Your Brain On... Vascular Dementia
Your Brain On
Most people think dementia starts with memory loss. But for millions, it actually begins decades earlier: in the blood vessels. Long before someone forgets a name or misses an appointment, the brain is being quietly damaged by high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalance, poor sleep, inflammation, and chronic stress, day after day, year after year. This kind of damage doesn't look dramatic. There's no big stroke, no clear warning sign. It happens slowly and silently, which is why it's so often missed until it's too late. But here’s the good news: vascular dementia is one of the most...
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Your Brain On... Cold Plunges
Your Brain On
Cold plunges are everywhere, and the way people talk about them, you’d think they’re a miracle cure for your brain, body, and soul. But in an age of algorithm-fueled evangelism, when a ritual becomes this ubiquitous and loud, we have to ask: how much of the buzz is backed by science… and how much is just marketing? In this episode, we explore the neuroscience of cold exposure: what’s real, what’s overstated, and why this “discomfort” has become a billion-dollar industry. We discuss: Why cold plunges went viral, and how wellness movements often devolve into identity-driven...
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Your Brain On... Cheese
Your Brain On
Around the start of 2026, a study sparked viral headlines claiming that cheese could reduce dementia risk. But... nutrition science almost never works like this. One study can’t “prove” a food is protective or harmful, and viral health claims often miss the most important details of research: how the data was gathered, what was actually measured, what variables were controlled for, and what it means in real life. In this episode, we unpack what the ‘viral cheese study’ (PMID: 41406402) actually found, what it DOESN’T mean, and why critical thinking around nutrition headlines...
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Your Brain On... Chemotherapy
Your Brain On
Chemotherapy saves lives. But for millions, it also comes with side effects of cognitive fog, memory lapses, slowed thinking, and emotional flattening. In the past, ‘chemo brain’ has sometimes been dismissed as anecdotal. But, as science has evolved, we’ve come to understand the very real shifts in attention, memory, processing speed, and emotional regulation underpinning the impairment. In this episode, we break down what’s happening in the brain during treatment, why these changes arise, and how healthier lifestyle choices can support our recovery. In this episode, we explore: •...
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Your Brain On... Parkinson’s (2025)
Your Brain On
From 18th century London to the promise of a global cure: the 200-year history of Parkinson’s disease. To mark the release of our ‘Ask the MD’ conversation with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and to welcome a new influx of listeners, we’re sharing one of our very first episodes, first aired in August 2024. Watch our full ‘Ask the MD’ interview, focused on lifestyle strategies for boosting brain health, on the foundation’s website: Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disorder most commonly characterized by tremors and other motor symptoms, is so...
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Your Brain On... Eating Meat
Your Brain On
Carnivorous diets have been woven into our history for millennia, but, with nutrition science advancing at an unprecedented pace over the past century... do we really still need to be eating meat? We live in a time of rising chronic disease, new longevity research, and a growing awareness of how our food choices shape our brain and our planet. We’re also constantly exposed to ‘nutrition tribalism’: social media communicators and influencers building identities (and livelihoods) around polarizing dietary debates. It’s a lot to navigate. So, we’re cutting straight to the data in this...
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Your Brain On... Nutrition (with Dr. Walter Willett)
Your Brain On
Everyone eats. It’s the one thing we all have in common. And yet, nutrition has become one of the most confusing, divisive, and misunderstood sciences in modern life. Low-fat. High-fat. Keto. Vegan. Paleo. Superfoods. For every study, there’s a headline that seems to say the opposite. In this episode, we turn to one of the most trusted voices in nutrition research to cut through the noise: Dr. Walter Willett, MD, DrPH. Dr. Willett, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has spent more than four decades studying how what we eat affects our...
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Your Brain On... Autism
Your Brain On
Autism isn’t new, but our understanding of it has changed dramatically. It’s now recognized as a broad neurodevelopmental spectrum that shapes how millions of people perceive, process, and interact with the world. In this episode, we explore what autism is AND isn’t, from its earliest signs in infancy to its deep genetic roots, and why misinformation about it continues to spread. We speak with three remarkable experts leading the field in early detection, genetics, and public education: DR. AMI KLIN, PhD, Director of the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University and a pioneer in early...
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Your Brain On... Diabetes
Your Brain On
Behind the staggering statistics on global diabetes prevalence are millions of individuals with different stories, struggles, and solutions. In this episode, we explore how diabetes affects your brain, body, and cognition, and how it can be prevented, managed, and (in many cases) reversed. We share some powerful personal stories from the clinic, bust some persistent food myths, and learn why diabetes is as much a neurological emergency as a metabolic one. Plus, we speak to three leading experts who are changing the way we treat diabetes: BRENDA DAVIS, RD: renowned dietitian and global...
