Dementia Matters has entered into the 2021 People’s Choice Podcast Awards! If you enjoy our show and want to support us, register and vote before July 31st at www.podcastawards.com, and vote for us under the Health and People’s Choice categories. We, the Dementia Matters team, hope that by participating, we can continue spreading our message and educate new listeners about Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and brain health.
Neurologist and author Daniel Gibbs, PhD, joins the podcast to discuss his recent book, A Tattoo on My Brain, which details his journey from treating Alzheimer’s disease clinically for 25 years to being diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s. Dr. Gibbs discusses early signs he experienced and daily life with the disease, as well as thoughts on the recent FDA-approved treatment aducanumab (marketed as Aduhelm).
Guest: Daniel Gibbs, PhD, neurologist
For our 100th episode of Dementia Matters, Nina Silverberg, PhD, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRC) Program at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), joins the podcast to offer an overview of the ADRC Program as well as insight into the state of Alzheimer’s Disease research and its future. The NIA funds more than 30 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers across the country, including the Wisconsin ADRC.
Guest: Nina Silverberg, PhD, National Institute on Aging
Neuropsychologist and author Michelle Braun, PhD, joins the podcast to talk about lifestyle changes that can support brain health. “We have the ability to make our brain younger than our chronological age,” she says. Braun shares how and details strategies from her new book, High-Octane Brain: 5 Science-Based Steps to Sharpen Your Memory and Reduce Your Risk of Alzheimer’s. Hear about common misconceptions around aging, three possible brain health trajectories, and how to maximize your brain health.
Guest: Michelle Braun, PhD, neuropsychologist and national leader in the field of brain health
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found that among older adults with cognitive impairment, the greater the air pollution in their neighborhood, the higher the likelihood of the presence of amyloid plaques in their brain. Lead researcher Leonardo Iaccarino, PhD, details his work examining air pollution and brain health outcomes and discusses possible ways individuals and society can lower the impact of air pollution on Alzheimer’s disease risk.
Guest: Leonardo Iaccarino, PhD, University of California San Francisco Memory and Aging Center
Inappropriate sexual behavior is a common yet rarely discussed symptom in individuals with dementia. Author Elizabeth Marcus writes about her personal experience with her father’s behavioral changes in her new book, Don’t Say a Word!: A Daughter’s Two Cents. Elizabeth shares what she learned caring for her father, as well as advice for caregivers responding to the symptoms. Neurologist Dr. Martin Samuels offers background on changes in the brain that can cause inappropriate sexual behavior and other personality shifts that are common in people with dementia.
Guest: Elizabeth Marcus, author; Martin Allen Samuels, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Being Patient is an online news source dedicated to providing research news, caregiver information and resources related to Alzheimer’s disease. Being Patient founder Deborah Kan discusses how her personal experiences led her to develop the website, as well as how online resources and communities can help empower individuals affected by memory loss.
Guest: Deborah Kan, journalist, founder of beingpatient.com
Dr. Jason Karlawish discusses society’s role in addressing care for individuals with memory loss, as well as current stigmas around Alzheimer’s disease, Wealthcare, and his cautious optimism for the future of Alzheimer’s disease research and care. This is the final episode in our four-part series with Dr. Karlawish on his new book, The Problem of Alzheimer’s: How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease Into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It.
Guest: Jason Karlawish, MD, co-director, Penn Memory Center
Dr. Jason Karlawish joins the podcast for the third installment in our series on his new book, The Problem of Alzheimer’s: How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease Into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It. In this episode, Dr. Karlawish discusses the healthcare system’s role in Alzheimer’s disease and what it needs to do better to care for individuals with dementia and help them live well.
Guest: Jason Karlawish, MD, co-director, Penn Memory Center
Dr. Jason Karlawish returns to the podcast to continue our discussion on his new book, The Problem of Alzheimer’s: How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease Into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It. In this episode, Dr. Karlawish discusses pivotal cultural and political moments that influenced Alzheimer’s disease research, as well as the possibilities of drug treatments in the future.
Guest: Jason Karlawish, MD, co-director, Penn Memory Center
Physician and author Dr. Jason Karlawish joins the podcast for the first installment of a four-part series centered around his new book, The Problem of Alzheimer’s: How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease Into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It. In the book, Karlawish blends history and science to detail the most important breakthroughs in diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s disease. He also offers an argument for how we can live with dementia and proposes reforms we can make as a society that would give caregivers and patients better quality of life. In this episode, Dr. Chin and Dr. Karlawish discuss Alzheimer’s disease in a historical context and the disease’s changing meaning.
Guest: Jason Karlawish, MD, co-director, Penn Memory Center
In a recent study, health economist Lauren Nicholas, PhD, found older adults who go on to be diagnosed with dementia are more likely to miss payments on bills as early as six years before a diagnosis. Dr. Nicholas joins the podcast to discuss her research findings, how financial symptoms could be used as early predictors of dementia, signs that may indicate financial trouble due to dementia, and resources for managing your own or a loved one’s finances early.
Guest: Lauren Nicholas, PhD, associate professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Growing research has shown that music can have a profound impact on individuals with memory loss. Right to Music is an organization dedicated to promoting use of personal music by families and professionals caring for people with dementia and other cognitive challenges. Founder Dan Cohen joins the podcast to discuss how music can affect memory loss and tips for starting music therapy.
Guest: Dan Cohen, founder, Right to Music
Visiting the emergency department can be a challenging experience for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers. Dr. Manish Shah joins the podcast to discuss the difficulties people with dementia face in the emergency department and offers tips for making the most out of a visit.
Guest: Manish Shah, MD, MPH, professor, BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Dr. Lindsay Clark’s new study will evaluate the psychological consequences of disclosing amyloid test results to cognitively unimpaired adults. Dr. Clark joins the podcast to define amyloid accumulation and discuss how her study will examine the process of revealing amyloid results to research participants in Alzheimer’s disease research studies.
Guest: Lindsay Clark, PhD, assistant professor, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health