Advanced Diagnostics
Accuracy of Lab Testing/ Are All Lab Tests Equal?
How do you know if any test is worthwhile? In order for a test to produce reliable information, the methodology used must be independently verified, plausible, and the results should be consistent and reproducible. In genera these are fundamental aspects of the scientific method. Specifically this is how clinical diagnostic tests are validated.
If a test does not meet these criteria then we can not truly rely on the information that it is providing.
Many times patients are not aware of this fact. This is just to inform you that just because a certain laboratory test was done, no matter how presentable the paperwork and information that goes along with it, especially when it comes to the food allergy world and the vitamin level world (tests like Alcat and Spectracell for example) it doesn’t mean that it is accurate necessarily.
Even when it comes to more standard lab tests certain labs have less reliable data than others and their ranges are very different, meaning the cut off for normal or abnormal in one lab may be different than in another lab and if the interpreter or reading physician strictly follow the flagged data without self interpretation, many abnormal levels can be missed.
The bottom line is when it comes to lab testing the reliability of the lab used must be considered as well as the reference ranges and the clinical interpretation. All of these factors play a part in identifying abnormal levels that actually help improve your clinical symptoms
Genetic Testing
Your genes play a critical role in your health and any disease states. By choosing to learn about your genes by testing you can take a very active role in your health by gaining precise insights into your genetic makeup which will give you the opportunity to positively influence the ultimate outcome of your body’s health and help prevent genetically predisposed disease states more accurately.
Specific genetic testing can be done in areas of cardio-metabolism, detoxification, hormonal health and estrogen metabolism, inflammation, bone health, immune health, nervous system.
Other genetic tests include genetic testing for gluten sensitivity as well as genetic testing to assess your particular detoxification capacity for medications allowing you to choose particular medications that are not hazardous and more optimal for your unique body if medications need to be prescribed for you.
Genetic testing can provide insights into your predisposition for heart disease, Arthritis, autoimmunity, Allergies, Osteoporosis, Toxicity, depression, Anxiety, Cancer, and Adverse drug reactions thereby providing one of the best tools available for you and your physician to target therapies to prevent disease, and optimize health for your individual unique makeup.
Advanced Cardiac/Metabolic Panels
The way most doctors test for heart disease is with a standard lipid panel.
It measures so called HDL (good) and LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol and based on those most doctors tell you that you are, or are not at risk for heart disease. In contemporary medicine we know based on new research that the total amount of cholesterol is usually not the cause of heart disease and more important than the amount of cholesterol is the particle number and shapes of sub-particles of HDL and LDL.
We know that overall, cholesterol is Not the cause of heart attacks and that greater than 50% of heart attacks occur in individuals with so called normal cholesterol numbers. Reduce your risk of a possible cardiac event such as a heart attack. Advanced cardiovascular testing helps provide a more accurate and individualized picture of risk. The tests look beyond just HDL and LDL cholesterol to identify undiagnosed (or additional) risk.
These advanced cardiovascular tests and lipid panels, provide you with more accurate information that can be used by your doctor that can be used to understand your cardiovascular health status more thoroughly.
Furthermore these advanced cardiovascular markers and cholesterol sub-particle shapes and sizes can be monitored for favorable changes and response to your individualized diet, exercise, nutraceutical and medication regimen.
Individual Optimal Nutrition Profiles
Thousands of chemical reactions occur each second in your body, every second of your life.
The foods we eat fuel our bodies after being broken down to raw materials that are used as energy source.
Standard blood tests even when referred to as complete blood tests done by physicians as part of physicals, or even hormone panels do not assess any markers for these biochemical reactions that fuel our energy and metabolism.
Each chemical reaction occurs in a step-wise sequence and depends on the daily availability of raw materials.
A shortage of any of the key nutrients can shut down sequenced biochemical processes that are needed to fuel our energy metabolism pathways cause energy shortages by causing mitochondrial dysfunction that results in many different disease processes in the human body. Early warnings by identifying the deficiencies in these pathways can help you make the necessary changes and add the required key missing nutrients that may both extend your life and enhance your quality of life.
