It takes a team to treat chronic infections such as Lyme+coinfections
Our Founder, Dr. Laura Dengler Varga, DAOM is an ocean sailor. Her time racing on various boats with different crew taught her that each boat handles differently and has its unique strengths and weaknesses. It also taught her that a crew of experienced sailors makes all the difference! Due to its complexity, treating Lyme+coinfections is similar. Each person responds differently to treatment and the physician needs a good team. The Jupiter Approach has chosen an excellent crew of physicians and scientists who are at the top of their fields.
Chronic Inflammation Research
CIRS Research Foundation
We are grateful for the work of Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker, MD who over thirty years ago noticed a subset of patients who were unable to recover from exposure to Pfiesteria, an algae that can kill fish and make humans sick. What was different about these patients and how do we treat them? Those questions led to decades of research that continues with the CIRS Research Foundation. We are grateful to Glenn and Dr. Peg DiTulio, DNP and one of the founding members of the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness (ISEAI) for the opportunity to be a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee, lead by neuroscientist Dr. Christian Navarro Torres, PhD of CIRS Lab, to shepherd future research on chronic inflammatory disease. CRF
Classical Eastern Medicine
Classical Pearls
We are very grateful for the work of Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, PhD. After witnessing a subset of patients who did not respond to modern Chinese medical treatment (TCM), he went back into the classical eastern medical literature to discover the intelligent, nuanced and reparative treatment strategy of difficult chronic infections called Gu and Nüe Syndrome. For over thirty years the Classical Pearls herbal formulas have been updated to address our modern dilemmas of over-use of antibiotics and exposure to chronic stress such as less time in nature, decreased fresh foods and other factors. Classical Pearls respects the importance of protecting the health and vitality of the patient’s immune system while decreasing the infection load. This is a very different approach to treating an acute infection for which there are different formulas and strategies to quickly kill the pathogen. CP
Somatic Practices + Neurotech
Neurowellness
Following her studies in psychology and her research experience in the departments of psychiatry and neurology at The University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Varga, DAOM has continued to her studies with the works of: Dr. Peter Levine, PhD; Dr. Liz Stanley, PhD; Dr. Stephen Porges, PhD; Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk, MD; Dr. Gabor Maté, MD; Dr. Bruce Perry, MD; Dr. Daniel Siegel, MD; Dr. Kathy Kain, PhD; and Dr. Stephen Terrell, PsyD. While not a psychologist or psychotherapist, Dr. Varga, DAOM has a keen interest in how nervous system regulation plays a vital role in our wellness. She sees a bidirectional effect of complex trauma, nervous system dysregulation and chronic infection, particularly by species that infect the nervous system such as Lyme, Bartonella and Epstein Barr Virus. Complex trauma and the resulting nervous system dysregulation may “open the door” to chronic infection and the chronic infection may drive further nervous system dysregulation; making recovery from both more difficult.
Eastern Herbal Medicine + Western Physiology
Healing Lyme & other chronic infections
Stephen Harrod Buhner wrote three seminal books on healing from Lyme and coinfections: Healing Lyme, Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections, and Natural Treatments for Lyme Disease. His research of and writings on: the infection process, the changes in the physiology and immune responses of the host, and importantly the effects of herbs and natural treatments on the resulting imbalances and damage from the infections are invaluable. The Jupiter Approach incorporates this western knowledge of eastern herbs into our treatment protocols allowing us to prescribe individualized treatment protocols that includes herbal prescriptions that correlate with your test results. SHB