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.
Chronic fatigue is experienced through the brain
An important study just published in PLOS One reveals a primary mechanism by which the fatigue of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is experienced in the brain, and that this is associated with immune inflammatory activation.
Exercise: moderation is best for the heart
Exercise can benefit with surprisingly little effort and time as documented by recent studies, but like everything else there is a dose-response curve, meaning that the effect of exercise varies with the dose (intensity, duration). Now there is more evidence that exercising too intensively can do harm, particularly to the cardiovascular system.
Thyroid autoimmunity affects cognitive and emotional function
Autoimmune thyroiditis is "associated with cognitive and affective disorders also in the euthyroid [normal thyroid hormone level] state. Thereby thyroid antibodies might play a direct role or indicate an autoimmune process."
Gut-Brain connection and autoimmunity
This brief video on the gut-brain connection from Cyrex Laboratories is a succinct introduction to the expanding role of autoimmunity in a wide range of disorders and the importance of predictive antibodies.
Multiple sclerosis, TH17 and vitamin A
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory neurodegenerative disease. Recent studies shed light on its autoimmune component and offer evidence for the use of vitamin A in consideration of the premiere importance of Treg and Th17 or Th40 balance.
Breast cancer and glucose intolerance
Breast cancer, insulin resistance and blood sugar dysregulation are associated, and more evidence for the breast cancer link with glucose intolerance is presented in a study just published in PLOS ONE.
Epilepsy as an autoimmune disorder
Epilepsy should be evaluated in case management for neuroinflammation that reduces neuronal thresholds of excitability, and more evidence that this can be due to autoimmunity was just published in JAMA Neurology.
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.
Vitamin C modulates gene expression to control inflammation
A fascinating study reveals that vitamin C supplementation in a non-deficient, normal physiologic state has no significant effect. But in the presence of an inflammatory trigger vitamin C modulates gene expression to control inflammation.
Benzodiazepines and anxiolytics increase risk for dementia, mortality
Benzodiazepines increase risk for dementia; benzodiazepines, anxiolytics and Z drugs such as Ambien increase risk for mortality. Along the way they can cause morbidities that are harder to treat.
Allergy symptoms made worse by altered neuromodulation
"Among the constellation of symptoms that characterize the allergic reaction, many, if not most, are secondary to changes in the nervous system..In this sense allergy is an immune-neuronal disorder...therapeutic strategies should target the nervous system and work synergistically with anti-inflammatory strategies."
Breast cancer survival is enhanced by higher serum levels of vitamin D
Breast cancer survival is linked to higher serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] according to evidence presented in a meta-analysis just published in the journal Anti-Cancer Research...Higher serum 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with lower fatality rates in patients with breast cancer. Patients with the highest concentration of 25(OH)D had approximately half the fatality rate compared to those with the lowest concentration
Flu: most cases are without typical symptoms
Flu contagions include many more people whose immune systems are managing the virus without expressing recognizable flu symptoms.
Type 2 diabetes - autoimmune aspects
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) causation is not restricted to metabolic factors but can include loss of immune tolerance for components of the glucose and insulin regulating systems. A paper published recently in the journal Gerontology reminds that interventions that ameliorate autoimmune inflammation can help to lower blood sugar.
PTSD, inflammation and magnesium
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) may be more likely to occur in the presence of pre-existing inflammation according to a study just published in JAMA Psychiatry. Magnesium is 'nature's SNS calming mineral' that supports PSNS (parasympathetic nervous system) function and has a natural anti-inflammatory effect.
Bipolar disorder and neuroinflammation
There is a massive amount of evidence supporting the importance of assessing and treating neuroinflammation in bipolar disorder and other neuropsychiatric illnesses. This makes necessarily the comprehensive examination of autoimmunity and its numerous underlying contributory causes.
Vitamin D when low increases risk of hospital-acquired infection after surgery
Vitamin D is crucial not only for the immune tolerance that opposes autoimmunity and allergy, but also for effective resistance to opportunistic infections. A study just published in JAMA Surgery (formerly Archives of Surgery) shows a link between pre-operative vitamin D levels and hospital-acquired infections.