Dementia Matters

The APOE gene is recognized as a significant genetic risk factor for cognitive decline, with different alleles, like APOE e2, being seen as protective against decline and others, like APOE e4, indicating an increased risk for cognitive decline. However, new studies are looking at whether these trends are universal across different racial and ethnic groups. Dr. Cally Xiao joins the podcast to discuss her study, which focuses on how different APOE alleles affect risk for Alzheimer’s disease within Hispanic populations compared to non-Hispanic populations.

Guest: Cally Xiao, PhD, Project Specialist, Global Alzheimer’s Association Interactive Network, Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, University of Southern California

Follow Dr. Xiao on Twitter. 

Learn more about GAAIN on their website or on Twitter. 

Read more about the study, “Comparison of genetic and health risk factors for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white participants,” online through the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Listen to Sarah Biber’s episode, “The Future Of Sharing And Accessing Alzheimer’s Disease Data,” on our website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, and all major podcast platforms.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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On July 6, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval for the Alzheimer’s disease drug Leqembi (lecanemab-irmb), the first medicine shown to delay the course of the disease. Having gone through a rigorous approval process, the medication exemplifies a critical advancement in the ongoing battle to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Having already prescribed the treatment to real-life patients, Dr. Robert Przybelski joins the podcast to discuss his experience prescribing and administering lecanemab, what clinicians and patients should discuss when considering these treatments, and what is needed to integrate these treatments into the healthcare system.

Guest: Robert Przybelski, MD, MS, director, Geriatric Memory Clinics, UW Health, professor, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Read more about Lecanemab’s Appropriate Use Guidelines on our website.

Read the FDA’s press release, “FDA Converts Novel Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment to Traditional Approval.”

Listen to previous Dementia Matters episodes on lecanemab, “Introducing Lecanemab, The Latest Alzheimer’s Disease Drug to Receive FDA Accelerated Approval,” and “A Closer Look at the Lecanemab Clinical Trials,” on our website and all major podcast platforms.

Listen to Dr. Przybelski’s previous episode of Dementia Matters, “Vitamin Deficiency And Its Impact On Brain Health,” on our website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, and all major podcast platforms.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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Dr. Crystal Glover, health equity in aging researcher at Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, joins the podcast to discuss the importance of increasing brain donations and tissue samples from older adults of underrepresented backgrounds. Dr. Glover talks about the reasons why participants may be interested in brain donations, the barriers that they may face, and the benefits of combining both qualitative and quantitative data within her research. This episode is part of a series featuring speakers from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center’s (NACC) Fall 2022 ADRC Meeting, where the overarching theme was Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in ADRC research and operations. 

Guest: Crystal Glover, PhD, leader, Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Behavioral Sciences, Rush Medical College

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Learn more about Dr. Glover on Rush University’s website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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On June 9, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) advisory committee unanimously voted to approve lecanemab, moving the treatment one step closer to full FDA approval. In the lead up to the FDA’s official announcement expected in early July, Dr. Paul Aisen joins the podcast to discuss Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials. Aisen,  the founding director of the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) and a leading figure in Alzheimer’s disease research for over three decades, talks about the Phase 3 clinical trials for lecanemab and gantenerumab and shares highlights from the 2022 Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference.

Guest: Paul Aisen, MD, professor of neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Director, Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute 

Find out more about Dr. Aisen on Keck School of Medicine’s website.

Follow the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute on Facebook andTwitter.

Listen to the episode with Dr. Roderick Corriveau, “Mixed Dementia, Explained” on our website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, and all major podcast platforms.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Dr. Lisa Barnes joins the podcast to discuss her research focusing on how social determinants of health, specifically racial differences, affect chronic diseases of aging.She explains the difference between equality, equity and justice, and the different drivers of disparities within the medical field. This episode is part of a series featuring speakers from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center’s (NACC) Fall 2022 ADRC Meeting, where the overarching theme was Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in ADRC research and operations. 

Guest: Lisa Barnes, PhD, Alla V. and Solomon Jesmer Professor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, neuropsychologist, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center

Learn more information about the NACC and watch the presentation recordings from the Spring 2023 ADRC Meeting on their website.

Watch Dr. Barnes’ presentation at the Fall 2022 ADRC Meeting, “Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity.”

Read more about the study Dr. Barnes mentions at 16:36, “Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Inequities in Receipt of Multiple National Institutes of Health Research Project Grants,” for free through JAMA Network and through the article, “Scientists with multiple NIH grants are overwhelmingly male and white,” published by Science.

Read more about the study Dr. Barnes mentions at 16:40, “Systemic racial disparities in funding rates at the National Science Foundation,” for free through the National Library of Medicine. 

Learn more about Dr. Barnes on Rush University’s website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

To mark National Mediterranean Diet Month, Dr. Nathaniel Chin discusses a recent National Institute on Aging-funded study that suggests the MIND and Mediterranean diets — both rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, olive oil, beans and fish — are associated with fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of older adults. In this special episode of Dementia Matters, Chin also revisits his interview with the creator of the MIND diet, Dr. Martha Clare Morris, shares recommendations for ten things to incorporate into your diet and five things to limit, and touches on the benefits of intermittent fasting.

