In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Joshua Woolley discuss his transition from neurology to psychiatry and his current focus on psychedelic drug therapies. He explains the mechanisms and effects of psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD, highlighting their potential to treat depression and other mental health conditions. Dr. Woolley describes controlled clinical trials at the University of California, San Francisco, where patients undergo psychedelic experiences with therapeutic support. He notes the challenges and benefits of these treatments, including long-term positive effects in alleviating depression. He also addresses the regulatory hurdles and the potential for future FDA approval of psychedelic therapies.

Key Takeaways:

• While SSRIs can and have saved a lot of people, they don’t work fully or at all for some people.

• Some diagnoses don’t have any effective pharmacotherapies, such as anorexia, methamphetamine use disorder, and even PTSD.

• Over the years, a lot of people have said that psychedelics have allowed them to have real, transformative experiences. It is a common description.

• To conduct psychedelic research, you have to get permission from multiple organizations, including the FDA and the DEA.

• People do sometimes have frightening experiences when they take psychedelics. This is not likely to happen in a clinical setting with support.

"Almost every psychiatric illness can be thought of as an inability to change something about emotions, thoughts, or behavior. If psychedelics really do reopen these critical periods, or allow people a period of a window of changeability, that would be a real game changer." — Dr. Joshua Woolley

Connect with Dr. Joshua Woolley:

Professional Bio: https://profiles.ucsf.edu/joshua.woolley

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-d-woolley-md-phd-076018110/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow interviews Dr. Shaina Stacy about her studies on cancer risks in children depending upon the body mass index (BMI) of their mothers before and during pregnancy. Dr. Stacy explains how she obtained a sample of nearly 2 million mother-child pairs in the state of Pennsylvania, the largest sample size ever for such a study. They discuss how children of women with a BMI of over 30 when pregnant had a significantly higher risk of cancers compared to children of lean mothers. This was notable for leukemia in children under 5, especially acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The mechanism underlying the increased risk is not yet known.

Key Takeaways:

• Maternal obesity before and during pregnancy increases the risk of cancers in children under 5 years of age.

• The risk of leukemia, especially acute lymphoblastic leukemia or ALL, is the greatest.

• Children of white, educated women, if obese during pregnancy, have the highest risk.

• Transgenerational effects of obesity are becoming more apparent.

"We found that children born to mothers in our highest BMI category had over 30% higher risk of developing any type of childhood cancer." — Dr. Shaina Stacy

Connect with Dr. Shaina Stacy:

Scientific American Blog Post: Cancer Prevention Should Start before Birth - https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/cancer-prevention-should-start-before-birth/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaina-stacy-0664962b/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Cheryl Hawkes discuss the increasing scientific evidence that maternal obesity affects the developing fetal brain. While many of the effects manifest early, in infant temperament and childhood cognitive (IQ) decrements, other effects do not show up until years later, in adult psychiatric and neurodegenerative problems. The physical bases for these changes in fetal brains are also clearly evidenced in laboratory model systems, such as mice, where the maternal diets can be controlled, and the offspring not only can be given behavioral tests, but their brains can be dissected to reveal the changes in the blood vessels caused by obese mothers.

Key Takeaways:

• Children born to obese mothers have lower IQs and poorer motor, spatial, and verbal skills.

• Mice and rodents have similar brain development to humans, which is why rodent study models are so beneficial to science.

• Brain maturation takes many years. Your brain is fully formed at birth, but continues to mature and change into your mid-twenties.

"Because of the rise in obesity globally, a lot of people have started to look, rather than looking at famine…, to now shift our attention to looking at the long-term effects of obesity because 30% of women around the world, over the age of 18, are now considered to be obese." — Dr. Cheryl Hawkes

Connect with Dr. Cheryl Hawkes:

Lancaster University Profile: Dr. Cheryl Hawkes

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.