Podcast Summary
Brain Health and Preventing Alzheimer's Disease: Knowing your ApoE gene and utilizing blood-based biomarkers can predict Alzheimer's disease risk. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle through exercise, nutrition, lipid management, brain games, sauna use, oral health, and hearing loss can also prevent neurodegeneration.
In this episode of the Drive Podcast's Ask Me Anything series, Peter Atia and Nick Stenson discuss brain health and ways to prevent Alzheimer's disease and neurodegeneration. They explain the importance of knowing your ApoE gene, and how blood-based biomarkers can predict the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The conversation delves into various aspects of brain health, including exercise, nutrition, lipid management, brain games, sauna use, oral health, and hearing loss. As anyone with a brain is at risk, this episode is relevant to all. The full video is available for subscribers, and a sneak peek is available on the podcast's YouTube page.
Understanding Alzheimer's Disease: Diagnosis and Risk Factors: Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease and the most common cause of dementia, but there are other causes. It's important to understand the diagnosis process and risk factors, as everyone should care about brain health.
This podcast episode will focus on Alzheimer's disease, the most common neurodegenerative disease and the most common cause of dementia. However, it is important to note that there are other causes of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as vascular dementia and Parkinson's disease. The hosts have collected questions from their audience and will provide valuable information for anyone concerned about their brain health and the risk of Alzheimer's. Everyone should care about this topic, regardless of family history or personal risk factors. It will be helpful to understand the diagnosis process for Alzheimer's disease, as it will be discussed throughout the episode.
Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease: Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed through clinical evaluation and symptoms, but confirmatory biomarkers may help. Diagnosis can only be confirmed through autopsy, and ruling out other causes is essential. New developments in biomarker sensitivity are offering hope.
Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed through a clinical evaluation of a patient and close observation of their symptoms. This includes difficulty remembering events, confusion with location or time, language problems, and reduction in vocabulary. Biomarkers, such as serum amyloid and tau, can help confirm a diagnosis, but traditional methods, like a lumbar puncture, are not practical for real-world diagnosis. While Alzheimer's does not have a clear-cut biomarker for predicting risk or diagnosis, developments in biomarker sensitivity are providing new ways to identify the disease. It's important to rule out other causes before concluding a diagnosis and understand that it can only be definitively confirmed through an autopsy.
The C2N Amaloid Score for Alzheimer's Disease Risk Prediction: The C2N biomarker test uses a patient's age, ApoE variant, and AB ratio to predict Alzheimer's disease pathology; it is one tool among others which doctors use to assess a patient's risk. Changes in the C2N score can help determine if interventions to reduce risk are working.
The C2N developed Amaloid score is a biomarker test that predicts the probability of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. It uses a patient's ApoE variant, AB 40 to 42 ratio measured in plasma, and patient age to determine risk. It is one tool used in conjunction with other risk factors such as family history, genotype, metabolic health, and cognitive testing to assess a patient's overall risk of AD. The C2N score is still relatively new and has yet to be fully validated. It is currently being used on patients with the highest pre-test probability of AD to increase the odds of accurate results. As we make interventions to reduce risk, we can track changes in the C2N score to see if it predicts an improvement.
Understanding Genetic Testing for Alzheimer's Disease: Genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease is uncertain and should only be used on those at highest risk. The presence of certain genes, such as PSEN1, PSEN2, APP, and APO-E4, can increase the risk, but it does not guarantee the development of the disease. It's crucial to interpret the results carefully.
The C2N test for Alzheimer's disease has a high level of uncertainty and should only be used on those at highest risk of developing the disease. There are three genes, PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP, that are considered deterministic and account for 1% of Alzheimer's cases. The other 99% of cases do not have these genes but about two-thirds have at least one copy of the APO-E4 gene, which increases the risk of developing the disease. However, having this gene does not guarantee that someone will develop Alzheimer's, as many people without the gene still develop the disease. It is important to understand the limitations of genetic testing and interpret the results carefully.
The Impact of ApoE4 Gene on Alzheimer's Disease: While having two copies of the ApoE4 gene increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease, it is not a guarantee. Other genes and factors can also play a role, and whole genome sequencing is a more accurate way to identify relevant genes.
ApoE4 is a gene that is highly associated with Alzheimer's disease, but having two copies of the gene is rare and only affects about 2% of the population. However, this small group makes up two-thirds of all Alzheimer's cases. It's important to note that ApoE4 is not a deterministic gene, meaning that some people with one or two copies of the gene may never develop dementia. Other genes, such as cloth, can attenuate or amplify the risk of Alzheimer's disease. While some commercial genetic tests can detect ApoE4, whole genome sequencing is more accurate in identifying other relevant genes. There are three alleles for the ApoE4 gene: E2, E3, and E4. None of these are considered mutations.
Understanding the Role of APA we for Alleles in Alzheimer's Disease: Genetics play a role in Alzheimer's disease, with the APA we for gene being the most common associated with risk. While testing for all genes involved is not feasible, understanding prevalence can aid in managing the disease.
Alzheimer's disease is influenced by a person's genes, with APA we for being the most common gene associated with the risk. The three different APA we for alleles are e2, e3, and e4, with e3 being the most prevalent, followed by e4 and then e2. These alleles can combine in up to six ways, influencing a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. However, it is challenging and not yet feasible to test for all the genes involved in Alzheimer's disease. Contrary to the belief that APA we for is deterministic and a fate of complete for Alzheimer's disease, there is a lot that can be done to delay onset and/or reduce the risk. Understanding the prevalence of these genes can allow for better planning and management of the disease.
Women Have a Higher Risk of Developing Alzheimer's Disease: Women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, with a higher risk associated with the 4-4 genotype. Prevention is possible and ongoing research is crucial.
Women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than men, and this is likely due to a combination of individual risk factors and the fact that women tend to live longer. A study analyzing the 10-year risk of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and all types of dementia found that the 4-4 genotype has a significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Women, in general, are about 20% more likely than men to develop Alzheimer's disease in a given decade. While there may be backlash against testing for APEWY status, prevention of Alzheimer's disease is possible and an important part of ongoing research.
Modifying Behaviors to Reduce Alzheimer's Risk: Engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors may help reduce the risk of cognitive decline in seniors, regardless of genetic factors. Healthy lifestyle factors are crucial for cognitive health associated with aging.
The focus of this AMA is on the modifiable behaviors that can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, most of the data on this topic comes from epidemiological studies, like the Chicago Health and Aging Project, which followed nearly 4,000 seniors for over 20 years to assess their cognitive health based on certain healthy lifestyle factors. Those who had zero to one healthy lifestyle factors had a steeper cognitive decline compared to those who had four to five healthy lifestyle factors, regardless of their ApoE genotype. While there are limitations to the study, the takeaway is that engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors may play a role in reducing the risk of cognitive decline associated with aging.
Lower education can lead to more cognitive decline, but healthy behaviors can offset the risk, especially for those with the E4 gene.: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help prevent Alzheimer's dementia and keep the brain healthy, regardless of genetic risk or education level. Joining the program offers exclusive content to learn more.
The level of education can be a predictor of cognitive decline, with lower education leading to more decline. However, healthy behaviors can offset much of this risk, particularly for those with the E4 gene. The difference in cognitive decline between those with E4 and healthy behaviors and those without E4 and unhealthy behaviors is minimal. This suggests that there are things individuals can do to prevent Alzheimer's dementia and keep their brains healthy, such as maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Becoming a member of the program can help access more in-depth and exclusive content on this topic.