Low ferritin value can indicate inflammation in the body.

Ferritin: More Than Iron—A Diagnostic Power Tool

June 24, 2025/by Nidhi Reva
Callie’s Story of Seizures, Strength, and Starting Over

“Not All in Her Head”: Callie’s Story of Seizures, Strength, and Starting Over

June 19, 2025/by Nidhi Reva
save your tick

An Important Reminder From Nurse Nan: Save Your Tick

June 17, 2025/by Nan Kinder, RN
Losing your mind or are you sick?

“I Think I’m Losing My Mind”: When Treating Tick-Borne Illness Feels Worse Before It Gets Better

June 12, 2025/by Nidhi Reva
Chronic joint and muscle pain or is it EDS?

A Patient’s Story: From Pushing Herself to Be Stronger—To Acceptance

June 12, 2025/by Nidhi Reva

Long COVID Webinar and Q&A

June 3, 2025/by Kaplan Center
Gary Kaplan on Good Morning Washington

Good Morning Washington Visits the Kaplan Center! Part 2

June 2, 2025/by Kaplan Center
Nidhi Reva on Good Morning Washington

Good Morning Washington Visits The Kaplan Center! Part 1

May 13, 2025/by Kaplan Center
Which Respiratory Infection Do You Have

Which Respiratory Infection Do You Have?

December 10, 2024/by Kaplan Center
Diets and Blood Sugar

Eating “Right” But Feeling Wrong? The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All Diets and Blood Sugar

December 4, 2024/by Kaplan Center
Nutrition Tips for Thyroid Health

Nutrition Tips for Thyroid Health

November 21, 2024/by Kaplan Center
cultivating gratitude

4 Ways to Practice Gratitude During the Holidays

November 21, 2024/by Gary Kaplan, DO
Sharpen Your Cognitive Health and Eliminate Brain Fog

Out of the Fog: Strategies to Prevent Brain Fog and Sharpen Cognitive Function

November 19, 2024/by Kaplan Center
Marlene Ekwede

Employee of the Quarter: Marlene Ekwede

October 28, 2024/by Kaplan Center
Stop Eating These Foods

Stop Eating These Foods And Clear Up Your Brain!

October 28, 2024/by Gary Kaplan, DO
managing_medications

8 Tips To Help You Manage Your Medications

October 21, 2024/by Gary Kaplan, DO
Yoga for osteoporosis

Preventing & Treating Osteoporosis with Yoga, Resistance Training, Diet, & Medications

October 14, 2024/by Lisa Lilienfield, MD
Managing Chronic Inflammation

The Role of Functional Medicine in Managing Chronic Inflammation

October 9, 2024/by Kaplan Center
Comprehensive Care for Longevity

Living Longer, Living Better: Advanced Diagnostics and Unique Treatments for Longevity

October 4, 2024/by Lisa Lilienfield, MD
8 Steps to a Healthier Gut

8 Steps to a Healthier Gut

October 3, 2024/by Kaplan Center
Anxiety Symptoms

Anxiety: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment Options

Anxiety is loosely defined as an emotion that is characterized by feelings of tension and worried thoughts. Family, finances, health or relationships are all things that we experience anxiety over. This is normal. However, anxiety that starts to overwhelm an individual or affects how they live their day to day life can be harmful.

At the Kaplan Center, we think about anxiety a little bit differently. A growing body of research suggests that it might not be a mental disorder in and of itself, but rather a symptom of physical inflammation stemming from the brain. Celiac disease, an unhealthy diet or thyroid disease are just a few conditions that may be related to anxiety. By recognizing these connections, we are able to take a broader approach to diagnosing and treating anxiety.

Symptoms of anxiety

It is important to separate the normal anxiety that we all experience from a more serious anxiety disorder. Some of the following are things to look for:

  • Worry and fear that are constant and overwhelming.
  • Responding to certain events or situations with extreme fear or dread. This may be accompanied by physical signs of anxiety such as a pounding heart, trembling and sweating.
  • Anxiety that interferes with your day-to-day activities or stops you from carrying out routine tasks.
  • Edginess and restlessness.
  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep.

