Health
Treatment
![GLP-1 Agonists: Wonder Drugs of the 21st Century?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8c839279-ecc7-4717-8a12-38a8a9f64bcd/53812131104_87f7a9dc2b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=52%2C532%2C5435%2C5445&w=290)
The first drug in a class known as GLP-1 agonists was approved in 2005 to treat diabetes. GLP-1 drugs subsequently proved their mettle to treat obesity and prevent major cardiovascular events and will likely soon be available to treat sleep apnea as well. Looking ahead, their action on the brain is prompting research to gauge their value in curbing drug, alcohol, and nicot...
![Will Psychedelics Go Mainstream?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/c84572ec-3894-4908-8d4f-19c487e7179a/53810485245_1fc8f7f548_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1550%2C0%2C3101%2C3101&w=290)
Scientific investigation is laser focused on psychedelics to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ease end-of-life anxiety, and address mental health challenges, including addiction. The FDA has issued draft guidelines to drug sponsors studying psychedelic-assisted therapy as it considers an application for MDMA-assisted therapy for use in PTSD care. As regulators...
![How Genomics is Personalizing Medicine and Revolutionizing Healthcare](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/51a65a94-96a3-446b-a9dc-9922bf2a030c/KDyuIm5U.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1222%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
Managing disease is getting personal. With the genomic revolution upon us, we now understand that many diseases don't always follow the same predictable course and personalized treatments often work best. The recognition that disease patterns are greatly influenced by individual genetic makeup, combined with advances in technology and gene therapy, are driving a paradigm s...
![Your Gut: An Owner’s Guide to a Happier, Healthier Belly](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/921ed588-d073-4eca-8a1d-7b45937993f5/53809709738_1f674a8513_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=512%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
In polite conversation, we don’t share much information about our gastrointestinal tract or daily bathroom rituals but gut health is crucial to overall wellbeing. Knowledge of the microbiome, which consists of microorganisms that are especially prevalent in the intestines, reveals how inextricably the gut is linked to brain health, inflammation, and the immune system. Lear...
![Primary Care Evolves](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4f14ce17-8da1-460c-b731-84ee43c88e77/53810016421_30e688c17a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3101%2C3101&w=290)
There is clear evidence that broader, more equitable access to primary care generates better health outcomes. But the traditional paradigm—seeing a family doctor in the office—is shifting in tandem with changing technology, new attitudes among young people, and physician shortages. Digital portals and other telehealth tools, walk-in clinics, and community-based facilities...
![Taking on Autoimmune Diseases—with Worms!](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/dfc94a20-9491-4766-aec0-4bdc74ef6de1/53806714423_d9c12b256c_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1004%2C0%2C3628%2C3628&w=290)
In less-developed countries, parasitic roundworms can colonize the gut and cause significant intestinal problems. But autoimmune diseases, the devastating package of disorders in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells, are rare in those places. By contrast, in the United States, where roundworm infections are no longer part of the ecosystem, as many as 50 mil...
![Caregiving, a Generational Crisis](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/aec0d60b-c750-4000-968e-3d8ac8f52436/53806488722_5b677875ae_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=775%2C0%2C3101%2C3101&w=290)
Some say we are going over a caregiving cliff—too much demand for too few workers and too little respect for the uncompensated labor of family members. Caregivers don’t have the recognition, rights, or compensation they deserve and families can’t find, provide, or afford help for their youngest, oldest, and sickest members. The invisible and indispensable nature of caregiv...
![After Long COVID: A Musical Performance of Self-Discovery](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/dad693ec-2fcb-4573-b809-f7df8fc64a4a/53807866760_aea9674c75_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=775%2C0%2C3101%2C3101&w=290)
World-renowned cellist Joshua Roman blends performance and storytelling to share his experience with long COVID and the life-altering limitations that nearly ended his career. After a crisis of struggle and self-doubt, Roman emerged with a profound acceptance of who he is, and a deeper understanding of what it takes to deal with a mysterious medical challenge. An intimate...
![Reimagining Motherhood: Giving Moms What They Need](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9c957e12-4e96-42bc-9165-59632aeae9ef/53807844350_0012c2e8c9_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1727%2C0%2C4641%2C4640&w=290)
The conversation about motherhood and the “power of moms” is becoming more robust and nuanced, and a spotlight is finally being shined on the needs of mothers and their families. Curbing preventable deaths in pregnancy and childbirth and creating the emotional landscape so vital to health and wellbeing requires passionate activism and advocacy, intentional shifts in cultur...
![Health Fellow Spotlight: Georgina Dukes-Harris](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ee401bac-a60e-4b5e-858c-d6d12bb88108/SpotlightBlogHeroImage.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=653%2C0%2C901%2C900&w=290)
Meet Georgina Dukes-Harris, a 2024 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow and the Founder of Swishvo. Having experienced critical gaps in maternal healthcare firsthand, she's on a mission to use technology to help connect mothers with doulas, midwives, and nutritionists, to support safe birthing experiences for all.
