Hi All,

I heard back from Dr. Vojdani at Immunosciences Lab about discontinuing the MAP test and here's what he said:

"Due to new rules and regulations imposed on clinical labs, we can no longer perform esoteric tests such as the Mycobacterium avium. I know of no other lab that performs this test. I apologize for the inconvenience to you and your readers."

Aristo Vojdani, Ph.D., M.T.

So there you go, the good old FDA and whatever other regulating body, carrying out their usual mandate of blocking people from taking care of their health. Remember, it's all about money and it's all funded directly or indirectly by pharmaceutical companies - who only make money if we're on drugs and/or in the hospitals.

Well, so then we get back to the viewpoint of: who cares what you have, let's just heal the body!

all the best,
Jini

Hi, Jini.

Thank you for contacting the lab.

What you say does make sense. In the end, what does it matter what a test says? What matters the most is whether you're beginning and continuing to heal and feel better....

Nicole

I agree with you, Jini and Nicole, that in the end healing is what matters most. However, I think knowing what is causing our disease can be a helpful indicator of where we should focus our healing efforts. If we proceed with the idea that Crohn's is an autoimmune condition caused by a dysregulated and inappropriate immune response to otherwise innocuous bowel flora (the "standard" medical view of CD), that would take us in a very different direction than if we assume it is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP).

I spoke with Dr. Borody's clinic in Australia about MAP testing yesterday, since I am a patient there. Dr. Borody has been on the forefront of the MAP hypothesis, and he's definitely one of the world experts in this area. He said that there's really only one person doing accurate testing for MAP in the world right now (or maybe the U.S., not sure)... and that is a Dr. Naser in Florida. Unfortunately for us, Dr. Naser is a microbiologist and researcher and does not do clinical testing. He is getting positive results for MAP in 70% of Crohn's subjects tested, and from what I understand, his opinion is that the remaining 30% also have it but are not testing positive for some reason. He is still working on his method, but it's somewhat likely that there will be a commercially available test in the not-too-distant future.

That said, Jini brings up a very salient point: a major reason there is so much resistance to the MAP hypothesis is that pharmaceutical companies have very little to gain financially from it. The antibiotics used to treat MAP are cheap. However, the current immunosuppressive treatments like Remicade and 6MP are very, very expensive. Which ones do you think the pharma companies will push?

Chris

Thanks for the great info Chris.

And I do appreciate your viewpoint. My own personal feeling is that I'm becoming more and more convinced that all IBD has an infectious component - whether it is the originating event or not, I can't say.

Nevertheless, the LTYG program is based upon healing or addressing ALL of the possible and/or contributing factors. Therefore, I advocate both the Wild Oregano Oil Protocol and high dose probiotics ongoing - to address the infectious component. Then I recommend immune system strenghteners/balancers to address the immune system component. Then I recommend specific supplements to heal and restore the intestinal wall and mucosal lining. Then I recommend people get hormone testing and balance their endocrine system (knocked out of whack by both drugs used and long-term illness), etc. etc.

And as Nicole has pointed out numerous times in her postings, each of us will get a 'feel' (listen to your gut!) for which areas we particularly need to focus on and at what times.

Some of us are okay to just 'feel' our way through our Healing Journey. And others need hard evidence to go on - such as lab test results. Hey, it's all good. And all paths lead to Rome!

take care,
Jini