Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D.

Guests: Bruce Sutor, M.D. & Megan R. Leloux, Pharm.D., R.Ph., BCPP

Depression is very common both in the U.S. and worldwide. It’s estimated that major depression affects over 8% of American adults, representing over 20 million individuals. Fortunately, we now have a variety of pharmacologic options for the management of depression and they’re much safer than what we had available in the past. However, we now have so many choices, how do we know which medication is best for our patient? What’s the difference between an SSRI and an SNRI? Is there an anti-depressant that’s also effective in treating anxiety? Are some medications better for our elderly patients? I’ll be asking these questions and more to my guests, psychiatrist Bruce Sutor, M.D., and pharmacist Megan R. Leloux, Pharm.D., R.Ph., BCPP, from the Mayo Clinic as we discuss “Pharmacologic Management of Depression” as part of our “Holiday Stress and Wellness” podcast series.

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D.

Guest: Craig N. Sawchuk, Ph.D., L.P.

It’s relatively common for individuals to feel somewhat sad or have the “winter blues” when the days get shorter and then feel better when we get our daylight back in the spring. However, for some, mood changes can be more serious, and they may be experiencing seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression characterized by recurrent mood changes related to a change in the season. It’s estimated that up to 10 million Americans are affected by this disorder. What’s the natural history of seasonal affective disorder? Is it the same as depression which tends to occur around the holidays? Is seasonal affective disorder related to the time of year or the amount of sunlight and does it ever occur during the summer months? I’ll be asking these questions and more of my guest as we discuss “Seasonal Depression” as part of our “Holiday Stress and Wellness” podcast series. My guest for today’s podcast is psychologist Craig N. Sawchuk, Ph.D., L.P., from the Mayo Clinic.

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D.

Guest: Tara Schmidt, RDN, LD

It’s not uncommon to gain a pound or two each year as we get older. For many, most of our annual weight gain occurs during the holidays.  It’s a time of celebration and is filled with parties and events, often with high calorie foods and drinks. Holidays can also be stressful, and many find some relief of stress by eating. Weight gain during the holidays occurs so easily and quickly, yet losing this weight can be quite challenging and can take months. In fact, some studies have shown that weight put on during the holidays never comes off. How do we deal with the abundance of food we’re exposed to over the holidays? How should we approach holiday parties? How can we avoid contributing to the problem when we bring food to holiday events? With the holidays approaching, today’s podcast is directed at our own personal health in our “Holiday Stress and Wellness Series” as we discuss “How to Avoid Gaining Weight During the Holidays.” My guest for this podcast is registered dietician and nutritionist Tara Schmidt, RDN, LD, from the Mayo Clinic.

Check out our guest’s podcast, “Mayo Clinic on Nutrition” Here https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/podcasts/on-nutrition/

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D.  

Guest: Jon O. Ebbert, M.D.

According to the CDC, in 2020 nearly 20% of high school students reported using a vaping product, and nearly a quarter of them indicated they used the product daily. It’s now known that vaping has potential health risks and is just as addictive as combustible tobacco products with some vaping cartridges having a higher concentration of nicotine than cigarettes. In this podcast, we’ll discuss nicotine dependence with an update on vaping. My guest is Jon O. Ebbert, M.D., an internist and nicotine dependence specialist at the Mayo Clinic. I’ll be asking Dr. Ebbert about the health risks of vaping, including second-hand exposure, the likelihood of “vapers” to switch to traditional tobacco products and whether vaping has any potential to help individuals discontinue use of tobacco products.

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D.  

Guest: Aleksandra Kukla, M.D.

In 2023, an estimated 14% of all adults in the U.S. or just over 35 million individuals had chronic kidney disease and it’s even more common in the elderly population affecting over 1/3 of those over the age of 65. It represents the 8th leading cause of death in the U.S. It’s now known that chronic kidney disease is associated with systemic inflammation, which is responsible for a variety of complications including atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular disease. Does kidney disease result in inflammation or does inflammation produce renal dysfunction? Are there inflammatory markers we could measure to assess this inflammation? Can we do anything to reduce the inflammation and if so, does it improve patient outcome? These are just some of the questions I’ll be asking my guest, Aleksandra Kukla, M.D., from the Division of Nephrology at the Mayo Clinic as we discuss “Chronic Kidney Disease as a Systemic Inflammatory Syndrome”.

These talks on Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Disease are sponsored by Novo Nordisk

Learn more about this series HERE

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D.

Guest: Maria L. Collazo-Clavell, M.D.