Diagnosis of anxiety

The diagnosis of anxiety is one that should be made by a healthcare professional. At the Kaplan Center, we recognize that the causes of anxiety revolve around an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and feelings. In almost all instances, diagnosing anxiety does not require any invasive medical tests.

Our doctors take the time to speak to patients about these issues and allow them to discuss their anxiety as they experience it. To help diagnose anxiety we’ll ask you a few questions about:

  • Past medical history
  • Family history
  • Medication history
  • Social history

Treating anxiety

The under-recognition and under-treatment of anxiety is a widespread problem. Because anxiety can have physical symptoms, it makes the treatment somewhat challenging for traditional medicine to deal with.

At the Kaplan Center, after diagnosing anxiety our goal is to offer treatments that help address the root causes of the condition. Therefore, we offer a wide range of treatment options tailored to each individual. This may include:

We work with patients to create a personalized treatment plan that’s suited to their needs.

In many cases, anxiety is not a single-treatment condition. A holistic approach, such as the one we favor at the Kaplan Center allows us to look at the whole patient. We may suggest one or more of the treatments listed above or include other elements that fit your lifestyle.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610617/
https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety/

 

 

Dr. Gary Kaplan Speaking at the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine Conference

Dr. Gary Kaplan has been invited to speak at the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine’s (A4M) Conference in Los Angeles, CA. Several educational workshops/modules will be offered to attendees; topics include Hormone Replacement Therapy, cardiovascular health, peptide therapies, and autoimmune disease.

Dr. Kaplan is participating in Module VI, “DRIVERS OF IMMUNE SYSTEM AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYSREGULATION”; his presentation is titled, “Redefining Chronic Pain: Etiologies, Immunology, and Mitochondrial Dysfunction”.

About Module VI

More than 50 million individuals living within the U.S. now suffer from one or more autoimmune illness and 80% are women. Thirty years ago only one in 400 people developed an autoimmune illness but today one in 12 within the U.S. and one in nine women are diagnosed with an autoimmune illness. Currently, there are 100+ autoimmune disorders all caused by the common thread of autoimmunity. Why the radical change in incidence? Module VI will review the various etiologies of modern-day living that are skyrocketing the incidence of immune and mitochondrial dysregulation and inflammation leading to the clinical manifestations of autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, pain, and sleep dysregulation.

About A4M

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) is dedicated to the advancement of tools, technology, and transformations in healthcare that can detect, treat, and prevent diseases associated with aging. A4M further promotes the research of practices and protocols that have the potential to optimize the human aging process. A4M is comprised of 26,000 members across the globe, including physicians, health care practitioners, scientists, and governmental officials, all of whom collectively represent over 120 nations.

For more information, visit A4M.com.

Dr. Kaplan Invited to Discuss the Role of the Immune System & Microbiome in the Onset of Autoimmune Disease Following Infection

For the second consecutive year, Dr. Gary Kaplan was invited to present at the Walter Reed National Military Center’s monthly acupuncture webinars. The purpose of these webinars is to bring experts in the fields of chronic pain and acupuncture to share their expertise and treatment strategies with the medical staff at the center.

This year, Dr. Kaplan elaborated on the concept of autoimmunity and the role of the adaptive immune system and the gut microbiome in the onset of autoimmune diseases following an infection.

Autoimmunity is when the body loses self-tolerance and starts attacking its own tissues and organs resulting in either an organ-specific autoimmune disease, such as Type 1 Diabetes or a systemic autoimmune disease such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).

About 5% of the US population suffers from an autoimmune disease, although Dr. Kaplan believes that this percentage may not account for all of the autoimmune diseases that are caused by viral and bacterial infections.

Dr. Kaplan also discussed the mechanisms of autoimmunity by which the immune cells get activated in a disorganized manner and start mistakenly attacking healthy cells, the tests we utilize here at The Kaplan Center to determine if there is an autoimmune process going on, and how to translate the data into actionable treatment strategies.

The title of Dr. Kaplan’s presentation was “Autoimmune Encephalopathy of Infectious Etiologies and their Role in Chronic Pain and Depression.”