Talk presented by Dr. Chitra Bhakta

September 19, 2009

Summary of talk presented by Dr. Chitra Bhakta on " Adrenal Fatigue, Correction

of Genetic Methylation Pathways, and Protocol for Decreasing Inflammation in

Lyme, Autism and Chronic Illness "

by

Rich Van Konynenburg

Dr. Chitra Bhakta, M.D., Director of Orange County Integrative Medical Center in

Tustin, California, presented a talk on the above topics on Saturday afternoon,

September 12, 2009, in Conference Room F in the lower level of the Presbyterian

Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier, CA.

The talk was sponsored by the Southern California Lyme Support group,

coordinated by Earis Coram. I heard about it from Al Melillo, who also

attended, together with about 30 other people.

Dr. Bhakta is from India, where she received her medical training. She did her

residency at the Los Angeles County Hospital. Her specialty is family medicine.

It was clear to me from her talk and discussions afterward that Dr. Bhakta puts

the best interests of her patients first, and that she continues to search for

new developments that will enhance their treatment. The protocols she uses

today combine contributions from several front-line researchers.

A few years ago, she was treating a number of autism patients, and she had

become familiar with and used the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) approach for

treating autism. This was effective for many of the cases, but some of the kids

she was treating never got better. She attended the Lyme-Induced-Autism

conference and then tested these nonresponding patients for Lyme disease,

finding that they all had either Lyme disease or its coinfections. This is how

she became involved in treating Lyme disease. She then trained with Dr.

Ray (age 82!) in Connecticut. He is the foremost pediatrician treating

Lyme disease.

She integrated the DAN! and ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases

Society) approaches to treatment into her treatment protocols, but felt that

antibiotics were being used too much to treat Lyme disease. She developed an

approach that treats several aspects first, and then uses antibiotics later, if

necessary.

She decided to start her treatment with the gut, as is done by others in autism.

She has been treating the methylation cycle for about ten years, based on the

research of Drs. S. Jill and Deth.

She became aware of the later work of Amy Yasko, Ph.D., N.D., who applied the

science of nutrigenomics, which had come from the University of California at

, to the treatment of autism. She believes that this approach has merit,

but she found Dr. Yasko's treatment to be very complicated.

She reported that she found my work (involving the Glutathione

Depletion—Methylation Cycle Block (GD-MCB) hypothesis for chronic fatigue

syndrome (CFS) and the Simplified Treatment Approach based on it) on the

internet. She noted that I had applied the methylation cycle related

biochemistry to CFS and had been able to explain many of the features of CFS on

this basis. She also noted that I had " streamlined " the Yasko treatment

approach, making it easier to use.

She displayed a large chart showing the methylation cycle and associated

pathways that had been developed by Dr. Yasko, and explained the relationships

between the methylation and folate cycles and the transsulfuration pathway,

including glutathione.

She explained that Dr. and coworkers had found that genetic " weaknesses "

can block several sites in this part of the metabolism. In addition,

environmental factors, such as thimerosol in vaccines, can contribute to this as

well. A block in the methylation cycle will cause decreases in plasma

methionine and the ratio of S-adenosylmethionine to S-adenosylhomocysteine

(SAMe/SAH). It will also lower the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione

(GSH/GSSG).

She went on to describe the GD-MCB hypothesis for CFS in detail. A discussion

of this hypothesis can be found on the internet at

http://aboutmecfs.org/Rsrch/GSHMethylation.aspx

She noted that according to this hypothesis CFS is caused by a combination of

genetic predisposition and stressors, except in the epidemics or clusters, where

the genetic factor is less important because of the action of a virulent

pathogen.

She suggested that polymorphisms in the enzymes CYP2D6 and COMT may be

associated with fibromyalgia, and a polymorphism in NAT2 may be associated with

multiple chemical sensitivity.

She also reported that Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria have been found to deplete

glutathione in their host, and noted that I had suggested that this may provide

a link between Lyme disease and CFS.

She reviewed some of the polymorphisms to which Dr. Yasko has drawn attention,

including AHCY-1, BHMT-08, CBS C699T, COMT V158M, MTR A2756G, and MTRR A66G.

She discussed the work of Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker on Lyme and other biotoxin

diseases, noting his FACT test for visual contrast sensitivity, HLA DR DQ

typing, and other tests.

She said that she prefers using the K-PAX multivitamin.

She reported success in raising the glutathione levels in two autistic patients

using OSR#1 at a dosage of 300 mg per day, in whom it had not been possible to

raise glutathione levels before.

She discussed KPU or the " mauve factor " as originally discovered by the late Dr.

Abram Hoffer and coworkers. This was originally found in the urine of

schizophrenia patients. It results from an inborn genetic error in the pyrrole

metabolism, which is used to make hemoglobin. Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt has found

that this is present in 80% of his Lyme patients, and it causes a depletion of

zinc and vitamin B6. Dr. Bhakta recommended getting the $59 test for KPU from

www.kryptopyrrole.com. She described Dr. Klinghardt's KPU treatment, which is

available on his website. She also discussed his metal detox protocol. Dr.

Bhakta said that she prefers to use the Metagenics formulas for detox, i.e. the

Ultraclear Renew for fibromyalgia, and the Ultraclear Plus pH for CFS.

Dr. Bhakta also discussed the Neuroscience approach to testing and treating the

neuroendocrineimmune issues. She talked about the stages of adrenal fatigue and

noted that correction of this condition must be done centrally, because

neurotransmitters are involved.

She discussed inflammation and noted that there are many chronic inflammatory

conditions, which involve inflammatory cytokines. She discussed new research

pertaining to the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, and noted that

acetylcholine has been found to be important for lowering the levels of

inflammatory cytokines and stopping inflammation. She discussed a new treatment

called Avipaxin, produced by Neuroscience. Avipaxin contains both a

cholinesterase inhibitor to inhibit the breakdown of acetylcholine, as well as

supplements to feed the formation of new acetylcholine.

In starting her treatment with the gut, she recommends three tests: food

allergies, stool analysis, and an organic acids test.

She emphasized that the human body is complex, and it is necessary to address

several aspects of these illnesses in order to treat it successfully. She

pointed out the importance of eating organic food, locally grown and seasonal.

She recommended eating 5 or 6 small meals per day, like a diabetic diet.

For food allergies, she recommends a rotation diet, switching foods each week.

She recommended taking Juice Plus to get the nutrients from vegetables and

fruits. For omega-3 fatty acids, she recommended EPA-Select. She emphasized

that it's important to raise the EPA intake, but not DHA.

She favors starting with one new supplement at a time, to see what the response

is, before adding others.

In response to a question, she recommended that vegetables be cooked at first,

until the gut is able to handle raw vegetables. At that point, salads are very

beneficial.

For protein, she recommended Alaskan wild salmon and organic meats, such as

bison meat.

She favors removing amalgams, so that they do not continue to introduce mercury

into the body.

She emphasized that in treating these disorders, it is necessary to use a

synergistic approach.

I was of course gratified to learn that Dr. Bhakta had found the Glutathione

Depletion—Methylation Cycle Block hypothesis and the Simplified Treatment

Approach based on it to be helpful in treating her patients. She has found

treatment of the methylation cycle issue to be an important part of her overall

treatment protocol, but it must be emphasized that it is not the whole thing.

Her treatment also includes several other aspects of these disorders as well.

September 19, 2009

Thanks for this very interesting post, Rich.

I'd like to correct an error because it might lead people who want to search

further to a dead end.

It was Dr Carl Pffeifer, not Dr Hoffer, who discovered the Mauve Factor in

certain schizophrenics. It was later called Pyroluria. Under that name, there is

a good amount of info to be found on the net, in forums, and in email lists.

It was news to me that 80% of Lyme patients have been found to have some degree

of this factor!

Sharon, former Lymie

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