May 10, 2026 • 43 mins
Dr. Galati starts the show with conversations he has with his own patients. He also has research experts Daniella Graham (Clinical Research Coordinator) and Alyssia Ruiz (Nurse Practitioner) join the program. They talk about their backgrounds and research studies. Dr. Galati ends with the continued discussion on cholesterol last week. Happy Mother’s Day!
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Initial life Sequences coming to you live from Houston, Texas,
home to the world's largest medical center.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
In the approach phrase everything looking.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
At this is your Health First.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
It's the most beneficial health program on radio with doctor
Joe Gallotti. During the next hour, you'll learn about health,
wellness and the provention of disease. Now here's your host,
Doctor Joe Gallotti.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Well, a happy Sunday evening to everybody. Doctor Joe Galotti,
You're tuned into your Health First. We're here every Sunday
between seven and eight pm Central Time, broadcasting from our
home home station seven forty k t r H in
Houston and broadcasting around the globe on the iHeart Radio
(01:10):
app for everyone to enjoy every Sunday and to be
part of the program. Doctor Joeglotti dot com is our
website d R j O E G A l A
t I dot com. Sign up for a newsletter goes
out every weekend. All of our social media past programs,
(01:33):
our podcast is there, YouTube videos, lots of educational material,
not only about liver disease because I am a hepatologist,
a liver doctor, but plenty of health and wellness information
to keep you plenty healthy. Now on the program tonight
in the studio.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Two lovely.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Staffman members of mine, Daniella Graham and Alisa Ruiz. They
are part of my research team at Houston Research Institute
Med Center here in the Texas Medical Center and there
(02:21):
I wanted them to come in tonight to chat up
the discussion of research because there is, especially in Houston,
there is so much innovative clinical research going on that
sooner or later, regardless of the kind of physician you
(02:42):
see or the practice, or what your particular medical problems are,
be it problems with your skin, migrain, headaches, of course
cancer research, you may be approached by somebody in the
research field to ask about participating in a research trial,
(03:06):
research study, and I would say that for the general public,
they don't have a really good grasp of what research is.
And so I am having these two professionals come in
and really try to lay out what everybody should be thinking,
(03:30):
so you know, instead of being afraid of research, you
may want to embrace it or at least consider it
if you are approached. So stay tuned for that and
don't forget Doctor Joegalotti dot com is our website and
I request everybody sign up for the newsletter because in
(03:52):
the weeks to come, there's going to be a lot
of information that we're going to be sharing with you
about my new book that's coming out, and the newsletter
probably will be the best way to stay up to date.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
With all of that, So stay tuned for that, all right.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
So, one of the things I wanted to talk about today,
and this is a conversation that I have every single
day with my own patients, and it goes like this,
I will be talking about there. In my case, it's
going to be talking about liver disease or other digestive issues.
(04:37):
We're talking about rhosis, we're talking about alcohol use disorder,
liver cancer, and the discussion of nutrition will come up.
And my standard line is that eating out is a
(04:59):
hazard to your health. Now that has to be qualified. Now,
what I really mean by that is when the majority
of your meals are eaten out physically outside the house.
So you are stopping for breakfast, you are going out
(05:23):
to lunch, you are going out to dinner. You're having
these meals delivered to your office or delivered to your house.
There's a million ways that food can now be delivered.
This was something we never thought of twenty years ago,
thirty years ago, unheard of.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
But now.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
You have to do your own inventory to say how
many meals breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. So let's just say
three meals a day time seven that's twenty one twenty
one meals. How many of those twenty one are you
(06:10):
eating out, driving, through, picking up, snacking at work, foods
delivered to work. I know that because when you're going
out to eat, you are probably going to be eating
a meal that has too many calories, too much fat,
(06:34):
too much sodium, and too many artificial added ingredients, or
it's processed or ultra processed. That list of elements too
much fat, too much, too many calories, not enough fiber
negatively impact your health. And so when I am sitting
(06:59):
with a patient that is battling obesity, fatty liver soorrhosis, diabetes,
heart disease, high cholesterol, kidney disease, these are all the
chronic illnesses that we face every day, and the number
of individuals that have chronic disease is on the rise.
(07:24):
You then start to get a picture that what is
the common denominator here? It is the individuals that are
eating a lot of their meals. A lot of the
food they eat is coming from an outside source. It
is not prepped at home, It is not a scratch meal.
(07:48):
And so I do not have a cutoff to say
if out of the twenty one meals, this would be
a great study. Out of twenty one potential breakfast lunch dinners,
if you consume more than let's say, out of twenty one,
if you consume more than eighteen, you're going to be
(08:11):
at risk or gaining weight, diabetes, hypertension, things like that.
But I know when I look at my dear patience
that I truly care about, and I take their history,
the conversation will always come around to what do you
have for breakfast, lunch, dinner. Everybody's eating out, especially in Houston, Texas.
(08:34):
For those that are tuning in from Houston, it's the
number one eat out city in the country, and it's
a very obese city. So it's a fact where there's
eating out, there is obesity. Now an interesting interesting little facts.
(08:59):
So I've told you before, I had a knee replacement
back in December, and so I was not at work,
I was not really going anywhere. I was at home. Now,
by and large, we are eating at home, cooking at home,
(09:21):
making scratch meals. Maybe on a Saturday we may go
out to dinner, but by and large we're eating at home.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Now.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Breakfast I always eat at home. Lunch I will bring
with me a lot of the times, but sometimes there'll
be lunch at the hospital, they'll be lunch at the office,
and I'll nibble on that, but then predominantly dinners at home. Now,
while I was at home and not going to work
for eight weeks, people had seen me, and they say,
(10:00):
you trimmed down, and I did. I lost a little
bit of weight in those eight weeks, and it was
clearly because I was not exposed to the free lunches
at the hospital or at work. I was very disciplined
(10:23):
in eating a healthy breakfast, a healthy lunch. I was
making a wide range of soups at home, and in
that small little experiment of not leaving the house a
bit of a shut in sort of, I trimmed down
(10:46):
several pounds. Now, luckily I've kept the weight off because
I was very cognizant of the nibbling at work. The
dinners that I was going to some were work related,
But when you really dissect the meals, when you go
(11:10):
out for a steak. Now, people will argue, one steak
dinner is going to cause me to become diabetic. No
it is not. You could have a giant tomahawk rib
with mashed potatoes slathered in butter. That's okay. But when
(11:32):
you are telling me that out of seven nights, five
are eating out and the quality may not be that good,
you're going to sum I can't begin to name the
restaurants that people are going to. And the lunch is
a burger and fries, breakfast is either nothing or a
(11:53):
breakfast burrito. You start to see a picture that eating
out is a hazard. So I would say for everybody
that is clearly interested in wanting to lose weight, get
their diabetes under control, get their high blood pressure on
(12:14):
the control, their fatty liver under control, and just get
in better shape tonight, take inventory. Maybe look back the
last week or two, how many times did you eat
breakfast out, lunch, dinner, and compare that to how many
scratch meals you had. I think you'll find that there
(12:38):
is plenty of room to take control and eat more
at home where you could control all the ingredients. All right,
think about it, doctor, Joglotti your Health First every Sunday
between seven and eight pm. Don't forget doctor Jogolotti dot com.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Stay tuned.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
We will be right back trying to raise your health IQ,
one listener at a time. I'm dot to Joe Glotti
every Sunday between seven and eight pm. You should be
tuned into your health First, and of course you are.
