Podcasts about Pharmacology

Is fat good or bad for your heart? For decades, we blamed fat and cholesterol for clogged arteries and heart attacks. Now you choose low-fat yogurt to protect your heart, while others cook with beef tallow. In this episode, Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, a world-leading expert on dietary fat and heart health, helps settle the debate. Dr. Lichtenstein explains which fats protect your heart and which to cut back on, you'll learn what raises your cholesterol, and why the type of fat you eat matters more than how much of it you eat. You'll leave the episode with some practical food swaps to protect your heart and live longer. Have you swapped butter for "low-fat" alternatives loaded with sugar? Could that choice be working against your heart?

GUEST:   https://leecarrollherbalist.com/  https://www.instagram.com/leecarrollherbalist/   MENTIONS:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergothioneine   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erinacine   https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006295223005257   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta-glucan   MUSHROOM HOUR:   https://welcometomushroomhour.com   https://www.instagram.com/mushroomhourpodcast   https://tiktok.com/@welcome_to_mushroom_hour   Show Music courtesy of the one and only Chris Peck: https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com/   TOPICS COVERED:   Herbal Medicine Industry   Importance of Ergothioneine   Fungal Receptors in the Human Body   Fungal Archaeology & EthnomycologyGourmet Ape Theory   Fiber & Beta-Glucans   Anti-Oxidants and Protein Turnover   Fungal Lifecycle and Innovation   Fungal Fermented Substrates   Distinguishing Different Mycelium-Based Medicinals   Assessing “Full Spectrum” Claims   Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging   Bitter Molecule Receptors in the Heart   

What if food is doing far more than providing calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat? What if every bite is actually delivering information to your genes, cells, microbiome, and biological systems? In this fascinating solo episode, Darin challenges the century-old idea of viewing food simply as fuel and explores what happens when we begin seeing food as biological information. From carrots resembling eyes and walnuts resembling brains to nutrigenomics, plant compounds, biophotons, structured water, living enzymes, and the microbiome, Darin dives into the hidden layers of food that never appear on a nutrition label. He explores established research alongside emerging and controversial areas of science, explaining why the freshness, color, diversity, and wholeness of what we eat may matter far beyond its calorie count. Darin also reveals why "eating the rainbow" is really about consuming a wider library of chemical information and why feeding your gut microbes may be just as important as feeding yourself. This episode will completely change the way you look at what's sitting on your plate. What You'll Learn Why Darin believes the calorie model leaves out some of food's most important biological effects How nutrients and plant compounds can influence gene expression through nutrigenomics and epigenetics Why Darin describes every meal as sending a "memo" to your DNA What biophotons are and the emerging research around light emitted by living cells and foods Why fresh, living foods may carry information that heavily processed foods have lost The theory of structured or "exclusion zone" water in living foods What happens to naturally occurring enzymes when foods are heated and processed Why the colors of fruits and vegetables correspond to different families of protective plant compounds How your food communicates with the trillions of microbes living inside your gut Why dietary diversity and fermented foods may help create a healthier, more resilient microbiome Chapters 00:00:00 – Welcome to SuperLife 00:00:32 – Sponsor: Bite 00:02:47 – The hidden clues sitting inside your food 00:03:22 – Carrots, tomatoes, and walnuts: coincidence or clues? 00:04:13 – Why we've been too busy counting calories 00:04:39 – Food is information 00:04:47 – Why the calorie model leaves out the bigger picture 00:05:14 – Your body isn't a furnace 00:05:48 – How food communicates with your cells 00:06:25 – Nutrigenomics: how food talks to your genes 00:06:53 – Every meal can influence gene expression 00:07:22 – What memo are you sending your DNA? 00:07:52 – The strange science of biophotons 00:09:03 – Why fresh food emits different light than processed food 00:09:37 – Where biophoton research stands scientifically 00:10:26 – Structured water and the fourth phase of water 00:12:00 – What processing may do to water inside food 00:12:37 – Sponsor: Manna Vitality 00:14:35 – The controversial theory of food enzymes 00:15:18 – What we know about enzymes in raw and sprouted foods 00:15:37 – The hidden information missing from nutrition labels 00:15:58 – Can the color of your food unlock your potential? 00:16:16 – Why "eat the rainbow" is chemistry, not mysticism 00:16:38 – Anthocyanins and the power of purple, red, and blue foods 00:17:27 – Color is the plant's natural label 00:18:20 – Every color sends your body a different message 00:18:50 – The problem with the modern "beige diet" 00:19:14 – You're feeding 38 trillion microbes, not just yourself 00:19:46 – How gut bacteria transform fiber into powerful compounds 00:20:25 – The extraordinary conversation between plants and your microbiome 00:21:05 – Why plant diversity matters for immunity, mood, and hormones 00:21:31 – The Stanford fermented food study 00:22:02 – What fermented foods did to microbiome diversity and inflammation 00:22:30 – Ultra-processed food, inflammation, and what's coming next 00:22:45 – Continue the full deep dive on Patreon 00:23:24 – Closing thoughts Thank You to Our Sponsors Bite Toothpaste: Go to trybite.com/DARIN20 or use code DARIN20 for 20% off your first order Manna Vitality: Go to mannavitality.com/ and use code DARIN12 for 12% off your order. Join the SuperLife Patreon: This is where Darin now shares the deeper work: - weekly voice notes - ingredient trackers - wellness challenges - extended conversations - community accountability - sovereignty practices Join now for only $7.49/month at https://patreon.com/darinolien Find More from Darin Olien: Website: darinolien.com Instagram: @darinolien Book: Fatal Conveniences Platform & Products: superlife.com New Show: Roadmap to Happiness Key Takeaway "Food isn't just fuel. Every bite carries information—through nutrients, plant compounds, color, fiber, enzymes, and the interactions it creates with your microbiome. Your body isn't simply counting calories; it's responding to biological signals. So the question isn't only how much you're eating. It's what message you're sending your body every time you sit down to eat." Bibliography/Sources: Food as Information & Nutrigenomics Dutton, R. (2017). Hey, Hippocrates: Food isn't medicine. It's just food. STAT News . https://www.statnews.com/2017/04/10/hippocrates-food-medicine/ Genes and diet in the prevention of chronic diseases in future generations. (n.d.). PubMed Central . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8900696/ Müller, M., et al. (2026). Nutrigenomics and the interface between diet and gene expression. ScienceDirect . https://www.sciencedirect.com/ Nutriepigenomics. (n.d.). In Wikipedia . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutriepigenomics Stover, P. J., & Garza, C. (n.d.). Food as exposure: Nutritional epigenetics and the new metabolism. PubMed Central . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6486241/ Biophotons & Structured Water Bio-photons: The light in your cells, food & water. (n.d.). Watermatters . https://www.yourwatermatters.com/ Biophotons may shed new light on body and brain activity. (2025). Psychology Today . https://www.psychologytoday.com/ Pollack Laboratory. (n.d.). University of Washington. https://pollacklab.org/ Pollack, G. H. (2013). The fourth phase of water: Beyond solid, liquid, and vapor. Ebner & Sons Publishers . The legacy of light: Fritz-Albert Popp and the biomedical power of biophotons. (n.d.). Dr. Clark Store . https://drclarkstore.com/ Enzymes, Sprouting & Traditional Diets Characteristics of traditional diets. (n.d.). The Weston A. Price Foundation . https://www.westonaprice.org/ Edward Howell, MD. (n.d.). The Weston A. Price Foundation . https://www.westonaprice.org/ Germination: An alternative source to promote phytonutrients in edible seeds. (n.d.). Food Quality and Safety . https://academic.oup.com/fqs Howell, E. (1985). Enzyme nutrition: The food enzyme concept. Avery . Nutritional and end-use perspectives of sprouted grains: A comprehensive review. (2021). Food Science & Nutrition . https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fsn3.2477 Price, W. A. (1939). Nutrition and physical degeneration. Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation . Study on effect of germination on flavonoid content and nutritional value of different varieties of chickpeas. (2024). PubMed Central . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10787121/ Phytonutrients & Colors Anthocyanidins and anthocyanins: Colored pigments as food, pharmaceutical ingredients, and the potential health benefits. (2017). Food & Nutrition Research . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5613902/ Anthocyanins as key phytochemicals acting for the prevention of metabolic diseases. (n.d.). PubMed Central . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6489379/ The therapeutic potential of anthocyanins: Current approaches based on their molecular mechanism of action. (2020). Frontiers in Pharmacology . https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2020.01300/full Microbiome, Fiber & Fermented Foods From dietary fiber to host physiology: Short-chain fatty acids as key bacterial metabolites. (2016). Cell . https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(16)30559-6 Stanford Medicine. (2021, July). Fermented-food diet increases microbiome diversity, decreases inflammatory proteins, study finds . https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2021/07/fermented-food-diet-increases-microbiome-diversity-lowers-inflammation The mutual effect of dietary fiber and polyphenol on gut microbiota. (2025). ScienceDirect . https://www.sciencedirect.com/ Shape, Biomimicry & Botanical History Cardenas, D. (2013). Let not thy food be confused with thy medicine: The Hippocratic misquotation. e-SPEN Journal . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnme.2013.10.002 How do the 'three sister' plants work together? (n.d.). Soils Matter . https://soilsmatter.wordpress.com/ Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants. Milkweed Editions . Nutritional benefits of lycopene and beta-carotene: A comprehensive overview. (n.d.). PubMed Central . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9317578/ The six tastes in Ayurveda: How rasa creates true satisfaction. (n.d.). Art of Living Retreat Center . https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/ Three sisters farming: A model of regenerative agriculture. (n.d.). One Earth . https://www.oneearth.org/ Ultra-Processed Food & Meat Research Cleveland Clinic. (2018). Cleveland Clinic studies reveal role of red meat in gut bacteria, heart disease development . https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/ Hall, K. D., et al. (2019). Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: An inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake. Cell Metabolism . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008 Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2015). WHO report says eating processed meat is carcinogenic . https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2015/11/03/report-says-eating-processed-meat-is-carcinogenic-understanding-the-findings/ International Agency for Research on Cancer. (2015, October). Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat. IARC Monographs Volume 114 . https://publications.iarc.fr/ The detrimental impact of ultra-processed foods on the human gut microbiome and gut barrier. (2025). Nutrients . https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/1 Ultra-processed foods and food additives in gut health and disease. (2024). Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology . https://www.nature.com/articles/s41575-024-00898-3 Ultra-processed foods, gut microbiota, and inflammatory bowel disease: A critical review of emerging evidence. (2025). PubMed . https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

https://youtu.be/N0yfBJv8EaQStruggling with NCLEX pharmacology? In this NCLEX Pharmacology Review 2026, Dr. Zee from NCLEX High Yield breaks down must-know medications, pharmacology tricks, side effects, nursing considerations, and test-taking strategies to help you answer NCLEX pharmacology questions with confidence.This high-yield NCLEX pharmacology review is designed for NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN students, including first-time test takers, repeat test takers, and internationally educated nurses preparing for the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN).In this NCLEX pharmacology review, Dr. Zee teaches you how to simplify difficult medication questions and focus on what actually matters for the NCLEX.You'll learn:• High-yield medications you need to know for the NCLEX• Easy pharmacology tricks and memory strategies• Important medication side effects and adverse effects• Priority nursing interventions• Medication safety and patient teaching• How to recognize common drug classes• How to approach NCLEX pharmacology questions• NCLEX test-taking strategies to help you choose the best answerInstead of trying to memorize every medication, learn how to recognize patterns, identify what the NCLEX is testing, and apply pharmacology knowledge to patient-care questions.If pharmacology has been one of your weakest NCLEX subjects, this review is for you.Subscribe to NCLEX High Yield for more NCLEX reviews, pharmacology lessons, NGN practice, NCLEX questions, test-taking strategies, and high-yield nursing content.Learn more about NCLEX High Yield and our NCLEX prep programs at NCLEXHighYield.com#NCLEX #NCLEX2026 #NCLEXPharmacology #NCLEXReview #NCLEXRN #NCLEXPN #Pharmacology #NCLEXPrep #NextGenNCLEX

