Scientific Frontiers: Purposes, Goals, and Objectives

Diagnosing Borrelia Infection: There’s more to an immune response than antibodies alone – Sirid Kellermann, PhD

Disclosure Statement: Employee of NeuroScience, Inc.

Purpose of Activity
Lyme disease is prevalent in many parts of the U.S., and cases have been reported in all 50 states. However, Lyme testing has progressed little in the past two decades, and typical serological (antibody) testing can miss as many as 1 in 4 cases. Newer, PCR-based diagnostic methods similarly are prone to issues of sensitivity (false negative results). When considering approaches to detect an infection by bacteria such as Borrelia, it is useful to recall that (1) much of the pathology of Lyme disease is driven by the host’s inflammatory response, and (2) an immune response involves not only antibody production, but also the activation and expansion of Borrelia-specific T lymphocytes and the production of elevated cytokines. This presentation will describe the application of these additional immune biomarkers in a diagnostic setting, especially the cytokine element which uniquely defines active immunity. A multi- pronged assessment of immune responsiveness to Borrelia can help identify Lyme sufferers who are experiencing current infection, and may help monitor therapeutic efficacy.

Goals

To describe the fundamental components of an immune response to Borrelia and other bacterial infections and how these can be utilized as clinical biomarkers.
To understand the possible causes of seronegativity in Lyme patients.
To recognize the clinical benefit of measuring multiple biomarkers of an immune/inflammatory response to Borrelia.
To differentiate past infection from currently active inflammation in Borrelia infected individuals.
To translate the biochemical effects of neuroborreliosis into patient symptoms.
To develop assessment and treatment protocols that integrate Lyme testing.

Objectives
At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to:

Apply enhanced immune testing to the diagnosis and monitoring of Lyme disease.
Develop therapeutic protocols that better assess outcomes and symptom resolution, as well as improve patient compliance.
Recognize the neurocognitive impact of inflammatory responses to Borrelia and other sources of inflammation.

Facilitated Discussion: Experienced Integrative Practitioners Bring Interesting Cases

Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest.

Purpose of Activity
Provide an opportunity for members of NC Integrative Medical Society to exchange knowledge and clinical treatment for a variety of cases.p>

Goals

Facilitator will ensure that participates will have the opportunity to ask questions and share treatments with the group.
Participates will be exposed to different approaches to addressing the underlying cause and treatments

Objectives
Participants will:

Have shared their successful treatments of unusual conditions.
Have heard a variety of successful treatments of unusual conditions.
Be able to apply the new knowledge to patient care.

Introduction to Reduce the Risks of Breast Cancer – Elizabeth Vaughan, MD

Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest.

Purpose of Activity
1 out of 8 women when will eventually develop breast cancer if they all live to 90 years of age. This is a frightening number for many women. The reasons behind this high percentage have to do with genetics, the epigenetic influence of toxins and nutrients on the development of cancer, the hormonal milieu over a lifetime, and lifestyle choices including the use of brassieres. Genetic testing, hormonal testing, nutritional testing, and thermography are all tools to assess present breast health which will have a significant impact on future breast health or disease.

Goals

Understand the interactions of environmental factors that influence breast health.
Understand how to adjust hormones and nutrients to ensure optimal breast health.
Have familiarity with testing that assesses breast health from genetic, nutritional, hormonal and physiological perspectives.

Objective
Attendees will leave with an understanding of how to use these tools and discuss life style choices in their care for women with respect to breast health.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT): Self-Healing for You and Your Patients - Larry Burk, MD, CEHP

Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest.

Purpose of Activity
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is an approach to self-healing that combines standard exposure therapy with tapping on acupuncture points on the face and chest and also incorporates elements of self-hypnosis. EFT has been shown to be effective for phobias, anxiety, PTSD, athletic performance, depression, pain, and food cravings. It has been used successfully with war veterans, car accident victims and disaster survivors. The approach can be facilitated one-on-one with a therapist, taught in a group setting, or used individually for self-care. Results are evaluated based on a subjective units of distress (SUD) scale from 0 to 10. Relief of symptoms can sometimes be obtained in a single session. During this lecture there will be a review of the literature, clinical case reports, a group experiential exercise and an interactive discussion.

Goals

To review the scientific literature on the use of EFT.
To recognize the clinical indications for EFT.
To understand the basic approach to EFT.

Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to:

Cite 3 scientific references for the use of EFT.
Name 3 clinical indications for EFT.
List 3 steps in the basic approach to EFT.

Integrative Health Coaching: Help Patients make Empowered Health Changes - Kathleen Williams, BA

Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest.

Purpose of Activity
Introduction of the concept and practice of Integrative Health Coaching, as a component of wellness-oriented integrative care, in support of the whole person’s engagement in self care.

Goals

To present the model and process of integrative health coaching
To review health coaching competencies
To augment the integrative provider’s alertness to issues of lifestyle habit and self-care in the patient’s health problems
To convey how health coaching can ‘fill in the blanks’ of integrative medical care
To demonstrate a coaching session with a volunteer from the audience

Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to::

Consider how health coaching may help the provider achieve his/her goals for the patient
To recognize the inter-relationship physician-driven integrative care and patient-centered process of goal-identification and action-planning
Recognize the power of awareness and choice in changing health status
Distinguish between health coaching and psychotherapy

Breast Cancer and It's Relationship to Iodine Insufficiency- Jorge Flechas, MD

Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest.

Purpose of Activity
For well over a hundred years it has been well known that patients who develop a goiter have a higher risk for the development of thyroid, breast, ovarian, endometrial, stomach, and esophageal cancer. Researchers have searched for why this relationship is present. The effects of iodine on the mitochondria, and the DNA have recently been discovered. Iodine takes away the immortality of cancer cells. The absence of iodine in body cells is a promoter of cancer. Thyroid hormone in excess inhibits iodine absorption. This mechanism is felt to be the reason why taking thyroid hormone will double a woman’s risk for breast cancer. Many of iodine’s protective effects from cancer are to be discussed.

Goals

To review the functional need of iodine at the many stages of life.
To recognize the clinical benefit of urine, saliva, and serum iodine testing to help personalized therapies for patients.
To highlight individualized iodine treatments for patients.

Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to:

To apply iodine treatments to issues of breast cancer, fibrocystic breast, PCOS and ovarian cancer.
To apply the different methodologies for assessing patient iodine needs.

Exploring Mental/ Emotional Health & Its Association with the Gastrointestinal System - Rachel Merglowski, ND

Disclosure Statement: Educational Specialists for Master Supplements, Inc

Purpose of Activity: The Gastrointestinal System is integral to overall health and wellness, and extends far beyond the tasks of digestion and elimination. With continued research and the ability to analyze gut function, we continue to learn how the gut affects many somatic systems including endocrine function, immune function, and neurological function. Through continued dedication to exploration of this vast organ system, practitioners will become more cognizant of how patients are suffering from a dysfunctional gut while symptom presentation seems to be of a different affected region. This will allow health care providers to tailor treatment plans and to reach greater success bringing about a return to wellness.

Goals

To review the basic physiology of gut function and how it correlates to mental/emotional dysfunction.
To highlight key facts and important clinical research regarding the GI system.
To offer practitioners an explanation of how clinically applicable this topic is through the evaluation of case studies and potential treatment plans.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the presentation, attendees will be able to:

Cite current research on this topic, to utilize in practice.
Apply clinical reasoning skills to pinpoint GI dysfunction in patients whose symptoms lie elsewhere, including and especially of the mental/emotional realm.
Review case studies and detect the association between gut health and neurological system dysfunction.
Create tailored treatment plans for this patient population.

How to Survive in a Toxic World- William Shaw, PhD

Disclosure Statement:

Overcoming The Five Dysfunctions Blocking Staff Teamwork - Frederick Whitmeyer, MBA

The success of a medical office depends on an efficient staff working as a team to deliver quality health care. Whitmeyer will provide team training as executive coach for medical practices. The members of office staff with have the opportunity to explore their role in enhancing the experience of your patients and improve their proficiencies.

The Efficacy of Whole Food Nutrition in Human Health, Thomas P. McKay, Jr. D.C

Conflict of Interest: Have lectured at Standard Process meetings

Purpose of Activity
As a healthcare professional, we see patients on a daily basis who lack proper nutrition in their diets. That’s because the level of nutrient density in our foods have dropped significantly from that of our ancestors. The food our society eats is devitalized. Modern technology and a fast-paced world have enabled us to eat unhealthy foods laden with refined sugars and chemicals, foods that are man-made. The purpose of this activity is to establish a better understanding of how today’s foods have ultimately compromised the health of the patients that we see every day, and to show how through proper food choices and additional support with whole food supplements many health concerns can be corrected or abated.

