Those suffering from seizures or other epileptiform activity need to know that changes to their diet can have a significant impact. Before anti-seizure medications became wide spread, one of the main courses of action was to put children and even adults on a strict ketogenic diet. In a very high percentage of sufferers this worked to either significantly diminish or completely abate their seizures. The ketogenic is a very high fat, high protein, extremely low carb diet.
Why does the ketogenic diet work? Here is the technical part. Many individuals lack the ability to properly transfer glucose into brain cells for a fuel supply. This is often due to a lack of expression of the Glut-1-transferase gene. When groups of neurons start to suffer from chronic loss of fuel they will ironically spontaneously fire. If enough fire you get a seizure. However these individuals can still use ketones as a fuel source instead of glucose (don’t ask me for the chemical structures).
Great! What’s the problem then? A very high ketone diet can sometimes be a bit hard on the kidneys and the diet itself can be extremely difficult to maintain. If you are like me and enjoy your occasional sweets, breads, pastas, or rice this can be difficult. But there is hope! Recent research has confirmed that most individuals can receive almost the same benefit from the modified Atkins diet which is a lower carb diet, but not as severe as the ketogenic diet. The modified Atkins diet allows for more vegetable carbs and some carbs in general but the balance is still set up for your body to produce ketones for use by the brain.
I recently spoke to a veterinarian who told me that many of the dogs he sees with seizures respond in the same way. He thinks the modern dog food has too much simple carbs in it. I think the modern human food does too. Isn’t it nice to know there is a natural, cost effective way to help an otherwise complicated disorder. Now who’s brave enough to try the diet? If you have tried, please let us know how it has gone for you.
Your thoughts/comments.

The weekend of Sept 24-25 I was in Toronto for a neurology course on the relationship between the nervous system, Gut, reproductive, and sexual systems. Now anyone who has studied chiropractic, medicine, or other health sciences should already have a basic knowledge of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system interactions with these organ systems. The autonomic nerves are highly influenced by what happens higher up in the brain stem and brain.

One of the main things I learned or re-learned is that as higher cortical areas (frontal lobes) stop working or start crashing then sympathetic nerves become dis-inhibited. Dis-inhibited means they are more active. The sympathetic nerves that we may recall from high school biology are involved with fight or flight type responses. But when they become active all the time then a whole load of problems can occur. The sympathetic nerves receive inputs from every organ of the body. The sympathetic nerves help control blood flow to all the extremities, organs, and the brain itself. High firing sympathetic nerves can also increase the firing of pain nerve endings and decrease the threshold of pain nerves.

What are some signs of high firing sympathetic nerves?

Increased heart rate

Increased blood pressure

Indigestion and constipation

Poor bladder voiding causing urine retention

Increased sweating, cold/sweaty hands etc.

What are some ways you can keep your frontal lobes and brainstem healthier? I will look into this more future blogs.

Your thoughts/comments.

I have recently gained more information on Restless leg syndrome and some possible help for all you out there suffering. I have added the 4 diagnostic findings from the International restless leg criteria for you to question for yourselves.

• “An urge to move, usually due to uncomfortable sensations that occur primarily in the legs, but occasionally in the arms or elsewhere.”e sensations are unusual and unlike other common sensations, and those with RLS have a hard time describing them.

• People use words such as: uncomfortable, “antsy”, electrical, creeping, painful, itching, pins and needles, pulling, creepy-crawly, ants inside the legs, numbness, and many others. It is sometimes described as feeling similar to a limb “falling asleep”. See formication. While it may be impossible to describe the sensation to someone without RLS, other RLS sufferers can easily relate to the peculiar sensation. The sensation and the urge can occur in any body part; the most cited location is legs, followed by arms. Some people have little or no sensation, yet still have a strong urge to move.