If you're listening and hearing me, you are tuned in.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I don't have to tell you, but.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Spread the word, share the good message with friends and relatives,
those that may need a little bit of a health nudge.
And I want this show to be really an excuse
(13:43):
to start thinking about your health and wellness. What do
you have to do? What do you have to do
to get well? And I was talking with a patient
on Thursday, No Wednesday, very nice couple. The husband was
(14:07):
the patient, and I tried to tell them that I
am always going to leave you inspired that you can
make change. I'm not here to wag my finger at
you and say, look, you've been taking terrible care of
yourself for the last twenty years.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
To give me a break.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
No, it is to inspire and encourage men and women
and families that you do have the power to make
a change, and I tried to explain to them that
through the lens that I see patients through, I do
(14:48):
with very sick patients, people that are waiting for liver transplantation,
They have end stage sorhosis, they have liver cancer, bio
duct cancer, all kinds of complications that I cannot tolerate
(15:11):
not being aggressive with my patients. Aggressive in the sense
that if I'm able to see you at an earlier stage,
I am going to aggressively intervene. Now there are things
I can do, there are things you could do, and
that's where I want to encourage everybody to get aggressive
(15:37):
in managing their health. You do not have to settle
for really lousy health. And so that's what we try
to do here. Now it's the spring. School is going
to be out pretty soon, and every year I like
to spend a few minutes talking to the parents, grandparents,
(16:00):
young young mothers and fathers about what could they do
with their kids over the summer summer break. Don't let
the summer go to waste. Now again, When I was
growing up, I never went to camp. I played the
little league that was it, hung out with my sisters,
and the kids in the neighborhood. We went to the
(16:21):
community pool, rode out bikes all day and that was it.
There was no sort of program learning. I never went
to an art class things like that. But what I
would say, in the spirit of wanting to promote good health,
(16:46):
I always will encourage families during the summer, when the
kids are at home, take them to the supermarket, and
not so much to take them to the supermarket so
they don't beat each other up at home. Take them
to the supermarket and have a little field trip on
your own where maybe you could spend a few minutes
(17:10):
ahead of time, thirty minutes maybe just looking online. Go
to Google and just type in vegetables and under Google images,
all the different vegetables are going to come up, maybe
things you didn't even know about, broccoli, rob But sort
(17:34):
of sit with the kids and say, let's find zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, squash,
string beans, lime of beans, whatever it may be, same
thing with the fruit.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
And.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Maybe have them look at it, have them touch it,
and maybe tell each one of the kids or child
or whoever many kids you have, bring the neighbors with you,
the neighborhood kids missus Jones is taking the kids on
a road trip to h B. But whatever the case
(18:14):
may be, maybe allow them to pick out a fruit
or a vegetable that they like, figure out a recipe
and make it.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
See what it tastes like.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
And you say, nah, you know this is you know
that eggplant was too bitter, or you know what, this
particular kind of apple was very sweet, very juicy. I'll
try it again. So you want to try to expose
the kids. You have to make it a little bit
of fun. For Pete's sake. It is a summer and
these are kids, but you want to try to influence
(18:49):
them on being exposed to fruits and vegetables. I guess
you could take it to the next step and look
at fish. Is a salmon look like? What does a
snapper look like? What does a flounder look like? Look
at it in the fish cabinet, the fish fridge there
(19:11):
at your local supermarket. So again, I think these are
little things that you could do that can have a
major impact on on the uh, you know, the kids,
and promote good health. All right, we're going to take
a break right now. News traffic, weather is coming up.
(19:33):
After the break, Daniella Graham and Alisa Ruiz from our
research unit are going to be here explaining to all
of you what you need to know and be familiar
with or comfortable with with regard to clinical research. I'm
doctor Joglotti. Stay tuned, don't forget doctor Jogolotti dot com.
(19:55):
We'll bright back every Sunday evening between seven and eight pm.
You are tuned into your health first, don't forget doctor
Joeglotti dot com is our website. And as I was
saying a little bit earlier, we're going to be talking
(20:16):
about research now for those that are in the Texas
Medical Center or just usedon in general. It's such a
great medical community that it is probably not unheard of
that you may have been approached or there may be
an interest in you participating in a research project of
(20:39):
some kind, be it in cancer, be it in diabetes,
heart disease, dermatologic problems, anything anything on earth, any medical condition, emotional,
mental health. Studies are going on and we have in
the studio tonight too, bona fide experts in research. We
(21:00):
have Daniella Graham, who is one of our clinical research coordinators,
recently promoted to be the lead clinical research coordinator and
Alyssa Ruiz who's a nurse practitioner and she's one of
our sub investigators at our research center, which is used
in research Institute in the Texas Medical Center. So, ladies,
(21:23):
welcome tonight to chat about research for a few minutes.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
Thank you, Thank you so real.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Brief just Daniella, why don't you start just give everybody
sort of like your background on how you got into
clinical research.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
Yeah, so I came from a pretty lengthy background of
just developmental research, so that was benchtop. I worked with
a lot of animals and pretty much everything of research
before we get to people. So I think it gave
me a great background of where we're coming from, and
(22:02):
I'm able to also educate our patients on this isn't
the first time a medication has been used. Like, there
are years and years of years of dedication as well
as research and safety put into every single medication.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
So you would just say, you're really I would say,
animal research, right has given you a good foundation to
take it to the human level.
Speaker 6 (22:25):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I think it's probably set up the
best that way. And really, after having so many years
behind the bench and having so much of the developmental
part of it. I really wanted to see it in practice.
I'm like, I've spent so many years like seeing it
work where we need it most to start, but I
(22:46):
wanted to see it in people. So that's where I
kind of transferred over to clinic okay, and which has
been super exciting.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
Yes, I see it. Working with people is always better
than rats, I would say, even though the poor rats
are a vital part of this. Now, Alica, you're a
nurse practitioner and you're in research, So how did how
did that all occur?