Our kidneys do an incredible job filtering our blood every hour of every day. Most of us have two kidneys, and each one has about a million microscopic filters called glomeruli. Unlike the filters in our HVAC system, though, these filters cannot be replaced. But they do their work so well and unobtrusively that most of us don't even think about our kidney function. Although 37 million Americans have kidney trouble, the majority are unaware of their situation. Two tests could reveal how well the kidneys are working. What are they, and how often should you ask about them? At The People's Pharmacy, we strive to bring you up‑to‑date, rigorously researched insights and conversations about health, medicine, wellness and health policies and health systems. While these conversations intend to offer insight and perspective, the content is provided solely for informational and educational purposes. Please consult your healthcare provider before making any changes to your medical care or treatment. How You Can Listen You could listen through your local public radio station or get the live stream at 7 am EST on Saturday, August 8, 2026, through your computer or smart phone (wunc.org). Here is a link so you can find which stations carry our broadcast. If you can't listen to the broadcast, you may wish to hear the podcast later. You can subscribe through your favorite podcast provider, download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of the page, or listen to the stream on this post starting on August 10, 2026. What Are the Two Tests That Reveal Kidney Trouble? Chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes put a strain on the kidneys. They are very common problems that signal the need for kidney function monitoring. Our guest expert, Dr. Samir Parikh, suggests that all of us should know our numbers. One is derived from the level of creatinine in the blood. This is normally part of a basic metabolic panel. Usually, the panel results will include a number for the estimated glomerular filtration rate (EGFR) calculated from the value for blood creatinine. The other crucial test is a urine test for protein. Keeping Kidneys Healthy by Staying Properly Hydrated One of the simplest tactics to keep kidneys healthy is to provide them with enough liquid. We get some fluid from the food we eat, which may be one reason eating fruits and vegetables seems to be good for us. They are full of water! We also need to drink fluid, and plain water is probably the best choice. It would be smart to use thirst as a guideline and make sure to drink when thirsty. We do avoid overdoing water consumption, though, as overloading the kidneys with more fluid than they can handle is dangerous as well. Medicines That Are Hard on the Kidneys We mentioned to Dr. Parikh the experience of an older friend, a devoted runner, who discovered that taking ibuprofen after a run reduced the likelihood of having to get up overnight to urinate. He reminded us and our listeners that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib or meloxicam can be hard on the kidneys. That doesn't mean we shouldn't ever take such pain relievers, but perhaps we should try not to make it a habit. When we asked about other medicines that might be tough on the kidneys, he mentioned PPIs. Proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazole (Prilosec) or esomeprazole (Nexium) are often used to treat heartburn or other digestive symptoms. Regular use can put a strain on the kidneys, although the gastroenterologist recommending the medicine might not warn you of that side effect. We asked about environmental toxins and learned that heavy metals such as lead or arsenic can harm the kidneys along with other organs. We should make sure that the food we eat and the water we drink are not contaminated with such compounds. The Possible Benefits of Vitamin B Dr. Parikh has been studying how the kidneys respond to the B vitamin nicotinamide. The preliminary work he and his colleagues have done so far is promising. However, they have not conducted clinical trials to find out whether the vitamin could help people with early kidney disease. Because kidneys work so hard, they need a lot of energy to be produced by the mitochondria in their cells. Those mitochondria need NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) to function at their best. Providing additional nicotinamide appears to help (Nature Reviews. Nephrology, Feb. 2020).  One to three grams a day appears to be safe and may be beneficial. Medications That Can Promote Kidney Health Some medicines initially developed for other conditions are proving to be helpful in treating kidney disease. In particular, these include diabetes drugs known as SGLT2 inhibitors like dapagliflozin (Farxiga) or empagliflozin (Jardiance). They help slow the decline of kidney function (New England Journal of Medicine, Nov. 4, 2022). GLP-1 agonists may also be familiar because they too are used to treat diabetes. Medications such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) have made headlines as weight loss and diabetes meds, but they also can reduce the risk of kidney failure and other bad outcomes (Lancet. Diabetes & Endocrinology, Jan. 2025). The benefits of these types of drugs should give us hope that we can go from slowing the progression of kidney disease to stopping it in its tracks Taking Care of Your Kidneys We asked Dr. Parikh what we should be doing to care for our kidneys and keep them healthy. He urged us once again to know our numbers: most importantly, the numbers from the two tests we discussed, blood creatinine and urine protein. Other numbers that are important for kidney are our blood pressure and, for those with diabetes, HbA1c. In addition to paying attention to all those numbers, we need to embrace a lifestyle that will help keep them where they belong. That means following a heart-healthy diet, staying physically active and getting adequate sleep. This Week’s Guest Samir M. Parikh, M.D., FASN, is Professor of Internal Medicine and Pharmacology and Chair of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern. He holds the Donald W. Seldin Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine and the Ruth W. and Milton P. Levy, Sr., Chair in Molecular Nephrology. Dr. Samir Parikh, University of Texas Southwestern Listen to the Podcast The podcast of this program will be available Monday, August 10, 2026, after broadcast on Aug. 8. This week's podcast has additional information on a possible role for sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) for kidney function. We also discussed medical silos, and how that leads to gastroenterologists overlooking the kidney risks from PPIs. Also, what should prospective kidney donors consider? You can stream the show from this site and download the podcast for free. Download the mp3, or listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

"A good way of thinking about this is this is the survival of the fittest clone. There could be a portion of a cancer that naturally has some resistance or ability to survive a particular drug. And over time, as the other cells around it are dying off, that particular clone is able to replicate and continue to survive in the face of that drug therapy and eventually take over as being the fittest clone. At that point, we're often seeing disease progression," Danielle Roman, PharmD, BCOP, manager of clinical pharmacy services at the Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute in Pittsburgh, PA, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about resistance pathways.  Music Credit: "Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD), including 30 minutes of pharmacotherapeutic content, by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by August 7, 2027. Roman has served on advisory boards for Genetech, Pfizer, Regeneron, and Daiichi Sankyo and received honoraria payments from Pharmacy Times and Decera for faculty lectures. These financial relationships have been mitigated. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Learning outcome: Learners will report increased knowledge related to resistance pathways in oncology care. Episode Notes  Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  ONS Podcast™ episodes: Pharmacology 101 series Episode 423: Pharmacology 101: Interaction Pathways Episode 406: Drug Resistance Biomarkers and Their Impact on Cancer Treatment Choices ONS Voice articles: Predictive and Diagnostic Biomarkers Scientists Identify Protein Implicated in Tumor Growth, Treatment Resistance ONS book: Guide to Cancer Immunotherapy (second edition) Genomics and Precision Oncology Learning Library ONS Biomarker Database Pharmacogenomics Huddle Card CancerQuest: Cancer Drug Resistance National Comprehensive Cancer Network OncoKB.org Research To Practice To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. Highlights From This Episode "As we look at drug resistance, this is the concept that cancer cells are no longer able to respond to a cancer treatment. The downstream of this is that we could end up with progression of the disease and need to look at alternative therapies that may be beneficial for the patient. This is unfortunately a very common phenomenon. Drug resistance is a major cause of treatment failure and poor patient outcomes with treatments. Unfortunately, this is an issue we see that increases over time on treatment." TS 2:29 "Genetics play a really big role in drug resistance. We know that drug resistance can be due to different things. It could be epigenetics. It could be the tumor microenvironment factors. But genetics often play a very big role in resistance pathways. It's generally considered to be a critical contributor to resistance, particularly in the way of acquired variants to drug targets or amplifications of certain oncogenes that can lead cancers to have progression. A well-known genetic alteration is the BRCA1/BRCA2 variant that helps to make the cancer more efficient at fixing DNA damage. So we're trying to get DNA damage with chemotherapy, and this particular variant helps at fixing that damage to allow the cancer to progress. So that is one genetic variant we see that plays a big role in a number of different cancers." TS 4:51 "These pathways are not mutually exclusive. Oftentimes we have multiple resistance pathways involved. I think it's important to understand some of those individually, but kind of thinking about this as we might be facing multiple resistance pathways. ... We can see resistance mechanisms that vary based on the type of treatment we use, for example, traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy. We may be more likely to see some resistance mechanisms that are working at DNA: repairing broken DNA or working on those efflux pumps that are being used to push chemotherapy out of cells. If we're talking more about the targeted therapies such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors or monoclonal antibodies, we may be more likely to see resistance mechanisms that are what we discussed with that drug target alteration: changing the way that the target agents are able to bind to the tumor cells to activate or inactivate pathways so we may see some changes there." TS 12:39 "One way to overcome this and to help to decrease the resistance from developing is using combination therapy: drugs that are targeting different pathways at once or potentially using combinations with things like chemotherapy in addition to immunotherapy. In this way, as we're getting these different targets, we can hopefully decrease the mechanism of resistance that may be developing." TS 14:48 "Biomarker testing is an incredibly important part of our practice. In many situations now, we are getting upfront, comprehensive biomarker testing to identify whether the patient may have any of those intrinsic or primary resistance mechanisms that might make it so a patient is never going to respond to a particular type of treatment. And in that case, we can spare the patient from the potential toxicities of that treatment if we don't think that there's going to be benefit there. So I think that that has become a really important way that we can tailor patients for understanding what treatments are going to be more effective. And then after that, there's usually additional biomarker testing that may be warranted at the time of progression in certain types of cancer. And that really helps us to understand that acquired resistance that might be developing." TS 17:32 "Nurses are really helpful with filling in the gaps and bringing back patient concerns that might be shared with them. And these might be early signs of progression. Better understanding how our patients are feeling and what's going on with them may help us to identify a patient that we need to do some additional testing for to understand whether there is drug resistance ongoing and potential progression of disease." TS 21:52

Ellen is blowing up about pufferfish. We discuss what pufferfish have in common with chameleons, seafloor crop circles, culinary applications of deadly neurotoxin, and so much more. Works Cited: “All puffed out: Do pufferfish hold their breath while inflated?” - Georgia Evelyn McGee & Timothy Darren Clark, Biology Letters, Dec 2014 “Treatment of Tetrodotoxin Poisoning” - Sophie Yushuo Li, Theoretical and Natural Science, April 2023 Dolphins purposely 'getting high' on pufferfish - Dolphins - Spy in the Pod: Episode 2 - BBC "Pufferfish Builds Sand Sculpture for Mating" - Nature on PBS “Seeking a Deadly Delicacy: Pufferfish, Regional Gastronomy, and Pharmacology in Middle Period China” - Zihan Guo, Journal of Chinese History, July 2026 “Chefs Train for Years to Serve This Rare Poisonous Fish” - Bon Appetit, June 2024 “Pufferfish in China: diners lured by delicacy now country has bred them poison-free” - Elaine Yau, South China Morning Post, February 2019 Links: For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website! Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord! Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky! Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

In this School of Doza episode, Nurse Doza opens the Metabolic Series with the adrenal glands — and why you may feel tired all day, crash between 2 and 4 PM, and wake up unrested. He explains how chronic stress can keep the body stuck in fight-or-flight, why that pattern is hard to shift, and the daily levers he leans on: belly breathing, less screen time at night, and morning sunlight. Then he breaks down Zen by MSW Nutrition — adrenal glandular plus four adaptogens — for stress support. FEATURED PARTNER Zen by MSW Nutrition is built in three layers rather than a single botanical: **125 mg of adrenal glandular tissue** (bovine, sourced from Argentina), **four standardized adaptogens** — Asian ginseng, rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra — plus **cofactor nutrients** (vitamin C, B6 as P5P, and pantothenic acid). Licorice rounds out the 9-ingredient formula. It's the supplement Nurse Doza reaches for when the goal is supporting the adrenal glands and the body's stress response, instead of layering more caffeine on top of a depleted system.

Ellen is blowing up about pufferfish. We discuss what pufferfish have in common with chameleons, seafloor crop circles, culinary applications of deadly neurotoxin, and so much more. Works Cited: “All puffed out: Do pufferfish hold their breath while inflated?” - Georgia Evelyn McGee & Timothy Darren Clark, Biology Letters, Dec 2014 “Treatment of Tetrodotoxin Poisoning” - Sophie Yushuo Li, Theoretical and Natural Science, April 2023 Dolphins purposely 'getting high' on pufferfish - Dolphins - Spy in the Pod: Episode 2 - BBC "Pufferfish Builds Sand Sculpture for Mating" - Nature on PBS “Seeking a Deadly Delicacy: Pufferfish, Regional Gastronomy, and Pharmacology in Middle Period China” - Zihan Guo, Journal of Chinese History, July 2026 “Chefs Train for Years to Serve This Rare Poisonous Fish” - Bon Appetit, June 2024 “Pufferfish in China: diners lured by delicacy now country has bred them poison-free” - Elaine Yau, South China Morning Post, February 2019 Links: For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website! Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord! Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky! Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

Dr. Lucy McBride is a primary care physician and co-founder of the Ackerly McBride Group in Washington, DC. For over 25 years, she has practiced evidence-based, relationship-centered medicine. A graduate of Princeton and Harvard Medical School, with a master's degree in Pharmacology from Cambridge as a Fulbright Scholar, she completed her internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She writes the weekly newsletter Are You Okay? and hosts the podcast Beyond the Prescription. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and USA Today. She has contributed to CNN, MSNBC, and PBS, advocating for a holistic, patient-centered approach to health. Her upcoming book Beyond the Prescription will be released August 11, 2026.In this conversation, we discussed how health isn't just about getting answers but about asking the right questions, what primary care physicians are doing for their patients in an ideal world vs. what is actually happening, why doctors should treat the whole patient and not just a set of symptoms, and her upcoming book Beyond the Prescription which includes a 5 step process for taking charge of your health.Connect with Lucy: Instagram | Website | Substack | Buy the Book If you're looking to unleash your potential, find your personal, professional, or political fire, and to connect with a community who is doing the same, click here to learn more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shannonwatts.substack.com/subscribe

