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Can migraines be triggered by what's happening in the environment around us?

In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with Professor Gal Ifergane about his research examining the relationship between migraines and environmental exposures, including air pollution, heat, solar radiation, and weather conditions.

Many people with migraines report being able to "feel a storm coming" before an attack. But is there scientific evidence that environmental factors can influence migraine risk?

Professor Ifergane discusses findings suggesting that environmental conditions may help lower the threshold for migraine attacks in people who are already susceptible. The conversation explores the concept of migraine as a threshold disorder, where both biological predisposition and environmental triggers may interact to influence when an attack occurs.

Topics discussed include:

• The relationship between migraines and air pollution
• Heat, sunlight, and solar radiation as potential migraine triggers
• Whether weather-related migraines are real or simply anecdotal
• How researchers study environmental exposures and migraine risk
• The concept of migraine as a threshold disorder
• Genetics versus environmental influences
• Why migraine sufferers may want to pay attention to air quality as well as weather
• What these findings may mean for people living with migraines

If you've ever wondered whether migraines are influenced by more than what's happening inside the brain, this episode explores the growing evidence that the world around us may play a role as well.

About Professor Gal Ifergane

Professor Gal Ifergane is a neurologist, headache specialist, and clinical researcher who serves as Head of the Neurology Department and Chair of the Brain Medicine Division at Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, Israel. He is also a faculty member at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

His clinical and research interests include migraines, headache disorders, stroke, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and environmental influences on neurological health. Professor Ifergane has conducted extensive research on the epidemiology of migraines and the factors that may influence migraine risk and severity, including air pollution, heat exposure, and other environmental conditions.

Through his work, he seeks to better understand how the environment interacts with the brain and how these insights can improve prevention and treatment strategies for people living with migraine and other neurological disorders.

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Can listening to music help protect your brain as you age?

In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with Professor Joanne Ryan about her research on music, dementia risk, cognitive decline, and healthy aging.

Drawing on data from thousands of older adults participating in the ASPREE Longitudinal Study of Older Persons (ALSOP), Professor Ryan discusses findings suggesting that frequent music engagement—including listening to music and playing a musical instrument—was associated with a lower risk of dementia and better cognitive outcomes over time.

The conversation explores:

• Whether listening to music can help reduce dementia risk
• How playing a musical instrument may affect brain health
• Proposed biological and cognitive mechanisms behind music's effects on the brain
• Music, memory, and why some people with dementia can still remember and perform music
• Whether certain types of music may be more beneficial than others
• The limitations of observational research and what questions still remain unanswered

If you've ever wondered whether your favorite playlist is doing more than entertaining you, this episode explores what the science currently says about music, memory, cognition, and the aging brain.

About Professor Joanne Ryan

Professor Joanne Ryan is a Principal Research Fellow and leader of the Biological Neuropsychiatry and Dementia research team at Monash University in Australia. Her research focuses on understanding the causes, prevention, and early detection of neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly dementia and depression.

Her team investigates biological, lifestyle, and environmental risk factors that influence brain health and works to identify preventive strategies that may reduce the incidence of dementia and cognitive decline. The group also studies biomarkers that may improve the timing and accuracy of diagnosis and help evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. 

Professor Ryan has published extensively on aging, cognition, dementia risk factors, mental health, and preventive approaches to healthy brain aging.

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A recent asthma attack in a pet store sends Dr. Eeks down a rabbit hole of thoughts about breathing, chronic illness, menstruation woes, panic versus biology, strangers helping strangers, an anxious dog that needs emotional support during human emergencies, the cost of ambulance rides, and how the day rarely goes the way you think it will.

A story, a reflection...and a reminder that her lungs oppose intensity.

DISCLAIMER: Eeks Speakeasy is part storytelling, part health discussion, and part one public health nerd failing to make sense of the world. Nothing here is health or medical advice. It's just Eeks thinking out loud. 

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Can you be genuinely happy and, even thrive,  as a single person? 

In this episode, Professor Elyakim Kislev, author of Happy Singlehood: The Rising Acceptance and Celebration of Solo Living, discusses the growing global trend toward singlehood and what the research says about happiness, loneliness, marriage, and solo living. 

We explore the difference between being alone and being lonely, why some people enter relationships out of fear of loneliness, and most importantly, what distinguishes happy singles from unhappy singles.

 Professor Kislev also discusses the concepts of social loneliness and emotional loneliness, common myths surrounding singlehood, and findings suggesting that many never-married older adults report high levels of well-being and life satisfaction. 

