Dr. Chamberlin is a gastroenterologist at the San Antonio Military Medical Center in Texas. In his second presentation, he outlines why he believes that Crohn’s disease is both a disease of immune deficiency and also an infectious disease. The immune system is reviewed, differences in the innate and adaptive immune system are discussed, and genetic mutations which allow MAP to take advantage of certain immune pathways are detailed. Compounds which may stimulate autophagy like turmeric and Vitamin D are discussed. A Q&A session follows the presentation.
2017 MAP Conference | Implication of MAP Infection in Cattle with Implications for Infection in Humans
Appearing by WebEx at the conference, Dr. Davis is a researcher and professor in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology at Washington State University. Here, he summarizes the findings from his 27 year MAP study and provides an update on his progress in developing a cattle vaccine for MAP that may have insights into human MAP as well.
2017 MAP Conference | MAP, Type 1 Diabetes and Multiple Sclerosis. What is the Connection?
Appearing at the conference via Webex, Dr. Sechi is a Professor of Microbiology at the University of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy. Sardinia is an island with some of the highest rates of autoimmune diseases in the world. MAP is commonly found in their ruminant population as well. Dr. Sechi’s research shows significantly higher rates of MAP in patients with autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes. He presents some of that research here, and discusses a mechanism for MAP infection in these diseases which may differ than that in Crohn’s disease. Questions from the audience follow the presentation.
2017 MAP Conference | The Pathogenesis of Crohn’s Disease
Dr. Monif, the President of Infectious Disease Incorporated, presents his proposed mechanism on how MAP causes Crohn’s disease. Two factors: infection by MAP and subsequent loss of immunological tolerance, and repeated exposure to and adherence of MAP, combine to produce disease. A hypothetical debate between Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur about whether MAP is the cause of Crohn’s disease delves into the proof issues.
2017 MAP Conference | Cross-reactivity of Antibodies Against Microbial Proteins to Human Tissues as a Basis for Crohn’s Disease
Dr. Zhang is a pathologist and co-founder of PZM Diagnostics, a company which is testing the blood from potential Crohn’s patients for the presence of MAP. He details his research here, which includes rarely finding MAP in culture or PCR, but detecting the presence of other bacterial DNA in blood samples. Antibodies to MAP in were found in greater than 70% of patients. Sjogren syndrome antibody levels are discussed as well as cross reaction to human proteins and a proposed mechanism of disease.