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.
Levothyroxine therapy and normal TSH yet hypothyroid symptoms
A significant proportion of patients treated with levothyroxine continue to experience residual symptoms of hypothyroidism, including psychological and metabolic effects, due to inadequate conversion of T4 to T3.
Autoimmune diabetes (type 1): half develops after age 30
Half of autoimmune diabetes occurs in adults. "Physicians shouldn't be complacent when...not bringing A1c down to target when they should."
Leaky gut: inflammation, chronic fatigue and depression
Leaky gut permits bacterial LPS translocation into the gut lymphoid tissue where it triggers inflammation causing chronic fatigue and depression.
Thyroid autoimmunity and iron deficiency in pregnancy
Thyroid autoimmunity and iron deficiency are linked in pregnancy, posing a risk for numerous adverse fetal and maternal outcomes, including miscarriage.
Alzheimer's disease and blood-brain barrier leakage
Patients with early Alzheimer's disease have significantly more tissue characterized by blood-brain barrier leakage than do healthy control subjects...BBB leakage may help to provide a biomarker for early diagnosis, or at least a marker indicating vulnerability for the development of dementia.
ONCOblot cancer test, sensitive and specific, explained in brief video
ONCOblot cancer test, sensitive and specific, explained in brief video.
Allergy skin prick reactions change with lancet weight
IgE allergy skin prick test reactions differ with changes in lancet weight. Higher lancet weights cause larger wheal reactions.
GERD pathology caused by immune reaction, not acid
GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) may be caused by a dysregulated inflammatory reaction to the stimulus of gastric hydrochloric acid in the lower esophagus, not 'burning' by the acid itself, according to preliminary research just published in JAMA.
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.
Lyme update: does longer-term antibiotic therapy help?
"Patients with subjective, vexing symptoms attributed to Lyme disease should not anticipate that even longer courses of antibiotics will produce relief, a finding that is in concert with results from previous trials."
New autoantibodies recognized for rheumatoid arthritis
New autoantibodies recognized for rheumatoid arthritis, including antibodies to oxidized collagen, can serve as early disease markers and tools for therapeutic monitoring.
DHEA predicts coronary heart disease risk
Low serum levels of DHEA predict an increased risk of coronary heart disease in older men. This is especially important because there is still a high incidence of sudden cardiac death in individuals who do not have the traditional risk factors.
Postmenopausal vaginal atrophy relieved by fennel cream
Fennel cream effectively treats postmenopausal vaginal atrophy without side effects.
Circadian rhythms of inflammation
Treatment of chronic inflammation can be enhanced and adrenal suppression minimized by circadian dosing of anti-inflammatory medication.
Evidence lacking for most common ADHD drug
Evidence is lacking for the most common ADHD drug, and very little is known about long-term effects.
Fasting insulin reliably shows insulin resistance
Insulin resistance can be reliably shown by fasting plasma insulin levels above 10.7 μU/ml.