- To Change Your Mind - Details Matter
Holistic Psychiatry is CorePsych
Sam McGee and Christmas – Family Fun
December 21, 2009Holistic Reviews At CorePsych
January 24, 2010
A New View: gato-gato-gato via Flickr
The Core of Psychiatry is Changing – Neuroscience Evidence Changes Thinking
We've been talking about the evolution of psychiatry here at CorePsych Blog for more than 3 years – and you know from these pages that mind progress has been dramatic. From SPECT brain imaging, to NeuroScience testing, the new technology provides distinctive different ways to understand old problems.
This January 26 & 27, just a few weeks away, you will have an opportunity to take a deeper step into that change process: The Holistic Health Virtual Conference: Empowering Whole People – I hope you can join me there.
This Holistic Health conference introduces a different view for the new year: Science applied to Health: mind and body connections – all hooked up with evidence that works in everyday life – from some of the most respected national thought leaders.
Hosted by the quick and effervescent Jennifer Koretsky, the conference will have that same here-is-what-to-do-next, bottom line, street-smart focus on applications, not theory. Jennifer hosted the Virtual AD/HD Conference last year, and is the author of Odd One Out: The Mavericks Guide to Adult ADD, and brings an easy-listening experience to her conferences.
Join me with other esteemed colleagues:
– Notably: Daniel Amen MD: Pioneer in brain imaging evidence – has written 23 books, has appeared on PBS regularly, and is a national thought leader in psychiatry who has significantly changed our outlook on the use of brain evidence in everyday office practice. I had the privilege of working with Daniel for 4 years, starting in 2003 with our opening of Amen Clinic DC, in Reston, VA, – and can report without reservation that the tour with him up there significantly changed my professional life – my practice of psychiatry. When you hear his presentation, you will agree, he is one of the very best speakers out there. Engaging, witty, humorous and practical, he will be talking about mind body connections and will definitely get you thinking about evidence that works.
– And check out these other folks on Vit D3, Toxins, Bioidentical Hormones, Food as Medicine: On this Agenda Page at Holistic Health
– My presentation: So much of our current health delivery system in psychiatry is limited only to the best in psychopharmacology – and directed to illness in the moment. Frequently, speaking from my own past experience, we have limited our view to the synapse, as the only tools we have used are medications that hit those brain synaptic connections. With new tools, new evidence, and new thinking, we now have a much more comprehensive way to measure brain health.We are rapidly moving from macro to micro in our new assessment strategies. I will summarize what you need to know to get started. Bottom line: Comprehensive thinking beats categorical thinking every time.
The challenge: How to put all the evidence together for your comprehensive care, and for comprehensive self care. My presentation will take you into the molecular and cellular measurements now available to understand immune, hormone and neurotransmitter assessments – without tying you down with jargon. These new measurement tools are readily available, are often quite cost effective, and will tell you volumes about your brain and body connections and, as mentioned above: what -to-do- next.
It won't matter who you are, public or professional, you need to hear this information to effectively practice 21st century health medicine, 21st century self care. Start the New Year right: Holistic Health Conference.
