The assumption is that brain insulin resistance is the same as in the rest of the body. Before we dive into topics on neurodegenerative diseases, let’s get clear on the differences between peripheral and CNS insulin. How does insulin get into the brain? What happens at the blood...
This week we’ll look at T lymphocytes and their training process (yes, they have to go to Thymus school and pass 2 very important exams!). What makes a T cells a helper cell? What makes it a killer cell? Get to the the T’s on Episode 26 of vlmd rounds .
The timing was right–I happened to be in Berkeley working on a project when my brother, Vincent, had an upcoming performance. Vince has been studying jazz guitar for about 3 years and he performs with 2 different groups. I was excited to see him perform, of course. Here’s our...
We’re breaking down the adaptive immune system in this episode by looking at B lymphocytes, how they make antibodies to diverse antigens, how they’re activated and their interaction with other immune cells. We’ll also look at the different classes of antibodies and their...
PAMPs and DAMPs, complement proteins and MAC, macrophages, Natural Killers and Interferon, MHC molecules…come get acquainted with the players in your innate immune system.
White fat, brown fat, brite/beige fat, pink fat–those are the shades of fat we possess. In this episode we’ll focus on brown and brite fat and how to increase those fat depots to increase metabolic rate and insulin sensitivity. What supplements increase brown or brite fat? How...
Lipoproteins are a transport system for fats in the body. Certain classes of them have been implicated in atherosclerosis. We’ll cover an overview on lipoproteins as they are commonly discussed in the medical world and also answer certain basic questions such as where small dense...
Time to talk about cell growth, so let’s bring out the “massTOR” cell growth system, mTOR! Yes, it’s important if you want to build bigger muscles and yes, it would help if you took your leucine but there’s more involved with mTOR than meets the eye. Here are...
There’s a famous poem by Rumi: Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance, when you’re perfectly free. I take an average of 8 to 9 dance classes a week. This seems to...
When red blood cells flow in a capillary they do not touch the sides of the blood vessel. This observation led to the discovery of the Glycocalyx which all cells need to survive. Find out the role of the Glycocalyx in cell health, in interactions with lipoproteins and how they contribute...
