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March 2002 - present
March 1999 - February 2002
Publications
Publications (79)
Introduction: Lumbosacral radiculopathy/radiculitis (LR) or “sciatica” is a commonly intractable sequelae of chronic low back pain (LBP), and challenges in the treatment of LR indicate that persistent pain may have both mechanical and neuropathic origins. Mindfulness-based interventions have been demonstrated to be effective tools in mitigating sel...
This poster describes the study design and preliminary findings on a clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of managing chronic pain and disability symptoms with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement in patients with Lumbar Radiculopathy.
Background:
Binge eating disorder is an autonomous DSM-V diagnosis characterized by discrete rapid consumption of objectively large amounts of food without compensation, associated with loss of control and distress. Environmental factors that contribute to binge eating disorder continue to evolve. This mixed-methods cross-sectional study assessed...
While evidence suggests that culinary herbs have the potential to modulate gut microbiota, much of the current research investigating the interactions between diet and the human gut microbiome either largely excludes culinary herbs or does not assess use in standard culinary settings. As such, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate how...
The immune system is key to host defence against pathogenic organisms. Aging is associated with changes in the immune system, with a decline in protective components (immunosenescence), increasing susceptibility to infectious disease, and a chronic elevation in low grade inflammation (inflammaging), increasing risk of multiple non-communicable dise...
A healthy urinary tract contains a variety of microbes resulting in a diverse urobiome. Urobiome dysbiosis, defined as an imbalance in the microbial composition in the microenvironments along the urinary tract, is found in women with uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI). Historically, antibiotics have been used to address UTI. An alternative...
Introduction: Antibiotic overuse is a significant driver of bacterial resistance. Urinary tract infections (UTIs, cystitis) are the most common condition for which antibiotics are prescribed in the ambulatory setting. Many complementary and integrative approaches to cystitis have been proposed, including probiotics, D-mannose, and several herbal th...
Background: Mind-body practices have a variety of health implications, including inflammatory modulation, cognitive improvement, and impact on neurofunction. Some of these effects have been demonstrated through rapidly developing technology and their impact on circulating blood levels of hormones and other molecules. As neurotrophic factors like br...
The purpose of this communication is to provide an overview as well as the strengths and weaknesses of Overeaters Anonymous (OA) as an intervention for binge eating disorder treatment. Binge eating disorder is associated with low remission rates, high relapse rates, treatment dissatisfaction, and high rates of failure to receive treatment attribute...
Introduction:
Inflammation underlies a variety of chronic medical conditions, including diabetes. The anti-inflammatory diet, one that excludes foods that may stimulate inflammation and includes foods that reduce inflammation, may improve inflammatory biomarkers in people with diabetes and pre-diabetes.
Study design:
Thirty participants with dia...
Despite wide use by the public, limited evidence is available for many complementary and integrative health (CIH) practices. Thus, clinical researchers knowledgeable about CIH disciplines are necessary to study the efficacy and effectiveness of CIH practices to benefit the public health. To partially address the need for clinical researchers versed...
Objective:
To assess the feasibility of measuring the health impacts of a 12-week naturopathic whole foods nutrition education course among adults with or at risk for prediabetes.
Design:
A pilot nonrandomized pre-post intervention design investigated physiological changes associated with participation in a 12-week structured naturopathic nutrit...
A simple, accurate, and reproducible HPLC‐UV method has been developed and validated for the quantification of levodopa (L‐Dopa) in human plasma. The method involves a simple protein precipitation procedure to extract both L‐Dopa and methyldopa, the internal standard. The chromatographic analysis was achieved on a Shimadzu LC 20A HPLC system equipp...
This report details the naturopathic treatment of a 28-y-old female with a 1 y history of abdominal pain, heartburn, and constipation as well as longstanding anxiety and depression. Clinical evaluation ruled out organic causes of dyspepsia such as peptic ulcer disease, Helicobacter pylori infection, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs-induced...
Osteoarthritis is a challenging diagnosis to navigate and treat. Management options range from nonpharmacological agents to surgical repair. No specific combination of therapies has yet been identified for optimal management although a variety of therapeutic options have been studied. This case report details the use of low-level laser therapy, acu...
Background:
High expectations about acupuncture might contribute to larger
treatment effects (Prady et al., 2015). However, problems in the assessment
are well known: 1) floor or ceiling effects lower variance; 2)
expectation measures include general beliefs about complementary
medicine; 3) construct validity of expectation measures remains unclear...
Background:
Oxidative stress and muscle damage occur during exhaustive bouts of exercise, and many runners report pain and soreness as major influences on changes or breaks in training regimens, creating a barrier to training persistence. Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a sulfur-based nutritional supplement that is purported to have pain and inflam...
