Tag Archive for: immune system

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

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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

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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.”

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Functional Medicine: Evidence-Based Medicine With A Whole Body Approach

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When your doctor becomes a detective.

If you’ve never heard of functional medicine (FM) before or don’t know how it differs from conventional medicine, you’re not alone. Behind functional medicine is a wonderfully simple philosophy that treats the body as a whole, interconnected system which looks at mind, body, and spirit as contributing elements to a person’s overall state of health. Functional medicine is evidence-based medicine and seeks to identify the root cause of disease by probing into the unique history of a patient’s life and genetics, as well as environmental and lifestyle factors.

In contrast, conventional medicine can be one dimensional and often results in treatment by medication. In acute cases, this may be very appropriate, but because we are not one-dimensional beings in most cases there is much more to the story. When it comes to complex, chronic disease, many physicians are, unfortunately, not adequately trained – and often don’t have time – to assess what may be the underlying cause(s) and apply diet, nutritional supplementation, exercise, and awareness of lifestyle stressors that are contributing to their patient’s illness.

As FM practitioners, we look upstream to assess the interactions of the patient’s history, physiology, lifestyle, unique genetic makeup, and mind-body-spirit that affect the function of the body as a whole.

What does this look like in an initial evaluation?

As a functional medicine practitioner, I start by asking what their story is and often that story starts with “I was fine until…” This is when we need to put on our detective hats and go back in time to reveal clues that may typically be overlooked; sometimes even going as far back as the time of mom’s pregnancy! For example: What was your mom’s pregnancy like? Was there a Caesarean section or vaginal birth? Were you breast or bottle-fed? Were there a lot of antibiotics used in childhood?  The answers to these questions may indicate alterations of the microbiome in the gut (the bacteria that support our immune system). This is immensely important as research is uncovering a multitude of new data that shows how deeply interconnected our immune system is with the gut.

Other questions may include: Were there traumatic events in childhood or later? Was there ever exposure to environmental toxins like mold in the living or working environment?  Were there ever infectious exposures or injuries? What are the patient’s diet, exercise regimen, sleep and emotional support system like? Is there ongoing stress at work or in personal life? Every answer peels away another layer of the mystery.

Besides a comprehensive history, there are a number of functional medicine diagnostic tests that may be necessary. This could include a sleep study, digestive testing (stool, urine, breath), saliva testing to assess cortisol (which can indicate stress or inflammation), thyroid and other hormone testing, nutritional testing, mold, heavy metals, and infections like Lyme or Epstein Barr. A consultation with our dietitian, psychotherapist, meditation instructor, or treatments such as acupuncture, herbal therapy, massage therapy, physical therapy or injection therapy may also be appropriate.

Fortunately, medicine as a whole is moving in the direction of functional medicine, but this approach takes time and a commitment in partnership between a patient and their physician.