The mindbodygreen Podcast 669: The latest on how to prevent Alzheimer’s | Kellyann Niotis, M.D.
Oct 11, 2026
Kellyann Niotis, M.D., is a preventive neurologist and Weill Cornell professor pioneering personalized strategies against neurodegenerative disease. She explores why Alzheimer’s risk can be addressed decades before symptoms, what amyloid and p-tau biomarkers reveal, and how cholesterol, hormones, genetics, viruses, and movement shape brain health. She also discusses motor reserve, APOE4, emerging treatments, and the long-term statin study she hopes to launch.
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Alzheimer’s Risk Begins Decades Before Symptoms
- Alzheimer's develops through a long silent process, so genetic risk does not determine an inevitable outcome.
- Kellyann Niotis emphasizes that prevention can begin decades before symptoms, especially for people with family history or APOE4.
Treat Cholesterol Early For Brain Health
- Address cholesterol early rather than waiting until short-term heart-attack risk appears low.
- Combine diet and exercise with medication when needed, particularly when APOE4 or persistently elevated ApoB limits lifestyle-only improvements.
Alzheimer’s Biomarkers Are Not A Diagnosis
- Amyloid and tau blood tests indicate risk and biological changes, but they cannot alone diagnose Alzheimer's in a cognitively normal person.
- Kidney health, viral infections, and menstrual-cycle estrogen shifts can alter biomarker results, complicating interpretation.