Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer's Patients and Caregivers

Dr. Anna Chodos, MPH, is the executive director of Dementia Care Aware, an initiative that helps primary care providers across the country improve dementia detection and care. A professor of medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and the University of California, San Francisco, her clinical work focuses on outpatient geriatrics and dementia care, and her research centers on the unme...

Dr. Anna Chodos, MPH, is the executive director of Dementia Care Aware , an initiative that helps primary care providers across the country improve dementia detection and care. A professor of medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and the University of California, San Francisco, her clinical work focuses on outpatient geriatrics and dementia care, and her research centers on the unm...

Before his symptoms began, Anthony and Karen Sanone were always on the move, traveling, working and staying active. A former college athlete who played football and baseball, Anthony spent more than 35 years as a chemical sales manager. Karen, a director of human resources at an education agency, now balances her professional role with caregiving. The couple documents their experiences on Anthony’...

Neuroscience has long focused on neurons, but researchers are turning their attention to another kind of brain cell: glial cells. These non-neuronal cells help shape information processing, support brain circuits and influence vulnerability to neurodegenerative diseases — and there are roughly as many glial cells in the human brain as neurons. Terrence Sejnowski, PhD, is a professor and laboratory...

Can improving hearing help preserve memory and thinking as we age? Hearing loss isn’t just an inconvenience of aging — it’s now considered one of the top modifiable risk factors for dementia. Kimberly Mueller, Ph. D., is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a researcher with the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Res...

Could AI-driven retinal imaging flag Alzheimer’s decades before symptoms start? That question is central to RetiSpec’s mission. The health technology company is developing AI-powered retinal imaging to detect Alzheimer’s-related biomarkers, like amyloid — by looking at the back of the eye.  Catherine Bornbaum, PhD, RetiSpec’s chief business officer, says the aim is to make biomarker testing simple...

Parkinson’s cases are rising. Dr. Ray Dorsey says our environment is a big reason why. In “The Parkinson’s Plan,” Dorsey and co-author Dr. Michael Okun argue that modifiable environmental exposures are fueling the disease, and they outline practical steps to reduce risk and improve treatment. Dorsey is a professor of neurology at the University of Rochester and a public health advocate focused on...

In our latest “Ask Teepa Anything” Live Talk, dementia care expert Teepa Snow answers caregivers’ real-world questions — from safe ways to help a person up after a fall to medication trade-offs, late-stage planning, and day-to-day communication. Snow is an occupational therapist with more than 40 years of clinical and academic experience. She developed the GEMS States of Brain Change and the Posit...

Dr. Laura Baker, PhD, is a professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the principal investigator of the U.S. POINTER study, a large, Alzheimer’s Association–backed trial inspired by Finland’s landmark FINGER study. Designed to test whether lifestyle can protect brain health in a diverse U.S. population, POINTER enrolled 2,111 adults ages 60 to...

Originally from Argentina, educator and creative entrepreneur Laura Tobi, 58, moved to the U.S. 26 years ago. An educational designer by training, she has worked with labor unions, corporations, government, and public and private school systems, later founding a Miami-based business to cultivate creative thinking for learners of all ages.  After years as a caregiver to her both husband and daughte...

Scientists are still searching for effective treatments for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's, ALS, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In his pioneering research, neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duma is testing whether stem cell therapy can effectively treat these diseases.  Duma is medical director of Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital’s Brain Tumor Program in Newport Beach,...

U.S. Navy veteran Chris Tann, was diagnosed with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia in 2019 after his wife, Debra, noticed behavioral changes and began documenting unusual incidents at home. They began learning and raising awareness about a condition that is often misunderstood. Today, he is an active member of the Black Dementia Minds support group and a participant in a long-term clinica...

No Country for Old People , a documentary from filmmaker Susie Singer Carter and former federal prosecutor and US Attorney Rick Mountcastle, investigates widespread neglect and systemic failures in nursing facilities.  Singer Carter tells a personal story about her mother, who lived with Alzheimer’s disease and received inadequate care in a five-star facility. Mountcastle, known for prosecuting Pu...