![Breaking the Silence and Opening Up About Mental Health](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6e9b57d5-024e-4205-b4d4-3379ddb49506/MentalHealth.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=420%2C0%2C1080%2C1080&w=290)
In America, millions of people struggle with mental health including depression, anxiety, and more — all further exacerbated by living through a pandemic. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that one in five adults experience mental illness each year, but despite how common it is, mental health is still surrounded by stigma and shame. Our experts are candid abo...
![2024 Aspen Ideas: Health Speaker Preview](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/7c60a93c-a1cd-4537-a441-3504e6bc58ba/AIHSpeakerPreviewBlog.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C32%2C890%2C890&w=290)
Take a sneak peek at some of the big thinkers and innovative doers who will take the stage at Aspen Ideas: Health from June 20-23, 2024!
![Gender, Health, and Entrepreneurship in the Global South](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9a6f4713-7df1-43ca-82df-3f5135246e8c/53012401547_9ed07caea6_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=940%2C0%2C3733%2C3733&w=290)
How can we unlock the power of entrepreneurship to widen access to health care, close gender disparity, and increase prosperity in the global South? Hear from expert voices and innovators on tools to address social, economic, and environmental challenges in developing economies.
![Unleashing Your Brain’s Potential: Science, Lifestyle, and Longevity](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a28fd397-9a67-42ef-9a36-c160e43284fd/53012199488_a0977ab6b6_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
Forget quick fixes or gimmicks, Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai teach evidence-based lifestyle modifications and cognitive strategies that have shown profound real-world impact. Drawing from their extensive experience in neurology, research, lifestyle medicine, and behavioral neuroscience, they share practical, science-backed tools and strategies for staving off cognitive d...
![New Paths to Treat and Prevent Brain Disease](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/cbed2695-1619-4bad-bc45-ec520fed21a9/230625_brain_disease_015.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=666%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
The mysteries of brain health are hidden deep within the ridges and grooves of the cerebral cortex. Join Mount Sinai Health System neuroscientists in this discussion of new techniques, innovative therapies, and lifestyle changes that unlock the brain’s secrets and boost your performance and longevity. Presented by Mount Sinai
![New Era for Alzheimer’s Disease?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/772f4126-a2b5-4782-8f41-ec28b72c42a6/52998983235_2ae2225201_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
The world has renewed hope that impactful treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias may finally be on the horizon. While previous therapies have modestly improved memory and cognition, none has altered the fundamental biology of the disease. Now, we have clinical trial results from monoclonal antibodies that appear to do just that by removing the amyloid-bet...
![In Search of a Cure: The Power of Patient Activism](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/f196dd1a-e720-48b3-9ea6-016fef0b4dea/52997126374_347742c9ac_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
Advances in health and medicine no longer rest entirely in the hands of scientists and clinicians. Patients and citizen activists are stepping up to influence research priorities, crowd-source data, and scour arcane medical literature in search of novel experimental approaches. Often, they are motivated by personal experiences, the refusal to accept that a disease lacks tr...
![Overcoming Burnout and Healing the Healers](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/cd58b9a6-34d3-457c-ab65-7367c2a82a11/52994585281_69dbe83d8a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1808%2C0%2C4640%2C4640&w=290)
Art tours for physicians, a choir for nurses, on-demand meditation for all healthcare workers. Clinical settings everywhere are testing support and wellness interventions to boost emotional health and tame the widespread stress and burnout among physicians, nurses, and other providers that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to strain so many. Clinical s...
![Designing a Good Death](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4be8ebf7-4aee-499c-bfa0-1848fd203827/52994575646_250586b225_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=350%2C0%2C899%2C899&w=290)
Despite knowing that death is the common thread that unites us all, we tend to keep the topic at arm’s length. Yet acknowledging the inevitability of death, contemplating what we wish the end to look like, and sharing our thoughts with loved ones can make our final moments profoundly meaningful. Aid-in-dying legislation, the availability of death doulas to assist in the dy...
![Chronicling Compassion: Tracy Kidder Profiles Boston’s Top “Street Doctor”](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/62915cfb-0697-4dba-98ba-18a386c39067/52995522938_6ca67e7a57_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=266%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=290)
In his new book, Rough Sleepers, author Tracy Kidder tells the remarkable story of Dr. Jim O’Connell, a Boston physician who has dedicated his life to providing healthcare to homeless people. Through the doctor’s eyes, Kidder also immerses us in the lives of the unsheltered population—their back stories, daily risks, survival mechanisms, and unmet human needs. In a society...