The goal of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of mindfulness-based eating disorder prevention programs. Twenty articles met all inclusion and exclusion criteria, including 15 randomized studies (2173 participants) that were included in the meta-analysis. Compared to wait-list controls, mindfulness-based programs...
Background:
Ayurveda is one of the most ancient and widely practiced forms of medicine today, along with Traditional Chinese Medicine. It consists of determining an individual's constitution or Prakriti and current imbalance(s) through the use of multimodal approaches. Ayurveda practitioners may choose to include either a self-reported or structur...
Naturopathic oncology is a relatively new and emerging field capable of providing professional integrative or alternative services to cancer patients. Foundational research is critical to identify topics in the clinical and research development of naturopathic oncology for future growth of the field.
This study implements a modified Delphi protocol...
Training in fundamental laboratory methodologies is valuable to medical students because it enables them to understand the published literature, critically evaluate clinical studies, and make informed decisions regarding patient care. It also prepares them for research opportunities that may complement their medical practice. The National College o...
Training in fundamental laboratory methodologies is valuable to medical students because it enables them to understand the published literature, critically evaluate clinical studies, and make informed decisions regarding patient care. It also prepares them for research opportunities that may complement their medical practice. The National College o...
Elevated blood cholesterol levels are a major risk factor for coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. Probiotics have been investigated as potential cholesterol-lowering therapies, but no previous studies have assessed the effect of the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii on cholesterol levels in human volunteers. The obj...
Though fibromyalgia is not traditionally considered an inflammatory disorder, evidence for elevated inflammatory processes has been noted in this disorder in multiple studies. Support for inflammatory markers in fibromyalgia has been somewhat equivocal to date, potentially due to inattention to salient patient characteristics that may affect inflam...
Background:
As evidence-based medicine (EBM) becomes a standard in health care, it is essential that practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) become experts in searching and evaluating the research literature. In support of this goal, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Med...
A persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of a high-risk type is necessary for cervical cancer to develop. The severity of the diagnosis, together with colposcopy findings, determines the standard for treatment, and ablative or excisional options may be recommended. Escharotic treatment, together with an oral, anticarcinogenic HPV protocol...
This review discusses the immunological roles of 5 major mushrooms in oncology: Agaricus blazei, Cordyceps sinensis, Grifola frondosa, Ganoderma lucidum, and Trametes versicolor. These mushrooms were selected based on the body of research performed on mushroom immunology in an oncology model. First, this article focuses on how mushrooms modify cyto...
Persistent cancer-related fatigue (PCRF) is one of the most troubling side-effects of breast cancer (BC) treatment. One explanatory model for PCRF is sickness behavior, which is a set of adaptive responses including sleepiness and depressed mood in reaction to an inflammatory trigger. Prior research has investigated differences in inflammatory cyto...
The aim of this study was to observe the effect of a combined pharmacologic and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment, which included biotherapeutic drainage, for a young woman with interstitial cystitis (IC).
A 17-year old female patient was referred for treatment with a 2-year diagnosis of IC and dissatisfaction with her 3-month...
Public interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has grown over the past decade, accompanied by increased demand for evidence-based approaches to CAM practice. In order to define the role evidence-based decision making has in CAM practice, CAM professionals must have a full understanding of evidence-based medicine (EBM) concepts.
Thi...
Home practice is frequently prescribed as part of mind-body medicine interventions, although rarely objectively measured. This brief methods report describes one method for objectively measuring home practice adherence using a custom monitoring software program.
Methods for objectively measuring adherence were developed as part of a randomized cont...
The increasing use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment is paralleled by a growing demand for an evidence-based approach to CAM practice. In 2007, the Helfgott Research Institute at the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM), in partnership with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), both in Portland, OR, began a Natio...
Recent evidence suggests that differential stress and immune responses may play a role in the sex/gender disparity for pain. Pain pathology and psychological stress are both associated with elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines.
This pilot study tested a negative imaginal focus to assess whether it would elicit a proinflammatory cytokine res...
Purpose
To evaluate the feasibility and initial effects of the anti-inflammatory (AI) Diet in type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes on inflammatory, cardiovascular risk factors and weight outcomes.
Methods
A randomized, 6-week, controlled-feeding study of the AI Diet compared with an ADA Control Diet: with 2 weeks of isocaloric followed by 4 weeks of a...
This report describes a case of a woman with progressive and recurrent cervical dysplasia 4 years after cervical conization for severe dysplasia.
A 20-year-old female was referred for colposcopy and biopsy following results of moderate to severe atypia of cervical cells on her Papanicolaou (Pap) test. Her colposcopy was satisfactory and her biopsy...
