Science
**Focus on Geriatric Medicine and Aging**

As our population grows older, new medical innovations serve to preserve the symbiosis of the body and mind. Are novel therapies for Alzheimer’s on the horizon? How do we approach joint replacement surgery for an active 92-year-old? What about research frontiers focused on promoting longevity? ReachMD gathers top medical experts and opinion leaders for a month-long discussion of geriatric medicine and the aging process.

Latest Episodes:

GlyNAC and Healthy Aging: A Review of New Clinical Data Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

Guest: Rajagopal Sekhar, MD

Clinicians are still working to understand the mechanisms behind age-related declines and what interventions might help promote healthy aging. Could supplementation with the nutritional compounds glycine and n-acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) play a role by improving intracellular antioxidant levels? Dr. Rajagopal Sekhar shares the latest clinical data on GlyNAC supplementation in older adults.

Best in Show: The Health Benefits of Therapy Dogs Dec 11, 2017

Show notes

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Several studies have shown that therapy dogs help to reduce people’s pain levels and anxiety. Therapy dogs have also been found to increase patients’ physical, mental, emotional and social states and improve their quality of life.

Host Dr. Brian McDonough talks with David Frei, co-creator of Angel on a Leash, a charity supporting therapy dog programs that serve health care facilities, about how therapy dogs bring comfort, affection and happiness to people in confined living situations. Frei is the former host of The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and expert analyst for The National Dog Show on NBC Thanksgiving Day.

Treating Hip Fractures in Elderly Patients: An Orthopedic Surgeon's Perspective Oct 27, 2017

Show notes

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Out of the approximately 340,000 hip fractures that occur in the US each year, 9 out of 10 of them happen to people older than 65. Hip fractures in an older population can result in significant complications including pneumonia and blood clots, among others.

Host Dr. Brian McDonough sits down with Dr. Derek Donegan, Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery in the Division of Orthopedic Trauma at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to talk about some of the challenges physicians face when treating hip fractures in elderly patients.

End-of-Life Care: A Physician's Guide to Helping Families Mar 24, 2017

Show notes

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

The burden of deciding end-of-life care often falls on family and friends when patients are no longer able to make decisions regarding their own care. What do physicians need to know when guiding families through these tough situations?

Host Dr. Jennifer Caudle is joined by Dr. Marianne Holler, Medical Director of Hospice and Palliative Programs for the VNA Health Group of New Jersey. They talk about what physicians can do to aid families when faced with end-of-life decisions.

Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade: The 5 Love Languages and the Alzheimer's Journey Jan 23, 2017

Show notes

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD

Dr. Maurice Pickards talks with Dr. Edward Shaw about his book Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade: The 5 Love Languages and the Alzheimer's Journey. Dr. Shaw shares how love can lift a corner of dementia’s dark curtain to cultivate an emotional connection amid memory loss. The book provides focused help for those feeling overwhelmed by the relational toll of Alzheimer’s.

Brain Food for Seniors: Dietary Impacts on Cognition and Longevity Jan 16, 2017

Show notes

Host: Kathy King, RDN

Can good nutrition improve cognition in the aging brain, as well as expand life spans in older adults? Host Kathy King speaks with dietitian and nutrition consultant Matthew Ruscigno about the latest research and subsequent dietetic recommendations aimed at seniors. They discuss which foods and dietary practices are now associated with helping seniors preserve cognition and live longer.

Tissue-Specific Protein Clusters May Help Predict Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease Oct 25, 2016

Show notes

A protein homeostasis signature in healthy brains recapitulates tissue vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease

Rosie Freer, Pietro Sormanni, Giulia Vecchi, Prajwal Ciryam, Christopher M. Dobson, and Michele Vendruscolo

Science Advances 10 Aug 2016: Vol. 2, no. 8, e1600947 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600947

Abstract: In Alzheimer’s disease, aggregates of Aβ and tau in amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles spread progressively across brain tissues following a characteristic pattern, implying a tissue-specific vulnerability to the disease. We report a transcriptional analysis of healthy brains and identify an expression signature that predicts—at ages well before the typical onset—the tissue-specific progression of the disease. We obtain this result by finding a quantitative correlation between the histopathological staging of the disease and the expression patterns of the proteins that coaggregate in amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, together with those of the protein homeostasis components that regulate Aβ and tau. Because this expression signature is evident in healthy brains, our analysis provides an explanatory link between a tissue-specific environmental risk of protein aggregation and a corresponding vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease.

Recognizing Alzheimer's Disease at the Earliest Stages: Key Signs and Symptoms Oct 02, 2016

Show notes

Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Howard Fillit, MD

Quality care for patients with Alzheimer's disease starts with early recognition, which enables a timely diagnosis and subsequent intervention with the best available treatment and support options. As such, understanding the broad spectrum of signs and symptoms at the earliest stages of disease is absolutely critical.

Joining host Dr. John Russell to discuss the keys to early recognition for Alzheimer's Disease is Dr. Howard Fillit, founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer for the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation.

Uncover the truth about Alzheimer's in the non-certified educational series, Alzheimer's Disease: Towards Earlier Detection

Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Pathogenesis: How Disease Origins Guide Early Detection Practices Oct 02, 2016

Show notes

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Carol Lippa, MD

Understandings of the origins and mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease are evolving constantly, opening doors to improved targets for therapeutic research. But at a time when disease-modifying therapies for advanced Alzheimer's aren't yet available, the need for early detection becomes critically important to help protect quality of life for patients.

Host Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Dr. Carol Lippa, Professor of Neurology & Director of the Memory Disorders Program at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Lippa is a member of the Board of Directors for the Alzheimer's Association and Chair of the Delaware Valley Chapter’s Medical & Scientific Committee.

Uncover the truth about Alzheimer's in the non-certified educational series, Alzheimer's Disease: Towards Earlier Detection

Latest Methods to Early Detection for Alzheimer's: Cognitive Assessments and Diagnostic Tools in Practice Oct 02, 2016

Show notes

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
Guest: Douglas Scharre, MD, CMD

Cognitive assessment tools and detection tests for Alzheimer's disease are mutually designed to identify signs of cognitive impairment that are sometimes too subtle to catch by astute clinicians or even patients themselves. But what methods are available to help detect Alzheimer's as early as possible, and how do they impact quality of life for patients throughout the disease progression?

Host Dr. Jennifer Caudle welcomes Dr. Douglas Scharre, Professor of Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Cognitive and Memory Disorders at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Uncover the truth about Alzheimer's in the non-certified educational series, Alzheimer's Disease: Towards Earlier Detection

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A protein homeostasis signature in healthy brains recapitulates tissue vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease

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