Hope to see you there, and do retweet this below if you think your followers might be interested in the real deal. š
Talk soon,
cp
6 Comments
David Summers, a 37 year old MS patient from Murfreesboro, Tennessee was a score of 8.0 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) when he had the Combination Liberation Therapy and Stem Cell Transplantation at CCSVI Clinic in March of 2012. Having been diagnosed in 1996 he had been in a wheelchair for the past decade without any sensation below the waist or use of his legs.āIt was late 2011 and I didnāt have much future to look forward toā says David. āMy MS was getting more progressive and ravaging my body. I was diagnosed as an 8.0 on the EDSS scale; 1 being mild symptoms, 10 being death. There were many new lesions on my optic nerves, in my brain and on my spinal cord. My neurologist just told me: ābe prepared to deteriorateā. I knew that he was telling me I didnāt have much time left, or at least not much with any quality.ā David had previously sought out the liberation therapy in 2010 and had it done in a clinic in Duluth Georgia. āThe Interventional Radiologist who did it told me that 50% of all MS patients who have the jugular vein-clearing therapy eventually restenose. I didnāt believe that would happen to me if I could get it done. But I have had MS for 16 years and apparently my veins were pretty twisted upā. Within 90 days, Davidās veins had narrowed again, and worse, they were now blocked in even more places than before his procedure.āI was so happy after my original procedure in 2010. I immediately lost all of the typical symptoms of MS. The cog fog disappeared, my speech came back, the vision in my right eye improved, I was able to regulate my body temperature again, and some of the sensation in my hands came back. But as much as I wanted to believe I felt something, there was nothing below the waist. I kind of knew that I wouldnāt get anything back in my legs. There was just way too much nerve damage nowā. But any improvements felt by David lasted for just a few months.After his relapse, David and his family were frustrated but undaunted. They had seen what opening the jugular veins could do to improve him. Because the veins had closed so quickly after his liberation procedure, they considered another clinic that advocated stent implants to keep the veins open, but upon doing their due diligence, they decided it was just too risky. They kept on searching the many CCSVI information sites that were cropping up on the Internet for something that offered more hope. Finding a suitable treatment, especially where there was no known cure for the disease was also a race against time. David was still suffering new attacks and was definitely deteriorating. Then Davidās mother Janice began reading some patient blogs about a Clinic that was offering both the liberation therapy and adult autologous stem cell injections in a series of procedures during a hospital stay. āThese patients were reporting a āfull recoveryā of their neurodegenerative deficitsā says Janice, āI hadnāt seen anything like that anywhere elseā. She contacted CCSVI Clinic in late 2011 and after a succession of calls with the researchers and surgeons they decided in favor of the combination therapies.āI went to CCSVI Clinic in India without knowing what to expectā says David, ābut I basically had one shot left and this was it. I was becoming pretty disabled, and I couldnāt think very clearlyā. David was triaged with a clinic intake of other MS patients and had the liberation therapy on March 27, 2012. They also drew bone marrow from his hip bone in the same procedure. When he woke up from the procedure, he again felt the immediate effect of the widening of the veins. āIn case anyone doesnāt believe that the liberation therapy works, I can tell them that this is much more than placebo effect.ā The MS symptoms described earlier again disappeared. Four days later he had the first of the stem cell injections from the cultured cells taken from his hip bone during the liberation therapy. The first transplant was injected into the area just below his spine. Over the next 4 days he would receive about 100 million stem cells cultured in specific growth factors for differentiated effect.He was not quite prepared for what happened next. A few hours after the first transplant, he was taken back into his hospital room and was transferred to the hospital bed. āIām not completely helpless when it comes to moving from a chair or a bedā, says David, āOne of the things I can do for myself is to use my arms to throw my leg into a position to be able to shift the rest of my body weight over to where Iām going. But this time to my amazement, I didnāt have to pick up the dead weight of my leg and throw it. It moved on its own, exactly where my brain told it to goā. Shortly after his first stem cell transplant procedure, some motor function in his lower body had returned. āThis was the first time in 10 years I had any sensation or motor function below my waste so it was quite a shock.āIn the next month, most every motor nerve and body function has either returned or is on its way to recovery. āItās been over a decade since Iāve had any power over my elimination functions. Now itās all come back. I have total bladder controlā. Heās also working out every day, following the physiotherapy routine given him by the clinic. āFor years, I havenāt been able to work out without getting sick for a couple of days afterward. Now I have muscles popping out all over the place where I havenāt seen them since my MS became progressiveā¦and I can work out as hard or as much as I want. With my ability to do the hard work my balance is improving each day and Iām able to take steps unassisted. Iām definitely going to be coming all the way back.āDr. Av Gupte, the neurosurgeon who has now done over 2000 adult autologous stem cell transplants for various neurologic disease conditions says that the stem cells in Davidās body will continue to work their healing process for the next year. āWith the incredible progress Iāve seen so far, I wonāt need a yearā, says David. āItās only been a little over two months and I have most everything back. I canāt wait to get up each day to check out my improvements. My right hand is completely back to normal without any numbness and the left is on its way. I have good strength in my legs now and Iām working on the balanceā.Other MS patients treated with the combination therapy over the past 18 months have seen similar improvements but none have been as disabled as David. āIf I can come back from where I was, most everyone with MS could too. For me, CCSVI Clinic has been my miracle and I canāt say enough about the doctors, researchers and staff who are helping me to recover. For me, MS was my previous diagnosisā.For more information please visit http://www.ccsviclinic.ca/?p=904
Dr Parker,
I also review many topics that are E-mailed to me from another Health related web page concerning toxic substances found in our food that may be approved by the FDA for human consumption, This one gave me something to think about. Many problems are related to food items or Dieting choices we make and assume
Diet Food has little or no side effects .
