Better Edge : A Northwestern Medicine Podcast For Physicians

In this episode of the Better Edge podcast, Nilay S. Shah, MD, MPH, discusses his recent study about the social and psychosocial determinants of racial and ethnic differences in cardiovascular health in the U.S. He outlines several of the proposed interventions that emphasize the need for further studies in underrepresented populations that can then help inform tailored, effective preventive interventions. He identifies key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed, the clinical implications of the findings and what other physicians involved in cardiology should keep in mind when working with populations that experience disparities.

In this Better Edge podcast episode, Angela Chaudhari, MD, the vice chair of Faculty Development and system director of the P2P Network at Northwestern Medicine discusses the P2P Network and how it supports to physicians facing stress and burnout. Dr. Chaudhari explains how the program was created as a result of the Scholars of Wellness Program, with the goal of creating physician leaders in well-being to address physician burnout at both the individual and department level. She also discusses how the program has shifted since the COVID-19 pandemic began and how it continues to adapt to help physicians.

In this episode of the Better Edge podcast, Nausheen Akhter, MD, associate professor of Medicine (Cardiology), gives us an inside look into Northwestern Medicine’s Cardio-oncology program. She discusses the importance of this program and the advances that are on the horizon for cardio-oncology.

Despite a prevalence of over 50% among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), neuropsychiatric symptoms of SLE (NP-SLE), including anxiety and movement disorders, have not been well understood. The paucity of data examining underlying mechanisms is what spurred the work of Carla M. Cuda, PhD, pointing to microglia as a driver of disease.Dr. Cuda, who is assistant professor of Rheumatology at Northwestern Medicine, and other Northwestern Medicine investigators were the first to show that microglial expression of disease-associated microglia (DAM)-associated genes correlates with the severity of hippocampal- and cerebellar-associated behavioral deficits in an NP-SLE model prior to overt systemic disease. While DAM have been extensively studied in Alzheimer's disease, no studies have specifically examined DAM in NP-SLE, until now.

Rod Passman, MD highlights a new study on wearables for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation: the Rhythm Evaluation for AntiCoagulaTion (REACT-AF) trial. Northwestern University and Johns Hopkins University were recently awarded a $37 million grant by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to conduct this seven-year trial. The study will use Apple Watches and a specially developed app available on iPhones to create personalized care for each patient.

In this episode of the Better Edge podcast, Kaitlyn N. Kunstman, MD, instructor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern Medicine, discusses the importance of Northwestern Medicine's Gender Pathways Program, and specifically her role leading an outpatient psychiatry Gender Clinic. She talks about collaborating with different clinical specialties and how the program is committed to providing gender-affirming care to transgender and gender nonbinary patients.

In this episode of the Better Edge podcast, Sonia V. Sheth, MD, medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Stroke Rehabilitation Program at Marianjoy, discusses symptoms and recovery after stroke. She talks about the effects of stroke on patient speech and cognition, including aphasia, and how rehabilitation plays a key role in the recovery process.

The healthcare industry accounts for 10% of all U.S. greenhouse gas/carbon dioxide emissions, with a significant portion of that attributable to operating rooms. With millions of ophthalmic surgeries performed each year, ophthalmologists can play a big role in reducing our carbon footprint. This Better Edge podcast episode features a conversation with a leader of the sustainable surgery movement, David J. Palmer, MD, who is a clinical associate professor of Ophthalmology at Northwestern Medicine. Dr. Palmer sheds light on waste generation associated with ophthalmic surgery and offers several interventions for reducing the environmental impact of these procedures while maintaining the safest and highest quality clinical outcomes.

Join the podcast host Angela Chaudhari, MD, Serdar E. Bulun, MD, Julie Kim, PhD, Magdy P. Milad, MD, MS, and Robert L. Vogelzang, MD, for the fourth episode of Parts and Labor, a podcast series featuring roundtable discussions with OB-GYN experts. In this episode, a panel of experts focuses on uterine fibroids and the research that has taken us to where we are today in our understanding of what causes uterine fibroids and how to treat them.

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a rare hereditary cancer syndrome caused by mutations in the VHL gene. These mutations predispose patients to the development of cysts and tumors in several systems and organs, including the central nervous system, retina, kidneys, pancreas, adrenal glands and reproductive organs. VHL is a complex disease that requires specialized advanced treatment from a multidisciplinary team of specialists.In this Better Edge podcast episode, the following experts from the Northwestern Medicine Von Hippel-Lindau Disease Program discuss VHL and the clinical management for this patient population: Rimas V. Lukas, MD, Associate Professor of Neuro-Oncology; Niraj K. Shenoy, MD, PhD, MS, Associate Professor of Hematology/Oncology and of Pathology; and Brittany M. Szymaniak, PhD, CGC, Instructor of Urology. They share a recent Northwestern Medicine study published in Neuro-Oncology that examined belzutifan, the first approved HIF-2? inhibitor, in VHL-associated tumors.