Save 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKIPEDIA at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz Supplement: Use code MIKKIPEDIA to get 20% off your first order - go to www.curranz.co.nz  or www.curranz.co.uk to order yours NZ listeners - save 10% off Calocurb by using the code Mikkipedia10 at www.calocurb.co.nzThis week on the podcast Mikki speaks to two researchers, Professor Daniela Hurtado and Dr Regina Castaneda about the interaction between HRT and tirzepatide use. In a conversation led by Regina, they talk about differences that occur as women head through menopause, the role of HRT at mitigating some of these changes and the findings from their paper looking at how hormone therapy might enhance the therapeutic effects of tirzepatide in a postmenopausal population - discussing sex related differences.Maria Daniela Hurtado Andrade, M.D., Ph.D., is from Ecuador where she completed her medical degree at the Pontifical Catholic University. Her curiosity about the causes of obesity led her to pursue doctorate-level training in Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Florida. Her research focused on the brain's regulation of food intake. After her doctoral training, she completed Internal Medicine training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA, and Endocrinology Fellowship specialty training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She joined Mayo Clinic Staff in 2019.Dr. Hurtado Andrade is interested in understanding obesity's pathophysiology to develop more effective therapeutic interventions. She is part of the Mayo Clinic Precision Medicine for Obesity program. This program aims at developing an individualized approach to the management of obesity and its complications with the goal of improving outcomes. To facilitate the generation of this new knowledge, she has focused her clinical and research efforts on specific populations: perimenopausal women and breast cancer survivors. Dr. Hurtado's contributions and expertise to the field of obesity have been recognized nationally and internationally.Regina Castaneda, MD, serves as a postdoctoral research fellow at Mayo Clinic in Florida. She is also an MSc candidate at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Her work centres on women's health topics including obesity, diabetes, and menopause-related metabolic changes.Dr Castaneda has contributed to research examining the effects of tirzepatide on weight loss in postmenopausal women and the potential influence of hormone therapy. She is affiliated with the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Mayo Clinichttps://www.mayoclinic.org/biographies/hurtado-andrade-maria-daniela-m-d-ph-d/bio-20539671https://www.linkedin.com/in/regina-castaneda-md-8b2371358/ Paper: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanogw/article/PIIS3050-5038(25)00145-1/abstract Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwilliden

The illicit drug market is evolving faster than ever before. Novel psychoactive substances (NPS), synthetic opioids and increasingly potent club drugs are creating new challenges for pre-hospital clinicians, emergency departments and critical care teams. Patients are presenting with unfamiliar toxidromes, unpredictable physiology, and rapidly deteriorating clinical conditions that demand evidence-based assessment and management. The episode begins with insights from Dr Caroline Copeland, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology and Toxicology at King's College London and Director of the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality. Caroline explains how the illicit drug market has transformed over the past decade, discussing the emergence of synthetic opioids, nitazenes, novel benzodiazepines and the ever-expanding range of novel psychoactive substances. Drawing on national surveillance data and forensic toxicology, she highlights the trends every frontline clinician should understand and the public health implications of these rapidly evolving substances. Building on that foundation, Owen Bowden-Jones, Consultant Psychiatrist and one of the UK's leading experts in club drugs and addiction medicine, takes us into the practical realities of managing patients who have taken MDMA, ketamine, GHB/GBL, synthetic cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids ("Spice"), nitrous oxide and other emerging recreational drugs. The discussion focuses on recognising toxidromes, avoiding common pitfalls and delivering safe, evidence-based supportive care in the pre-hospital and emergency setting.How the illicit drug landscape has changed over the last decade.Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and why they continue to emerge.Synthetic opioids, nitazenes and the growing public health threat.MDMA toxicity and serotonin syndrome.Ketamine: recreational use, toxicity and chronic complications.GHB/GBL overdose and withdrawal.Synthetic cathinones ("bath salts") and severe behavioural disturbance.Synthetic cannabinoids ("Spice") and unpredictable toxicity.Nitrous oxide misuse and neurological injury.Recognising toxidromes rather than chasing an exact drug diagnosis.Managing agitation, hyperthermia and cardiovascular instability.Harm reduction and communicating with patients who use recreational drugs.Emerging drug trends every pre-hospital clinician should know.This episode brings together and expands on two previous conversations from the Pre-Hospital Care Podcast:Novel Psychoactives and The New Drug Landscape: A Conversation with Dr Caroline Copelandhttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/novel-psychoactives-and-the-new-drug/id1441215901?i=1000748836782Club Drugs, Illegal Highs and Novel Psycho-active Substances with Owen Bowden-Joneshttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/phcp/episodes/Club-drugs--illegal-highs-and-Novel-Psycho-active-Substances-with-Owen-Bowden-Jones-ejk7rfYou can find excellent online eLearning resources on Club Drugs and NPS here: https://elearninghub.rcpsych.ac.uk/products/Module_1_Introduction_to_club_drugs_and_NPSThese are empirical studies conducted and published by Caroline Copland: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/caroline-copeland

In this episode, Dr. Andy Cutler is joined by Dr. Roger McIntyre to discuss GLP-1 receptor agonists in psychiatry and why these medications may be relevant beyond weight loss. They explore the emerging role of GLP-1s in metabolic psychiatry, including potential connections with mood disorders, cognition, reward pathways, cardiometabolic health, and psychiatric medication-associated weight gain. Dr. McIntyre also discusses what psychiatric providers should know now, where the evidence is still evolving, and what future research is needed before GLP-1 or incretin-based therapies could be considered part of psychiatric treatment.  Roger S. McIntyre, MD, FRCPC, is Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at the University of Toronto and Head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network in Toronto. He is an internationally recognized expert in mood disorders and psychopharmacology, with published scholarship and presentations exploring the relevance of GLP-1 receptor agonists to psychiatry.  Andrew J. Cutler, MD, is a distinguished psychiatrist and researcher with extensive experience in clinical trials and psychopharmacology. He currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer of Neuroscience Education Institute and EMA Wellness. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York.  Fall Congress   Get $100 off NEI Fall Congress registration with code POD26. Go to https://nei.global/fall to sign up today!   Membership  As a valued NEI Podcast listener, Dr. Cutler's offering you 20% off new NEI Membership with code CUTLER20. Go to https://nei.global/member and join now!  Never miss an episode!

In this episode of Resiliency Radio with Dr. Jill, Dr. Jill Carnahan welcomes Dr. Paul Anderson, one of the leading voices in integrative and naturopathic medicine, for a fascinating discussion on solving the chronic illness puzzle through a root-cause approach. Drawing from more than three decades of clinical experience, Dr. Anderson explains why conventional medicine often struggles with complex chronic illnesses and how functional medicine uncovers the hidden factors driving disease. Together, they explore environmental toxins, chronic infections, mitochondrial dysfunction, immune imbalance, cancer support, and innovative IV therapies that help restore health and resilience. Whether you're dealing with chronic illness, cancer, autoimmune disease, or simply looking to optimize your health, this episode offers practical insights into healing from the inside out.

Marina Better is a PhD candidate in Physiology, Pharmacology, and Therapeutics (formerly Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences) at Johns Hopkins University whose research focuses on maternal-fetal health, drug delivery, and translational therapeutics for pregnancy-related conditions. Her work explores innovative nanomedicine and drug delivery approaches to improve outcomes in preterm birth and reproductive health. Originally from Fayetteville, Marina began her scientific journey as an NIH-RISE and NSF-PrOMiSS scholar at Fayetteville State University before continuing her training at Johns Hopkins. She has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications, presented her research nationally and internationally, and is deeply committed to mentorship, scientific equity, and expanding opportunities for underrepresented students in biomedical research. The long-term goal of Marina's work is to improve maternal and fetal health through interdisciplinary research and innovation.linkedin.com/in/marina-better-10935b14b?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_iosPresented to you by The No Static Network!

"When we think of drug interactions, specifically, the National Cancer Institute actually defines this as a change in the way a drug acts in the body when taken with certain other drugs, herbals, or foods or when taken with certain medical conditions. Drug interactions may cause the drug to either be more or less effective or cause effects on the body that are not expected," Carissa Ganihong, PharmD, BCOP, oncology and bone marrow transplantation clinical pharmacist at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about interaction pathways. Music Credit: "Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD), including 30 minutes of pharmacotherapeutic content, by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by July 10, 2027. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Learning outcome: Learners will report increased knowledge related to drug interactions in oncology care. Episode Notes  Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  ONS Podcast™ episodes: Pharmacology 101 series ONS Voice articles: Are Your Patients Taking Herbs That May Interact With Their Cancer Drugs? Pharmacogenomics Testing Helps to Ensure That Effective Therapy Is Safe Therapy Use of Herbal Products Carries Risk for Drug Interactions, but Patient–Clinician Knowledge, Communication Remain Low What the Research Says About Drug Interactions and Medical Cannabis ONS books: Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice (second edition) Clinical Guide to Antineoplastic Therapy: A Chemotherapy Handbook (fourth edition) ONS Huddle Cards: DPYD Gene and DPD Enzyme Pharmacogenomics ONS Oral Anticancer Medication Toolkit American Journal of Nursing articles: Understanding Pharmacokinetics: Part1: Drug Absorption Understanding Pharmacokinetics: Part 2: Drug Distribution Understanding Pharmacokinetics: Part 3: Drug Metabolism Understanding Pharmacokinetics: Part 4: Drug Elimination Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology articles: Pharmacology, Part 1: Introduction to Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics Pharmacology, Part 2: Introduction to Pharmacokinetics ClinPGx To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities. To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. Highlights From This Episode "One of the most notable food interactions that interacts with many different medications is actually grapefruit or grapefruit juice. This is known to be a very strong CYP3A4 inhibitor. … A lot of medications are metabolized through the CYP3A4 pathway. By inhibiting the effect of these enzymes, that can actually increase and significantly increase the concentrations of these therapies. It's not an interaction that's just limited to grapefruit. I would say grapefruit being in the food interaction is kind of one of the most well-known, but it can also be seen with other foods as well, like pomegranate juice or a very specific type of orange called Seville oranges. And this is really just due to the presence of a substance called furanocoumarins." TS 6:12 "There have been a pretty large number of genes identified that are responsible for coding some of those common enzyme families that I had been discussing, some of those CYP450 enzymes, but other enzymes as well that are important for drug metabolism. Based on the type of gene, there could be some different categories where patients are normal metabolizers, intermediate metabolizers, or poor metabolizers. There are some other categories as well based on the type of gene we're looking at. And that can ultimately impact the way you are able to metabolize drugs." TS 15:56 "Another common [geneotypic variation] that we always think about in oncology is G6PD, where if someone has G6PD deficiency, these patients can be at greater risk of hemolytic anemias when receiving certain types of therapies. Dapsone and rasburicase are just a couple that have been associated with this risk." TS 17:50 "One of the big concerns is always polypharmacy. Our patients truly can be on a lot of medications. In the field that I work in, transplant, patients automatically from their transplant are on many, many different medications that can potentially predispose them to side effects. … But I think when it comes to the many drug interactions that may flag in these situations, we really have to look at the patient as a whole. Like, how long have these patients been on these therapies? Are they having side effects? Have they been on the combination for a very long time now? So I think that not just looking at the drug reference and seeing that there are like 10 different interactions flagged, but really assessing your patient as a whole can be very important—just because real-world practice, of course, is not black and white. It's often very gray, so it's just important to use clinical judgment in those scenarios." TS 26:10

Guests:Martin Wikelski, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorAndrea Kwakowsky, Associate Professor of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at the University of Galway

Does Parkinson's cause pain? Can a non-Parkinson's pain be aggravated by the disease? Or is just our old age? Dr Susan Duty, Professor in Pharmacology and Neuroscience at King's College London, joins us this week to explain why it is we're all enduring so much discomfort. Movers & Shakers is brought to you in partnership with Cure Parkinson's.Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Associate Producer: Lulu GoadMusic by Alex Stobbs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many women are prescribed oral estrogen without ever being told what happens after it enters the body. In this episode, Dr. Brendan McCarthy takes a deeper look at estrone, the estrogen metabolite created when estradiol is taken orally, and explains why the delivery method of hormone therapy matters. You'll learn: The difference between estradiol and estrone Why oral estrogen creates significantly higher estrone levels How estrone may contribute to inflammation and insulin resistance The connection between estrogen metabolism and weight gain during perimenopause and menopause Why monitoring labs is essential when using hormone therapy The importance of understanding risks, benefits, and treatment options before starting hormones Dr. McCarthy also discusses the role of inflammation, body fat, metabolic health, and hormone delivery systems in creating long-term outcomes for women navigating menopause. This episode is about education, informed consent, and helping women better understand the science behind their care.   Citations: There is more than one estrogen; after menopause, estrone dominates Kuhl, Herbert. “Pharmacology of Estrogens and Progestogens: Influence of Different Routes of Administration.” Climacteric, vol. 8, no. S1, 2005, pp. 3–63. Body fat is an endocrine organ — aromatase converts androstenedione into estrone, and adipose becomes the dominant post-menopausal estrogen source Lee, Angel A., and Laura J. Den Hartigh. “Metabolic Impact of Endogenously Produced Estrogens by Adipose Tissue in Females and Males across the Lifespan.” Frontiers in Endocrinology, vol. 16, 2025, article 1682231. Inflamed fat raises IL-6; IL-6 tracks the insulin-resistant state Kern, Philip A., et al. “Adipose Tissue Tumor Necrosis Factor and Interleukin-6 Expression in Human Obesity and Insulin Resistance.” American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 280, no. 5, 2001, pp. E745–E751. IL-6 is part of the insulin-resistance machinery — it correlates with impaired insulin-stimulated glucose uptake Bastard, Jean-Philippe, et al. “Adipose Tissue IL-6 Content Correlates with Resistance to Insulin Activation of Glucose Uptake Both In Vivo and In Vitro.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol. 87, no. 5, 2002, pp. 2084–2089. Inflammation amplifies aromatase — IL-6 raises aromatase via COX-2/PGE2 Bowers, Laura W., et al. “Obesity-Associated Systemic Interleukin-6 Promotes Pre-Adipocyte Aromatase Expression via Increased Breast Cancer Cell Prostaglandin E2 Production.” Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, vol. 149, no. 1, 2015, pp. 49–57. Human-tissue confirmation: HOMA-IR, IL-6, insulin, leptin, hsCRP track breast aromatase after menopause Brown, Kristy A., et al. “Menopause Is a Determinant of Breast Aromatase Expression and Its Associations with BMI, Inflammation, and Systemic Markers.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol. 102, no. 5, 2017, pp. 1692–1701. Iyengar, Neil M., et al. “Effects of Obesity on Breast Aromatase Expression and Systemic Metabo-Inflammation in Women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutations.” npj Breast Cancer, vol. 7, no. 1, 2021, article 18. The molecular crux: estrone drives ERα/NF-κB inflammatory signaling while estradiol opposes it Qureshi, Rehana, et al. “The Major Pre- and Postmenopausal Estrogens Play Opposing Roles in Obesity-Driven Mammary Inflammation and Breast Cancer Development.” Cell Metabolism, vol. 31, no. 6, 2020, pp. 1154–1172.e9. Estrone as a metabolic-risk signal — prospectively associated with diabetes (note: male cohort) Jasuja, Guneet Kaur, et al. “Circulating Estrone Levels Are Associated Prospectively with Diabetes Risk in Men of the Framingham Heart Study.” Diabetes Care, vol. 36, no. 9, 2013, pp. 2591–2596.   Dr. Brendan McCarthy is the founder and Chief Medical Officer of Protea Medical Center in Arizona. With over two decades of experience, he's helped thousands of patients navigate hormonal imbalances using bioidentical HRT, nutrition, and root-cause medicine. He's also taught and mentored other physicians on integrative approaches to hormone therapy, weight loss, fertility, and more. If you're ready to take your health seriously, this podcast is a great place to start.