We also examine cultural pressures surrounding marriage and family formation, whether marriage itself improves health and happiness, how researchers study these questions, and what it really takes to build a meaningful, connected, and fulfilling life—whether you're single, married, dating, or somewhere in between.

Professor Elyakim Kislev is a faculty member in the School of Public Policy and Government at The Hebrew University and a Research Fellow at the Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace. He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from Columbia University and holds master's degrees in counseling, public policy, and sociology. A Fulbright Fellow and recipient of the Award for Outstanding Fulbright Scholars, his research focuses on singlehood, family, well-being, and social policy. He is the author of Happy Singlehood: The Rising Acceptance and Celebration of Solo Living.

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Today's Causes or Cures' WTF Health News with Dr. Eeks starts with olive oil and somehow ends with the microbiome.

A recent study suggests that older adults consuming more virgin olive oil may perform better on cognitive tests than those consuming more refined olive oil. Researchers also found differences in the gut microbiome because, at this point, the microbiome appears contractually obligated to show up in every health study.

Join Dr. Eeks in WTF Health News for a fun, quick, jargon-free look at what the study found, what it didn't find, and why nutrition science continues to keep us humble.

For nerds and readers, here's a link to the study and to her plain-language blog. 

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What makes you you?

Is it your memories? Your personality? Your sense of humor? Your motivation? What happens when a neurological disease changes one of those things?

In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with neurologist, neuroscientist, and author Dr. Masud Husain about his new book, Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist's Patients Taught Him About the Brain.

Drawing on the stories of seven patients with different neurological conditions, Dr. Husain explores how changes in the brain can profoundly affect identity, behavior, memory, motivation, humor, and our relationships with others.

We discuss pathological apathy after stroke, personality changes caused by frontotemporal dementia, memory and Alzheimer's disease, the neurological basis of humor, and how cultural and spiritual beliefs shape the way people understand illness. We also explore bigger questions about free will, responsibility, consciousness, and whether there may be aspects of human experience that lie beyond a purely biological explanation.

Dr. Husain shares what decades of caring for patients with neurological disorders have taught him about the brain—and about what it means to be human.

Dr. Masud Husain is Professor of Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and a Professorial Fellow at New College, Oxford. His work spans neurology, neuroscience, psychology, and brain imaging, with a focus on understanding how the brain supports cognition in both healthy individuals and people with neurological disorders. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Brain, one of the world's leading and most influential neurology journals. Our Brains, Our Selves is his first book.

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Judson Brandeis, a board-certified urologist, sexual medicine specialist, surgeon, author, and founder of BrandeisMD, about erectile dysfunction, sexual wellness, aging, intimacy, and the rapidly growing men’s penile enhancement industry.

Dr. Brandeis discusses his recent clinical research exploring whether nitric oxide boosting supplements may work synergistically with medications like Viagra to improve erectile function, as well as broader issues surrounding circulation, lifestyle, vascular health, mental health and sexual performance.

He also describes 10 things men can do right now to improve their sexual health.

The conversation explores:

• What causes erectile dysfunction (ED) and why it becomes more common with aging
• The role blood flow and nitric oxide play in erections
• How ED can sometimes signal broader cardiovascular, metabolic or psychological issues
• The difference between prescription ED drugs and supplements
• Side effects and limitations of Viagra and Cialis
• Shockwave therapy and other emerging approaches in sexual medicine
•  “Sexspan” and maintaining sexual health later in life
•   Relationship dynamics, intimacy, and communication
•   Men understanding women’s bodies and sexuality after menopause
•   The psychology and emotional impact of erectile dysfunction
•   Concerns surrounding the supplement industry and “male enhancement” products
•  The difference between FDA approved medications and dietary supplements

Dr. Brandeis also discusses his “P-Long” protocol, which he describes as a safe and effective way to increase the length, girth and function of a healthy man’s penis.

Dr. Judson Brandeis is a board-certified urologist, surgeon, medical researcher, author, and physician educator with more than 25 years of experience in urology and men’s sexual health. Over his career, he has performed thousands of surgeries, helped pioneer surgical robotics, and served as Chief of Urology at John Muir Hospital and Hill Physicians for over a decade. Dr. Brandeis attended Brown University, earned his MD from Vanderbilt University, received a Howard Hughes research award at Harvard Medical School, and completed his surgery and urology residency at UCLA. In recent years, his work has focused on men’s wellness, sexual medicine, erectile function, intimacy, and “sexspan,” with an emphasis on helping men improve quality of life, physical intimacy, and overall health as they age.

You can learn more about Dr. Brandeis and his work at:
BrandeisMD

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Do you cough a lot? 

Does someone you know cough a lot? 

What if you could actually measure it, continuously?  

