Tag Archives: Pediatrics

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 27

Let us head back to the headwaters of HDL biology to find some more answers. If you did not read the original HDL piece or remember the basics of HDL biology, go back to Newsletter V13 #15 for a review. HDL as an associated biomarker of death risk has a U shaped curve with higher all cause mortality at very low and high levels of volume. Let us understand why? (Madsen et. al. 2017) Anything that causes more LDL, low density lipoproteins, to stay in circulation will raise one’s risk of ASCVD or heart attack. The historical reality (as I have discussed for years) for why we would have these genomic mutations to have more LDL particles in circulation is 1) as a protection mechanism against bacterial infections which were common for thousands of years. The HDL and LDL particles have receptors on their surface to grab bacterial cell wall debris like LTE or LPS and remove them via the liver. This is a massive beneftit to the human species until recent times. 2) as a storage mechanism for calories/recirculation of metabolically expensive cholesterol. (Maile et. al. 2020)(Feng et. al.. 2019)(Trinder et. al. 2021)…….
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 26

Do you know if you have periodontal disease?
Do your gums bleed? Do your teeth hurt? Do you have red and beefy appearing gums? Do you floss daily? Do you brush two times a day? Do you have sleep apnea?
Why does this matter? Well it turns out that gingival and tooth related disease is highly associated with cardio metabolic diseases. The main reason is that the bacterial microbes in the oral cavity can travel via the bloodstream to places far and wide in the body leading to inflammation and heart disease when the oral cavity is damaged and then manipulated. This especially occurs during tooth decay and periodontal decay phases of oral disease. There are also associations with autoimmune diseases making your oral health very important…..
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #50 – Richard Johnson, MD – Fructose and Perinatal Issues

This weeks guest is my favorite researcher, Dr. Richard Johnson.
He is the Tomas Berl Professor of Medicine and the Chief of the Renal Division and Hypertension at the University of Colorado since 2008. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a major in Anthropology, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, he is a physician and nephrologist whose research has focused on the role of sugar, and especially fructose, in driving obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Much of this work has explored the role of fructose metabolism, especially the generation of uric acid, in driving this phenotype, and his work has included studies ranging from molecular biology, integrative physiology, and evolutionary biology. He is the author of The Sugar Fix which introduced the first low fructose diet, and also The Fat Switch which explores the role of fructose in driving the obesity epidemic. His newest book, Nature Wants Us To Be Fat, is a tour de force of the entire pathway of survival via metabolic events in the body related to fructose and the polyol pathway. This is a must read book.
This podcast will follow up on the original conversation, podcast #14, and the exceptional work of Dr. Johnson this time looking at how we are mismatched metabolically for the environment of modern America and our food systems from the maternal health and perinatal perspective.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 25

This week we talk all about sweat and heat liberation.

Sweating is a very important tool that the human body and most mammals use to eliminate unwanted stuff. In this case, the body primarily is eliminating heat and toxins via liquid sweat.
When we exercise vigorously or it is a hot day or we find ourselves overheating while fighting an infection, sweat will pour from our skin through glands and an endothermic reaction. The water that is released caries heat from the body with it. It evaporates into the air liberating the heat and thus cooling the body.
In this sweated liquid are electrolytes and toxins. Primarily, the sweat fluid has a natural release of small amounts of sodium and to an even lesser extent, potassium and calcium. This fluid will also facilitate the release of chemicals that the body does not like….. plus a few articles in a literature review.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 24

Breastfeeding Versus Formula
Science versus Opinion
I read with somewhat of a frustrated feeling a recent article in Scientific American entitled: It’s Okay Not to Breastfeed by Kavin Senapathy. In principle, the reality of this statement is reasonable. Then you read the article as to what makes this reasonable. She states: “Exclusive breastfeeding is not imperative, and the “breast is best” mantra can be harmful to babies and parents, especially among marginalized people.”(K. Senapathy 2023) Again, at first blush this may seem reasonable. Let’s dig into the science and the truth of breast versus cow milk based formula for optimal health for a child. Does formula in all of its forms work for infant nutrition in order to grow and survive in a reasonable way? The answer is a resounding yes, however, this does not tell the whole story, far from it…..
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #49 – Marcel Nold, MD – Neonatal Immunology

This weeks guest is Professor Marcel Nold, MD. Dr. Nold is a clinician scientist in the research environment of neonatal immunology and microbiomes at Monash University in the city of Monash in Melbourne, Australia. Professor Nold received his Doctor of Medicine degree at the JW Goethe-University at Frankfurt am Main, Germany, including final year rotations in Zürich (Switzerland), Montréal (Canada) and Capetown (South Africa). For his biomedical research training he spent six years at the Pharmazentrum at Frankfurt am Main and three years as a research Fellow at the laboratory of Professor Dinarello, at the University of Colorado Denver. In 2009 he was recruited to The Ritchie Centre in Melbourne and finished his specialist training at Monash Newborn. Professor Nold is a leading researcher worldwide in the field of immune cytokine signaling and was the key contributor to identifying Interleukin 37 or IL37. His research has been published in the journals Nature Immunology, Science Immunology and many others. His academic Inflammation in Neonatal Diseases Research Group and his industry programs aim to characterise underlying pathways of inflammation in early life diseases, with a focus on interventional immunology in cardiopulmonary and intestinal diseases of the preterm.
For the purposes of this interview, Dr. Nold is a researcher with a view of the maternal child dyad that is prevention focused and health span conscious. His research has led to many critical discoveries in the neonatal health space that I find deeply intriguing. We get into some deep immunology at times which is critical for total understanding.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 23

Literature Review: This week we discuss articles about the Inhalation of polyamides or nylon in microsizes, masking and effectiveness, cannabis use in youth and covid 19 versus influenza and more. Part two is a look at research related to pollution and the risk of cardiac disease.

Enjoy,

Dr. M