A recorded interview between Robert Whitfield MD (host) and Dr. Meg (guest) introducing mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) within the broader context of inflammation seen in primary care. The opening establishes that MCAS is a relatively newly recognized diagnosis among the host's patients and sets the agenda: define MCAS and explore clinical implications and management.
Doctor Meg, thank.
You for having me today.
Oh, boy. I've been waiting for this. Meg and I have been trying to talk about this for a period of time because my patients have tons of problems with inflammation, and I have a new, even more isolated group that have mast cell activation syndrome. So we're going to get into all of that. But I want to thank Dr. Meg for getting on the show and being an advocate for muscle activation syndrome, which to me, because I'm old Now, I'm 55, so everybody listening, understand this. This is a relatively new, you know, newly diagnosed situation, really. And when I was reading about it, when my patients first started talking about it, I was like, I feel like I'm a little behind the eight ball here. So we're going to ask Dr. Meg to help define and kind of set the stage for mast cell activation syndrome, and then we'll dig deeper.
Sure. So let's start actually by taking a step back and talking about the immune system, because I think that gives us a good context of what mast cells are, why they become overactive. So you have two different parts of your immune system. You have your innate immune system and your adaptive immune system. So think of your innate immune system as those first line. They're really looking for any type of threat. Your adaptive immune system is a little more specific.
