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The Pharmacist Answers Podcast

Your health is probably one of the most important things to you.  Yet it can be one of the most complicated things to understand.  Our bodies are meant to work a certain way, but when they don't, we may never be 100% sure why or what to do about it - even after seeing a healthcare professional.

The Pharmacist Answers Podcast is hosted by Cynthia Hendrix, PharmD.  On the Podcast, you can learn the basics of body parts and organ groups, get a glimpse of how disease processes work, and learn some practical steps to take in your own flesh and blood relationships with healthcare providers.

Everyone's health story is different.  No one is truly a "textbook case".  You need someone who sees your uniqueness and help you gain the knowledge and confidence to have conversations, ask questions, and make decisions that are right for YOU!

*The Podcast started out as live conversations on Periscope.

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  2. Episode 68 - White Matter Matters

Episode 68 - White Matter Matters

Oct 24, 2016

Review

Disease like Alzheimer's and dementia are grey matter issues - the creation and translation of messages are interrupted or dysfunctional.  White matter is like the power cords that are responsible for sending the signals.

White matter diseases

  • Hypomylenation - cells are created with a low amount of myelin; premature, chromosome-linked defects
    • Cell Biology review:  animal cells have a membrane and a nucleus that holds all the DNA, and cytoplasm, and then all the organelles that have different jobs - just like a self-contained factory.  Some systems can be dysfunctional and the cell still live and replicate.
  • Dysmylenation - neurodystrophy (a huge list based on what’s broken)
    • Lysosomes - stores enzymes for breakdown
    • Perioxosomes - stores enzymes for energy metabolism
    • Mitochondrial - dysfunction of energy usage
    • Amino acid metabolism dysfunction
  • Demylenation
    • Inflammatory: Multiple Sclerosis = autoimmune disease.  The brain wants the body to do something but the message doesn't make it to the body, so the body doesn't move or has very jerky, irregular movements.  Tests for antibodies can identify MS.  Available treatment is mostly immune suppressants.
    • Huntington's is a genetic disease that presents in the same way.  It has a very sad prognosis and presents in females starting between the ages of 30 and 50.  Thus they have already planned a life and possibly had kids who now may have the same disease.  Genetic testing can identify Huntington's.
    • Viral - PML (Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy); J-virus a typical virus that may mutate and go dormant in the brain.  If the immune system is lowered drastically - due to suppression or immunodeficiency diseases, this virus will wake up and attack the myelin of the neurons.
    • Acquired metabolism demyleniation (being exposed to chemicals) - “Chasing the Dragon” - refers to a technique used to keep melted pills from burning in a container (usually a spoon) while it's being heated by a flame from underneath and the vapors are inhaled.  Drug of choice: heroin.  **DON'T DO DRUGS**
    • Hypoxic ischemic - loss of oxygen.  Examples:  asphyxiation, drowning, ischemic stroke.
    • Mechanical - compression due to injury or swelling

Call Back

Migraines are not a white matter issue, they are a brain chemistry issue.  Learn more on the Headache episode

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Music Credits:  “Radio Martini” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/