Psychopharmacology is one of the most heavily tested and clinically consequential domains in professional psychology, covering everything from the neurochemical mechanisms behind antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and anxiolytics to the pharmacokinetic principles that determine how drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated in ways that directly affect treatment outcomes and patient safety. This lecture-style episode breaks down the major drug classes tested on the EPPP and encountered in integrated care settings, including SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclics, MAOIs, first and second generation antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, and lithium, covering their mechanisms, therapeutic windows, side effect profiles, and the clinical decision-making frameworks psychologists need to consult competently with prescribing professionals. Whether you are preparing for licensure, refreshing your pharmacology knowledge for supervision or consultation, or building the scientific foundation you need to practice in an era of increasingly integrated behavioral health care, this episode delivers the core content in a focused, high-yield format designed to make complex neuroscience and pharmacology accessible and retainable.

As a clinical instructor, I noticed that many new nursing students struggle with care plan pharmacology. In this episode, I'm addressing the key things your clinical instructor wants to see as your fill out your med worksheets. ___________________ ⁠⁠Nursing School Survival Blueprint⁠⁠ - Feeling overwhelmed or unsure how to approach nursing school? Download this free Blueprint to understand exactly what's working against you — and what to do instead. ⁠Straight A Nursing Study Resources⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠Check out everything Straight A Nursing has to offer, including free resources and online courses to help you succeed!

The World Cup is here, and while we watch some of the world's greatest athletes competing on a global stage, it's fascinating to consider what effect this intense activity may have on the human body. With that in mind, we're re-releasing our conversation with Stanford biochemist Jonathan Long on the future of exercise. Jonathan studies the chemistry of what happens inside your body when you move, and his findings are pointing toward some genuinely surprising possibilities — including treatments for obesity, diabetes, and even, someday, an exercise pill. If the athleticism on the pitch has you feeling inspired, this one is well worth another listen. Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu. Episode Reference Links: Stanford Profile: Jonathan Long Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Chapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Russ Altman introduces guest Jonathan Long, a professor of pathology from Stanford University. (00:02:02) Effective Weight Loss Drugs The history and development of GLP-1 receptor agonists. (00:04:04) Understanding Metabolism and Exercise Why Long's lab starts with molecules to understand metabolism and physical activity. (00:05:10) Animal Models in Exercise Studies The use of animal models in exercise studies and the discovery of Lac-Phe. (00:06:47) Psychological Preparation for Exercise The psychological aspects of exercise and the involvement of endocannabinoids in exercise motivation. (00:09:00) Lac-Phe's Role and Mechanism The role of Lac-Phe and its production in the gut. (00:12:08) Differences in Exercise Response Differences in exercise response between trained athletes and untrained individuals. (00:12:57) Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases The relationship between diabetes, exercise, and metabolic diseases. (00:15:01) Lac-Phe as a Potential Therapeutic The potential of Lac-Phe as a weight loss drug, and parallels to GLP-1 drug development. (00:16:21) Importance of How Weight is Lost Whether the method of weight loss matters, and the importance of preserving lean muscle mass. (00:18:37) Exercise as Medicine The concept of exercise as medicine, and defining physical activity at the same resolution as modern medicines. (00:22:11) Metformin and Exercise Pathways The unexpected connection between metformin and the Lac-Phe pathway. (00:24:01) Prospects of an Exercise Pill The future of an exercise pill, and the challenges associated with its development. (00:27:05) Conclusion Final thoughts on the future of exercise. Connect With Us:Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything WebsiteConnect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / MastodonConnect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I cover the most important insomnia medications. We cover adverse effects, drug monitoring, and much more. You can find the full 16+ hour nursing pharmacology review course, including PDF handouts, cheat sheets, practice questions, and on-demand videos at meded101.com!

Deb 00:00:01Imagine your body has a repair manual, instructions written in your cells that tell tissues how to heal, blood vessels, how to grow, and inflammation when to stop. But what if those instructions got lost somewhere along the way? Well, today I’m talking about peptides, tiny protein fragments that act like biological text messages. Two of them, BPC 157 and TB 500.They’re showing remarkable promise for gut repair, joint recovery, and tissue regeneration. But here’s what nobody’s telling you. Women respond differently to these healing signals, especially during hormonal transitions. And today, we’re uncovering the science behind these regenerative peptides, who actually needs them, and why your doctor might not know about them. Can you guys put our ad right in here and then I’ll go to the standard intro?Welcome back to Let’s Talk Wellness Now, the show where we uncover the root causes of chronic illness, explore cutting edge regenerative medicine, and empower you with the tools to heal. I’m Dr. Deb, your medical detective. And today we’re diving into regenerative peptides BPC157 and TB 500. If you or someone you love is struggling with slow recovery from injury, chronic joint pain, gut inflammation that just won’t quit, or you just feel like your body doesn’t bounce back the way it used to, this episode is for you. Grab a cup of coffee or tea or whatever helps you unwind, settle in, and let’s start you on your journey to deeper healing. We’ll do another sponsor break here. Deb 00:01:52So let’s start with the question I hear constantly in my practice. Dr. Deb, I’m doing everything right. I’m eating clean, I’m exercising, I’m taking my supplements, but I’m still not healing. What am I missing? Well, that answer might surprise you. Sometimes it’s not about what you’re putting in your body. It’s about whether your cells are actually receiving the repair signals they need. That’s where peptides come in. Think of peptides as The body’s original communication system. These short chains of amino acids are like biological post-it notes carrying instructions from one cell to another. They tell your human system when to calm down, your blood vessels when to grow and your tissues when to repair. Now here’s where it gets interesting for women specifically. We know that estrogen plays a massive role in collagen production, vascular health, inflammatory response. When estrogen starts declining, whether that’s perimenopause, postpartum, or even from chronic stress, our natural repair mechanisms slow down dramatically. You might notice it as my joints are aching more, I’m a little more fluid filled, you know, they hurt when I bend them, my injuries take twice as long to heal.Gut issues that suddenly appear out of nowhere and no matter what you do, they don’t seem to repair. Skin has lost its elasticity or just this general sense that your body isn’t keeping up anymore. This is where BPC 157 and TB 500 entered the picture. So BPC 157, short for body protection compound 157, is a naturally occurring peptide sequence found in your gastric juices. And according to a 2024 systemic review published in emerging use of BPC 157 in orthopedic sports medicine, this peptide promotes something called angiogenesis. That’s the formation of new blood vessels and they deliver oxygen and nutrients to damaged tissues. Now TB 500 is a synthetic fragment of thymus and beta-4. Deb 00:04:17A protein your body makes naturally during wound healing and research published in therapeutic peptides in orthopedics in 2025 shows that it works like a cellular first responder rushing to injury sites and coordinating tissue repair through a process called actin regulation. But here’s what makes these peptides different from just taking another supplement. They don’t force your body to do anything.They simply remind yourselves how to heal the way they used to. And for women navigating hormonal changes, autoimmune flares, chronic inflammatory conditions, that distinction matters enormously. all right, let’s get into some of these mechanisms because understanding how something works helps you make informed decisions about whether or not it’s right for you. So,Let’s look at the science. Do these peptides actually work? And if so, how do they work? Let’s start with BPC 157. This works through multiple pathways simultaneously. First, it activates growth factor receptors that stimulate fibroblasts. Those are the cells responsible for making collagen and rebuilding connective tissue. And according to research published in Frontiers and Pharmacology in 2023, titled Regeneration or Risk, BPC 157 also modulates nitric oxide signaling, which enhances vascular repair and reduces oxidative stress at the cellular level. So this is really important because many of us are nitric oxide deficient, especially as we get older, especially since the pandemic, we’re seeing a lot of people being more deficient in nitric oxide and you’re taking nitric oxide, many of you, to help with this process. But if we’re having other issues that don’t allow that nitric oxide to get where it needs to go, that could render it completely useless. So in plain English, when we’re talking about how BPC 157 helps the blood vessels work better and protects your mitochondria, big word for your energy factories and your cells from that inflammatory damage. Deb 00:06:38Now there’s studies in musculoskeletal and gastroenterology models that show BPC157 decreases inflammatory cytokines like TNF-alpha and IL-6. And these are chemical messengers that keep inflammation turned on. So by dialing them down, BPC157 creates an environment where healing can actually happen. Now, where do we know about this?TNFL and IL-6, well, we know it from viruses, we know it from Lyme disease, we know it from mold toxicity. These cytokines are turned up, they’re creating a massive inflammatory response in the body, and you’re struggling to get these things down because of that or potentially other reasons. So here’s where it gets really interesting with women in perimenopause or menopause. When estrogen declines, collagen synthesis slows down. And that’s why we see increased joint pain, slower wound healing, and our changes in the skin’s elasticity during this transition. We see the little wrinkles, the fine lines, we see the subcutaneous fat going away a little bit more. This is partially why this is occurring. And so from research shown in the Journal of Orthopedic Research in 2023 by Leibowitz and colleagues, that they suggest that BPC157 affects on the endothelial layers. So the cells lining the blood vessels and these may mimic some of the estrogen’s protective vascular effects without actually affecting your hormone levels. This is really huge because we know that as women lose estrogen, they have a higher risk for vascular events, heart attack, stroke, things like that. And if people have already had a heart attack or a stroke, We typically recommend that they don’t use estrogen because that could potentiate the risk for another heart attack or a stroke. But that means that you don’t gain the benefits of estrogen either. So if we think about this, we could potentially use BPC 157 to give us some of the benefits that we lost from having estrogen and potentially not being able to use estrogen. And that would be huge for us. Deb 00:08:57And not to mention the reduction of inflammation and the joint pain and the wound healing and the energy and the gut feelings. I mean, there’s just so many benefits to BPC 157 that we could talk about them all day long. But we’ve got to move on. So let’s talk about TB 500. Now this peptide works very differently. Its primary job is promoting cell migration, essentially telling repair cells to go to this spot and what to do when they get there. So it sends a signal, puts a little post-it stamp there and says, Hey, when you get there, fix A, B, C, and D. And there was a study in 2024 in cell biology international that demonstrated that TB 500 increases epithelial closure and improves tendon elasticity in models of repetitive strain injury. So let’s think about that a little bit. What does that really mean?That means faster recovery from exercise induced muscle damage, better healing of overuse injuries like tennis elbow or plantar fasciitis, improved scar tissue remodeling after surgery or a C-section, enhanced recovery from chronic inflammatory conditions affecting soft tissues. And I’ve talked about this several times. I have used these compounds post-surgical personally.And I remember going back to see my surgeon at the two to three week mark for follow-up. And she was amazed at how well everything was healing. And when I asked her if she wanted to know what I was doing, her response was no, but keep doing whatever you’re doing because it’s working. And after three weeks of a major pelvic repair surgery that I had, four hours in surgery, lots of sutures, not comfortable. I was actually walking a mile and didn’t have pain and I was recovering really well and felt amazing. And that is just not typically heard of in surgical procedures like mine. It’s usually a minimum of a six to eight week recovery before you’re starting to do that again. And I give all of the credit to these two peptides. Deb 00:11:17In my clinical practice, I see this play out constantly. Women who train hard, whether that’s CrossFit, running, yoga, or just trying to keep up with active kids, often hit a wall where their recovery can’t keep up pace with their activity level. And TB 500 helps to bridge that gap by optimizing the body’s natural repair timeline. But here’s what I want to emphasize with you. These peptides aren’t magic bullets.They work best when we combine them with proper nutrition and anti-inflammatory diet, adequate sleep, stress management, and we address the underlying root cause like the gut dysfunction or those hormonal imbalances. And they work much better when the hormones are balanced versus when they’re not. They’re amplifiers of your body’s existing healing capacity, not replacements for foundational health practices.So let’s have some real talk here. Let’s talk about evidence and what you need to know about that. Let’s take a drink, sorry. Now let’s address the elephant in the room. Regulatory status and safety. Neither BPC 157 or TB 500 are FDA approved for human medical use. They fall into a category called research compounds. And that means they’re legal to possess and use but they’re not approved as pharmaceutical drugs. And hopefully they will be back on our list of things to use relatively soon with the changes that Bobby Kennedy has made to peptides recently. So why does this matter? Because quality becomes a concern. Quality control is absolutely critical. You need to know where these compounds are manufactured, their source, their testing. their clarity, everything about them. There was a 2025 review in therapeutic peptides in orthopedics that concluded both peptides demonstrate strong regenerative signaling with minimal systemic side effects in preclinical studies. But, and this is really important, most of the robust data we have comes from animal models and cell culture models, not large scale human clinical trials. Deb 00:13:41Now that doesn’t mean that they don’t work. It just means that we are still in the early stages of understanding optimal dosing, treatment duration, and long-term effects in humans. So why do we have all of this great peptide information and we don’t quite have the ability to use them yet, or it’s extremely restricted?That comes under the guise of the FDA. came through the past administration with Biden where he removed a bunch of these peptides from the market. Both BPC and TB 500 were on the list of safe peptides to use before Biden made his changes. And it looks like they may be coming back relatively quickly for us here. So what we do have is growing clinical feedback from practitioners like myself. Who use these peptides in practice under careful supervision and under pilot studies on musculoskeletal recovery published in our organizations that we work with. So all of our information is documented and it is done under an observational study. There are other studies published in orthopedic and biomedical research from 2025.that actually found VPC-157 reduced pain scores by 35 % and improved functional mobility within eight weeks. This is really phenomenal because many people over the age of 40 are reaching for the Tylenol bottle, the Advil bottle, the Aleve bottle, which does a number on your kidneys and your gut and your liver. And it is really problematic to be using these things on a regular basis.And if we can use a compound that’s safe, that preserves the kidneys, the liver and the gut, why don’t we do that is the question that I have. Now, we see a lot of the same information in our clinic that we see in these studies. And it is the following things that we see. Significant reduction in joint pain and stiffness. I have a person that was looking at doing a knee replacement and we did 10 weeks of these two compounds. Deb 00:16:00And her knee pain reduced so much that she decided she didn’t feel like she needed that knee replacement right away, which is good because she is only 60 years old. And the length of that knee replacement wouldn’t be as long as it would if she could wait five or 10 years. The doctor didn’t say she needed to do it right away. She wasn’t that critical, but it was the pain that was driving her to the replacement. And so if we could preserve that and give her a reduction in pain, all the better to do that. We get faster recovery from surgical procedures, improved gut symptoms, especially in cases of leaky gut or inflammatory bowel conditions, better skin quality and wound healing, enhanced overall sense of resilience and recovery capacity. But here’s what you absolutely must know before considering peptide therapy. First, source matters. Because these aren’t FDA regulated pharmaceuticals, quality varies widely and you need to work with a physician who sources from compounding pharmacies 503A or 503B that provide certificates of analysis, third party testing and proper sterility verification. Secondly, context matters. Peptides work best as part of a comprehensive functional medicine approach. So if you’re still eating inflammatory foods, drinking alcohol, not managing your stress or your sleep, you have unaddressed gut dysfunction, and these peptides alone won’t fix those problems. Thirdly, realistic expectations matter. These aren’t overnight miracle cures. Most patients see gradual improvements over four to 12 weeks. Some respond dramatically, others see modest benefits. Individual variation is real. And fourth, medical supervision matters. Dosing, injection technique,monitoring for side effects and knowing when peptides are or are not appropriate. All of this requires clinical expertise. Now let me bust a few myths here because I hear this constantly. Myth number one, peptides are just for bodybuilders and athletes. That is false. While athletes use them for performance recovery, the therapeutic applications for chronic pain, gut healing and age related tissue decline are profound. Deb 00:18:26For everyday people. Myth number two, peptides will mess with my hormones. False. BPC-157 and TB-500 don’t interact with your endocrine system the way hormones do. They work through growth factors and cell signaling pathways. They are very different. Myth number three, if they’re not FDA approved, they must be dangerous. Not accurate.Many effective therapies exist in regulatory gray zones. What matters is quality sourcing, proper medical oversight, and informed consent. So the bottom line here is that these peptides show real promise backed by mechanistic science and growing clinical expertise, but they require responsible use, quality products, and realistic expectations. Now let’s talk about practical integration.Who should consider peptides? Well, so who actually benefits from the peptides? Let’s start there. Let me walk you through the three main categories I see. Number one is gut restoration. If you’re dealing with chronic gut inflammation, whether that’s IBS, inflammatory bowel disease, leaky gut, persistent digestive issues that haven’t responded to dietary changes alone, BPC 157 can be transformative.I had a patient recently, I’ll call her Sarah. She’s been struggling with severe gut pain and food sensitivities for three years. She tried elimination diets, probiotics, gut healing supplements, everything. And within six weeks of adding BPC 157 to her protocol, alongside the targeted nutritional therapy, her pain dropped by 70 % and she could tolerate foods that she hadn’t tolerated in years. Why does this happen? because BPC 157 directly supports mucosal integrity, the protective lining of your intestinal tract, and it reduces inflammatory cytokines and promotes healing of damaged tissue. Number two, muscle and joint recovery. This is where I see TB 500 shine. Women who are active, whether you’re a runner, a yogi, a cross-bitter, or someone who just wants to keep moving without pain. Deb 00:20:48They often hit a point where recovery becomes a very limiting factor. And maybe you’re dealing with chronic tendonitis, a nagging shoulder injury, a bad back that just will not quit, or just general achiness. It all makes you feel older and keeps you from being active the way you want to. TB 500 combined with therapies like red light therapy, PEMF, or targeted physical therapy, can dramatically accelerate soft tissue healing. I’ve seen recovery timelines cut in half for patients dealing with overuse injuries. Number three, menopausal transition support. This is where the intersection of peptides in women’s health gets really exciting. During perimenopause and menopause, declining estrogen affects collagen production, vascular health, and joint integrity, along with inflammatory processes and responses.Many women notice they just don’t heal as quickly and their joints hurt much more. Besides noticing their skin changes and their injuries linger longer. Low dose peptide protocols, often combining BPC157 for vascular and gut support with TB500 for soft tissue repair, can complement bioidentical hormone therapy or stand alone for women who can’t or don’t want to use hormones.Now I’m not saying that peptides replace your hormone optimization, but they can be powerful adjuncts that support tissue resilience during a time when your body’s natural repair mechanisms are shifting. Now, who should not use peptides? If you have any active cancer or a history of certain cancers, peptides that promote cell growth and angiogenesis might not be appropriate. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, we don’t have safety data.If you have severe kidney or liver disease, clearance and metabolism could be affected. You want to work with a practitioner who really understands this and be under medical supervision for these kinds of conditions. This really matters. A qualified functional medicine practitioner can assess your individual situation, run appropriate labs and determine whether peptides fit into your overall healing strategy. Remember, peptides are tools. They’re not magic. Deb 00:23:11They work best when you’re also addressing nutrition, sleep, stress, movement, and underlying root causes. They amplify your body’s healing capacity. They don’t replace the fundamentals. This is really important to understand. So thank you for joining me today on Let’s Talk Wellness Now. If this episode resonated with you, share it with another woman who’s ready to reclaim her body’s natural healing capacity. Remember, Wellness isn’t just about feeling good. It’s about thriving in every area of your life. Your body was designed to heal. You’re not a small version of a male. You are a woman with different biochemistry. And sometimes it just needs the right signals and the right support to remember how. If you’re ready to explore personalized regenerative medicine or peptide therapy as part of a comprehensive functional medicine approach,You can visit us at serenityhealthcarecenter.com. You can also follow us on Instagram, and you can look at my book, Seen at Last, and join the Seen at Last free community on Facebook, where we will provide all of this information and more for you. Until next time, I’m Dr. Deb, reminding you to take care of your body, mind, and spirit. Be well, and I’ll see you in the next episode.The post Episode 269 – Peptide Therapy for Women: How BPC-157 & TB-500 Heal Gut, Joints & Inflammation first appeared on Let's Talk Wellness Now.

"Until immunomodulators, patients [with myeloma] did not have a great overall survival rate. But when we introduced lenalidomide, we started seeing our patients have life expectancies between five and seven years—which was unheard of prior to these immunomodulators going forward. I think it's promising and allows patients to have quality of life versus therapy of life," ONS member Daniel Verina, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, nurse practitioner for the multiple myeloma program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, NY, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about immunomodulators. Music Credit: "Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  Earn 0.75 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by June 12, 2027. Daniel Verina is on the speakers' bureau for Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer. This financial relationship has been mitigated. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Learning outcome:  Learners will report an increase in knowledge about the use of immunomodulators to treat cancer. Episode Notes  Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  ONS Podcast™ episodes: Pharmacology 101 series Episode 401: Multiple Myeloma Treatment Considerations for Oncology Nurses Episode 386: Interprofessional Navigation and the Oral Anticancer Medication Care Compass Episode 290: Cancer Symptom Management Basics: Peripheral Neuropathy ONS Voice articles: Maintain Oral Adherence With ONS Guidelines™ Multiple Myeloma Prevention, Screening, Treatment, and Survivorship Recommendations Sexual Considerations for Patients With Cancer Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing article: Optimizing Transitions of Care in Multiple Myeloma Immunotherapy: Nurse Roles Oncology Nursing Forum articles: Changes in Health-Related Quality of Life During Multiple Myeloma Treatment: A Qualitative Interview Study Facilitators of Multiple Myeloma Treatment: A Qualitative Study ONS book: Multiple Myeloma: A Textbook for Nurses (third edition) ONS Symptom Intervention resource: Peripheral Neuropathy Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) Lenalidomide Pomalidomide Thalidomide International Myeloma Foundation: Using Immune Therapy to Fight Multiple Myeloma International Myeloma Society Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation: Treatments for Multiple Myeloma To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. Highlights From This Episode "We definitely want the diagnosis of multiple myeloma before initiating these drugs. We're going to look at serum protein electrophoresis. We want to make sure that we know the patient has serum free light chains and myeloma proteins to really confirm their disease. Plus, a bone marrow biopsy." TS 7:21 "Each immunomodulator has slightly different side effects. Thalidomide's biggest side effects are constipation, weakness, fatigue, somnolence, peripheral neuropathy, mood swings, hand tremors, and depression. With each generation, less of the side effects actually occurred. Most of lenalidomide's side effects, not discounting the deep vein thrombosis, are pancytopenia—the neutropenia, the anemia, and the thrombocytopenia. [The side effects] are very similar in pomalidomide." TS 15:40 "The REMS program is critical for oral immunomodulator therapies—thalidomide, pomalidomide, and lenalidomide. It was developed due to the risk of developing embryofetal toxicities. ... It is mandatory testing and counseling, so all females of reproductive potential must have two negative pregnancy tests prior to starting the therapy and then monthly pregnancy tests while on the therapy alone. Again, they must use two forms of effective contraceptives or abstain from heterosexual sex four weeks prior, during, and after. And the same thing for men. I focus on that because males may say, 'I have a vasectomy.' These therapies tend to bind to the semen. So, males must still use a latex or synthetic condom during any sexual contact with a female of reproductive potential, even if they did have a vasectomy." TS 18:31 "The capsule itself cannot be chewed, crushed, or opened. I bring that up because as healthcare professionals, we have educated our patients. If it's difficult to swallow capsules or tablets, we've always said to them, 'Oh, don't worry, just crush it into applesauce or open it up and sprinkle it on your mashed potatoes.' But because of this embryofetal toxicity, I advise my patients not to open the capsule. If they can't swallow it for any reason, they have a sore throat or they're just unable to, then [we tell them] to hold the therapy and then call us." TS 22:49 "We spoke about three generations already, but there's actually a fourth generation [of immunomodulators]. They're called cereblon E3 ligase modulators(CELMoDs). They're still in clinical trials but really showing promise in the therapy of myeloma. They're showing very good affinity to cereblons, just like the immunomodulators do. I think, in all cancer therapies, as newer generations come out or newer therapies move forward, some of the older generations might move aside, but they get integrated later on. So I don't think [immunomodulators] will disappear totally, but they will probably be modified." TS 36:39

