Your Complex Brain – Season 1

Release Date: March 22, 2022 |  Run Time: 25:18 |  Download the transcript

With the controversial approval of Alzheimer's drug, Aducanumab, in the United States, we speak with neurologist and medicinal chemist, Dr. Donald Weaver, to break down the science, sift through the hype, and help us understand why it's so difficult to diagnose and treat a disease that affects more than 55 million people worldwide. As the co-Director of Krembil Brain Institute and with 30 years of experience as both a doctor and a scientist, Dr. Weaver is not convinced this new drug is the answer. But he says progress is being made and there's plenty of reason for hope.

Plus, we go on an inspiring journey with Patty Kim, who is caring for her mother with Alzheimer's, and there are tangible tips on how to reduce your chances of getting Alzheimer's or dementia.

Listen now to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or on the player below.

Featuring Dr. Weaver, Neurologist, Medicinal Chemist, and co-Director, Krembil Brain Institute. Special thanks to Patty Kim for sharing her story.

Release Date: April 5, 2022 |  Run Time: 32:23 |  Download the transcript

The medical after-effects of a stroke can be mild or severe. But for young stroke patients, the consequences of returning to their lives after a stroke, can be just as devastating. In fact, only half of stroke survivors under the age of 65 ever return to work – and far more cope with depression, anxiety, and extreme fatigue.

On the latest episode of Your Complex Brain, host Heather Sherman meets with Dr. Aleksandra Pikula, a pioneer in the field of stroke in young adults. They discuss the latest research, including a new study led by Dr. Pikula, looking at how lifestyle interventions post-stroke may help to improve long-term outcomes. Plus, we hear from two of Dr. Pikula's patients to gain a deeper perspective on how they are reclaiming their lives, and we'll speak with a Nurse Practitioner about what it's like when a 'Code Stroke' is called and the team jumps into action.

"We can say that roughly 50% of young stroke survivors will not return to work and about 25% will require modifications in their workplace. It's even more dramatic that about 80% will have some sort of psychosocial complaints in the form of depression, anxiety, fatigue, 50-70% will have sleep disturbances and 30-40% will have some cognitive dysfunction. So, we're really talking about a lot of invisible disabilities that people don't often think when talking about stroke." - Dr. Aleksandra Pikula

Listen now to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or on the player below.

Featuring Dr. Aleksandra Pikula, Neurologist, Clinician Investigator and Director of Stroke Research with Krembil Brain Institute at UHN. Special thanks to La Croix Calloo, Marianne Fedunkiw and Tim Stewart for sharing their stories.

Release Date: April 19, 2022 |  Run Time: 30:58 |  Download the transcript

Mozart was just 25 years old when he composed his Sonata for Two Pianos in D major. Now, hundreds of years later, his enchanting melody is offering hope to those living with epilepsy, a brain disease often characterized by debilitating seizures.

On this episode of Your Complex Brain, Heather speaks with Dr. Marjan Rafiee and Dr. Taufik Valiante to discuss the latest research around the therapeutic role that music may play in neurological disorders such as epilepsy, a mystery which is still not fully understood.

"I'm hoping to get a better understanding about, what are the important features in a musical piece that could have such an effect in individuals with epilepsy," said Dr. Rafiee. "Ultimately, one day, the dream is to be able to create our own musical pieces using a machine learning algorithm, for individuals with epilepsy, to reduce their seizures."

As we learn during the conversation, even these leading researchers were surprised by the results they uncovered.

"From a scientific point of view, it was a little bit hard to imagine that we would actually ultimately see the kinds of effects that we did, and I think that's really where the pleasant surprise came," said Dr. Taufik Valiante.

Plus, we hear directly from a patient who took part in the Mozart and Epilepsy study.

Listen to the full episode and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere else you get your podcasts.

Special thanks to Scott Dainty for sharing his story.

Release Date: May 3, 2022 |  Run Time: 41:57 |  Download the transcript

Rowan Stringer was a 17 year-old rugby player who sustained several concussions over a series of matches, before passing away in 2013. Her family, and others like them, are fighting hard to make sure something like this never happens again, through education and advocacy. But there is currently no method for accurately diagnosing a concussion or predicting the length of recovery. And there are no effective treatments.

On the latest episode of Your Complex Brain, host Heather Sherman speaks with Dr. Carmela Tartaglia to discuss the latest research on the link between multiple concussions and neurodegeneration, or progressive loss of brain function – a symptom that's consistent with diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

"In concussion, at least in my clinic, we are really trying to move towards precision medicine and personalized medicine, because you and I will not experience a brain injury in the same way," says Dr. Tartaglia. "We'll have different symptoms that we have to deal with, we have different contexts. So, we try to move towards individualized treatment."

We also hear from Anna Vasileuskaya, a 5^th year PhD student in Dr. Tartaglia's lab at Krembil Brain Institute, about her research looking at new ways to diagnose CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), a progressive and often fatal brain disease.

Listen to the full episode and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere else you get your podcasts.

Featuring Dr. Carmela Tartaglia is a cognitive neurologist and Clinician Investigator at Krembil Brain Institute. She also co-leads the UHN Memory Clinic. Special thanks to Anna Vasileuskaya, for sharing her story.