Expert holistic medical advice on all medical problems including allergies, cancer and FIP. Click here
Malfunctions of the body's immune system that represent even more serious health problems for both dogs and people are those maladies known as auto-immune diseases. As with allergies, these afflictions are a result of the immune system responding to "false alarms" and zeroing in on the wrong target, sort of like the dog that chases its own tail. When this happens, the consequences can include serious diseases such as lupus, which produces generalized and systemic malaise and extreme sensitivity to sunlight; blood diseases in which red blood cells or platelets are attacked or destroyed; and conditions that affect the kidneys such as Lyme nephropathy, protein-losing nephropathy and amyloidosis.
Does the immune system have a legitimate reason for its destructive behavior? Some experts now believe that when this occurs, the immune system is actually chasing down an elusive invader hiding in the tissues And, in fact, resent research has given this added credence, showing that tiny pathogens called mycoplasms - the smallest microorganisms known to science that are able to self-replicate -- can evade the immune system in this manner. These amorphous little creatures can change their shape so as to appear and disappear at will, sort of like jellyfish, concealing themselves within body tissues and body fluids, and are very difficult to track down. (For instance, because they don't carry any antigenic markers that the immune system can recognize and attack, their presence isn't revealed by blood tests used to detect disease.) They can also re-emerge from their hiding places inside cells once the coast is clear. Other pathogens, such as Borrelia - the bacteria that causes Lyme disease - can invade tissue and create cysts that can produce potent toxins, causing an auto-immune response. Routine antibiotics unfortunately won't destroy these cysts, which can remain long after Lyme disease symptoms are thought to be under control. To make matters worse, Lyme-causing Borrelia and mycoplasmas often work together as co-infections ~ a kind of double whammy. And the fact that ticks can carry both pathogens completes this rather dismal picture.
What makes mycoplasmas particularly pernicious is their ability to move into cells and steal the protein, fats and vitamins they need to survive (which they lack the genes to make themselves). Sometimes described as parasitic bacteria, mycoplasmas have been known to squeeze through filters used to maintain sterility in hospitals and laboratories, and to have been sources of contamination in everything from important experiments to routine vaccinations. They are believed to play a major role in such afflictions as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as auto-immune diseases that cause a degenerative eroding of the fatty myelin sheath that protects and insulates nerve fibers, such as multiple sclerosis.
To conceal themselves in your pet's body, mycoplasmas use a trick known as molecular mimicry, which involves disguising themselves to resemble the host cell, for instance, by incorporating the cell's surface material into their own jelly-like surfaces. According to this theory, if the mycoplasma hides in your pet's joint tissue, his immune system will attempt to destroy it, and, although failing to do so, will produce quite a bit of inflammation and reaction in the process. This in turn, will cause the dog to develop arthritis.
Once having identified mycoplasmas as the prime suspects, or External Pathogenic Factors (EPFs) in triggering a host of ailments, a pair of holistic practitioners in Wyomissing, Pa., Carolyn Jaffe, a Ph.D., and her associate Judith Mellor, R.N., PhD, proceeded to develop a revolutionary technique for reprogramming the immune system that was laying waste to the body's tissues in its attempt to rout out the invaders. The Jaffe-Mellor technique (JMT), is one that has established an impressive track record of successfully eliminating the symptoms of osteoarthritis and other degenerative bone disorders, and significantly reducing the pain and symptoms that go with Lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and other auto-immune ailments.
What the pair determined is that disorders caused by EPFs are far more common than previously imagined. As the autonomous nervous system becomes alerted to the presence of these stealth invaders, it signals the immune system to go on a search-and-destroy mission in whatever area the pathogens have colonized, be it joint, cartilage, muscle, bone tissue, kidneys, liver, skin or the nervous system itself. Because there are so many different components comprising the immune system, it is as if the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force all launched a simultaneous strike with a multitude of weapons, leaving devastated towns and villages in their wake.
To correct this situation, the Jaffe-Mellor Technique utilizes a combination of holistic therapies to restore harmony to the body and to its magnetic field, correct any energetic imbalance, and recharge the brain and nervous system to eliminate flawed programming. This includes an advanced form of muscle-resistance testing to determine the presence of pathogens, and the use of acupressure or a laser to activate the acupuncture points, resulting in reprogramming of the immune system and deactivation and neutralization of the pathogen. Finally, the damaged tissues are taught to repair themselves and the body reeducated to produce normal cartilage. The entire procedure can perhaps best be compared to using virus-scanning software to locate and:fix the problem in a malfunctioning computer.
I have used this technique for a number of years in my practice, often all day long, with truly miraculous results. I have found it to be one of the most exciting therapies available in the field of holistic medicine, and an appropriate one for treating a wide range of severe illnesses in dogs. Besides being highly effective in curing allergies and autoimmune disorders, I believe it is also an important tool for recognizing imbalances and correcting ailments that are waiting to strike. Again, as mentioned in the allergy section, a hair sample can be assessed by Dr. Khalsa and the owner can do the treatments at home. Check out the J.M.T. website at www.jmttechnique.com.