Unlocking Brain Health: Insights from a Leading Neuro-Ophthalmologist Dr. Sui Wong

Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast! In episode #343, host Andrea Samadi interviews Dr. Sui Wong, a renowned neurologist and neuro-ophthalmologist based in London, UK. With over 110 peer-reviewed publications and extensive research in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, Dr. Wong shares her holistic approach to improving brain health and patient outcomes.

Discover the science behind visual snow syndrome, the impact of lifestyle-specific interventions, and the connection between eye health and neurological disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Dr. Wong also delves into the importance of mindfulness, nutrition, sleep, and a balanced lifestyle in enhancing overall well-being. Join us for an insightful conversation that bridges neuroscience with practical strategies for everyday life.

Don't miss this episode filled with valuable insights and actionable tips to help you thrive. Welcome, Dr. Sui Wong!

Watch our interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/GwR82IYJTbE

EPISODE #343 with Dr. Sui Wong on “Unlocking Brain Health: Insights from a Leading Neuro-Ophlamologist we will cover:

✔ Dr. Sui Wong's career path in medicine, that led her to write 4 books to help her patients (and the world) improve their brain health.

✔ How understanding our eye health can help us to prevent neurological disorders (like Alzheimer's Disease) in the future.

✔ What we should all understand about our eye health for improved health and longevity.

✔ What common neuro-ophthalmology cases she sees.

✔ Why did she introduce Mindfulness into a study on Visual Snow Syndrome?

✔ What would Dr. Wong add to our list of Top 6 Health Staples?

✔ How to learn from Dr. Wong, and find her books.

On today's episode #343 we meet with Dr. Sui H. Wong, a Neurologist and Neuro-Ophthalmologist based in London, United Kingdom. In addition to her clinical work as a medical doctor and physician, Dr. Wong is an active neuroscience researcher, who translates pertinent and clinically relevant questions into research, to improve person-centred patient outcomes. Additionally, she has the qualifications and experience to consider a broader spectrum of lifestyle-specific interventions. Dr Wong’s holistic approach in empowering patients has been recognized with many awards, and this is just the beginning for her.

When I was introduced to Dr. Wong, an active neuroscience researcher with a mission of translating important clinically relevant questions into research for improved person-centred patient outcomes, I knew I had to speak with her. She is a widely published author and researcher with over 110+ peer-reviewed publications in medical journals, chapters and conference abstracts, to date.

I looked at the articles Dr. Wong has published, and one caught my eye. She’s done extensive research that you can find in Ophthalmology Journals, like a recent article that I’m going to paraphrase, but it was called Visual Snow Syndrome (which is a neurological condition where individuals see persistent flickering white, black, transparent or colored dots across the whole visual field) After Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.[i] We have spent some time on this podcast walking through Pubmed.gov, and if you go there, and put Mindfulness into the search bar, you will come up with over 30,000 results.

Let’s meet Dr. Sui Wong, and see what we can learn from her decades of research and her thoughts on what lifestyle-specific interventions she recommends.

Welcome Dr. Wong, thank you for coming on the podcast today, and meeting me, all the way from the UK (where I was born)(Worthing, Sussex). Welcome.

Q1: Can you give us an overview of why you chose this path and ended up in Neuro-Ophthalmology with an explanation of what you do with your work?

Q2: How can understanding our eye health help us to prevent neurological disorders in the future? We’ve covered Alzheimer’s Prevention strategies and I wonder what you would with the importance of our brain health?

Q3: I listened to a recent podcast you did on Neuro Podcases and while I don’t have a case for you, I’ll tell you I had a scary eye experience years ago? It turned out to be an ocular migraine, but I seriously thought I was going blind. Before I spoke to my doctor, I had no idea what this was, and that it was nothing to worry about. What do you recommend we ALL learn and understand about our eye health for improved health and longevity?

Q3B: Is there a connection between migraines in our head, and our gut-brain axis?

Q4: What are some common neuro-ophthalmology cases you see?

Q5: I looked at your research and one of your publications drew my attention. It was the Visual Snow Syndrome study that improved with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. Since we talk about Mindfulness often on this podcast, can you share what this study revealed? What can we all take away from the power of Mindfulness?

Q6: What advice would you give us outside of this list that we’ve created from all our interviews, of the TOP 6 health staples to boost our physical, and mental heath, helping us to age gracefully, and how much of our health do you think has to do our brain health?

Q7: For people to reach you, what is the best way? What services do you provide?

Q8: Anything I have missed?

Dr. Wong, I want to thank you for your time, meeting with me today, and helping us to all make the connection with our brain health, and longevity.

RESOURCES AND CONNECT WITH DR. SUI WONG

Thursday Tips-Bitesize brain health tips to thrive: bit.ly/drwongbrainhealth

Website for Dr. Wong’s books: https://www.drsuiwongmd.com/books

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsuiwong.neurologist/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sui-wong-neurologist/

Mindfulness for Brain Health (in paperback/ hardcover/ Kindle/ audiobook) https://books2read.com/u/4XNXAg Break Free from Migraines Naturally (in paperback/ hardcover/ Kindle/ audiobook) https://books2read.com/u/bwgG5Z Sleep Better to Thrive (in paperback/ Kindle/ audiobook) books2read.com/u/mv0XQ2 Quit Ultra-Processed Foods Now (in paperback/ Kindle/ audiobook) https://books2read.com/u/m27M21

Email [e-mail]

REFERENCES:

[i] Visual Snow Syndrome Improves with Modulation of Resting-State Functional MRI Connectivity After Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy published by Sui H Wong, et al, March 2024 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37967050/