Neuroveda Podcast for Complex Health

Chiropractor Kim Bruno furthered her training with the Institute of Functional Medicine, ILADS, Horowitz Lyme Master Classes and holds a board-certification as a Certified Clinical Nutritionist. She owned a private practice for 17 years and was the functional medicine medical director for the largest immunology clinic in Colorado. She comes to us today as the Senior Medical Science liaison for Vibrant Wellness Labs. Today we discuss their panel of 48 neurologically-oriented antibodies: the Neural Zoomer Plus.

We start by discussing the lab technology itself, which is somewhat unique in the testing world- it’s an 'Immunochip’, also called a protein-peptide microarray as viewed through chemiluminescence which can be more sensitive than historical Eliza testing. The sensitivity (the ability to find the needle in the haystack) ranges from 95-98% and the specificity (it’s definitely a needle, and not a pin or nail or something similar that is not actually a needle) is 96-100%. The range is because each analyte has its own metrics. Here, we take a tangent into describing the limitations of Eliza & Western Blot testing, especially in light of tick-borne testing for Lyme disease & co-infections. Then we touch on PCR- polymerase chain reaction testing and the use of glass beads to break up biofilms in test samples for even more accurate results.  

Our next chapter (around 14:30) focuses on the immune system itself. Listen in for some helpful analogies for the immunoglobulins-IgM for ‘marines vs IgG for ‘ground troops’, IgA with affiliation with mucus membranes like the gut or respiratory linings, and IgE for anaphylactic allergic reaction. This gives the total pool from which the Neural Zoomer Plus antibodies are pulling from as a sort of clinical calibration to weigh the presence of the specific antibodies.

At 22:20, we dive into the Neural Zoomer Plus test itself. Dr Bruno shares her brilliant ‘hierarchy of consideration’ for putting these antibodies into a context. While she states outright ‘this is not a diagnostic test’, the larger truth is that this test cannot be used for diagnosis by clinicians who don’t have the scope to make diagnostic conclusions, for example dieticians or health coaches. For our purposes at Neuroveda Health, we absolutely use this test for clinical decision making and diagnosis. Dr Bruno calls out molecular mimicry against pathogens or even foods or toxins that can confuse the immune system. We consider the Cunningham Panel (recently renamed the Autoimmune Brain Panel), which has been used longer for PANDAS evaluation. And we walk through each category of antibody included on this test.

We finish with a discussion about treatment approaches based on results from this test, including the Neuroveda Health approach to evaluating and addressing neuroimmune disease.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

To look at a sample report of this test:

https://hello.vibrant-wellness.com/hubfs/Sample%20Reports/MK-0072-01NeuralZoomerPlusSampleReport.pdf

To find out more about the Neural Zoomer Plus test: https://www.vibrant-wellness.com/test/NeuralZoomerPlus

To get testing, contact us to schedule an appointment with a clinician at Neuroveda Health:

- Phone: 206-379-1213

- Email [email protected]

To find out more about our clinic (and request a call back): https://www.neurovedahealth.com/

Description: Dr Todd Levine, with 20 years of experience as a clinical neurologist with specialty in disorders of the peripheral nervous system, shares with us about the Syn-One skin biopsy run by his company, CND Life Sciences.

Against a backdrop of clinical information about the divisions of the nervous system (central vs peripheral and sensory vs motor vs autonomic), we review the 3 tests in this procedure: small fiber nerve counts, synuclein and amyloid deposition.

Dr Levine notes that brain & skin both come from ectoderm tissue in the embryo, meaning they arise from similar roots soon after conception The skin, unlike the brain, is readily available for testing, and can offer insight to what’s potentially happening in the central nervous system without having to go there directly.

It’s also a fascinating conversation that one-half to one-third of all neuropathies end up classified as ‘idiopathic’, meaning we can’t identify a trigger, like toxic chemical insult or injury. Most likely, these neurons are injured by ‘an accumulation of small insults” which can include low but recurrent or persistent viral illnesses and environmental chemical exposure all further complicated with and by metabolic syndromes. His most exciting area of research is looking at the potential of this test to give predictive insights for diseases decades in the making (like Parkinson’s or Lewy Body Dementia), all work that we agree with & support at Neuroveda Health when we apply personalized medicine plans for your best health.

BIO:

Dr. Todd Levine has over 20 years of experience as a clinical neurologist with a sub-specialty in disorders of the peripheral nervous system. He received his medical degree from Duke University and did his residency and fellowship at Washington University in St Louis. He has served as Chairman of the Neuromuscular Division of the American Academy of Neurology. In 2010, he founded his first medical diagnostics company called Corinthian Reference Lab (CRL), and has processed over 50,000 skin biopsies, receiving specimens from over 4,000 different neurologists across the US and Canada. Dr Levine is one of the three founders of CND Life Sciences and serves as its Chief Medical Officer, playing a key role in the delivery of diagnostic services and ongoing technology development. Dr. Levine also serves currently as the Director of Neuroscience Research at the Honor Health Research Institute in Phoenix, AZ.

