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We all have a passing familiarity with Einstein's famous formula that spawned the nuclear age: E = mc2. As we pursue our careers in clinical medicine – with an increasing array of nutraceuticals and herbals, pharmaceuticals and operations – we gladly set aside the "theoretical" in favor of the more "practical." After all, that's what "makes folks better," right?
Program chair/internist Simon Yu, MD, of St. Louis, Missouri (preventionandhealing.com), would beg to differ! While we acknowledge that supplements and drugs are working at a "molecular level," we tend to view them through a macroscopic lens. Bioflavonoids and vitamin C help with bruising and fragile blood vessels, vitamin D helps with weakened bones, magnesium helps modulate muscle contraction and relaxation, and so on. But Nobel laureates and leading professors in basic research and clinical medicine join harmoniously in a single chorus: controlling energy in the body is the key to understanding illness and to achieving repair, recovery, and robust function.
Dr. Yu's introduction to the sterling lineup of bioenergetic medicine speakers at the 60th Congress of the International College of Integrative Medicine (ICIM; icimed.com) in Chicago this past fall proposed a new paradigm to resolve the paradox and controversy: our Western tradition has taken such a limited view of ancient understandings of energy flows (meridians) that we fail to see "the big picture." Adjusting your frame of reference acknowledges that myriad infections, deficiencies, injuries, and so on can have far-reaching effects on organs/systems seemingly unrelated and distant from the "site" of interest. When an energetic framework is applied, disparate signs and symptoms become far more clear in contributing to our better design of a path to recovery for the "whole person."
Speakers were invited to use experiences with cancer – fundamental failure of the immune system – as a lens through which to view molecular and energetic interruptions to normal physiology. Cardiologist/internist William Lee Cowden, MD, MD(H), internationally acclaimed "integrative medicine health educator," offered wide-ranging case reports to demonstrate how classical allopathic approaches are vastly enhanced by the selective addition of a myriad of "alternative" (especially bioenergetic) technologies of diagnosis and treatment (acimconnect.com).
Young Hee Ko, PhD (kocancer212@yahoo.com), and Peter L. Pederson, PhD, professor of biological chemistry and oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, have worked diligently to discover natural approaches that will affect cancer cells while leaving normal cells alone. Harnessing the "Warburg effect" of oxygen deprivation on cancer phenotypes, their fascinating animal studies with the novel compound 3BP (3-bromopyruvate), an "energy blocker," show promising results with interrupting mitochondrial ATP production in PET-scan positive cancer cells, especially useful for those who have exhausted all conventional treatments.
Laboratory founder/internist Stephen E. Fry, MD (drstephenfry.com), of North Scottsdale, Arizona, is well known to many of us for his pioneering work in characterizing parasitic infections and especially intraluminal biofilms as causative agents in degenerative diseases. His continuing advances are yielding new understandings of chronic inflammatory diseases, especially their more precise diagnosis for more effective treatment.
Lee G. Woolley, DNM, of North Carolina, offered brief reviews of advanced understandings in homotoxicology and energetic diagnostics and bionetic biofeedback technologies for addressing advanced illness (thenewhuman.com). Clinical researcher Alex Mostovoy, HD, DHMS, BCCT, of the Thermography Clinic in Toronto, Canada (thermographyclinic.com), presented an overview of the convincing clinical applications of infrared thermography, long the safe and effective stepchild abandoned by conventional radiologists.
Professor James L. Oschman, PhD, has parlayed his degrees and studies in biophysics and biology into acclaimed scientific articles probing for better explanations of the results documented with "healing energy" and bodywork, particularly with frequency medicine therapies (energyresearch.us; NFAM.org). Sylvia Binder, ND, PhD (Naturopathy), CEO of the Ondamed Companies, New York and Germany, has returned to her native Germany to continue work at the Binder Institute for Personalized Medicine, helping people who are suffering with chronic illnesses in clinics around the world. The various cases presented show remarkable results with sound frequencies along with highly focused pulsed electromagnetic fields (ondamed.net).
Long a favorite educator for most of us, ophthalmologist Jerry Tennant, MD, MD(H), PScD, of Dallas, Texas (tennantinstitute.us), shared his elaborate simplification of the energetic model of illness and healing, integrating ancient modalities and modern applications in the treatment of cancers and other illnesses. His famous thesis: healing is voltage.
