Kim Stewart 
Urinary tract infections are the second most common infection, with as many as 8.1 million doctor visits per year, according to statistics from US Health and Human Services. Physicians are concerned about an ever increasing number of cases resistant to the antibiotics Ciprofloxacin and Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ). A new study showsRead
Each week Share Practice presents a polling question to integrative physicians on preferred protocols. Today’s Practitioner will share these with you from time to time to get your thoughts on whether you agree. Q: A 37 y/o woman, CEO of a tech startup, reports emotional stress, increasing anxiety, poor appetiteRead
Spring is a good time to get caught up. To help you keep up on your professional reading, we’ve collected the most popular articles for the past 60 days. You’ll notice a trend. Healthy eating for cognitive health and acid-load balance diets are the topics of choice for our readers.Read
The concept of alkaline balance and diet has been known for some years with limited wide-scale practice. Recent studies show that acid-base balance in the diet may indeed play an important role in cardio-metabolic abnormalities, including type 2 diabetes. The following is a summary of two supporting studies. High dietaryRead
There is a phenomenon that scientists have yet to solve, regardless of whether a woman lives in the United States, where medical care is relatively good, or third world nations, where medical care is often scarce: women are less likely to die from infectious diseases than men. The lower death rate has been attributed to a beneficial, yet unexplained effect estrogen has on the immune system. Females of child-bearing age are more resistant to infectious disease and have an increased risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study hypothesized that estrogen-induced gene expression could establish an immunoactivated state which would render enhanced defense against infection, but may be deleterious in autoimmune development.By Nicholas A. Young, Lai-Chu Wu, et al, Estrogen modulation of endosome-associated toll-like receptor 8: An IFNα-independent mechanism of sex-bias in systemic lupus erythematosus. Clinical Immunology, March 2014
In May 2013, Harvard Medical School published a report on osteoarthritis in their Women’s Health Watch. In the report, they looked at “on-the-horizon therapies” that could change the way you treat the disease. In the report, Dr. Anonios Aliprantis made statement that should have made doctor’s rethink the way they treat OA. “We’re beginning to understand that osteoarthritis is a disease of the entire joint,” said Aliprantis, director of the Osteoarthritis Center at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Much of the research over the last 20 or 30 years has focused on cartilage as the target. But we’re beginning to realize that there are important changes happening in the bone underneath the cartilage, and in the joint lining itself. As we begin to understand osteoarthritis as a disease of the entire joint, new treatment targets will emerge.”
This archived case study Dan Lukaczer, ND is a useful model for practitioners seeking to develop a nutritional approach to treating arthritic symptoms. As Lukaczer points out in this case study, the relationship between rheumatoid arthritis [or any form of arthritis] and the myriad potential environmental triggers is beyond the scope of this report. Instead, this paper addresses the use of a focused nutritional support program and discusses select environmental influences to illustrate the rationale behind this clinical approach. Given the complexity of RA, no one approach can benefit all patients, but it is hoped that the case illustrated here will show how a nutritional program can be personalized, leading to a clinically-beneficial result. Registered users and Today’s Practitioner members can access the entire case study.
Integrative Nutritional Approach to the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Published in Integrative Medicine, A Clinician’s Journal Vol. 4, No. 2 by Dan Lukaczer, ND
Editor’s Note: This opinion column is in reference to an article posted earlier this month. Clinical Utility of Curcumin Extract, by Gary N. Asher, MD, MPH; Kevin Spelman, PhD (visible in the attached slideshow). In the article, Asher and Spelman discuss the potential for curcumin and the barriersRead
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