Pushing Back Against Dementia - Chrissy's Journey
Release Date: 04/12/2021
Strong Heart, Sharp Mind with Marwan Sabbagh MD
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
A familiar guest rejoins us for the show! Marwan Sabbagh MD is currently a professor of Neurology at Barrow Neurological Institute and a leader in Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Sabbagh and his bestselling co-author and heart disease survivor, Joe Piscatella reveals new hope for treating and preventing these heart, blood vessel, and brain diseases like Alzheimer's with their new book, Strong Heart, Sharp Mind. We discuss how, for the first time in his career, Dr Sabbagh is starting to see people with very early Alzheimer's hold the symptoms at bay. He attributes, in part, to...
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Plasma Exchange, Albumin & IVIg for Alzheimer's - AMBAR Trial Results with Merce Boada MD PhD
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
The conversation had on this episode is a little complex but is an excellent review in how science is done and "how the sausage is made" in terms of medical evidence in peer review for Alzheimer's treatments. We discuss the results of the - The Alzheimer Management by Albumin Replacement - where people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's showed significant improvements after having their blood plasma exchanged in addition to receiving either IV Albumin as well as IVIg (in some of the experimental groups). The study doesn't offer an explanation of the mechanisms around why Albumin...
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Towards Understanding "Lyme" & Alzheimer's Relationships with Alan MacDonald MD
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
In July 2021, the journal Frontiers in Neurology reported on "groundbreaking research" out of Tulane pointing to the relationship between Lyme disease and Alzheimer’s dementia. But since the 1980s our guest on this episode, Dr. Alan MacDonald, was stirring up the scientific debate by publishing and presenting data from his pathology laboratory that the bacteria - Borrelia Burgdorferi often synonymous with what's called Lyme disease, because of its association with its US origins in the town of Lyme, Connecticut. Dr. MacDonald graduated with an MD from Columbia University. ...
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Our Sense of Smell - Brainwaves of COVID and Alzheimer's with Thom Cleland PhD
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
This is a more theoretical episode that gives us some idea about what might be happening with the rhythms of an Alzheimer's or POST-COVID brain.
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Our Brains Need Meditation - Here's Why with Hemal Patel PhD
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
In this episode, we go deep into the potential benefits of specialized meditation for our immune systems, brain-related proteins, Alzheimer's, cellular energy, and much more. Our guest, Dr Hemal Patel - is a full professor and serves as the Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of California, San Diego.
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Lisa's Story - Chap. 2 - Living Well with Alzheimer's
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
Earlier this year, podcast episode #65 - we spoke to Lisa and her daughters Stacy and Natalie. They told us about how they were Living Well with Alzheimer's and improving using lifestyle and personalized approach. Her cognitive decline had stabilized and seen small, but significant improvements in brain function. This episode we review some of the elements that have led to their success
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Usable Technology for Brain Aging & Dementia with Ben Hampstead PhD
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
“We’re actually able to change the brain, even in the face of things like Alzheimer’s disease.” This was the statement made by our guest for this show, Dr. Ben Hampstead. Dr. Hampstead is a professor at the Univ of Michigan and leads a lab that is doing several studies using transcranial direct current stimulation for mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's, and other forms of cognitive impairment.
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Your Brain On Sugar
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
Nikki Gould, a registered dietician at Kemper Cognitive Wellness is also joining us today to talk about what sugar can do to your brain and your overall health and how we can navigate the holidays with this information in mind.
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Working with Trauma in Alzheimer's & Dementia
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
Trauma can be defined as any event that alters how we process, react to, and recall memories, by overwhelming the individual’s central nervous system. Additionally, trauma is defined as any event in which a person feels helpless and unsafe. It is not only an occurrence that happened in the past; instead, trauma is an event that leaves an imprint upon the body and the brain which persists to the present day.
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Why I'm excited about Aducanumab (Aduhelm)!
Evolving Past Alzheimer's
Dr. Nate Bergman quickly summarizes the story up the FDA's recent "accelerated approval" of Biogen's - Aducanumab (brand named, Aduhelm). He ends off with surprise about why he is excited about the approval...and it's probably not what you think! A quick, but useful listen.
info_outlineThis is a really unique and important episode. We are witnessing a sea change in dementia. More people are being diagnosed, earlier and younger. And people are figuring out how to actually fight back against the disease and taking ownership of their condition. My guest this week on the Evolving Past Alzheimer's podcast, Chrissy Thelker, was diagnosed with Vascular dementia at age 57 and nearly 5 years later is still living on her own, driving, and living a life of incredible purpose... her story inspires, but she also gives useful information for anyone out there working through the early stages of the disease. This is one you're crazy not to listen to....an amazing episode!
- 2:00 - What it was like to receive a dementia diagnosis
- 6:22 - Why a dementia specialist refused to take Chrissy on as a patient
- 9:44 - How Chrissy followed the Bredesen protocol to slow her dementia symptoms and almost completely prevent herself from getting worse
- 14:56 - What it’s like to live with dementia
- 19:22 - How to balance fighting against the dementia with tending to your new needs living with the disease
- 21:22 - “You have to monitor yourself, and if we all learned from a younger age that it’s ok to rest, we would all be doing better in our health.”
- 23:37 - What does it mean to live with purpose after a dementia diagnosis?
- 29:45 - What it feels like to hear “you don’t look like you have dementia”
- 37:31 - How Chrissy thinks about the future
- 43:54 - Some major conversations happening in the DAI community and people living with dementia - the connection between sleep and brain health
- 48:33 - “Dementia is like a spider web. We need treatments to help manage the different aspects and symptoms rather than a cure.”
- 52:40 - Why organizations working towards treatments and cures need more people suffering from the disease at the table
- 1:00:00 - “Have those conversations early in receiving your diagnosis about your driving and other aspects of your independence.”
- 1:06:16 - How has COVID impacted her function as someone living with dementia
Resources Mentioned