Goals

To review the functional need for nutrients with diagnostic testing to individualize supplement therapies.
To recognize why most physicians need to utilize nutritional support to overcome the health concerns of today’s patient.
To highlight individualized nutritional needs based upon symptomatology and diagnostic testing results through case studies.
To discuss the historical trends of the food industry and how they have contributed to chronic diseases in the US.
To discuss the difference between nutriceuticals and whole food concentrates, and understand why whole foods work when nutriceuticals do not.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to:
Understand the importance of nutritional support for specific acute and chronic health conditions.
Review different methodologies for assessing functional nutritional needs.
Apply nutritional support in the form of whole food supplements and diet change based on diagnostic testing and patient symptomatology.
Understand the difference between nutriceutical vitamins and whole food concentrates and how to apply them both in clinical practice.

Oxidative Stress, a Paradigm for Patient Care - Cheryl Burdette, ND

Conflict of Interest: None

Purpose of Lecture
The purpose of this lecture is to elucidate the impact of oxidative stress on many conditions from neurologic, diabetes, cardiovascular and cancer. Oxidative stress disrupts a number or hormonal pathways, is a major contributor to a majority of degenerative conditions, and even interferes with the efficacy of treatments that are often used. While the research substantiates the impact of oxidative stress, as a clinician it is difficult to assess symptoms in a patient from their history and decide what antioxidants should be a primary choice in treatment. This lecture will aid in a clinical assessment of oxidative load, as well as treatments of choice for oxidative stress.

Goals

Review appropriate diagnostic laboratory tests of oxidative stress
Identify conditions associated with oxidative stress
Identify areas of prevention and how to assess
Give the clinician tools and strategies to manage and treat oxidative stress
Provide a novel form of treatment for when standard functional medicine is not optimizing wellness

Learning Objectives
The clinician will:

Incorporate new, safe, and effective methods of treating patients in their practice.
Be able to assess biomarkers that are critical for prevention of major health concerns affecting practice today.

Fundamentals of Functional Medicine Patient Histories - Elizabeth Vaughan, MD

Conflict of Interest: No

Purpose of Activity
Many conventionally trained physicians feel unprepared and overwhelmed as they try to provide care for patients using a more functional, integrative and holistic approach. This type of evaluation does not fit neatly into a 20 minute office visit. While a comprehensive review and implementation of this approach would take weeks if not months, an overview of the process will be presented.

Goals:

Review the differences between functional, integrative and holistic medical care.
Demonstrate a patient interview and exam, followed by assessment and plan utilizing various intake forms.

Objective
Attendees will leave with an understanding of how to use these tools and approaches.

Oxytocin Insufficiency and It's Relationship to Autism - Jorge Flechas, MD

Conflict of Interest: No

Purpose of Activity
Oxytocin was one of the first hormones to be discovered. As of 2012, Oxytocin insufficiency has yet to be defined. Children with autism have virtually no Oxytocin in their blood. Many other groups of patients have low levels of Oxytocin: such as fibromyalgia, MS, Parkinson’s patient. By study of these different groups a picture will emerge as to what insufficiency looks like. To study the autism patient, is a study into what a pure Oxytocin insufficiency looks like. Many studies are going on nationwide and are showing the benefits of Oxytocin HRT in the treatment of autism. The effects can be seen in hours after the patient is exposed to the hormone. These effects will be looked at from the medical literature where Oxytocin treatment has been initiated.

Goals

To review the functional need of oxytocin in the many stages of life.
To recognize the clinical benefits of serum Oxytocin testing to help personalized therapies for patients.
To highlight individualized oxytocin treatments for patients.

Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to:

To apply oxytocin treatments to issues of autism, Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia, and sexual dysfunction. A questionnaire has now been developed and validated in Europe to help us make the correct diagnosis in the patients.
Review different methodologies for assessing patient Oxytocin needs.

Facilitated Discussion: Exchange of Experienced Integrative Practitioners on Conference Topics

Conflict of Interest: No Conflict

Purpose of Activity
Provide an opportunity for members of NC Integrative Medical Society to exchange knowledge and clinical treatment and reactions to the information presented at the conference.

Goals

Facilitator will ensure that participates will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their reactions to the information presented with the group.
Participates will be able to expand on the information presented at the conference.

Objectives
Participants will:/p>

Have depended their understanding of the topics discussed.
Have heard a variety of clinical experiences of conference topics.
Be able to apply the new knowledge to patient care.