Contemporary laboratory methods (Not standard lab tests ordered by most physicians) let us measure levels of these essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids and organic acids to see if your body has adequate reserves to meet the demands of your lifestyle and to support your tissue needs.
We also look for the presence of specific “marker” chemicals that signal special needs or dangers. In addition the test measures for markers that assess intestinal health, neurotransmitter activity, and detoxification demands and heavy metal levels.
Each of us are unique and our bodies are unique and our requirements for essential nutrients and cofactors are unique. Its essential to use the right nutrients in the right amounts based on each of our unique bodies and individual needs.
Using too little or too much of any nutrient, vitamin or mineral can cause imbalances in the body as well as in other nutrient levels and pathways.
Functional Complete Stool Analysis with Parasitology X 3
One could say that one of the most important scientific findings of the 21st Century has been the understanding that our gut health and intestinal microbiata (the unique organisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that make up our individual gut flora) make up much of the integrity of our health, so much that these unique bacteria are referred to as our second genome and play a significant role in the development of disease and integrity of health.
The Comprehensive Parasitology profile is an important tool for identifying imbalances in intestinal microflora. It includes comprehensive bacteriology and yeast cultures to identify the presence of beneficial flora, any imbalanced flora as well as detection of infectious pathogens and evaluation for the presence of parasites.
A good balance of beneficial microflora is known to be associated with health benefits and plays a significant role in health and disease prevention. Some of the ways our intestinal microflora can be negatively affected are the use of antibiotics, processed foods high in sugar, contamination of water supply, high stress, contaminated food and water.
Functional Complete Stool Analysis can be one of the most important tests you do to shed light on the root causes of many health ailments. Not all stool tests are the same and not all comprehensive stool tests are always accurate.
We use and work with some of the most accurate testing available to ensure optimal results, accurate treatments and health improvements in our patients.
Food Allergy Testing
Food Allergies can play an important role in your symptoms, and are related to many health ailments.
Testing in this area however is still in its relative early stages of development and can be confusing, controversial, and inaccurate some of the time. It’s important to remember that not every allergy test is accurate.
That really goes along with any test but not every company out there that offers testing, no matter how colorful the results page, is accurate.
Standard allergy tests run by most allergy doctors and standard pin prick tests including ones ran for food do not assess chronic food allergens and symptoms. Most allergy tests, that are done conventionally only test for immediate food allergens that are known for example to cause shortness of breath or anaphylaxis.
Many people, usually anyone suffering from a chronic disease, gastrointestinal symptoms, autoimmune disease, skin disease usually has chronic food allergies even if they don’t necessarily suffer from immediate allergic reactions.
In fact most people do not suffer from immediate hypersensitivity reactions.
That is why the majority of patients that have had the standard allergy tests, including skin pricks continue to suffer symptoms and were told most of their tests were normal.
Others have had advertised food allergy tests however did not get anything from the results meaning the foods that were named in the test and eliminating those foods did not help them.
That’s usually because the test was not accurate which we see very commonly with some of the common advertised food allergy tests out there done by even contemporary physicians.
To take it a step further, simply identifying the food allergens correctly and even eliminating them, does not result in long term improvements in health because the underlying causes must be addressed and include the entire process of gastrointestinal detoxification and restoration and addressing dysbiosis (imbalanced gut flora) and leaky gut which are the culprits causing food allergies.
Through years of experience we have a method of assessing and addressing food allergies and their underlying causes that works and results in long- term successful health benefits and symptom resolution.
Zonulin
Our intestinal or gut barrier is an important interface not only for absorbing the necessary nutrients but also as a barrier.
This barrier formed by the tight junctions between cells in our intestine can be damaged by antibiotics, chemicals, pesticides, medications, infections, stress and food allergens resulting in a leaky barrier or ‘leaky gut’ or intestinal permeability which causes food particles to leak into the bloodstream resulting in delayed allergic reactions to food.
This process can affect distant organs and results in a myriad of immune reactions and is the culprit behind many chronic diseases.
