I recently posted a radio show on methylation and NeuroImmune disorders on my Facebook page and just listened to the full interview today. I had no intention to turn my notes into a blog post at the time I started, but the show was SO packed with great information, that I thought I'd share my notes here.
Sean Croxton has a show called Underground Wellness and I am excited to listen to more of these shows as the information was superb. Sean recently interviewed Dr. Tim Jackson DPT. The topic of the interview was NeuroImmune Syndromes. NeuroImmune Syndromes include Alzheimer's, allergies, ADD, ADHD, autism, vertigo, processing disorders, and many other conditions.
Dr. Jackson stressed that the first step to healing is to control inflammation. A lot of inflammation control comes from the methylation pathway. One has to have an inflammatory event that impacts the genes to turn on inflammation.
NeuroImmune Syndromes are disorders that affect both the nervous system and immune system, which are intimately connected. They are both covered in fat. ADD, ADHD, autism, ALS, Alzheimer's, vertigo, and post-concussion syndrome are examples. There has to be an inflammatory event to turn on the gene that causes the ongoing inflammation.
Both the nervous system and immune system have components covered in fat. T-cells have a fatty membrane that covers them. Myelin covers the nervous system. Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, severe food allergies, mitochondrial disorders, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, migraines, heavy metal accumulation, hormonal deficiencies, low thyroid, and infectious overgrowth such as viruses and Candida can all be impacted by impaired methylation. Dr. Jackson noted that, "You can't kill your way to health." I think this message is an important one. You may need to address infections, but long-term you want to build the immune system to take care of infections on its own.
30% of the population has a condition that falls into the category of NeuroImmune Syndromes. It is not genetics, but epigenetics. You may have a predisposition, but have to have an inflammatory trigger to turn the genes on or off. The triggers can be a vaccine, infection, surgery, emotional stress, or any trauma that leads to inflammation.
Methylation is the process of adding a carbon and three hydrogen atoms to a molecule. Neurotransmitters and proteins get methylated. The body uses methylation to create T-cells to kill viruses, bacteria, and cancers. It is a series of over 100 reactions in the body that are responsible for production of dopamine, growth factors, and glutathione. Glutathione helps with removal of heavy metals. People that chelate for years and years would often have the metals come out automatically through optimization of the methylation cycle.
Methylation involves B6, B12, and folic acid. Folic acid is the key nutrient in the methylation pathway. Many people cannot convert folic acid into the fat soluble form for the nervious and immune system to utilize and heal. B6 and B12 are water soluble. They use a topical lotion with the active form of folic acid which makes it fat soluble to allow the nervous system and immune system to heal.
You can have difficulty with the enzyme that allows the conversion of folic acid to the active, or fat soluble, form. You can also develop an antibody to folic acid (Folic Acid Receptor Antibody) which happens in some people that were not breastfed.
Methylation is involved in the production of T-cells which address viruses, bacteria, and cancers. Low T-cells can lead to the accumulation of different infections. Some people think that if you don't get sick, your immune system is strong, but it may represent that your immune system simply cannot mount a response.
When T-cells are low, B-cells are generally high which leads to food and environmental allergies. B-cells are the allergic and inflammatory cells. Some practitioners do the LEAP or ALCAT to look for food allergies. You will generally be allergic to a lot of foods until you fix the immune system.
Dopamine is a master neurotransmitter. It is involved in memory, focus, concentration, sleep, fine motor skills, hormonal control via the pituitary, and bowel motility. Dopamine regulates the other neurotransmitters. When it is low, you may be anxious as serotonin and GABA may be low.
When methylation is impaired, B-cells will be high and you will have ongoing inflammation. Viruses create cytokine storms which also propogate inflammation. They use a PRP spray which is an extract from colustrum that helps to fuel the bowel. It can also help with food allergies and inflammatory markers.
You cannot heal a disorder or syndrome until you control inflammation. You simply cannot heal while you are inflamed. Once methylation is corrected, inflammation generally reduces. However, when the immune system first wakes up, you can have a short period of increased inflammation as methylation improves and the immune system starts to address the backlog of microbes in the body.
Mitochondrial issues can result in fatigue in adults or low tone in children. Muscle cells have 100 mitochondria (batteries) while nervous system cells have 3-5. Chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia can be associated to mitochondrial impairments.
If a child has a methylation impairment, they may have more significant problems after a vaccination. Homocysteine is often high with methylation problems, but in kids it can also be very low. The children may have T-cell imbalances and putting a live virus into them with a vaccine may be problematic. Latest statistics on autism are 1 in 88 children born will have autism.
If you have methylation impairments, you have to control inflammation through Vitamin D or cortisol/pregnenelone pathways. Extra Vitamin D or topic pregnenelone may be used to control inflammation.
They use seven FDA-approved tests to look for different viruses and other indicators of methylation impairments. Treatment is via a lotion with a fat soluble folic acid along with B6, B12, and high doses of Vitamin D. This helps about 60% of their clients. If they have the antibody to folic acid, they will use a prescription higher dose folic acid called Leucovorin.
Methylation corrects things in a particular order. Mitochondrial energy will improve or muscle tone will improve in children. Growth factors deliver fats and proteins. Sugar craving may be related to the fact that sugar does not require growth factors to fuel the cells. The immune system then begins to increase T-cells and lower B-cells. Lastly, dopamine balances.
Some of the tests they use include total T-Cells (generally measured in HIV and cancer but also low in NeuroImmune Syndromes), CD4 to CD8 ratio (helper to suppresor T-cell ratio), homocysteine (risk for stroke, heart attack, etc.; can be a risk for NeuroImmune syndrome if low as in below 7), Vitamin D, and sensory tests.
If a child is interrupted before 2 years of age, they will typically be non-verbal. If after 2 years of age, they will typically be verbal. There is a 99.9% chance of having methylation issues if autistic. Dr. Jackson recommends NeuroBiolgoix Neuro-Immune Stabilizer.
Blood testing for viruses can result in false negatives due to viruses living in myelin and in brain.
There will be a test next year for the antibody to folic acid receptor. To test for the antibody today, they look for serum folic acid. If it is high in the blood, they assume it is low in the cell.
Heavy metals play a big role in NeuroImmune syndromes. There is a synergy between Candida, yeast, virus and heavy metals. People may address Candida only to find that it comes back repeatedly which may be an indicator of an underlying heavy metal issue.
If you work on the methylation pathways, heavy metals will often naturally come out. Chelating long-term is not generally an ideal solution.
Early on, testing for food allergies generally results in being allergic to many foods. After a couple of months of treatment, these generally improve.
Building the immune system through methylation is the goal, but initially, they may use antimicrobials and immune supporting substances to address microbial load. These include Lauricidin, L-Lysine, Propolis, and PRP spray. They also use Neuro-Immune Infection Control early on in treatment until methylation has been addressed enough that the immune system is now more self-sufficient.
To learn more, contact Dr. Tim Jackson by email