Speaker 5 (23:08):
So I kind of fell into this. I graduated over
a year ago now, which is crazy because time just flies,
and I was looking into jobs and I really really
was interested in research in this sub sect that's not
really known for nurses or nurse practitioners. Now in the
medical center here in Houston, it is, but originally I'm
(23:31):
from West Texas, a very very small town, and that's
unheard of over there. Medical care is just really hard
to come by in general right over there, and so
I really wanted to take advantage of the opportunities we
have here in Houston, and so I started applying to
some research jobs. Liver researches, which is what we kind
(23:52):
of focus on for here, has always kind of piqued
my interest. My background as a nurse is very varied.
I've worked in nick you with Neo Nates, and I've
worked in cardiac ICUs, and I've even worked in radiology
centers helping with very complex interventional radiology procedures. So I
just kind of wanted to step out into something that
(24:14):
I could learn a lot from. And here I am.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Here you are for sure. Now for a lot of
our patients, when we talk to them and tell them
about an opportunity for a research study, the first thing
they may say, though not all the time, and I
and I think over time this comment has has declined,
(24:37):
but they still say it. I don't want to be
a guinea pig. I don't want to be a test subject.
You're on the front lines talking with the potential candidates.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
How how do you?
Speaker 4 (24:48):
How do each one of you approach that the I
don't want to be a guinea pig conversation? Alyssa, how about.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
How about you? So?
Speaker 5 (24:56):
I think our biggest tool and our strongest tool here
is EDG cations. So Daniella, with her great background in research,
has actually taught me a lot about it too, And
we just like to educate the patients on the phases
of trials and how many years go into researching these drugs,
these disease processes to make sure we're as safe as possible.
(25:19):
And these patients are not guinea pigs. They're just part
of the future, which is really exciting, right.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
And what do you say, because most of the studies
that we're doing have a placebo part of it. So
Danielle address that question, but explain to everybody what a
placebo is and why studies have placebos in it.
Speaker 6 (25:41):
Yeah, So various studies will do it a little bit differently,
but the placebo, for lack of a better word, is
like the quote unquote sugar pill. There is no medication
in it. A lot of companies will use it as
what the medication is kind of dissolved, whether it be saline,
whether it be sugar water, whether that.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Be or even shot. It'll look exactly like Yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:05):
And so most of our studies are blinded, which means
that whether the patient is getting medication or not, we
don't know, they don't know. So one major thing that
I really try to emphasize to our patients is the
health care aspect. So every single one of our trials
goes through what's called the screening process, where it's just
a bunch of free tests imaging to kind of get
(26:29):
down not only to the bottom of it, make sure
that you're stable and that nothing else is going on.
And then in addition to that, you're just getting so
much healthcare in it, regardless of being on medication or not,
and even when you're on the study, even if you
aren't feeling anything or anything. We never know. Everybody's body
reacts differently, But I think the twenty four hour care
(26:51):
basically as as well as like the added attention that
you get in a research trial really entices people.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Yeah, you know along those lines, and any of our patients,
I would say, they are maybe taking a medicine for cholesterol,
they're taking a medicine for diabetes, they're taking eye drops
for glaucoma, whatever it may be, and they go to Walgreens,
they pick it up, they pop it in their eye,
(27:20):
and they're like, hey, my vision is better, my blood
pressure is under control, my migraines are better. What a
lot of people don't realize is that that very drug,
whether it's a year old and relatively new to the market,
or it's a drug twenty years old, one of the
great drugs that have helped so many people that went
(27:42):
through the exact same process. There were people twenty years
ago in cities across the world that were doing the
very same testing they were doing. Maybe they weren't getting
a drug, maybe they're getting a lower dose of the
drug or a higher dose. So we take for granted
our medicines and our healthcare, but it's almost like, let
(28:05):
the other guy do it. I don't want to do it.
What do you think of that?
Speaker 5 (28:12):
So with that, because I have had patients tell me,
you know, I'm all for research, that's great. I'm so
glad we're doing this, but I want to know what
I'm getting right, And I think it's a very personal
decision and it's something you need to talk about with
your loved ones to make sure it's ideal for you,
because it is hard and it kind of can play
mind games, right being blinded. I don't know, the patient
(28:34):
doesn't know, but I think, just like how Danielle had said,
knowing that we're doing all of this extra monitoring that
you wouldn't get in the clinic. There's many times in
just regular practice when you go to your PCP, you
get given your blood pressure medication. Okay, come back in
six weeks, and so you're kind of alone for six weeks,
(28:54):
whereas here you have access to us on a weekly
basis or a daily basis if.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
You want to call me.
Speaker 5 (29:00):
And so I think that's really nice that you're getting
that TLC, that extra that you might need.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
Yeah, And there is something to be altruistic in life.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Now.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
You may have lived your life through fifty sixty years
old and maybe had a job, had a family, somebody
good in the neighborhood, their community, but never really had
a sense that they did something altruistic really for other people,
just for the sake of doing it, where you may
(29:34):
not get anything in return, but others that come after
us will benefit from it. And and we've seen patients
that you just you get to the r in research
and they're like, sign me up, sign I've always wanted
to do this.
Speaker 6 (29:54):
Yeah, I think probably that's one of my especially because
one of the trials that I and lead of is
a sorosis trial, and so most of them have either
had some sort of experience with sorosis, and they're like,
even if it doesn't help me, even if I'm on placebo,
I don't care. I want to help because I know
(30:17):
that everything before us had to go through this. And
if this means that we can help people in the
future with cirrhosis get it immediately, sure, then I'm doing it.
And so I think that's probably one of the most
beautiful things is whenever we have patients almost completely bypass
the placebo, completely bypassed the selfishness of like, oh, I
(30:40):
want to fix myself, They're like, no, whatever, I did
this to myself. I want to make sure that people
get this. I want to make sure that we can
get this on available as quickly as possible. Yeah, And
so I think that's probably what I like.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
So, for you know, everybody listening tonight on the radio
that maybe has an option to participate in a research study,
We'll start with you, Lissa again. How do you tell
them to orient themselves on how to how to look
at this? You know, is it what's in it for me?
(31:14):
What's in it for the community? You're being altruistic conversation
with your family? What do you think the approach should be?
Speaker 5 (31:22):
I think the approach would be best just to look wide.
So make sure you're talking with your family, you're looking
at these studies and seeing if the time commitment is
something that you can afford. A lot of times I'll
talk to patients and they're like, I don't know about
the time you have to come see me every week.
And then also making sure that you're educated on it.
(31:45):
Talk to your healthcare professional, talk to your PCP, your
hepatologist to make sure they think that you're a good
candidate too. So education, education.
Speaker 6 (31:53):
Education, right, yeah, that is true. What do you think, Danielle,
I think very similar to that. I think truthfully being
honest with yourself and also like weighing out where things
are a priority for you. We have a lot of
patients that are on the older side and they're like, oh,
like I don't know, I don't even know how much
I have left, and I definitely don't have this time
(32:15):
and I want to just travel. Okay, well that's a
priority for you, absolutely, then you do that. We have
other patients that have younger kids and they're like, no,
I don't care about the time I have to be here.