Recently Dr. Alessio Faisano MD chief of the department of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor at Harvard Medical School pioneered the research and discovered the molecule Zonulin, responsible for leaky gut and predisposition to leaky gut the biological doorway to inflammation, autoimmunity and cancer. Since then testing is being formulated to assess for Zonulin’s presence in the gut.
The Zonulin/Histamine/DAO test gives us some insight into your individual allergic status and leaky gut predisposition and propensity.
Some of the Symptoms associated with food specific reactions, high histamine or low diamine oxidase and high zonulin are listed below and are similar to symptoms of food allergies or any in fact symptoms associated with imbalances in the gastrointestinal tract the root of all being imbalanced gut flora or dysbiosis:
- Migraine headache Asthma
- Hives
- Arrythmia
- Rashes
- Celiac disease
- Gluten sensitivity
- Food allergies
- IBS
- Autoimmune disorders such as Hashimotos, psoriasis Type 2 Diabetes
- Multiple sclerosis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Chronic Disease
It is a blood test that looks for leaky gut, allergic inflammation, and the body’s ability to decrease inflammation in the gut.
Your zonulin level tells your doctor if you have leaky gut. Diamine oxidase (DAO) and histamine can tell your doctor if you have problems breaking down histamine or if there is inflammation causing allergic-type symptoms.
If you have GI symptoms such as reflux, irritable bowel disease, chronic diarrhea, or food sensitivities, then your doctor is looking for the underlying cause of these symptoms by running the Zonulin/ DAO/ Histamine Profile.
Intestinal Permeability
This test measures the ability of two sugar molecules, lactulose and mannitol, to permeate the intestinal epithelial barrier.
Ordinarily, mannitol is efficiently absorbed but lactulose, a larger molecule, is not. This test can help to identify malabsorption and “leaky gut” syndrome (abnormal intestinal permeability), which is often associated with inflammation specifically in the gastrointestinal tract. This test requires a six-hour timed urine collection after ingesting a lactulose and mannitol solution.
This test is useful for
- Gastrointestinal Symptoms
- Food Sensitivities
- Inflammation
- Malabsorption
- Nutritional Deficiencies
Breath Test For SIBO
SIBO is a common clinical condition and can develop in a variety of patient populations.
SIBO Breath Testing Profiles are non-invasive breath tests which capture exhaled hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) gases following patient ingestion of a lactulose solution to evaluate bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine. Symptoms of SIBO are non-specific, encompassing abdominal pain/distention, diarrhea, constipation, nausea or gas or flatulence.
Conditions commonly associated with SIBO include:
- IBS
- IBD
- Celiac Disease
- Diabetes
- Fibromyalgia
- Rosacea
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Obesity
Heavy Metal Testing
Heavy metals in our environment can accumulate in the body and are a culprit in the underlying causes of many chronic diseases.
Heavy metal exposure, accumulation, and body burden should be assessed and addressed in the evaluation and treatment of any chronic health problems and chronic ill symptoms.
Toxic metals like mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, can accumulate in the body by environmental exposure and or impairment in our body’s capacity to completely detoxify.
Heavy metals do not have any useful physiological function and adversely affect virtually every organ system and disrupt the
balance of vital nutrient elements.
Acute metal poisoning is rare but chronic low level exposure to toxic metals is much more common and results in adverse health effects and chronic disease.
Toxicity occurs when retention exceeds physiological capacity. When clinically implicated we will administer a metal detoxification agent in a safe manner and a timed urine collection is sent to the specialty laboratory for evaluation and to determine your body’s net retention of toxic heavy metals.
The preferred methods of assessing heavy metal body burden is both blood analysis which only assesses foracute overt poisoning as well as urine collections both unchallenged and challenged after intravenous chelating agents (known as chelation therapy) are administered as part of a wellness detoxification IV that includes other naturally occurring nutrients and antioxidants that facilitate your body’s excretion of heavy metals.
All of these test results as well as your clinical symptoms are then evaluated to assess your level of exposure, toxicity or body burden. Heavy metal exposure, toxicity and body burden are not the same phenomenon and must be correctly evaluated, differentiated and treated.
