Episode # 3
The Alzheimer's Solution Revolution
#3 Insights into the Genesis of Early-Onset and Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in Aging
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Episode Summary and Audio
In this 3rd episode of The Alzheimer’s Solutions Revolution Podcast, I, Ralph Sanchez, talk with my good friend and co-host Susan Brender, as we begin this special podcast series designated as the “Think Ahead Podcast Series”.
In the Think Ahead series, which will be published here over the coming weeks, I’ll provide an extensive overview on the numerous risk factors associated with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD), and I expand on the research that sheds light on how you can modify and reduce your risk for LOAD and dementia as you age.
In this first Think Ahead episode, I lay down the foundation for understanding the genesis and difference between early onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD) and LOAD, and the science-based findings that illuminates the association between many risk factors—including genes and genetic variants, that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Additionally, I’ll begin the overview on the hallmark protein-based lesions (amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles) that are associated with Alzheimer’s is discussed.
More on the topic of plques and tangles and their role in Alzheimer’s disease to come in subsequent Think Ahead podcasts here at The Alzheimer’s Solution Revolution podcast channel.
Please, listen and empower yourself with a basic understanding of the early stages of EOAD and LOAD that includes the genetic determinants and genetic risk factors linked to each form, and the stages of the disease process that leads to cognitive impairment and dementia in aging.
Top Takeaways
- Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD) affects individuals early in life with onset and a diagnosis before the age of 65, and it is a genetically determined disorder.
- Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) comprises the vast majority (>95%) of Alzheimer’s disease cases, and it is a multifactorial disorder. This means there are many risk factors that influence a susceptibility to LOAD in aging.
- 1 in 10 Americans will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s after the age of 65, and 3 to 4 in 10 people will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s after the age of 85.
- Chronic inflammation patterns that are driven by type 2 diabetes, excess belly fat and obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, an imbalanced gut microbiome and other health disorders, puts your brain at risk for vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life.
- How these health disorders trigger your genetic blueprint (e.g., genetic risk variants [ApoE4]) to express in a manner that increases the risk for vascular dementia and LOAD is a significant factor in the progression of the disease process over at least 20 to 30 years.
- These modifiable risk factors—including unhealthy diet and lifestyle habits, heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes (cardiometabolic disease) vastly determine your risk for LOAD as you age.
- Additionally, being aware of environmental risk factors such as pesticides and other toxic exposures, that could lead to problems later on in life, is paramount in reducing your risk for Alzheimer’s as you age.
- Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (plaques and tangles) are the signature legions associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
- These hallmark brain lesions— plaques and tangles—are aggregates of beta-amyloid and tau protein, respectively—that accumulate over decades.
- Aging is considered to be a primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, but it is not the cause of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease—it is what happens in the aging process that centers around unhealthy diet and lifestyle choices, toxic environmental exposures, and aging-related diseases associated with inflammation (cardiometabolic disease).
- The development of Alzheimer’s disease has a 20 to 30-year or longer timeline, which means that midlife, or earlier in life, is the prime window of opportunity to evaluate your risk for dementia and LOAD.
Timestamp Highlights
In this Episode
[2:40] Clarification of terms often used in reference to Alzheimer’s disease—early onset and late onset Alzheimer’s disease.
[4:08] Research study about a Columbian family and other Columbian families in the region with a long history of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD).
[6:03] In Americans, 1 in 10 individuals is diagnosed with late onset Alzheimer’s disease after the age of 65 and the risk continues to escalate—4 in 10 people after the age of 85 are diagnosed with LOAD.
[7:20] LOAD is a multifactorial disorder because of the many factors that are linked to the risk for it.
[7:45] The major genetic risk variant for LOAD is ApoE4.
[8:04] A brief story about my personal history that lead to the realization of how a set of risk factors (pesticide exposures, brain trauma) put my brain at risk for cognitive performance problems and dementia as I aged.
[11:14] Major and common risk factors for LOAD in aging such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. are extensively detailed in my book, The Diabetic Brain in Alzheimer’s Disease.
[13:10] How beta-amyloid and tau protein eventually form the signature legions of Alzheimer’s disease.
[16:36] What is considered to be normal cognitive decline in the aging process vs. a neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s.
[18:00] How diet and lifestyle are central to your risk for Alzheimer’s in the aging process.
[18:42] The role of insulin and insulin resistance in Type 3 Diabetes.
[20:52] At the turn of the century, a new age of Alzheimer’s research emerged that began to shed insights into a host of risk factors for LOAD, which has led to host of assessments and interventions options that may significantly reduce your risk for vascular dementia and LOAD.
[21:40] Alzheimer’s disease has a 20 to 30-year timeline and the importance of early intervention and assessment approaches before the disease process develops into dementia.
Please listen in!
Ralph Sanchez, MTCM, CNS, D.Hom
BrainDefend®
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