• “Motor restlessness, expressed as activity, that relieves the urge to move.”  Movement will usually bring immediate relief; however, this relief will often be only temporary and partial. Walking is most common; however, doing stretches, biking, or other physical activity may relieve the symptoms. Continuous, fast up-and-down movements of the leg, is often done to keep the sensations at bay without having to walk. Sometimes a specific type of movement will help a person more than another.

• “Worsening of symptoms by relaxation.”  Any type of inactivity involving sitting or lying down: reading a book, a plane ride, watching TV or a movie, or taking a nap can trigger the sensations and urge to move. This depends on several factors: the severity of the person’s RLS, the degree of restfulness, the duration of the inactivity, etc.

• “Variability over the course of the day-night cycle, with symptoms worse in the evening and early in the night.”

While some only experience RLS at bedtime and others experience it throughout the day and night, most sufferers experience the worst symptoms in the evening and the least in the morning.

Now here’s my advice!  There is much evidence that restless leg syndrome is associated with malfunction of the basal ganglia and other areas of the brain. Much of the problem seems to stem from malabsorption of nutrients. A common cause of malabsorption is Celiac disease. Celiac disease is a condition of allergy to gluten. Celiac disease and other food allergies can cause leaky gut syndromes that allow inflammatory reactions in the gut that ultimately then affect the nervous system and rest of the body. There are known conditions of gluten sensitivity cerebellar syndromes as well. There seems to be a high correlation between Celiac disease and restless leg syndrome.
If you think you may have restless leg syndrome it would be very safe (but not easy), for you to try a gluten free diet for a few weeks. Also, perform a gut cleanse diet. there is much evidence that cleansing the gut also helps many other inflammatory conditions like lupus, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis as well. If you see no change, a chiropractic neurology exam to finds other triggers would be helpful.

Good day,

Today I would like to comment on a recent course in Chiropractic neurology I just attended. The topic is head and face pain. For the vast majority of people this encompasses migraines, tension, cervicogenic headaches and more extremely trigeminal neuralgia. There may also be some individuals who suffer from Cluster headaches but these appear to be just severe forms of migraines. Here I would like to inform that many conditions/diagnoses presented to us are really just lists or descriptions of symptoms. A headache is a symptom of something going wrong. Pain also of any type is a symptom, a warning sign of the body. The culture at large wants us to believe that pain itself is a condition or diagnosis. So we have so many drugs that “block pain” or are “pain killers”. We forget that pain especially acute pain is a good alert for our brains saying don’t do that. Pain itself is physiologic nociception (sorry about the big words). It‘s when pain becomes suffering that it starts to change our lives.

 

Where it get’s really tricky is chronic pain. By the time most people go to see anyone for a headache or face pain there probably has been some plastic changes in the brain. This is where it’s truly important to get to the causes of your problem. It is so important to be examined properly for any functional disturbance in other areas of the nervous system. Why has chiropractic been so effective here. Adjusting the spine truly causes long term firing of certain neuron groups in the brain. Neck, upper back, and TMJ joints can all have direct influence over head and face pain. Many people have gone through expensive dental work or medication before finally having their neck and jaw examined by a skilled chiropractor. It is important for anyone with migraine’s to have their brainstem and cranial nerves “properly” examined and we have certain tests that let us know if yours is working well or not.

Another thought! Why is it that when you play a rough sport like hockey you feel no pain, but after six hours at work everything hurts? There appears to be a direct correlation between suffering and enjoyment.