Environmental Toxins/Pollutants Profiles
Our modern day life includes a myriad of environmental pollutants, chemicals and toxins exposure to which disrupts our biochemistry and physiology resulting in numerous diseases.
Volatile solvents are used commercially in the manufacture of plastics, paints, varnishes, resins, synthetic fibers, rubbers, lubricants, dyes and industrial cleaning agents. They are a natural part of gasoline, airplane fuel and cigarette smoke. Parabens are a widely used family of preservatives found in many personal care, pharmaceutical and industrial products.
Phthalates are used in the manufacture of plastics to allow for flexibility. They are widely used in personal care products and food packaging.
Environmental Pollutants Profile provides measurement of metabolites of these volatile solvents (xylene, toluene, benzene, trimethybenzene, styrene), phthalate and Paraben.
Multiple diseases can result from toxin exposure including disruption of our endocrine or hormonal system resulting in hormonal imbalance and infertility in women, testosterone deficiency and lowered sperm count in men particularly by the estrogenic activity exhibited by parabens.
Some of the other effects of environmental toxin exposure include changes in blood parameters including anemia, bone marrow depression, and lowered overall lowered cell counts.
Environmental toxins are carcinogens and cancer causing. Other effects can include kidney disease, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, obesity, increased waist circumference, headache, fatigue, nausea, depression, and anxiety.
Neurotransmitter Profiles
Neurotransmitters are used by our nervous system for cellular communication between nerve cells and the rest of the body. . The levels of your neurotransmitters and their balance dictates your mood and communicates with other systems in the body for overall physiological and biochemical health and balance.
They include acetylcholine, which governs muscle contractions and prompts glands to secrete hormones (a loss of cells that regulate acetylcholine is associated with
Alzheimer’s disease); gamma- aminobutyric acid (GABA), which helps control muscle activity and is an important part of the visual system; serotonin, which constricts blood vessels and brings on sleep, among other functions; and dopamine, which is involved in mood and control of complex movements.
Neurotransmitter Testing allows us to detect imbalances among brain chemicals (dopamine, serotonin, GABA, glutamate, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and others)!
Traditionally psychiatry basically shoots in the dark just using different drugs hoping they work and most times having to use other drugs for the side effects of the first drugs used. Basing treatment on symptoms alone (traditional medicine) will not provide us with the information we need to address the underlying neurotransmitter imbalances causing your symptoms.
Testing enables us to obtain a baseline assessment of your neurotransmitter levels, helps determine the root causes for many diseases and illnesses, and paves the way for more personalized treatment of your most troubling symptoms and conditions.
Testing helps to determine which neurotransmitter levels are out of balance and helps to determine which therapies are needed for an individualized treatment plan. It also can help in monitoring the effectiveness of an individual’s treatment.
Testing is tailored for individuals with problems with attention, focus, and sadness, for those with depressed or high mood, anxiety, panic, insomnia, obsessiveness, PTSD, pain, chronic fatigue, psychosis, memory impairment, attention and focus issues.
Complete Thyroid Panel
One could say that probably one of the most important hormones that governs how we feel, think, and look is thyroid hormone.
Thyroid hormone testing has also been the most controversial and heated of subjects between contemporary forward thinking physicians and traditional conventional physicians and endocrinologists.
Many people have unfortunately experienced ill symptoms that when shared with their conventional doctors and routine testing is done, they are told everything is normal and may
be told they must just be depressed and offered antidepressants instead of a proper diagnosis and treatment. The thyroid, many times, is one of the hidden culprits behind symptoms of fatigue, hair loss, menstrual irregularity, weight gain, depression, anxiety, difficulty loosing weight, constipation, water retention, dry skin or cold intolerance. Clinical symptoms and correct testing is key to properly diagnosing thyroid dysfunction and helping many people to avoid needless suffering by starting treatment.
Routine thyroid tests done by conventional doctors do not include the complete values necessary to diagnose hypothyroidism.
We use the most complete thyroid panels to include measurement of all thyroid values, as well as antibodies, anti-thyroid levels and minerals associated with thyroid metabolism.
The wide range of normal is also a culprit in the misdiagnosis or lack of proper diagnosis of hypothyroidism.
