Moodle at CCNM

Each year more than 2.5million Americans visit the emergency department due to brain injury. This “silent epidemic” which causes disability is often minimized, misdiagnosed or dismissed altogether when in fact it is a major contributing factor for fatigue, cognitive problems, memory difficulty, and mood problems including depression. One of the most important lessons I have learned from brain imaging work over the past 8years is that concussions and more severe brain injuries are a major cause of mental illness in this country. This presentation will discuss the assessment for mild to severe concussion and TBI as well as treatment approaches.

As we begin to see more and more older adults in our offices we need to be equipped to differentiate normal aging from the early stages of dementia. Dementia is like a rising tide now with 1 in 2 having some form of dementia by age 85. This lecture will propose a straightforward and simple way to assess patients with memory problems at any age and suggested ways to comprehensively treat them. Part of the treatment approach described is based on the groundbreaking Alzheimer’s research by Dr. Dale Bredeson who has found that the only hope for Alzheimer’s and dementia is a naturopathic one; where the causes of neurodegeneration must be found and addressed. Naturopathic Physicians are the ones most suited to stem this rising tide of dementia. A method will be described to include cognitive testing from pencil and paper approaches to brain imaging and laboratory analysis. Cases will be utilized throughout the presentation to demonstrate this assessment and treatment approach.