For more information about CND Life Sciences: https://cndlifesciences.com/

Dr Ferdinand Hui is a rare gem of a surgeon- brilliant in his craft, able to communicate complicated concepts clearly, and caring and compassionate for the reality that disease can impart in the life of a person and their family. Here we get a chance to cruise around the blood vessels of the brain with a neurointerventional surgeon, who's focus is minimally invasive procedures to treat the blood vessels of the brain and spine. Although he thinks of himself as a plumber, rotor-rootering the pipes, these are live pipes and much of our discussion centers on the nature of the arteries and veins.

We discuss leaks (hemorrhage) and clogs (ischemic clots) as a starting point, with the associated diseases of stroke, heart attack and aneurysms.

Then we get deep with the 'gray zone' of reduced but not necessarily stopped oxygenation which can be a primary driver for brain fog. We discuss anatomical, functional and inflammatory interruptions to oxygenation and vessel flow, even down to the epithelial layer of the arterial vessel walls. Here is where we discuss COVID and the apparent epithelial shedding that the spike protein can instigate, which likely drove much of the cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke) of the first COVID wave in 2019/ early 2020.

About prevention, Dr Hui says, "The American medical system might really reward surgery but what humanity really needs is prevention. Prevention starts at birth."

Resources:

• Society of Neurointerventional Surgery: https://www.snisonline.org/
• More about Dr Hui: https://www.queens.org/providers/2225/ferdinand-k-hui/

Neurologist Gary Stobbe has been working with patients with autism since his residency in the early 1990's. Listen in to hear how this compassionate physician has been learning from his patients, their families and advocates. Dr Stobbe's perspective has evolved from the medical approach within which he was trained to now recognize the spectrum of stable neurodivergence to profoundly symptomatic patients who desperately need extensive support for living their daily lives.

We start with the DSM-V diagnostic criteria of impaired social communication + repetitive behaviors or interests, recognizing that the social communication network of the brain touches multiple structures and centers. This does not necessitate any intellectual disability, and in fact, many autistic people have both specialized skills and brilliance that initially can be lost in the communication difficulty (for example, the poetry that can come from a non-verbal patient only after they are able to access a device to type out their creative expression).

Dr Stobbe then reviews some of the more profound struggles that can co-exist with autism including expressive language impairment (aka non-verbal), co-occurring intellectual disability, required assistance for daily living and the presence of crises.

As we touch on the 'causes' of autism, he recognizes they are likely 'multifactorial, so many complex conditions, and end up being the total sum of genetics + environment'. He also emphasizes that the diagnosis of autism is based on development and behavior versus any biological function or cause.

The management approach for autism has evolved to be 'person-centered and strength-based' and there is no singular treatment. Dr Stobbe honors the collaborative team that can support the person with autism, including the patient themselves, thier family, patient advocates, state/ national organizations, in addition to their medical team.

Autism can be tricky to understand because it flies in the face of our conventional assumptions about one singular disease with one singular treatment. Join in & share widely as Dr Stobbe exemplifies the curiosity and thoughtfulness to support this amazing population of patients.

Description.

This is a power-packed episode in which Whitney Mack walks us through what women should have been taught since birth about how our bodies work and how we can care for them lifelong. Turns out, we have an infradian (vs circadian) rhythm that drives our cellular communication/ hormones systems over time. This means that we are in constant cycles of change, just like the moon that cycles through from new to full and back to new. To anchor into our holistic health, we can emphasis sleep, nutrition and movement in alignment with these cycles.

Whitney's training & deep personal understanding of these concepts brings them to clarity throughout this show. We start with a complete definition of 'fitness' including muscle strength, endurance, cardiovascular capacity, flexibility & body composition. Then we interweave the hormones, recognizing the 'Queen' hormones of cortisol & insulin as they serve for survival (vs estrogen, progesterone & testosterone which are for life quality). Next we dive into the four hormonal stages across the lifespan: menarche, cycling, perimenopause and post-menopause. With each, we review ways to attend to our movement patterns. And then we bring it back to the daily life.

This is an episode not to be missed & to be shared with every girl and woman we know!

BIO:

As a holistic health, hormones + movement coach, Whitney Mack helps busy, driven women thrive in their bodies, reawaken their aliveness, and create a more purposeful way of being. Through her hormone-informed approach, she blends the science of female physiology with the sacredness of the body to help women achieve optimal health and well-being throughout all hormone + life seasons. If you're ready to heal your relationship with your body and unleash your feminine power, her signature method uses hormones as a compass to guide you back to your inner-knowing and cultivate deeper self-awareness for sustainable transformation in less time and with lots of love. Find Whitney through her website: WhitneyMack.com