Not only is it important to have the proper complete advanced thyroid panels done for correct diagnosis, it is also important to make sure your doctor is paying close attention to your symptoms and considering that the wide range of normal used by most labs is not correct and what we want to look for are optimal thyroid numbers not just values that barely make the wide normal range.
Using advanced thyroid panel testing as well as clinical judgment we are able to diagnose many patients who have been misdiagnosed in the past and avoid further suffering by starting treatment and restoring their vitality and quality of life.
Complete Male and Female Hormone Panels
The Complete Male Hormones test provides insights into a wide range of symptoms that men may experience and suffer from through the years especially in their late 30’s, 40’s and thereafter through andropause caused by declining male hormones.
Symptoms of andropause or decrease or changes in male hormones include decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, depression, difficulty gaining muscle, weight gain, diabetes, high cholesterol, decrease in vitality and overall zest for life.
Male hormones are important for overall health and vitality. Declining levels of male hormones such as testosterone and DHEA as well as imbalances in male hormones such as estrogen, dihydrotestosterone, cortisol, insulin and thyroid, growth hormone can further cause the following symptoms and conditions in addition to the above: Fatigue, diminishing memory, decrease in attention and focus and poor mood, depression and anxiety, loss of overall well-being, muscle weakness and atrophy, musculoskeletal injuries, poor healing, loss of libido, male pattern baldness, gynecomastia (breasts or fatty tissue around breast areas in men), cancers of the prostate and metabolic and cardiovascular conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory conditions.
Comprehensive male hormone testing provides accurate information about male hormonal levels for therapeutic intervention to restore youthful male hormonal levels, health and vitality.
This robust urine analysis is ideal for prescribing and monitoring Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and for assessing the risk of estrogen-related diseases, including breast cancer risk, prostate disease, osteoporosis, and auto-immune disease.
Female Hormones and Hormone Testing
Our Hormones are tremendously complex and govern many aspects of health.
During the pre-menopausal years, imbalanced hormones can pose challenges with mood stabilization, fertility, and regulations of the menstrual cycle, body weight, body composition, libido, women entering their 40’s and 50’s experience a range of symptoms from increase in premenstrual tension, irregular bleeding breast tenderness caused by hormonal imbalance, including loss of sex drive, “brain fog”, weight gain, hot flashes, irregular menstrual cycles, vaginal dryness, urinary incontinence, depression and/or changes in sleep patterns.
Detailed female hormonal testing done at the correct time of the cycle in menstruating women and often with hormone metabolites in pre and post menopausal women can provide levels of hormones and metabolites and help start appropriate treatment with natural bioidentical hormone therapy and treating underlying problems.
24 Hour Urinary Hormones and Metabolites
Our hormones are complex and metabolize into downstream hormones as they are being excreted. Hormone metabolites also greatly affect our health through their balance, ratios and detoxification. 24 hour urinary hormones and metabolites is the most comprehensive urinary hormone metabolism evaluation designed to assist in the prevention and treatment of hormone-related symptoms and conditions providing clues about menstrual irregularities, infertility, menopause, fatigue, breast cancer, and osteoporosis.
Urinary estrogens and estrogen metabolites are measured including an assessment of estrogen methylation, which is a critical step in the protective mechanism of estrogen metabolism, detoxification and plays a role in breast cancer, both predisposition to breast cancer and its prevention.
By getting levels of these metabolites, predisposition to breast cancer and osteoporosis can be identified and treated encouraging more favorable hormonal ratios by natural therapeutic interventions.
The Essential Estrogens hormone test measures for urinary estrogens and estrogen metabolites, and includes an assessment of estrogen methylation, which is a critical step in the important process of estrogen detoxification as well as important ratios of estrogen metabolites that can provide important clues for breast cancer predisposition.
Examples of some of the hormone metabolite levels checked are estrogens including Estrone 1 (E1), Estradiol (E2), Estriol (E3) and Estrogen Metabolites, 2-Hydroxy-estrone, 2-Methoxy-estrone, 4- Hydroxy-estrone, 4-Methoxy-estrone, 16-Alpha-Hydroxy-estrone, estrogen metabolite ratios including, 2-Hydroxy-estrone/16-Alpha-Hydroxy-estrone ratio as well as Estrogen Methylation 2-Methoxy- estrone/2-Hydroxy-estrone ratio.