And so I think it is like reaching out to
you the people around you and just kind of weighing
out what you want to feel as a priority.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
Sure, in the last few minutes here, why don't you
give a quick rundown of some of the studies that
we're doing here. And the name of our research unit
here is used in Research Institute Medical Center. We are
on the Texas Medical Center. We predominantly deal with livid
disease conditions. So, Danielle, what, why do't you give a
(32:59):
rundown overview of what sort of the stuff we do.
Speaker 6 (33:02):
Yeah, So we have one cross trial currently trying to
attack at the scarring, trying to attack at that guy.
We have a sister trial to that one, which is
the same medication but in fatty liver disease, so lower
levels of fibrosis and damage. Yeah, same thing with that.
We have other medications, one that's very close to his diffro,
(33:25):
which is FDA approved, fully prescribable, but also kind of
partnered with trying to attack that scarring and that stiffness.
We have several weight loss trials as well.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
Right one list week we had a sort of an
initiation visit on strictly a weight loss study in people
that have diabetes. Yeah, very fascinating.
Speaker 6 (33:51):
Yeah. And then we also have another one that's very similar,
another GLP one weight loss trial, but trying to attack
the kind of middle levels of damage and scarring in
the liver. And then we have another really exciting one,
another weight loss trial that is not a JLP one,
it is an HU six and it's trying to it's
(34:12):
a daily pill that's trying to kind of keep that
muscle mass. So lots of exciting trials here.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
And I would say for anybody listening in the shout
of our voice, if you have fatty liver, HSIs, diabetes,
you're overweight, I would say it's a free phone call.
You could give us a call our main office number.
We don't give out the main office number too often.
(34:40):
It's seven one three seven nine four zero seven hundred.
What extension is research?
Speaker 6 (34:46):
We are one one five one one five.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
Seven one three seven nine four oh seven hundred one
one five And of course our practice website Texas Liver
dot com t e X A S L A v
e R dot com. You could there's a tab there
to contact us, send us a message and say hey,
I heard this on the radio. Interested in research and
(35:09):
one of these fine ladies will get back with you.
All right. Well, time on Sunday goes pretty fast, and
I do appreciate you coming on and keep up the
good work. It really is great working with the two
of you.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Yes, thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 4 (35:26):
All right, final segment of this week's Your Health First
coming up. I'm doctor Joe Galotti. Don't forget doctor Joegalotti
dot com. Is our website or for any research related issues,
Texas Liver dot com.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
Webb right back.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
I want to thank Daniella Graham and Alyssa Ruiz for
coming on talking about research. If you have any questions
about research, you can reach out to me and my
team directly. You can go to Texas Liver dot com
t e X A S L I V e r
(36:06):
dot com and on the homepage AA there is a
contact us. You just say I have a question about research,
or I like to participate in the study about research,
or doctor Joe Galotti dot com saying thing this contact
our phone number seven one three seven nine four zero
seven hundred extension one one five. That'll get through the
(36:30):
research team. But we are predominantly doing research in fatty
liver porrhosis and obesity. So if you like more information.
The screening is free, all of the treatment is free.
And more than happy to help out our great your
(36:51):
Health First community and get everybody well and start thinking
about your health. Your health first.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
Name of the program.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
All right, all right, final segment here a few minutes left.
The month of May is High blood Pressure Awareness Month. Now,
if you didn't catch last week's show, I had doctor
Joseph Rogers, world renowned cardiologist. He is the director of
(37:25):
the Texas Heart Institute at Baylor College of Medicine right
here in the world famous Texas Medical Center, and he
gave an overview on cholesterol. And one of the messages
or the themes that doctor Rogers and I were talking about,
is that issues related to cholesterol are silent. You're not
(37:48):
going to be sitting at work one day and say, WHOA,
I think my cholesterol's up. That's not going to happen.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
Now.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
If you have a stroke and go limp on one side,
you may say, yeah, that happened because my cholesterol was
high and I did not act, or I did not
follow it, or I did not learn what needed to
be done, or I did not communicate with my physician, etc. Likewise,
(38:23):
with blood pressure, now, I sort of shy away from
all of these catchy little terms. Everything is the silent killer.
So the month of May is hepatitis Awareness month as well,
which we talked about a few weeks ago. But a
lot of aspects of livid disease. We used to say
(38:45):
hepatitis C the silent killer. Well, you can say the
same thing about high cholesterol, silent killer, hypertension, high blood
pressure silent killer. So the reason we say that is
because many of these diseases don't have symptoms, and you're
(39:09):
walking along like things are fantastic, life is good, I'm
getting a promotion, I've got a new girlfriend. But meanwhile
your blood pressure is high and you are a heart
attack or stroke waiting to happen. Now, the issue is
(39:33):
number one, you don't have any symptoms, okay. Number two,
the guidelines which were put into effect by the various
cardiology associations, the American Heart Association, is that your blood
pressure should be in the one twenty over seventy range.
(40:00):
D is the systolic blood pressure. The top number. It
used to be one thirty. Used to be one thirty
was okay. Now, based on research, your blood pressure should
be down in the one twenty range. Now I hear
nearly every single day. You have to believe me, patients
(40:22):
come in with blood pressures in the one forties, in
the one fifties, and they're telling me their doctor is
watching it, well watching what Why are you not taking action?
I don't know why. I cannot get into the heads
of these other physicians, nurse practitioners or pas. I don't
(40:46):
get it. So you are at home saying, you know,
my blood pressure is one forty five over eighty five.
That's not good. High blood pressure is associated with stroke,
heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, kidney disease, go into
(41:11):
kidney failure and have to end up on dialysis. And
so this is where this program, everybody listening, needs to
take action and be honest with yourselves, honest with your
family members. What is your blood pressure? If it's one
(41:31):
forty five, one forty eight over eighty eight, that's too high.
You have to get that down through lifestyle, diet, exercise,
treat sleep apnea, lose weight, and or medication. But you
have to address it and get on a plan that
(41:52):
it's being observed and monitored and adjustments are being made. Now,
what I've always said is everybody should have a blood
pressure cuff in their home and take it on a
regular basis. Maybe if your bloodressure is okay, take it
once every once a month on a Saturday morning when
(42:13):
you wake up if you're off a Sunday morning. But
the issue is, do not let your blood pressure get
out of out of hand. It will creep up and
cause trouble. I think I need to get doctor Rogers
(42:34):
back to talk about blood pressure. He's excellent talking about that.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
So that's your mission.
Speaker 4 (42:39):
Take your blood pressure. If it's not the one twenty range,
it's abnormal, contact your doctor, make the changes you need.
All right, that's it for this Sunday evening, Doctor Joe Galotti,
thanks for tuning into your health.
Speaker 3 (42:51):
First, don't forget.
