The Gus Alva Perspective: SoCal Psych Preview—Metabolic Revolution in Mood Disorders, with Roger McIntyre, MD

Welcome to The Gus Alva Perspective!

In this episode of The Gus Alva Perspective, Gus Alva sits down with Roger McIntyre to discuss his highly anticipated keynote address, titled "The Intersection of Metabolism and Mood”, from the upcoming 2025 Southern California Psychiatry Conference.

Reflective of the growing metabolic revolution taking place in public health, McIntyre’s talk will explore a paradigm-shifting approach to psychiatry—targeting metabolic systems to treat and even prevent mental illness.

“We now believe that the mechanisms that are subserving depression and bipolar, including Alzheimer's disease, include metabolic systems,” McIntyre stated. “If that’s the case, we have an incredible opportunity to target those systems directly.”

In his upcoming keynote, McIntyre will explore how metabolic peptides—such as insulin, GLP-1, and other incretins—impact brain function and emotional regulation.

This mechanistic insight underpins his broader clinical mission: “I want to tell a patient… this treatment is going to stop your illness, this treatment is going to reverse your illness.”

The keynote will also explore the potential role of GLP-1 receptor agonists—drugs like semaglutide, originally developed for diabetes and obesity—in treating and even preventing mood disorders. McIntyre will also touch on the provocative emerging data suggesting that these agents, already used in obesity and diabetes, may reduce the onset of depression.

His keynote will provide clinicians with the rationale, translational science, and evolving clinical data behind this potential shift in psychiatry—toward treatments that are not only symptom-managing, but truly disease-modifying.