These levels and ratios are important in estrogen deficiency states causing symptoms like Osteoporosis, Amenorrhea and Menopausal symptoms, As well as Estrogen excess that can result in Menorrhagia/ Painful Periods, Uterine Fibroids, Anxiety/Irritability, Breast Cancer.
Estrogen metabolites are proven to convey either protection or increased risk for disease depending on if they are balanced or imbalanced. Estrogen metabolite imbalance further results in increased risk of: Breast Cancer, Osteoporosis, Prostate Cancer.
Estrogen methylation is a critical step in the protective mechanism of estrogen metabolism. Impaired methylation and increased or decreased levels of certain estrogen metabolites and ratios can either have protective effects on the body for cancer prevention or increase the risk of illness and cancer.
Lyme Disease Testing
Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi carried by ticks. Lyme disease is transmitted by tick bites often while walking in woodlands and brushy areas however many people who are bitten by ticks may never know it.
The characteristic symptoms are red bulls-eye rash at the site of the bite that is present in less than 40% of patients, some report flu-like symptoms, fever, aches, fatigue, neck stiffness, jaw discomfort, muscle pain and stiffness, swollen glands, and red eyes. The nervous system can also be affected and symptoms can include memory loss, Bell’s palsy, numbness and tingling, nerve pain.
Later in the disease there can be migratory joint pains, and pains in the tendons, muscles and bones may occur later in the disease.
Early diagnosis and treatment is best for appropriate treatment. The CDC reports that Lyme Disease is vastly under-reported and estimates about 300,000 new cases per year. Lyme Disease can become chronic with chronic debilitating symptoms.
Several tests are available for a diagnosis of Lyme disease however testing is not 100% accurate and a combination of testing and clinical suspicion must be used for proper diagnosis.
Testing includes includes direct and indirect tests. Indirect tests look for the patient’s immune response to B. burgdorferi. Direct tests look for the presence of B. burgdorferi antigens or nucleic acids. The sensitivity and specificity of indirect tests is about 70%. Antibodies to B. burgdorferi are detected about 2-3 weeks after infection and may remain elevated for a long time in some patients. About 20%-30% of patients never make antibodies.
Some patients with a “normal immune system” may not have made antibodies at the time of testing. Thus, the presence of antibodies alone does not make a diagnosis of disease. Unfortunately, Lyme bacteria like to “hide” in the body, therefore, testing can be negative in chronic cases as well. Many Lyme patients are also co-infected with one or more other tick-borne pathogens including Babesia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Bartonella or Rickettsia and identification of coinfections is also important.
Conventional physicians do not recognize chronic Lyme disease and its symptoms and many patients who are suffering from Lyme disease go to 20 or more doctors and get numerous other false diagnoses before they are diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Some specialty labs have a reputation for doing a better job at detecting Lyme Disease and we work with these labs as well as traditional labs to help make the diagnosis in clinically suspected patients. However the bottom line is that the problem lies with the Lyme organism that exists in several forms, can hide, evade the immune system and make it difficult and sometimes impossible to detect through
laboratory. For this reason using different lab techniques, specialty lab testing and clinical suspicion is the best way to make a diagnosis of Lyme disease and start therapeutic interventions.
It’s important for patients suffering from chronic illness to understand is that chronic infections including Lyme may play a part in their symptoms and often if they have had testing for Lyme and it was negative to understand that the possibility that they have been exposed to and infected with Lyme still exists.
Once a diagnosis is made treatment must be comprehensive using a functional medicine model addressing all underlying imbalances in the body and the 9 pillars of Advancehealth.
