Rolling on the River
The Columbia River originates in the mountains of British Columbia, runs north for a while, then south, then west passing through an 80 mile long, 4000 ft deep gap in the Cascade Mountains called...
Author: Dan
Living in the moment with Alzheimer’s
When we are young, the timeline of our lives stretches from our earliest memories to our expectations for the future. As the cognitive impairment of Alzheimer’s disease progresses, that timeline begins to constrict. Perhaps surprisingly,...
What about COVID in those who already have Alzheimer’s disease?
In a previous post I described recent research showing that patients with even mild COVID have shrinkage of several brain areas associated with olfaction and memory. We don’t know yet if these changes to the...
Further thoughts on diet and Alzheimer’s
Over the last ten years or so, there have been an increasing number of studies that generally agree that those who regularly consume a plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet, are less likely to get Alzheimer’s dementia...
Tattoo – The Film
Amazing as it might seem, Viacom recently bought the film rights to my book, A Tattoo on my Brain: A Neurologist’s Personal Battle against Alzheimer’s Disease. Production of a planned 40-minute documentary is already underway....
We need more sensitive cognitive screening tests – could neural processing speed be the answer?
We know that the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease can be found in the brain years before the onset of noticeable cognitive impairment. The beta-amyloid plaques start to appear as much as 20 years before...
Running on a field of dreams
I love baseball. I was never any good at it myself. I have memories of watching in shame as the ball rolled between my legs in left field. Later, when the pitchers started throwing breaking balls,...
Estimated cost-effectiveness of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies
All of the anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies currently approved (Aduhelm) or in phase 3 clinical trials (donanemab, lecanumab, and gantenerumab) are effective at removing beta-amyloid from the brain, but effects so far on slowing cognitive...
Can loneliness increase the risk for dementia?
Depression and loneliness are common among people with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, and a recent paper in Neurology suggests that loneliness may actually increase the chance of getting dementia. This was a retrospective analysis of data collected...
The MIND diet revisited
In 2015, the late Dr. Martha Clare Morris and her colleagues at Rush University published their first paper on the effects of following the MIND diet on risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. The MIND...
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