The Neuroscience of Change
Listen to the show we did on July 31st on About Health KPFA.org 94.1FM
https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=265243
Please donate during our Fund Drive by calling
1-800-439-5732
Kidney Disease And The Choices People Make
Listen now to KPFA.org, 94.1FM. This show was aired on July 17, 2017 https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=264251
Dr. Vanessa Grubbs and Robert Phillips talked with us about kidney disease, dialysis, the long wait for transplants, and inequities in care. In Dr. Grubbs new book, “Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers,” she describes her journey to donate a kidney to the man she fell in love with and then married (Robert).
Guests
Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, MD, is an associate professor of medicine and nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco, and maintains a clinical practice and research program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. She also teaches writing for patient advocacy to medical students and practicing physicians.
Robert Phillips is the President and CEO of Social Interest Solutions, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving access to quality health and social services through technology and policy solutions. Robert is an accomplished executive with nearly 25 years of experience working in political campaigns, health policy, health systems, technology, philanthropy, and strategic consulting. He and Vanessa are married.
The Brain, Memory, and Dementia
Listen now to todays show on About Health (June 26th) on @KPFA for a conversation about Dementia and the Brain.
https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=262829
Dementia is an overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills, severe enough to reduce a person’s ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases. Vascular dementia, which occurs after a stroke, is the second most common dementia type. But there are many other conditions that can cause symptoms of dementia.
For local information on dementia care: http://daybreakcenters.org/
Josh Kornbluth, is currently engaged in a year-long residency as a scholar at the Global Brain Health Institute. He is spending his time with people who have dementia and their caregivers, as well as researchers, nurses, social workers, and others.
Described as a cross between Woody Allen and Spalding Gray, Josh Kornbluth has been performing autobiographical one-man shows since 1987. The San Francisco Chronicle declared, “Kornbluth takes a world we ignore, or barely observe, and brings it into brilliant comic relief.” He launched his career as a solo artist with Josh Kornbluth’s Daily World, in which he described his childhood as the son of communists in 1960s New York. He is currently working on a solo show based on his experiences as an artist-in-residence and volunteer at the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. For two years he hosted an interview program, “The Josh Kornbluth Show,” on KQED TV. His latest feature film, Love & Taxes, is his second in collaboration with his brother Jacob; in a review, Variety called him “a nerd for our time.” His first feature film, Haiku Tunnel, is currently on HBO. Check out his web site at http://joshkornbluth.com/
Dr. Jennifer Yokoyama is an Assistant Professor at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, where she is building an independent research program in neurogenetics of aging. More specifically, she is interested in how genomic variation influences brain anatomy, physiology, and cognitive behaviors in healthy older adults, and how genomic variation relates to vulnerability, as well as resilience, against neurodegenerative processes of aging. Dr. Yokoyama obtained her doctorate degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics in 2010 at UCSF and completed her postdoctoral training in neuroimaging at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center.
The unhealthy cycle of high stress and the pressured pace of modern life
Do you recognize how the pressures of life impacts your health and relationships? And do you have ways to decompress?
Many people go at a fast pace, eat on the run, work long hours, and are sleep deprived on a regular basis. Without taking time to tune in to what you’re feeling and what your body needs, you may not realize that you are regularly depleted. Some people get sick, irritable, anxious, or become dependent on substances like caffeine, pain pills, and the internet.
On Monday, June 19th from 2-3PM, on KPFA.org, 94.1FM. My guest Peter Wright discussed the fast-paced lives most people live, and it’s effect on well-being and health.
Listen Now https://archives.kpfa.org/data/20170619-Mon1400.mp3
Guest:
Peter Wright, MFT, is a
Somatic Psychotherapist in private practice in Berkeley and San Francisco. He is also Adjunct Faculty in the Somatics program at the California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS), Clinical Supervisor for the Center for Somatic Psychotherapy in San Francisco, and a consultant to clinicians and social service agencies throughout the Bay Area. Many years of personal and professional studies with the founder of Formative Psychology®, Stanley Keleman, has deepened his understanding of Formative Principles, providing the primary frame for his work. Peter has practiced the art of Aikido for over 20 years, a practice that informs his understanding of transition, growth, and relationships.
Research Into Using Psychoactive Substances For Psychosocial Distress
Is it possible to use psychoactive substances in a clinical setting for anxiety or depression related to a terminal illness, or to treat 
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
LISTEN NOW: https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=260947
Our show aired on 5/29/17 on KPFA.org.
Psilocybin (active ingredient in “magic mushrooms”) is a powerful medicine that is being researched in therapeutic settings. Researches caution against recreational use of psilocybin because of potential adverse psychological reactions. New research suggests it has great potential as a treatment for severe anxiety caused by a serious illness, or terminal diagnosis. Other psychoactive substances are being researched for PTSD, depression, and drug abuse.
Guests:
Adam Strauss is a writer and performer based in New York City. His show, The Mushroom Cure, is playing at the Marsh Theatre in San F
rancisco for its West Coast Premiere. His show is inspired by a scientific study showing that hallucinogenic mushrooms may cure obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Adam won the Leffe Craft Your Character Storytelling Competition and the New York Fringe Festival’s Overall Excellence Award for Solo Performance. He is also a stand-up comedian who performs throughout the US and the UK. Adam received his BA in psychology from Brown University. For more information about the show go to https://themarsh.org
Alicia Danforth, Ph.D. has worked in clinical research with psychedelic medicines since 2004 at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She has collaborated with Dr. Charles Grob on pilot studies of psilocybin-assisted therapy for existential anxiety reactive to late-stage cancer and MDMA-assisted therapy for social anxiety in autistic adults. She currently is a licensed psychologist in private practice in the Silicon Valley and is beginning new research on psilocybin-assisted therapy for long-term survivors of HIV in San Francisco. Alicia co-taught the first graduate course for clinicians and researchers in training, entitled, “Psychedelics: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications.”
Autism Through The Lifespan: Desire for a Brighter Future
More than 3.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control identified 1 in 68 children as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
“Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders – autism spectrum disorders – caused by a combination of genes and environmental influences. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by communication difficulties, social and behavioral challenges, and repetitive behaviors.” —Autism Speaks
You can listen now to the show we did on 4/24/17 on About Health, KPFA.org 94.1FM
https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=258424
“Who do you think made the first stone spears? The Asperger guy. If you were to get rid of all the autism genetics, there would be no more Silicon Valley.”
—Temple Grandin
Guests:
Jill Escher is president of the nonprofit, Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area, working to build a strong Bay Area autism community and focusing on the growing crisis in adult care, services and housing. Jill is an autism philanthropist, real estate investor, former lawyer, and mother of two children with nonverbal autism. Through the Escher Fund for Autism, Jill partners with major research organizations to spearhead pioneering autism causation research. She is also an active volunteer in the Bay Area’s autism community, including organizations such as Morgan Autism Center and Autism Fun Bay Area. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the UC Berkeley School of Law and can be reached at .
