Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients and Caregivers - Podcasts

00:41:31

What Is Posterior Cortical Atrophy? One Couple's Road...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/10/05

Posterior cortical atrophy is a rare form of Alzheimer's disease that shows up first in vision and spatial processing rather than memory — which is why it is so often missed.Scott Cunningham was a psychiatrist for 40 years. He couldn't cut a board straight. He couldn't assemble a log rack. He stopped being able to read an analog clock, despite a perfect SAT math score. He went through two cataract surgeries before an ophthalmologist realized the problem wasn't his eyes at all. His

en

00:31:03

Four Years to Get a Memory Test: An Early-Onset...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/09/29

For four years, doctors told Sean Terwilliger he was fine. At 60, after failing a memory screening by a single point, he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's.Terwilliger moved through three states and four primary care physicians before one finally gave him the MoCA, a 30-point cognitive screening. He failed it by one point — enough to get him to a neurologist, an MRI and a PET scan that showed significant amyloid buildup. The guidance that followed the diagnosis was that his prognosis was

en

00:28:03

Is Heading a Soccer Ball Bad for Your Brain? A CTE...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/09/22

Does heading a soccer ball damage your brain? Dr. Michael Alosco — clinical neuropsychologist, professor of neurology at Boston University's Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and co-director of clinical research at the BU CTE Center — explains why chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) risk is driven by the lifetime load of repetitive head impacts, not by how many concussions a player has had.He covers what MRI and blood biomarker studies show about heading and white matter change,

en

00:37:50

What Is the Best Diet for Brain Health? | Dr. Gil...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/09/10

What we eat can influence our health, but when it comes to protecting the brain and lowering dementia risk, nutrition advice can often feel confusing or contradictory. Which eating patterns have the strongest evidence behind them, and how much can diet really affect cognitive health over time?Dr. Gil Carvalho is a medical doctor and scientist who has a YouTube channel called Nutrition Made Simple, where he reviews the evidence behind popular nutrition claims and explains what the studies do and do

en

00:33:59

How to Know When It's Time for More Dementia Care,...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/09/02

For families caring for a loved one with dementia, deciding when home care is no longer enough is rarely simple. The signs are often gradual — a missed medication here, a stove left on there — and knowing when to seek more support, whether through in-home help, adult day care, or a residential community, can feel overwhelming without a clear framework for how to approach it.Cory Fosco has spent 34 years working in long-term care, with experience in social work, admissions, skilled nursing, senior

en

00:48:46

The Stimulated Mind: How Everyday Habits Shape Brain...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/08/25

Brain health is shaped by more than age or genetics. The way we exercise, eat, sleep, manage stress, support our metabolism, and stay engaged with the world around us may all influence how well the brain functions over time.Dr. Tommy Wood, associate professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Washington, studies brain health across the lifespan, from the neurodevelopment of infants born preterm to cognitive aging in older adults. He directs preclinical research in the University of

en

00:42:22

What to Remember When You Are Forgetting: Living Well...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/08/18

A dementia diagnosis can raise difficult questions about what comes next: How do you know what changes to expect? How should families prepare? And how can someone continue to live well as memory loss progresses?Those are some of the questions Dr. Zaldy Tan addresses in his new book, “What to Remember When You’re Forgetting: How to Live and Thrive With Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias.” Tan, director of the Memory and Healthy Aging Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a professor at

en

00:28:25

How Urinary Tract Infections Trigger Delirium in...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/08/12

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common infections in older adults, but in people living with dementia, they can trigger a sudden and dramatic change in behavior and cognition. A UTI that might cause mild discomfort in a younger, healthier person can instead set off delirium — an acute, fluctuating state of confusion — in someone with Alzheimer's or a related dementia.Dr. Shouri Lahiri is director of the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit and Neurocritical Care Research at

en

00:35:08

Inside ‘Memory Generation,’ an Interactive Theater...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/07/29

The experience of dementia, for people living with memory loss and for the family members and friends who care for them, is often told through the language of loss. But there is a growing effort to change that, creating work that centers connection, humanity, and what remains. One of those projects is “Memory Generation,” an interview-based theater production set in a memory cafe, where people affected by dementia gather in a space built around creativity and community.Memory Generation was created

en

00:28:51

I’m Still Me: Scott Redfern on Living With...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/07/28

Journey to Diagnosis is a Being Patient series sponsored by Eisai. As with all of our reporting, the sponsor has no role in choosing guests, shaping questions, or reviewing content before publication.Eisai: https://www.eisai.com/index.htmlJourney to Diagnosis: https://beingpatient.com/journey-to-diagnosis/Scott Redfern first noticed cognitive changes in his mid-50s, when he began struggling to find words during stressful meetings and conversations at work. Because Alzheimer’s disease ran in his

en

00:34:14

George King on Alzheimer’s Early Signs, Treatment,...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/07/22

