1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:00,920 Speaker 1: Doctor Jim Keeney. 2 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 2: It's our medical segment, chief medical officer for Dignity Saint 3 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 2: Mary Medical Center in Long Beach. 4 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 1: I Jim, good morning, yep, good morning. Oh there you are, 5 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: all right? Uh okay. 6 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 2: One of my favorite topics that we talk about, of course, constipation. 7 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 2: It's just one of those things. And uh you know 8 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,760 Speaker 2: a lot of us deal with constipation. Uh A lot 9 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 2: of us uh have successfully dealt with constepation, for example, 10 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 2: going to federal prison for a few months. Uh now, 11 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 2: uh see, I got you on that one, didn't I. 12 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 2: Uh all right, uh a, I guess not a cure, 13 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 2: but uh certainly I help for constipation. Kiwis like the 14 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 2: kiwi's that you put in in the fruit. 15 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly. So like kiwi's, they're similar to I think 16 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 3: an American culture. You know, prunes are more well known, 17 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 3: but uh you know they trigger uh you know, increase 18 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 3: volume of water on into the gut because of the 19 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 3: amount of sugar that's in kiwi's and in prunes, and 20 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 3: then that helps, you know, helps things move along because 21 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 3: it stays more hydrated. It actually triggers bowel contractions too, 22 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,479 Speaker 3: so and it makes the stool more soft. So all 23 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 3: you put all that together and basically kiwis will help, 24 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 3: and the studies show that they're so effective kiwis and 25 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 3: prunes that rather than promoting like fiber supplements or other 26 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 3: supplements or even probiotics or medications, that doctors should use this. 27 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 3: This is the British health system by the way, They 28 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 3: said doctors should use this as first line therapy rather 29 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 3: than other things, and I think that's a good idea, 30 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 3: right because it's a little bit more natural. They're even saying, 31 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 3: you know, mineral water. They call it in mineral water 32 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 3: because compared to electrolyte waters and things like that, electrolyte 33 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 3: waters usually are high on potassium and that replaces you know, 34 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 3: what you lose when you sweat a bit. But mineral 35 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 3: water is usually rich in magnesium, and magnesium helps. It 36 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 3: has a mild lacks of effect, It helps your gut 37 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 3: move better, helps you sleep at night. So a lot 38 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 3: of good, you know, good effects from using a magnesium 39 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 3: supplement or drinking magnesium rich mineral water have there. 40 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 2: I'm assuming there are studies out there that compare prison 41 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 2: with kiwi's and which would you suggest. 42 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, No, I don't think there's any studies out there 43 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 3: that compare. 44 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 2: Oh okay, here is a big story that's very serious, 45 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 2: which I think is groundbreaking. U. The FDA is clearing 46 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 2: a blood test for Alzheimer's. Prior to this that there 47 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 2: was nothing there other than the symptoms. 48 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 3: Right, No, we actually we talked about a blood test 49 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 3: just back in March that is a different type of 50 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 3: blood test, but also as cleared by the FDA that 51 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 3: you know, to look for products that are related to 52 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 3: Alzheimer's that you find in the blood. So what this 53 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 3: is is it's not really a test to determine you 54 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,360 Speaker 3: have Alzheimer's. It's a test to really rule out Alzheimer's, right, 55 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 3: if this test is negative, this especially this new one. 56 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 3: So what they're looking for we talked about Alzheimer's. What 57 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 3: it is. It's a combination of what we call amyloid plaques, 58 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 3: which is a bunch of gunk that gets in between 59 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 3: the nerves, and then there's TAEL proteins that tangle within 60 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 3: the nerve fibers themselves and cause bad conduction of nerves 61 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 3: of electrical signals. So the TAUL protein can be found 62 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 3: in the blood in these people that are developing Alzheimer's disease, 63 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 3: and the steps are in that order. It's first the amyloid, 64 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 3: then the towel, and so once you find that in 65 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 3: the blood, you're concerned that they may have Alzheimer's. It's 66 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 3: not diagnostic. You then need to go on to the 67 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 3: diagnostic tests. But if this test is negative, if you 68 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 3: have somebody coming in, say that they have a strong family 69 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 3: history of Alzheimer's, they're getting memory loss early in life, 70 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 3: and then they get a negative test. This test is 71 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 3: said to be ninety eight percent accurate in ruling out 72 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 3: Alzheimer's disease. 73 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 2: When you talk about memory loss early in life, what 74 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 2: does early mean? 75 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 3: So if your we typically look at this and this 76 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 3: test would be for people fifty five and over, and 77 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 3: so if you're having memory loss before fifty five, that's 78 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 3: very concerning and probably is not Alzheimer's. It could be 79 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 3: it could be a variant of Alzheimer's, but that's something 80 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 3: that needs to be looked into by a neurologist typically. 81 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: All right, by the way. 82 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 2: Is Alzheimer's Is it increasing or is just the diagnostics 83 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 2: are improving? 84 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:47,799 Speaker 3: You know a good question. I think that that both 85 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 3: you know that it may be increasing slightly I don't 86 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 3: have the stats on that, but for sure our ability 87 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 3: to diagnose it is improving. And now, before we had 88 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 3: to make the diagnos diagnosis clinically right, people would in 89 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 3: with certain features and we would attribute it to Alzheimer's disease. 