Dementia Matters

When it comes to dementia diagnoses, the earlier, the better, but why is it difficult to detect dementia in its early stages? Moreover, what strategies can be used to improve dementia detection? Dr. Josh Chodosh joins the podcast to answer these questions and discuss how public health initiatives could improve dementia diagnoses. He also talks about his work with the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Center, a public health center focused on early detection and ending the stigma around dementia. Guest: Joshua Chodosh, MD, director, division of geriatric medicine and palliative care, Michael L. Freedman professor of geriatric research, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, staff physician, VA Harbor Healthcare System Show Notes Learn more about the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Public Health Center of Excellence on Early Detection of Dementia on their website. Learn more about the Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) in Wisconsin and across the country. Learn more about Dr. Chodosh on his NYU Langone Health bio. Learn more about how to get a dementia diagnosis on our website. Learn how to get a free virtual memory screening through the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) on their website. Connect with Us Find transcripts and more at our website. Email Dementia Matters: dementiamatters@medicine.wisc.edu Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter. Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

Picture this: you are supporting someone experiencing memory changes as a clinician, support person or care partner while they go through the memory clinic process. How do you navigate the challenging conversations surrounding symptoms, diagnoses, care plans and more that come up? Dr. Toby Campbell joins the podcast to discuss the importance of shared decision-making and share strategies for clinicians, care partners and loved ones to help navigate these important conversations with respect and empathy. Guest: Toby Campbell, MD, MS, thoracic medical oncologist, chief of palliative care, UW Health, professor of hematology, medical oncology and palliative care, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Show Notes Are you a clinician interested in receiving continuing education (CE) credits for listening to this episode? Find credit designation information, disclosures and evaluation information on our website and on the UW–Madison Interprofessional Continuing Education Partnership (ICEP) website. The accreditation for this course expires 5/13/2025. After this date, you will no longer be able to access the course or claim credit. Learn more about the SPIKES strategy, mentioned at 20:48, by reading “Breaking bad news: the S-P-I-K-E-S strategy” for free online. Read Dr. Campbell’s article, “Discussing Prognosis and Shared Decision-Making,” mentioned at 27:55 on ScienceDirect’s website. Read Dr. Campbell’s article, “Discussing prognosis: balancing hope and realism,” mentioned at 31:20 on The Cancer Journal’s website. Learn more about PalliTALK and WeTALK on the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine website. Learn more about Dr. Campbell through his profile on the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine website. Find Wisconsin-based and online resources for people with dementia and care partners on our website. Connect with us Find transcripts and more at our website. Email Dementia Matters: dementiamatters@medicine.wisc.edu Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter. Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

Advances in Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials are accelerating rapidly, leading to new insights and disease-modifying therapies, but how does the field continue bolstering that momentum? For Dr. Rema Raman, it’s through improving inclusivity and training for early-career researchers. Recorded at the 2024 Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Research Day, Dr. Raman joins the podcast to discuss her work in research recruitment and retention, the importance of training the next generation of clinical trialists in dementia research with the IMPACT-AD program and more from her featured presentation. Guest: Rema Raman, PhD, co-director, Institute of Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in ADRD (IMPACT-AD), director, section of biostatistics, section of participant recruitment & retention section, Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute, professor of neurology, University of Southern California Show Notes Watch our YouTube page for upcoming recordings of Dr. Raman’s presentation and other featured speakers at Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Research Day 2024. Learn more about Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Research Day on our website. Learn more about the Institute of Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in ADRD (IMPACT-AD) on their website. Learn more about Dr. Raman at her bio on the Keck School of Medicine website. Connect with us Find transcripts and more at our website. Email Dementia Matters: dementiamatters@medicine.wisc.edu Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter. Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

What do you do if you have a family history of dementia and are experiencing symptoms, but can’t get a diagnosis? Dr. Sara Langer has dealt with just that. In the latest episode of our Voices of Research Participants series, Dr. Langer shares the obstacles she endured to receive her diagnosis of Lewy body dementia (LBD), how her background as a neurologist influenced her search for clinical care and how she turned to dementia research to find answers. She also discusses ways that the field of dementia research could improve to support those with other forms of dementia outside of Alzheimer’s disease. Guest: Sara Langer, MD, neurologist Co-host: Sarah Walter, MSc, program administrator, Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) Show Notes Learn more about Sarah Walter at her bio on the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium website. Listen to the first episode of the Voices of Research Participants series, “From Caregiver to Research Participant: How One Woman’s Experience as a Dementia Caregiver Drew Her to Alzheimer’s Research,” on our website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all podcast platforms. Learn more about Lewy body dementia by watching the 2021 Dr. Daniel I. Kaufer Lecture, “Diagnosis and Management of Dementia with Lewy Bodies,” on our YouTube page. Learn more about how to get a dementia diagnosis on our website. Connect with Us Find transcripts and more at our website. Email Dementia Matters: dementiamatters@medicine.wisc.edu Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter. Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

Dr. Victoria Williams, a neuropsychologist, explains cognition, memory, and cognitive testing, touching on the stages of memory, cognitive aging, Lewy body disease, and vascular dementia. She also discusses conditions mimicking dementia symptoms, the limitations of cognitive screeners, and the future of digital assessments in evaluating cognitive function.

Dr. Jim Jackson, a critical illness researcher, discusses the impact of Long COVID on cognition. He compares Long COVID to chronic illnesses, addresses challenges faced by older adults, and highlights disparities in healthcare access. The podcast explores cognitive rehabilitation methods and neuroplasticity approaches for Long COVID, emphasizing the importance of integrating neuropsychology into patient care.

Dr. Frank Lin discusses the link between hearing loss and dementia, sharing insights from the ACHIEVE study. Topics include the impact of hearing interventions on cognitive decline, in-ear headphones' effects on hearing, and factors influencing hearing loss like noise exposure and genetics.

Caring for a loved one with cognitive decline can be challenging. While it is a labor of love, burnout is all but inevitable. In this episode kicking off our Voices of Research Participants series with co-host Sarah Walter, Cynthia Sierra touches on her personal experience with caregiver burnout as both a caregiver and research study partner for her mother, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She also shares her unique perspective on Alzheimer’s disease research as someone who started as a family caregiver. Guest: Cynthia Sierra, MS, LPC, senior project manager, UT Health San Antonio Co-host: Sarah Walter, MSc, program administrator, Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) Show Notes Learn more about Cynthia Sierra’s research at her ResearchGate profile. Learn more about Sarah Walter at her bio on the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium website. Find resources for people with dementia and their care partners on our website. Connect with Us Find transcripts and more at our website. Email Dementia Matters: dementiamatters@medicine.wisc.edu Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter. Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

In the past few years, new therapies shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease in people in the early stages of the disease have been making their way through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval process. With these treatments now available, there are a growing number of questions surrounding who is eligible to take these medications and what processes are needed to ensure they are prescribed safely and effectively. Host Dr. Nathaniel Chin examines the guidelines for geriatricians and clinicians prescribing lecanemab and breaks down the eligibility requirements necessary to receive this treatment. Show Notes Read Eisai/Biogen’s “Prescribing Information” for Leqembi online. Read “Lecanemab: Appropriate Use Recommendations” on the National Library of Medicine website. Read the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) guidelines for prescribing lecanemab, “Lecanemab-irmb (LEQEMBI) Criteria for Use August 2023,'' online. Listen to previous Dementia Matters episodes on lecanemab, including “Putting Lecanemab into Practice: A Clinician’s Perspective on the New Alzheimer’s Treatment,” “A Closer Look at the Lecanemab Clinical Trials,” and “Introducing Lecanemab, The Latest Alzheimer’s Disease Drug to Receive FDA Accelerated Approval,” on our website and all major podcast platforms. Connect with Us Find transcripts and more at our website. Email Dementia Matters: dementiamatters@medicine.wisc.edu Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s e-newsletter. Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. All donations go toward outreach and production.

Dr. Luke Stoeckel from the National Institute on Aging discusses inconclusive evidence on non-medicinal interventions for reducing dementia risk. Topics include challenges in studying interventions, person-centered outcomes, innovative approaches like cognitive training, and personal health choices for dementia risk reduction.