Summary of the American College for Advancement in Medicine November 2004 Conference on Emerging Concepts in Immunology

Abstract

This event served as testament to the overwhelming professional interest in CAIM therapies and the science supporting evidence-based CAIM therapies. Embraced by Southern California's warm sunny skies and temperate gentle breezes, over 500 physicians, health practitioners and medical professionals convened at ACAM's 'A Blast to the Future-Emerging Concepts in Immunology' conference, in order to learn about the latest science behind a wide variety of exciting new CAIM therapies. The American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) is a not-for-profit medical society dedicated to educating physicians and other health care professionals on the latest findings and emerging procedures in preventive/nutritional medicine. As the voice of CAIM, ACAM strives to increase awareness and recognition of CAIM therapies and play an active role in shaping the future of the CAIM movement. Celebrating more than a quarter century of service, ACAM represents nearly 1000 physicians in 30 countries. ACAM is the largest and oldest organization of its kind in the world dedicated to providing its members with educational excellence in integrative medicine. ACAM's leading edge educational programming facilitates the incorporation of clinically relevant biomedical therapies by fast tracking scientific advancements in nutritional medicine, nutraceuticals and ethno-pharmacology into the practice of cutting-edge CAIM. ACAM was the first major medical organization to educate its members about such now well accepted concepts as insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome, the detrimental effects of homocysteine, the protective effects of antioxidants, the clinical uses of essential fatty acids, cancer chemoprotection therapies with diet and herbs, testing for cardiosensitive C-reactive protein, the benefits of natural thyroid replacement and nutritional medicine as applied to psychiatry. Scientific presentations at ACAM's autumn 2004 convocation addressed a multitude of topics relevant to physicians and scientists interested in using CAIM therapies for the evaluation and treatment for a wide variety of diseases. Presentations on advances in laboratory medicine included the laboratory assessment of complex diseases and the assessment of immune integrity through evaluation of T-and B-cell subsets and natural killer (NK) cell activity. CAIM treatments of cancer were addressed through evaluating the efficacy of herbs and immunemodulating peptide analogues in the treatment of cancer. Colleen Hayes, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Medical Microbiology in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Chairperson for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program in the Cell Biology Study Section, presented a fascinating lecture on vitamin D's relationship to the endocrine system and autoimmune diseases. She provided data from an animal model of autoimmune encephalomyelitis and the pro-apoptotic influence of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on inflammatory cells leading to their selective destruction.

eCAM: Clinical Analyses and Increasing Visibility

“…Moreover, there were other efforts. I was invited to present Writer's Workshops at several national meetings of the American College for Advancement in Medicine ( 15–18 ), opening the doors for the works of clinicians. Instructions in eCAM and Writers’ Workshops were international, national and local.…”

eCAM: On To Year 4

“…To aid the process, Writer's Workshops have been successfully convened on both sides of the Pacific and can serve as a model for others (5–7). In fact, another is scheduled for Pune, India, November 2006 (8).…”