Letter from the Publisher

The Great American Medical Divide: Vaccinators vs Anti-Vaxxers

In the US liberal Democrats and pro-Trump supporters remain utterly divided, disputing the outcome of the 2016 election and determined respectively to defeat or reelect the President in 2020. In Great Britain the animosity between those who support the UK leaving the EU and those who oppose it has reached a fever pitch—family members and co-workers and friends who have opposing stands refuse to speak to one another. And now, in the US and internationally, medical authorities are demanding that anti-vaxxers be silenced and their communication be blocked on social media. In late February Pinterest announced it would shut down access to articles negating vaccination. By early March Facebook agreed to limit anti-vaxxer access as well. In this issue of the Townsend Letter, editor Jule Klotter reviews a book detailing concerns about the HPV vaccine—you better read it while you are still permitted to do so.

Admittedly there are legitimate concerns in the vaccination debate. Dismissing all vaccinations as being useless and consistently causing horrendous adverse events is wrong. Vaccines are effective and by and large do not cause persistent medical problems. Yes, some vaccine programs are less effective, particularly the annual flu vaccine. Yes, a small percentage of vaccines do cause a significant medical event, but only a much tinier percentage lead to catastrophic medical development. A large epidemiologic Danish study published in March determined that autism is not related to vaccination.

On the other hand, the vaccination schedule pediatricians are now advising for infants and toddlers and adolescents is lengthy and intense. Less horrendous but discomforting adverse events post-vaccination are not infrequent. Failure of vaccines does occur and new vaccines do not get as much medical evaluation as new drugs. Undoubtedly if an Ebola virus vaccine were to be developed its implementation would be clamored for. There would be an even greater clamor for an AIDS vaccine. Unlike the outbreak of measles among unvaccinated children this winter, there is a greater urge to address killer diseases.

Homeopathic physicians and proponents argue that vaccines interfere with our innate immune functioning, disturbing its subtle energetic, vitalistic healing. Not an insignificant part of homeopathy addresses the need to reverse the energetic disturbance of vaccination. Concern about carrier agents in vaccines, including so-called adjuvants, is also warranted. Mercury, thimerosal, has largely been removed from vaccines only because anti-vaxxers decried its use. Other foreign substances in vaccines, reported adulterants such as residual material from non-human tissue cell cultures, deserve medical study and scrutiny. However, the allopathic medical community denigrates any research that may impugn the safety and validity of vaccination. This is the dark and dictatorial aspect of vaccination research; it is unwilling to thoroughly scrutinize every aspect of vaccination.

The Townsend Letter will continue to carry evidence-based articles and information about vaccination even if it supports an anti-vaxxer position.

Dr. David Musnick on Healing Traumatic Brain Injury

Over the past decade traumatic brain injury (TBI), which has been largely ignored by sport franchises, has been recognized as a medical condition responsible for causing long-term neuropathology including Parkinsonism-like disorders and dementia. Case reports of TBI in professional football players, previously denied by the NFL, have led to disability compensation settlements as well as required medical monitoring for diagnosis and treatment of concussion injuries. Of course, TBI is not limited to football—the well-publicized cognitive decline of Muhammad Ali confirms the risks of repeated concussive injury in boxing. In fact, TBI is possible in all competitive sports; women “heading” a soccer ball are particularly subject to concussion and subsequent TBI. The need to manage TBI for an athlete or an individual who has sustained a head-on motor vehicle accident is apparent. In this issue, David Musnick, MD, offers a comprehensive functional medicine approach to healing the brain for mild TBI, diagnostics and treatments equally appropriate for chronic TBI

Yes, there is much integrative and naturopathic physicians can offer the individual who has sustained a TBI. As Musnick explains in reviewing pathophysiology, an injured brain leads to excessive anti-brain antibodies and neurotoxins permeating the blood brain barrier. Testing for BBB and anti-gastrointestinal antibodies is vital in TBI diagnosis. Abnormal blood brain autoimmunity must be addressed while pursuing the complex task of treating a permeable BBB.

Musnick employs neuro-psychiatric testing to evaluate cognitive functioning. Assessment of brain tissue injury by CT and MRI imaging is unhelpful with mild TBI; instead, he suggests the QEEG test to more sensitively assess brain function activity. Musnick follows a naturopathic dietary approach prohibiting gluten and dairy. To encourage brain recovery he suggests a “brain smoothie” made from blueberries and cranberry juice with the addition of hemp or pea protein powder. He strongly encourages consumption of choline-rich foods.

Musnick’s protocol includes major supplementation beyond basics like a multi-vitamin and minerals. Frequency specific microcurrent and neurofeedback are vital for brain healing. And hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the secret sauce for TBI recovery.

Dancing with the Stars

Our cover story this issue is an interview of Emmy-nominated choreographer and Dancing with the Stars Mirrorball champion, Tony Dovolani. Our interviewer, writer Karina Gordin, has written a two-part series entitled “Dance Your Way to Health.” The breathtaking performances of Dovolani and his co-stars requires grueling practice and rehearsal that occupies much of the day with very few breaks. Without exercise preparation, pristine nutrition, and mindfulness activity, Tony admits that he would be subject to frequent injury, an absolute no-no for his profession. He talks to Karina about his stretching routines, his clean diet, and meditation that he partakes in each day.

Tony thinks that everyone, especially those of us who are sedentary, should engage in stretching routines, then do a series of sit-ups and pushups. If we do these activities our circulation will improve and we will have the muscular tone to engage in dance, something he encourages us to consider doing daily. Ensuring flexibility is the key to reducing muscular stress, essential as well to reducing mental stress. Tony engages in his own form of hydrotherapy: when he finishes a preparatory routine, he heads to the bathroom and runs cold water and then hot water over his feet. He calls it a contrast foot bath.

He likes using homeopathy and receiving acupuncture treatment. For him mindfulness, such as meditation and learning to breathe during the day, is primary in keeping himself centered and functioning well. Dietarily he avoids eating food before 11 a.m. and tries to have his final meal by 6 p.m. He avoids sugar and dairy and limits his intake of grains and carbohydrates. He has found fish oil supplementation to be very helpful but does not supplement with protein powders or hormones.

Tony ends with his advice for all of us to dance; it will keep us limber, strong, and tall.

Cardiovascular Status and Event Risk by Fraser Smith, ND and Jocelyn Faydenko

Our May issue focuses on cardiovascular disease. Dr. Lai Chim Chan, ND, reviews strategies we should include in preventive cardiology assessments and programs. Terry Chappell, MD, outlines approaches we must address in managing stress necessary to avert cardiac events. In this issue Fraser Smith, ND, Assistant Dean of Naturopathic Medicine and professor at NUHS in Lombard, Illinois, and Jocelyn Faydenko examine cardiac biomarkers. Conventional medicine assesses the lipid panel, the simple panel from the 1970s, and the more advanced panel now available to closely examine lipid particles. But medicine largely ignores evaluation of inflammation and lipid peroxidation. Smith and Faydenko review the markers that enable a functional assessment of one’s cardiovascular health or lack thereof. They recommend testing of inflammatory markers annually; abnormal findings deserve naturopathic intervention and frequent monitoring.

Jonathan Collin, MD