Introducing the Pfeiffer Medical Center

The Pfeiffer Treatment Center was a non-profit medical research and treatment facility in Warrenville, Illinois specializing in research and treatment of biochemical imbalances. Since the center opened in 1989, we serve nearly 10,000 patients every year who suffer from behavior dysfunctions, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, learning disorders, or anxiety by balancing body and brain chemistry. Pfeiffer Medical Center acquired Pfeiffer Treatment Center and it's patients continuing the patient care and practicing their protocal. It is a for profit organization treating patients and has been working since 2007 with Pfeiffer Treatment Center and it's patients.

The Pfeiffer Medical Center, the medical clinic of the Health Research Institute (HRI), is staffed by a team that specialize in the effects of biochemistry on behavior, thought, and mood. The on-site HRI Pharmacy compounds nutrients hormones, and other biochemicals to reduce the number of pills in a prescription using customized methods and equipment.

Biochemical Evaluation and Treatments

During each initial outpatient visit, a physical exam, a medical and social history, and laboratory tests are conducted to identify specific imbalances. Pfeiffer's comprehensive evaluation determines whether the patient has an imbalance in metal metabolism, methylation, heavy metals, absorption, essential fatty acids or amino acids. An individualized treatment program is then created with the goal of restoring proper biochemical functioning. Treatment programs might include such biochemicals as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

Biochemical therapy is not an alternative to traditional drug therapies; it complements other treatment methods. This therapy can be used in conjunction with prescription medications, which may be eventually reduced or phased out altogether as the biochemistry is balanced. Pfeiffer encourages patients to seek counseling and use other therapies that may work well with our treatment.

History of the Organization

The Health Research Institute (HRI) was a direct outcome of volunteer activities begun in the early 1970's by employees of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). Eventually over one hundred ANL scientists and support staff, aided by mental health professionals, doctors and nurses donated their expertise to conduct ground breaking work on biochemical profiles. They began with investigation of patients and young people with behavioral disorders. In 1982, HRI was incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the first officers and board members selected from the group of pioneering volunteers.

From their earliest efforts, the work of these many committed volunteers focused on finding underlying biochemical imbalances that seemed to be present in many cases of behavior, mood and learning disorders. Considerable amounts of data were collected and scrutinized by these investigators but direct causal connections remained elusive. Then, in 1976, a key meeting took place when Carl C. Pfeiffer, M.D., Ph.D. of the Princeton Brain Bio Center lectured an Argonne audience about his research on chemical classifications for schizophrenia and effective nutrient treatments.

There Dr. Pfeiffer first heard about the work of the Argonne volunteers. When they asked for his comments on their efforts, he immediately gave them important recommendations, refocusing the course of their work and beginning a close collaboration in research and treatment break throughs that continued until his death in 1988. In 1989 the clinic of the Health Research Institute was established and named after Dr. Pfeiffer for this pioneer in biochemistry, in honor of his invaluable scientific contributions and his generosity in helping researchers, medical professionals and thousands of future patients.

Since 1989, The HRI Pfeiffer Treatment Center has grown dramatically with a staff of 50 professionals servicing patients locally and nationwide as the premier nonprofit clinical research facility and medical center located in Warrenville, Illinois. Over the past 20 years, the organization as evolved into specializing in novel, non-drug therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger's, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, early stage Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, mood disorders, depression and anxiety.

Additionally, HRI Pfeiffer Medical Center's research staff continues to build on its multi decade legacy of focusing on the in-depth study of potential biomarkers for autism, as well as exploring immune dysfunction, metallothionein levels and the presence of metallothionein autoantibodies in autistic children. The Health Research Institute has also prioritized investigating the role of autoantibodies in autistic children with GI disease, the role of oxidative stress in cognitive disorders, and the potential relationship between markers for celiac disease and aberrant behavior.

Many minds and continuous funding in these research efforts have enabled the Health Research Institute to help support not only its patients through state of the art therapeutic approaches, but the research community at large. The organization and its staff prides itself in helping to address the challenges that the autism and behavioral disorder community faces every single day.

HRI's Continuing Research

The HRI team has amassed a large database of biochemical information from more than 20,000 patients. Examination of this data shows that most of these persons have striking abnormalities in specific biochemical building blocks required for neurotransmitter production, transmission, and reception. Some of our most recent research suggests that diminished metallothionein protein activity is a distinctive feature of autism. Another study shows that Omega-3 fatty acids may be involved in the etiology and treatment of schizophrenia.

The individualized biochemical treatment that Pfeiffer provides, based on the fact that each person has unique biochemistry, is a result of extensive research and has proven effective for patients seeking our help. An outcome study of the Pfeiffer Medical Center's biochemical therapy published in the October 15, 2004 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Physiology & Behavior provides strong evidence of treatment efficacy in patients presenting with tantrums, destructive behavior, and assaultive behavior.

One of the few centers in the world with this biochemical focus, the Pfeiffer Medical Center has grown into a thriving clinic with patients from 75 countries. In addition, the Center evaluates patients in other states during its Outreach Clinics. HRI continues to study biochemical imbalances and treatment of behavior, learning, and mood disorders. HRI and the Pfeiffer Medical Center are constantly breaking barriers and expanding the frontiers of medicine.