UTHealth Houston physician adds lifestyle medicine to the treatment of people with neuromuscular diseases

From left, Seon Kyung “Kate” Nam, MD, and Suur Biliciler, MD, are working on an Exercise in Myositis project. (Photo courtesy of Suur Biliciler, MD)

Suur Biliciler, MD, recalled a clinic visit with a patient and family to explain the importance of adding protein to meals to help treat their loved one’s neuromuscular disease. The family said they could not do it since they tried to limit their meat consumption.

“I told them that beans and lentils are also sources of protein, and their faces just lit up,” said Biliciler, a professor with the Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “They mentioned that they considered it the best visit, and all I told them was that beans and lentils are protein sources.”

That encounter confirmed Biliciler’s belief that evidence-based lifestyle medicine is crucial for treating patients with neuromuscular diseases, including muscular dystrophy, Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, myositis, and motor neuron diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Lifestyle medicine consists of six components: nutrition, exercise, sleep, social connections, stress management, and avoidance of risky behaviors.

“We advise patients about nutrition, the supplements they can or should not take, the types of exercise they should engage in, how they can improve their sleep, their social connections, what to do to manage their stress,” Biliciler said. “I believe this holistic approach will help us understand how we can make a meaningful difference. We remind them: ‘Your disease doesn’t define you. You are a human being.’”

Last fall, the new lifestyle medicine track for neurology residents kicked off with a movie night, watching the documentary “Code Blue,” followed by other activities like cooking together in the Nourish Program kitchen at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.

One of the fourth-year residents, Seon Kyung “Kate” Nam, MD, from the lifestyle medicine track is assisting Biliciler with her Exercise in Myositis project. The duo is collaborating with Rice University to develop an exercise app that will offer appropriate workouts for individuals with neuromuscular diseases while tracking their progress and motivating them along the way.

“There is a perception that when we recommend patients to exercise, we are giving up on them, and the patients need a certain medication or a surgical procedure to get better,” Biliciler said. “We need to change that perception. Exercise is medicine. The patients who exercise – it’s like night and day. They do so much better.”

Biliciler said that, along with the lifestyle medicine track team, she is currently working to establish an exercise clinic similar to the one they observed during a visit to the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. She is also planning to initiate monthly group visits for patients, during which they will receive counseling on the six pillars of lifestyle medicine relevant to their specific diseases.

“We don’t prioritize prevention, like exercise or nutrition, in our country. Europe is far ahead of us. I envision a patient-centered clinic,” she said. “That has always been my dream. I want to make a difference in people’s lives through achievable, realistic, and cost-effective interventions. I want to see my patients smile. I want them to feel good about themselves – physically, mentally, and spiritually.”