ADVANCED BIO CLINICS

Stubborn Infections Explained: A 35-Year Clinical Immunology Perspective

Why Infections Don’t Heal — And the Immune Dysregulation Most Doctors Overlook

Modern medicine has mastered the identification of pathogens. Yet it continues to underestimate the intelligence of the immune system.

Across clinics globally, a growing population of patients present with infections that linger, relapse, or evolve into chronic inflammatory states despite repeated treatment. Sinus infections recur. Viral reactivations persist. Gut dysbiosis never fully stabilizes. Wounds heal slowly. Fatigue follows every minor illness. The organism is addressed — but the terrain is not.

After 35 years in clinical practice, and following the publication of her 2020 bestselling dissertation examining immune regulation and inflammatory signalling, Dr. Beran Parry has consistently observed the same underlying pattern:

When infections do not resolve, immune regulation has been compromised.

This is rarely a question of microbial strength. It is a question of hormonal influence, cortisol burden, mitochondrial capacity, cytokine balance, micronutrient sufficiency, and the integrity of the gut–immune axis. The immune system is not a switch that is either “strong” or “weak.” It is a dynamic, energy-dependent regulatory network that requires precision support.

In this article, Dr. Parry explores why suppression is not synonymous with healing, why chronic infection is often a signal rather than a diagnosis, and why a precision immunology approach is essential for true biological resilience.

Clinical Immunology & Functional Medicine Authority Report

By: Dr Beran Parry, PhD SaC(dip)FCMA

Founder, Advanced Bio Clinics

Author of the 2020 Bestselling Immunology Dissertation Publication

For more than three decades, infection has been approached through a reductionist model:
Identify the pathogen. Prescribe treatment. Expect resolution.

Yet clinical reality tells a far more complex story.

Across the globe, patients increasingly present with infections that do not fully resolve. Recurrent sinusitis, persistent bacterial and urinary tract infections, chronic viral reactivation, post-viral fatigue syndromes, candida overgrowth, and inflammatory respiratory patterns often recur despite appropriate medical treatment.

This clinical phenomenon is not microbial failure.

It is immune dysregulation.

Dr Beran Parry’s doctoral dissertation in Immunology — published in 2020 and subsequently becoming a bestselling integrative medicine text — examined the regulatory intelligence of the immune system and the impact of hormonal, metabolic, and inflammatory disruption on pathogen clearance.

Her 35 years of clinical practice have consistently confirmed the same principle:

When the immune terrain is compromised, pathogens persist.

The Hormone–Immune Axis

One of the most under-recognized drivers of chronic infection is endocrine disruption — particularly estrogen dysregulation.

Estrogen directly influences:
• T‑cell differentiation
• B‑cell antibody production
• Cytokine signaling cascades
• Inflammatory gene expression
• Autoimmune susceptibility

Both estrogen and cortisol dominance in men and women and their deficiency impair immune coordination. In many of us over 35, altered hormonal metabolism contributes to chronic inflammatory signaling and suboptimal pathogen clearance.

This is not theoretical — it is well supported in immunological literature and reinforced in Dr Parry’s 2020 publication.

References:

Straub RH. The complex role of estrogens in inflammation. Nat Rev Immunol.

Kovats S. Estrogen receptors regulate innate immune cells. Immunology

Cortisol’s Role in Impaired Healing (Supportive Evidence):

Elevated cortisol — whether from chronic stress, adrenal imbalance, or dysregulated HPA axis — impairs wound healing through multiple mechanisms:

• Reduces early inflammatory responses needed to initiate repair.
• Inhibits fibroblast growth and collagen synthesis, slowing tissue regeneration.
• Suppresses key growth factors (e.g., TGF-β), delaying re-epithelialization.
• Alters immune cell function, lowering infection defense at wound sites.
• Clinical studies show slower healing correlated with cortisol elevations in stressed individuals.

Supportive scientific references:

• Dombi GW et al. J Clin Invest. 1990;85(2):505–512.
• Hardman MJ et al. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2014;39(4):495–501.
• Ashcroft GS et al. J Clin Invest. 1997;100(1):52–57.
• Kiecolt-Glaser JK et al. Brain Behav Immun. 1995;9(1):34–49.
• Munck A et al. Endocr Rev. 1984;5(1):25–44.

 

Mitochondrial & Metabolic Influence on Immunity

Immune cells require extraordinary energy demand. Mitochondrial dysfunction reduces ATP availability and alters reactive oxygen species signaling — both critical to pathogen elimination.

Chronic stress, micronutrient depletion, toxic exposure, and metabolic syndrome impair mitochondrial performance and weaken immune resilience.

Dr Parry’s investigative model integrates advanced metabolic and mitochondrial assessment to restore cellular energy before expecting immune recovery.

References:

Weinberg SE et al. Mitochondrial metabolism in immune cells. Immunity.

Calder PC. Nutrition, immunity and infection. Nutrients.

Advanced Diagnostic Strategy

Unlike symptomatic treatment models, Advanced Bio Clinics applies layered diagnostic investigation:

• Comprehensive immune panels
• Cytokine mapping
• Hormone metabolite analysis
• GI microbiome profiling
• Viral antibody mapping
• Micronutrient testing
• Inflammatory biomarkers
• Genetic and epigenetic review when indicated

Investigation continues until causation is clarified.

Healing begins only when the biological narrative is understood.

References:

Belkaid Y. Role of the microbiota in immunity. Science.

Medzhitov R. Inflammation and disease pathogenesis. Nature.