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From the Circle
A Newsletter from Chronic Illness Recovery

In This Issue
Therapy Tip
Survey Volunteers Needed
Inflammation Therapy
Scientific Articles
About CIR
Quotable Quotes

Save the Date! 

 

Next Patient Workshop

 

Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012 at the 

Hilton Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Lakes Executive Conference Center.

Therapy Tip

It isn't necessary, or possible, to define the cause of symptoms as due to disease or herxing (immunopathology). It's important to take all symptoms into account when deciding if/when to adjust therapy medications to maintain tolerable symptoms.
Our Library
Access to our extensive, easy-to-read
Library of Information
(see this sample page)
and Physicians' Reference Library is available to anyone, without enrollment in our counseling program.
library
If you're interested in using this resource, please send your request  to

our email, along with your doctor's name and fax number (in the US and Canada) or his/her email address so we can notify your doctor that you have access to this information.  


A list of the articles in our library is available
at this link. Physicians may use CIR libraries even if they don't have a patient enrolled in our counseling program. Interested medical professionals should contact CIR and ask to register.

CIR Organization

CIR is an IRS-recognized
 501(c)3 non-profit,
charitable organization.

Donations allow us to fulfill our mission and every gift is appreciated.

Donate Online Here

Survey

 

Volunteers who have a diagnosis of autoimmune or inflammatory disease or are chronically ill but who are not being treated with Inflammation Therapy, the Marshall Protocol or the Stillpoint Protocol are needed to be in the control group of our clinical study.

   

If you meet these criteria and would like to take part in this project (which will only take a few minutes once a month), please contact us

via email.

Contact Information
CIR email address

Phone CIR toll-free
in the US and Canada
 1-888-846-2474

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Chronic.Illness.Recovery

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Issue: 21  June 2011  
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Greetings!      

 

You may be wondering if CIR is able to keep up with the latest scientific research regarding chronic inflammatory diseases. Because patient treatment is based on science, the CIR staff is constantly researching to find new scientific evidence to be sure our knowledge isn't static. Inflammation Therapy continues to evolve as we learn more about how the science of inflammation relates to clinical practice.  

 

For example, we now know that: Benicar partially suppresses the immune system via the Nuclear Factor kappa-B pathway; antibiotics can provide a vital anti-inflammatory effect; 25-dihydroxyvitamin D (25-D) doesn't block the Vitamin D Receptor (VDR); and natural light exposure can increase 25-D.  

 blood test

In addition, we believe that the Vitamin D Binding Protein, which is known to be a potent macrophage-activating factor, becomes more capable of functioning in this way when 25-D is lowered.

 

This knowledge has changed the way we manage Inflammation Therapy and helped us advise doctors who are treating medically challenging patients or those who haven't done well on other more rigid protocols.

 

Best regards,

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About Inflammation Therapy

Th1/Th17 Inflammation

 

Th1 is short for "T-Helper cell type 1," a type of lymphocyte or white blood cell. Th1 responses generate killer T cells and certain antibodies, important in fighting intracellular pathogens and intracellular defects, such as cancers.

 

Th17 is short for Interleukin (IL)-17-producing T-Helper cells. Th17 cells are a recently identified subset, separate from the T-Helper type 1 (Th1) and T-Helper type 2 (Th2) subsets (see below). They arise in the presence of infection, and are also associated with what are viewed as autoimmune conditions.

 

For more information about Th17-Helper cells, click on the blue text:

Innate immune recognition of infected apoptotic cells directs TH17 cell differentiation (The abstract is free).
"Adaptive immune responses rely on differentiation of CD4 T-Helper cells into subsets with distinct effector functions best suited for host defence against the invading pathogen."

 

Responding to infection and apoptosis--a task for TH17 cells.  

 

Th2 is short for "T-Helper cell type 2." A Th2 response is used to fight off extracellular pathogens. Th2 responses generate other specific types of antibodies, and are typical of allergic reactions, in which an allergen is mistaken for a pathogen, triggering an immune system response resulting in allergy symptoms. Although Th2 responses are important for defense against extracellular pathogens, they are not particularly helpful for fighting intracellular pathogens.

 

 This tutorial contains basic information on T-Helper cells. Lymphocyte activation  



  
New Scientific Articles

The renin-angiotensin system, blood pressure, and heart structure in patients with hereditary vitamin D-resistance rickets (HVDRR) 

 

Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs): FDA's Drug Safety Review Completed  

FDA's meta-analysis of 31 randomized controlled trials comparing ARBs to other treatment found no evidence of an increased risk of incident (new) cancer, cancer-related death, breast cancer, lung cancer, or prostate cancer in patients receiving ARBs.

About Chronic Illness Recovery   

Viral Co-infections

 

At CIR we individualize treatment to maximize the chance of success in terms of symptom improvement. Inflammation Therapy focuses on chlamydiae, mycoplasma and other intracellular infections like borrelia and hybrid forms, but viral co-infections are a common component of chronic inflammatory disease. We believe these co-infections have at their root a disabled innate immune system; disabled both by viral actions and the action of L-form bacteria that block the ability of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) to transcribe anti-microbial peptides.

 

We think that in most people, unblocking the VDR with olmesartan (Benicar) and pulsed antibiotics may be enough to keep viral co-infections at bay; but that in a few individuals decreasing an active viral load with anti-virals may be helpful to immune system recovery. The Valcyte protocol for HH6, CMV and EB (and other non-retroviruses) appears to be very valuable in CFIDS, and we sometimes incorporate it into our treatment (or it can be tried first).

 

We do now incorporate elements of the Stratton and Wheldon protocols into our treatment in those with a CFIDS type presentation. We are also looking at how support for methylation cycle may be helpful in those with polymorphisms of this pathway.

 

The Catch-22 is that antivirals can cause Herxheimer reactions just like the pulsed antibiotics we use against the L-form bacteria, and can reduce white cell counts transiently. Therefore, caution must be used with any anti-infective strategy to ensure that white cell counts and neutrophil counts do not drop to dangerously low levels.


Quotable Quotes  

I wish more people would visit your site and see what it's about and how there is hope. Until I read about IT I felt hopeless every day. I now feel hope with my wife's FM, CFS, adrenal fatigue, Osteoporosis, and hypothyroidism. Every book I've read about CFS/FM includes these cascading events. Now it all makes sense. Thanks for being there!!    

~ Jim Stephenson  

   

Thank you so much for your clear and focused response to my last post. It is such a relief to have the support your site is giving. ~ Anne

 

The service being provided is truly above and beyond anything I've ever really found out there...my doctor has said so too. ~ Alycia Goeke