August 31, 2012 @ 09:00 AM

Bryce Wylde at Xiaolans Health Centre

Bryce Wylde at Xiaolan Health Centre

Personalized Medicine: The Future of Healthcare

*Bryce will join this clinic on specified Friday's - the first of which is Friday, July 27th. Full calendar coming soon.

Personalized medicine connotes the collaboration of a team of allied health professionals working closely with the patient, INFORMED by the genetic / genomic make-up of that patient in order to customize care, lifestyle and therapeutic interventions for health promotion, disease prevention and longevity.

Are you ready to take advantage of this future?

Bryce Wylde, in collaboration with Dr. Mansoor Mohammed; a world renowned genomicist and Dr. Tim Cook; one of Canada's best internal medicine specialists, is pleased to announce the availability of the most extensive and exclusive genomic testing panel in Canada. These tests have been selected to be the most useful and validated from laboratories around the world, and include CNVs (Copy Number Variations), Telomere length, SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms), APO-E genotyping and others. Alone or in combination, these tests can predict future health risks and biological age, responsivity to medications (pharmacogenomics), and even the best diet and exercise regimens to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Think about it this way...Your DNA (genome) is like two nearly identical sets of Encyclopedia Brittanica with 23 volumes but with some letter changes (SNP mutations) and word changes (allele mutations) and whole paragraphs that have gone missing or are duplicated (CNVs). Telomere status - like the leather binding of each Encyclopedia volume - can also be tested to help predict how long you will live.

The Process:

Request an appointment to come to the Xiaolan Health Centre, 88 Prince Arthur Ave, Toronto (services not yet listed on Xiaolan website) and complete a questionnaire regarding your current personal and past health, and family history. You will spend one hour in consultation with the team of Bryce Wylde, Drs Cook and Mohammed. Based on this assessment, recommendations are made regarding the genomic testing that is most relevant to you, and how the results might impact your health. If you choose to do the testing either blood, saliva or buccal (inner cheek) swabs will be obtained and the tests arranged immediately.

You will return in 3 – 4 weeks to review the results with the same team, and will receive a report outlining the salient findings and recommendations / action plan. The latter will be an integration of conventional medicine and complementary / functional medicine.

The Team:

Dr Timothy Cook, MD, FRCPC, MPH (Health Promotion)

Dr Cook practises internal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital and is a specialist in integrative, executive health and MindBody medicine.

Dr Mansoor Mohammed, PhD

Dr Mohammed is a genomicist who has been at the forefront of research and development in the field of genomics and genetic testing. He is world-renowned for his role in discovering CNVs (copy number variations) and developing platforms for rapid testing of the human genome

Bryce Wylde B.Sc. Hons. (BioPsych), DHMHS

Bryce is one of Canada’s leading alternative health experts, and is a highly knowledgeable and respected natural healthcare practitioner whose specialty is homeopathy, clinical nutrition, supplementation, and botanical medicine. His focus is rooted within functional medicine. Bryce’s clinical approach is one that blends the latest in human biological and genetic screening, science and technology, and correcting imbalances using new, traditional, and ancient remedies.

Cost:

Remember, your health is an investment, not an expense! What would you pay to add years to your life?!

DNA testing that provides - among many other things - insight into the best diet, supplement, and exercise regimen for weight management, requires a doctor's order and interpretation by our genomicist and physician. It must be reviewed within the context of your personal health history, family history and other factors. You would be assessed for one hour by Bryce Wylde, Dr. Cook MD and Dr Mohammed PhD (as a "round table") and then do the test. 3 - 4 weeks later you would return for a 1 hour review of the results with the same specialists and would receive a report with guided action plans.

The total cost for the weight management consult and testing is: $1750

For any other consultation, costs are $1500 + cost of the tests (ranging between $300 - $1200). These costs include initial and follow-up consultation and reporting. However, should you decide not to proceed to testing, the initial consultation is only $900.

Confidentiality:

All test results and information provided by you and the doctors will be confidential.
Any disclosure of that information will require your consent.

Contact Us:

If interested please contact Xiaolan Health Centre for the next available appointment:

info@xiaolanhealthcentre or call 416-538-8262

Applied Genomics: An example of a patient of Bryce Wylde's

David R. is a 37-year-old married man living in suburban Toronto. He runs a modest but successful business as a general contractor and has designed and built some handsome houses. For the last five years, David, who is a light smoker, has been increasingly troubled by shortness of breath, tightness in his chest, and wheezing — worsening in the spring and after meals. He finally finds the time to see his doctor and his doctor orders a pulmonary function test that confirms a diagnosis of asthma. David is forty pounds overweight and already takes a statin medication because of high serum cholesterol levels. His doctor prescribes a rescue inhaler (salbutamol/ventolin), an Advair discus, and a comprehensive allergy skin scratch test – he’s a doctor whose approach is thorough. The inhaler provides some relief from the asthma symptoms but David is still experiencing shortness of breath and tightness in his chest and feels increasingly anxious and moody. His doctor is a bit stumped but refers David to a respiratory specialist. The appointment is in October. This is May.

