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(MIS)Treated

(MIS)Treated

By: TVO
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(MIS)Treated, a TVO podcast, explores how medicine has – and still is – failing women and speaks to the people looking to make a difference. Join host Nam Kiwanuka to hear real life stories and expert interviews on how the mistreatment and misdiagnosis of women affects us all.

2025 TVO Hygiene & Healthy Living Physical Illness & Disease Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Why are 70% of Alzheimer's patients women?

    Why are 70% of Alzheimer's patients women?
    Dec 9 2025
    Is it genetics or age that causes more women to have Alzheimer's? It's more complicated than that. Studies show that of every three patients with Alzheimer's, two are women even after accounting for longevity. Researchers are now only learning the importance of hormones in brain health and it's part of the reason why there's a push behind studying the ways brain health impacts women's health. To find out more about hormones and the role they play during menopause, Nam Kiwanuka speaks with professor M. Natasha Rajah who leads the Brain Health Equity in Aging and Memory lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. Research links ‘This is a big deal’: Health Canada approves 1st drug to slow Alzheimer’s disease: https://globalnews.ca/news/11500367/health-canada-approves-alzheimers-treatment As the U.S. ages, dementia is on the rise. Here are ways to reduce your risk: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/22/nx-s1-5050956/health-brain-dementia-sleep-diet-alzheimers Depression in women: Understanding the gender gap: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression/art-20047725 Doctors looking into hormone therapy as a way to ward off dementia in women: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/estrogen-dementia-prevention-hormone-replacement-women-perimenopause-rcna245664 Hysterectomy may be linked to brain function: https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2018/hysterectomy-may-be-linked-to-brain-function Men and women have opposite genetic changes in depression: https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/men-and-women-have-opposite-genetic-changes-in-depression Hormone replacement therapy will no longer carry a warning label, FDA says: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/hormone-replacement-therapy-no-warning-label-fda-rcna243008 Migraine remains second among the world's causes of disability, and first among young women: findings from GBD2019: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33267788/ More than half of women in Canada are caregivers: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/2649-more-half-women-canada-are-caregivers Shingles vaccine may slow progression of dementia, new study suggests: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/02/health/shingles-vaccine-dementia-progression-study-wellness Dementia prevention, intervention, and care 2024: https://www.thelancet.com/commissions-do/dementia-prevention-intervention-and-care The Rise of Anxiety Among Women: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/multicultural-mental-health/202502/the-rise-of-anxiety-among-women Why are so many women suffering from “long Covid” symptoms?: https://www.womenshealthnetwork.com/immune-health/are-you-a-covid-long-hauler/ Got a question or comment? Email us at: mistreatedpodcast@tvo.org If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health, visit any of the following resources for support: Canada.ca/mental-health Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868. The Government of Ontario's Mental Health Support Resources: https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-mental-health-support Follow TVO on social: https://www.youtube.com/theagenda https://www.instagram.com/mistreatedtvo Join our newsletter: https://www.tvo.org/newsletters Visit the TVO Today website for current affairs journalism, documentaries and podcasts: https://www.tvo.orgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    42 mins
  • Why EDS is more than "just loose joints"

    Why EDS is more than "just loose joints"
    Dec 2 2025

    In July 2023, Sydney Gesualdi was rear-ended at a red light. She was told by her doctors that she had whiplash and tissue damage, but instead of getting better - she got worse. Her mobility began to suffer, her motor skills disappeared, and she felt like she was forgetting how to breathe and swallow. This began her years long journey through Ontario's medical system as she tried to receive a diagnosis for Craniocervical Instability and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Nam Kiwanuka speaks with Sydney about her experiences of being forgotten in the medical system and her hope to receive funding from the government for a surgery she says is her right.

    Research links

    EDS Foundation: https://edscanada.org/

    ‘We live in constant fear’: the reality of life with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/nov/05/we-live-in-constant-fear-the-reality-of-life-with-ehlers-danlos-syndromes

    Billie Eilish Has Hypermobility — Here's What That Is: https://www.shape.com/billie-eilish-hypermobility-7091708

    Desperate to walk again, this 25-year-old Ontario woman is ready to pay $40K for U.S. spinal assessment: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ontario-woman-seeking-spine-care-1.7512862

    Millions have the same ‘bendy body’ disease as my daughter. Why isn’t the medical profession paying more attention?: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/24/health/hypermobile-ehlers-danlos-syndrome-health-hnk-spc-dst-intl

    Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: More than “just loose joints”: https://acaciahealth.ca/blog/ehlers-danlos-syndrome-more-than-just-loose-joints

    The GoodHope Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Clinic: development and implementation of the first interdisciplinary program for multi-system issues in connective tissue disorders at the Toronto General Hospital: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13023-021-01962-7

    Got a question or comment? Email us at: mistreatedpodcast@tvo.org

    If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health, visit any of the following resources for support: Canada.ca/mental-health

    Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868.

    The Government of Ontario's Mental Health Support Resources: https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-mental-health-support

    Follow TVO on social: https://www.youtube.com/theagenda

    https://www.instagram.com/mistreatedtvo

    Join our newsletter: https://www.tvo.org/newsletters

    Visit the TVO Today website for current affairs journalism, documentaries and podcasts: https://www.tvo.org

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    38 mins
  • Is FemTech the answer to women's health?

    Is FemTech the answer to women's health?
    Nov 25 2025

    Femtech focuses on technological innovation within the women's health space. Innovations can include everything from a new version of the speculum to a bra that can track heart health. But innovators face hurdles in a market where funders still find the word "vagina" a challenge. To find out more, Nam Kiwanuka speaks with journalist Marina Gerner about her book "The Vagina Business", which looks at Femtech's market opportunity and the pitfalls.

    Research links

    The Vagina Business: https://www.marinagerner.com/about

    The dawn of the FemTech revolution: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/the-dawn-of-the-femtech-revolution

    Researchers redesign vaginal speculum to ease fear and pain: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/researchers-redesign-vaginal-speculum-to-ease-fear-and-pain

    MIT Develops 'Smart Bra' for Early Breast Cancer Detection: A New Frontier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uqmexASIY

    The ‘huge disadvantage’ women behind femtech phenomenon face: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/08/the-huge-disadvantage-women-behind-femtech-phenomenon-face

    Women in tech statistics: The hard truths of an uphill battle: https://www.cio.com/article/201905/women-in-tech-statistics-the-hard-truths-of-an-uphill-battle

    A subsection of tech is set to be worth $1 trillion. But taboos are holding it back: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/12/a-subsection-of-tech-is-set-to-be-worth-1-trillion-but-taboos-are-holding-it-back.html

    Got a question or comment? Email us at: mistreatedpodcast@tvo.org

    If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health, visit any of the following resources for support: Canada.ca/mental-health

    Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868.

    The Government of Ontario's Mental Health Support Resources: https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-mental-health-support

    Follow TVO on social: https://www.youtube.com/theagenda

    https://www.instagram.com/mistreatedtvo

    Join our newsletter: https://www.tvo.org/newsletters

    Visit the TVO Today website for current affairs journalism, documentaries and podcasts: https://www.tvo.org

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
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