Crayhon Research Functional Medicine Meetings

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Functional Medicine Meetings MP3s

Jay Wilson, DC - The highly esteemed Jay Wilson, DC, of Boulder, CO brings his expertise in the area of diagnostic testing to this detailed state-of-the-art presentation from May 2005. In his talk, Jay addresses a multitude of health issues from adrenal insufficiencies, neurological disorders, dysbiosis and various other GI problems, and the diagnosis and treatment of allergies. He also discusses menopause and other hormonal imbalances. Jay successfully clears up much of the confusion on testing, addressing what tests to do when, whether it should be salivary versus serum versus certain types of stool testing. he talks about the benefits as well as the potential problems of under-diagnosing and over-diagnosing with stool tests. Throughout this presentation Jay lays out what kind of framework he sets up to think about how to evaluate each patient biochemically. Jay's philosophy with testing is in always trying to find a balance with being selective in his testing choices and coming that in a concise educated way with clinical evaluations and treatments. The first question he always asks is, "Is doing this test really going to change what to do with this person?" If the answer is no, then he believes there is no need to do that test. The second thing he looks at is in the area of potentially complicated diagnoses where you simply do not want to miss something crucial. In those instances, testing is not only a logical but also an invaluable tool. Jay takes his audience through an array of case studies, some presented by him and some presented by members of his audience, as he outlines his recommendations and methodologies for specific tests and treatments. This is truly an enlightening and information lecture, recommended to any practitioner who is either using testing already or is contemplating expanding their practice into this field.

Catherine Willner, MD - Dr. Catherine Willner is a neurologist with a busy practice in Durango, CO. In this presentation, she speaks on the importance of oxidative stress and the reasons for measuring it. Dr. Willner considers herself a functional practitioner; someone who focuses not on the diagnosis itself, but rather on the physiology underlying what might have led to a particular diagnosis. With this in mind, she delves into the subject of testing for oxidative stress and gives you an in-depth look at the basis of these tests, what they are for, and how they work. Her discussion of neuro-degenerative diseases and nutrition emphasizes the role of the mitochondria, explaining how the dysfunction of the mitochondria can affect a multitude of issues in the human body such as liver disease, kidney failure, and numerous neurological syndromes. According to Dr. Willner, many episodic disorders treated by neurologists, such as migraines, are mitochondrially-based dysfunctions and there, manifestations of disorders of energy metabolism. Dr. Willner advocates the idea that if you treat the things that would support mitochondrial function in terms of being able to produce more energy more efficiently on demand, often the patient's symptoms will get better.

Dan Lukaczer, ND- Dr. Lukaczer's presentation in February 2005 focused on the relationship between the glycemic index, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease, or as he likes to call this topic: "Sweet, Hot and Deadly." Dr. Lukaczer discusses the concept of the glycemic index (GI), the glycemic load (GL), and how both of these are related to cardiovascular disease. In doing so, he takes us through some of the research that supports the idea that a lower GL diet is associated with a lowered risk of cardiovascular disease. He looks at such factors as HDL, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, insulin resistance, obesity and metabolic syndrome. In addition, Dr. Lukaczer correlates his data with research that supports the idea that a high GL diet is a pro-inflammatory diet, especially so for individuals with a genetic predisposition to insulin resistance.

Patrick Hanaway, MD - Dr. Patrick Hanaway is a board-certified family doctor and a board-certified holistic physician in Asheville, North Carolina. He is also the Medical Director of great Smokies Diagnostic Lab. The topic for this presentation from Dr. Hanaway is on Genomics and Hormone Replacement Therapy, which is basically looking at biochemical individuality and the interrelationship between our genes and our environment. According to Hanaway, how healthy or ill we are depends upon what sets of environmental factors are present, including exercise, lifestyle, diet, pharmacologics, and environmental toxins. This set of environmental factors are present, including exercise, lifestyle, diet, pharmacologics, and environmental toxins. This detailed presentation focuses on the large number of Baby Boomer patients who are approaching or are in menopause, as Hanaway helps answer the questions of whether or not you should put a patient on some type of HRT, be it pharmacologic, equine estrogen, or a bioidentical hormone therapy, and are they at risk for developing heart disease, breast cancer, or coagulopathies. Dr. Hanaway also talks about estrogen metabolism, steroidogenic pathways, the role of cholesterol and its synthesis to androgens and estrogens, and what happens afterwards, meaning what are the implications for heart disease and breast cancer.

Susan Brienza, Esq - Susan Brienza, Esq., at attorney from Denver, CO with the national law firm Patton Boggs has been specializing in food and drug law for the past eight years. Brienza brings her expertise on dietary supplement regulations to the April 2005 Functional Medicine Meeting. Here she focuses on Codex, the Eu Directives, and potential threats to the DSHEA Act. She begins by eloquently clearing up many of the misconceptions that are associated with the complex world of supplement regulations and explains why we as health care practitioners should not feel like the sky is falling on us! She explains how there are many positives along with the much talked about negatives, and shows how the FDA, while at times a thorn in our sides, is not always the bad guy, but rather, has actually acted in a positive way in certain instances in regards to dietary supplements. She feels that the bigger threats are not from international pressures, but rather exist internally from our own senators, congressmen/women. and various news media that desperately need to be educated on the safety of supplements. According to ms. Brienza, we need more supporters like Senators Orrin Hatch and Tom Harkin (co-authors of DSHEA) who have the fortitude and the open-mindessness to see the priceless value of our supplement history.