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	Scientific Frontiers: Purposes, Goals, and Objectives Diagnosing Borrelia Infection: There’s more to an immune response than antibodies alone – Sirid Kellermann, PhD Disclosure Statement: Employee of NeuroScience, Inc. Purpose of Activity Lyme disease is prevalent in many parts of the U.S., and cases have been reported in all 50 states. However, Lyme testing has progressed little in the past two decades, and typical serological (antibody) testing can miss as many as 1 in 4 cases. Newer, PCR-based diagnostic methods similarly are prone to issues of sensitivity (false negative results). When considering approaches to detect an infection by bacteria such as Borrelia, it is useful to recall that (1) much of the pathology of Lyme disease is driven by the host’s inflammatory response, and (2) an immune response involves not only antibody production, but also the activation and expansion of Borrelia-specific T lymphocytes and the production of elevated cytokines. This presentation will describe the application of these additional immune biomarkers in a diagnostic setting, especially the cytokine element which uniquely defines active immunity. A multi- pronged assessment of immune responsiveness to Borrelia can help identify Lyme sufferers who are experiencing current infection, and may help monitor therapeutic efficacy. Goals To describe the fundamental components of an immune response to Borrelia and other bacterial infections and how these can be utilized as clinical biomarkers. To understand the possible causes of seronegativity in Lyme patients. To recognize the clinical benefit of measuring multiple biomarkers of an immune/inflammatory response to Borrelia. To differentiate past infection from currently active inflammation in Borrelia infected individuals. To translate the biochemical effects of neuroborreliosis into patient symptoms. To develop assessment and treatment protocols that integrate Lyme testing. Objectives At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to: Apply enhanced immune testing to the diagnosis and monitoring of Lyme disease. Develop therapeutic protocols that better assess outcomes and symptom resolution, as well as improve patient compliance. Recognize the neurocognitive impact of inflammatory responses to Borrelia and other sources of inflammation. Facilitated Discussion: Experienced Integrative Practitioners Bring Interesting Cases Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest. Purpose of Activity Provide an opportunity for members of NC Integrative Medical Society to exchange knowledge and clinical treatment for a variety of cases.p> Goals Facilitator will ensure that participates will have the opportunity to ask questions and share treatments with the group. Participates will be exposed to different approaches to addressing the underlying cause and treatments Objectives Participants will: Have shared their successful treatments of unusual conditions. Have heard a variety of successful treatments of unusual conditions. Be able to apply the new knowledge to patient care. Introduction to Reduce the Risks of Breast Cancer – Elizabeth Vaughan, MD Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest. Purpose of Activity 1 out of 8 women when will eventually develop breast cancer if they all live to 90 years of age. This is a frightening number for many women. The reasons behind this high percentage have to do with genetics, the epigenetic influence of toxins and nutrients on the development of cancer, the hormonal milieu over a lifetime, and lifestyle choices including the use of brassieres. Genetic testing, hormonal testing, nutritional testing, and thermography are all tools to assess present breast health which will have a significant impact on future breast health or disease. Goals Understand the interactions of environmental factors that influence breast health. Understand how to adjust hormones and nutrients to ensure optimal breast health. Have familiarity with testing that assesses breast health from genetic, nutritional, hormonal and physiological perspectives. Objective Attendees will leave with an understanding of how to use these tools and discuss life style choices in their care for women with respect to breast health. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT): Self-Healing for You and Your Patients - Larry Burk, MD, CEHP Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest. Purpose of Activity Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is an approach to self-healing that combines standard exposure therapy with tapping on acupuncture points on the face and chest and also incorporates elements of self-hypnosis. EFT has been shown to be effective for phobias, anxiety, PTSD, athletic performance, depression, pain, and food cravings. It has been used successfully with war veterans, car accident victims and disaster survivors. The approach can be facilitated one-on-one with a therapist, taught in a group setting, or used individually for self-care. Results are evaluated based on a subjective units of distress (SUD) scale from 0 to 10. Relief of symptoms can sometimes be obtained in a single session. During this lecture there will be a review of the literature, clinical case reports, a group experiential exercise and an interactive discussion. Goals To review the scientific literature on the use of EFT. To recognize the clinical indications for EFT. To understand the basic approach to EFT. Learning Objectives At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to: Cite 3 scientific references for the use of EFT. Name 3 clinical