Its common knowledge that those who are obese are at greater risk for developing metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, the reason for this association has not always been clear. It does appear that systemic inflammation plays a major role and obesity triggers this inflammation. But what specifically initiates the inflammation? How can we measure it? Most importantly, can we reduce or eliminate this inflammation and prevent the progression to these cardiometabolic states? My guest for this podcast is Maria L. Collazo-Clavell, M.D., from the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Mayo Clinic and we’ll discuss “Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Disease: Obesity- The Linking Pathology”.

These talks on Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Disease are sponsored by Novo Nordisk

Learn more about this series HERE

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. [@chutkaMD]

Guest: Alina M. Allen, M.D., M.S.

Fat deposits in the liver are quite common and many individuals have no idea they have the condition. A minority of those individuals will develop an associated hepatic inflammation. It’s not entirely clear why some progress to this state, although there are some known risk factors. Steatohepatitis is a potentially serious health problem and can lead to end-stage liver disease. It’s also associated with cardiovascular disease and all of its complications. The topic for today’s podcast is Hepatic Inflammation and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis. My guest is Alina M. Allen, M.D., M.S., from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Mayo Clinic. What are the risk factors for this health problem? Should we be screening patients for its presence and how should it be managed. These are just some of the topics we’ll discuss in this podcast.

These talks on Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Disease are sponsored by Novo Nordisk

Learn more about this series HERE

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. [@chutkaMD]

Guest: Regis I. Fernandes, M.D.

Inflammation commonly occurs as a response to injury or infection but can lead to damage when it develops in healthy tissue. It’s now known that inflammation plays a key role in the development of cardiovascular disease. It produces damage to the endovascular arterial cells allowing plaque to form within the artery leading to stenosis, thereby reducing coronary blood flow. What initiates the inflammatory response as it develops in otherwise healthy arteries? How should we use the hs-CRP in measuring inflammation in cardiovascular disease? Does our management of cardiovascular disease result in a decrease in hs-CRP? These are some of the questions I’ll be asking my guest, Regis I. Fernandes, M.D., a preventive cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic as we discuss “hs-CRP and Cardiovascular Disease”.

These talks on Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Disease are sponsored by Novo Nordisk

Learn more about this series HERE

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. [@chutkaMD]

Guest: Vinaya Simha, M.B.B.S., M.D.

Type 2 Diabetes is a commonly seen condition in a general medical practice. It’s estimated that over 38 million adults have the disease. When we think of diabetes, we think of a metabolic condition with patients who have hyperglycemia, often overweight, and occasionally have renal, eye and/or neurologic complications. But, do we ever think of diabetes as an inflammatory disease? How is inflammation associated with diabetes? What are the mediators of inflammation in diabetics and when we treat diabetes, are we reducing the associated inflammation in addition to lowering blood glucose? These are questions I’ll be asking our guest, Vinaya Simha, M.B.B.S., M.D., from the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolic Disease at the Mayo Clinic as we discuss “Type 2 Diabetes as an Inflammatory Disease”.

These talks on Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Disease are sponsored by Novo Nordisk

Learn more about this series HERE

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. [@chutkaMD]

Guest: Atul Jain, M.D., M.S.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women and it’s responsible for 1 in every 5 deaths. It’s estimated to cost over $250 billion a year, which includes the cost of medical services, medications and lost productivity. Patients with cardiovascular disease are commonly seen in a general medical practice and since it’s such a common health problem, we’re all pretty comfortable managing these patients. But do we know what’s happening pathologically? What’s the role of cholesterol and inflammation in cardiovascular disease?  What causes the inflammation? How do we measure it and most importantly, can we do anything about it? I’ll be asking these questions of our guest, internist Atul Jain, M.D., M.S., from the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic as we discuss the interplay between cholesterol, inflammation and thrombosis in cardiovascular disease.

These talks on Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Disease are sponsored by Novo Nordisk

Learn more about this series HERE

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd. 

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. [@chutkaMD]

Guest: Joselyn R. Lebow, Ph.D., L.P.

Unfortunately, mental health problems are common in our youth. A recent study by the CDC found that among adolescents aged 12 to 17, just under 21% had experienced a major depressive episode within the past year. Among high school students, more than 35% reported feeling sad or hopeless, with nearly 20% seriously contemplating suicide and mental health disorders are not limited to our teens. Over 17% of children aged 2 through 8 have had a diagnosis of a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder. Are mental health disorders in our youth increasing? How might depression present in a child or adolescent? How common is suicide in our youth and how often are suicide attempts successful? I’ll be asking these questions and more to my guest in today’s podcast on “Pediatric Mental Health Disorders” as part of our “Back to School” podcast series. My guest is child psychologist Joselyn R. Lebow, Ph.D., L.P., from the Mayo Clinic.

To learn more about this series, check it out HERE

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd.