Empowered Patient Podcast

Christian Wilde, medical author and researcher has been studying the historical and medicinal benefits of turmeric.  Evidence from cultures where turmeric is used regularly in cooking points to a wide range of benefits of this spice.  Used in a concentrated form, this supplement seems to have a very positive impact on diseases that are related to inflammation and growth of tumors.  With no obvious side-effects and little chance for an overdose, this supplement is getting more attention from drug developers and doctors. MyHeartBook.com 

Joel Wishkovsky, Founder and CEO, Simple Contacts shares his passion for changing the healthcare model to provide affordable care using telemedicine particularly to treat low-risk patients.  Simple Contacts is an online model that allows those who wear contact lenses to take an online eye exam reviewed by a real doctor, and re-order lenses between visits to an eye doctor's office.  With support from ophthalmologists, Joel is providing inexpensive eye healthcare that fits into the busy life of patients.  @SimpleContacts SimpleContacts.com

Pierre Laurin, B.Sc.Pharm., M.Sc is President and CEO, Prometic Life Sciences, a company working to address varying forms of fibrosis. Pierre points out how much researchers have learned about fibrosis just over the last 10 years and how it is more common than you may think attacking vital organs for a variety of reasons. We also learn about what Prometic is doing to tackle highly progressive fibrotic diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and the ultra-rare condition Alström syndrome. #fibrosis #ipf #alstromsyndrome   Prometic Life Sciences

Crime Analysis Police Officer Adele Gardner is a gang intelligence expert who is working with Randy Raymond, a geographic information specialist in the Detroit public schools community district.  They are applying GIS, visualization tools, and sentiment analysis of social media posts to drive rapid response and proactive communication to address guns in schools, gang violence, natural disasters, and threats by kids to harm themselves and others. #Esri  

Dave Domzalski, CEO, Foamix Pharmaceuticals reminds us that acne is the most common skin condition affecting 50 million people in the US alone, how little has changed in the treatment of outbreaks, and how side effects of commonly prescribed acne treatments often result in many people discontinuing use leaving their acne unresolved.  Foamix is in late stage development of a topical form of minocycline, usually prescribed as an oral antibiotic, that is applied directly to the skin as a foam and that is showing fewer side-effects and greater impact. #acne #acneprone #AcneAwareness #skincare #clearskin #dermatology #dermatologist  Foamix Pharmaceuticals

Suzanne Shugg is CEO and Co-Founder, Teleplus Healthcare, a professor at Rutgers University teaching adult medicine, and director of a preventative cardiology clinic.  We talk about how telemedicine is allowing care provider teams to treat and support those with chronic diseases, advantages doctors enjoy from using telemedicine to prioritize response to patients, and the role of predictive models and AI in early detection and prevention.  Teleplus Healthcare

Cathy Miller is a patient advocate, field hockey coach and a medical mystery.  She talks about her journey in trying to find proper diagnoses, her relationship with doctors who struggle to figure out what is causing her conditions including Cushing's Disease and Myasthenia Gravis, and her drive to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Cushing's Support & Research Foundation

Dr. Steve Steinhubl, is Director of Digital Medicine at the Scripps Translational Science Institute and director of a team that is partnering with the All of Us Research Program, an NIH led national research effort that aims to advance individualized prevention, treatment and care for people of all backgrounds.  We talk about their plan to recruit one million participants as citizen-scientists, the value of capturing real time health metrics, and how digital health tools will become more robust as mobile and sensor technologies evolve. #JoinAllofUs JoinAllofUs.org Scripps Translational Science Institute  

Claire Wachter is a professional in the online advertising world, an Ironman triathlete and is beating breast cancer having cared for her mom who also suffered from the same disease.  With a focus on exercise and finding new ways to keep moving, Claire is on the path to healing.  For example, instead of taking the subway in Manhattan, she now rides a bike to her office.  Good diet, discipline and a supportive community are also part of her treatment plan.

Dr. Ernesto Gutierrez, Chief Medical Officer, Rehealth and the World Stem Cells Clinic offers stem cell therapies in Cancun Mexico to a global audience.  We talk about using regenerative medicine to address aging and maintaining a healthy body, who is most helped by stem cell therapy, and the rigorous testing and oversight of this emerging treatments. Rehealth.com World Stem Cells Clinic  

Denver Lough MD PhD is the President, CEO, CSO and Chairman of PolarityTE, a company looking to transform the regenerative medicine space. Denver shares his thoughts and insights on the most exciting and recent developments in regenerative medicine, including the work of his company PolarityTE, founded by a group of Johns Hopkins physician scientists. Denver discusses how PolarityTE is expanding the regenerative medicine space, building upon early foundational stem cell research, to be the first to produce fully functional, full thickness tissue across a number of tissue types.  We also talk about the FDA regulatory landscape and outstanding challenges in the field. @PolarityTE #PolarityTE #regenerativemedicine PolarityTE.com

Amy Dahm is a Cushing's syndrome survivor and patient advocate for those suffering from rare diseases.  Coming from a career as a management consultant and diplomat at the State Department, Amy is applying her skills to find the right treatments for her own Cushing's disease and post-operative adrenal insufficiency.  Amy takes her medical alert dog Sam with her when she is lobbying for more research funding for rare diseases and raising awareness with doctors and patients. Cushing's Support and Research Foundation Addison's Disease Self-Help Group

Roeland Pater, founder, Nori Health is bringing to market an innovative approach to help patients make smarter lifestyle choices to better manage their Crohn's or Colitis condition.  Using Nori, a chatbot coach, patients are asked relevant questions and receive personal advice for small changes that can lead to an improved quality of life by decreasing symptoms.  The more accurate patients are, the better the advice and the more valuable Nori becomes for the whole community of those affected by the diseases.  @norihealth Nori Health

Karen Knops MD is a palliative care physician and speaker with a specialty in improving communication between doctors and patients especially during difficult times.  We talk about the challenges doctors face when starting a conversation with a patient to better understand the real story--no difficult patients but difficult problems.  We also shine a light on the biases and blind-spots that doctors might have particularly when treating patients with chronic diseases.  Karen is helping doctors ask better questions and give bad news with a eye to healing, treatments and a plan for next steps. @KMKnops ASCEND Framework

Heather Metcalf PhD is the Director of Research and Analysis for the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Accelerator and Project Lead for the STEM to Market project.  She is joined by Tawni Koutchesfahani, an accomplished healthcare executive and board member of STEM to Market.  The topic is cultural and gender biases that are creating obstacles for women entrepreneurs in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics arena.  The challenge is how to overcome resistance from venture capitalists to investing in a woman owned company using best practices for intentional investing. @STEMtoMarket @AWISNational STEM to Market AWIS

Joanne Jarrett MD shares her insights about being a hospital patient from both the patient and doctor's point of view.  Hospitalization comes in different varieties -- planned and unplanned-- and it pays to know how the hospital works to keep the sense of confusion and frustration to minimum.  With so much going on behind the scenes, it is often hard to figure out what the plan is and how close a patient is to being released to go home. But what are hospitals doing to keep patient and their families informed on a real time basis?  Don't forget that device to let you communicate with a loved one in the outside world.  Cozyclothesblog.com

Hillary Theakston, Executive Director, Clearity Foundation spoke at the recent Future of Genomic Medicine conference produced by the Scripps Translational Science Institute and The Scripps Research Institute.  The Clearity Foundation is a great example of precision medicine in action as the Foundation produces a Tumor Blueprint for those with ovarian cancer who enroll in their program.  This tumor profile can help patients and their doctors identify appropriate clinical trials, the most likely to succeed treatment, and enhance the growing genomic database of ovarian cancer mutations and drugs most likely to be effective for each individual. @clearityfnd Clearity Foundation  

Katie Ernst lawyer and founder MissTreated.org has done the research and points out the overt and sub-conscious bias against women by doctors and those conducting medical research.  Complaints by women are often not taken seriously by doctors because of the lack of research on diseases that strike women and the inclination to explain away pain as a figment of their imagination. @misskatieernst MissTreated.org

Nawal Ouzren, CEO, Sensorion talks about recent studies that have shown the dramatic impact of hearing loss on the elderly as well as children putting all at risk for social isolation. For kids hearing loss can hinder their social development, and for seniors it can increase their risk for dementia.  Nawal talks about the research at Sensorion and their lead clinical candidate SENS-401 which is showing great promise to prevent hearing loss particularly in children being treated for cancer. #hearingloss   #Sensorion   #SENS401 #InnerEarDisease @sensorionpharma Sensorion

Rita Starritt MD, an internal medicine specialist in the field of addiction, shares her frustration and concerns about factors driving addiction to opioids, challenges doctors face when dealing with addicts, impact of direct to consumer drug ads, her patients in the methadone clinic, and her on-the-ground work at orphanages in third world countries. DrStarritt.com