EPISODE 57 OF AIRWAY FIRST - March Madness edition

In honor of Oral Health Month and March Madness, CAFF will be releasing one new episode a day until the end of the month. Welcome to episode 57 of the Airway First podcast! You can catch this and all other episodes on Apple, SoundCloud, Podbean, RSS, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. And don't forget to check us out on YouTube!

My guest today is Dr. Andrew J. Maxwell. Dr. Maxwell is a Board Certified Pediatric Cardiologist and Pediatrician. He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins Medical School and a Residency in Pediatrics at The University of California at San Francisco followed by clinical and research fellowships in Pediatric Cardiology at Lucile Salter Packard and Stanford Hospitals and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

His research interests include study of endothelial control of vasomotor tone, nitric oxide, sports cardiology, dysautonomia, hypermobility syndromes, & mast cell activation syndrome and their relationships to environmental toxins. For his research he received an American Heart Association Bugher Award for Research in Molecular Biology and was an American College of Cardiology Young Investigator Award finalist. He has published many articles and book chapters on these subjects. For his clinical work, he has been voted by his peers as a Top Doctor in Northern California annually since 2017.

You can find out more about Dr. Maxwell at heartofthevalley.us.

Show Notes:

• Disjointed: Navigating the Diagnosis and Management of Hypermobile Ehylers-Danlos Syndrome and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (Chapter 10, by Dr. Andrew Maxwell)

• Dysautonomia: The Pentad Super-Syndrome presentation

• Standing Up to POTS

• Monro-Kellie Doctrine

• Functionality and Anatomy of the Cranial Nerves: Link

• Beighton Score: Link

• Jeffery Boris, MID: Link to website

• Lawrence B. Afrin, MD - Root of Mast Cell Disease: Link to website

• Publications by Dr. Andrew Maxwell Listed on Standing Up to POTS: Link
  

WHAT IS HYPERMOBILE EHYLERS-DANOLS SYNDROME?

There are thirteen typs of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, of which, Hypermobile EDS (hEDS) is the most common type. This group of inherited illnesses affects the tissue that supports and protects other tissues and organs in the body, also known as connective tissue. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome mainly affects the skin, joints and blood vessel walls.

People with hEDS may have:

• Joint hypermobility

• Loose, unstable joints that dislocate easily

• Joint pain and clicking joints

• Extreme tiredness or fatigue

• Skin that bruises easily

• Digestive problems, such as heartburn and constipation

• Dizziness and an increased heart rate after standing up

• Problems with internal organs, such as mitral valve problems or organ prolapse

• Bladder control issues

• Fragile skin that can split easily, especially over the forehead, knees, shins and elbows

• Smooth, velvety skin that bruises easily

• Wounds that are slow to heal and leave wide scars

• Hernias and organ prolapse

Joints might be too loose and able to move too far. Skin might be stretchy and might not heal well after injury.

WHAT ARE CRANIAL NERVES?

The cranial nerves are a set of 12 paired nerves in the back of your brain. Cranial nerves send electrical signals between your brain, face, neck and torso. Your cranial nerves help you taste, smell, hear and feel sensations. They also help you make facial expressions, blink your eyes and move your tongue.

The twelve cranial nerves and function include:

1. Olfactory nerve: Sense of smell.

2. Optic nerve: Ability to see.

3. Oculomotor nerve: Ability to move and blink your eyes.

4. Trochlear nerve: Ability to move your eyes up and down or back and forth.

5. Trigeminal nerve: Sensations in your face and cheeks, taste and jaw movements.

6. Abducens nerve: Ability to move your eyes.

7. Facial nerve: Facial expressions and sense of taste.

8. Auditory/vestibular nerve: Sense of hearing and balance.

9. Glossopharyngeal nerve: Ability to taste and swallow.

10. Vagus nerve: Digestion and heart rate.

11. Accessory or Spinal Accessory nerve: Shoulder and neck muscle movement.

12. Hypoglossal nerve: Ability to move your tongue.

WHAT IS MAST CELL ACTIVATION?

Hypersensitive mast cell activation and the unregulated degranulation and release of mediators may be an underlying cause of illness for patients with many diagnoses. Mast cell activation disorders may present as episodic inflammatory symptoms that come and go over time, making them difficult to diagnose.

These fluctuating symptom patterns include allergic-type responses and non-specific symptoms ranging across the cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, dermatologic, and respiratory systems. Chronic diseases and lifestyle choices may influence mast cell dysregulation and overall immune system activation. 

Listen to the episode of Pathways to Well-Being: Root Causes and Treatments with Dr. Lawrence Afrin for more (see below).