00:00 From eating, sleeping to drinking, all of our actions are connected to the brain.
00:09 What can Filipinos do to keep their minds sharp no matter what age?
00:14 We talk about that with the Philippine Neurological Association's Board of Governor, Dr. Mark
00:20 Anthony Santamaria.
00:22 He's here with us today.
00:23 Good evening, Doc.
00:24 Thanks for joining us.
00:25 Good evening.
00:26 Thank you for having me.
00:27 Glad you could join us.
00:28 So first of all, what are the most common neurological disorders among Filipinos?
00:34 So the things we encounter in our daily life, of course, the headaches, migraines, vertigo,
00:39 dizziness.
00:40 You also get this nerve pain, neuropathy, tusok-tusok, that's common.
00:45 But the more serious ones are the ones that will cause disabilities, the stroke, epilepsy,
00:51 and there are degenerative diseases, meaning they're progressive, the Alzheimer's disease
00:55 and the Parkinson's disease, among many others.
00:59 So are Filipinos able to get assistance or treatment for these conditions, especially
01:05 you mentioned Alzheimer's and Parkinson's?
01:07 Well, yes and no.
01:09 So yes, meaning we have specialists, we have neurologists in the Philippines who can take
01:14 care and manage these diseases.
01:16 Unfortunately, most of the Filipinos, they may not be aware of these diseases, meaning
01:21 if they're not aware, then they do not seek consult, and eventually these diseases might
01:27 actually progress and may lead to some form of disability in the future.
01:31 So some of these diseases are not instantly detected, meaning some people can go on with
01:37 their lives without knowing they have it.
01:39 Yes.
01:40 Like for example, what, Doc?
01:41 So for example, Alzheimer's disease, you might be very much functioning, you're working very
01:47 well, then when you get older, you get these memory problems, memory loss, you tend to
01:52 forget things.
01:53 Another example is Parkinson's disease.
01:56 So for example, you're an athlete, you're a boxer, then eventually you lose mobility,
02:01 you lose balance, and this will cause disabilities again as you grow old.
02:05 What are the signs, Doc, that could help us detect, for example, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's,
02:13 to help us know what we're dealing with, especially now, they're saying there's early Alzheimer's.
02:19 Agreed.
02:20 All right.
02:21 So if we are experiencing some sort of memory lapses, you're used to doing these things,
02:28 and then all of a sudden, you tend to forget, you tend to lose some things that you usually
02:33 do, then it may be, of course not all the time, but it may be a sign that it might be
02:39 a beginning Alzheimer's disease or a beginning cognitive impairment, especially if you have
02:43 a family history.
02:44 On the other hand, there are other diseases that could really be life-threatening.
02:50 For example, a stroke.
02:51 If you get a sudden onset weakness on one side, blurring of vision, speech problems,
02:57 numbness, loss of consciousness, it's best to go straight to the hospital because this
03:01 could be a life-threatening condition and an emergency.
03:05 Doc, you mentioned forgetfulness, parang nangyayari yan sa atin, o marami sa atin, even in our
03:10 40s.
03:11 Yes.
03:12 So should we be alarmed?
03:13 All right.
03:14 So there are some things that we do forget regularly, but we do remember afterwards.
03:21 But if it starts to impair our daily activities, meaning you really have problems in your work
03:26 already, you have problems in communication, you're losing your job, you're losing your
03:30 position because of these conditions, it's progressive, then it's best to seek some
03:34 counsel for that.
03:36 Okay.
03:37 Well, how can the government and other stakeholders help in the fight against neurological disorders,
03:43 Doc?
03:44 All right.
03:45 So there's an official association in the Philippines.
03:46 It's called the Philippine Neurological Association.
03:49 So it's, for short, PNA.
03:52 So it ties up with the government, it ties up with different hospitals and training institutions
03:57 in the country to make sure that we deliver our advocacy, which is to have better brain
04:02 health for all.
04:03 And just recently, we celebrated World Brain Day.
04:07 This was last July 22.
04:09 It's a worldwide event, and the Philippines also was part of that.
04:13 It's an advocacy campaign to really promote brain health and to promote certain tips and
04:20 certain things that we can do to make sure our brain is in tip-top shape, brain health.
04:25 You mentioned keeping our brain in tip-top shape.
04:28 Are there habits or practices that we should be avoiding that's harmful to our brains?
04:35 All right.
04:36 So anything that will stress our brain, meaning, for example, most common is lack of sleep.
04:40 So if we do lack of sleep, we don't get our brains rest, coupled with maybe chronic stress
04:46 with our work and our lifestyle.
04:48 At the same time, if we have poor diet, we focus on eating processed foods, we don't
04:54 get enough exercise, we don't get enough hydration.
04:57 So all of these in accumulation might really cause some problems, not just in the other
05:01 organs but also in our brain.
05:03 So we have to avoid those things.
05:05 Of course, anything you ingest, proper nutrition also, you should take note of that.
05:11 But other more tips, Doc, for keeping our brain in good shape.
05:16 All right.
05:17 So what other thing we can do is, there's a cliche, "If you don't use it, you lose it."
05:22 So you have to really use your brain.
05:24 So you have to be very active, meaning, we people, we are socializing, we always socialize.
05:31 So we have to strike conversations, discussions and everything so that mere interaction will
05:36 stimulate, will give some mental stimulation in our brain.
05:40 At the same time, we have to keep on learning.
05:42 So that will really help push our brain and use our brain so that it will be very healthy
05:48 in the future.
05:49 And Doc, I see a lot of senior citizens, they still do crossword puzzles and Sudoku.
05:55 Does that help?
05:56 Correct, correct.
05:57 It does.
05:58 Because it's an active form of stimulation, you make yourself think.
06:01 So the passive ones, just watching TV, lying down, that doesn't use any, that doesn't put
06:07 any stimulation in our brain.
06:09 So it needs to be more active like the ones you mentioned.
06:12 Okay, very helpful, Doc.
06:13 Thank you for joining us tonight, Dr. Mark Anthony Santamaria of the Philippine Neurological
06:19 Association.
06:21 You can get more health tips on MedDoc Health Talk, hosted by Dr. Freddy Gomez, with new
06:26 episodes every Tuesday, 8 p.m.
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