of IBD patients and treated them with the therapeutic parasite Trichuris suis, a pig whipworm, which was an ideal choice as it only remains viable in the human GI tract for a short time and must be continually ad- ministered. The organism, when introduced into patients with IBD, generally produced a balancing of the immune response and a lessening of symptoms and severity of dis- ease. Pharmaceutical agents are now being developed along these lines to treat IBD.


Intestinal Hyper-permeability (aka: “Leaky Gut Syndrome”) Leaky gut syndrome for much of the


past twenty years seemed something that just naturopathic and functional medicine doctors talked about. Not any longer! Presti- gious researchers such as Dr. Alessio Fasano at Harvard University, have been research- ing the role of intestinal permeability as part of the cause of autoimmune disorders and bringing this concept full-speed to the conventional medical research community through his publications in top-tier im- munology and gastroenterology journals. In a 2009 article in Scientifi c American he eloquently brought the topic to the lay audi- ence with his article Surprises from Celiac Disease, where he described that his theory that leaky gut contributes to Celiac dis- ease and autoimmunity and it was initially greeted with skepticism by his colleagues.


Fasano has proposed that in order for autoimmune disease to manifest there must be three factors present, and he equates these to a triangle, or three-legged stool, where if any are not present the disease cannot exist. These three factors include; 1) an environmental trigger (i.e., food, bacterial, or viral protein/antigen), 2) a genetic susceptibility of the individual, and 3) intestinal hyper-permeability (i.e., “leaky gut syndrome”). He goes on to opine that by far the easiest of these three factors to treat is intestinal permeability. Much of his work involves the study of a protein which alters intestinal permeability by the name of zonulin. His team has a potential drug in development to alter the effect of zonulin to treat leaky gut.


Functional medicine and naturopathic


physicians, and other nutritionally-minded providers, have been addressing the issue of leaky gut for a long time with effective natural agents, including; L-glutamine, N- acetyl-glucosamine, various anti-infl amma- tory herbals/botanicals and biofl avonoids, zinc-carnosine, omega-3-fatty acids and more with much success.


Predictive Autoantibody Testing (A True Application Preventive Medicine?) In a 2007 Scientifi c American article en- titled New Predictors of Disease, Abner Louis Notkins stated, “Molecules called predictive autoantibodies appear in blood years before people show symptoms of various disorders. Tests that detect these molecules could warn of the need to take preventive action.” Some of these tests have been used for many years simply to confi rm the presence of a disease strongly suspected by a doctor once the patient has obvious signs of a particular auto- immune disease. However, the development and availability of low-cost autoantibody test- ing has ushered in the possibility to use these in a much more proactive screening strategy to predict the future emergence of autoim- mune disorders so that preventive action can be initiated early to short-circuit the disease process.


It is hoped that this article will help the patient, and their doctor, to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework from which to view autoimmune disease and to institute a new proactive model from which to approach these challenging and ever- increasing disorders. Physicians should look for autoimmune conditions with a strong


emphasis on: 1) very early detection with predictive auto-antibodies; 2) a focus on optimizing gastrointestinal immune function and the microbiome; 3) the eradication of infectious triggers with antimicrobial thera- py, when appropriate; 4) the detection and elimination of food sensitivities; 5) allowing our children to gain more exposures through early contact with their environment; and 6) the promotion of an anti-infl ammatory and healthy diet and lifestyle.


Dr. David M. Brady is a Connecticut and Vermont licensed naturopathic medical physician and certifi ed clinical nutritionist. He is the vice president of the Division of Health Sciences, director of the Human Nutrition Institute, and associate professor of clinical sciences at the University of Bridge- port. He is also the chief medical offi cer for Designs for Health, Inc. and Diagnostic Solutions Labs, LLC, and practices at Whole Body Medicine in Fairfi eld, CT, specializ- ing in functional and nutritional medicine. His latest popular book, The Fibro-Fix, was published by Rodale and released July of 2016 and coincided with his hosting of the popular online Fibro-Fix Summit in June of 2016 with over 30,000 attendees. You can learn more at DrDavidBrady.com, FibroFix. com. See ads on page 3, 9, and 17.


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