Mirror Neurons
November 14th, 2022
Mirror neurons are brain cells that fire at the exact location of the motor command or other command of another person doing the event. Thus, the term mirroring. This was an amazing discovery at the time in 1994. From a later paper by Dr. Rizzolatti, "A category of stimuli of great importance for primates, humans in particular, is that formed by actions done by other individuals. If we want to survive, we must understand the actions of others. Furthermore, without action understanding, social organization is impossible. In the case of humans, there is another faculty that depends on the observation of others' actions:
Volume 12, Letter 49 Coronavirus Update 75 plus other stuff
November 21st, 2022
The work around Covid research is fading for me. This is now mostly a highly contagious upper respiratory infection for most. The morbidity has faded to a level where we are seeing very limited disease in children and the hospital data remains completely plateaued. Unless there is a dramatic shift in this virus, we are moving toward a world where Covid may be like the other 4 circulating coronaviruses for most of the United States population
Omicron US strains: as of November 19th data - variants make up: BA.4.6 is 4%, BN.1 is 5%, BF.7 is 8%, BA.5 is 24%, BQ.1 is 26%, BQ1.1 is 24%
Protein
November 20th, 2022
Protein is critically important on a per day volume not a percentage of daily caloric intake. Think of protein more as a vitamin or mineral for basic functions. The current reality for most teenagers to elderly is 30-60 grams per serving 3 x per day to equal 1.5 to 2 grams per kilogram or 0.75 to 1 gram per pound. This is the basic requirement for active protein synthesis and all of the downstream metabolic events that follow. Remember that protein is the base building block of DNA, RNA, all proteins as enzymes and so much more. To be protein deficient is a mess of grand proportions.
Volume 12, Letter 50 Exercise, Protein, BDNF and Mitochondrial Biogenesis
November 28th, 2022
In a continuation from last week, we are going to dive deeper into this research. From The Journals of Gerontology: "Low skeletal muscle mass is associated with cognitive impairment and dementia in older adults. This review describes the possible underlying pathophysiological mechanisms: systemic inflammation, insulin metabolism, protein metabolism, and mitochondrial function. We hypothesize that the central tenet in this pathophysiology is the dysfunctional myokine
Unprocessed Red Meat
November 28th, 2022
Many organizations and media outlets have been bashing red meat consumption as being unhealthy for years. That never made sense to me as all natural foods in moderation are almost always healthy. By natural, I mean, red meat from an animal that eats grass as expected and not human derived corn meal, antibiotics and hormones.
From the study, " We found weak evidence of association between unprocessed red meat consumption and colorectal cancer, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes and ischemic heart disease.
Medicine 3.0
November 28th, 2022
I have been thinking and talking about the dysfunctions of our current medical system for years. We are not very good at preventing disease while we are best in class at surgical repair and acute care like infections and trauma. This reality really bothered me in the early 2000's as I noted the constant increase in diseases that were chronic like autoimmunity, ASD, obesity, diabetes and more.
Drug Induced Micronutrient Loss
November 14th, 2022
To function at the highest and most optimal state requires providing our human engine with nutrients, both macro and micro types. By macro, I mean fats, carbohydrates and proteins. By micro, I mean minerals and vitamins which are cofactors for enzymatic activity driving the machine to normalcy of action whatever that action is. What dictates sufficiency?
In simplistic terms, it is based on the nutrient's intake, absorption, mobilization, requirement based on activity or exposure/disease/microbiome, elimination and utilization.
Major Academic Losses from Pandemic
November 7th, 2022
From the NAEP statistic sheet just released we see that in 2022, the average fourth grade score for end of year testing in mathematics went down by 5 points from last test year. This post pandemic reality is the lowest recorded drop since 2005. When looking at the eighth grade, scores dropped by 8 points compared to 2019. These scores were also lower than all previous assessment years going back to 2003. Reading on the other hand went down marginally and was not an alarm bell like mathematics. (Nationsreportcard)
Volume 12, Letter 47 Coronavirus Update 74 plus other stuff
November 7th, 2022
North Carolina is in a good place.
No Multi Inflammatory Syndrome cases in our clinic.
If you did not read the newsletter about an Integrative approach to proper health in the COVID era and frankly all future infectious diseases, read this link and this link.
As with the first newsletter on this topic, keep solace with the fact that there is a 99+% chance of survival for all of us regardless of vaccination. However,
mathematically, you now have a 99.9998% chance of survival once vaccinated and the vaccine safety for the mRNA vaccines continues to look good.
Soleus Push Ups While Sitting
November 14th, 2022
We all sit alot more these days leading to metabolic problems from this behavior. Dr. Hamilton and colleagues have come up with an ingenious way to change the outcome without changing the sitting reality that exists for many at work or school. To understand what a soleus push up is visit this youtube video. In a sitting position, you can lift your ankle off of the ground repeatedly for hours leading to major metabolic benefits including reduced insulin, blood glucose and lipid levels.
"Slow oxidative muscle, most notably the soleus, is inherently well equipped with the molecular machinery for regulating blood-borne substrates.