Adrenal Stress Index Testing
Adrenal Stress Index (ASI) testing with salivary adrenal hormone levels tested throughout the day can provide important values in the adrenal stress index and shed light on underlying
causes of Fatigue, insomnia, hypothyroidism, weight gain, obesity, PMS, insulin resistance and diabetes, allergies, joint pains and immune dysfunction
Our Adrenal glands are located just above our kidneys and are responsible for secreting and regulating our stress hormone Cortisol. Our body was not designed to handle high stress in an ongoing fashion. Our ancestors only experienced acute high level stress for example when they were chased by a tiger in the jungle and were essentially at a more restful state the remainder of the time. In times of this acute high stress our body was and is designed to secrete higher levels of cortisol to deal with the stress at hand. However in our modern day each and every one of us in one way or another experiences a level of continuous chronic stress throughout the day and this results in overproduction of cortisol to deal with chronic stress and eventually can lead to adrenal burnout, a state of underproduction of cortisol and severe fatigue commonly known as Adrenal Fatigue.
Our adrenal glands do not secrete steroid hormones and cortisol at a constant level throughout the day. The hormones are released in a cycle, highest in the morning and changing throughout the day and declining at night. Chronic stress, illness, infection, imbalances in blood sugars and hormonal deficiencies are some factors that can result in abnormal adrenal rhythm and hormone secretion and as a result negatively influence many functions of the body. Some of the body functions that are regulated by the adrenal glands and negatively affected by adrenal dysfunction include:
- Energy Production resulting in fatigue
- Blood Sugar regulation and maintenance resulting in poor blood sugar regulation, cravings, insulin resistance, weight gain
- Muscle and Joint Function and tissue resulting in reduced tissue repair and increased breakdown causing joint pain and chronic pain
- Bone Health imbalances and high stress and cortisol levels result poor bone health and
- Immune Health affected negatively by disrupted imbalanced cortisol cycle as well as immune suppression caused by short term and log term stress and resultant increased allergic reactions
- Sleep Quality with interrupted regenerative and REM sleep cycles by high cortisol values at night and in the morning. Chronic lack of sleep reduces mental vitality, vigor and causes depression.
- Skin Regeneration resulting in poor skin health and regeneration with abnormal cortisol rhythm
- Thyroid Function resulting in hypothyroid symptoms of fatigue and cold intolerance as a result of imbalances in cortisol and adrenal
- Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis with dysfunction resulting in low cortisol and eventual adrenal atrophy causing Chronic Fatigue syndrome and depleted adrenals with flat rhythms on testing
- Glycemic/Blood Sugar Regulation negatively affected by with chronic hypoglycemia causing impaired adrenal function and increased cortisol resulting in insulin resistance and diabetes.. This panel is useful in the following clinical situations: rapid weight gain and obesity, abnormal cholesterol levels, Sugar cravings, early diabetes and associated emotional disturbances.
- Allergies and autoimmune disorders worsened and triggered by cortisol deficiency states improved by low dose cortisol supplementation based on findings from the Adrenal Stress Index
- Mood and Attention with ADD/Depression caused by abnormalities in cortisol levels throughout the day or night which can be improved with therapeutic interventions based on levels obtained by the ASI Test
Chronic Infection Panels
Chronic viral and or bacterial or fungal infections may be involved in the underlying causes of some chronic diseases such as autoimmune disease and chronic fatigue syndromes.
Infections such as Herpes, HHV6, Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Mycoplasma, Varicella Zoster, Measles, Lyme, and Candida. If chronic infections are left untreated they may result in over activation of the immune system and subsequent progression to autoimmune disease.
By testing and addressing not only antibody levels for acute infection but also elevated levels of those of chronic infection symptoms can be treated and many chronic illnesses addressed from their root cause.
Kryptopyrroluria (KPU)/ Hemopyrrollactamuria (HPU)
Many patients who suffer from chronic illness and patients attempting to rid their body of a particular toxic or infectious burden know that such attempts may not always be easy to do, some plateau or find that their recovery is stalled, in other cases, patients may not succeed in their attempts and for many recovery is elusive such as in patients with long-standing therapy resistant Lyme disease, patients with long standing candidiasis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and heavy metal toxicity.