Associate Professor Magda Havas, PhD, of Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada (magdahavas.com), offered broad perspectives on the biological effects of electromagnetic pollution. Perhaps of most concern are her studies showing disturbing alterations of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, including heart arrhythmias and tachycardia, resulting from hypersensitivity to radiation from cordless phones found in many households.
Clinical researcher Carolyn McMakin, MA, DC, clinical director of the Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Clinic of Portland, Oregon, and developer of Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM; frequencyspecific.com), reviewed her many successes using nontoxic, noninvasive FSM to treat fibromyalgia associated with spinal injuries and head/face/neck pain and low back pain caused by myofascial trigger points, showing reductions in pro-inflammatory mediators.
Professor of biology at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Thomas N. Seyfried, PhD (thomas.seyfried@bc.edu), presented persuasive evidence for his conclusion that cancer is best defined and treated as a mitochondrial metabolic disturbance rather than a genetic disease. His pioneering work with a restricted ketogenic diet shows that development of nontoxic "metabolic therapy" interventions holds great promise for prevention and treatment of cancers of all kinds.
Clinical chemist and laboratory director Emil K. Schandl, MD(MA), PhD, of Hollywood, Florida, is internationally known for his work in epigenetics, DNA replication, and other fields. His thesis is simple: we should look for, refine, and employ clinical and biochemical parameters that allow for diagnosis (and follow-up) of previsual cancers. His present Cancer Profile battery of tests could lead to earlier and more effective treatments in patients in whom cancer is developing (americanmetaboliclaboratories.net).
Immunologist Donald Braun, PhD, of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (cancercenter.com), explores tumor genetics (genomics), emphasizing discovery of "how good cells go bad." His evidence suggests that apoptotic programs primarily begin in the mitochondria – of course, the essential energy factories of the cells. Profiling cellular genes, proteins, and pathway interactions elucidates critical control points in integrated cell networks, leading to more effective treatments.
ICIM member and clinical practitioner Paul Peirsal, MD (drpeirsel.com), has long subscribed to "thermodynamics" as a guiding principle in clinical practice. Reducing a complex theory down to its component parts, he presented a persuasive framework into which our diagnostic and treatment strategies can be placed. For example, the body is subject to "entropy" or wear-and-tear disruption. The sleep we enjoy at night is a "pit stop" in our race to survive degeneration and aging. 'Nuff said – you really need to hear his elegant talk to appreciate the dozens of years of study that he has invested.
Mercury-free dentist Michael Rehme, DDS, CCN, of St. Louis, Missouri, offered a holistic view of dental-medical interactions, relating restorative materials ("fillings" and such), endodontics, cavitations, and gingival infections and biofilms, comprehensively addressing the realm of tooth-body connections ("biological medicine"; toothbody.com). Diane Meyer, DDS, extensively reviewed her innovative protocol for effective treatment of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), a substantial improvement over traditional approaches (holisticdentistillinois.com).
William Pawluk, MD (drpawluk.com), lays claim to eclectic training in homeopathy, hypnosis, bodywork, acupuncture, medical use of electromagnetics, and energy medicine in his "family practice" career. His many contributions in the fields of wound healing and other applications of pulsed magnetic fields have put to rest any skepticism that the many successes of "energy medicine" are just hocus-pocus. Chelation guru Garry Gordon, DO, MD, MD(H), of the Gordon Research Institute in Payson, Arizona (gordonresearch.com), echoed these concepts in presenting his long clinical experience in pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapies for a variety of human ailments. The basis for PEMF success: production of "charge" in the tissues = "a lot more juice." Those of us with cell phones understand this idea of charge and its loss very well!
Did I mention that we also have fun? Chicago magician Dennis Watkins enthralled us at our "Quantum Physics Gala," where we humbly honored Martin Dayton, DO, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida (daytondandesmedical.com), with our Lifetime Achievement Award.
With this taste-test of what you missed, I offer just this one piece of advice: come join us at the next ICIM meeting, in Atlanta, Georgia, March 3–6, 2016. Yes, you just have time to register: www.icimed.com, or call Wendy Chappell-Dick, ED, at our office: 419-358-0273.
John Parks Trowbridge MD, FACAM, is past president and now adviser to the board of ICIM. His totally biased views are presented in this review of the meeting, since he has long thought that these meetings are always "the best ever" in his 37-year clinical career. Look forward to his upcoming lecture on "Candida and the Gut" – fresh perspectives from the bestselling author of The Yeast Syndrome (and many contributions to the Townsend Letter.)
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