David’s sister-in-law is already a patient of mine and she talks him into contacting my office. During our first interview, I explain to David that we’re not going to be undoing any of the treatments prescribed by his doctor. Our first goal will be to understand something about “the whole David, including but not limited to his genetic makeup.” Then and only then, perhaps we can work together to develop a customized action plan that involves effective natural approaches.

I run some testing that identifies immune status, indicates some food sensitivities, and uncovers vitamin D and CoQ10 deficiencies. Through a genomic (DNA) assessment, I determine David’s predisposition to chronic inflammation (specifically a set of mutations on genes that control inflammation – more specifically known as the TNF-alpha and TH-2 cytokines). Through even further testing, I’m able to determine that David has high urinary output of the neurotransmitter dopamine, suggesting excessive stress and anxiety. My plan of action is to get him on the right vitamins, herbs, homeopathics, and antioxidants (at the right doses) to modulate (balance) his immune system, lower his reactivity to environmental triggers, balance his dopamine, and decrease his stress — the last factor inevitably contributing to the immune-suppressing levels of the stress hormone cortisol. I then go on to specify the right diet to match his immune function to his allergies and sensitivities. Here’s what David and I agreed on and why:

I recommended incorporating a chlorella supplement because algae/chlorella may reduce inflammation specific to his genetic expression. I recommend 5,000IU vitamin D daily due to his deficiency in this important vitamin and its ability to support the immune system. I recommend 100mg of CoQ10 twice daily to offset the side effects of his cholesterol medication. I recommend Theanine to help relax him and help balance dopamine levels which will also reduce his cravings for cigarettes. (He’s only going to stop when he’s ready. I suggested he read “The Easy Way To Stop Smoking by Allen Carr”)

Nutritionally, I recommend incorporating maitake mushrooms every few days among other things (because they can stimulate the production and activity of natural killer (NK) cells that may help protect David against lung cancer). I suggest Hijiki algae, which can facilitate the release of the TNF-α — again offsetting one of his genetic glitches. On his new menu is also spirulina, propolis and probiotic-rich yogurt, all of which work to balance his immune system.

Predisposition to chronic inflammation is one of David’s underlying genetic weaknesses and his lifestyle contributes to it so I recommend that he include coconut oil, fish oils, flax seed oil and nuts and seeds to inhibit the production and release of Interleukin 6, (known to contribute to asthma and inflammation).

Choline, found plentifully in egg yolk, is an essential nutrient related to the water-soluble B-complex vitamins. David could use more of that since choline appears to decrease the severity of asthma symptoms, the number of symptomatic days and the need to use bronchodilators. His doctor’s referral to an allergist didn’t reveal any specific allergies on the skin scratch test — including eggs — but because he could still have sensitivities to foods that we hadn’t yet tested for, I avoid recommending eggs in his diet and put him on supplemental choline, which would provide him with a therapeutic dose that he’d not get from eggs alone.

I also prescribe a resin extract from the Boswellia serrata tree that has been found to have anti-inflammatory effects. Evidence suggests that Boswellia is effective as a chronic therapy for asthma that, unlike the popular NSAIDs, does not cause gastrointestinal irritation with long-term use.

Finally, since certain breathing patterns in asthma patients can have adverse effects on the airways and lead to symptom exacerbation, and because affective and anxiety disorders are more common among people with asthma, I recommend a biofeedback program for David. Research has demonstrated that heart-rate-variability biofeedback has strong long-term influences on pulmonary function.

By the fall of that year, David was a new person. He had lost over 30 pounds and was off of his prescription medication, needing only to rely on the ventolin rescue inhaler on the very odd occasion. His new focus on healthy foods and the fact that he’d stopped smoking had resulted in his doctor taking him off of his cholesterol medication. He was able to stop CoQ10 supplementation too. His vitamin D levels read perfectly normal three months later and he was able to maintain at a dose of 2,000 IU/day. He no longer gets frequent colds or flus , his chest is lighter, he has no shortness of breath, and in fact takes the stairs instead of the elevator anytime he can. He reports that his skin has cleared up, his energy improved, concentration is much better, and his anxiety has disappeared, thanks largely to the biofeedback techniques.

David of course knew something was wrong and he sought help. Every sensible person should do so, although many men have to experience a heart attack or lose a limb before they’ll admit to a problem. It is important to ask yourself on a regular basis, really, how healthy do you feel? And even if you feel you’re “one hundred and ten percent”, learning about your genetic predispositions can put years on your life – quality, energy packed, vital years. Because, where you can’t change your genes/DNA, you absolutely can modify how they express by virtue of diet, lifestyle, supplementation, and stress mitigation.