Dr. Patrick Levesque DC DACNB

Good day, Once again I’m sorry for any delays in updating this blog. I will continue with my brief explanation of longitudinal levels of lesion. I understand that the following information may be dry. You may want to treat this section more as a reference area or glossary.
Receptor: The receptors of nerves are where the initial sensations of our environment into the nervous system occur. Our skin, joint, bones, organs, blood vessels all contain receptors that sense changes in stretch of tissues, heat, vibration, and chemical changes. There are also receptors on neuron cell membranes that have to do with cell communication. The cell membrane receptors are often the target of many of the medications being prescribed. Peripheral receptor lesions are rare but there are some like myasthenia gravis which can produce profound muscle fatigue. There are also theories of other autoimmune and toxic interference with the receptors. A massage stimulates stretch receptors in the muscles and skin. A chiropractic adjustment stimulates mechanoreceptors in joints, as well as it can stretch muscle spindle and Golgi tendon organs of the local muscles. The resetting of muscle spindles often helps to cause to more long lasting affects that you may notice with an adjustment. The upper cervical spine has the highest concentration of muscle spindles per area in the body.
Peripheral nerve: The peripheral nerves are the nerves between the body and brainstem or spinal cord. They can be divided into cranial nerves, spinal nerve roots, and the large groupings of spinal nerve roots that form larger nerves going into your arms and legs. Most nerves are made up of larger fibers that transmit information very fast like vibration, joint and muscle sensations, and smaller fibers that transmit information comparatively slow like heat and pain. Common indicators of peripheral nerve lesion are increased numbness, tingling, or pain and possibly muscle twitching or wasting. Many people have heard of common peripheral nerve lesions including disc herniations in the neck and lower back affecting the arms or legs, carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, etc. The list can go on for anywhere there is a nerve being compressed. The nerves are also very susceptible to loss of blood flow, toxicity, and low oxygen levels. One of the interesting findings with nerve compression is that it is usually the large fibers that become compressed and stop working first. The large fibers natural inhibit pain sensations at the level of the spinal cord. This is one of the reasons that people often only sense pain or have very intense/extreme pain. Other conditions that can affect peripheral nerves other that direct compression or trauma include the ever common diabetes, drugs, heavy metals, peripheral circulation problems, chronic inflammatory conditions. The most common reasons however for peripheral nerve lesions are the ones often seen by your Doctor of chiropractic including direct compression and or entrapment from a subluxated joint, arthritic bone spur, disc herniation, and hypertonic/shortened musculature.
Spinal cord: The spinal cord is the area of the central nervous system running from the base of the skull to about L1-L2 vertebra level. It lies inside the central canal of the spine. It is comprised of groups of neurons and tracts of nerve fibers with higher areas of the brain and brainstem. There are many reflexes that occur at this level including to usual deep tendon reflexes such as the knee jerk you may have experience with a chiropractic or medical exam. This is last area of convergence of the brain, cerebellum, and brainstem onto the ventral horn cells. The ventral horn cells are the neurons that fire into the peripheral nerves eventually to all the muscles of the body. Common findings of spinal cord lesions are weakness and spasticity. You might have a very tight but weak leg or arm. Reflexes are also increased. The most common reason for spinal cord lesions is due to injury. The extent of disability is dependent on the degree of spinal cord injury. Those with complete injuries are often quadriplegic or paraplegic. Many injuries are more on one side making them more difficult to diagnose. One of the most common reasons for compression of the spinal cord is severe osteoarthritis in the neck. This will often result in severe weakness of the legs and or bladder dysfunction which may be the main complaint. The arthritis causes bone spurs that diminish the space of the spinal canal. Increased diameter of veins in the spinal canal can also put pressure on the cord. The increased vein diameter can often be improved by increasing higher levels of the brain reducing constriction of the arteries; another reason for a full neurologic exam. Some people who have established spinal cord injuries and still have some use below the injury site can still benefit from chiropractic neurology care. By increasing to firing of the brain they can increase the firing of any residual nerve tracts making them more efficient. The most important job of the chiropractic neurologist lies here by influencing what does work to work even better.
Dr. Patrick Levesque DC DACNB

Good day,
Today I would like to outline the investigation strategy of the chiropractic neurologist. If there are any technical terms I will try my best to clarify them and to not allow the details to remain dry. The main focus of the neurologic exam and history are to find any area of physiologic or pathologic lesion. Physiologic lesions are areas in the nervous system that are being impeded from normal function usually from a long term lack of use or lack of stimulation. Pathologic lesions are often from direct insult to an area of the nervous system like a stroke or tumor. Pathologic lesions often necessitate a referral ie(surgical/medication). Physiologic lesions often respond beautifully to the proper stimulation whether from an adjustment, light stimulations, sound, exercise, or nutritional modification.

