Brain & Body Things

Anum Saeed, MD is a Cardiologist & Lipidologist based in Pittsburgh. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a staff cardiologist at UPMC. She completed a clinical and research fellowship in Atherosclerosis and Lipidology at Baylor College of Medicine followed by her clinical cardiology fellowship training at UPMC. She is a non-invasive cardiologist who is specialized in general cardiology, cardiovascular disease prevention strategies, echo reading and nuclear studies.

She has received numerous local and national awards for her research which currently is focused on investigating the longitudinal association of lipidomic and other novel metabolites with cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases (aka alterations in the Heart-Brain axis). Additionally, Dr. Saeed investigates large healthcare systems based utilization and clinical outcomes for cardiovascular disease prevention.

Dr. Saeed serves on the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Leadership Council of the American College of Cardiology and the Genomic and Precision Medicine Committee of the American Heart Association. 

In this episode we discuss:

• The impact of atherosclerotic disease on overall health.
• How lipids contribute to atherosclerotic disease.
• Definitions - what is a fat vs lipid vs cholesterol?
• The Lipid Profile.
• What you need to know about "good" cholesterol.
• Additional work up and laboratory values such as Lp(a) and apoB.
• Target reference ranges.
• How dietary fats influence the lipid profile.
• How dietary carbs influence the lipid profile.
• Lipids and the brain.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Mondays in seasonal chunks. 

Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website, www.natashamehtamd.com.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

Follow Dr. Saeed on Twitter.

This episode is not sponsored.

Leia Rispoli, MD, is an experienced interventional pain medicine physician who offers exceptional pain management and physiatry services to patients in and around Marina Del Rey and Newport Beach, California. 

Double board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Management, Dr. Rispoli has a profound empathy for patients suffering severe or prolonged pain. She uses innovative, non-surgical interventions alongside evidence-based treatments to restore function and reduce or eliminate her patients’ pain. 

She treats people with a variety of painful conditions but I’ve brought her on the podcast today to talk about pelvic pain. This is an area of the body that has been historically challenging to treat when it is painful and we are going to dive into the what’s, why’s, and how’s today.

Dr. Rispoli studied for her undergraduate degree at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She was co-captain for the Division-1 women’s soccer team and, for four consecutive years, was a National Athletic Honor Society member. Dr. Rispoli earned her medical degree at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey, and completed her Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Her interest in the treatment of pain led her to complete an interventional pain medicine fellowship under the Weill Cornell Tri-Institute Pain Fellowship program in New York City, doing rotations at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Rispoli specializes in advanced neuromodulation (spinal cord stimulation) techniques, pelvic pain (both male and female), ultrasound-guided interventional procedures, and regenerative medicine techniques such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or stem cell therapy.

At her private practice, Dr. Rispoli offers comprehensive, compassionate care that aims to enhance and optimize her patients’ quality of life.

In this episode we discuss:

• Common pelvic problems.
• Things to do if you are experiencing pelvic pain.
• Work up and treatment options.
• Peri and Post pregnancy pelvis.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Mondays in seasonal chunks. 

Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website, www.natashamehtamd.com.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

Follow Dr. Leia Rispoli on Instagram, here is her practice website.

This episode is not sponsored.

Dr. Meredith Smith received her doctorate in Physical Therapy from Elon University and her Bachelor’s degree from the College of Charleston in Exercise Science. She completed a neurologic residency program with OhioHealth and Ohio University. Meredith is a Board Certified Neurologic and Geriatric Clinical Specialist. She works in the outpatient setting treating individuals with neurologic and/or vestibular diagnoses. Meredith is also an adjunct professor with Bowling Green State University's DPT program in the neurologic and aging adult classes. Her clinical passion is treating individuals who have had a brain injury or stroke and is a strong advocate for best practice initiatives with these populations.

In this episode we discuss:

• The neurologic benefits of high intensity exercise.
• Aging with an exercise program.
• The basic components to every exercise program.
• Specific guidelines and considerations for: stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinsons disease, multiple sclerosis, and traumatic brain injury.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Mondays in seasonal chunks. 

Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website, www.natashamehtamd.com.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

Dr. Joe Verghese graduated from St. Johns Medical College, Bangalore, India in 1989. He did his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Neurology in United Kingdom. He completed his Neurology residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY in 1998. He did his fellowship training in Neurophysiology as well as Aging & Dementia in 1999 at the same institution. He received a Master of Science degree in Clinical Research Methods with Distinction in 2001. Dr Verghese is board-Certified in Neurology. 

