Journal of Independent Medicine
Current Issue
- Volume 1
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- No 4
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- November 11, 2025
Review Articles
Considering the Safety of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines in Patients with Aneuploidy
Martin J. McCaffrey
The advent of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines heralds a transformation in the world of immunization. The use of mRNA to stimulate antigenic foreign protein synthesis by host cells, which triggers an immune reaction that repels future true infection, has been theorized for decades. The COVID-19 vaccines represent the first mass deployment of this genetic technology. Using modified mRNA sequences for the COVID-19 spike protein, delivered in a lipid nanoparticle vehicle, injection with the COVID-19 vaccine is intended to recruit host cells that manufacture the spike protein and generate an immune response that protects against future infection.
Review Articles
Preventing Cancer: The ROOT Protocols
Paul Marik, Justus Hope
In 2022, approximately 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million cancer deaths occurred worldwide. By 2050, new cases are projected to double, driven by population growth, aging, and increased exposure to risk factors. Up to 40% of cancers may be preventable by addressing lifestyle and environmental risk factors. Numerous nutraceuticals and repurposed drugs exhibit chemoprophylactic properties.
Review Articles
A Holistic Approach to Improve Metabolic Health: A Practical Review
Pei Harris, Joseph Varon
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) poses a significant health risk in developed countries like the United States, linked to poor diet, inactivity, aging, and genetic factors. It increases the likelihood of serious health issues, such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and cognitive impairment.
Review Articles
Beyond the Dead Donor Rule: Medicine, Ethics, and the Future of Organ Procurement
Joseph Varon, Matthew Halma
Organ transplantation, one of the most remarkable achievements of modern medicine, is deeply rooted in definitions of death that are both medically complex and ethically contested. This narrative review explores how brain death and the dead donor rule (DDR) have shaped the practice of organ procurement, while also highlighting persistent controversies that continue to challenge clinicians, policymakers, and ethicists. Through a review of 56 peer-reviewed publications, we examine the variability in brain death determination, advances in donor management, and the promising emergence of Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death (DCDD).
Review Articles
Vaccine-Induced Viral Reactivation and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review, Hypothesis, and Implications
Matthew Cormier
Understanding the origins of autism spectrum disorder is imperative given its increasing prevalence and significant global impact. This review examines existing research on the role of viral infections in the etiology of autism and scrutinizes emerging data on post-vaccination viral reactivation. It introduces a novel hypothesis that vaccines may inadvertently reactivate latent viral infections, triggering the onset or exacerbation of autism. Through a comprehensive literature review across multiple medical databases, this review analyzed studies, case reports, and observational research focusing on viral infections, post-vaccination viral reactivation, and autism. This search yielded 13 studies implicating viral infections and viral encephalitis as potential causal factors in the development of autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, 17 studies were identified, suggesting an association of viral reactivation following vaccination. This connection raises important questions about the role of vaccines in the onset of autism. The findings advocate for continued vigilance in vaccine safety research, particularly concerning neurodevelopmental disorders.
Review Articles
A Non-Isolated Call for Rigor: The History of The ‘Anti-Vaccination Movement’ and Its Path to Legitimacy
Matthew Halma, Joseph Varon
A forking road exists for the medical freedom movement, with two routes leading to marginalization and ineffectiveness, and the other leading to professionalism and broader uptake. Professional standards lack in the medical freedom movement (MFM), that broad constellation of voices elevated due to public interest during COVID-19. While gradual, institutional science has started to acknowledge once controversial topics like vaccine injury, and those with injuries can start to see hope. Still, many people insist on taking an approach that will lead to its marginalization by institutional players, both justified (in the case of lax scientific standards) and unjustified (in the case of censorship), to their detriment. The way forward requires rigour, scientific contribution, and upholding professional standards.
Review Articles
Palliative Care in Iraq: A Health Systems Imperative for Equity in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings
Santiago Herrero
Palliative care in Iraq remains severely underdeveloped, despite growing recognition of its critical role in alleviating the suffering of patients with terminal illnesses. Structural limitations, socio-cultural barriers, and political instability continue to undermine its accessibility and integration into the national health system.
Original Articles
Metacritique of Influential Studies Purporting COVID-19 Vaccine Successes: Part 3
Raphael Lataster
In this third and final part of the metacritique, I evaluate four influential studies focused on Europe and Oceania: the European study by Meslé et al., Liu et al., and Lin et al. from Australia, and Datta et al. from New Zealand. These regional studies have significantly shaped public health messaging and vaccine policy. As in Parts 1 and 2, I identify recurring issues that call their conclusions into question — namely, problematic counting windows, inadequate accounting for adverse events, assumptions that exaggerate vaccine effectiveness, and potential conflicts of interest. Several studies also overlook waning or negative effectiveness and exclude safety signals, such as myocarditis. Collectively, these issues raise serious concerns about the reliability of models used to justify mass vaccination policies. A brief synthesis of all six studies is included to assess whether the prevailing narrative of universal COVID-19 vaccine benefit holds up under critical scrutiny.
Case Reports
Cavernous Dural Arteriovenous Fistula Following COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination: Clinical Presentation, Diagnostic Challenges, and Neurovascular Implications
Dean Patterson, Sergio Garcia Garcia, Niall Kealy, Tristian Mann
Cavernous dural arteriovenous fistulas (cDAVFs) represent complex neurovascular lesions with potential for devastating complications. Recent reports suggest possible associations with COVID-19 vaccination. We report a case with a detailed analysis of clinical presentation, diagnostic challenges, and neurovascular management implications.
Letter to the Editor
A Dramatic Increase in the Rate of Disability in the American Civilian Labor Force
Hal Switkay
The disability rate of the American civilian labor force (ACLF) is a proxy for the nation’s burden of disease. Monitoring the value of this statistic is a matter of statistical process control, and should be a priority for public health officials. An alarming recent significant increase in the disability rate, which shows no sign of abating as of 2025 Q2, demands an explanation, given its concurrence with the rollout of the COVID vaccines late in 2020 and throughout 2021.
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