The goal of the chiropractic neurologist is to find any natural means to increase the firing of the area of the lesion in so affecting the whole nervous system in the process like a domino effect.
I will now list the regions of most lesions in the nervous system. In future blogs I will try to expand on each region. We will often refer to the 7 longitudinal areas of lesion which include
1 receptor
2 peripheral nerve
3 spinal cord
4 brainstem
5 cerebellum
6 basal ganglia
7 cerebral cortex
Each one of these areas can be influenced to a certain extent. I personally am regularly trying to learn more about these areas and any applications that can be made.

Patrick Levesque DC DACNB

Bill Esteb a Chiropractic advocate and researcher makes some comments after his father’s treatment for cancer. His father was told he had a clean bill of health and need not do anything further.
Here is his take.

If I was my dad’s doctor, or at least responsible for communicating with patients who are leaving The Cancer Shoppe after dropping $100,000, I would have sent him home with a list of at least 10 things, similar to this one.

• Avoid all refined sugar. Stands to reason that if they use radioactive glucose to find the tumors, tumors must feed on sugar. Seems it would be wise to eliminate all such “tumor food.”
• Supplements. Besides fish oil, supplement your diet of fresh raw foods (organic as much as possible) with whole food supplements. Consult a practitioner familiar with Nutritional Response Testing to uncover foods to which you may be allergic and avoid them.
• Aerobic exercise. The lymphatic system is the body’s sewage disposal system. Yet, unlike the circulatory system that has a pump (heart), the lymphatic system depends on movement to collect wastes and promote circulation. The key is to get your heart rate up for 20 minutes at least three times a week.
• Get chiropractic care. This goes without saying, if for no other reason than the relationship between the nervous system and the immune system.
• Laugh. It’s true that laughter is the best medicine. Norman Cousins made this very clear in his book, The Anatomy of an Illness. Sign up for Netflix and rent their comedies. Watch standup on the Comedy Channel.
• Reduce alcohol consumption. Alcohol is an immune system suppressant. You need to give your immune system every possible advantage. Especially now.
• Monitor your pH. There is growing evidence that illness and disease are virtually impossible in an alkaline environment. Avoid foods and beverages that turn your body acidic. You can get pH testing strips and directions for using them at just about any health food store.
• Avoid all negative thoughts and words. You cannot afford the luxury of a single negative thought. Eliminate the news and corporate media that attract viewers and readers with lurid headlines and reminders about how bad things are. Most “news” is irrelevant to your life and simply advances a mass hypnosis and herd mentality.
• Forgive. Make a list of every one and every situation in which you harbor anger, resentment or regret (even being afflicted with cancer). Forgive them all, by writing a letter (and not mailing it) or confessing your feelings to another. Forgiveness is for you, not them.
• Pray. Be thankful for all the benefits that your bout with cancer has produced. (Can’t find any? Dig deeper!) Be grateful for the opportunities that lie ahead. Be more appreciative of this thing called life.

Bill Esteb is not a doctor of any kind but appears to understand things well.

Good day! 

Now that I have gotten the courage to start this endeavor, I guess I should clarify the purpose of this blog. It should be a venue to keep all of you up to date in any new or relevent chiropractic news, research, and be a guide for your at home health.

Topics that will be included are recent research, current events, nutrition and exercise and other issues as they come.

Some of you know that I have interests in nutrition and neurology and I will especially try to apply these to your own life. If anyone wishes to email any specific questions of their health I will try to answer them in this blog.

In all honesty, computers are a weak spot, so please pardon any delays.

The goals of this blog is to keep people informed about current events in the Chiropractic and Health fields.  Stay tuned for updates.