Inhalational Alzheimer's?

[Surfrank57]

Yes get C4a through NJH. They are the only one reliable for that test. Dr. B and Shoemaker put a lot of emphasis on this test. Also please do a VSC test for you eyes. Very high diagnostic toxin sensitivity at 92-93%.

Frank

[TheBrain]

Thanks, Frank. So NJH it is. And I'll do the VSC test this week.

[Surfrank57]

I love how compliment you are Alysson, really inspiring. I wish all patients were like you. Let me know the results ASAP so I can help explain them to you. I am sure Dr B will, but I might be able to help you with the VSC and understanding the grids/ rows. If you have chronic fatigue it makes me a little suspicious, even though several things can cause CF. That's why you have to do the blood tests and VSC. With your improvement on your testing and cognition it would seem like toxins are not an issue, but with the fatigue and a few other issues it is worth ruling out. Ok good luck.

Frank

[TheBrain]

I love how compliment you are Alysson, really inspiring. I wish all patients were like you.

Thanks, Frank. What you've written here makes me feel good and brings a smile to my face.

But I must say that my conventional gastroenterologist would completely disagree with you! I had years-long GERD and gastritis, confirmed by two endoscopies. He wanted me to take an acid reducer (Dexilant) and out of respect for him, I did so for a month. My already challenged digestive system had even more difficulty digesting my food. So I stopped taking it.

I ended up following a natural treatment (from the book The Drug-Free Acid Reflux Solution by Dr. Kevin Passero), and a third endoscopy, performed by this same gastroenterologist, showed that the gastritis and GERD were gone. Nonetheless, because my stomach acid had a pH of 2 (which is ideal, based on my research), per a pH test strip he used during the endoscopy procedure, he still wanted me to take an acid reducer! I wouldn't do it.

Anyway, thank you for offering to help me interpret my test results. I'll happily take you up on that offer.

[Julie G]

Alysson, rather than being a "compliant" patient (which isn't necessarily a good thing in the hands of the wrong provider ,) you strike me as being a savvy, educated, persistent self-advocate seeking optimal health- KUDOS. I just wanted to briefly thank you for taking the deep dive into the codes necessary for identifying the signature associated with chronic inflammation. My immunology appt. was cancelled and rescheduled for a month from now so I'm temporarily putting this off until then. I'll certainly benefit from your hard work.

Frank, can you tell us more about the vision test and how it relates to either chronic inflammation or IAD? Also, how can members access it? Huge thanks in advance, my friend. We're lucky to have your expertise.

[TheBrain]

Julie, thank you for your kind words. What you describe about how I "operate" is definitely my intention. It's heartening that that's how you see me.

And you're welcome on the CPT codes front. I'm still trying to determine if there's a specific CPT code for the NJC-C4a test (not just the LabCorp C4a test). If I find one, I'll pass that along.

I had actually read about the Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) Aptitude Test test a couple of years ago on the http://www.survivingmold.com web site. At the time, I didn't think it was relevant to me. Frank's suggestion to me to take this test was given at the perfect time. Now, I think it's worth doing. Here's a link to some information about this test (and a way to access it for $15):

http://www.survivingmold.com/store1/onl ... ening-test

I'm sure Frank can tell us about how this test relates to either chronic inflammation or IAD. This part I don't know.

[Surfrank57]

Guys busy tonight, I have to get Bredesen some info....wait until tomorrow and I will respond tomorrow night to all questions for me. Also I will ask the guy who owns VSC.com if he can give us a group discount...... The test is simple and uncannily accurate to 93%.... Which might not seem so high, but the blood tests are accurate to a much lower %.....so you spend 1000s on blood tests etc. and a 15 dollar test is more definitive ....toxins are in a class of bizarre all by themselves, crazy stuff.

See ya Friday evening,
Frank

[Julie G]

Hmmmm, not sure what to make of all of this. I finally took the VCS.com test and was was found to be positive for the presence of a biotoxin illness. Only my left eye was affected. (See my test results below.) I'd appreciate if others would take the test and share your scores. I'm trying to figure out of this is hocus pocus... or something real

vcs-test-results-3319a7ca.pdf

I see my immunologist in a bit and plan to ask for the basic CIRS tests... doubtful that he'll comply. There's some evidence that chronic inflammation of the innate immune system can lead to CVID (which I've got) and some sort of chronic inflammatory response may be playing a part. In the words of Alice, curiouser and curiouser...

For anyone else wanting to do the tests, here are the preferred labs, test codes and CPT codes:
-HLA-DR/DQ: Test Code 167120, CPT Code 81375- LabCorp
-TGF-beta-1: Test Code code 52112, CPT Code 83520- Quest
-MSH: Test Code 010421, CPT Code 83591- LabCorp
-NJC-C4a: Test Code 42658, CPT Code 86160- Quest

[Surfrank57]

Julie I know u have had a million things going on, but have u had a chance to talk to Brian yet at VSC for group rates. Also is your vision corrected, at the distance u took the test.
Let me know,
Frank

[circular]

In the report, what do you make of: 'Your results suggest the likely presence of biotoxins, and/or that you could have other health issues or neuropathology.'

Mast cell activation syndrome affects me neurologically quite a lot, so I wonder if this test might pick that up as well. I'm thinking of it at the moment because I've been light sensitive for days due to horrendous allergies (not to mention cognitively deficient). It would be interesting if the test result could be affected by transient mast cell flares affecting neurology? Doubt there's anything on that in particular, but I guess it strikes me as a big limitation that it looks to me like a cheap test to cause one to need more tests to go down more rabbit holes. Surfrank may have a better perspective. All these topics are getting too complex for my allergy-laden brain these days.

Here's a recent paper. I'm not sure if they're referring to the same tool, and it seems to be more about the accuracy of detecting contrast sensitivity rather than what is causing it:

'Evaluating the performance of the quick CSF method in detecting contrast sensitivity function changes.'

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27120074

The paper above suggests eye diseases could affect the result also. Maybe a leap to conclude mold issues from it?