Mitchell Liester

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• M.D.
• Assistant Clinical Professor at University of Colorado

Ideological and financial motivations have undermined science for decades. In this narrative review, we explore how organizations and governments used misinformation, disinformation, censorship, and secrecy to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Various rationales for employing censorship and secrecy during the COVID-19 pandemic are examined including ho...

Raynaud's phenomenon is a vascular disorder characterized by episodic vasospasm of small arteries, primarily affecting the hands and feet. Standard treatment strategies typically include lifestyle modifications to avoid cold exposure and stress, alongside pharmacological interventions aimed at increasing blood flow and reducing vascular constrictio...

Foot ulcers are a major source of morbidity and mortality for individuals suffering from diabetes mellitus. Currently, available treatments for these wounds are often ineffective, which can lead to the progression of these lesions to a point that requires amputation of the affected limb. Despite amputation, these individuals subsequently suffer fro...

Memory, a fundamental aspect of human cognition and consciousness, is multifaceted and extends beyond traditional conceptualizations of mental recall. This review article explores memory through various lenses, including brain-based, body-based, and cellular mechanisms. At its core, memory involves the encoding, storage, and retrieval of informatio...

Conventional antidepressants are useful in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) but are limited by their delayed onset of action and lack of adequate therapeutic response in approximately one-third of patients. This has led to a quest for faster-acting and more effective antidepressants. Scopolamine exhibits rapid antidepressant effects...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects approximately 40 million people each year worldwide and no effective medicine has been found to ameliorate the disabling effects of SCI. Psychoplastogens are a heterogenous group of medicines defined by their function rather than their chemical structure. These medicines catalyze the growth of new neurons (viz. neur...

This presentation explores alternative healing strategies with a special focus on the indigenous healing methodologies of the Quechua people of the Ecuadorian Andes.

This presentation explores the use of psychedelic medicines to enhance creativity and facilitate healing. The psychoplastogen effects of these medicines are explored.

Time can be a difficult concept to understand. Albert Einstein, who viewed time as an illusion, explained the passage of time is relative to the observer’s frame of reference in the space-time continuum. However, the state of consciousness of the observer also influences the passage of time. This paper examines the relationship between the experien...

This presentation describes the rationale for using chlorine dioxide to treat diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and DFUs are presented along with statistics regarding limb amputation and subsequent mortality. Uses of chlorine dioxide as well as the safety of this therapeutic are reviewed. The pathophysiology of D...

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) are common mental disorders that are challenging to treat. Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist that has shown promise as a rapid-acting antidepressant when administered intravenously. BPD symptoms have also been demonstrated to improve with repeated i...

The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rising and is predicted to exceed 10% by 2030. Foot ulcers are a frequent complication of diabetes mellitus. Existing treatments for diabetic foot ulcers are only partially effective and when these ulcers do not heal, amputation of the affected limb may result. It is estimated that an amputation due to...

Citation: Carter, B.; Khoshnaw, L.; Simmons, M.; Hines, L.; Wolfe, B.; Liester, M. Personality Changes Associated with Organ Transplants. Transplantology 2024, 5, 12-26. Abstract: Personality changes have been reported following organ transplantation. Most commonly, such changes have been described among heart transplant recipients. We set out to e...

This poster describes the use of very low dose daily sublingual ketamine as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Included on the poster are: a brief history of the use of ketamine, the protocol used to treat 49 patients with TRD, and the results of this treatment. Potential mechanisms of action are discussed as well.

This poster defines neuropsychoplastogens as a class of medicines capable of promoting rapid structural and functional neural plasticity, resulting in healing of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Examples of neuropsychoplastogens are provided including ketamine, psilocybin, LSD, and others. Potential mechanisms of action of these medicines ar...

This handout provides additional details and references related to our poster presentation regarding the role of neuropsychoplastogens in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Psychedelic medicines enhance creativity through a variety of mechanisms including altering perception, emotions, cognition, one's sense of self, and the experience of space-time. Medicines such as LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, peyote and others facilitate access to altered states of consciousness in which one can experience time travel and mystical...

This poster examines the role of the sigma-1 receptor in the rapid antidepressant effects of ayahuasca

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided fertile ground for an ever-growing number of controversies—and an expanding list of cases of suppression of dissent. Fueling scientific and medical disputes are institutional, political, cultural, and economic factors that employ a wide range of methodologies to create their own narratives for the purpose of influ...

Vaccines against COVID-19 have been available for about one year, but compliance with these vaccines has been less than expected. Vaccine hesitancy and refusal have limited vaccination rates, thus contributing to morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19. This review explores the history of vaccines, beginning with their use in India over 3,...

Chlorine dioxide has been condemned as a dangerous poison and has been touted as a cure for COVID-19. This narrative review examines the controversy surrounding the use of aqueous chlorine dioxide by investigating evidence-based research articles, government documents, press reports, and the results of the first clinical trial utilizing chlorine di...

