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Keac Index | Information for Physicians
Centre for Environmental Medicine
Clinical ecology investigates the
influence of the environment on human beings. It concerns mainly chemical
compounds which can be found in water, air, food and drugs: the environment.
In Western Europe, clinical ecology is still in progress, but in Great
Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand this science is
well-established. In anglo-celtic countries clinical ecology
is called environmental medicine nowadays. In Germany it is called Umweltmedizin;
in the Netherlands it is still called Klinische Ecologie (clinical
ecology). Traditional medical science mainly
concentrates on the treatment of the end points of the disease. In general,
it is their point of view that a patient's individual reaction on a pathogen
or chemical compound follows a more or less general pattern. Environmental medicine studies the process
of a patient's disease and focuses its attention mainly on the cause of the
disease. In the opinion of environmental medicine many diseases are
individual reactions on pathogens, or on chemicals in food or in the
patient's environment. A large variety of chronical diseases is
related to nutritional and environmental factors such as migraine,
gastro-intestinal problems, hay fever, hives, acne, arthritis, infertility,
hypoglycaemia, alcoholism, hypertension, overweight, depression,
schizofrenia, chronic fatigue, and concentration problems. Of course, not all
diseases are caused by environmental factors; food allergy and intole-rance
is responsible for at least 80% of the diseases mentioned above. Other
diseases, such as eczema, asthma, and sniffing, probably exclusively have an
allergic cause. However, they often are not properly treated, because little
or no attention is paid to these nutritive and other environmental factors,
e.g. moulds. Research centre The Centre for Environmental Medicine
(KEAC) has its own laboratory facilities. Throughout the past years a number of
diagnostic allergy and immunology tests have been developed, including tests
for determination of different forms of gluten intolerance. Our laboratory is
one of the few worldwide which can perform tests on a large number of
antibodies; we have the use of over 5000 types of allergens. Specific brands,
types of beer, bread, and so on, can also be tested, al-though these
allergens have not always been standardized. Those tests are made by order of
physicians from many countries; the results can be given in nine different
languages. Furthermore, in our centre scientific
research is performed as well. For example, in 1993 we started a research
project to determine the influence of an energy balanced diet and nutrition
supplements on patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome.In another project
we studied the effects of heavy metals on chronic fatigue and other related
health problems. In cooperation with the Study Centre for
Environmental Medicine we have the use of a library and a documentation
centre. Food allergy, intolerance, histamine and other vasoactive amines,
chemical sensitivities are just a few major subjects in our library. Data are
interchanged with a number of research centres worldwide. A large number of
our data is filed in our compute-rised system, so our centre has access to an
extended number of data files in the area of industrial hygiene, food
composition, additives, contaminants, pesticides, drugs, allergens and their
pathology. To expand these data we have contacts with research centres in
other countries; with some of them we have made arrangements for taking over
the treatment of certain patients. out of the United States. Once a year we
meet our fellow workers from the field of environmental medicine. during a
scientific congress. Information Doctors, dieticians, and therapists can
order blood kits. Blood, taken from patients, can then be send to our
laboratory to have it tested on food- and other allergens. The most complete
test on food allergy is our IgG4-sreening on foods/moulds, which exists of ±
100 allergens. Results will be send to the doctor/dietician/therapist/patient
in the language preferred. We can give advice and assist in interpreting the
results. Klinisch Ecologisch Allergie Centrum b.v.
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