#103: Dr. Jill interviews Dr. Tania Dempsey, MD, on MCAS

In this episode, Dr. Jill Carnahan interviews Dr. Tania Dempsey about Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), exploring its triggers, diagnosis, and treatment. Dr. Dempsey discusses the new guidelines for diagnosing MCAS and differentiates it from mastocytosis, highlighting the limitations of using tryptase as a sole marker due to its unreliability in MCAS patients. She emphasizes that MCAS can explain various symptoms such as chemical intolerance and that conditions like HPV vaccination post-reactions could trigger underlying MCAS. Dr. Dempsey also discusses how infections like Lyme disease and Bartonella, as well as environmental factors like mold exposure, are common triggers for MCAS. The episode underscores the importance of personalized medicine in managing such complex multi-system diseases, advocating for a tailored approach to treatment including both pharmacological and nonpharmacological strategies.