The Autoimmune Brain: A Five-Step Plan for Treating Chronic Pain, Depression, Anxiety, Fatigue, and Attention Disorders

There are millions of people who experience issues related to brain health—depression, attention issues, anxiety, forgetfulness, fatigue, and even chronic pain—yet can’t figure out what’s causing their problems and can’t find any relief. They may have seen a myriad of doctors, many of whom do not take their complaints seriously, or worse, turn to the easy, often inappropriate fix of antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications. Traditional medications, supplements, or other therapies haven’t worked. No matter what their age—from children to teens or seniors—people and their loved ones are frustrated, scared, and confused by their continued poor health. Countless others display severe psychiatric symptoms that seem to come out of nowhere, ranging from tics, obsessive-compulsive behaviors and anxiety, to depression, bipolar-like mood swings, and even borderline personality disorder and suicidal ideas. Sometimes, the people affected are the only ones that notices a change to the way they think or feel, and they suffer in silence. Or, they reach out to try to get help, and are all too frequently misdiagnosed.

David Younger, a world-renowned physician, provides relief to these patients and their families. His diagnostic techniques and treatment protocols will help readers identify the true cause of their symptoms and put them on a clear path to healing so they no longer feel unbalanced, out of control, forgetful, and exhausted.

The Autoimmune Brain connects common brain health symptoms to the changes in the immune system, and particularly bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. Younger explains his groundbreaking research and adds a new component: how traumatic stress (whether physical or emotional) and genetics affects this same triad as inextricable factors in initiating disease and brain health symptoms. In fact, a change in personality, behavior, coping style, and one’s emotional state may be the first clue that there is a health problem brewing somewhere else in the body.

Readers will find new answers to troubling conditions, including: Alzheimer’s disease; Anxiety; Arthritis; Autism; Autonomic disturbances; Bacterial and viral infections; Bipolar Disorder; Cancer; Celiac disease and gluten intolerances; Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (now referred to as Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease); Chronic Pain; Dementia; Depression; Endocrine Disorders; Immune modulatory therapy using IVIg; Lyme disease and co-infections; Mast cell activation syndrome; Medical cannabis; Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Orthostatic hypotension; Peripheral Neuropathy; Porphyria; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; and Postural orthostatic tachycardia.

Dr. Younger’s fascinating book details the impact autoimmune disease can have on brain health, especially during the developmental stage. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to get to the root cause of unexplained changes in behavior or personality, or even the most severe psychiatric symptoms. -- Amy Myers, MD, New York Times bestselling author of "The Autoimmune Solution" and "The Thyroid Connection"

Based on Dr. Younger’s groundbreaking work on the devastating effects of autoimmune diseases on the brain, this book gifts us with a practical and accessible path back to better health, even for those who are most severely compromised. A critical and welcome resource for providers and families striving to identify- and heal- the actual, underlying medical causes of thwarted attention, learning ability, mood stability, and overall well-being. This is gold. -- Jamie Candelaria Greene, PhD, BCET, author of “PANS, CANS, and Automobiles: A Comprehensive Reference Guide for Helping Students with PANDAS and PANS”

This user-friendly book is an essential primer for anyone seeking to understand health difficulties. Dr. David Younger is a brilliant neurologist who treats the whole person. His thesis is that the triad of infection-immunity-inflammation is essential in understanding brain function. This triad can be linked not only to genetics, but also to environmental exposures and traumatic stress. This triad affects not only our physical health and disease, and cognition, but also our psychological functioning, such as depression or panic. The book includes many clinical case examples as well as a valuable guide to diagnosis and treatment. As a researcher in parent-infant social communication and infant emotional development, I believe that the new brain science in The Autoimmune Brain shows us paths to brain resilience which are relevant to the earliest stages of life. Yet we still need to know more about how early parent-infant social communication affects infant brain development and might promote its resilience. -- Beatrice Beebe, PhD, Clinical Professor of Medical Psychology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute

Sure to become an instant classic, The Autoimmune Brain combines the best of traditional and functional medicine. Through easily understood text and multiple examples, it explains causation, covers diagnosis and treatment and includes an impressive number of guides for self-help. This book is amazingly complete, in-depth and heavily referenced, making it an invaluable tool and a must-read for practitioner and patient alike. -- Joseph J. Burrascano Jr, M.D., Co-founder, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society

Dr. David Younger has written a vivid and matchless guide into the astonishingly complex inner workings of the brain in autoimmune disease. He is a master educator and physician who is on the front line for those in desperate need of precise and compassionate care. It has been a privilege for me to have worked together with David at a major medical center for over 30 years, helping people with complicated autoimmune neurological disorders. His clinical acumen has always been brilliant, expedient, and insightful. I am thrilled to see his perceptions and guidance in print for those who need advice in this arena. -- Andrew G. Franks, MD, FACP, FAAD, FACR, Director, The Autoimmune Skin Institute of New York, Clincal Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology), New York University School of Medicine

A brilliant and comprehensive guide for anyone suffering with mysterious and complex symptoms, written by a master clinician. -- Leo Galland, MD, author of "The Allergy Solution"

Dr. Younger’s book brings hope to the many patients with autoimmune disease who have gone undiagnosed and untreated for years . He gives clear directions for navigating our health system to patients with conditions that are hard to treat diagnose and treat. A breath of fresh air. -- Glenn J Treisman, MD, PhD, author of "The Psychiatry of AIDS"

David S. Younger, MD, Dr.PH, MPH, MS, is a world-renowned expert in neurology and the author of several medical books, as well as over 200 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and abstracts.