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Current Research: Integrative Medicine
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CAM Therapies 2017
Notes:
September 18-19, 2017 Charlotte, USA
5
th
International Meeting on
Complementary and Alternative Medicine & Therapies
Erika F Marie
Chiyu Center, USA
SORL-IM saving organs and restoring lives with integrative medicine: The treatment
of an infant with diamond-blackfan anemia (DBA) and her mother with immune
dysfunction and kidney failure
D
iamond-Black fan Anemia (DBA) is a rare blood disorder of bone marrow failure now widely accepted to
be a disorder of ribosomal proteins. In DBA, erythroid precursors are particularly susceptible to apoptosis.
Treatment includes red cell transfusion, corticosteroids, and/or bone marrow transplant. Life-threatening
complications can result from all therapy options, including organ failure from iron overload in the transfusion-
dependent and loss of hearing/vision due to iron chelation. This case study follows the treatment of a transfusion-
dependent female child from infancy to age five. Her treatment included several integrative medicine therapies,
including iron chelation (deferasirox), dietary therapy, Chinese herbal medicine, shonishin, moxabustion, and
homeopathtics. Using integrative methods, emergent levels of cardiac iron were removed in six months, the child
gained weight, digestive distress and difficulty swallowing were relieved, and hearing/vision maintained. During
this time, the child’s mother was also treated for kidney failure and immune dysfunction. Kidney abnornality
was revealed via ultrasound and laboratory testing, with immune dysfunction suggested by anti-nuclear antibody
and complement levels. Electro-acupuncture improved kidney function from 10-20% as measured by nuclear
medicine function tests, while herbal medicine, homeopathics, and adaptogenics restored total estimated
glomeular filtration rate (eGFR) from 57 to 72 and creatinine from 1.1 to 0.7. Combined therapies including
dietary, decreased subjective pain in the flanks, abdomen and spine while surgery to place stents and remove
a urethral obstruction preserved kidney cellular structure. Presently, the mother is considered in remission and
excellent health, while efforts continue to optimize the child’s health and usher her into remission.
Biography
Erika F Marie has completed her Master of Science in Oriental Medicine (MSOM) from the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland,
Oregon, and her Bachelor of Science in Engineering Psychology from the United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point. She is the Founder of Chiyu
Center and a leading Advocate for integrative medicine. She currently serves on the Board of Directors as Chair of Public Relations for the Acupuncture
Association of Colorado (AAC) and is the author of the to-be-published book, autoimmunity, sex and the dao.
erika@chiyucenter.com