Alzheimer’s Vertical
Alzheimer’s disease is an identity-robbing illness that is on track to be the largest human health crisis and burden on the healthcare system in history. As we live longer, every one of us has nearly a 50% chance of an AD diagnosis by the time we reach age 84 . There are over six million U.S. patients now, costing $200 Billion/yr, expected to increase to 15 million and $1 Trillion/yr by 2050.
We now know that Alzheimer’s disease begins silently in the brain decades before symptoms begin. This leaves ample time for people at risk to make targeted lifestyle and behavioral changes to protect their brain health over time.
BrainMind has launched an Alzheimer’s vertical to investigate the most promising research to treat and prevent this devastating disease. A special session at the BrainMind Summit at Stanford will look at the latest knowledge of whether and how Alzheimer’s Disease can be prevented. What known genetic predispositions and other biomarkers suggest increased risk for Alzheimer’s? What data can be tracked to evaluate and detect changes in risk over time? And what lifestyle changes can we make to reduce our risk.
About APOE-ɛ4
Over 60% of persons with Alzheimer’s have at least one APOE-ɛ4 allele, which increases the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s and is associated with an earlier age of onset. Since the emergence of commercial genetic testing, a growing number of people are discovering they may be at increased risk for Alzheimer’s. This session will explore the impact of APOE-ɛ4 carrier status on Alzheimer’s risk in varied populations (e.g., women vs. men), impact on the effectiveness of preventative interventions (e.g., exercise), the role for use in clinical care by a treating physician, and other polygenic, pharmacogenomic and nutrigenomic considerations.
Featured Experts at the BrainMind Summit
At Stanford, a special breakout session (and dinner by special request) will be held on the topic of Alzheimer’s Prevention, including practical lifestyle interventions and the cutting-edge of drug discovery for populations with genetic risk factors. Summit participants will have the opportunity to connect with experts who will discuss some of the most important and groundbreaking work in this space.
Richard S. Isaacson, MD, Directs the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Richard has dedicated himself to compiling a wealth of insight for people who want to know more about Alzheimer’s and what they can do to help themselves and their loved ones — starting today and continuing throughout the entire lifespan.
Marwan Noel Sabbagh, MD, FAAN, is the Camille and Larry Ruvo Endowed Chair for Brain Health and Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. He is a leading investigator for many prominent national Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment trials. Dr. Sabbagh has dedicated his career to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
Robert Mahley, MD, PhD, is the President Emeritus and Founder of the J. David Gladstone Institutes and Professor of Pathology and Medicine at UCSF. With support from the Wellcome Trust, Robert is identifying new chemical compounds that can target apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4)—the strongest genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s.