The Gut Mycobiome: A Central Figure in Health and Disease
The mycobiome (fungi) is a small but very crucial component of the gut microbiome. Intestinal fungi such as Candida species and food-derived fungi regulate physiological and pathophysiological processes, host homeostasis, and the assembly of co-residing gut bacterial microbiome.
An imbalance of the gut mycobiome due to many environmental factors, including diet, can contribute to the pathogenesis of both intestinal and extra-intestinal problems and afflictions, including biofilm formation, systemic infection, inflammation, autoimmunity, neuroautoimmunity, neurodegenerative and even neuropsychiatric disorders.
Based on recent literature, Aristo Vojdani, PhD, MSc, CLS will present evidence that these disorders may be induced by the disturbed mycobiome releasing a variety of antigens. These include antigens from commensal and food-derived yeasts, fungi, and molds such as Candida germ tube, Candida mycotoxin, and Candida enzymes, as well IgG/IgA antibodies produced against them.
Dr. Elroy Vojdani, MD, IFMCP, will illustrate through his clinical experience that achieving truly effective medical solutions requires integrating both the microbiome and mycobiome into diagnosis and treatment. By examining immune profiles of patients with gut mycobiome imbalances, he will highlight key findings such as elevated IgA and IgG antibodies targeting virulence and autoimmune-triggering factors from commensal and food-derived yeasts, fungi, and molds. Additionally, he will analyze abnormal lymphocyte patterns, particularly those involving Th1, Th17, and regulatory T cells.
Understanding how fungal organisms like Candida and food-derived yeasts contribute to gut barrier disruption — and recognizing the dual role of immune cells in both protection and pathology — could pave the way for earlier intervention and more effective therapeutic strategies for patients with these conditions.
Speakers
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Jeff Bland, PhDFunctional Medicine Founder and PioneerDr. Jeffrey Bland is a personable and highly respected thought leader who has spent more than four decades focused on the improvement of human health.
He is known worldwide as the founder of the Functional Medicine movement, which represents his vision for a care model that is grounded in systems biology and informed by research that he has a unique ability to synthesize. His pioneering work has created the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute (PLMI), as well as the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), the global leader in Functional Medicine education. Since 1991, hundreds of thousands of healthcare practitioners have participated in PLMI and IFM programs, and this collective knowledge has positively impacted the lives of patients all over the world. -
Aristo Vojdani, PhDWorld Leader in Immunology ResearchAristo Vojdani obtained his BSc, MSc and PhD in microbiology and clinical immunology from Bar-Ilan University, Israel, with postdoctoral studies in comparative immunology at UCLA and tumor immunology at Charles Drew/UCLA School of Medicine and Science. He is a Clinical Professor at Loma Linda University in California, and an Adjunct Professor at the Lincoln College of Professional, Graduate and Continuing Education at the National University of Health Sciences. His ongoing research focuses on the role of environmental triggers in complex diseases, and he has developed more than 300 antibody assays for the detection of autoimmune disorders and other diseases. He has 17 US patents, over 200 articles, and 2 books, “Neuroimmunity and the Brain-Gut Connection” and “Food-Associated Autoimmunities: When Food Breaks Your Immune System,” to his name. He is the CEO of Immunosciences Lab in Los Angeles, California, the Chief Scientific Advisor for Cyrex Labs in Phoenix, Arizona, and sits on the editorial board of 5 scientific journals. His many awards include the Herbert J. Rinkel Award (American Academy of Environmental Medicine), the Linus Pauling, PhD Award (American College for Advancement in Medicine), and the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Elroy Vojdani, MDFunctional and Predictive Immune Testing AuthorityDr. Elroy Vojdani is the founder of Regenera Medical, a boutique Functional Medicine practice in Los Angeles, California.
Upon graduating medical school from the University of Southern California and completing his residency at USC Keck School of Medicine, Dr. V began his career as an Interventional Radiologist, diagnosing and treating complex, late-stage cancers and other extremely debilitating diseases. While this experience gave him unique insights into hospital based medicine, his desire to stop disease before it reached the point of becoming a chronic illness remained at the core of his desire to practice medicine. Today, he continues in his father’s footsteps – pioneering to find answers to medical conditions that go undiagnosed and untreated.
Dr. Vojdani has co-authored over 20 articles in the Scientific literature and continues an integral role in research related to Autoimmune, Neurodegenerative, and Autoinflammatory conditions. He is also the co-Author a medical textbook entitled “Food Associated Autoimmunity”.
Sponsor
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Cyrex Laboratories
