Elderly people are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of medications. A meta-analysis of observational studies found that, of 7,533 hospitalizations among people aged 65 years or older, 1,251 (16.6%) were judged to be due to adverse drug reactions....
Cerebral folate deficiency has been defined as any neuropsychiatric condition associated with abnormally low levels of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF; the active form of folate) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), in association with normal folate status and normal folate metabolism outside the central nervous system. ...
Addiction to illegal opioid narcotics (such as heroin) and prescription opioids (such as morphine, hydrocodone, and methadone) are major public health problems in the United States. In 2015, approximately 2 million Americans were addicted to prescription pain relievers (obtained legally or illegally) and 591,000 people...
Folic acid (pteroylglutamic acid) is an important nutrient that has multiple functions in the body. It plays a role in the synthesis of DNA and RNA, and is also involved in homocysteine and vitamin B12 metabolism and in the functioning of the central nervous system...
During the past 49 years, I have reviewed and analyzed more than 50,000 papers from the biomedical literature, most of which were related to the field of nutritional medicine. Doing this work has given me some understanding of how to assess the reliability of a...
Iron deficiency is a common and sometimes overlooked factor in patients with heart failure (HF), and is associated with a poor prognosis. Research indicates that testing HF patients for iron deficiency, and supplementing with iron when appropriate, could increase functional capacity, improve quality of life,...
In 1983, a practitioner in Vancouver, British Columbia, described a syndrome that was purported to be due to chronic copper toxicity. Symptoms varied but included one or more of the following: rapid thought patterns, insomnia, depression, memory loss, hallucinations, paranoia, and occasionally obsessive-compulsive disorder. ...
With the many advances in both conventional and integrative medicine, we have a wide range of options available for assessing and treating our patients. In some cases, particularly in those who are chronically ill and have complex problems, a comprehensive laboratory analysis might help identify...
I’ll know my song well before I start singing.” Those words were written Bob Dylan, at the end of one of his most famous songs, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” Bob Dylan, the only songwriter in history to win the Nobel Prize in literature. I...
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common condition characterized by dysesthesia (such as a painful burning, prickling, or aching feeling) in the legs and an irresistible urge to move the legs. The prevalence of this condition has varied in different studies, from 4% to 29%...