Neurology, Rheumatology, and the Gut Microbiome: Two Specialists Discuss

"The gut is sort of the center of the world," said Ilene Ruhoy, MD, PhD, a neurologist and founder of the Center for Healing Neurology in Seattle, Washington, "and I think it's an important part of everyone's health care plan." Ruhoy sees complex patients who present with a broad range of neurologic conditions and has long incorporated an assessment of microbiome health as part of a comprehensive and holistic agenda for care.

Talking about his approach to both adults and children he sees in his San Francisco-based private rheumatology practice in San Francisco, Anthony Padula, MD, describes "unfolding a common complaint," like hip or back pain, not only to identify origin but also to understand factors that may be prolonging or exacerbating the discomfort. Padula came to medicine through sports and learned that top performance as well as healing from injury require close attention to the most basic elements of human health. In most disease, he said, the gut has been unbalanced for years.

In this interview with Patient Care^® both specialists talk about the essential role of a microbiome in balance and how they incorporate gut health in regular clinical practice.

Anthony Padula, MD, is in private practice at the Northern California Arthritis Center in Walnut Creek, CA. Ilene Ruhoy, MD, PhD is a neurologist and founder of the Center for Healing Neurology in Seattle, Washington.

More from the Patient Care conversation with Drs Padula and Ruhoy:

Neurology, Rheumatology and the Gut Microbiome: Two Specialists Discuss