Science
**Focus on Neurology and Psychiatry**

New research and clinical trials yield frequent developments in neuroscience and mental health. ReachMD welcomes an array of leading thinkers who lend their focused expertise to these principles, central to human function and ability.

Latest Episodes:

Tackling Concussions in Youth Football: Are Children Safe? Jan 17, 2017

Show notes

Host: David Weisman, MD

Dr. David Weisman explores a study from Wake Forest School of Medicine that examined the effects of concussions for youth football participants.

Drug-Free Brain Health: Treatments Using Virtual Reality and Video Games Jan 11, 2017

Show notes

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with renowned neuroscientist Dr. Adam Gazzaley, Director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center and Gazzaley Lab at UC San Francisco. Dr. Gazzaley discusses his closed loop system designed to improve brain function through personalized game design and feedback, which are already undergoing FDA clinical trials for therapeutic interventions for a number of brain disorders including ADHD, aging brain, PTSD and addiction.

Introducing Telepsychiatry: How Technology is Revolutionizing Mental Health Services Jan 09, 2017

Show notes

Host: Tim Rush
Guest: Fred Moss, MD

In today’s fast paced world, it can be hard for people to find time in their busy schedules for even the most accessible mainstays of psychological treatment, such as talking to a therapist.

Dr. Fred Moss, a Board Certified Psychiatrist and practitioner in the emerging telepsychiatry field, is helping usher in a new response to this problem by utilizing virtual psychiatric services. Is this approach as effective as the in-person visit?

The Rising Diabulimia Epidemic: Safeguarding Diabetic Patients with Eating Disorders Dec 19, 2016

Show notes

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Diabulimia, defined as the manipulation of insulin treatments by Type 1 diabetic patients in order to lose weight, is a rising problem among teens and young adults in the U.S, particularly young women. Joining Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss this dual diagnosis phenomenon of diabetes and eating disorders, ways in which they exacerbate other disease processes, the long term consequences, and management priorities for phycisians is author and registered dietitian Susan Weiner. Susan is a recipient of the AADE Diabetes Educator of the Year award and has devoted much of her writing and clinical expertise to addressing diabulimia in at-risk patients.

Future Diagnostic Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder Dec 17, 2016

Show notes

Host: Paul Rokuskie

As medical professionals gain better understandings of the etiologies, mechanisms, and progressions of autism spectrum disorder, they are looking for ways to standardize this diagnosis. This creates new needs to change the way autism is conceptualized clinically, from severity scales to behavioral impacts on quality of life.

Host Paul Rokuskie welcomes Dr. Sven Bolte, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Science and Director of the Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The two discuss the complex process for building new diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder.

Pioneering Research Avenues for Autism Spectrum Disorder Nov 28, 2016

Show notes

Host: Paul Rokuskie

New research is vital toward better understanding the complexities of autism spectrum disorder. Joining host Paul Rokuskie to discuss the latest research projects striving to identify the underlying causes as well as effective treatments for autism is Dr. Robert Schultz, Director of the Center for Autism Research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Finding Personal Fulfilment at Work and Home Nov 20, 2016

Show notes

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Dr. Brian McDonough explores the importance of finding personal fulfilment in work and home life with Dr. William Schiemann, CEO of Metrus Group and author of Fulfilled! Critical Choices: Work, Home, Life.

Tissue-Specific Protein Clusters May Help Predict Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease Oct 25, 2016

Show notes

A protein homeostasis signature in healthy brains recapitulates tissue vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease

Rosie Freer, Pietro Sormanni, Giulia Vecchi, Prajwal Ciryam, Christopher M. Dobson, and Michele Vendruscolo

Science Advances 10 Aug 2016: Vol. 2, no. 8, e1600947 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600947

Abstract: In Alzheimer’s disease, aggregates of Aβ and tau in amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles spread progressively across brain tissues following a characteristic pattern, implying a tissue-specific vulnerability to the disease. We report a transcriptional analysis of healthy brains and identify an expression signature that predicts—at ages well before the typical onset—the tissue-specific progression of the disease. We obtain this result by finding a quantitative correlation between the histopathological staging of the disease and the expression patterns of the proteins that coaggregate in amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, together with those of the protein homeostasis components that regulate Aβ and tau. Because this expression signature is evident in healthy brains, our analysis provides an explanatory link between a tissue-specific environmental risk of protein aggregation and a corresponding vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease.

Recognizing Alzheimer's Disease at the Earliest Stages: Key Signs and Symptoms Oct 02, 2016

Show notes

Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Howard Fillit, MD

Quality care for patients with Alzheimer's disease starts with early recognition, which enables a timely diagnosis and subsequent intervention with the best available treatment and support options. As such, understanding the broad spectrum of signs and symptoms at the earliest stages of disease is absolutely critical.

Joining host Dr. John Russell to discuss the keys to early recognition for Alzheimer's Disease is Dr. Howard Fillit, founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer for the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation.

Uncover the truth about Alzheimer's in the non-certified educational series, Alzheimer's Disease: Towards Earlier Detection

Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Pathogenesis: How Disease Origins Guide Early Detection Practices Oct 02, 2016

Show notes

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Carol Lippa, MD

Understandings of the origins and mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease are evolving constantly, opening doors to improved targets for therapeutic research. But at a time when disease-modifying therapies for advanced Alzheimer's aren't yet available, the need for early detection becomes critically important to help protect quality of life for patients.

Host Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Dr. Carol Lippa, Professor of Neurology & Director of the Memory Disorders Program at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Lippa is a member of the Board of Directors for the Alzheimer's Association and Chair of the Delaware Valley Chapter’s Medical & Scientific Committee.

Uncover the truth about Alzheimer's in the non-certified educational series, Alzheimer's Disease: Towards Earlier Detection