Welcome to the
Ruscio Research Report |
|
In each edition, I’ll share the most interesting and actionable findings from the latest health studies so you can stay informed (without sifting through dense medical journals).
Here’s what I found this month:
|
|
Misdiagnosed as IBD for Years? A Parasite May Be Why |
|
Chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss. These symptoms send most patients toward an IBD diagnosis. But a 2025 systematic review of 54 patients with exactly these symptoms found that 69% were initially misdiagnosed, and of those, 76% were told they had Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. The actual cause was a parasitic infection. The most common culprits were Entamoeba histolytica, Strongyloides, and Schistosoma, typically acquired through travel to Asia, Africa, South and Central America, or the Caribbean. What makes these cases so easy to miss is the timeline: symptoms can take up to two years to appear after exposure, so the connection to travel is rarely made by the time someone gets sick. Dr. Ruscio's take: This pattern comes up in practice more than most clinicians expect. If someone has GI symptoms that look like IBD but haven't responded to IBD treatment, and there's any travel history in the last few years, investigating parasites may be worthwhile. Our clinicians recently did a roundtable on exactly this topic, covering the best and worst tests for parasites and what actually works for treatment: Parasites: Why Your Gut Protocol Isn't Working |
|
|
When Treating Mold Isn't Enough |
|
Most people think of mold as an air quality problem or something you remediate and move on from. But for many people dealing with mold-related illness, the sinuses are where fungi quietly take hold and stay. A 2025 meta-analysis found that patients with fungal sinus infections who received antifungal treatment after surgery were 73% less likely to see the infection return. Topical antifungals applied directly to the sinus tissue drove most of that benefit, cutting recurrence by 80%. This matters beyond surgery. The sinuses sit in close proximity to the brain, which makes them one of the most consequential places for fungal colonization to go unaddressed. Clearing mold from your environment is an important first step, but if fungi have already taken up residence in the sinuses, environmental remediation alone won't resolve what's happening inside the body. Dr. Ruscio's take: This is one of the most underappreciated pieces of mold-related illness. In the clinic, we've found that addressing the sinuses is sometimes an important missing piece of recovery. We recently added a biofilm-clearing nasal spray to our mold protocol specifically for this reason: BioFilm Clear-X Silver-Free EDTA Nasal Spray |
|
|
GLP-1s Showed Rapid Results for Chronic Inflammation |
|
Most conversations about the gut-brain connection focus on bacteria. But a 2025 systematic review points to something the research has largely overlooked: the fungal community living in your gut may also influence brain health, and potentially Alzheimer's disease. Across human studies and animal models, researchers found elevated levels of harmful fungal species in the gut of Alzheimer's patients. But what's harder to dismiss is this: fungal material has actually been detected inside brain tissue, suggesting these organisms may be traveling from the gut to the brain. In mouse models, Saccharomyces boulardii, a probiotic yeast, improved both memory and the protein buildup associated with Alzheimer's. Dr. Ruscio's take: Early-stage research, but findings like fungal components in brain tissue are hard to dismiss. The gut mycobiome is the fungal side of the gut ecosystem, and it's underaddressed in most gut protocols. Saccharomyces boulardii is one of the most studied tools for supporting it. → Shop Saccharomyces Boulardii |
|
|
Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC
Adjunct Professor, University of Bridgeport
Clinical Researcher |
|
|
|
|