Support the Institute today. https://givenow.nova.edu/the-institute-for-neuro-immune-medicine-inim-2025   In today's episode, Haylie Pomroy is joined by Dr. Theoharis Theoharides, one of the world's leading authorities on mast cell biology and neuroimmunology, to reframe multiple chemical sensitivity as a measurable, physiological immune response rooted in mast cell activation. Dr. Theoharides explains how mast cells throughout the body and brain respond to environmental chemicals, stress hormones, fragrances, mold toxins, and other triggers by releasing hundreds of chemical mediators that can affect every organ system simultaneously. He outlines the specific labs and biomarkers worth requesting, why standard diagnostic pathways frequently miss this condition, and what patients can do right now to reduce mast cell reactivity through natural compounds, environmental modifications, and targeted testing. This is a conversation that gives patients the clinical language and tools they need to stop being dismissed and start getting answers. Tune in to Hope and Help For Fatigue and Chronic Illness. Dr. Theoharis Theoharides is a Professor, Vice Chair of Clinical Immunology, and Director at the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine-Clearwater, an Adjunct Professor of Immunology at Tufts School of Medicine, where he was a Professor of Pharmacology and Internal Medicine, and also the  Director of Molecular Immunopharmacology & Drug Discovery, and Clinical Pharmacologist at the Massachusetts Drug Formulary Commission (1983-2022). He received his BA, MS, MPhil, PhD, and MD degrees and the Winternitz Price in Pathology from Yale University and received a Certificate in Global Leadership from Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a Fellowship at Harvard Kennedy  School of Government. He trained in internal medicine at New England Medical Center, which awarded him the Oliver Smith Award, "recognizing excellence, compassion, and service." Dr. Theoharides has 485 publications (46,491 citations; h-index 106), placing him in the world's top 2% of most cited authors, and he was rated the worldwide expert on mast cells by Expertscape. He was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society, the Rare Diseases Hall of Fame, and the World Academy of Sciences.   Website: https://www.drtheoharides.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/theoharis-theoharides-ms-phd-md-faaaai-67123735 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.theoharides/   Haylie Pomroy, Founder and CEO of The Haylie Pomroy Group, is a leading health strategist specializing in metabolism, weight loss, and integrative wellness. With over 25 years of experience, she has worked with top medical institutions and high-profile clients, developing targeted programs and supplements rooted in the "Food is Medicine" philosophy. Inspired by her own autoimmune journey, she combines expertise in nutrition, biochemistry, and patient advocacy to help others reclaim their health. She is a New York Times bestselling author of The Fast Metabolism Diet.   Learn more about Haylie Pomroy's approach to wellness through her website: https://hayliepomroy.com   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hayliepomroy  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hayliepomroy  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hayliepomroy/videos  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayliepomroy/  X: https://x.com/hayliepomroy    Thank you for tuning in to the Hope and Help For Fatigue and Chronic Illness Podcast. Sign up today for our newsletter.

In this section, I educate about the most common ICU sedation medications. You can find the full 16+ hour nursing pharmacology review course, including PDF handouts, cheat sheets, practice questions, and on-demand videos at meded101.com!

Drag by 2 PM? In this Supplement Ingredient Series episode, Nurse Doza breaks down NAD+, the coenzyme your cells use to make energy (ATP), and why levels dip with age and stress. He explains how NAD+ injections at home through SHED's provider-guided telehealth program offer a convenient way to support steady all-day energy, sharper focus, and less brain fog. Try it with code DOZA40 for 40% off. Featured Partner: SHED SHED is a telehealth provider that ships physician-reviewed NAD+ at-home injection kits, so you can keep a consistent NAD+ routine without booking a clinic IV drip — exactly the kind of convenient, repeatable protocol Nurse Doza describes in this episode. Always follow the dosing and technique guidance from your SHED provider.

Think energy, digestion, and weight. In this episode, Nurse Doza breaks down berberine — the metabolism-supporting supplement that helps regulate blood sugar, support a healthy insulin response, and improve cholesterol (LDL, HDL, total). Discover why MSW Nutrition's Berberine Plus is 5x more absorbable in the gut, how to dose it morning and night, and why it works at the level of your gut microbiome. The berberine supplement your metabolism has been waiting for. Featured Partner: MSW Nutrition — Berberine Plus MSW Nutrition's Berberine Plus delivers dihydroberberine (DHB) — the bioactive, highly absorbable form of berberine sourced from Berberis aristata — so you get berberine's full metabolic benefits at a fraction of the dose, without the gut upset that comes from mega-dosing standard berberine. That enhanced absorption is exactly why it's the berberine supplement Nurse Doza reaches for to support blood sugar, digestion, and weight — as discussed in this episode.

Katherine MacGilchrist comes from a long line of doctors, has degrees in Pharmacology and Epidemiology and spent many years working in the pharmaceuticals industry. But during ‘Covid' she began questioning the narrative and became a pariah and an outcaste. Since then she has found God, started homesteading and now gives talks to her Somerset community on vaccine dangers and how to deal with them. Her Twitter is @unveildeception ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Monetary Metals is providing a true alternative to saving and earning in dollars by making it possible to save AND EARN in gold and silver. Monetary Metals has been paying interest on gold and silver for over 8 years. Right now, accredited investors can earn 12% annual interest on silver, paid in silver in their latest silver bond offering. For example, if you have 1,000 ounces of silver in the deal, you receive 120 ounces of silver interest paid to your account in the first year. Go to the link in the description or head to https://monetary-metals.com/delingpole/ to learn more about how to participate and start earning a return on honest money again with Monetary Metals. ↓ ↓ How environmentalists are killing the planet, destroying the economy and stealing your children's future. In Watermelons, an updated edition of his ground-breaking 2011 book, JD tells the shocking true story of how a handful of political activists, green campaigners, voodoo scientists and psychopathic billionaires teamed up to invent a fake crisis called ‘global warming'. This updated edition includes two new chapters which, like a geo-engineered flood, pour cold water on some of the original's sunny optimism and provide new insights into the diabolical nature of the climate alarmists' sinister master plan. Purchase Watermelons by James Delingpole here: https://jamesdelingpole.co.uk/Shop/ ↓ ↓ ↓ Buy James a Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jamesdelingpole To support independent, no-holds-barred journalism and gain first and full access to all James's content, subscribe directly at https://jamesdelingpole.co.uk x

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter's Weekly Newsletter In this episode, Peter dives into the pharmacology of sleep, exploring where sleep medications fit within the broader framework of achieving healthy, restorative sleep. He explains why sleep is a biological imperative, why behavioral and environmental interventions must remain the foundation of good sleep, and how medications can serve as useful tools when carefully matched to a person's specific sleep problem. Peter examines the major classes of prescription sleep medications, including how they work, their effects on sleep architecture, their duration of action, side effects, and risks of tolerance and dependence. He also discusses the dangers of using sleep drugs without a clear understanding of the underlying problem being treated, the role of medications as short-term bridges during periods of acute stress, pain, or anxiety, and the promise that newer drugs like DORAs may hold for Alzheimer's prevention in high-risk individuals. Finally, Peter reviews the evidence for select off-label medications and supplements commonly used for sleep. We discuss: The biological foundations of sleep, the major drivers of sleep dysfunction, and the role sleep medications can play when appropriately matched to specific sleep problems [1:00]; Sleep hygiene, circadian alignment, and the medical causes of insomnia: building the foundation for effective sleep treatment [7:15]; Understanding insomnia: hyperarousal, CBT-I, paradoxical insomnia, and why different sleep problems require different treatments [12:45]; The difference between sedation and physiologic sleep: sleep architecture, restorative sleep stages, and matching medications to specific sleep problems [17:00]; Benzodiazepines for insomnia: mechanisms, effects on sleep architecture, and the risks of long-term use [18:45]; Z-drugs for insomnia: how Ambien, Sonata, and Lunesta work, and the ongoing risks of sleep medications targeting GABA systems [23:00]; Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) and the future of sleep medicine: orexin signaling, sleep architecture, and the emerging connection between sleep and Alzheimer's disease [27:15]; Melatonin for circadian timing: how timing signals differ from sedatives in the treatment of sleep disorders [36:30]; Trazodone for insomnia: preserving deep sleep while minimizing the risks of traditional sedative-hypnotics [42:00]; First-generation antihistamines for sleep: short-term sedation, anticholinergic risks, and concerns about long-term cognitive health [44:00]; Sleep supplements and the evidence behind them: glycine, magnesium, ashwagandha, phosphatidylserine, and more [45:45]; Takeaways: supplement quality, individualized sleep treatment, and the importance of matching interventions to the biology of insomnia [52:00]; and More. Connect With Peter on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube

"There are a lot of specifics that nurses need to keep in mind as they are administering this herpes simplex modified virus to patients because accidental exposure is of concern both to the patient, to their family members, as well as to healthcare workers. I always recommend nurses wear personal protective equipment, such as a gown, safety glasses, gloves, and/or a face shield," Heidi Finnes, PharmD, RPh, BCOP, director of clinical ambulatory practice at Mayo Clinic and assistant professor of pharmacy at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Rochester, MN, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about oncolytic viral therapy.  Music Credit: "Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by May 29, 2027. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge about the use of oncolytic viruses to treat cancer. Episode Notes  Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  ONS Podcast™ episodes: Pharmacology 101 series Episode 338: High-Volume Subcutaneous Injections: The Oncology Nurse's Role Episode 330: Stay Up to Date on Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs Episode 273: Updates in Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy ONS Voice articles: Cutaneous Malignancies Have High Response to Oncolytic Virus Plus Immunotherapy Oncolytic Virus Kills Tumor Cells While Supporting T Cells What Nurses Need to Know About Talimogene Laherparepvec for Advanced Melanoma Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles: Intralesional Therapy: Consensus Statements for Best Practices in Administration From the Melanoma Nursing Initiative Safe and Effective Standards of Care: Supporting the Administration of T-VEC for Patients With Advanced Melanoma in the Outpatient Oncology Setting Oncology Nursing Forum article: Administration and Handling of Talimogene Laherparepvec: An Intralesional Oncolytic Immunotherapy for Melanoma ONS book: Guide to Cancer Immunotherapy (second edition) ONS clinical practice resource: Safe Handling of Oncolytic Viruses ONS Huddle Card: Immunotherapy Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) Drugs@FDA Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) Network for Collaborative Oncology Development and Advancement (NCODA) Patient Education Sheets To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. Highlights From This Episode "[Oncolytic viruses] can have direct lysis to the tumor cells themselves, or they can cause immunogenic activation. They release tumor-associated antigens and then proinflammatory signals, so think of T cells, natural killer cells, those sorts of things, that can convert to immunologically cold tumors. Those are tumors that are immune silenced into hot tumors which are now immune activated. By doing that, they recruit those T cells and other cells to the area to attack both the primary tumors. But that's also thought to be how they work on distant or noninjected sites as well. This immunomodulatory capacity has led to the reclassification of oncolytic viruses as a form of cancer immunotherapy. So, think of it kind of similarly to how we think of immune checkpoint inhibitors in recruiting immune cells and leaving our immune system in the on position. This is also kind of a form of immunotherapy." TS 4:35 "One of the toxicities I know that is of significant concern to patients, family members, and healthcare workers is the incidence of herpes infections. Systemic herpetic infections are extremely rare and usually more common in patients who may be immunocompromised. In patients who also have other immune-related diseases—such as vitiligo, vasculitis, pneumonitis, sometimes worsening psoriasis—because you're mounting an immune response with these types of things, sometimes you can see a worsening of those types of immune symptoms. But for the most part, these types of side effects are very well tolerated in most patients." TS 9:07 "Talimogene is generally transmitted via bodily fluids or touch. It's not airborne. Herpes simplex virus isn't an airborne type of virus. Another thing to consider is where are you going to inject this? Are you going to do this in your infusion therapy unit? Are you going to do it in a dedicated room? Who's going to escort the patient to the room? How is the virus going to arrive at the room? How will you clean the room and all of the laboratory equipment or any of the exam tables that may be in there? I think having all of that discussed and assigned mitigates the consternation that can sometimes occur—the fear that occurs with administering a virus that is thought to be fairly communicable." TS 15:44 "Helping patients understand how this works [is important] because hearing that you're receiving a virus, particularly a herpes simplex virus, can be scary to a patient. I think understanding that it's modified or essentially we're taking the parts out of it so that we can directly inject a portion that recruits immune cells to that area, because the goal is for the oncolytic virus to attack cancer cells and then destroy them by triggering an immune response in the body." TS 20:51 "Sometimes patients are very concerned about urine in the toilet, bodily fluids, kissing loved ones, holding hands, hugging, you know, am I going to infect my loved one because I'm getting this type of an oncolytic virus therapy? I like to reassure patients that they can continue to hold hands and hug their loved ones as normal. Viral DNA is usually only present on the injection site. And as I mentioned previously, we want to cover that injection site with an occlusive dressing, at least with talimogene, for up to seven days. And particularly, if those injection sites are at all oozing or weeping, active virus is usually only on that injection site itself." TS 24:14

In this episode, we discuss… ● How the brain controls reproductive hormones and communicates with the endocrine system.  ● How endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) interfere with brain-hormone communication. ● What EDCs are and how they disrupt normal hormonal signaling. The endocrine system explained through a simple "lock-and-key" hormone model. ● How EDCs can mimic or block natural hormones in the body. ● How EDCs disrupt hormone production, regulation, and overall balance in the body. ● The rise of synthetic chemicals after World War II and links to increasing endocrine and neurological disorders. ● The accidental discovery that BPA leaching from plastic caused reproductive harm in laboratory mice. ● Why endocrine disruption challenged the traditional idea that "the dose makes the poison." ● How chemicals like BPA can affect multiple hormone receptors at very low doses.....and so much more! Dr. Andrea Gore is Professor and Vacek Chair in Pharmacology at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research team is investigating fundamental mechanisms of how environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) perturb the developing brain; sex differences in EDC actions; and transgenerational epigenetic effects. Dr. Gore's research has been funded continuously by the NIH, NSF, and foundations since 1992. She has published 4 books and over 200 scientific papers. She was Editor-in-Chief of Endocrinology from 2013-2017 and was lead author of the Endocrine Society's two Scientific Statements on EDCs, and the Endocrine Society-IPEN Guides to EDCs, most recently in 2024. Dr. Gore is very active in advocacy for, mentorship of, and education of trainees. Over 150 undergraduates, graduate students, and fellows have conducted independent research in her laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Gore feels fortunate to have multiple passions beyond her research in environmental health: playing violin in an orchestra and string quartet; running a turtle and tortoise sanctuary; and her rescue dogs. Andrea C. Gore, PhD Professor and Vacek Distinguished University Chair in Pharmacology The University of Texas at Austin andrea.gore@austin.utexas.edu http://sites.utexas.edu/gore/

