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Health care providers are currently seeing an explosion in the incidence of gluten ataxia, early dementia, Parkinson's, and aberrant brain function with no clear diagnosis. It is vitally important that [...]

Neurodegenerative diseases impact more than 6 million Americans, and current predictions estimate the rates of neurodegenerative diseases will double in the next 30 years. These diseases are progressive with increasing loss of brain function throughout their course. Overtime, those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases will lose their ability to work and function efficiently in society. Families and society are burdened with skyrocketing costs to provide care for those who are unable to perform activities of daily living. There is an urgent need to develop treatment strategies to both reduce the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases and to delay the progression of the disease.

The article discusses the role of andropause, a physiological state in which men go through a gradual decline in their ability to produce androgen dominant hormones such as testosterone, for the practicing internist. It notes the prevalence of the condition of as a serious health problem in developed nations. The levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone are said to be used as a basis for classifying andropause as primary or secondary. Also tackled is the impact of andropause on male physiology.

The article focuses on the philosophy of functional endocrinology. The author emphasizes that functional endocrinology is physiology-based which is based on specific physiological shifts manifested by the patient as opposed to traditional model which is condition-based, that focuses on diagnosis of a set of symptoms. He stresses that the aim of functional endocrinology is assessing the endocrine system, evaluating basic physiological mechanisms, identifying the mechanism for patterns to be used and finally, deciding on the appropriate treatment.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects the body’s central nervous system. Around 90% of MS sufferers are diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). We used ELISA to measure IgG, IgA, and IgM antibodies against linear epitopes of human and plant aquaporins (AQP4) as well as neural antigens in RRMS patients and controls to determine whether patients suffering from RRMS have simultaneous elevations in antibodies against these peptides and antigens. In comparison to controls, significant elevations in isotype-specific antibodies against human and plant AQP4 and neural antigens such as MBP, MOG, and S100B were detected in RRMS patients, indicating a high correlation in antibody reaction between plant aquaporins and brain antigens. This correlation between the reactivities of RRMS patients with various tested antigens was the most significant for the IgM isotype. We conclude that a subclass of patients with RRMS reacts to both plant and human AQP4 peptides. This immune reaction against different plant aquaporins may help in the development of dietary modifications for patients with MS and other neuroimmune disorders.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a monomer found in commonly used consumer plastic goods. Although much attention in recent years has been placed on BPA’s impact as an endocrine disruptor, it also appears to activate many immune pathways involved in both autoimmune disease development and autoimmune reactivity provocation. The current scientific literature is void of research papers linking BPA directly to human or animal onset of autoimmunity. This paper explores the impact of BPA on immune reactivity and the potential roles these mechanisms may have on the development or provocation of autoimmune diseases. Potential mechanisms by which BPA may be a contributing risk factor to autoimmune disease development and progression include its impact on hyperprolactinemia, estrogenic immune signaling, cytochrome P450 enzyme disruption, immune signal transduction pathway alteration, cytokine polarization, aryl hydrocarbon activation of Th-17 receptors, molecular mimicry, macrophage activation, lipopolysaccharide activation, and immunoglobulin pathophysiology. In this paper a review of these known autoimmune triggering mechanisms will be correlated with BPA exposure, thereby suggesting that BPA has a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity.

The article reports that with the help of Functional Blood Chemistry (FBC) analysis a lot of patients with complex health concerns can be easily identified. It also mentions that such patients are the ones with chronic ailments like pain, insomnia, and mood problems which are usually not clearly diagnosed.