Translational medicine. The concept was invoked frequently last week at the Days of Molecular Medicine Conference (DMM). It’s an approach to medicine in which researchers are urged to take the data they have collected in the laboratory and find a way to apply it directly to patients. The term also suggests that researchers and doctors must work together, and that collaboration among researchers in different fields is essential if medicine is to advance.

Our group in front of the Karolinska Institute

The Marshall Protocol epitomizes translational medicine, which is why, in my opinion, our poster presentations at the Conference were, for the most part, viewed with great interest and optimism.

The researchers who filled the lecture and poster halls at DMM had travelled to Sweden from the most prestigious universities in the world. It didn’t take long to realize that many of them have spent their entire careers looking for faulty genes that might be able to cause mental illnesses such as autism or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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Join biomedical researcher Dr. Trevor Marshall as he explores the molecular data that forms the backbone of the Marshall Protocol.

Patients with diabetic neuropathy may not notice minor injuries due to loss of feeling in their lower extremities. Since the Vitamin D Receptor is inactivated by bacterial ligands, a small cut or sore can become infected, and flare into a limb- or life-threatening condition in as little as three days. These wounds are so difficult to heal that most of medicine considers them a lost cause and treats them with amputation. Amputations are often considered to be the beginning of the end for patients with diabetes.

Dr. Randall Wolcott

70% of diabetics who undergo an amputation die within five years due to the stress placed on their hearts from their altered circulatory system. During those five years they are likely to have more amputations and to rate their quality of life worse than cancer patients, according to some studies.

Nationally, an estimated 82,000 people with diabetes had lower-limb amputations in 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control. But thanks to a doctor at the Southwest Regional Wound Care Center in Lubbock, Texas, who has teamed up with researchers from Montana State University’s Center for Biofilm Engineering, this situation is changing. After sending samples of the sludge on his patient’s wounds to the Center, Dr. Randall Wolcott was informed that his samples were largely composed of bacterial biofilms.

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Although it may not seem like a topic immediately related to the Marshall Protocol, I believe that it’s difficult to truly envision the new bacterial pathogenesis of inflammatory disease without taking horizontal gene transfer, or the ability of bacteria to swap DNA, into account. In other articles on this site, I’ve described how people with inflammatory disease gradually accumulate a “pea soup” of pathogens. I like the term because it hints at the fact that everybody’s bacterial load is unique and also brings to mind the image of something stirred or mixed. Everyone with Th1 disease acquires a large mix of different pathogens, but even the image of a great number of different but isolated pathogens does not do justice to the variety of different bacteria that each patient harbors. This is because, if bacteria can trade DNA, they are constantly trading genetic material which allows for the constant creation of new species, with new characteristics and new survival abilities. So the bacterial loads we harbor are probably much more complex than we envision and certainly more complex than what conventional medicine envisions. After all, conventional medicine is still trying to tie one pathogen to one disease, and that’s only if they even decide to factor bacteria into the picture at all.

In order to better understand horizontal gene transfer, I spoke with Dr. Peter Gogarten at the University of Connecticut and Dr. James Lake at UCLA, both of whom are leaders in the field of gene transfer. Both of them were extremely friendly and seemed excited to speak with me about the phenomenon. I asked them the same questions. Here is how they responded:

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At the lowest point in his life, this Canadian native was so sick that he could do nothing more then lie in a dark room, thinking about the fact that his body seemed to be on fire. His symptoms of twitching, swollen muscles and raging emotions were out of control. However, after a series of antibiotic regimens that finally led him to Autoimmunity Research Foundation’s Marshall Protocol, he has recovered to the point where he feels like a kid in a candy store. Meet Ken L.

Can you describe the progression of your disease?

When I first started to suffer from symptoms of Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) I was living in South America. 2001 was the beginning of a gradual downhill slide. My feet started to become very sore, I became increasingly forgetful, and my balance was impaired. But it wasn’t until May 1st of that year that I was suddenly struck with incredibly severe symptoms. That day, when I went into the office, I felt terrible. I told my co-worker “Something is very wrong with me”, and he proceeded to take me to the hospital. My symptoms were terrifying . I had a crawling sensation that started in my hands and feet and crept up the back of my legs, until it finally reached my arms and the back of my head.

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Maybe vitamin D isn’t the answer after all.

Not only does the above statement ring true, it’s also the title of a recent post on “Dr. Len’s Cancer Blog” - a website written by Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the national office of the American Cancer Society, in order to facilitate communication with the public on important issues related to cancer.

Dr. Lichtenfeld, as described by his website, is a frequent spokesperson on a variety of cancer-related subjects, and serves as a liaison for the Society with many professional and public organizations. He’s also a board certified medical oncologist and internist who was a practicing physician for nearly 20 years and serves on several national committees focused on physician payment, the quality of medical care, and the role of health information technology in healthcare delivery.

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At a very young age, Doreen’s son Brendon began to suffer from symptoms of autism and other behavioral disorders. Over the years, he also began to suffer from CFS, obesity, and a “tremendous array” of other symptoms. Today, Doreen’s entire family, including Brendon, are on Autoimmunity Research Foundation’s Marshall Protocol. In the following interview, Doreen discusses the progress that Brendon, now 18, has made during Phase 1 of the treatment. Brendon’s experience thus far suggests that he is already becoming a more social and outgoing individual, and that full recovery may well be on the horizon.

Can you describe the progression of Brendon’s illness? Was he born sick or did it take time for his illness to develop?

Brendon exhibited the subtle signs of autism at a very young age. I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back, even as an infant he was socially indifferent–- he did express emotion, but only if we went out of our way to over-emphasize cues. A photographer waving around stuffed animals and talking loudly and actively in order to elicit a smile would get him wildly laughing. Otherwise, he really didn’t ever giggle or grin. He did not actively explore faces and was uninterested in taking his turn sitting on my lap at reading time. Whereas the other children in my daycare clambered to hear favorite books over and over and especially enjoyed the “audience participation” pieces they knew were coming up, he did not have the patience to sit through a book if he had already heard it.

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