Category Archives: Longevity

Partner of the Month: The Foundation for Alternative and Integrative Medicine (FAIM)

September 30, 2020

The Foundation for Alternative and Integrative Medicine (FAIM) provides a service to the field of alternative and integrative medicine by educating the public with cutting edge information through collaboration with experts in the field and by assisting researchers and practitioners in research evaluating promising therapies and theories in natural health care.  The FAIM website serves as an umbrella for experts in all areas listed in the website Health Topics to share the latest in natural medicine.  This information is offered free to the public at large.

FAIM strives to promote education and research in the areas of new frontiers in science and technology in natural health care.  This would include health related discoveries which hold promise and efficacy.  FAIM publishes these reports on the FAIM website and communicates the research findings reaching the public and professionals.

Research of technologies that are sometimes considered unconventional, still hold the potential of contributing to the paradigm shift in medicine and thus offer a platform to be researched to confirm efficacy.  Documenting these technologies offers a service to natural health care and the future.

Progress in the field of complementary and alternative medicine is frustratingly slow. This is due, in part, to practitioners who lack preliminary data beyond patient testimonials. Slow progress may also be attributed to limited financial resources and inadequate research capacity.  Therefore, FAIM provides a service to the field by assisting researchers and practitioners in collecting outcome data.

FAIM is committed to research to obtain the most valuable data. Knowing the limitations of research due to funding restrictions, FAIM is developing collaborations with research facilities nationally and internationally where it can conduct research on therapies and technologies. In the case of international collaborations, the research would benefit the country from the knowledge revealed.  This research could lead the way towards real breakthroughs in world health.  FAIM is eager to collaborate with groups within and outside the U.S. who have the research capacity and interest in advancing investigations of non-toxic, innovative, and cost-effective therapies for conditions with a large public health impact.

Goals:

Public and Professional Education

Collaborate with experts in the field to disseminate accurate and reliable information on natural health care therapies, theories, technologies, and principles through the FAIM website, FAIM Facebook page, and other avenues.

Investigation

Search the world for effective, nontoxic, and low-cost alternative medical therapies with the assistance of National and International Resource Coordinators.  Attend conferences and do site visits so as to investigate the latest in natural health care options.

Research

Participate in research with medical facilities, laboratories, foundations, hospitals, and universities for the development of studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of a therapy or technology and document outcome data.

Implementation

Disseminate information aligned with our mission on new frontiers in science and medicine through published research, the FAIM website, and FAIM Facebook page and encourage adoption of cost effective therapies.

For more information go to www.faim.org

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What to Expect at the 2020: Medicine Revolutionized | Longevity, Aging, and Immuno Competency Event

August 14, 2020

Our latest online virtual conference 2020: Medicine Revolutionized | Longevity, Aging and Immuno Competency (LAIC) is taking place next week, August 21 & 22. This revelatory event will connect healthcare professionals with the latest clinical education to support the current and changing needs of patients and clinicians alike. At our novel educational event, world-renowned faculty members will provide a strategic clinical roadmap for practitioners looking to improve their patients’ health spans, relieve unwanted symptoms of aging, and boost their immune competency.

With an emphasis on participant engagement, live-streamed sessions will enable attendees to interact directly with leading experts in the industry throughout the duration of the conference; they will be able to ask questions and receive answers from faculty members in real-time. Using an interactive, easy-to-navigate virtual format, our integrative educational conference will connect clinicians from across the globe with leading healthcare experts in the setting of their choosing to deliver critical, strategic principles of anti-aging and integrative medicine.

The Latest Clinical Topics in Integrative Medicine

Neuroresiliency and Issues

During the first session of the LAIC event, experts will lead participants through the most clinically current and relevant topics within the field of neuro resiliency including neuroinflammation and its effects on neurodegeneration, an in-depth look at the TBI-neuro-immune axis stressor, as well as cellular responses to stress and their connection to chronic disease. As the final component, the session will explore a comprehensive approach to psychiatric illness as tied to neurological issues. 