Speaker 4 (42:52):
Doctor Joeglotti dot COM's our website. If you have questions
about research, send me a message through the website and
we're happy to help you out. Take care and have
a great week.
Initial life Sequences coming to you live from Houston, Texas,
home to the world's largest medical center.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
In the approach phrase everything looking.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
At this is your Health First.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
It's the most beneficial health program on radio with doctor
Joe Gallotti. During the next hour, you'll learn about health,
wellness and the provention of disease. Now here's your host,
Doctor Joe Gallotti.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Well, a happy Sunday evening to everybody. Doctor Joe Galotti,
You're tuned into your Health First. We're here every Sunday
between seven and eight pm Central Time, broadcasting from our
home home station seven forty k t r H in
Houston and broadcasting around the globe on the iHeart Radio
(01:10):
app for everyone to enjoy every Sunday and to be
part of the program. Doctor Joeglotti dot com is our
website d R j O E G A l A
t I dot com. Sign up for a newsletter goes
out every weekend. All of our social media past programs,
(01:33):
our podcast is there, YouTube videos, lots of educational material,
not only about liver disease because I am a hepatologist,
a liver doctor, but plenty of health and wellness information
to keep you plenty healthy. Now on the program tonight
in the studio.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Two lovely.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Staffman members of mine, Daniella Graham and Alisa Ruiz. They
are part of my research team at Houston Research Institute
Med Center here in the Texas Medical Center and there
(02:21):
I wanted them to come in tonight to chat up
the discussion of research because there is, especially in Houston,
there is so much innovative clinical research going on that
sooner or later, regardless of the kind of physician you
(02:42):
see or the practice, or what your particular medical problems are,
be it problems with your skin, migrain, headaches, of course
cancer research, you may be approached by somebody in the
research field to ask about participating in a research trial,
(03:06):
research study, and I would say that for the general public,
they don't have a really good grasp of what research is.
And so I am having these two professionals come in
and really try to lay out what everybody should be thinking,
(03:30):
so you know, instead of being afraid of research, you
may want to embrace it or at least consider it
if you are approached. So stay tuned for that and
don't forget Doctor Joegalotti dot com is our website and
I request everybody sign up for the newsletter because in
(03:52):
the weeks to come, there's going to be a lot
of information that we're going to be sharing with you
about my new book that's coming out, and the newsletter
probably will be the best way to stay up to date.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
With all of that, So stay tuned for that, all right.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
So, one of the things I wanted to talk about today,
and this is a conversation that I have every single
day with my own patients, and it goes like this,
I will be talking about there. In my case, it's
going to be talking about liver disease or other digestive issues.
(04:37):
We're talking about rhosis, we're talking about alcohol use disorder,
liver cancer, and the discussion of nutrition will come up.
And my standard line is that eating out is a
(04:59):
hazard to your health. Now that has to be qualified. Now,
what I really mean by that is when the majority
of your meals are eaten out physically outside the house.
So you are stopping for breakfast, you are going out
(05:23):
to lunch, you are going out to dinner. You're having
these meals delivered to your office or delivered to your house.
There's a million ways that food can now be delivered.
This was something we never thought of twenty years ago,
thirty years ago, unheard of.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
But now.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
You have to do your own inventory to say how
many meals breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. So let's just say
three meals a day time seven that's twenty one twenty
one meals. How many of those twenty one are you
(06:10):
eating out, driving, through, picking up, snacking at work, foods
delivered to work. I know that because when you're going
out to eat, you are probably going to be eating
a meal that has too many calories, too much fat,
(06:34):
too much sodium, and too many artificial added ingredients, or
it's processed or ultra processed. That list of elements too
much fat, too much, too many calories, not enough fiber
negatively impact your health. And so when I am sitting
(06:59):
with a patient that is battling obesity, fatty liver soorrhosis, diabetes,
heart disease, high cholesterol, kidney disease, these are all the
chronic illnesses that we face every day, and the number
of individuals that have chronic disease is on the rise.
(07:24):
You then start to get a picture that what is
the common denominator here? It is the individuals that are
eating a lot of their meals. A lot of the
food they eat is coming from an outside source. It
is not prepped at home, It is not a scratch meal.
(07:48):
And so I do not have a cutoff to say
if out of the twenty one meals, this would be
a great study. Out of twenty one potential breakfast lunch dinners,
if you consume more than let's say, out of twenty one,
if you consume more than eighteen, you're going to be
(08:11):
at risk or gaining weight, diabetes, hypertension, things like that.
But I know when I look at my dear patience
that I truly care about, and I take their history,
the conversation will always come around to what do you
have for breakfast, lunch, dinner. Everybody's eating out, especially in Houston, Texas.
(08:34):
For those that are tuning in from Houston, it's the
number one eat out city in the country, and it's
a very obese city. So it's a fact where there's
eating out, there is obesity. Now an interesting interesting little facts.
(08:59):
So I've told you before, I had a knee replacement
back in December, and so I was not at work,
I was not really going anywhere. I was at home. Now,
by and large, we are eating at home, cooking at home,
(09:21):
making scratch meals. Maybe on a Saturday we may go
out to dinner, but by and large we're eating at home.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Now.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Breakfast I always eat at home. Lunch I will bring
with me a lot of the times, but sometimes there'll
be lunch at the hospital, they'll be lunch at the office,
and I'll nibble on that, but then predominantly dinners at home. Now,
while I was at home and not going to work
for eight weeks, people had seen me, and they say,
(10:00):
you trimmed down, and I did. I lost a little
bit of weight in those eight weeks, and it was
clearly because I was not exposed to the free lunches
at the hospital or at work. I was very disciplined
(10:23):
in eating a healthy breakfast, a healthy lunch. I was
making a wide range of soups at home, and in
that small little experiment of not leaving the house a
bit of a shut in sort of, I trimmed down
(10:46):
several pounds. Now, luckily I've kept the weight off because
I was very cognizant of the nibbling at work. The
dinners that I was going to some were work related,
But when you really dissect the meals, when you go
(11:10):
out for a steak. Now, people will argue, one steak
dinner is going to cause me to become diabetic. No
it is not. You could have a giant tomahawk rib
with mashed potatoes slathered in butter. That's okay. But when
(11:32):
you are telling me that out of seven nights, five
are eating out and the quality may not be that good,
you're going to sum I can't begin to name the
restaurants that people are going to. And the lunch is
a burger and fries, breakfast is either nothing or a
(11:53):
breakfast burrito. You start to see a picture that eating
out is a hazard. So I would say for everybody
that is clearly interested in wanting to lose weight, get
their diabetes under control, get their high blood pressure on
(12:14):
the control, their fatty liver under control, and just get
in better shape tonight, take inventory. Maybe look back the
last week or two, how many times did you eat
breakfast out, lunch, dinner, and compare that to how many
scratch meals you had. I think you'll find that there
(12:38):
is plenty of room to take control and eat more
at home where you could control all the ingredients. All right,
think about it, doctor, Joglotti your Health First every Sunday
between seven and eight pm. Don't forget doctor Jogolotti dot com.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Stay tuned.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
We will be right back trying to raise your health IQ,
one listener at a time. I'm dot to Joe Glotti
every Sunday between seven and eight pm. You should be
tuned into your health First, and of course you are.
