Neurologist Gary Stobbe has been working with patients with autism since his residency in the early 1990's. Listen in to hear how this compassionate physician has been learning from his patients, their families and advocates. Dr Stobbe's perspective has evolved from the medical approach within which he was trained to now recognize the spectrum of stable neurodivergence to profoundly symptomatic patients who desperately need extensive support for living their daily lives.

We start with the DSM-V diagnostic criteria of impaired social communication + repetitive behaviors or interests, recognizing that the social communication network of the brain touches multiple structures and centers. This does not necessitate any intellectual disability, and in fact, many autistic people have both specialized skills and brilliance that initially can be lost in the communication difficulty (for example, the poetry that can come from a non-verbal patient only after they are able to access a device to type out their creative expression).

Dr Stobbe then reviews some of the more profound struggles that can co-exist with autism including expressive language impairment (aka non-verbal), co-occurring intellectual disability, required assistance for daily living and the presence of crises.

As we touch on the 'causes' of autism, he recognizes they are likely 'multifactorial, so many complex conditions, and end up being the total sum of genetics + environment'. He also emphasizes that the diagnosis of autism is based on development and behavior versus any biological function or cause.

The management approach for autism has evolved to be 'person-centered and strength-based' and there is no singular treatment. Dr Stobbe honors the collaborative team that can support the person with autism, including the patient themselves, thier family, patient advocates, state/ national organizations, in addition to their medical team.

Autism can be tricky to understand because it flies in the face of our conventional assumptions about one singular disease with one singular treatment. Join in & share widely as Dr Stobbe exemplifies the curiosity and thoughtfulness to support this amazing population of patients.

Description.

This is a power-packed episode in which Whitney Mack walks us through what women should have been taught since birth about how our bodies work and how we can care for them lifelong. Turns out, we have an infradian (vs circadian) rhythm that drives our cellular communication/ hormones systems over time. This means that we are in constant cycles of change, just like the moon that cycles through from new to full and back to new. To anchor into our holistic health, we can emphasis sleep, nutrition and movement in alignment with these cycles.

Whitney's training & deep personal understanding of these concepts brings them to clarity throughout this show. We start with a complete definition of 'fitness' including muscle strength, endurance, cardiovascular capacity, flexibility & body composition. Then we interweave the hormones, recognizing the 'Queen' hormones of cortisol & insulin as they serve for survival (vs estrogen, progesterone & testosterone which are for life quality). Next we dive into the four hormonal stages across the lifespan: menarche, cycling, perimenopause and post-menopause. With each, we review ways to attend to our movement patterns. And then we bring it back to the daily life.

This is an episode not to be missed & to be shared with every girl and woman we know!

BIO:

As a holistic health, hormones + movement coach, Whitney Mack helps busy, driven women thrive in their bodies, reawaken their aliveness, and create a more purposeful way of being. Through her hormone-informed approach, she blends the science of female physiology with the sacredness of the body to help women achieve optimal health and well-being throughout all hormone + life seasons. If you're ready to heal your relationship with your body and unleash your feminine power, her signature method uses hormones as a compass to guide you back to your inner-knowing and cultivate deeper self-awareness for sustainable transformation in less time and with lots of love. Find Whitney through her website: WhitneyMack.com

Dr Paul Malchesky, with a Master’s degree in Chemistry and a Doctorate in Engineering, has been working with apheresis since the 1970’s. This is a blood filtration or ‘cleaning’ therapy we offer at Neuroveda Health as plasmapheresis (also called plasma exchange, PLEX and TPE (total or therapeutic plasma exchange)). There’s been a lot of recent excitement regarding treatment of Long-COVID and as a ‘biohack’ for longevity, but the truth is that it’s been nearly half a century since the FDA approved this therapy for auto-immune and neurodegenerative conditions. The technology has come a long way and Dr Malchesky has been there the whole time. Of note, Ayurveda, the traditional medical system of India, also recognizes the value of detox and blood cleansing, making plasmapheresis a type of ‘rakta moksha’. This is a modern tool with ancient roots, our favorite kind of therapy. Today, we get into the history and mechanics to describe what this therapy is doing and how broad it’s use can be.

We discuss:

· 3:30 What is apheresis?

· 4:19 What is the history of apheresis?

· 11:56 What is in blood? What are the components of blood?

· 13.20 About anti-coagulation

· 15:53 Ayurvedic use of blood cleansing called ‘rakta moksa’

· 18:06 Dr Malchesky’s personal history with apheresis starting with 1972; Reporting up to 40 diseases treated by 1981.

· 24:40 Comparison of dialysis vs plasmapheresis filtration

· 29:00 Late 70’s/ early 80’s, efforts to identify the specific proteins associated with certain diseases; findings and curiosity about cryoproteins- precipitates triggered by cold.

· 36:57 Treatment to remove high cholesterol to prevent atherosclerosis.

· 40:29 Description of the last 15 years of apheresis: applications & guidelines have really diversified by geography (centripetal in US & German; membrane for Japan), technology and disease state

· 42:58 Safety of this procedure

· 43:52 Difficulties with this procedure are most typically associated with venous access and sometimes blood pressure changes and/or anti-coagulant use

· 44:40 Recognition that the macromolecules produced as ‘toxic’ can present in every silo of medicine: oncology, rheumatology, neurology, and therefore, also make sense to use these treatments for longevity & anti-aging

· 49:43 In studying the toxins removed, it’s evident that these toxins removed impair cellular function, so removal can allow cells to perform more of their regular functions.

· 51:08 The goal at Neuroveda Health is that plasmapheresis is part of a larger medical and wellness program to renovate the health from the ground up.

· 51:38 Discussion of Lp(a).

· 53:24 Designing clinical trials using historical experience of the questions and initial clinical trial endeavors with rheumatoid arthritis patients

BIO: Dr. Paul Malchesky holds a B.S. Degree in Chemistry from St. Francis University, M.S. degrees in Chemistry from Case Western Reserve University and in Chemical Engineering from Cleveland State University and a Doctorate in Engineering from Cleveland State University. He is President of the International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation (ICAOT) and consults for the chemical and medical industries.

He has published extensively nearly 500 publications, holds 35 patents, and was co-editor of four books on apheresis. He is active in various professional societies and is the former Editor-in-Chief of Artificial Organs and Managing Editor of Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis. He is a Past-President of the International Society for Apheresis. He is an Elected Fellow to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and The Ohio Academy of Science.

Recently he developed the web site icaot.org that discusses the history of the International Center for Artificial Organs & Transplantation and includes Milestones in the field and invites contributions to its Virtual Collection.