Contributor: Travis Barlock, MD Educational Pearls:   Caffeine Geography and Types: Caffeine is found throughout the world and has evolved independently in various plants that are not evolutionarily related through direct lineage, but rather demonstrate convergent evolution (i.e. different species evolve the same traits).  These plants use caffeine as an insecticide.  Examples of caffeine sources include coffee, tea, yerba-mate, guaraná, cacao, and yaupon holly. Roughly 85% of Americans are estimated to consume caffeine daily.   Caffeine Pharmacology in Humans:  In humans, caffeine is a nonselective competitive antagonist (blocker) of adenosine receptors (A1 and A2A).  During waking hours, neuronal metabolic activity consumes ATP, and a byproduct of ATP hydrolysis is created: adenosine.  Adenosine proceeds to build a "sleep pressure".  Acting on A1 and A2A adenosine receptors to induce sleep (on A1, it suppresses neuronal "wakefulness" and on A2A it is believed to be an inducer of sleep).  Caffeine, by blocking those receptors, blunts sleep induction and feelings of being tired.  Caffeine has a half-life of around 6 hours, and a quarter life of approximately 12 hours, which is when the caffeine will off-load and adenosine can once again occupy those receptors, potentially causing a "crash".  Thus, for shift-workers, it is important to time caffeine intake roughly 10 hours before target bed time.  Caffeine exerts other effects on the body.  It is methylxanthine similar to theophylline, which works as a bronchodilator (via phosphodiesterase and adenosine pathways). Caffeine has clinical use to promote bronchodilation in pre-term infants.  Caffeine exerts diuretic effects as well (blocking proximal renal tubule reabsorption).  Recent ingestion of caffeine may blunt therapeutic use of adenosine in patients with SVT.  Key Takeaway? Caffeine exerts a wide variety of effects beyond making us feel more awake. It has cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal implications in its pharmacodynamics.   References    Benarroch EE. Adenosine and its receptors: multiple modulatory functions and potential therapeutic targets for neurologic disease. Neurology. 2008;70(3):231-236. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000297939.18236.ec Mitchell DC, Knight CA, Hockenberry J, Teplansky R, Hartman TJ. Beverage caffeine intakes in the U.S. Food Chem Toxicol. 2014;63:136-142. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2013.10.042 Bruschettini M, Brattström P, Russo C, Onland W, Davis PG, Soll R. Caffeine dosing regimens in preterm infants with or at risk for apnea of prematurity - Bruschettini, M - 2023 | Cochrane Library. Accessed May 23, 2026. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013873.pub2/full?cookiesEnabled Huang R, O'Donnell AJ, Barboline JJ, Barkman TJ. Convergent evolution of caffeine in plants by co-option of exapted ancestral enzymes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016;113(38):10613-10618. doi:10.1073/pnas.1602575113 Cabalag MS, Taylor DM, Knott JC, Buntine P, Smit D, Meyer A. Recent caffeine ingestion reduces adenosine efficacy in the treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. Acad Emerg Med. 2010;17(1):44-49. doi:10.1111/j.1553-2712.2009.00616.x  Summarized by Dan Orbidan, OMS2 | Edited by Dan Orbidan & Ahmed Abdel-Hafiz, NREMT-P   Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate/   Join our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/c9ouHf  

In this episode, we review the high-yield topic of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alpha-Blockers ⁠⁠from the Pharmacology section.Follow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Medbullets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on social media:Facebook: www.facebook.com/medbulletsInstagram: www.instagram.com/medbulletsofficialTwitter: www.twitter.com/medbullets

Contributor: Travis Barlock, MD Educational Pearls:   Endocannabinoid System: THC binds CB1 and CB2 receptors in neurons and immune cells Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive compound in cannabis CB1 and CB2 receptors typically bind endogenously-produced 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and anandamide (AEA) to regulate pain, stress, and inflammation THC similarly binds CB1 and CB2, leading to the cannabinoid high: euphoria, paranoia, anxiety, analgesia, anti-inflammation, and appetite, among a variety of others Ingestion via edibles, vice inhalation via smoking, leads to chemical modification of Δ9-THC to 11-hydroxy-Δ9-THC, which more easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds CB1 with higher affinity, leading to increased psychoactivity   Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS): Chronic THC use leading to the classic presentation of persistent nausea and intense, frequent vomiting Chronic activation of CB1 receptors in brain builds a tolerance and dependence on THC, in addition to chronic activation of the capsaicin and vanilloid receptor TRPV1, which binds capsaicin or is activated by heat Treatment by warm showers works due to TRPV1 activation by heat Treated with benzodiazepines, fluids, and gastro-intestinal or central nervous system agents according to patient presentation   Over 200 synthetic cannabinoids have been created (K2, spice, black mamba, mojo, etc), which are more dangerous and can lead to a variety of etiologies   Acetaminophen binds CB1 receptors to reduce inflammatory pain   References Loganathan P, Gajendran M, Goyal H. A Comprehensive Review and Update on Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2024;17(11):1549. Published 2024 Nov 18. doi:10.3390/ph17111549  Wall ME, Sadler BM, Brine D, Taylor H, Perez-Reyes M. Metabolism, disposition, and kinetics of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in men and women. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1983 Sep;34(3):352-63. doi: 10.1038/clpt.1983.179. PMID: 6309462.  Mills B, Yepes A, Nugent K. Synthetic Cannabinoids. Am J Med Sci. 2015 Jul;350(1):59-62. doi: 10.1097/MAJ.0000000000000466. PMID: 26132518. Klinger-Gratz PP, Ralvenius WT, Neumann E, et al. Acetaminophen Relieves Inflammatory Pain through CB1 Cannabinoid Receptors in the Rostral Ventromedial Medulla. J Neurosci. 2018;38(2):322-334. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1945-17.2017   Summarized by Sam Pahl | Edited by Sam Pahl & Ahmed Abdel-Hafiz, NREMT-P   Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate/ Join our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/c9ouHf

This NCLEX practice test episode is designed to help nursing graduates, repeat test takers, and international nurses prepare for NCLEX RN and NCLEX PN with real exam-style questions, detailed rationales, and proven test-taking strategies.

This podcast episode gives nurses a practical, easy-to-apply overview of common thyroid disorders, focusing on how to recognize and manage both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism in clinical practice. It reviews key differences in presentation—such as fatigue, weight gain, and cold intolerance in hypothyroidism versus weight loss, tachycardia, and heat intolerance in hyperthyroidism—while connecting these symptoms to underlying physiology. Nurses will learn important medication considerations, including proper administration of levothyroxine and monitoring for adverse effects with methimazole. The episode also highlights critical safety topics like recognizing thyroid storm, interpreting lab values (TSH, T3, T4), and providing effective patient education. With real-world clinical pearls, this episode helps nurses build confidence in managing thyroid conditions across care settings. Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE!

Two supplements. One morning stack. Nurse Doza breaks down why Liver Boost and Berberine Plus work better together — and how the Good Poops Protocol combines them with a gut-repair formula to support liver, gallbladder, blood sugar, and weight.  Today is the last day to save an extra 10% automatically on the full protocol. The Good Poops Protocol is a three-supplement system designed by Nurse Doza, DC, RN, FNP-C — combining Liver Boost (16-ingredient Phase I + II liver detox support), Berberine Plus (5x more bioavailable dihydroberberine for blood sugar and digestion), and Gut (L-Glutamine formula for intestinal lining and gut flora) — into one 60-day protocol. As discussed in this episode, when you support liver function and blood sugar management simultaneously, the downstream effects on digestion, weight, and overall health can be profound — and noticeable within days.

What do you do when you cannot use a first-line antibiotic? Knowing alternative antibiotics for NP boards is essential for answering exam questions and making safe clinical decisions.     In this episode, Alex and I cover alternative antibiotics for NP boards through a rapid-fire pharmacology review. We walk through common scenarios and help you understand how to choose the best alternative when first-line options are not appropriate.                        Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://blog.npreviews.com/alternative-antibiotics-for-np-boards            Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/smnpreviewsofficial

This podcast episode gives nurses a practical, bedside-focused guide to insulin therapy, helping simplify one of the most important—and often confusing—areas of diabetes management. It reviews key insulin types, including rapid-acting insulin lispro, long-acting insulin glargine, and intermediate options like NPH insulin, highlighting onset, peak, and duration differences that drive dosing decisions. Nurses will learn how to safely administer insulin, adjust for meals and blood glucose trends, and recognize and treat hypoglycemia quickly. Real-world clinical tips are included to help nurses feel confident managing insulin in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE!

