This conference, held in New York City, is one of the most clinically useful and intellectually engaging forums in which I have participated. Townsend Letter seemed an ideal venue with its many-decade, journalistic commitment to patient-centered innovation!

Meet Dietrich Klinghardt, the academy's founder. Like many "holistic" doctors, he takes care of a "whole list" of problems faced by his patients. He also sees patients seen by a "whole list" of doctors. On average his patients see 23 doctors before they arrive at his clinic. Conventional medicine couldn't meet their needs, yet they have the perseverance to get better. And they do get better! How?

Drs. Dietrich Klinghardt and Charles Ray Jones.
	Meet Dr. Dietrich "Twenty-four" Klinghardt as conference attendees affirm each other in song.

Klinghardt kicked off the 3-day forum with a top 10 list wherein each topic was elaborated by the conference speakers. Here are the 10 overlooked issues that turn an asymptomatic Borrelia (Lyme spirochetes) carrier into a chronically ill patient.

1.   parasites
2.   exposure to microwave, electric, and magnetic fields
3.   mycotoxin-induced illness
4.   dental issues: mercury and beyond
5.   impaired methylation
6.   hemopyrrollactamuria
7.   stenosis of the anterior neck veins
8.   desynchronized brain waves
9.   tonsillitis and sinusitis
10. suppression of regulatory peptides

And these are exactly the issues conference that participants learned to treat, through the teachings of a diverse panel of experts. The principles are broadly applicable to patients with chronic disease. Here are some highlights:

Where did the parasites come from? No one needs to leave New York City to be exposed to parasites. All salad bars surveyed in the city tested positive for ova and parasites introduced where the food was grown, by those who prepared it or by other restaurant guests. Bedbugs carry more or less the same pathogens as ticks. Tick bites that introduce Borrelia species may also introduce coinfections such as babesiosis and Bartonella.

Babesiosis can lead to chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), which causes backpressure enough for blood to leak into the basal ganglia and thalamus. The resulting iron deposits are visible with new imaging techniques. Some patients with multiple sclerosis respond to vascular surgery of the anterior neck veins for a disease long considered to be strictly neurologic in origin, and the benefits may be more broadly applicable to include some patients with chronic Lyme disease.

Magda Havas, PhD, presented late-breaking studies that are among those confirming that not only ionizing radiation but also nonionizing radiation (EMFs), particularly in the range of microwave ovens and cell phones, exert physical effects on human metabolism. Changes in protein structures have been shown. EMFs can contribute to nonrestorative sleep and desynchronosis of brain waves, which disturb the carefully orchestrated symphony of neurotransmitters. Even the neuroregulatory hormones that drive the neurotransmitters lose their biorhythms and may be suppressed in association with infections as well.

	BioPure and Sunlighten were among the several conference vendor purveying a broad variety of clinical tools.

New research links EMFs with mycotoxins. EMFs "stress" mold organisms, causing them to release more mycotoxic defenses. Dental amalgams appear to act like antennae, concentrating EMFs and thus potentially amplifying exposures. Electrical microcurrents form across the different metals used in dental fillings, releasing higher concentrations of metal ions. Toxic metals clog the methylation pathways also used to defend against invading microorganisms.

Borrelia toxins break down in the same biopathways as other biotoxins such as streptolysin. Clearing chronic streptococcal infections such as sometimes associated with tonsillitis and sinusitis (not just PANDAS) can make the biopathways more available for removing Borrelia toxins.

Borrelia species have evolved the ability to derail host hemoglobin production, leading to the formation of hemopyrrollactams. As hemopyrrollactams are excreted in the urine, they are chaperoned by the very nutrients needed for defending against Borrelia. By restoring optimal physiologic levels of these excreted nutrients, most notably zinc and vitamin B6, host defenses such as methylation can work more effectively.

Ingrid Kohlstadt is joined by Debbie Floyd, who directs the Klinghardt Academy, and Christine Schaffner, ND.

When everything is related to everything, as it sometimes seems in biologic medicine, it is difficult to know where to begin treatment. This conference not only defined the barriers to recovery, it also presented stepwise, well-referenced approaches to treatment. Order the forthcoming video!