If you're listening and hearing me, you are tuned in.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I don't have to tell you, but.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Spread the word, share the good message with friends and relatives,
those that may need a little bit of a health nudge.
And I want this show to be really an excuse
(13:43):
to start thinking about your health and wellness. What do
you have to do? What do you have to do
to get well? And I was talking with a patient
on Thursday, No Wednesday, very nice couple. The husband was
(14:07):
the patient, and I tried to tell them that I
am always going to leave you inspired that you can
make change. I'm not here to wag my finger at
you and say, look, you've been taking terrible care of
yourself for the last twenty years.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
To give me a break.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
No, it is to inspire and encourage men and women
and families that you do have the power to make
a change, and I tried to explain to them that
through the lens that I see patients through, I do
(14:48):
with very sick patients, people that are waiting for liver transplantation,
They have end stage sorhosis, they have liver cancer, bio
duct cancer, all kinds of complications that I cannot tolerate
(15:11):
not being aggressive with my patients. Aggressive in the sense
that if I'm able to see you at an earlier stage,
I am going to aggressively intervene. Now there are things
I can do, there are things you could do, and
that's where I want to encourage everybody to get aggressive
(15:37):
in managing their health. You do not have to settle
for really lousy health. And so that's what we try
to do here. Now it's the spring. School is going
to be out pretty soon, and every year I like
to spend a few minutes talking to the parents, grandparents,
(16:00):
young young mothers and fathers about what could they do
with their kids over the summer summer break. Don't let
the summer go to waste. Now again, When I was
growing up, I never went to camp. I played the
little league that was it, hung out with my sisters,
and the kids in the neighborhood. We went to the
(16:21):
community pool, rode out bikes all day and that was it.
There was no sort of program learning. I never went
to an art class things like that. But what I
would say, in the spirit of wanting to promote good health,
(16:46):
I always will encourage families during the summer, when the
kids are at home, take them to the supermarket, and
not so much to take them to the supermarket so
they don't beat each other up at home. Take them
to the supermarket and have a little field trip on
your own where maybe you could spend a few minutes
(17:10):
ahead of time, thirty minutes maybe just looking online. Go
to Google and just type in vegetables and under Google images,
all the different vegetables are going to come up, maybe
things you didn't even know about, broccoli, rob But sort
(17:34):
of sit with the kids and say, let's find zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, squash,
string beans, lime of beans, whatever it may be, same
thing with the fruit.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
And.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Maybe have them look at it, have them touch it,
and maybe tell each one of the kids or child
or whoever many kids you have, bring the neighbors with you,
the neighborhood kids missus Jones is taking the kids on
a road trip to h B. But whatever the case
(18:14):
may be, maybe allow them to pick out a fruit
or a vegetable that they like, figure out a recipe
and make it.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
See what it tastes like.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
And you say, nah, you know this is you know
that eggplant was too bitter, or you know what, this
particular kind of apple was very sweet, very juicy. I'll
try it again. So you want to try to expose
the kids. You have to make it a little bit
of fun. For Pete's sake. It is a summer and
these are kids, but you want to try to influence
(18:49):
them on being exposed to fruits and vegetables. I guess
you could take it to the next step and look
at fish. Is a salmon look like? What does a
snapper look like? What does a flounder look like? Look
at it in the fish cabinet, the fish fridge there
(19:11):
at your local supermarket. So again, I think these are
little things that you could do that can have a
major impact on on the uh, you know, the kids,
and promote good health. All right, we're going to take
a break right now. News traffic, weather is coming up.
(19:33):
After the break, Daniella Graham and Alisa Ruiz from our
research unit are going to be here explaining to all
of you what you need to know and be familiar
with or comfortable with with regard to clinical research. I'm
doctor Joglotti. Stay tuned, don't forget doctor Jogolotti dot com.
(19:55):
We'll bright back every Sunday evening between seven and eight pm.
You are tuned into your health first, don't forget doctor
Joeglotti dot com is our website. And as I was
saying a little bit earlier, we're going to be talking
(20:16):
about research now for those that are in the Texas
Medical Center or just usedon in general. It's such a
great medical community that it is probably not unheard of
that you may have been approached or there may be
an interest in you participating in a research project of
(20:39):
some kind, be it in cancer, be it in diabetes,
heart disease, dermatologic problems, anything anything on earth, any medical condition, emotional,
mental health. Studies are going on and we have in
the studio tonight too, bona fide experts in research. We
(21:00):
have Daniella Graham, who is one of our clinical research coordinators,
recently promoted to be the lead clinical research coordinator and
Alyssa Ruiz who's a nurse practitioner and she's one of
our sub investigators at our research center, which is used
in research Institute in the Texas Medical Center. So, ladies,
(21:23):
welcome tonight to chat about research for a few minutes.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
Thank you, Thank you so real.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Brief just Daniella, why don't you start just give everybody
sort of like your background on how you got into
clinical research.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
Yeah, so I came from a pretty lengthy background of
just developmental research, so that was benchtop. I worked with
a lot of animals and pretty much everything of research
before we get to people. So I think it gave
me a great background of where we're coming from, and
(22:02):
I'm able to also educate our patients on this isn't
the first time a medication has been used. Like, there
are years and years of years of dedication as well
as research and safety put into every single medication.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
So you would just say, you're really I would say,
animal research, right has given you a good foundation to
take it to the human level.
Speaker 6 (22:25):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I think it's probably set up the
best that way. And really, after having so many years
behind the bench and having so much of the developmental
part of it. I really wanted to see it in practice.
I'm like, I've spent so many years like seeing it
work where we need it most to start, but I
(22:46):
wanted to see it in people. So that's where I
kind of transferred over to clinic okay, and which has
been super exciting.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
Yes, I see it. Working with people is always better
than rats, I would say, even though the poor rats
are a vital part of this. Now, Alica, you're a
nurse practitioner and you're in research, So how did how
did that all occur?
Speaker 5 (23:08):
So I kind of fell into this. I graduated over
a year ago now, which is crazy because time just flies,
and I was looking into jobs and I really really
was interested in research in this sub sect that's not
really known for nurses or nurse practitioners. Now in the
medical center here in Houston, it is, but originally I'm
(23:31):
from West Texas, a very very small town, and that's
unheard of over there. Medical care is just really hard
to come by in general right over there, and so
I really wanted to take advantage of the opportunities we
have here in Houston, and so I started applying to
some research jobs. Liver researches, which is what we kind
(23:52):
of focus on for here, has always kind of piqued
my interest. My background as a nurse is very varied.