When Alice Bailey was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at 56, some of the challenges were all too familiar. She had witnessed her mother’s experience with Alzheimer’s years earlier, and recognized some of the same gaps in care and communication with her diagnosis. Receiving no resources to help her process her diagnosis, she leaned on family, faith, and community to find support. Today, she’...

Growing evidence shows that Alzheimer’s risk is shaped not only by genetics but also by culture, environment, and lifestyle — and researchers say these differences may hold the key to better prevention and treatment. Dr. Sid O’Bryant, professor of pharmacology and neuroscience at the University of North Texas, is the principal investigator of the Health & Aging Brain Study – Health Disparities...

What does it feel like to take part in the largest lifestyle intervention trial in the United States? In this conversation, Patty Kelly and Phyllis Jones share personal stories about how Alzheimer’s disease has shaped their families — and why they chose to get involved in groundbreaking research aimed at preventing or slowing cognitive decline. If you loved this video, visit our website to find mo...

This Live Talk is produced by Being Patient with support provided by Cognito Therapeutics.  Learn more about Cognito's HOPE Study: https://www.hopestudyforad.com/   –  Researchers and technology companies are looking into whether non-invasive, non-drug therapies — like electromagnetic, visual, and auditory stimulation — can treat Alzheimer’s disease. So, what does the science say about these e...

This podcast is part of the Journey to Diagnosis series, produced by Being Patient with support provided by Eli Lilly. Learn more about Journey to Diagnosis: https://www.beingpatient.com/journey-to-diagnosis/ Zelik “Zel” Bocknek joined Being Patient Live Talks with his wife, Gail Bocknek, to discuss his experience with diagnosis and living with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Zel, a retired busin...

Precision medicine is a medical approach that considers a patient’s genes, environment, and lifestyle. In the realm of Alzheimer’s disease, experts are pushing for using this approach to improve diagnosis, treatment, and our understanding of the condition. But what does precision medicine for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias look like? The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation...

This video is part of the Journey to Diagnosis series, produced by Being Patient with support provided by Eli Lilly. Learn more about Journey to Diagnosis: https://www.beingpatient.com/journey-to-diagnosis/ Award-winning playwright and performer Samuel A. Simon joined Being Patient live talks to discuss his experience with Alzheimer’s and developing and performing his autobiographical play about h...

This podcast is part of the Diversity + Dementia series, produced by Being Patient with support provided by Eisai inc. Learn more about Diversity + Dementia: https://www.beingpatient.com/diversity-and-dementia/ Simone E. Morris and her daughter Millie Walton joined Being Patient Live Talks to discuss their book Remember Me Grammy P, a children’s book about dementia. Morris’s late mother, Patricia...

Award-winning Alzheimer’s and dementia educator and best-selling author Dr. Macie P. Smith joined Being Patient Live Talks to discuss her latest book, “A Dementia Caregiver Called to Action: The Journey.” In the context of her experience as an educator and a licensed gerontology social worker, she’ll also speak to the caregiving needs specific to Black families and Black communities. Smith has ove...

Alzheimer’s advocate Betsy Groves joined Being Patient Live Talks to discuss her long and rocky journey to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, her experience living with Alzheimer’s, and her work advocating for other patients on this journey Groves had a career as a clinical social worker in the Boston Medical Center in the Department of Pediatrics where she founded a counseling program for young children a...

Positive Approach to Care founder and dementia care expert Teepa Snow returns to Being Patient Live Talks for “Ask Teepa Anything” to answer Being Patient readers’ questions in real-time. Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, is an Occupational Therapist with over forty years of clinical and academic experience. Her experiences led her to the development of the GEMS® States of Brain Change and the Positive Appr...

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Over time, Alzheimer’s progresses through the brain, causing changes that can lead to cognitive decline, and eventually interfering with everyday life, from daily activities like getting dressed, to having conversations. Alzheimer’s affects everyone differently. The timing and severity of symptoms could be different for each person, and it c...