- Events
- Grand Rounds
The Integrative approach to Peak Performance ~ Stephen Brewer, MD (October 02, 2008)
Burnout to Bliss: how Patients are Healing Physicians and Changing the Face of Medicine ~ Pamela L. Wible, MD (September 04, 2008)
Topics in Integrative Medicine: Women's Health ~ Tieraona Low Dog, MD (June 05, 2008)
Clinical Hypnosis ~ Steven Gurgevich, PhD (May 01, 2008)
Hospice and Palliative Care: A Contemplative and Integrative Medicine Approach ~ Evan Kligman, Carolyn Ancell, Ron Bogard (April 03, 2008)
Medicinal Use of Turmeric in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Issues and Evidence ~ Janet Funk (March 06, 2008)
Environmental Health ~ Andrew Weil, MD (February 07, 2008)
Long-term weight loss: a myth or a reality? ~ Tim Lohman Ph.D. (December 06, 2007)
The successful and unsuccessful long-term weight loss interventions will be reviewed. Recent developments in weight loss and the internet will be discussed with advantages and limitations.
The Art and Science of Compassion ~ James Duffy MD, FANPA, AAHPM (November 01, 2007)
This presentation will provide a synthesis of recent advances in neuroscience and social psychology that have significantly deepened our understanding of the determinants and mechanisms of empathy and compassion. These findings will provide powerful and very practical insights into how modern clinicians can improve their empathic accuracy and provide more compassionate care for their patients; as well as supporting their own wellness.
Vitamin D Deficiency: the cause of everything? ~ Louise Gagné, MD (October 04, 2007)
Vitamin D deficiency is widespread in North America and is often unrecognized. Recent research has linked deficiency of vitamin D to a wide range of chronic disease. This session will review vitamin D physiology, the consequences of deficiency and vitamin D’s emerging role as an immune modulator and cancer protective nutrient. This presentation will also cover: who is at increased risk, who should be screened and which tests to order.
Interventional Cardiology: Integrative Medicine Style ~ Stephen Devries, MD (September 06, 2007)
Interventional cardiology has revolutionized the field of cardiology by improving diagnosis and treating complex cardiac diseases. However, there is another type of interventional cardiology that uses powerful, patient-centered, readily-available modalities to prevent the onset and progression of heart disease. This talk will focus on powerful, yet often underutilized strategies for prevention of heart disease incorporating the use of nutrition, supplements and mind-body approaches.
Ayurvedic Medicine: Modern Science Meets Ancient Healing ~ Rob Saper, MD, MPH, (June 07, 2007)
Ayurveda is a traditional healing system over 2000 years old widely practiced in India, and increasingly popular in the West. Although Ayurveda is generally considered to be quite safe, recent reports of lead and mercury in Ayurvedic herbal products have challenged this belief. Ayurvedic experts have responded that these metals are in unique chemical forms that contribute to the therapeutic strength of the herbal remedies. The resultant controversy and debate between Western scientists and Ayurveda proponents highlight the challenges and benefits of trying to integrate traditional and modern systems of medicine with cultural sensitivity and scientific integrity. Dr. Saper will describe how one clinical observation can generate a research question, which in turn leads to data that influence policy change and creates new research questions. He will also highlight the challenges of creating a respectful culturally-sensitive dialogue between a modern scientific perspective and an ancient healing tradition.
Integrative Approaches to Cardiovascular Disease ~ Steven Horowitz (May 03, 2007)
Why do researchers tell us CAM does not work when thousands of patients experience the opposite? ~ Vinjar Fonnebo, MD (April 05, 2007)
There seems to be a gap between CAM research results showing little or no effect, and reports of clinical benefit from these treatment modalities as perceived by patients and CAM practitioners. This effectiveness gap might be due to not only patients being misled, but could also result from an inadequate strategy when researching CAM practices. When a clinical practice has no regulatory or financial gatekeeper, treatments are in extensive public use before researchers may even know of their existence. This necessitates a scientific approach that acknowledges this reality.
Promising CAM Cancer Clinics Around the World ~ Ralph Moss, PhD (April 11, 2007)
Thousands of Americans every year journey to specialized CAM clinics that offer treatments unavailable at the usual comprehensive cancer center. There are approximately 50 such clinics in Germany alone and 25 in the Tijuana, Mexico area. Asia is increasingly becoming a locus for such "medical tourism." Since many cancer patients eventually reach the point that conventional medicine has nothing further to offer them, there will inevitably be a continuing market for such treatments. How can one evaluate these clinics, their proprietors and their treatments? What has the author learned in three decades of independently evaluating many such clinics around the world? What is the history - and the likely future- of 'alternative' cancer treatments here and abroad?
TBA ~ Ian Coulter, Phd, LHD (March 01, 2007)
Origin and Clinical application of the functional medicine model ~ Jeffrey Bland, PhD. (February 01, 2007)
Historically, functional medicine has referred to geriatrics, psychosomatic, and rehabilitative medicine. In 1991 the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) was formed to redefine functional medicine as a discipline focused on the application of systems biology to medicine. Under this paradigm, functional medicine refers to defining the antecedents, triggers, and mediators that result in the signs and symptoms we call disease.
The emphasis, therefore, of functional medicine is on understanding the diathesis and mechanistic underpinning of disease. The cornerstone of functional medicine is that disease results from a complex interaction between genes and environmental exposures. This presentation will develop the groundwork of this functional medicine model and its evolution of its clinical application.