I've worked in nick you with Neo Nates, and I've
worked in cardiac ICUs, and I've even worked in radiology
centers helping with very complex interventional radiology procedures. So I
just kind of wanted to step out into something that
(24:14):
I could learn a lot from. And here I am.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Here you are for sure. Now for a lot of
our patients, when we talk to them and tell them
about an opportunity for a research study, the first thing
they may say, though not all the time, and I
and I think over time this comment has has declined,
(24:37):
but they still say it. I don't want to be
a guinea pig. I don't want to be a test subject.
You're on the front lines talking with the potential candidates.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
How how do you?
Speaker 4 (24:48):
How do each one of you approach that the I
don't want to be a guinea pig conversation? Alyssa, how about.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
How about you? So?
Speaker 5 (24:56):
I think our biggest tool and our strongest tool here
is EDG cations. So Daniella, with her great background in research,
has actually taught me a lot about it too, And
we just like to educate the patients on the phases
of trials and how many years go into researching these drugs,
these disease processes to make sure we're as safe as possible.
(25:19):
And these patients are not guinea pigs. They're just part
of the future, which is really exciting, right.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
And what do you say, because most of the studies
that we're doing have a placebo part of it. So
Danielle address that question, but explain to everybody what a
placebo is and why studies have placebos in it.
Speaker 6 (25:41):
Yeah, So various studies will do it a little bit differently,
but the placebo, for lack of a better word, is
like the quote unquote sugar pill. There is no medication
in it. A lot of companies will use it as
what the medication is kind of dissolved, whether it be saline,
whether it be sugar water, whether that.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Be or even shot. It'll look exactly like Yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:05):
And so most of our studies are blinded, which means
that whether the patient is getting medication or not, we
don't know, they don't know. So one major thing that
I really try to emphasize to our patients is the
health care aspect. So every single one of our trials
goes through what's called the screening process, where it's just
a bunch of free tests imaging to kind of get
(26:29):
down not only to the bottom of it, make sure
that you're stable and that nothing else is going on.
And then in addition to that, you're just getting so
much healthcare in it, regardless of being on medication or not,
and even when you're on the study, even if you
aren't feeling anything or anything. We never know. Everybody's body
reacts differently, But I think the twenty four hour care
(26:51):
basically as as well as like the added attention that
you get in a research trial really entices people.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Yeah, you know along those lines, and any of our patients,
I would say, they are maybe taking a medicine for cholesterol,
they're taking a medicine for diabetes, they're taking eye drops
for glaucoma, whatever it may be, and they go to Walgreens,
they pick it up, they pop it in their eye,
(27:20):
and they're like, hey, my vision is better, my blood
pressure is under control, my migraines are better. What a
lot of people don't realize is that that very drug,
whether it's a year old and relatively new to the market,
or it's a drug twenty years old, one of the
great drugs that have helped so many people that went
(27:42):
through the exact same process. There were people twenty years
ago in cities across the world that were doing the
very same testing they were doing. Maybe they weren't getting
a drug, maybe they're getting a lower dose of the
drug or a higher dose. So we take for granted
our medicines and our healthcare, but it's almost like, let
(28:05):
the other guy do it. I don't want to do it.
What do you think of that?
Speaker 5 (28:12):
So with that, because I have had patients tell me,
you know, I'm all for research, that's great. I'm so
glad we're doing this, but I want to know what
I'm getting right, And I think it's a very personal
decision and it's something you need to talk about with
your loved ones to make sure it's ideal for you,
because it is hard and it kind of can play
mind games, right being blinded. I don't know, the patient
(28:34):
doesn't know, but I think, just like how Danielle had said,
knowing that we're doing all of this extra monitoring that
you wouldn't get in the clinic. There's many times in
just regular practice when you go to your PCP, you
get given your blood pressure medication. Okay, come back in
six weeks, and so you're kind of alone for six weeks,
(28:54):
whereas here you have access to us on a weekly
basis or a daily basis if.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
You want to call me.
Speaker 5 (29:00):
And so I think that's really nice that you're getting
that TLC, that extra that you might need.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
Yeah, And there is something to be altruistic in life.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Now.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
You may have lived your life through fifty sixty years
old and maybe had a job, had a family, somebody
good in the neighborhood, their community, but never really had
a sense that they did something altruistic really for other people,
just for the sake of doing it, where you may
(29:34):
not get anything in return, but others that come after
us will benefit from it. And and we've seen patients
that you just you get to the r in research
and they're like, sign me up, sign I've always wanted
to do this.
Speaker 6 (29:54):
Yeah, I think probably that's one of my especially because
one of the trials that I and lead of is
a sorosis trial, and so most of them have either
had some sort of experience with sorosis, and they're like,
even if it doesn't help me, even if I'm on placebo,
I don't care. I want to help because I know
(30:17):
that everything before us had to go through this. And
if this means that we can help people in the
future with cirrhosis get it immediately, sure, then I'm doing it.
And so I think that's probably one of the most
beautiful things is whenever we have patients almost completely bypass
the placebo, completely bypassed the selfishness of like, oh, I
(30:40):
want to fix myself, They're like, no, whatever, I did
this to myself. I want to make sure that people
get this. I want to make sure that we can
get this on available as quickly as possible. Yeah, And
so I think that's probably what I like.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
So, for you know, everybody listening tonight on the radio
that maybe has an option to participate in a research study,
We'll start with you, Lissa again. How do you tell
them to orient themselves on how to how to look
at this? You know, is it what's in it for me?
(31:14):
What's in it for the community? You're being altruistic conversation
with your family? What do you think the approach should be?
Speaker 5 (31:22):
I think the approach would be best just to look wide.
So make sure you're talking with your family, you're looking
at these studies and seeing if the time commitment is
something that you can afford. A lot of times I'll
talk to patients and they're like, I don't know about
the time you have to come see me every week.
And then also making sure that you're educated on it.
(31:45):
Talk to your healthcare professional, talk to your PCP, your
hepatologist to make sure they think that you're a good
candidate too. So education, education.
Speaker 6 (31:53):
Education, right, yeah, that is true. What do you think, Danielle,
I think very similar to that. I think truthfully being
honest with yourself and also like weighing out where things
are a priority for you. We have a lot of
patients that are on the older side and they're like, oh,
like I don't know, I don't even know how much
I have left, and I definitely don't have this time
(32:15):
and I want to just travel. Okay, well that's a
priority for you, absolutely, then you do that. We have
other patients that have younger kids and they're like, no,
I don't care about the time I have to be here.
