Proactive Health Care From Brain Health To Nutrition.

On today's episode of the Harmony With Food Radio Show, I talked to Joshua Slepkow about MeRT therapy and how it can help with autism, depression, Alzheimer's, and more.

Brain Health with Joshua Slepkow of Brainwaves

Josh's Story

Joshua Slepkow co-founded Brainwaves Neuro and Restoration Center with his business partner, Dr. Mark Tertian. Josh became interested in MeRT therapy when his son was diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic disorder as well as autism spectrum disorder. His son received treatment at a brain treatment center for 10 weeks and had such positive results that Josh decided he could better serve his community by transitioning careers and opening Brainwaves.

About Brainwaves and MeRT

Brainwaves licenses technology from a company called Wave Neuro which is located in California. They are the only location in New England to offer it. Neuromodulation is a growing field where medical devices are used to alter nerve activity by delivery of a stimulus. There are many types of neuromodulation – both invasive and non-invasive. MeRT is on the non-invasive side, so there's no surgery, needles, etc.

The most common form of neuromodulation is called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS for short, and it has been around since the 80s. rTMS is primarily used to treat depression, OCD, and migraines. In 2009, Wave Neuro developed a patent for the pairing of traditional rTMS technology plus the use of an electroencephalogram, or EEG for short.

The combination of the two procedures is what is known as MeRT. It is directed magnetic energy that helps to stimulate and reorganize neuronal activity and it uses grade-two FDA-cleared equipment. The equipment is cleared for several conditions, and then a number of the conditions that Brainwaves treats are off-label.

What are the differences patients see after treatment?

Some of the conditions that Brainwaves most commonly treats include depression, anxiety, PTSD, migraines, autism, long COVID, brain fog, and Alzheimer's, so treatment outcomes vary. But some of the common improvements include more mental clarity and better sleep. For autism, they see improvements in emotional awareness, general awareness of their surroundings, improvements in fine and gross motor skills, improvements in communication, and reduced stimming. They typically see results in 4 out of 5 patients.

What does the process of getting started look like?

The process starts with the initial EEG which takes 30 to 40 minutes and collects brain activity. They look at the results and see if there is something in the neuronal activity that they can treat. Then, patients meet with Dr. Kirshen to go over the data and discuss treatment.

As far as insurance goes, it varies based on condition. There are some conditions that they have FDA clearance for and there are some things that are off-label. For the majority of patients though it is private pay.

Once you start treatment, it is every day, Monday-Friday for two weeks at a time. After the two weeks, there's another EEG to change your treatment protocol based on the findings and see the improvement. You'll know within the first two weeks whether the treatment is going to work for you or not.

How to Connect with Brainwaves

You can find out more about Brainwaves at their website, and see more patient reviews and use cases on their Instagram and Facebook pages.

Work With Meg

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