The massive update to this theory is finished for now: it is long, complex and interesting! COVID Pathophysiology 2021/2022
May 23rd, 2022
SARS2, the virus that causes Covid – 19, is now known to be an infectious disease with features of a human disease that span the spectrum from asymptomatic to profoundly dysregulated immune system responses leading to both aggressive inflammation and autoimmunity in the moderately to severely affected persons. It is now very clear that the vast majority of these significantly affected individuals have a high burden of antecedent systemic inflammation in the form of chronic diseases of aging and poor lifestyle choices that predispose the immune system to poor pathogen killing and upregulated
Over Scheduled Kids Update
April 18th, 2022
- A parent's ultimate goal is to raise a capable, energy filled and happy child into a responsible, honorable and successful (depends on your goal) young adult. Historically in the 60's and 70's, parents mostly just let their children play while focusing on one instrument and random recreational sports or clubs. They were not pushy. There was ample time for family, friends and achievement. This attitude was based primarily on the economic times where middle class jobs were achievable without major educational investments.
Fast forward to today's reality of the over scheduled parent and child.
Prenatal Vitamins
April 18th, 2022
It always has been an interest of mine as to the why the medical establishment shuns multivitamins for all while absolutely supporting them for pregnancy. ....
Prenatal and Teenage Micronutrients.
Since the early 1990's, the American medical community has recommended prenatal vitamins with folic acid as a supplement for mother's to be prior to and during the first 3 months of pregnancy. The thought was that this synthetic vitamin would be specifically targeting a group of congenital disorders called neural tube defects.
The massive update to this theory is finished for now: it is long, complex and interesting!!
April 11th, 2022
COVID Pathophysiology 2021/2022
SARS2, the virus that causes Covid – 19, is now known to be an infectious disease with features of a human disease that span the spectrum from asymptomatic to profoundly dysregulated immune system responses leading to both aggressive inflammation and autoimmunity in the moderately to severely affected persons. It is now very clear that the vast majority of these significantly affected individuals have a high burden of antecedent systemic inflammation in the form of chronic diseases
Quick hits non Covid
April 11th, 2022
1) Otitis Media or a common ear infection and common childhood pneumonia in children greater than 2 years old should be treated with 5 days of antibiotics based on new data and guidelines. (Williams et. al. 2022)
This has two major downstream benefits. First, the reduced exposure to antibiotics reduces antibiotic resistance in bacteria which is becoming a big problem. Second, the reduced antibiotic exposure helps to reduce damage to the intestinal microbiome that is a known antecedent risk factor for autoimmunity and chronic diseases of inflamm"aging". I highly recommend that everyone adhere to these newer and, in my mind, better guidelines. Less is more folks.
2)Placing ear tympanic membrane ventilation tubes is not necessary if your child is not found to have persistent effusions behind the tympanic membrane when visiting the ENT specialist. This is true even in a child with recurrent ear infections. Dr. M
.
Volume 12, Letter 17 Coronavirus Update 59 plus other stuff
April 11th, 2022
North Carolina like the rest of the country is still without much Covid related illness. A few cities are starting to see some cases. Salisbury Pediatrics is Covid testing between a zero and 2% positive rate week by week. Influenza remains relatively infrequent. All of these stats are the lowest since the pandemic began.
The 7 day moving average of cases for the US in recent weeks has plummeted from the highs of greater than 800,000 to less than 29,000 owing to Omicron's incredible activity and burn rate. Quick up and quick down.
Stoic Thoughts
April 4th, 2022
"Marcus Aurelius and Nero had remarkably similar early lives. Both were not obvious selections for the throne. Both were told early that supreme power was in their future. Both lost their fathers young. Both were given Stoic teachers—Rusticus to Marcus; Seneca to Nero—and both tutored in philosophy.
So why did Marcus turn out to be Marcus and Nero to be Nero? Was one brilliant and just, the other vicious and unhinged?
Self Compassion
April 4th, 2022
Is being kind to yourself a route to laziness and weakness or is it a pathway to self growth? This question gets a vigorous workout in the 2017 May edition of Scientific American Mind. In the article, The Self Compassion Solution, written by Marina Krakovsky we find a discussion on the merits of self compassion in modern times with an important look at the potential downside to this behavior.
As the competitive nature of society has increased in recent years, parents around the country are putting lots and lots of pressure on their children to succeed in school and on the sports field.
Water and Staying Hydrated
April 4th, 2022
There is so much controversy surrounding this topic ever since Gatorade was pushed onto the market in the 80's and 90's. We have been told that we need sports drinks in order to perform at our peak and prevent dehydration.
What is the truth? Are sports drinks useful or just another piece of the obesity epidemic?
From the British Medical Journal:
"Water is the major constituent of the human body and the total body water content is tightly regulated. The goal is to
The Massive Update on COVID Pathophysiology 2021/2022
March 28th, 2022
The massive update to this theory is finished for now: it is long, complex and interesting!
SARS2, the virus that causes Covid – 19, is now known to be an infectious disease with features of a human disease that span the spectrum from asymptomatic to profoundly dysregulated immune system responses leading to both aggressive inflammation and autoimmunity in the moderately to severely affected persons.