An Alzheimer's Update

Since June is Alzheimer's Awareness Month, I put together an Alzheimer's update. Today's guest is Dr. Sarah Hopp, a brilliant NIH-funded neuroscientist and researcher. She starts by discussing why Alzheimer's disease is more common in women. She also reviews what "goes wrong" in the brain during Alzheimer's: the formation of amyloid plaque outside of neurons and neurofibrillary tangles inside neurons. She also discusses why Black Americans are at higher risk for Alzheimer's and has a theory for this racial disparity. Dr. Hopp reveals her area of research: to identify specific pathways that can be targeted to treat or prevent Alzheimer's. Specifically, she studies important immune cells called microglia, calling them the "garbage collectors" of the brain. NOTE: At the time of this interview, funding for Dr. Hopp's research had just been "frozen." When I spoke with her recently, the funding for her research had been renewed, but not for her teaching program and it had to be shut down. I was both sad and angry to hear this, such a loss for both her and her students. Dr. Hopp asks us to contact our government representatives and tell them to support scientific research. She asks us to remember that funds from NIH support not only Alzheimer's research, but all kinds of treatments and vaccines that improve the quality of our daily lives. DON'T MISS PART TWO OF THE EPISODE where Dr. Carolyn discusses a breakthrough test for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease: a brain biomarker called p-Tau 217. This new blood test is now available to consumers and is just as accurate as more invasive testing (using CSF from a lumbar puncture or undergoing a PET scan). This p-Tau 217 can also diagnose Alzheimer's disease early––20 years before symptoms of cognitive decline appear. Levels of tau also appear to correlate with the progression––or reversal–– of Alzheimer's disease. Don't miss the case report of a patient who was able to reduce her p-Tau level and thus give herself a better prognosis. This is an exciting development, because with early detection using the new p-Tau 217 blood test, we now have more time––using lifestyle interventions or drugs––to prevent this devastating disease. References: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady3217 https://erictopol.substack.com/p/predicting-and-preventing-alzheimers