Reference: Preface. Textbook of Functional Medicine, published by the Institute for Functional Medicine: iii-v. Gig Harbor, WA. 2005
Ethical Issues in CAM and Integrative Medicine ~ Jon Tilburt, MD, MPH (December 07, 2006)
With the growing interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the U.S., greater attention has been paid to ethical questions at the interface of conventional biomedicine and CAM. Ethical issues have been identified as a key area for further scholarship, both by the recent 2005 IOM Report and by the 2005-2009 NCCAM strategic plan. The hour will include an overview of the IOM report’s discussion of ethical issues in CAM with particular emphasis on the concept of ‘medical pluralism’. As NCCAM’s first ethics fellow, Dr. Tilburt will also give a brief overview of his ongoing ethics scholarship related to CAM at the NIH.
Herbal Medicine and Nutritional Supplements for Children: What Do We Really Know? ~ Ben Kligler, M.D. (November 02, 2006)
Although herbs and supplements are widely used by children, there is limited evidence evaluating their safety and effectiveness. This talk will focus on four nutritional supplements--fish oils, echinacea, peppermint oil and probiotics--which have been studied in pediatric populations, presenting evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of these products in a variety of clinical settings.
The quantum paradigm in health and disease ~ Stuart Hameroff M.D (June 01, 2006)
Health relates to optimal function at levels ranging from biochemistry, organelles, cells, tissues, organs, whole body, conscious and sub-conscious states, emotions and environment. Living systems are integrated across these many levels, but their essential feature remains elusive. 150 years ago the nature of life was related to some type of force or field, but proponents of this view - “vitalists, animists” - were usurped (and vilified) by reductionists, and life and health became viewed as emergent properties of layered complexity. But life (and its optimal state - health) remain unexplained, and some now suggest living fields based on quantum coherence and entanglement (“quantum vitalism”). This talk will review quantum mechanisms and their apparent or potential involvement in biomolecular, cellular, immune, mitotic, conscious, sub-conscious, meditative and emotional processes as well as energy medicine, acupuncture and healing.
An Integrative Approach to ADHD ~ Sandy Newmark, M.D. (May 04, 2006)
This presentation will discuss the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD from an integrative perspective. Included will be an examination of the phenomena of the explosive growth of this diagnosis over the last 20 years. Alternative treatment approaches such as nutritional interventions, Omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, elimination diets, and other CAM approaches will be discussed.
Clinical Issues, Controversies and Updates in Women’s Health and Natural Medicine ~ Tori Hudson, N.D. (April 06, 2006)
This Grand Rounds will consider the field of women's health and recent advances in natural medicine. Discussions will include green tea and its effect on cervical dysplasia, Policosanol and lipids, interstitial cystitis, nutrients altered by oral contraceptives, and the effectiveness of soy in women's health. Dr. Hudson will present selected research as well as clinical indications and clinical management utilizing the aforementioned substances. In addition, some key controversies will be addressed, including soy and bio-identical hormones.
The Darker Side of the Physician's Life: Anonymous Letters from Physicians to their Patients ~ Dan Shapiro, Ph.D. (March 02, 2006)
Using 180 letters written by practicing physicians to their patients during seminars as data, this Grand Rounds will focus on the darker emotional side of physician's practices. Secrecy and medical mistakes, the malpractice system, the ongoing effects of self-denial, the impact of chronic competition, struggles with inflexible hierarchy, and coping with difficult and dislikable patients will be discussed.
Preventing Relapse from Addictive Disorders: The Role of Mindfulness and Acceptance ~ John A. Astin, Ph.D. (February 02, 2006)
While significant progress has been made in the behavioral and pharmacologic treatment of addictive disorders, the majority of substance dependent individuals eventually relapse. For example, a recent metaanalysis found that more than 50 percent of treated alcoholics relapse within the first three months following successful treatment. While the exact causes of relapse are often complex, studies indicate psychosocial stress and the inability to manage negative affect (i.e., distressing emotions) is associated with the initiation and continuation of addictive disorders. At the same time, evidence is emerging that efforts to change or alter particular patterns of thinking or emoting can have paradoxical effects. For example, the desire to get rid of or avoid anxious thoughts and feelings can frequently become its own source of anxiety. This has led to the development of acceptancebased methods for managing and transforming negative affect that emphasize accepting, rather than trying to change, difficult emotional states. Dr. Astin will discuss an NIH-funded program of research he and his colleagues are embarking on to test the effectiveness of an acceptance-based approach which utilizes mindfulness meditation, and is designed to help substance-dependent individuals cope more effectively with challenging emotional states and in turn, reduce the likelihood of relapse.
DSHEA: A 10-Year Retrospective on the Science, Regulation and Politics of Dietary Supplements ~ Loren Israelsen, J.D. (December 08, 2005)
Over a decade ago, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was passed by Congress after a turbulent battle and an unprecedented public outcry against over-regulation of supplements by FDA. Today, access to supplements is assured. What is less clear is how consumers and health professionals make informed choices to assure they are using supplements of high quality which are supported by adequate science and labeling which is informative and transparent. Enormous strides have been made in analytical methodology, extraction techniques for botanicals and, most of all, access to information through the Internet. In view of these profound changes, is DSHEA outmoded? Should supplements be treated as a class of foods, or should they in fact be regarded as medicines or natural health products as Canada now regards supplements? These and other intriguing and difficult questions will be explored in depth, together with recommendations on how to strengthen the safety, science and quality of dietary supplements.