What we’ve learned about dementia and Alzheimer’s

Age-related memory issues are becoming more understood thanks to consistent research into causes and treatments. Bruce Miller, MD, gives an overview of the issues and progress related to these neurological disorders.

Transcript

00:00

We definitely see an increase, I think, in Alzheimer's and related problems. Big reason is, I think, awareness.

00:08

[MUSIC PLAYING] A decade ago, people tended to accept memory loss

00:19

and were much less likely to see a physician until late in the illness. Other big reason that this is increasing

00:25

is the fact that we have an aging population, and age is the biggest risk factor for developing cognitive

00:31

disorders. We know that there are clear cut interventions that you can make to protect the brain.

00:39

A lot of them are around heart. Heart health is brain health. We have learned that exercise is incredibly good for the brain.

00:47

When we exercise, we stimulate growth factors. The brain's craving those growth factors,

00:54

and without them, we think that the hippocampus dies. So exercise. Hypertension, diabetes these are all not

01:04

just threats to the heart, they're also threats to the brain. We really need to focus on outcomes.

01:12

We need to focus on how people do in a good way, not in a bad way.

01:18

And so I think we have to focus on prevention. We have to make sure that our treatable problems are

01:26

being addressed and not just focus on interventions. We're hoping that the next generation of caregivers

01:33

can find a new job. We're hoping that these diseases will be prevented and effectively treated,

01:40

so caregivers can go on with the aging process and do things that are creative and focus on grandchildren

01:49

and the next generations. I'm most excited about personalized or precision medicine.

01:56

I'm really excited about the idea that we can study someone-- their genetics, their imaging--

02:04

and understand the risk factors that they have for a degenerative disease. I think one of the huge changes in my lifetime

02:12

in understanding how the brain works has been functional imaging. This is an MRI technique that is increasingly advancing,

02:22

and it allows us to think about how different circuits in the brain are turning on and off.

02:28

And so I think this is a major enterprise across universities,

02:35

psychology departments, neurology, psychiatry departments. And so I think we are beginning to understand

02:43

the exact circuit that is responsible for specific behaviors, cognitive sorts of functions.