Journey to Diagnosis is a Being Patient series sponsored by Eisai. As with all of our reporting, the sponsor has no role in choosing guests, shaping questions, or reviewing content before publication.George King’s work spans film, theater, writing, and photography. With both parents having lived with dementia, King was already attuned to the possibility of cognitive change when he began noticing subtle shifts in his own memory. A word game on his phone eventually became an unexpected warning sign,

en

00:46:55

Early-Onset Alzheimer’s: The Symptoms Beyond Memory...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/07/07

The symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t always begin with the memory changes that many people associate with dementia. For some, the first signs may involve vision, language, decision-making, behavior, or changes in daily functioning.Dr. Gil Rabinovici, a professor of neurology and radiology at the University of California, San Francisco, and a behavioral neurologist at the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, explains why Alzheimer’s can look different in people who

en

00:40:29

What Blood Tests Could Mean for Early Alzheimer’s...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/07/01

Blood tests and other biomarkers are bringing researchers closer to detecting Alzheimer’s disease before memory loss begins — a shift that could reshape prevention, treatment, and the way families think about risk.Dr. Joshua Grill, director of the UC Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) and UCI’s NIA-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, explains how advances in amyloid PET scans, spinal fluid testing, and blood-based biomarkers are changing Alzheimer’s

en

00:37:33

When Memory Fades: Navigating Dementia From Early...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/06/23

An Alzheimer’s disease or dementia diagnosis can leave families unsure of what comes next. In his new book, Dr. Nathaniel Chin offers families a guide to navigating Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, from the first signs of memory loss to the later stages of care.Chin, the medical director and clinical core co-lead of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and an associate professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Medicine, hosts the podcast “Dementia

en

00:36:11

How to Train Your Memory, According to a Six-Time...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/06/16

Can memory be trained? Six-time USA Memory Champion Nelson Dellis says the answer is yes. He explains simple techniques to help people strengthen recall, focus and confidence in everyday life.Dellis is a memory coach, author, speaker and one of the world’s top competitive memorizers. Inspired by his grandmother’s death from Alzheimer’s disease, he began training his memory in 2009 and later founded Climb For Memory, a nonprofit that raises awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research through

en

00:28:03

Could a Common Eye Bacteria Be Linked to Alzheimer’s?...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/06/03

Bacteria found in the eye may offer new clues about inflammation, cognitive decline, and the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.Dr. Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, a professor of neurosurgery, neurology and biomedical sciences at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University, has found that Chlamydia pneumoniae, a common respiratory bacterium, may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease-related changes in the brain and retina. Her work, focusing on Alzheimer’s disease, neuroinflammation and retinal imaging, seeks to

en

00:31:36

How Brain Banks Help Scientists Understand Dementia |...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/05/27

Brain donation is helping researchers better understand why Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders develop, progress, and affect people differently.Dr. Melissa Murray is a professor of neuroscience at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, where her research focuses on the biological changes, including tauopathies, that drive Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative disorders.. At Mayo Clinic Florida she helps direct one of the world’s largest brain banks focused on these

en

00:26:35

What Drives Women’s Higher Alzheimer’s Risk? | Dr....

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/05/20

Women make up about two-thirds of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, but experts say longer life expectancy alone does not explain the gap. Dr. Jessica Caldwell’s research focuses on how sex and gender influence Alzheimer’s disease risk, resilience, and progression, including the roles of genetics, menopause, lifestyle factors, and life stressors. Caldwell is a neuropsychologist and investigator of the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention, or WRAP, at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s

en

00:22:24

Juli Chenault on Recognizing the Early Signs of...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/05/13

Journey to Diagnosis is a Being Patient series sponsored by Eisai. As with all of our reporting, the sponsor has no role in choosing guests, shaping questions, or reviewing content before publication.Eisai: https://www.eisai.com/index.htmlJourney to Diagnosis: https://beingpatient.com/journey-to-diagnosis/Juli Chenault first began noticing memory lapses in 2008 while working as a business representative and traveling regularly across Kentucky. One of the first warning signs came when she could not

en

00:28:38

From Clinical Trials to AI Music: How Bob Ehlers Is...

Brain Talk | Being Patient for Alzheimer"s Patients... ·

2026/05/01

This interview is brought to you in partnership with Eisai and is part of the Journey to Diagnosis series.Eisai: https://www.eisai.com/index.htmlJourney to Diagnosis: https://beingpatient.com/journey-to-diagnosis/Bob Ehlers was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at 58 and has since become an advocate for early diagnosis, clinical trial participation, and using technology to support people living with neurocognitive conditions.Ehlers was a vice president of product management in the semiconductor

en

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

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Rabbit Hole of Research

Jotham Austin, II PhD, Nick Elizalde,...

Sleep Science

Sleep Science

PBS News Hour - Science

PBS News

Sur les traces de la Préhistoire

ICI Périgord

La Brújula de la Ciencia

Alberto Aparici