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Your Brain On... Alzheimer’s (Mythbusting Special)
Your Brain On
Alzheimer’s disease is constantly surrounded by myths and misinformation. Let’s set the record straight. In this episode, we bust through the most persistent Alzheimer’s myths, with facts based on decades of clinical experience and cutting-edge research. Myths include: • “Alzheimer’s is inevitable in old age” • “It’s all genetic, and there’s nothing you can do” • “There’s no cure, so diagnosis is useless” • “Supplements and vitamins can prevent or cure Alzheimer’s” • “Statins and vaccines cause Alzheimer’s” Plus many others. We also share our...
info_outlineMost people think dementia starts with memory loss. But for millions, it actually begins decades earlier: in the blood vessels.
Long before someone forgets a name or misses an appointment, the brain is being quietly damaged by high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalance, poor sleep, inflammation, and chronic stress, day after day, year after year.
This kind of damage doesn't look dramatic. There's no big stroke, no clear warning sign. It happens slowly and silently, which is why it's so often missed until it's too late.
But here’s the good news: vascular dementia is one of the most preventable and manageable forms of cognitive decline. When caught early, lifestyle changes and medical interventions can help slow the onset and manage the effects.
In this episode, we explore:
- What vascular dementia and vascular cognitive impairment are, and how they differ from Alzheimer's disease
- Why most dementia cases involve both vascular damage and neurodegenerative pathology (mixed dementia)
- How blood vessel damage begins in childhood and accumulates silently for decades
- The role of high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, sleep disorders, and chronic stress in damaging brain vasculature
- Why slowed thinking, movement, and processing speed are hallmark signs of vascular cognitive decline
- The critical importance of the endothelium: the thin lining of blood vessels that controls brain health
- How lifestyle factors like nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management protect and repair vascular health
- Why managing blood pressure early is one of the most powerful interventions for long-term brain health (and why everyone should have a blood pressure monitor at home!)
- How vascular damage can be slowed, even in midlife
- Practical steps for prevention across the lifespan, from childhood through older adulthood
Our guest for this episode is DR. COLUMBUS BATISTE, a board-certified interventional cardiologist, an incredible science communicator, and author of ‘Selfish: A Cardiologist’s Guide to Healing a Broken Heart’. Dr. Batiste brings deep expertise on how cardiovascular health shapes brain health, and why protecting the endothelium (the inner lining of blood vessels) is foundational to longevity. His work emphasizes that all roads to longevity are paved by the heart, and what's good for the heart is good for the brain!
‘Your Brain On…’ is hosted by neurologists, scientists, and public health advocates Drs. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai.
SUPPORTED BY: NEURO World, a science-based brain health community designed to help you protect your brain long before problems begin. Learn more at https://neuro.world/
'Your Brain On… Vascular Dementia' • SEASON 6 • EPISODE 8
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LINKS
Dr. Columbus Batiste: https://drbatiste.com/
Instagram: @HeartHealthyDoc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drbatiste
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FOLLOW US
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REFERENCES
Core Definitions & Diagnostic Framework
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) - American Psychiatric Publishing
• Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia - https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0b013e3182299496
• Classifying neurocognitive disorders: The DSM-5 approach - https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2014.181
Epidemiology & Public Health Burden
• Neuropathological diagnosis of vascular cognitive impairment and vascular dementia with implications for Alzheimer's disease - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-016-1571-z
• Vascular dementia - https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00463-8
• Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia: WHO guidelines - WHO Press
Small Vessel Disease & Subcortical Vascular Dementia
• Small vessel disease: Mechanisms and clinical implications - https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(19)30079-1
• Cerebral small vessel disease: From pathogenesis and clinical characteristics to therapeutic challenges - https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(10)70104-6
• The clinical importance of white matter hyperintensities on brain magnetic resonance imaging - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c3666
Mixed Dementia & Alzheimer–Vascular Overlap
• Mixed brain pathologies account for most dementia cases in community-dwelling older persons - https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000271090.28148.24
• Early role of vascular dysregulation on late-onset Alzheimer's disease - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.04.009
• The pathobiology of vascular dementia - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.10.008
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA)
• Cerebral amyloid angiopathy and Alzheimer disease—one peptide, two pathways - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-019-0281-2
• Emerging concepts in sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy - https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awx047
Genetics, Inflammation, and Repair
• Apolipoprotein E controls cerebrovascular integrity via cyclophilin A - https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11087
• TREM2—A key player in microglial biology and Alzheimer disease - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-018-0072-1
Prevention & Vascular Risk Factors
• Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission - https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30367-6
• Lifestyle interventions to prevent cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer disease - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-018-0070-3
Further Reading
• The role of vascular risk factors in Alzheimer's disease - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-021-00530-4