Frog venom burns your skin, makes you purge, and might be the most powerful healing tool you have never tried. In this episode, Host Dave Asprey sits down with Kambo researcher and practitioner Caitlin Thompson to break down how intentional suffering through this ancient Amazonian medicine is producing dramatic results for people with autoimmune conditions, chronic illness, Lyme disease, addiction, and metabolic dysfunction. From the peptide science behind the purge to the biohacking case for voluntary pain, this conversation will change how you think about healing, resilience, and human performance. Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience: https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR Caitlin Thompson is an internationally recognized Kambo practitioner and educator who has guided over 2,700 clients through this medicine, with a focus on Lyme disease, autoimmune conditions, and chronic illness. Her path into this work was shaped by her own recovery from Lyme disease and Lupus. Trained in neurobiology and rooted in psychedelic science, immune health, and the human microbiome, Caitlin is currently pioneering some of the first prospective human studies on Kambo. She collaborates directly with indigenous Amazonian communities including the Matsés, Shuar, Quechua, and Matis, and has appeared on over 100 podcasts and conferences as a leading voice at the intersection of traditional medicine and modern science. Dave and Caitlin break down the full Kambo experience, from the transdermal burns and peptide families flooding your lymphatic system, to the purge, the frog face, and the window of clarity that follows. They explore why the suffering is not a side effect but the actual mechanism, how ordeal medicine builds the same neuroplasticity and dopamine receptor sensitivity that meditation, breathwork, and ice baths produce, and why this ancient practice is becoming one of the most talked about tools in functional medicine and longevity circles. They also dig into the sustainability crisis threatening frog populations in the Amazon, the almost nonexistent research landscape for Kambo, why journals refuse to publish positive findings, and how AI may unlock the ability to synthesize Kambo peptides and remove the dependency on frogs entirely. You'll Learn: Why intentional suffering through Kambo may be one of the most effective biohacking tools for immune reset and brain optimization How Kambo peptides interact with your mitochondria, vagal nerve, and immune system to drive deep healing Why the purge is not a side effect but a keystone mechanism of the medicine How ordeal medicine builds dopamine receptor sensitivity and neuroplasticity similar to fasting, cold exposure, and breathwork What the actual risks of Kambo are and how hyponatremia kills people who do it wrong Why Caitlin recovered from Lupus and Lyme disease using Kambo and what that means for autoimmune conditions How Kambo compares to ketamine, ayahuasca, and other altered states for trauma and performance Why journals refuse to publish Kambo research and what that reveals about the drug development pipeline How AI and synthetic biology may soon make frog harvesting unnecessary What the worst Kambo practitioners do wrong and how to find someone you can actually trust Thank you to our sponsors! -iRestore | Reverse hair loss at www.irestore.com/DAVE and get exclusive savings on the iRestore Elite, use code DAVE-The One Device | Use code DAVE for $10 off at theonedevice.com/dave-MASA Chips | Go to https://www.masachips.com/DAVEASPREY and use code DAVEASPREY for 25% off your first order. Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade brings you the knowledge to take control of your biology, extend your longevity, and optimize every system in your body and mind. Each episode delivers cutting-edge insights inhealth, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, biohacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living. New episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday (BONUS). Dave asks the questions no one else will and gives you real tools to become stronger, smarter, and more resilient. Keywords: Caitlin Thompson, Kambo practitioner, frog venom healing, Kambo ceremony, Kambo peptides, phyllo medusa bicolor, transdermal burns, hyponatremia Kambo, Kambo autoimmune, Lyme disease Kambo, Lupus recovery, ordeal medicine, intentional suffering dopamine, Kambo research, Kambo safety, Kambo training, Amazon frog medicine, Kambo vs ayahuasca, biohacking, Dave Asprey, human performance, neuroplasticity Resources: • Visit Caitlins Website to Learn More: https://kamboinstitute.org/ • Get My 2026 Clean Nicotine Roadmap | Enroll for free at https://daveasprey.com/2026-clean-nicotine-roadmap/ • Dave Asprey's Latest News | Go to https://daveasprey.com/ to join Inside Track today. • Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/discount/dave15 • My Daily Supplements: SuppGrade Labs (15% Off) • Favorite Blue Light Blocking Glasses: TrueDark (15% Off) • Dave Asprey's BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com • Dave Asprey's New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated • Join My Substack (Live Access To Podcast Recordings): https://substack.daveasprey.com/ • Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com Timestamps: 00:00 – Trailer 01:15 – Introduction05:33 – Guest Introduction 09:46 – Caitlin's Origin Story 12:46 – Kambo & Healing 16:29 – Trauma, PTSD & Psychosomatics 19:36 – What Is Kambo? 22:41 – Journey Duration 24:26 – Pharmacology & Peptides 28:55 – Publishing Challenges & Bias 30:45 – How to Do It Wrong 32:22 – Legal Status 35:14 – Synthesizing Kambo 39:34 – Indigenous Origins & Folklore 42:46 – Safety & Risks 48:56 – Where to Find Caitlin 51:25 – Pain, Resilience & BICEP See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"They are small, powerful little nuggets. They are actually small signaling proteins that our immune cells use to communicate. They really help regulate immune activation or inflammation and even the growth and survival of immune cells. When cytokines are used therapeutically in oncology, they help to stimulate immune cells such as T cells or natural killer cells to better recognize and attack cancer cells," Maribel Pereiras, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, clinical pharmacy specialist at the John Theurer Cancer Center of Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about the cytokine drug class. Music Credit: "Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  Earn 0.5 contact hours (including 30 minutes of pharmacotherapeutic content) of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by April 24, 2027. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Learning outcome: Nurses caring for people with cancer require knowledge of cytokines to provide appropriate education and to safely administer related therapies. Episode Notes  Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  ONS Podcast™ episodes: Pharmacology 101 series Episode 256: Cancer Symptom Management Basics: Hematologic Complications Episode 196: Oncologic Emergencies 101: Bleeding and Thrombosis ONS Voice articles: FDA Approves Nogapendekin Alfa Inbakicept-Pmln for BCG-Unresponsive Non–Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Manage Cancer-Associated Anemia With Erythropoietin-Stimulating Agents Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Motixafortide ONS books: Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice (second edition) and 2024 Drug Supplement Clinical Guide to Antineoplastic Therapy: A Chemotherapy Handbook (fourth edition) Guide to Cancer Immunotherapy (second edition) Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing article: Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy for Melanoma: Nursing Considerations What's Old Is New Again, Unfortunately ONS Symptom Interventions Colony-Stimulating Factors Including Biosimilars for At-Risk Patients for Prevention of Infection: General Platelet Growth Factors for Prevention of Bleeding National Comprehensive Cancer Network To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities. To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. Highlights From This Episode "Cytokines are actually among some of the earliest forms of immunotherapy used in the treatment of cancer, and it really goes back to the 1980s and the 1990s. We're talking therapies like interferon [alpha] or interleukin-2 that were used to stimulate the immune system, with the idea that they would recognize and attack cancer cells, particularly in diseases like metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. What made these therapies unique was that although the overall response rates were relatively modest, when patients did respond, those responses could be very durable and sometimes long lasting. And that observation was really important for the field of oncology, because it was part of the process that demonstrated that the immune system could potentially control cancer in really meaningful ways." TS 1:49 "One nice new example of an engineered cytokine is nogapendekin alfa inbakicept, which is quite the tongue twister to say. … This agent is really interesting because it's an engineered interleukin-15 receptor agonist that works on stimulating natural killer cells and CD8-positive T cells. And what makes this so interesting is that it's used in combination with a medication that probably some of us are familiar with—good old BCG—for patients specifically with invasive bladder cancer. The other really interesting thing about this new therapy is the fact that it is one of our first ones to be engineered in a combination fashion. So the nogapendekin alfa is combined with a receptor component that is called inbakicept. And what happens is it forms a complex to enhance signaling and prolong the activity of the cytokine." TS 7:50 "When you're looking at our therapeutic cytokines, those tend to produce larger-scale systemic inflammatory effects leading to much more global side effect reactions, while your supportive care cytokines are more commonly associated with either bone marrow stimulation effects or hematologic changes." TS 14:01 "Regardless of what type of cytokine therapy may you be using, across the board, early recognition of the symptoms and proactive supportive care are really important. And this is where many of our oncology nurses play such a critical role in identifying changes that are happening in real time to the patient's condition and helping to coordinate, relay information to the rest of the providing team so that timely interventions can occur for the best care of the patient." TS 18:01 "The other fascinating thing about these cytokines is that they're not being used as monotherapy anymore. They're now being looked at in combination with other therapies or even other immunotherapies like our checkpoint inhibitors. They're being looked at in the sense that they may be able to help expand and further activate immune cells that our current therapies rely on. And so it's really interesting that while cytokines were some of the earliest forms of cancer immunotherapy, they're now being reimagined as part of modern combination strategies designed to really further help enhance the immune responses against cancer." TS 29:08

This podcast episode provides nurses with a clear, practical overview of non-insulin diabetes medications, focusing on how to safely and effectively manage patients with type 2 diabetes. It reviews key drug classes such as metformin, glipizide, empagliflozin, and semaglutide, emphasizing mechanisms of action, common side effects, and important monitoring parameters. Nurses will learn how to recognize risks like hypoglycemia with sulfonylureas, genitourinary infections with SGLT2 inhibitors, and gastrointestinal effects with GLP-1 agents, along with key patient counseling points. The episode also connects medication selection to real-world considerations such as weight impact, cardiovascular benefit, and kidney function, helping nurses feel more confident in supporting individualized diabetes care. Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE!

This podcast episode breaks down diabetes “compelling indications” in a way that's highly practical for nurses managing complex patients. It explains how comorbid conditions like cardiovascular disease, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease influence medication selection beyond just lowering A1c. Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE!

Frog venom burns your skin, makes you purge, and might be the most powerful healing tool you have never tried. In this episode, Host Dave Asprey sits down with Kambo researcher and practitioner Caitlin Thompson to break down how intentional suffering through this ancient Amazonian medicine is producing dramatic results for people with autoimmune conditions, chronic illness, Lyme disease, addiction, and metabolic dysfunction. From the peptide science behind the purge to the biohacking case for voluntary pain, this conversation will change how you think about healing, resilience, and human performance. Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience: https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR Caitlin Thompson is an internationally recognized Kambo practitioner and educator who has guided over 2,700 clients through this medicine, with a focus on Lyme disease, autoimmune conditions, and chronic illness. Her path into this work was shaped by her own recovery from Lyme disease and Lupus. Trained in neurobiology and rooted in psychedelic science, immune health, and the human microbiome, Caitlin is currently pioneering some of the first prospective human studies on Kambo. She collaborates directly with indigenous Amazonian communities including the Matsés, Shuar, Quechua, and Matis, and has appeared on over 100 podcasts and conferences as a leading voice at the intersection of traditional medicine and modern science. Dave and Caitlin break down the full Kambo experience, from the transdermal burns and peptide families flooding your lymphatic system, to the purge, the frog face, and the window of clarity that follows. They explore why the suffering is not a side effect but the actual mechanism, how ordeal medicine builds the same neuroplasticity and dopamine receptor sensitivity that meditation, breathwork, and ice baths produce, and why this ancient practice is becoming one of the most talked about tools in functional medicine and longevity circles. They also dig into the sustainability crisis threatening frog populations in the Amazon, the almost nonexistent research landscape for Kambo, why journals refuse to publish positive findings, and how AI may unlock the ability to synthesize Kambo peptides and remove the dependency on frogs entirely. You'll Learn: Why intentional suffering through Kambo may be one of the most effective biohacking tools for immune reset and brain optimization How Kambo peptides interact with your mitochondria, vagal nerve, and immune system to drive deep healing Why the purge is not a side effect but a keystone mechanism of the medicine How ordeal medicine builds dopamine receptor sensitivity and neuroplasticity similar to fasting, cold exposure, and breathwork What the actual risks of Kambo are and how hyponatremia kills people who do it wrong Why Caitlin recovered from Lupus and Lyme disease using Kambo and what that means for autoimmune conditions How Kambo compares to ketamine, ayahuasca, and other altered states for trauma and performance Why journals refuse to publish Kambo research and what that reveals about the drug development pipeline How AI and synthetic biology may soon make frog harvesting unnecessary What the worst Kambo practitioners do wrong and how to find someone you can actually trust Thank you to our sponsors! -BEYOND Biohacking Conference 2026 | Register with code DAVE300 for $300 off https://beyondconference.com-KILLSwitch | If you're ready for the best sleep of your life, order now at https://www.switchsupplements.com/ and use code DAVE for 20% off-Caldera + Lab | Go to https://calderalab.com/DAVE and use code DAVE at checkout for 20% off your first order.-Screenfit | Get your at-home eye training program for 40% off using code DAVE at https://www.screenfit.com/dave.Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade brings you the knowledge to take control of your biology, extend your longevity, and optimize every system in your body and mind. Each episode delivers cutting-edge insights inhealth, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, biohacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living. New episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday (BONUS). Dave asks the questions no one else will and gives you real tools to become stronger, smarter, and more resilient. Keywords: Caitlin Thompson, Kambo practitioner, frog venom healing, Kambo ceremony, Kambo peptides, phyllo medusa bicolor, transdermal burns, hyponatremia Kambo, Kambo autoimmune, Lyme disease Kambo, Lupus recovery, ordeal medicine, intentional suffering dopamine, Kambo research, Kambo safety, Kambo training, Amazon frog medicine, Kambo vs ayahuasca, biohacking, Dave Asprey, human performance, neuroplasticity Resources: • Visit Caitlins Website to Learn More: https://kamboinstitute.org/ • Get My 2026 Clean Nicotine Roadmap | Enroll for free at https://daveasprey.com/2026-clean-nicotine-roadmap/ • Dave Asprey's Latest News | Go to https://daveasprey.com/ to join Inside Track today. • Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/discount/dave15 • My Daily Supplements: SuppGrade Labs (15% Off) • Favorite Blue Light Blocking Glasses: TrueDark (15% Off) • Dave Asprey's BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com • Dave Asprey's New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated • Join My Substack (Live Access To Podcast Recordings): https://substack.daveasprey.com/ • Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com Timestamps: 00:00 – Trailer 01:15 – Introduction05:33 – Guest Introduction 09:46 – Caitlin's Origin Story 12:46 – Kambo & Healing 16:29 – Trauma, PTSD & Psychosomatics 19:36 – What Is Kambo? 22:41 – Journey Duration 24:26 – Pharmacology & Peptides 28:55 – Publishing Challenges & Bias 30:45 – How to Do It Wrong 32:22 – Legal Status 35:14 – Synthesizing Kambo 39:34 – Indigenous Origins & Folklore 42:46 – Safety & Risks 48:56 – Where to Find Caitlin 51:25 – Pain, Resilience & BICEP See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This podcast episode provides nurses with a practical, clinically focused overview of Addison's disease and Cushing's disease, highlighting key differences in pathophysiology, presentation, and management. Listeners will learn how adrenal insufficiency in Addison's leads to symptoms like fatigue, hypotension, and hyperpigmentation, while excess cortisol in Cushing's presents with weight gain, hypertension, and glucose intolerance. The episode emphasizes important nursing considerations such as recognizing adrenal crisis, monitoring electrolytes and blood pressure, patient education on steroid adherence, and identifying medication-related causes of Cushing's. Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE!

Respiratory failure is a serious clinical condition that nurses frequently encounter in critical care, emergency, and acute care settings. While supportive therapies such as oxygen and mechanical ventilation are often required, medications also play an important role in stabilizing patients and addressing the underlying causes. In this episode, we'll review the general pharmacologic strategies used in the management of respiratory failure and highlight key considerations for nursing practice. Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE!

Aminoglycosides are antibiotics used to treat serious Gram-negative infections, but they also come with important safety concerns and unique pharmacokinetic properties that healthcare professionals must understand. In this episode, we're going to break down the essential clinical pearls surrounding aminoglycosides and how pharmacists and clinicians can use them effectively while minimizing toxicity. We'll review the most common agents in this class, including Gentamicin, Tobramycin, and Amikacin, and discuss when these medications are typically used in clinical practice. From severe Gram-negative infections to synergy dosing in conditions like infective endocarditis, aminoglycosides still play a role in antimicrobial therapy. Another key focus of this episode will be the pharmacology that makes these drugs unique. Aminoglycosides demonstrate concentration-dependent killing and a post-antibiotic effect, which is why strategies like extended-interval dosing and tools such as the Hartford Nomogram are commonly used to guide therapy. We'll also cover the major adverse effects, including nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity, and highlight practical monitoring strategies to help reduce these risks. By the end of this episode, you'll have a clearer understanding of how aminoglycosides work, when they should be used, and the key dosing and monitoring principles that every clinician should know. Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE! Support The Podcast and Check Out These Amazing Resources! NAPLEX Study Materials BCPS Study Materials BCACP Study Materials BCGP Study Materials BCMTMS Study Materials Meded101 Guide to Nursing Pharmacology (Amazon Highly Rated) Guide to Drug Food Interactions (Amazon Best Seller) Pharmacy Technician Study Guide by Meded101

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic respiratory condition that nurses encounter frequently in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Effective pharmacologic management plays a major role in controlling symptoms, preventing exacerbations, and improving quality of life for patients living with COPD. In this episode, we'll review the key medication classes used to manage COPD and highlight practical clinical considerations nurses should know when caring for these patients. Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE!