system lymphatic system connecting the brain and immune system.
Insulin resistance indicated by neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio
We recommend that the NLR values of diabetic patients be calculated as NLR is a cheap, predictive, and prognostic marker for IR. High NLR values were independently related to IR.
ALS and gluten sensitivity
In a study just published in JAMA Neurology, investigators report an association between some cases of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and gluten sensitivity.
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.
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.
Magnesium protects against preeclampsia seizures
...magnesium raises the threshold for seizures in preeclampsia by reducing neuroinflammation...and prevents hypertension in the last weeks of pregnancy.
Perinatal brain injury and inflammation
Perinatal brain injury involves neuroinflammation with consequences for neuropsychiatric disease extending into adult life...
Blood from children with autism induces autistic features in rats
"One of the most remarkable findings of the current study is the development of several features of autism in young rats whose brains were exposed to sera from autistic children...Remarkably, P6 treatment was able to rescue these structural abnormalities probably via increased BDNF expression."
Blood pressure forced too low and cognitive impairment
Low daytime systolic blood pressure was independently associated with a greater progression of cognitive decline in older patients with dementia and MCI among those treated with AHDs. Excessive SBP lowering may be harmful for older patients with cognitive impairment.
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.
Stroke risk reduced by magnesium
Stroke risk is reduced by higher plasma magnesium levels according to data from 32,826 women in the Nurses’ Health Study presented in a paper just published in the journal Stroke.
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.
Fibromyalgia, a brain-based disorder
Fibromyalgia is characterized by an abnormally lowered threshold of sensitivity to a variety of stimuli due to impairment in the brain's ability to properly process sensory signals, as reflected in a study just published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology.
Fatigue commonly caused by iron deficiency without anemia
Fatigue, often accompanied by depression and anxiety, frequently has iron deficiency shown by suboptimal levels of serum ferritin but occurring without anemia. This often goes unrecognized in clinical practice.
Benzodiazepines associated with increased Alzheimer's risk
Benzodiazepines are well known to be deleterious to brain health with more than very short-term use. Research just published in BMJ (British Medical Journal) presents evidence that the use of benzodiazepines to treat anxiety or insomnia is associated with a substantial increase in the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Eating disorders and the causative role of autoimmunity
Eating disorders are multifactorial; like other psychiatric conditions the causative role of auotimmune neuroinflammation is coming to the fore as evidenced by a study just published in PLoS One.