Personality changes following heart transplantation, which have been reported for decades, include accounts of recipients acquiring the personality characteristics of their donor. Four categories of personality changes are discussed in this article: (1) changes in preferences, (2) alterations in emotions/temperament, (3) modifications of identity,...

Following heart transplantation, some individuals experience personality changes in which they acquire the personality traits of their donor, including changes in preferences, emotions/temperament, identity, or memories. Such changes require an exchange of memories between donor and recipient. Although memory is generally assumed to be a function o...

The field of epigenetics, which is the study of factors regulating gene transcription, is expanding rapidly. Yet one area that has received little attention is the influence of epigenetic factors on human consciousness. We examine this topic by investigating how transcriptional regulation modulates the development and ongoing functioning of the hum...

This article examines the effects of drought on the rising prevalence of celiac disease.

Citation: Liester MB, Liester MG (2017) A Review of Psychiatric Disorders Associated with Celiac Disease. Abstract Celiac Disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy triggered by the ingestion of gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. Although classic symptoms of CD primarily involve the gastrointestinal tract, extra-intestinal symptoms are c...

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder with genetic, biochemical and psychosocial antecedents. Chronic use of drugs of abuse results in characteristic biochemical changes in the mesolimbic pathway of the brain including reduced extracellular dopamine levels and down regulation of dopamine 2 receptors. Similar biochemical changes have been ident...

Electromagnetic (EM) aftereffects have been reported following near-death experiences (NDEs). These effects include both (a) EM actions, apparent actions by the individual on the surrounding EM environment, and (b) EM reactions, apparent reactions of the individual to the EM environment. This study investigated EM aftereffects among 216 NDErs, 54 p...

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a semisynthetic compound with strong psychoactive properties. Chemically related to serotonin, LSD was initially hypothesized to produce a psychosis- like state. Later, LSD was reported to have benefits in the treatment of addictions. However, widespread indiscriminate use and reports of adverse affects resulted...

Drug addiction is an epidemic problem affecting millions worldwide with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Although the number of pharmacological options available to treat addiction has increased, these treatments demonstrate only modest efficacy. New treatments with improved efficacy rates and favorable side effect profiles are needed. Ayahua...

Individuals who survive a close brush with death often experience a profound altered state of consciousness known as a ''near-death experience.'' Individuals who drink a South American medicine, known as ''ayahuasca,'' experience an altered state of consciousness with numerous similarities to near-death experiences. These similarities, which occur...

Ayahuasca is a medicinal plant mixture utilized by indigenous peoples throughout the Amazon River basin for healing purposes. The "vine of the soul" or "vine of death," as it is known in South America, contains a combination of monoamine oxidase inhibitors and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). When ingested together, these medicines produce profound al...

Among persons who reported having had near-death experiences, 80% also reported subsequent auditory hallucinations. Experiencers’ attitudes toward these hallucinations were over-whelmingly positive, as contrasted with the overwhelmingly negative attitudes of patients with schizophrenia toward their auditory hallucinations. Auditory hallucinations n...

Inner communications following the near-death experience (NDE) have been reported by a number of authors. Although such communications are similar in some ways to the hallucinations heard by individuals with mental illness, they differ in that their effects are predominantly positive, whereas the hallucinations in mental illness exert predominantly...

Replies to comments by A. Aleman and E. H. F. de Haan (see record 1998-11057-017 ), on the author's proposal for a revised definition of the word "hallucination." Their main points are: 1) they do not believe the definition of hallucination should be limited to pathological experiences and 2) they suggest that unshared sensory experiences should be...

Addresses 2 major flaws in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) definition of hallucination: (1) its failure to distinguish pathological from nonpathological experiences; and (2) its failure to consider cultural beliefs in determining whether an experience is hallucinatory. These omissions are explored within the co...

Replies to comments by A. Aleman and E. H. F. de Haan (see record 1998-11057-017), on the author's proposal for a revised definition of the word "hallucination." Their main points are: 1) they do not believe the definition of hallucination should be limited to pathological experiences and 2) they suggest that unshared sensory experiences should be...

Hearing voices that others do not hear is often considered diagnostic of mental illness. Although it is true that mentally ill individuals sometimes hear voices, it is equally true that individuals who are not mentally ill hear voices also. In fact, throughout the history of humankind, respected leaders and common folk alike have benefited from hea...

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has been at the center of a debate over its potential benefits as an adjunct to psychotherapy versus its capability for neurotoxic effects and is currently classified as a Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). However, as yet, there is very little methodological data on the subjective...

Klinefelter's Syndrome was first described in 1942. However, many of the psychiatric, developmental, and neurologic manifestations were not recognized until much later. The present paper reviews the literature pertaining to these aspects of Klinefelter's Syndrome. The etiology, incidence, and prevalence of this syndrome are also discussed. The impo...