This episode was uploaded as an exclusive video episode on the Wisconsin ADRC YouTube page on May 16, 2023. Watch the recording.

Learn more about National Mediterranean Diet Month on our website.

Read the National Institute on Aging’s press release, “MIND and Mediterranean diets linked to fewer signs of Alzheimer’s brain pathology,” published May 4, 2023.

Listen to Dr. Martha Clare Morris’s episode of Dementia Matters, “MIND Diet for Healthy Brain Aging,” on our website.

Listen to Dr. Remi Daviet’s episode of Dementia Matters, “Alcohol And The Brain: One Drink A Day Associated With Brain Shrinkage,” on our website.

Listen to Dr. Mark Mattson’s episode of Dementia Matters, “Intermittent Fasting And Its Effects On The Brain,” on our website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Dr. Sarah Biber, the program director for the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC), joins the podcast to discuss efforts to increase representation and equitable practices across the 37 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs). She discusses key disparities in Alzheimer’s disease research, why diversity and inclusion are imperative in research, and what is being done to address these disparities with the data collected from research participants. This episode is the first of an upcoming series featuring speakers from the Fall 2022 ADRC Meeting, where the overarching theme was Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in ADRC research and operations. 

Guest: Sarah Biber, PhD, program director, National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center

Learn more information about the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center and watch the presentation recordings from the Spring ADRC Meeting on their website.

Watch Dr. Biber’s presentation at the Fall ADRC Meeting, “Delivering on NACC’s Mission Through Modernization,” on YouTube.

Watch Dr. Biber’s presentation at the Fall ADRC Meeting, “Amplifying the Scan Initiative,” on YouTube.

Listen to Dr. Biber’s previous episode, “The Future Of Sharing And Accessing Alzheimer’s Disease Data,” on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Recorded live from the Wisconsin ADRC’s Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Research Day, Dr. Nathaniel Chin discusses the importance of mentorship and the future of neuroscience and Alzheimer’s disease research with the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® (AAIC) Neuroscience Next 'One to Watch' award recipients and the event’s organizers.

Guests: Barbara Bendlin, PhD, director, UW-Madison Neuroscience and Public Policy Program, leader, Research Education Component (REC), Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center; Claire Sexton, DPhil, senior director of scientific programs and outreach, Alzheimer’s Association; Nadia Dehghani, BS, co-chair, Neuroscience Next Scientific Program Committee; Claire André, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Université de Montréal; Chinmayi Balusu, founder, CEO, Simply Neuroscience; Kacie Deters, PhD, assistant professor, University of California Los Angeles; Kao Lee Yang, MPA/PhD candidate in the Neuroscience and Public Policy Program, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Learn more about Dr. Barbara Bendlin at her bio on our website.

Learn more about Dr. Claire Sexton at her bio on the Alzheimer’s Association website.

Learn more about Nadia Dehghani at her bio on the Van Andel Institute website.

Learn more about Dr. Claire André, Chinmayi Balusu, Dr. Kacie Deters, and Kao Lee Yang at the press release, “Up-And-Coming Neuroscientists and Mentors Honored at Alzheimer’s Association International Conference Neuroscience Next,” on the Alzheimer’s Association website.

Learn more about Chinmayi Balusu’s company, Simply Neuroscience, on their website.

Learn more about AAIC Neuroscience Next at the Alzheimer’s Association website.

Learn more about Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Research Day on the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s website.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Dr. Natascha Merten joins the podcast to discuss her study focused on trends in cognitive function across generations. Merten also explains her research on the associations between sensory and motor functions and blood-based biomarkers for neurodegeneration and dementia.

Guest: Natascha Merten, PhD, MS, director, Beaver Dam Offspring Study-Neurocognitive Aging Study, assistant professor, Departments of Population Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Read Dr. Merten’s studies, “Better cognitive function in younger generations - Insights from two cohort studies of middle-aged to older adults in Wisconsin,” and “Associations of sensory and motor function with blood-based biomarkers of neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's disease in midlife,” through ScienceDirect.

Read Dr. Merten’s abstract from the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association’s International Conference through the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Read about Dr. Merten’s R01 grant, “Dr. Natascha Merten Awarded NIA Funding To Study Sensory Changes Associated With Cognitive Change” on our website.

Learn more about Dr. Merten in her bio on the University of Wisconsin Population Health Sciences website and on her Twitter @NataschaMerten.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

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Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.

Dr. Annalise Rahman-Filipiak joins the podcast to discuss her research focused on disclosing neuroimaging biomarkers across diverse populations. She addresses why some people might want to know their biomarker results, while others might not, and how careful disclosure of these results to at-risk individuals may help prepare them and their families for the future through personalized treatment, research engagement, advanced planning and emotional support.

Guest: Annalise Rahman-Filipiak, PhD, assistant professor, neuropsychologist, department of psychiatry, University of Michigan

Learn more about Dr. Rahman-Filipiak on the University of Michigan’s website.

Read Dr. Rahman-Filipiak’s article, “Interest in and perceived benefits and risks of Alzheimer’s disease clinical and biomarker results disclosure among diverse participants and care partners,” at the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia website.

Follow Dr. Rahman-Filipiak on Twitter @RahFlipPhD.

Find transcripts and more at our website.

Email Dementia Matters: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter.