It's February- Happy Leap Day!
It feels like spring in the Northwest: the miner's lettuce, daffodils, crocus and other early plants are coming up. We've had a few days of light and the temperature is warming. February holds "Groundhog's Day" which mirrors the ancient Celtic holiday of Imbolc- the halfway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc is the holiday that honors the seeds. Because seeds are so small, it's easy to overlook their power, but all the potential any giant Douglas Fir tree will ever manifest starts within it's seed.
The spring is a good time to look at the seeds we are planting in our own lives- the seeding of the gut microbiome with probiotics and the seeds in the land around us that will feed us throughout this 2020 season. We are also always planting seeds within relationships, career, and in our own daily life patterns that we will inevitably reap in the months and years to come. One way to plan for a healthy future is to be intentional with the seeds that get nourished now.
Here at the Center for Healing Neurology, we too are planting seeds to grow our work optimizing your health. We have a juice class happening end of March, new programs for continuous glucose monitoring, podcast episodes (next: Peptides coming out 3/1), and a peptide protocol to help address the flu and other viral illness (no data with Coronavirus, but COVID19 is a virus and Thymosin Alpha 1 is an anti-viral).
In this newsletter:
- Welcome Dr David Kaufman, MD, internist with specialty experience with infectious disease and chronic, complex disease. Starting March 3rd.
- Juice Class with Drs Ruhoy & team! March 28th 3-5pm at Studio Life in the U-District, Seattle.
- Breath-work & Ayurveda for your Neurology with Dr Gillian March 16th 6:30-8pm at Lululemon at U-Village.
- Peptide Therapy with Ryan Smith is the next Podcast for Healing Neurology episode out March 1st- tune in!
- New! Alpha-Synuclein skin biopsy testing for Parkinson's early diagnosis and other neurodegeneration.
- New! Continuous Glucose Monitoring available for you via in-person or video visits!
- Research bite: research shows glyphosate up-regulates IL-33 which happens to be a trigger for mast cell degranulation here is one scientific link for mast cell activation syndrome having an environmental trigger!
- Vaspernaut Joann Byrd! At 77 years old and weighing in at 95lbs, Joann is our latest start to complete 10 sessions in 3 weeks- hear about her experience & see her beautiful face!
We are so pleased to meet the turning of the season with you.
Dr Ilene Ruhoy
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Welcome Dr David Kaufman!
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Joining us March 3rd from The Center for Complex Diseases in Mountain View, California.
With a diverse background including ME/CFS, dysautonomia, autoimmune diseases, and chronic infectious diseases including tick borne diseases, Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth Syndromes, and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Dr. Kaufman joins our team to bring even greater depth to the immune aspects of chronic and complex disease.
He began his Internal Medicine practice in Greenwich Village in NYC just as the epidemic that came to be known as HIV/AIDS exploded. He became deeply involved in the care of HIV positive patients and in the research aimed at discovering ways to treat both the opportunistic infections they were dying from and the virus that was causing the destruction of their immune systems.
Find out more about Dr Kaufman from his California clinic website: https://centerforcomplexdiseases.business.site/
At this time, please call his California office to schedule with him for all Seattle visits: 650-447-3001.
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Class: Juice for Your Neurology!
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Date: March 28th
Time: 3-5pm
Location: Studio Life, 5236 The Ave, Seattle, WA 98105
Cost: $200
Limited to 20 participants- sign up now to save your spot!
This is the juice class you want to attend. Dr. Ruhoy and team will discuss recipes for particular disorders including headaches, mast cell activation, mitochondrial dysfunction, cognition, pain, brain fog, muscle repair, fatigue, gut repair, and more. We will be using the PURE juicer and demonstrate its amazing technology. Learn about the compounds in different fruits and vegetables that treat your health concerns. There will be sampling for all and recipes provided. Don't miss this class!
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Class: Let's Breathe Together: understanding your neurology through breath & Ayurveda
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Date: March 16th
Time: 6:30-8pm
Location: Lululemon yoga & community space at U-Village, Seattle
Registration through Lululemon/Eventbrite.
In partnership with the Lululemon at U-Village, Dr Gillian Ehrlich, is offering a breath work class focused on understanding our physiology and spirit from the inside out. This class will balance experiential breath work, such as nadi shodana and anulom viloma (types of alternate nostril breathing) and others, with meditation. You will learn about the nervous system with all of its tendrils that reach into our hormonal, endocrine, immune and mental systems. We'll build awareness for how our bodies work and why mindfulness, breath and mantra can be so stabilizing. These are practices that will kindle relaxed attention during the class and can also be integrated into an at-home daily routine. We look forward to breathing together with you!
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Podcast for Healing Neurology
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Peptide Therapy with Ryan Smith episode out on March 1st!
Enjoy Tailor Made Compounding Pharmacy's co-founder Ryan Smith discussing all about peptide therapeutics on the Podcast for Healing Neurology. Stay tuned monthly for a peptide spotlight to learn more about these in depth.
Peptides are an entire category of drugs that are considered 'biosimilar' in that they are pieces of proteins that already exist in our bodies but are now manufactured to support our natural processes. There are already >100 approved by the FDA but over 7000 in various stages of discovery; the number is only limited by the number of peptides in our body and the ways they can be tweaked for better stability, longer duration of action, etc.
Because peptides are proteins already in our body, they tend to be very well tolerated & have few side effects. In addition, peptides are metabolized by enzymes in the blood so they don't tax the kidneys or liver.
These peptides can support all different systems: the brain, cognition & mood (Cerebrolysin, Selank, Semax), the immune system (thymosin alpha 1), the gut and wound repair (BPC-157), longevity & performance (MOTS-C), mitochondria support (TB4), neurogenesis (ARA 290). skin, cosmetics and beauty to stimulate natural collagen production (CHK-Cu, Argeline).
Find out more about Tailor Made Compounding here.
Find the Podcast for Healing Neurology on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and AnchorFM.
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New! Alpha-Synculein Skin Biopsy Testing
Alpha-synuclein is a protein that can be protective in the gut as it targets containment of viral and bacterial infections and rises up through the enteric nervous system of the gut into the central nervous system to alert the whole body to the presence of infectious agents, but, when alpha-synuclein proteins aggregate (meaning proliferate and clump together), they can interrupt dopamine cell signaling and herald, over 20-30+ years, the onset of Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders. We now offer skin biopsy testing to gauge the role alpha-synuclein might be playing in your neurodegeneration. It's also possible to use this test to evaluate your future risk, even prior to having symptoms. It's a 30-minute procedure that we do right here in our Seattle office. Call us or come see us for a visit to discuss if this might be right for you.
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New! Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) with FreeStyle Libre
Our blood sugar (glucose) levels rise and fall based partially on what we're eating but this system is regulated throughout every day and night (when we're not eating) based on many other factors. If we experience fear or anxiety, then we are like a zebra running (or preparing to run) from a lion on the savannah. This requires a lot of energy, which triggers the body to release sugar into the bloodstream. How you perceive and respond to daily challenges can be reflected in watching the rise and fall of your blood sugar throughout the day. Knowing these patterns can help you make choices to navigate them better.
The FreeStyle Libre is a continuous glucose monitor, meaning it measures your blood sugar every 5 minutes for a total of 14 days. The sensor itself is about the size of quarter and has a very small needle that sits in the back of your arm- you can’t feel it once it’s in there. On waving your reader (your smart phone or another device) over the button, you’ll get a value for your blood sugar. Your reader will download all of the sensor’s information so you can watch trends over time. Because so many patients have reported gaining deep insight into their stress, eating and exercise patterns, we are making this prescription directly available to you.
Our CGM program is a two-visit series. In the first 30-minute visit, we'll apply the sensor and discuss how to track food, behavior and feelings and what type of diet to eat while using this device. At our follow-up 30-minute visit 2-3 weeks later, we'll review results and discuss how to move forward with more blood sugar insight in your life.
This program is $500 and includes the prescription (the cost of the sensor & reader are determined by your insurance and not included in the cost of the program). If you are a patient here, just let us know your interest and we can review your chart. If you are not a patient here yet, please call to schedule a 15-minute phone call to determine your appropriateness. These visits can be done locally or remotely via video.
We look forward to helping you optimize your blood sugar!
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Excellent Article on understanding Mast Cell Activation Syndrome mentions one direct environmental link between glyphosate & mast cells via IL-33!
Recent advances in our understanding of mast cell activaiton- or should it be mast cell mediator disorders? Authors: T. Theoharides, I. Tsilioni, & H. Ren. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2019 June ; 15(6): 639–656. doi:10.1080/1744666X.2019.1596800
This June 2019 article summarizes much of the fascinating research regarding mast cell activation syndrome or MCAS (or Mast Cell Activation Disorder, MCAD; or even better Mast Cell Mediator Disorders, MCMD) (304 citations! They are not joking around!).
The article walks through common symptoms, triggers and breaks down potential causes along a range of 'clonal', meaning mainly a genetic trigger to 'reactive' meaning the disease and symptoms result from mainly an environmental stimulus. Regarding clonal causes, the authors recognize that just having a KITD816V mutation is not enough to trigger the onslaught of disease. Regarding environmental causes, the authors note that glyphosate & atrazine both up-regulate IL-33 (Interleukin-33), which is a cytokine that can trigger inflammation and can be a particular stimulant to mast cell dysfunction.
When you think that your symptoms (flushing, itching, 'brain fog', depression/anxiety, food allergies, multiple chemical sensitivity, gut cramping, nasal congestion, headaches, fatigue) might have a root cause in environmental toxicity & pollution- you may well be right!
Find out more about glyphosate & atrazine from the Environmental Working Group here:
We can do better! For ourselves, our families and communities and by our environment. As we work on reducing these symptoms, know the systemic ways you may be being exposed so you can take action.
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At 77 years old, weighing in at 95lbs, Joann Byrd is our latest Vaspernaut to complete 10 sessions in 3 weeks. She has this to say about her experience using Vasper:
"I'm a little old lady ("LOL") who hates being cold & I thought I would have had to go home in an ambulance after trying this but I actually have more energy and feel stronger all over. Best of all, my brain actually feels like it's working better! This is crazy that I'm doing this & even crazier that I like it so much!"
This is after a right hip replacement October 15th, 2019 which has prevented her usual walking as exercise.
You go girl!
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