allergies

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 18 – Autism and Microbiomes

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Autism and Diagnosis

Metabolites and Phenotypes

In a brand new paper entitled. “Elevated Microbially-Derived Metabolites in Autism: A Possible Diagnostic Screening Test for a Distinct ASD Phenotype,” Dr. Flynn and colleagues investigated whether specific urinary metabolites produced by intestinal microbes could serve as predictive biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder. The study proposes that a large subset of children with autism may represent a biologically distinct phenotype characterized by markedly elevated microbial metabolites, which the authors term ASD-MDM (Autism Spectrum Disorder associated with Microbially-Derived Metabolites).

The investigators analyzed urine samples from 52 children with ASD and 47 typically developing (TD) controls, ages 2–11 years. They measured microbial metabolites derived primarily from phenylalanine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, and yeast metabolism. These were chosen because decades of autism, microbiome, and metabolic research have repeatedly implicated abnormalities in microbial metabolism of aromatic amino acids, especially phenylalanine and tryptophan, along with evidence of elevated fungal/yeast metabolites in subsets of children with ASD.

The findings were striking. Children with ASD demonstrated significantly higher concentrations of many microbial metabolites than controls. Some metabolites were elevated by hundreds to thousands of percent, and in certain children concentrations were reported to be 100–1000 times higher than the highest levels observed in any control participant. Twenty-three of twenty-four measured microbial metabolites were higher in ASD participants. Ninety percent of the ASD participants (45 of 50) had one or more extremely elevated MDMs. Particularly notable were elevations in compounds related to p-cresol, p-cresol sulfate, phenylacetylglutamine, indole derivatives, and arabinitol, suggesting abnormalities in microbial metabolism involving aromatic amino acids and yeast overgrowth…. Also, Inflammation and Allergy.

Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #104: Maeve O’Connor, MD – Allergy and Immune Literacy


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Today, I’m joined by Dr. Maeve O’Connor, a board-certified allergist and immunologist practicing in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dr. O’Connor’s training reflects both rigor and range. She completed dual undergraduate degrees at the University of South Carolina Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish before earning her medical degree at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. She then completed her internship and residency at the University of Texas and its affiliated hospitals in Houston, where she served as Chief Medical Resident.

Her subspecialty training in Allergy and Immunology was completed at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver consistently ranked the number one respiratory hospital in the United States where she developed deep expertise in asthma, allergic disease, and immune dysregulation. She further expanded her clinical lens through fellowship training in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona from 2013 to 2015.

Clinically, Dr. O’Connor works at the intersection of pediatrics, immunology, and real family life where eczema isn’t just a rash, food reactions aren’t just labels, and immune symptoms rarely fit neatly into algorithmic boxes. Her work emphasizes careful diagnosis, evidence-based treatment, and avoiding both over-medicalization and missed pathology.

In a time when allergy medicine is often reduced to test results and avoidance lists, Dr. O’Connor brings a grounded, thoughtful approach helping families and clinicians distinguish what’s truly allergic, what’s inflammatory, what’s developmental, and what’s simply noise.

Today, we’ll explore how allergic disease actually presents in children, why mislabeling is so common, how early immune signals shape long-term health, and how pediatricians and specialists can collaborate more effectively without fear-based medicine.

This is a conversation about immune literacy, clinical nuance, and doing better for children in a world where their immune systems are under increasing pressure.

I’m excited to welcome Dr. Maeve O’Connor.

Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #83 – Ana Maria Temple, MD

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Dr. Ana-Maria Temple, MD, is an integrative pediatrician known for her whole child approach to children’s health. She studied medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine before pursuing pediatric residency training at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. In 2017, Dr. Temple further specialized by completing a fellowship in Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. She combines conventional medicine with functional and lifestyle-based strategies to address common childhood conditions such as eczema, asthma, and allergies. Dr. Temple has a particular focus on helping families reduce dependence on medications by making sustainable health and wellness changes.

With decades of clinical experience, Dr. Temple has been a vocal advocate for preventive care, emphasizing nutrition, environmental changes, and integrative treatments. She is the author of the two bestselling books Healthy Kids in an Unhealthy World and Ending the Eczema Epidemic. Additionally, Dr. Temple is a sought-after speaker and podcast guest, sharing her expertise on holistic pediatric care through various platforms. Today, we focus on her approach to eczema and children’s health.

Enjoy,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 40/41

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Literature Review Week

Why do some people react to mosquitoes so vigorously? There is fascinating data for me in the Nature article, as I see lots of kids that react strongly to mosquitoes while others do not at all. A hyper primed immune reaction makes a lot of sense as the immune system is extra sensitive to the insult in individuals that have chronic allergic phenotypes. They are in effect polarized to see the outside world through an irritant lens and thus react in a more robust way. The cell called GD3 releases Interleukin 3 or IL-3 which is a cytokine signaling molecule that tells skin based sensory neurons to become more sensitive to allergens like house dust mites, environmental molds, and in this case mosquito saliva. Thus, the mosquito saliva induces more of the itch scratch cycle. The effect is to increase the gain sensitivity on the skin to 10. This is likely a main reason why having an allergic child take immunotherapy against allergens that they react to lowers the rheostat for all irritants. It is like a global check on the sensory system. This is another reason to consider SLIT and or SCIT immunotherapy in allergic children… Plus a discussion on the Joe Rogan podcast with Callie and Casey Means.

Enjoy,

Dr. M

 

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #75 – Jeff Kessler, FACHE – Allergies and Therapy

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Jeff Kessler, FACHE

Allergy Choices

This week I sit down with Jeff Kessler to discuss allergies and sublingual immune therapy.

Jeff Kessler is a business leader and a thought leader in the allergy therapy space. His relevant backstory goes back to 1999 when he had the fortunate opportunity to work on a project to select and implement an Electronic Medical Record system for the Allergy Associates of La Crosse (AAOL) clinic in La Crosse WI. Fortuitously for his daughter who at the time suffered profoundly with allergies, asthma and eczema, this opportunity presented a new course of therapy that would eventually be taken for the entire family leading to allergic disease modification. Enthralled with the therapy and company, Jeff dedicated his career in the healthcare industry from that point on to the allergy treatment approach that he witnessed change thousands of lives including his families. The growing AAOL organization became linked to Allergychoices, an education company dedicated to teaching healthcare providers around the U.S. on the protocol (La Crosse Method – LCM) that had been perfected since 1970. Jeff has served as President of Allergychoices since its formation and its services have grown to help providers deliver immunotherapy using the LCM to their patients directly at the primary care level. Bringing together AAOL, the most advanced allergy immunotherapy clinic in the U.S. and Allergychoices, capable of delivering the benefits of disease modifying allergy immunotherapy to anyone, anywhere, the distinctive competencies of these companies continue to help hundreds of thousands of allergy sufferers of all types, including foods.

Jeff earned a bachelors in science from the University of Wisconsin LaCrosse before he received his MBA in Strategic Planning from University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in 1987.

Please enjoy my conversation with Jeff Kessler,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #70 – Stan Gabryszewski, M.D., Ph.D. – Allergies

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This week I sit down with Dr. Stan Gabryszewski to discuss allergies from multiple angles.
Dr. Gabryszewski graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Molecular Biology before attending Columbia University for his MD as well as a PhD degree in Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Studies. He then completed his pediatric residency and is a senior allergy immunology fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where he now teaches and performs research in the lab of Dr. David Hall. His research is focused on better understanding the epidemiologic and immunologic features among pediatric allergic disorders, in particular the food allergies IgE-mediated food allergy and eosinophilic esophagitis.
In this conversation, Stan and I sit down to discuss his recent paper in Pediatrics entitled, Patterns in the Development of Pediatric Allergy. This article is a much needed look at the true prevalence of allergy and allergic diseases in children. We discuss the statistics as well as the thoughts behind the why this is occurring. The upstream reasons are very important, hard to tease out but worthy of discussion.
Please enjoy my conversation with Stan Gabryszewski,
Dr. M
His recent paper in pediatrics.

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 14

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Allergy Season and School – What is your plan?
Spring is coming and maybe even here already in Carolina. School is in full swing for kids and they are filled with joy and excitement. They are back outside enjoying sports and play. For the parents of allergy suffering kids, this is a time for check ups, medicines and the countless forms required by school. I know! What a pain!
The goal for parents and educators is to limit missed or unproductive school days due to asthma and allergies and to get the most out of the learning environment for all children. My goal is to help children be symptom free or as close as possible while also focusing on reducing mucous development which is a direct precursor to bacterial sinus and ear infections….and more
Enjoy,
Dr. M

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