Endocrine, Hormonal Effects on Immune System 

The second session of day 1 will cover the wide-ranging effects of hormones on the immune system, including the association between the endothelial glycocalyx and vascular health, the impact of immune factors on cardiovascular disease in female patients, as well as the role of hormones in cognition. Finally, the session will end with a comprehensive look at the role of sex hormones and autoimmunity to conclude the first day of the LAIC event.

Immune System Restoration 

Day 2 of the LAIC event will primarily focus on immune system restoration, covering subjects ranging from current concepts in mast cell activation syndrome to the role of cannabinoids in adaptive immunomodulation. World-renowned experts in the field will also delve into the transcriptomics of inflammation, updates in information medicine for the 21st century, the miracle molecule phosphatidylcholine and its role in cell membrane repair and rejuvenation, as well as the benefits of low dose naltrexone. Later on in the day, our faculty will discuss immunoregulatory peptides as well as other immunomodulatory natural compounds to conclude the Immune System Restoration session.

Speaker Spotlight

Andrew Heyman, MD, MHSA 

Internationally recognized expert in Integrative Medicine, Dr. Andrew Heyman is the current Program Director of Integrative and Metabolic Medicine at The George Washington University. Prior to this position, he worked as an administrator for the University of Michigan Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Center, where he managed a $7 million NIH grant to research alternative therapies for cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Heyman’s research efforts focus on the stress response and neuroendocrinology, cardiometabolic disease, men’s health, and clinical outcome research methodologies. He is clinically active as the owner of a four-physician integrative medicine practice at the Virginia Center for Health and Wellness and serves as the President of Integrative Health Resources, a group of clinical experts that consults to physicians, health systems, and public health professionals seeking to develop targeted wellness, lifestyle, and nutrition programs. Dr. Heyman’s teaching method is  deeply rooted in scientific evidence, grounded in clinical reality, and readily accessible to both new learners and seasoned practitioners. 

Sahar Swidan, PharmD, BCPS 

Executive Director of Professional Development and Compliance for Slyngshot Health, Dr. Sahar Swidan also serves as President and CEO of Pharmacy Solutions in Ann Arbor, Michigan and as an adjunct professor at George Washington University, Wayne State, and Chicago State University. Before receiving her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, Dr. Swidan served as Director of Pharmacy at Chelsea Community Hospital. She is a board-certified advanced fellow in anti-aging and regenerative medicine. In addition, Dr. Swidan is a world-renowned speaker on pain management, headaches, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Dr. Swidan has published several chapters, articles, and patient education materials in general pain management and personalized medicine and brings key insight into areas of drug-related muscular pain and sarcopenia as well as the effects of hormones on the musculoskeletal system.

What Clinicians Can Expect

Clinicians attending the LAIC event can expect to obtain the most clinically current, relevant, and applicable knowledge in the field of integrative medicine. At the same time, participants will be learning revolutionary strategies targeted at promoting sustained health in the current environment and will retain access to a myriad of invaluable clinical resources for long-term learning.

Access to the Latest Clinical Education in Integrative Medicine

Participants will examine the most recent results from clinical research and unpack the most clinically relevant and valuable medical knowledge available. The LAIC event will cover a range of topics pertaining to longevity and healthy aging, ranging from neuroinflammation to immune system restoration techniques, giving attendees a comprehensive and extensive overview of the latest clinical education in integrative medicine.

1 Year of Online Access

After the conference, participants will still be able to access the entirety of the event – including session recordings, resources, and more – for an entire year to support long-term success.

Direct Engagement with World-Renowned Faculty

During the LAIC virtual event, participants will have the opportunity to interact with and learn directly from world-renowned leaders in the field via an interactive online chat. Attendees will be able to ask questions and receive expert answers in real-time throughout the conference.