And so I think it is like reaching out to
you the people around you and just kind of weighing
out what you want to feel as a priority.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
Sure, in the last few minutes here, why don't you
give a quick rundown of some of the studies that
we're doing here. And the name of our research unit
here is used in Research Institute Medical Center. We are
on the Texas Medical Center. We predominantly deal with livid
disease conditions. So, Danielle, what, why do't you give a
(32:59):
rundown overview of what sort of the stuff we do.
Speaker 6 (33:02):
Yeah, So we have one cross trial currently trying to
attack at the scarring, trying to attack at that guy.
We have a sister trial to that one, which is
the same medication but in fatty liver disease, so lower
levels of fibrosis and damage. Yeah, same thing with that.
We have other medications, one that's very close to his diffro,
(33:25):
which is FDA approved, fully prescribable, but also kind of
partnered with trying to attack that scarring and that stiffness.
We have several weight loss trials as well.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
Right one list week we had a sort of an
initiation visit on strictly a weight loss study in people
that have diabetes. Yeah, very fascinating.
Speaker 6 (33:51):
Yeah. And then we also have another one that's very similar,
another GLP one weight loss trial, but trying to attack
the kind of middle levels of damage and scarring in
the liver. And then we have another really exciting one,
another weight loss trial that is not a JLP one,
it is an HU six and it's trying to it's
(34:12):
a daily pill that's trying to kind of keep that
muscle mass. So lots of exciting trials here.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
And I would say for anybody listening in the shout
of our voice, if you have fatty liver, HSIs, diabetes,
you're overweight, I would say it's a free phone call.
You could give us a call our main office number.
We don't give out the main office number too often.
(34:40):
It's seven one three seven nine four zero seven hundred.
What extension is research?
Speaker 6 (34:46):
We are one one five one one five.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
Seven one three seven nine four oh seven hundred one
one five And of course our practice website Texas Liver
dot com t e X A S L A v
e R dot com. You could there's a tab there
to contact us, send us a message and say hey,
I heard this on the radio. Interested in research and
(35:09):
one of these fine ladies will get back with you.
All right. Well, time on Sunday goes pretty fast, and
I do appreciate you coming on and keep up the
good work. It really is great working with the two
of you.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Yes, thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 4 (35:26):
All right, final segment of this week's Your Health First
coming up. I'm doctor Joe Galotti. Don't forget doctor Joegalotti
dot com. Is our website or for any research related issues,
Texas Liver dot com.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
Webb right back.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
I want to thank Daniella Graham and Alyssa Ruiz for
coming on talking about research. If you have any questions
about research, you can reach out to me and my
team directly. You can go to Texas Liver dot com
t e X A S L I V e r
(36:06):
dot com and on the homepage AA there is a
contact us. You just say I have a question about research,
or I like to participate in the study about research,
or doctor Joe Galotti dot com saying thing this contact
our phone number seven one three seven nine four zero
seven hundred extension one one five. That'll get through the
(36:30):
research team. But we are predominantly doing research in fatty
liver porrhosis and obesity. So if you like more information.
The screening is free, all of the treatment is free.
And more than happy to help out our great your
(36:51):
Health First community and get everybody well and start thinking
about your health. Your health first.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
Name of the program.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
All right, all right, final segment here a few minutes left.
The month of May is High blood Pressure Awareness Month. Now,
if you didn't catch last week's show, I had doctor
Joseph Rogers, world renowned cardiologist. He is the director of
(37:25):
the Texas Heart Institute at Baylor College of Medicine right
here in the world famous Texas Medical Center, and he
gave an overview on cholesterol. And one of the messages
or the themes that doctor Rogers and I were talking about,
is that issues related to cholesterol are silent. You're not
(37:48):
going to be sitting at work one day and say, WHOA,
I think my cholesterol's up. That's not going to happen.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
Now.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
If you have a stroke and go limp on one side,
you may say, yeah, that happened because my cholesterol was
high and I did not act, or I did not
follow it, or I did not learn what needed to
be done, or I did not communicate with my physician, etc. Likewise,
(38:23):
with blood pressure, now, I sort of shy away from
all of these catchy little terms. Everything is the silent killer.
So the month of May is hepatitis Awareness month as well,
which we talked about a few weeks ago. But a
lot of aspects of livid disease. We used to say
(38:45):
hepatitis C the silent killer. Well, you can say the
same thing about high cholesterol, silent killer, hypertension, high blood
pressure silent killer. So the reason we say that is
because many of these diseases don't have symptoms, and you're
(39:09):
walking along like things are fantastic, life is good, I'm
getting a promotion, I've got a new girlfriend. But meanwhile
your blood pressure is high and you are a heart
attack or stroke waiting to happen. Now, the issue is
(39:33):
number one, you don't have any symptoms, okay. Number two,
the guidelines which were put into effect by the various
cardiology associations, the American Heart Association, is that your blood
pressure should be in the one twenty over seventy range.
(40:00):
D is the systolic blood pressure. The top number. It
used to be one thirty. Used to be one thirty
was okay. Now, based on research, your blood pressure should
be down in the one twenty range. Now I hear
nearly every single day. You have to believe me, patients
(40:22):
come in with blood pressures in the one forties, in
the one fifties, and they're telling me their doctor is
watching it, well watching what Why are you not taking action?
I don't know why. I cannot get into the heads
of these other physicians, nurse practitioners or pas. I don't
(40:46):
get it. So you are at home saying, you know,
my blood pressure is one forty five over eighty five.
That's not good. High blood pressure is associated with stroke,
heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, kidney disease, go into
(41:11):
kidney failure and have to end up on dialysis. And
so this is where this program, everybody listening, needs to
take action and be honest with yourselves, honest with your
family members. What is your blood pressure? If it's one
(41:31):
forty five, one forty eight over eighty eight, that's too high.
You have to get that down through lifestyle, diet, exercise,
treat sleep apnea, lose weight, and or medication. But you
have to address it and get on a plan that
(41:52):
it's being observed and monitored and adjustments are being made. Now,
what I've always said is everybody should have a blood
pressure cuff in their home and take it on a
regular basis. Maybe if your bloodressure is okay, take it
once every once a month on a Saturday morning when
(42:13):
you wake up if you're off a Sunday morning. But
the issue is, do not let your blood pressure get
out of out of hand. It will creep up and
cause trouble. I think I need to get doctor Rogers
(42:34):
back to talk about blood pressure. He's excellent talking about that.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
So that's your mission.
Speaker 4 (42:39):
Take your blood pressure. If it's not the one twenty range,
it's abnormal, contact your doctor, make the changes you need.
All right, that's it for this Sunday evening, Doctor Joe Galotti,
thanks for tuning into your health.
Speaker 3 (42:51):
First, don't forget.
Speaker 4 (42:52):
Doctor Joeglotti dot COM's our website. If you have questions
about research, send me a message through the website and
we're happy to help you out. Take care and have
a great week.
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