This study investigated the immunologic effects of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) on four types of immune cells in a human sample to determine the immunologic mechanism.
Five (5) participants consumed 6 mL of an Ashwagandha root extract twice daily for 96 hours. Ashwagandha was administered with anupana (whole milk). Peripheral blood samples were...
Background:
Alternative medicine researchers and policy makers have classified prayer as a mind-body intervention, and thus, a modality of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). As such, numerous epidemiological surveys of CAM utilization-which have included prayer-depict increasing CAM use, particularly in specific racial and ethnic groups...
Purposes/Aims
To establish feasibility for a larger study to gain new knowledge about the physiology of acupuncture by correlating menopausal symptom experiences with the effects of acupuncture and two biomarkers: heart rate variability (HRV), which will establish cardiac autonomic nervous system reactions to acupuncture, and interleukin 6 (IL6),...
This study is a systematic review of mind-body interventions that used immune outcomes in order to: 1) characterize mind-body medicine studies that assessed immune outcomes, 2) evaluate the quality of mind-body medicine studies measuring immune system effects, and 3) systematically evaluate the evidence for mind-body interventions effect on immune...
Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system may be an important component of disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), a paralytic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Using the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse model of MS, the authors carried out a pilot study to investigate whether telemetric monitor...
We have initiated studies to evaluate the suitability of performing therapeutic conditioning trials in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice treated with alpha lipoic acid (ALA). EAE was induced in SJL mice by active immunization with myelin antigen. Once daily subcutaneous injection of ALA served as the unconditional stimulus (US) a...
We examined the immunologic impact of negative cognition in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain (N=40). Mentally recreating an emotionally stressful event induces increased heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels, which then induces systemic inflammation. Inflammation exacerbates pain, and thus we underscore the relevance of examinin...
This study seeks to examine the immunologic response to acute psychological stress in persons with chronic pain. Chronic pain and inflammation are thought to bi-directionally influence each other but little is known about the involvement of cognition in this process. Additionally, sleep is known to have important homeostatic functions related to mo...
This study examined physiological response to a psychologist-guided induction of negative cognition. Akin to catastrophizing, chronic pain participants (N=40)spent 10 minutes imagining the future theoretical worsening of their pain condition. They were asked to describe how the deterioration of their pain and condition would affect them and their q...
This phase 0, double-blind, repeated within subject, randomized pilot study examined CD25 expression on T cells after ingestion of three commonly used herbs: Echinacea purpurea, Astragalus membranaceus and Glycyrrhiza glabra, administered singly and in combination. CD25 expression on T cells was significantly increased for subjects ingesting Echina...
In different inflammatory disease models, heat-shock proteins (hsp) and hsp-derived peptides have been demonstrated to possess anti-inflammatory properties. While some studies have shown that hsp can directly interact with antigen-presenting cells, others report that bacterial hsp can induce specific T cells with regulatory phenotypes. Effective ch...
When two auditory stimuli of different frequency are presented to each ear, binaural beats are perceived by the listener. The binaural beat frequency is equal to the difference between the frequencies applied to each ear. Our primary objective was to assess whether steady-state entrainment of electroencephalographic activity to the binaural beat oc...
Binaural beat technology (BBT) products are sold internationally as personal development and health improvement tools. Producers suggest benefit from regular listening to binaural beats including reduced stress and anxiety, and increased focus, concentration, motivation, confidence, and depth in meditation. Binaural beats are auditory brainstem res...
Regain of weight after initial weight loss constitutes a major factor contributing to the escalating obesity epidemic. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and clinical impact of two mind-body interventions for weight-loss maintenance.
Randomized, balanced, controlled trial.
Large-group model health maintenance organization....
The increasing use of medicinal herbs among the general public has piqued the need for scientific-based research to determine the mechanism of action of herbs administered orally in human subjects. The ability of three herbs, Echinacea purpurea, Astragalus membranaceus and Glycyrrhiza glabra, to activate immune cells in human subjects was assessed...
Cytokines are key modulators of the immune responses that take place in the inflamed synovium of arthritis patients. Consequently, substances that can reverse the inflammatory profile of the inflamed joint are potential tools for clinical management of the disease. Mycobacterial heat shock protein 70 (MTBHSP70) has been found to protect rats from e...
Precursor frequency experiments use limiting dilution analysis to provide an estimate of the number of lymphocytes capable of responding to a particular antigen. They can be used to measure and enhance the frequency of antigen-specific lymphocytes.
Keywords:
precursor frequency;
limiting dilution analysis;
antigen specific lymphocyte