For people with chronic cough, those question matters. 

Because right now, most of what we know about cough comes from self-report. And that’s not very precise.

In this episode, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Peter Small from Hyfe, a company using AI to continuously detect and count coughs, turning a common but poorly measured symptom into something objective. Hyfe is the FIRST company to create a tool to continuously monitor coughing. 

Their technology processes sound in real time and records cough events without storing audio, allowing for long-term, privacy-preserving monitoring.

Hyfe is part of a growing field called acoustic epidemiology, which uses body sounds, like coughs, to better understand health and disease patterns.

We talk about:

• what a cough actually is, and how you define and quantify it
• how many people struggle with chronic cough
• what “continuous cough monitoring” looks like in real life
• bad coughs vs good coughs
• how Hyfe measures cough
• why measuring cough is useful for people who want to monitor their health more closely
• and whether cough monitoring and patterns could eventually be used for public health surveillance

We also discuss cough suppression therapy (CST), a behavioral treatment often delivered by speech-language pathologists, which has been shown to significantly reduce symptoms in many patients with chronic cough. Hyfe plans to offer it as a digital therapy folks can access from home. 

Dr. Peter Small is the Chief Medical Officer of Hyfe, where he focuses on using acoustic AI to improve human health. An infectious disease specialist, he has spent his career developing global health solutions, with a particular focus on tuberculosis. His work has spanned Stanford University, the Gates Foundation—where he led major TB initiatives—and global programs in India, Madagascar, and Nepal, using technology to expand access to care.  

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Amrita Vijay, a gut microbiome scientist who studies how diet shapes the microbiome and influences inflammation, mood, and overall health.

Her research tested three different dietary approaches over six weeks: a prebiotic fiber (inulin), omega 3 supplementation, and a synbiotic combining fermented kefir with prebiotic fiber. All three interventions reduced inflammatory markers compared to control, with the synbiotic approach showing broader effects across multiple markers.

We break down what prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics actually mean in real life, how inflammation was measured, and how quickly diet can influence inflammation in the body. 

We also discuss the role of the microbiome, and how to think about food-based approaches for tackling inflammation and chronic illnesses. 

About the Guest

Dr. Amrita Vijay is a gut microbiome scientist and researcher specializing in the intersection of diet, the gut microbiome, and health. She has conducted nutritional intervention studies in both India and the UK, exploring how food influences inflammation, mood, and overall well being. Her work focuses on translating microbiome science into practical, evidence based strategies for improving health. She has received the Best Research Award and Best Achievement Award from the University of Nottingham.

(Follow her on Instagram!)

What we cover

• What prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics mean in real terms
• Why it's important to reduce inflammation
• Why inflammatory markers are important
• How fiber, omega 3s, and fermented foods affect inflammation
• Why the synbiotic intervention showed broader effects
• How quickly diet can influence inflammation
• The role of the gut microbiome 
• Whether food based interventions may shape the future of inflammation research

Takeaway

Simple dietary interventions including prebiotic fiber, omega 3s, and fermented foods may reduce inflammation, and even short term changes in diet can lead to measurable shifts in the body.

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks sits down with transplant surgeon and author Dr. Josh Mezrich to talk about xenotransplantation—the use of animal organs, primarily from pigs, to try to address the massive shortage of human donor organs.

More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are currently waiting for a transplant. For many, time runs out. Xenotransplantation offers a possible path forward, but it’s not a simple one.

This conversation walks through both sides.

We talk about the history—from early, controversial experiments using primates to today’s gene-edited pig organs—and what’s actually happening right now in human patients. But we also spend time on the part that often gets pushed aside: the ethical questions.

What are we asking of these animals?
How are they treated in the process?
And how do we weigh that against the possibility of saving human lives?

We discuss:

• The evolution of xenotransplantation and key scientific breakthroughs
• Real-world cases of patients receiving pig organs
• The role of CRISPR and genetically engineered pigs
• Ethical concerns around animal welfare and the use of nonhuman primates in research
• Whether focusing on animal organs shifts attention away from improving human organ donation systems
• The risks, including cross-species disease transmission

Dr. Mezrich also shares insights from his new book Every Living Creature, which explores both the promise and the discomfort of this field.

Dr. Mezrich is a transplant surgeon and Professor at the University of Wisconsin, where he holds the Mark A. Fischer Chair in Transplantation and serves as Surgical Director of the kidney transplant program. His clinical and research work focuses on liver and kidney transplantation, including how factors like the microbiome and biomarkers influence organ quality. He is also the author of How Death Becomes Life and his latest book, Every Living Creature, which explores the science and ethics of xenotransplantation. 

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