Best of the Year in Functional and Integrative Medicine – 2020
It goes without saying, although I’ll still say it again, that 2020 has been a year for the books not only in the world of Functional and Integrative medicine, but in all ways possible.
Navigating Obesity in Immune Dysfunction
Everyone’s awareness about comorbidities, especially overweight and obesity, is heightened due to COVID-19. And in two recent WebMD polls, up to 47% of women and 55% of men report gaining weight during the lockdown – no surprise there – but this may imply patients may be more interested in achieving weight loss goals as part of their overall health care than in previous times. Except we know conventional weight loss programs that lead to a calorie deficit are woefully inadequate (even counterproductive), leading to poor resistance to infection and malnutrition, as Corey Schuler from Integrative Therapeutics explains in this blog below. Read on to learn about the immunometabolic changes brought about in obesity, how to counter them, and I for one, am super grateful Corey relays this encouraging fact: losing just 5% of body mass leads to significant benefits.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Using Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy as a Part of a FxMed Approach to Treatment
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a condition affecting up to 22 million Americans and close to 1 billion people worldwide.
This condition can have serious impacts on overall health and has been shown to be a contributing factor to:
heart disease
diabetes
stroke
cognitive decline
weight gain
daytime fatigue
anxiety
depression
chronic pain
teeth grinding
and chronic headaches
There are a variety of treatment options available to manage Obstructive Sleep Apnea including Positive Airway Pressure devices (the most common being CPAP), dental mandibular advancement appliances, and various surgeries, but there are also functional treatment approaches that can target the underlying causes of the disease.
Respiratory Health and the Microbiome: The Gut-Lung Axis
Respiratory conditions, both chronic and acute, are some of the most common issues seen in clinical practice. In 2016, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) alone accounted for around 3 million deaths, and was the third leading cause of death worldwide. Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases globally affecting nearly eight percent of people (over 24 million) in the US alone. Childhood onset of asthma can impair airway development, and persist into adulthood. Adult asthma may accelerate the decline of pulmonary function, and increase susceptibility to infection
A Few Surprises About Ketogenic Diets and Their Effects on the Microbiota and Th17
As you know, here at drkarafitzgerald.com we like to push the boundaries of what we know, and sometimes this means being a little contrarian. In this blog, our Nutrition Director, Romilly Hodges CNS takes us on a tour of some of the emerging research on Th17 prompted by a new paper in the journal Cell, that postulated a reduction in Bifidobacteria may mediate some of the benefits of a ketogenic diet for epilepsy by reducing Th17.
Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE): A Deeper Look at Antecedents, Triggers, and Mediators
My first EOE patient in the early 2000’s was fortunately, already diagnosed by a very savvy Yale gastroenterologist. I hadn’t heard of EOE at that time, but quickly learned about this highly challenging and potentially disabling mixed IgE allergic condition. It was clear immediately that functional medicine was the solution, and despite my lack of awareness of EOE, I had much to offer my first patient. Since then, we’ve seen more and more EOE patients in clinical practice, unfortunately, due to the meteoric rise of this condition. Fortunately, our tools continue to benefit.
Functional Medicine, COVID-19 & Racial Disparities: Bridging the Gaps Webinar
I am so grateful for the participation of the panel in the roundtable discussion on Bridging the Gaps in Functional Medicine, COVID-19 & Racial Disparities.
How Gut Health Impacts Cardiometabolic Disease
As research on gut barrier function and gut microbes (aka the gut “microbiota”) expands, more is realized about the interconnectedness of the human body. One of the surprising areas is in the way that an unhealthy microbiota is a key driver of obesity, fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiac risk.
The Furin Protease Connection: From SARS CoV-2 and Anthrax, to Diabetes and Hypertension
Earlier this year, Coutard et al proposed that the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) contains a furin cleavage complex (FCC) which was likely playing a role in the pathogenicity of this particular virus. Fast forward a few weeks, and some further connections can be made with relevance for how we might interpret risk and choose interventions…
In Pursuit of Best Practice: Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT)
I have practiced medicine for more than 30 years. Throughout, I, like most of you, always wished I had more time to read. My wish came true! This past year, I had the opportunity to roll up my sleeves, dig in, and really understand the literature. Literature on what? In addition to being a cardiovascular disease (CVD) expert, I wanted to continue my growth and development as a hormone expert. I wanted to know everything I could about hormones, hormones in health and disease, hormones in both men and women, hormone dosing, delivery systems, and monitoring, such that I could educate myself, fellow clinicians, and patients. And that is exactly what I have done.