90 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 3: Now we actually have the ability to measure things like 91 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 3: MRIs and look for amyloid packs, neurofibullarity tangles, and this 92 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 3: can confirm that the person's developing Alzheimer's. 93 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's pretty scary stuff. 94 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 2: And like I have memory issues, There's no question about it, 95 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,599 Speaker 2: and I'm really concerned. And everybody I know telling me, handle, 96 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 2: you've had these memory issues since you've been in your 97 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 2: twenties and nothing has changed. And frankly, I've forgotten that 98 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 2: I had it in my twenties, So you. 99 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,600 Speaker 1: Know at some point. You know, by the way, I'm 100 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: not far off on that one. 101 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 2: So now, next time we get together, you and I 102 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 2: will do a little test right there on dementia. I'll 103 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 2: do it. 104 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, I'll bring a mini mental status exam and we'll 105 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 3: see how you do. 106 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: Liver disease, that's always fun to talk about. 107 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 2: One of my favorite diseases, liver disease, And there is 108 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 2: a breakthrough, and that's dealing with liver disease, not giving 109 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 2: you a lead liver disease. 110 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: Is that fair to say? 111 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, So the breakthrough is, yeah, how to address liver disease. 112 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 3: You remember last week we just talked about you know, 113 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 3: drinks and sugary drinks and even diet sodas as much 114 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 3: as you know, one diet soda a day can increase 115 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 3: your risk for liver disease. And this is what's called 116 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 3: metabolic dysfunction associated dietotic liver disease or mass LD. And 117 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 3: so that leads to a worsening form of liver disease 118 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 3: that can cause permanent damage, rhosis, and even liver failure. 119 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 3: And up to twenty percent of those cases, and we're 120 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 3: seeing a lot more of these. We believe that you know, 121 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 3: probably at least forty to sixty percent of the population 122 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 3: has the early forms because of all the diet sodas 123 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,720 Speaker 3: and regular sodas that people are drinking. So this is 124 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 3: kind of interesting. Now, remember this was done not on humans, 125 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 3: but on rats and deep fish larvae, so still not 126 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 3: human studies, but good markers that show that the fatty 127 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 3: accumulation in the rats liver reverses with these two drugs 128 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 3: put together, and then so do all the other metabolic 129 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 3: markers in a rat. So I mean I think it's 130 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 3: a it's a good start and potentially shows that there's 131 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 3: some drugs out there that are These are not FDA 132 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 3: approved in the US, by the way, just in other 133 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 3: countries they're using these. That one drug is is an arb, 134 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 3: which is used for blood pressure, and the other one 135 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 3: is used for triglos rising cholesterol, and they're being used 136 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 3: regularly in other countries. We can repurpose those for something 137 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 3: like this, which is great news. 138 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 2: Jim, do you pay attention to rat studies? This one 139 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 2: is not a joke. I mean you have studies that 140 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 2: are done, as you indicated in rats and you know 141 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 2: whatever excuse me, so whatever you put into a rat 142 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 2: causes this disease or that disease or cures this disease. 143 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 2: I mean you know what in terms of efficacy in 144 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 2: humans do you do? 145 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 1: You buy this stuff? 146 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 3: Yeah? I mean this is how research is done, and 147 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 3: this is often how we get the first signals that 148 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 3: something could be good. You know, for humans, a lot 149 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 3: of our metabolic processes really carry over. I mean, rats 150 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 3: make cholesterol and they have a liver. So a lot 151 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 3: of this is really connected to humans, and when it 152 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 3: shows promise in that population and there's a good kind 153 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 3: of physiologic reason why this would work, and we have 154 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 3: the same exact mechanism in our body, it's a good 155 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 3: first step. But of course nobody is going to recommend 156 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 3: that we across the board we start mixing these two 157 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 3: chemicals humans. Yeah, but it's a really good first step 158 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 3: and it's really encouraging. You love to know about cutting edge, 159 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 3: and this is cutting edge. 160 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:03,679 Speaker 1: All right, fair enough, but let me let me throw 161 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: something at you. 162 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 2: This would be the last question, and that is as 163 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 2: a percentage if a certain drug or procedure works in 164 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 2: rats and then translating to humans after the additional testing, 165 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,520 Speaker 2: what is the percentage of success at the rat level 166 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 2: that translates for us. 167 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a lot harder because we're talking about such 168 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,679 Speaker 3: a wide variety. Again, something like this. I think it's 169 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 3: encouraging because there is a lot of conservation of processes 170 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 3: between humans and rats in this area, but in other 171 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 3: areas maybe not so much. Because I mean, I remember 172 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 3: one that was supposed to be a vaccine for ass infections. 173 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 3: I thought, wow, this is going to change the world. 174 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 3: And it really worked well in rats. It did not 175 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 3: work at all in humans. So but again, the immune 176 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 3: system is a totally different thing and may not be 177 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:58,199 Speaker 3: as well conserved when you go from rats to humans. 178 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 2: Got it all right, Jim, Thank you. We'll do this 179 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,559 Speaker 2: again next week. Always good stuff, greatly appreciated. 180 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 3: All right, take take care.