AFMCP - Brochure

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Dates and Locations

Hotel Registration - Hyatt Bellevue

Join us on Tuesday, August 21^st at 5pm (U.S. Pacific Daylight Time) for a 1 hour Webinar as we explore 'Triggers and Treatments in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.' This is the kind of exploration that our 6-day course, Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice (AFMCP) is all about. We hope that you will participate in the webinar to see how AFMCP can benefit you and your patients.

Research over the past 20 years suggests that the etiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is complicated and multifactorial. IBD represents an interaction between host genetic susceptibility, commensal flora, and a dysregulated host immune response. It is likely also a consequence of a defective mucosal barrier to luminal antigens. For instance, considerable evidence indicates increased intestinal permeability (IP) in Crohn's disease proportional to disease activity.¹ However, it is not entirely clear if IP is a trigger for dysfunction, a mediator, or a consequence of the inflammatory process.

What is clear is that the flora and immune response are both mediated by a variety of environmental factors. While research has never confirmed a specific responsible bacterial agent, it is now thought that normal enteric flora, possibly triggered by an initial change in the gastrointestinal milieu (i.e., dysbiosis, infection, etc.) plays a key role in the development of IBD.² Animal studies show that certain bacteria may downregulate a chronic, immune-induced intestinal inflammatory process and thus the use of probiotics is an ongoing area of investigation. 

While both prebiotics and probiotics have been shown to have a beneficial effect on IBD in human studies, questions remain: what are the mechanisms of action, what are the specific strains that are most beneficial, what is the optimal dose, what is the duration of treatment? Not surprisingly, conventional medical researchers are realizing that appropriate consideration of individual human gut microbial activities will be a necessary part of future personalized health-care paradigms.³

The next AFMCP starts September 24 in Bellevue, WA (September 24-29). The last AFMCP of 2007 will be in Atlanta, GA (November 26-December 1^st). We look forward to seeing you at one of these locations. More about AFMCP

1.        Takeuchi K, Maiden L, Bjarnason I. Genetic aspects of intestinal permeability in inflammatory bowel disease. Novartis Found Symp. 2004;263:151-158; discussion 159-163, 211-158.

2.        Guarner F. Microecology as a target for therapeutic intervention in inflammatory bowel disease. IDrugs. Sep 2003;6(9):868-873.

3.        Nicholson JK, Holmes E, Wilson ID. Gut microorganisms, mammalian metabolism and personalized health care. Nat Rev Microbiol. May 2005;3(5):431-438.