In looking for possible explanations as to why some patients struggle more than others to regain their health, there has been a high correlation between patients with chronic Lyme disease and chronic illness and those with Kryptopyrroluria (KPU), or more precisely Hemopyrrollactamuria (HPU) otherwise known as the “Mauve Factor”.
This correlation has been studied and discovered by Dr. Klinghardt MD PhD. The condition may be an inherited condition but it can also be induced by early childhood psychological trauma or chronic infections.
The HPU complex is a biochemical marker and neurotoxic substance frequently identified in the urine of patients with autism, learning disabilities, alcoholism, substance abuse, schizophrenia, ADHD, Down syndrome, depression, bipolar disorders, and even criminal behavior. Some estimate the incidence of KPU to be 40-70% in schizophrenia; 50% in autism; 30% in ADHD; and 40-80% in alcoholism and substance abuse. Dr. Klinghardt has found the incidence of HPU in Lyme disease to be 80% or higher; in patients with heavy metal toxicity (lead, mercury, cadmium, and others) over 75%; and in children with autism over 80%.
These are very significant percentages of the patient population with chronic illness that may benefit from a treatment program which addresses HPU. Normal, healthy controls do not test positive for HPU.
The condition can be tested for and identified by a 24 hour urine test. Elevated levels of HPL are found in the urine of those who are positive for the condition. As a result of the condition there can be significant depletion of important key nutrients in the body that can result in multiple health ailments and symptoms such as emotional disorders, delayed puberty, rough skin, delayed wound healing, growth retardation, hypogonadism, hypochlorhydria, mental lethargy, short stature, diarrhea, stretch marks or striae), white spots on the fingernails, reduction in collagen, macular degeneration, dandruff, skin lesions such as acne, hyperactivity, loss of appetite, reduced fertility, transverse lines on the fingernails, defective mineralization of bone leading to osteoporosis, rashes, dry skin, seborrheic dermatitis, brittle nails, fine or brittle hair, and hair loss.
More importantly, however, it may be associated with depression, lethargy, hearing loss, fungal infections, muscle pain, and abnormal skin sensations such as tingling, joint pain, inflammation, and arthritis, change in hair pigment or a slowing of hair growth abnormal glucose utilization, lipid metabolism, and production of thyroid hormone, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, osteoporosis, and epilepsy.
Nervousness, insomnia, irritability, muscle weakness, poor absorption of nutrients, decrease of key enzymes and cofactors involved in amino acid metabolism, impairment in the synthesis of neurotransmitters, impairment in the synthesis of hemoglobin, seborrhoeic dermatological eruptions, confusion, and neuropathy, impairment of white blood cell function, primarily the leukocytes which may lead to one being more vulnerable to infection. It may lead to neuropathy, neural and vascular complications in preterm babies, skin eruptions, behavior changes, sterility in males, arthritic conditions, dry eyes, growth retardation, dry skin and hair, slow wound healing, hair loss, kidney dysfunction, heart beat abnormalities, and miscarriages.
When one considers the magnitude of potential health problems that may be present when a single condition causes deficiencies of multiple key nutrients, the negative implications on health are almost endless.
With a tailored treatment protocol and careful attention to detox while replenishing key nutrients all of the bodily systems can come back online and function properly, and the underlying conditions including Lyme, mold, heavy metal toxicity can be addressed by the body and the patient can become invulnerable to chronic infections such as mold and Lyme and toxic bodily burden as their body is now fully functioning and equipped to handle the stressors successfully.
Standard Complete Blood Panel, Metabolic Panel
This is the panel of blood work conventionally used by physicians to assess health. This is a necessary initial step in diagnostics however usually only reveals clues about more progressed disease states. Such as late stage kidney or liver disease.
Most patients have already had such testing by their conventional physicians and are often told that everything ‘Looks Normal’ even if they are suffering from symptoms and they end up without answers.
These tests are ‘superficial’ in the way that they do not address or look for other hormonal, nutritional, toxic, biochemical markers of illness that show up abnormal decades before an end organ dysfunction can be found on a CBC, or CMP routinely done by physicians termed ‘full physical blood tests’.
These basic tests are almost always included in our testing however, comprise only a small part of our investigation into the root causes of our patients ill symptoms.
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