Dr. Verghese is Professor of Neurology and Medicine, Murray D. Gross Memorial Faculty Scholar in Gerontology, and Director, Resnick Gerontology Center at Einstein. He is the Chief of the Division of Cognitive and Motor Aging (Neurology), and former Chief of Geriatrics (Medicine 2012-2023).

Dr. Verghese is a recipient of the Beeson award from the National institute on Aging as well as national awards from the American Geriatrics Society and the Gerontological Society of America. His research interest is the effects of disease and aging on mobility and cognition in older adults. He has over 300 peer-reviewed publications, and several current and past federally funded grants in this area. His current projects include non-pharmacological interventions to prevent dementia, the role of divided attention tasks such as walking while talking in predicting outcomes such as disability and cognitive decline, pre-dementia syndromes (Motoric Cognitive Risk syndrome), and global health studies.

In this episode, we dive deep into the evidence between lifestyle and dementia.

In this episode we discuss:

• Different types of dementia.
• Differentiating dementia from other types of cognitive impairment.
• Early predictors of dementia.
• The impact of movement on the brain.
• Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome.
• The future landscape of dementia care.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Mondays in seasonal chunks. 

Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website, www.natashamehtamd.com.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

Dr. Preeti Raghavan is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physican who specializes in neurorehabilitation after stroke or brain injury. After completing her medical education in India, Dr. Raghavan trained at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx and Columbia University. She began her career at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, followed by Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, and is now at Johns Hopkins Medical Center where she is a Professor of Stroke Treatment, Recovery, and Rehabilitation. She is an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and is a partner in a scientist founded start up called Mirrored Motion Works. She has recently published a text book on Spasticity and Muscle Stiffness. She has published in both the brain injury and stroke rehabilitation literature. Her research interests include interventions to enhance motor recovery after stroke and other forms of brain injury; development of novel technology and new treatments for muscle stiffness; emotional regulation and its interaction with recovery. 

In this episode we discuss stroke recovery across a variety of different impairments with an emphasis on physical recovery. 

In this episode we discuss:

• A typical stroke recovery timeline.
• Common concerns when recovering from a stroke.
• Specific impairments such as weakness, spasticity, neglect, and cognitive changes.
• Neuroplasticity.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Mondays in seasonal chunks. 

Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website, www.natashamehtamd.com.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

Neal A. Mesnick, M.D., M.A., FAAPMR is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, a member of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, a member of the American Medical Association and a member of the Medical Society of the state of New York. He is an attending physician at New York Presbyterian Medical Center and is on the faculty at Weill-Cornell Medical College where he is an Assistant Clinical Professor in Rehabilitation Medicine. He has published abstracts and has presented at national conferences.

Dr. Mesnick specializes in musculoskeletal injuries including neck and back pain, shoulder pain, knee and ankle pain. He believes and treating the patient as a whole in order to return them to full function.

Dr. Mesnick takes a thorough history and physical, including diagnostic testing if necessary, in order to oversee proper physical therapy. He may also prescribe medication or perform procedures such as injections to alleviate acute pain. He works closely with the licensed professionals at Advanced Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation to ensure the best possible outcome for his patients.

Dr. Mesnick has his own practice conveniently located next to Union Square in NYC.

In this episode we discuss:

• Dr. Mesnick’s personal journey with strength training and reasons behind his preference for power lifting.
• The importance of strength training particularly for injury prevention with aging.
• Starting a power lifting program at any age.
• Programming strength, hypertrophy, and maintenance.
• The importance if recovery and how to individualize recovery time periods.
• Re-evaluating goals and metrics as we age.
• Considering mobility and cross training.

Referenced in the podcast:

Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life after 40

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Mondays in seasonal chunks. 

Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website, www.natashamehtamd.com.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

Connect with Dr. Mesnick via his website.

This episode is not sponsored.

In this episode you will hear - just me.

A break from our usual interview-style content while I work on next season for you all!

I'm sharing a little bit about exercise prescription with a spin towards the brain and nervous system considerations. Inspired by a lecture I recently gave about this topic. We will have a future episode next season diving into exercise prescription specifics for neurological disorders.

This is a short episode, so take a listen and let me know what you think!

Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website, www.natashamehtamd.com.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

Edward M. Phillips, MD, is Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School and is Founder and Director of the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine (ILM) at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.  In his work at the ILM since 2006 he has directed 26 live CME programs attended by over 25,000 clinicians from 115 countries. 

In 2015 Phillips joined the VA Boston Healthcare System and now serves as Whole Health Medical Director. He is integrating Whole Health-lifestyle medicine training for students and trainees across the VA as National Whole Health Education Champion for Health Professions Trainees. Additionally, Phillips is a Fellow of American College of Sports Medicine (FACSM) and serves on the executive council that developed the Exercise is Medicine global initiative. He has >80 scientific publications. He served on the Advisory Board of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the Health Sector and Military Settings Sectors of the United States National Physical Activity Plan and is a founding director of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine.

Phillips is an active clinician, educator and advocate who speaks and consults nationally guiding a broad-based effort to reduce lifestyle-related death, disease, and costs through clinician directed interventions with patients. His medical school, SUNY Buffalo, honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award for his accomplishments in Lifestyle Medicine. The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition has recognized Dr. Phillips, the ILM and the Lifestyle Medicine Education Collaborative with its Community Leadership Award. He appears on national media including Good Morning America, ESPN radio, Huffington Post, Slate, and Time Magazine. He co-hosted the NPR Daily Exercise Podcast, WBUR’s Magic Pill which was awarded an Edward R. Murrow award for Excellence in Innovation and >2.4 million downloads of the sequel podcast “Food, We Need to Talk.” He is co-authoring his third book, “Food, We Need to Talk: The science-based, humor-laced last word on eating, diet, and making peace with your body” from St. Martin’s Press, July 2023. 

 

In this episode we discuss:

• Zip code vs genetic code in health outcomes
• Exercise culture and barriers to exercise
• Finding joy in physical activity
• Individualizing someone's reason for exercise
• Assessing readiness for exercise
• The aging athlete 
• Expanding the idea of health & wellness beyond exercise

Dr. Leada Malek is a licensed physical therapist and board-certified sports specialist located in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is one of the 9% of therapists in the US who are specialized in sports therapy. She received her doctorate degree from Samuel Merritt University and completed her bachelors degree from the University of San Francisco in Exercise & Sport Science. She completed her graduate internship with Stanford University's varsity athletics and has since continued to work in the outpatient setting treating a variety of patients. 

Dr. Malek uses a combined approach of manual therapy and specific therapeutic exercise to help her patients move better, perform better, and compete again. She is passionate about using a variety of modalities including cup therapy and the TRX system to get creative with her care. She believes in retraining the body as a whole, and not just the area of discomfort. She has worked with patients of all ages and has treated professional dancers, athletes, weekend warriors, and young athletes. She is a volunteer physical therapist for triathlons and local semi-professional soccer and basketball teams. Her professional insight has been featured in numerous media outlets including Popsugar, Healthline, SELF, Livestrong, and Thrive Global. 

Contrary to popular misconceptions, physical medicine & rehabilitation (PM&R) doctors are different from physical therapists (PT). I (a PM&R doctor) loved having this conversation with Leada (a PT) because we often work together to treat patients. This type of teamwork is what first drew me to this field of medicine.

In this episode we discuss:

• A typical physical therapy appointment or visit
• Working through pain with physical therapy
• Why mindset matters
• Timing of physical therapy
• Translating physical therapy to a virtual platform
• Cost concerns related to therapy

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Mondays in seasonal chunks. 

Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website, www.natashamehtamd.com.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

Follow Dr. Malek on Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube @drmalekpt. You can check out her favorite products on her Amazon storefront.  If you'd like to learn more about her business & how to work with her, check out her website.

This episode is not sponsored.

Dr. Kirkham is currently serving as the Program Director for the Geriatric Fellowship at Grant/OhioHealth in Columbus, OH. She is proud to be part of a team dedicated to teaching residents, fellows, and peers the very real opportunities that exist in the care of their older adults. She was a university system internist until 5 years ago when she completed a mid-career, geriatric fellowship and moved to a large community-based teaching setting. With her new-found knowledge and resources, she looks forward to engaging others in the very real potential of clinically richer, more effective care of their older adult patients.

In this episode we discuss:

• The role of a geriatric physician in healthcare
• When you or a loved one should consider an evaluation
• Factors associated with aging including falls, muscle atrophy, appetite, memory, and more

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Mondays in seasonal chunks. 

Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website, www.natashamehtamd.com.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta. 

This episode is not sponsored.