Invaluable Resources for Your Practice

The LAIC conference will provide a wide variety of clinical resources, tools, and services while also directly connecting attendees with exhibitors through a live online chat as part of the Virtual Exhibit Hall. Attendees will be able to explore exhibitor booths virtually via the digital floor plan; they will be able to click booths for more information and links to diverse exhibitor materials.

Clinicians looking to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the latest clinical knowledge, advancements, and approaches to integrative medicine are invited to join other leading practitioners, researchers, and educators at the virtual Longevity, Aging, and Immuno Competency conference. There are a few spots left for our upcoming virtual experience, sign up here today to attend.

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Reversing Age-Related Impairment and Immunity

July 31, 2020

While the average life-expectancy for humans continues to increase, a longer life span has been tied to an uptick in age-related disease and impairment across the globe. As a result of a declining immune system, the growing elderly population is more prone to infectious diseases – including influenza and COVID-19. Additionally, this group is commonly affected by age-related frailty, which has a significant negative impact on quality of life. The high level of care and involvement required to maintain the health of these patients has the potential to bear a growing burden on the healthcare system which is part of the reason underlying research efforts in the field of human longevity.

The current body of knowledge suggests the role of chronic low-grade inflammation in the biological aging process and development of age-related diseases; scientific evidence implicates that the presence of inflammation in the body accelerates aging. Hoping to uncover more information about additional factors that may contribute to an accelerated process and potential methods of reversing them, a team of researchers from the Department for BioMedical Research at the University of Bern conducted a study with findings published in Nature Metabolism.

Age-Related Frailty and Immunity

Under Bernese guidance, Dr. Mario Noti and Dr. Alexander Eggel aimed to identify new approaches to improving health-span in an ever-increasing aging population by focusing on adipose tissue eosinophils (ATEs) present in humans and mice. These immune cells found in visceral adipose tissue, otherwise known as belly fat, play an essential role in regulating inflammation and could be used to reverse aging processes; these cells are important in the control of obesity-related inflammation and metabolic disease as they are responsible for maintaining local immune homeostasis. Increasing age is tied to a decrease in eosinophils in adipose tissue and an increase in pro-inflammatory macrophages – turning belly fat into a source of pro-inflammatory activity.

Role of Eosinophils in Chronic Inflammation

The study’s authors demonstrated that visceral adipose tissue contributed to the development of chronic low-grade inflammation. They found that ATEs undergo major age-related changes in distribution and function associated with impaired adipose tissue homeostasis and systemic low-grade inflammation in human subjects as well as mice. However, exposure to a young systemic environment  was able to partially restore ATE distribution in aged subjects by reducing adipose tissue inflammation.

“In different experimental approaches, we were able to show that transfers of eosinophils from young mice into aged recipients resolved not only local but also systemic low-grade inflammation,” the researchers told ScienceDaily. ”In these experiments, we observed that transferred eosinophils were selectively homing into adipose tissue.”

Using an adoptive transfer or eosinophils from young mice to aged subjects, researchers were able to restore ATE distribution and sufficiently mitigate age-related local and systemic low-grade inflammation. As a result of the transfer, youthful systemic environments were restored and systemic rejuvenation took place in aged mice. Changes were both physical – assessed by endurance and grip strength tests – and immune-related – manifested in improved vaccination responses.

Dr. Noti and Dr. Eggel’s findings support the critical function of adipose tissue as a source contributing to accelerated aging and uncover the new role of eosinophils in sustaining adipose tissue homeostasis and thus, promoting healthy aging.

Because the age-related changes in adipose immune cell distribution were confirmed in human subjects, the latest study may have significant positive implications for the anti-aging medicine field when translated into clinical practice. Age-related frailty and immune decline may be halted and potentially even reversed as a result of this novel cell-based therapeutic approach.

“Our results indicate that the biological processes of aging and the associated functional impairments are more plastic than previously assumed,” Dr. Noti stated. “A future direction of our research will be to now leverage the gained knowledge for the establishment of targeted therapeutic approaches to promote and sustain healthy aging in humans,” his research partner Dr. Eggel concluded.

 

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