Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

🫀🧬 Cardio-Oncology: where modern cancer cures meet the heart   As cancer survival improves, cardiovascular toxicity has emerged as a defining challenge of our time. From BTK inhibitor–associated atrial fibrillation ⚡, to immune checkpoint inhibitor myocarditis 🔥, to VEGF-driven hypertension 🩸, the heart increasingly pays the price of precision oncology.   This FAQ-driven, clinician-ready Cardio-Oncology resource, grounded in the 2025 ACC Concise Clinical Guidance published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), translates complexity into...

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

🧬 Prediabetes remission is not just metabolic—it’s cardiovascular medicine. ❤️ A new analysis in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology shows that achieving remission to normoglycaemia—not merely delaying diabetes—was associated with a ~50% reduction in cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalisation, with benefits persisting for 20–30 years across U.S. and Chinese cohorts ⏳📉.   🔍 The message is profound and practical: normalize glucose early, protect the heart long-term. Remission may represent a measurable, durable, and globally applicable prevention...

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

🔬 New Insights on MASLD from JAMA 🍃   I recently reviewed an excellent JAMA article on Metabolic Dysfunction–Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD)—now recognized as the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. The review highlights how metabolic dysfunction, inflammation, and fibrosis converge to drive long-term risks, including cardiovascular disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, and extrahepatic cancers.   Key advances include better noninvasive fibrosis assessment (FIB-4, elastography), strong evidence for lifestyle-driven weight loss, and new therapeutic momentum...

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

In this week’s exploration, I dive into the brain’s hidden “plumbing”—the glymphatic and meningeal lymphatic systems—drawing from a remarkable report in Science magazine (Dec 2025). The piece outlines emerging Alzheimer’s strategies ranging from VEGF-C and Aquaporin-4 gene therapy to vasomotion drugs, CO₂ breathing, massage-based lymphatic stimulation, and even experimental lymphovenous surgery. A quiet revolution is underway—hope flowing through the brain’s deepest channels. 💧🌊 #Neuroscience #Alzheimers #ScienceMagazine #BrainHealth

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

🌍 New WHO Guidance on GLP-1 Therapies: A Turning Point in Obesity Care 💉📘   The latest JAMA report highlights a pivotal moment in global health: the WHO’s evidence-informed guideline on GLP-1 therapies for adults living with obesity. With over 1 billion people affected worldwide, this chronic, relapsing disease demands integrated, equitable, lifelong care.   The guidance underscores two essentials: 💊 Long-term GLP-1 therapy for those living with obesity 🤝 Intensive behavioral support to amplify and sustain benefits   But the message is clear—medication alone...

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

Delving into the latest JAHA review on immune checkpoint inhibitors and the heart has been illuminating 🔍❤️. As immunotherapy transforms cancer care, we’re learning that unleashed T-cells can also stir the silent storms within vulnerable plaques ⚡🩺.   This piece beautifully unpacks how ICIs may accelerate atherosclerosis, heighten ACS risk, and challenge our diagnostic instincts—especially when myocarditis and ischemia mimic one another 🎯🧬.   As we push the frontier of cancer survival, cardio-oncology must rise in parallel: better surveillance, smarter risk...

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

Immanuel Kant: The Architect of Modern Reason 🧠✨   Fascinating to revisit Kant’s legacy — the thinker who reshaped how we understand knowledge, morality, and human freedom. His ideas on autonomy, duty, and the categorical imperative continue to guide ethical reasoning in science, leadership, and society.   From Critique of Pure Reason to Perpetual Peace, Kant invites us to think boldly: What can I know? What should I do? What may I hope? 🌍📚   His work still challenges us to act with integrity, respect human dignity, and build a more rational and just world.  ...

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

🚀 Immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed cancer care—but they come with a cardiovascular shadow. A new International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS) position statement offers the clearest guidance yet on myocarditis, pericarditis, arrhythmias, ACS, and noninflammatory HF linked to ICI therapy. 🫀💡   Key insights include: • Early recognition with troponin, ECG, and CMR 🧪📊 • Smoldering vs. nonsevere vs. fulminant myocarditis distinctions 🔍 • Steroid-first management and the evolving role of abatacept + JAK inhibitors 💊 • Nuanced approaches to ICI...

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

  Chronic kidney disease now affects nearly 850 million people worldwide, yet early detection and simple, evidence-based interventions can dramatically change the trajectory of both kidney and cardiovascular health. 🌍🩺 The latest Lancet Seminar highlights powerful tools—eGFR + albuminuria staging, SGLT2 inhibitors, RAS blockade, statins, and GLP-1 therapies—that allow every clinician to make a measurable impact. 💊📉 A reminder that timely action is kidney protection. 💧✨    

Dr. Baliga's 'Podkasts for Curious Docs'

🚀 New insights from Cell shine a light on an unexpected ally in the fight against cognitive decline. A natural experiment from Wales shows that the shingles (herpes zoster) vaccine doesn’t just prevent viral reactivation—it may also reduce new mild cognitive impairment and lower dementia-related mortality over long-term follow-up. 🔍 Using a strict birthday-based eligibility cutoff, the study provides causal evidence—rare in population dementia research—that vaccination may slow disease across its entire course. 🧠✨ As we rethink neuroinflammation, immunosenescence, and...