indications for EFT. List 3 steps in the basic approach to EFT. Integrative Health Coaching: Help Patients make Empowered Health Changes - Kathleen Williams, BA Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest. Purpose of Activity Introduction of the concept and practice of Integrative Health Coaching, as a component of wellness-oriented integrative care, in support of the whole person’s engagement in self care. Goals To present the model and process of integrative health coaching To review health coaching competencies To augment the integrative provider’s alertness to issues of lifestyle habit and self-care in the patient’s health problems To convey how health coaching can ‘fill in the blanks’ of integrative medical care To demonstrate a coaching session with a volunteer from the audience Learning Objectives At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to:: Consider how health coaching may help the provider achieve his/her goals for the patient To recognize the inter-relationship physician-driven integrative care and patient-centered process of goal-identification and action-planning Recognize the power of awareness and choice in changing health status Distinguish between health coaching and psychotherapy Breast Cancer and It's Relationship to Iodine Insufficiency- Jorge Flechas, MD Disclosure Statement: No Conflict of Interest. Purpose of Activity For well over a hundred years it has been well known that patients who develop a goiter have a higher risk for the development of thyroid, breast, ovarian, endometrial, stomach, and esophageal cancer. Researchers have searched for why this relationship is present. The effects of iodine on the mitochondria, and the DNA have recently been discovered. Iodine takes away the immortality of cancer cells. The absence of iodine in body cells is a promoter of cancer. Thyroid hormone in excess inhibits iodine absorption. This mechanism is felt to be the reason why taking thyroid hormone will double a woman’s risk for breast cancer. Many of iodine’s protective effects from cancer are to be discussed. Goals To review the functional need of iodine at the many stages of life. To recognize the clinical benefit of urine, saliva, and serum iodine testing to help personalized therapies for patients. To highlight individualized iodine treatments for patients. Learning Objectives At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to: To apply iodine treatments to issues of breast cancer, fibrocystic breast, PCOS and ovarian cancer. To apply the different methodologies for assessing patient iodine needs. Exploring Mental/ Emotional Health & Its Association with the Gastrointestinal System - Rachel Merglowski, ND Disclosure Statement: Educational Specialists for Master Supplements, Inc Purpose of Activity: The Gastrointestinal System is integral to overall health and wellness, and extends far beyond the tasks of digestion and elimination. With continued research and the ability to analyze gut function, we continue to learn how the gut affects many somatic systems including endocrine function, immune function, and neurological function. Through continued dedication to exploration of this vast organ system, practitioners will become more cognizant of how patients are suffering from a dysfunctional gut while symptom presentation seems to be of a different affected region. This will allow health care providers to tailor treatment plans and to reach greater success bringing about a return to wellness. Goals To review the basic physiology of gut function and how it correlates to mental/emotional dysfunction. To highlight key facts and important clinical research regarding the GI system. To offer practitioners an explanation of how clinically applicable this topic is through the evaluation of case studies and potential treatment plans. Learning Objectives Upon completion of the presentation, attendees will be able to: Cite current research on this topic, to utilize in practice. Apply clinical reasoning skills to pinpoint GI dysfunction in patients whose symptoms lie elsewhere, including and especially of the mental/emotional realm. Review case studies and detect the association between gut health and neurological system dysfunction. Create tailored treatment plans for this patient population. How to Survive in a Toxic World- William Shaw, PhD Disclosure Statement: Overcoming The Five Dysfunctions Blocking Staff Teamwork - Frederick Whitmeyer, MBA The success of a medical office depends on an efficient staff working as a team to deliver quality health care. Whitmeyer will provide team training as executive coach for medical practices. The members of office staff with have the opportunity to explore their role in enhancing the experience of your patients and improve their proficiencies. The Efficacy of Whole Food Nutrition in Human Health, Thomas P. McKay, Jr. D.C Conflict of Interest: Have lectured at Standard Process meetings Purpose of Activity As a healthcare professional, we see patients on a daily basis who lack proper nutrition in their diets. That’s because the level of nutrient density in our foods have dropped significantly from that of our ancestors. The food our society eats is devitalized. Modern technology and a fast-paced world have enabled us to eat unhealthy foods laden with refined sugars and chemicals, foods that are man-made. The purpose of this activity is to establish a better understanding of how today’s foods have ultimately compromised the health of the patients that we see every day, and to show how through proper food choices and additional support with whole food supplements many health concerns can be corrected or abated. Goals To review the functional need for nutrients with diagnostic testing to individualize supplement therapies. To recognize why most physicians need to utilize nutritional support to overcome the health concerns of today’s patient. To highlight individualized nutritional needs based upon symptomatology and diagnostic testing results through case studies. To discuss the historical trends of the food industry and how they have contributed to chronic diseases in the US. To discuss the difference between nutriceuticals and whole food concentrates, and understand why whole foods work when nutriceuticals do not. Learning Objectives At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to: Understand the importance of nutritional support for specific acute and chronic health conditions. Review different methodologies for assessing functional nutritional needs. Apply nutritional support in the form of whole food supplements and diet change based on diagnostic testing and patient symptomatology. Understand the difference between nutriceutical vitamins and whole food concentrates and how to apply them both in clinical practice. Oxidative Stress, a Paradigm for Patient Care - Cheryl Burdette, ND Conflict of Interest: None Purpose of Lecture The purpose of this lecture is to elucidate the impact of oxidative stress on many conditions from neurologic, diabetes, cardiovascular and cancer. Oxidative stress disrupts a number or hormonal pathways, is a major contributor to a majority of degenerative conditions, and even interferes with the efficacy of treatments that are often used. While the research substantiates the impact of oxidative stress, as a clinician it is difficult to assess symptoms in a patient from their history and decide what antioxidants should be a primary choice in treatment. This lecture will aid in a clinical assessment of oxidative load, as well as treatments of choice for oxidative stress. Goals Review appropriate diagnostic laboratory tests of oxidative stress Identify conditions associated with oxidative stress Identify areas of prevention and how to assess Give the clinician tools and strategies to manage and treat oxidative stress Provide a novel form of treatment for when standard functional medicine is not optimizing wellness Learning Objectives The clinician will: Incorporate new, safe, and effective methods of treating patients in their practice. Be able to assess biomarkers that are critical for prevention of major health concerns affecting practice today. Fundamentals of Functional Medicine Patient Histories - Elizabeth Vaughan, MD Conflict of Interest: No Purpose of Activity Many conventionally trained physicians feel unprepared and overwhelmed as they try to provide care for patients using a more functional, integrative and holistic approach. This type of evaluation does not fit neatly into a 20 minute office visit. While a comprehensive review and implementation of this approach would take weeks if not months, an overview of the process will be presented. Goals: Review the differences between functional, integrative and holistic medical care. Demonstrate a patient interview and exam, followed by assessment and plan utilizing various intake forms. Objective Attendees will leave with an understanding of how to use these tools and approaches. Oxytocin Insufficiency and It's Relationship to Autism - Jorge Flechas, MD Conflict of Interest: No Purpose of Activity Oxytocin was one of the first hormones to be discovered. As of 2012, Oxytocin insufficiency has yet to be defined. Children with autism have virtually no Oxytocin in their blood. Many other groups of patients have low levels of Oxytocin: such as fibromyalgia, MS, Parkinson’s patient. By study of these different groups a picture will emerge as to what insufficiency looks like. To study the autism patient, is a study into what a pure Oxytocin insufficiency looks like. Many studies are going on nationwide and are showing the benefits of Oxytocin HRT in the treatment of autism. The effects can be seen in hours after the patient is exposed to the hormone. These effects will be looked at from the medical literature where Oxytocin treatment has been initiated. Goals To review the functional need of oxytocin in the many stages of life. To recognize the clinical benefits of serum Oxytocin testing to help personalized therapies for patients. To highlight individualized oxytocin treatments for patients. Learning Objectives At the end of this presentation, the participants should be able to: To apply oxytocin treatments to issues of autism, Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia, and sexual dysfunction. A questionnaire has now been developed and validated in Europe to help us make the correct diagnosis in the patients. Review different methodologies for assessing patient Oxytocin needs. Facilitated Discussion: Exchange of Experienced Integrative Practitioners on Conference Topics Conflict of Interest: No Conflict Purpose of Activity Provide an opportunity for members of NC Integrative Medical Society to exchange knowledge and clinical treatment and reactions to the information presented at the conference. Goals Facilitator will ensure that participates will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their reactions to the information presented with the group. Participates will be able to expand on the information presented at the conference. Objectives Participants will:/p> Have depended their understanding of the topics discussed. Have heard a variety of clinical experiences of conference topics. Be able to apply the new knowledge to patient care.