FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER

What's Old is New Again

By Dr Olivia Lesslar | KEYNOTE SPEAKER

You'll Learn:

• Novel ways to relook at 'old' wisdom, 'old' practices
• An update on the importance of blood biomarkers and debates on reference ranges
• Some interesting nuances with HOW to interpret blood biomarkers
  

Ancient practices and wisdoms are back in the spotlight, attracting renewed attention as the key to optimal health and treatment for the chronic disease epidemic. This understanding of the interconnectness of body systems is now called psychoneuroimmunology, and is underpinned by a return to the foundational tenets of health driven by new methods that prove their efficacy.

This shifting mindset also means that we need to not get carried away by shiny new things, and (re)appreciate that which we already have at our disposal. This includes highlighting the value of conventional pathology and the importance of keeping up-to-date with the nuances of interpreting those tests.

Dr Lesslar will discuss in brief, “old” practices and wisdoms, but update the “why” and the research, including:

• Sleep
• The Breath
• Leveraging temperature
• The role of circadian biology, food and nutrition
• The researchers who have persisted with Blue zones to focussing on a spotlight on the mind-body connection.

Conventional pharmaceutical-heavy medicine can no longer deny that these aspects to life which have held a special place in the armament of the functional medicine world, are fundamental to health, patient and community. 

FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER

The Power of Pathology

By Dr Rhona Creegan

You'll Learn:

• How to use and understand general pathology test results
• How are reference ranges generated and why are there discrepancies between laboratories?
• How to identify sources of error in test results, if the results don’t make sense
  
• Understanding the difference between ‘reference’ and ‘optimal ranges’
• How to identify patterns of analytes ‘out of range’ and trends within the results over time
  

In functional and integrative medicine, we have an impressive tool kit of laboratory tests which can be used to investigate health issues in our patients. However, some of these tests are expensive and out of financial reach for many. Most patients do, however, have access to pathology tests. Interpreting these tests can be confusing due to reporting variations and different reference ranges of the same tests between different laboratories.

How are laboratory reference ranges generated and why are there discrepancies? Outside of laboratory reference ranges, the results can provide hidden information that can be used to discover underlying pathology. We can use ‘optimal ranges’ for many of these tests which can detect altered biochemistry and functional changes before a test result becomes diagnostic for a given pathology.

Identifying patterns in multiple tests can be used to understand the drivers of an individual’s health concerns and how these values are changing as the patient clinically improves or declines. This also allows us to monitor therapeutic strategies over time. This presentation will demonstrate how to harness the power of general pathology test results and how to identify obvious and subtle signs of dysfunction in our patients.

FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER

Long COVID and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Same Same But Different?

By Prof. Pete Smith  | KEYNOTE SPEAKER

You'll Learn:

• The various overlapping “threats” that initiate ME/CFS and Long COVID
• The common pathophysiology underpinning ME/CFS and Long COVID
• How to use conventional pathology to exclude conditions that mimic ME/CFS
• The strategic use of nutrients and other therapies to effect change in patients suffering from the conditions 
  

Long COVID is emerging as a phenotype of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), with evidence that the virus and the vaccine are “threats”, initiating the condition and the unique symptom picture. This link has renewed research interest in ME/CFS, uncovering gene defects, pathology markers and therapies that can modify the condition. 


Professor Pete Smith is an adjunct professor at the Menzies National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases at Griffith University and a practicing allergist. He will detail the overlap between Long COVID and ME/CFS symptoms and pathophysiology, and discuss the diagnostic criteria. 


He will also outline essential biomarkers to investigate for differential diagnoses and the biochemistry behind nutrient prescriptions for these conditions. 

FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER

Beyond The Thyroid: Unravelling Markers of Pathology

By Tara Nelson

You'll Learn:

• Diagnostic tools and techniques, and testing guidelines
• Thyroid pathology markers and how they contribute to diagnosis and related biomarkers
• Clinical presentations and cases studies - including the patient who flips between hyper and hypothyroid states; and Euthyroid sick syndrome
  
• Current trends and future directions in thyroid assessments

Experienced thyroid focussed naturopath Tara Nelson will delve into the intricate world of thyroid disorders, exploring markers that extend beyond routine diagnostics. This presentation goes beyond the basics, examining the nuanced role of specific markers in deciphering thyroid pathology. We navigate through the landscape of thyroid function and how they contribute to diagnosis. Tara will also explore related biomarkers, diagnostic tools and techniques, and testing guidelines, shedding light on their collective significance in clinical assessments. 

This session aims to empower attendees with a comprehensive understanding of how these markers influence diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment decisions. Join us in uncovering the subtleties of thyroid pathology.

FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER

The Five Elements: A Food as Medicine Approach

By Janella Purcell

You'll Learn:

• How to identify all 5 elements in a patient, especially the dominant two.
• To use The Zang-Fu Theory to help identify a client’s dominant elements before recommending appropriate treatment - be it herbal medicine, supplements, diet, lifestyle or emotional changes.
• The Five Elements through preparing the same meal slightly differently to suit the various elements.
  

End the first day with a reminder to treat the person, not just the numbers, using the Five Elements. This fascinating ancient framework has for millennia been used to help explain our human similarities and connection to the world around us.

We are made up of the same substances as the natural world around us, so 5 Element Theory shows us how we are therefore influenced by the seasons, and the cosmos - just as other living beings are in this eco-system and beyond.

Further, it can also give us a better understanding of how the organs of the physical body interact, contributing to our body-mind health, reactions and tendencies.