#138 - Lauren Miller Rogen and Richard Isaacson, M.D.: Alzheimer's disease prevention—patient and doctor perspectives

Peter is joined by writer, director, actress, and founder of HFC, Lauren Miller Rogen, and previous podcast guest and director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian, Dr. Richard Isaacson. In this episode, Lauren tells the heartbreaking story of watching members of her family succumb to Alzheimer's disease (AD) which motivated her to proactively address her own risk with Richard's guidance. Richard discusses the various genetic and lifestyle factors that influence the risk of AD and uses Lauren's unique situation to explain how he diagnoses patients and personalizes care. They go through Lauren's protocol of preventative measures that have already produced marked results, and end with the uplifting message that one's genetic predisposition does not seal one's fate. We discuss: Lauren's deep family history of Alzheimer's disease (3:10); The influence of genetics, epigenetics, and lifestyle on Alzheimer's disease risk (13:45); Lauren's mother's disease progression and the enormous stress it causes for family members (24:30); The various manifestations of Alzheimer's disease depending on the location of pathology (29:30); The three stages of Alzheimer's disease (34:45); Richard's deep exploration into Lauren's family history revealing clues about a diagnosis and a roadmap to successful disease mitigation (39:15); How exercise reduces Alzheimer's disease risk, and the different risk between males and females (58:00); Why knowing your APOE status is important, and whether certain people should be wearier of head trauma (1:08:00); How Richard uses genetic testing to personalize care (1:14:45); The "ABCs" of Alzheimer's prevention, lifestyle interventions, and Lauren's personal protocol for reducing her risk (1:21:45); Unique treatment for people with the ApoE4 variant (1:36:30); Richard's mixed opinion on CBD and THC as a tool for disease prevention (1:40:00); Cognitive testing procedures, and how Lauren's tests furthe