If you use any products that contain Aspartamine you may want to read this.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/02/06/sweet-misery-a-poisoned-world-you-can-finally-view-free-online.aspx
There are now to many healthy option available things like Stevia, we need to push for removal of known harmful substances in foods.
Doug
Doug,
Many thanks! Readers should really take a moment to look at the details on this link: I once treated a person who flipped into psychotic regression, on each Diet Coke – visual hallucinations while driving. This is a very comprehensive look at a significant problem – encouraged by adding too much phenylalanine, an upstream contribution to the phenylethylamine [PEA] we see elevated with neurotransmitter [NT] testing in our office.
Wikipedia on phenylalanine also notes this point:
“Studies have also been conducted regarding aspartame’s effect on the production of Leptin which controls food intake and energy expenditure by acting on receptors in the mediobasal hypothalamus.[24] These studies[25] have shown that leptin was “significantly reduced by 34%” after “chronic ingestion of aspartame (ASP).” […the reversal [!] of “Diet:” to wit – decreased leptin = increased appetite!]
cp
I I am writing to see if you can help with a problem I was told could be related to ADD but cannot find any good info onon its treatment. I have 3 boys aged 18, 16, and 9. All did or do wet the bed and have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. The two older boys outgrew this at about aged 13 or so. The 9 year old still wets. Is this related to ADD or is this a separate issue and do you know any treatment that works for it. Both my husband and I are physicians (MDs) an anand can’t seem to get any help locally with this problem.
ThThank you.
Carol
Carol,
Two points:
1. Watch for food sensitivities as a potential, indeed frequent but not categorical, problem with nocturnal enuresis. Just had one boy come in yesterday wetting vigorously at 5 yo, peeing in odd places, playing with the cat litter and peeing there, next to the toilet, and having fun peeing just about anywhere, and with copious enuresis as well. Careful review: BM Q day [frequency good], but delivers a monolithic stool that *Dad would be proud of* indicating change in transit time and likely backup in spite of good frequency – and throughout early childhood had significant challenges with milk. Testing underway – cytokines can clearly cause ADHD symptoms with PFC disinhibition, seen it many times.
Having said that, this note from peds at UCSF summarizes some options. I have used both low dose Tofranil 10mg to slowly going up to possibly 50mg, but do prefer DDAVP as my first choice – doses listed here. Tofranil, a TCA can change cardiac conduction times, and I see no reason to risk that issue on the front end, but see no prob if DDAVP is counterproductive. Used it for 20 yrs with no probs, just picky about TCAs for that reason.
Interestingly many of these kids for some reason straighten out, and stop enuresis after 1-6 mos. Best,
cp
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dr Charles Parker, Virtual Health Ptnrs. Virtual Health Ptnrs said: #Holistic #Health Virtual Conference Speaker @drcharlesparker on Holistic Psychiatry: http://is.gd/5LYdI […]