Individualized Treatment
Every person is different. The symptoms that bring a patient to the doctor are unique to that patient. Each patient’s genes are unique, unless he or she is an identical twin. That means that all the various enzyme systems which build proteins and remove toxic materials are present in a unique blend, with unique strengths and weaknesses. That is why one person can thrive on things that makes another person sick. The places each person has lived, the foods he or she has eaten, the drinks consumed, the air breathed, the occupational exposures experienced are all unique to each person. And these unique environmental factors interact with each persons unique set of genes to produce unique forms of illness. Which require a diagnostic and therapeutic approach unique to each patient.
There are general principles of treatment. The first, and usually most important principle is avoidance of whatever exposures are making you sick. A patient presented at a recent medical meeting illustrates these principles. He was in his mid-50s, semi-retired, an avid Phoenix golfer who developed the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He was worked up and found to have classical findings on physical exam, on MRI, and on examination of his cerebrospinal fluid.
There was one weird factor in his history: he sucked on golf balls. He played at least 18 holes every day, and would pick the ball out of the hole and suck on it until the next tee. Golf courses are awash in neurotoxic chemicals (weed killers, pesticides, etc) and fat biopsy revealed massive exposure to such chemicals. (Fat biopsy is done under local anesthesia, usually on the back, in non-cosmetic areas.)
He was started on a course of avoidance (no more golf ball sucking, but also no pesticides and herbicides in his food and water, which required organic food and purified water). He also required augementation of his liver enzyme excretory function, which had been overwhelmed by the chemicals he swallowed. This meant vitamins and minerals, and also sauna (which mobilizes some of the fat-stored chemicals through sweat and respiration).
He did well, and recovered within a year or so, but if he had not begun to improve with these measures, then further investigations would have been required. Studies such as genomics, to look for specific gene abnormalities which influence detoxification or metabolism, or urinary organic acids, to determine if there were metabolic roadblocks impeding healing, to mention two examples.
Some individuals also require immune treatments, because of excessive sensitivity to various chemicals or other materials. The classic environmental medicine treatment of allergy includes testing for neutralizing doses of each possible irritant. This is a rather expensive and time-consuming technique. In recent years, two newer approaches have emerged, which also work well. The first is sublingual immune therapy, which works because antigens absorbed through the tissues under the tongue stimulate T-suppressor cells which shut off allergies. The second is LDA, which produces the same result, but by a different approach: one shot every two months of around 300 allergens mixed with beta-glucuronidase, which also causes production of T-suppressor cells. At the moment we are doing sublingual immune therapy, as it is highly effective, easily tolerated and extremely safe.
Patients with a form of vasculitis which impedes oxygen extraction by the peripheral tissues (not uncommon in patients exposed to molds or pesticides) may require supplementary oxygen, often combined with exercise. Others, who have been exposed to heavy metals through amalgam fillings, polluted water or work exposures may require chelation as directed through urine provocation tests (done after removal of amalgams by a specially-trained biological dentist). Others may require specific IV therapy (vitamins, minerals, etc). Patients whose subcellular inflammation problems arise from abdominal obesity may require Therapeutic Lifestyle Change via the First Line Therapy program.
In addition, there has been a lot of research done in recent years in energy medicine. We have two energy modalities, Ondamed and Frequency Specific Microcurrent, both of which have growing track records in dealing with disease at the level of cellular electromagnetic energy. Massage has also proven useful for many patients.
These are a just few of the individualized approaches available to our patients.