The world-famous Harvard brain scientist and a musician who plays with Joe Perry and Jonny Depp, tells us what is the latest in brain research, and the very promising future for Alzheimer's prevention and treatment. We are getting very close...

Can we detect neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease, before irreversible damage is done? What supplements can we take to get ahead of neurodegenerative diseases? What role does loneliness play in brain health? Is there a connection between our microbiome and our brain? 

Dr. Rudolph Tanzi joins us on the SuperAge podcast to dive into these questions and more. Dr. Tanzi is the Vice-Chair of Neurology, Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Co-Director of the Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health, and Co-Director of the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also serves as the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. 

Dr. Tanzi discovered the first Alzheimer’s disease (AD) gene and co-discovered the two other early-onset familial AD genes. His team was the first to use human stem cells to create three-dimensional cell culture organoids of AD, dubbed “Alzheimer’s-in-a-Dish”. This model was the first to recapitulate all three key AD pathological hallmarks in vitro, and first to definitively show that amyloid plaques directly cause neurofibrillary tangles. The 3-D model also made drug screening for AD faster and more cost-effective. Using this system, Dr. Tanzi has developed several novel therapies for Alzheimer’s disease. 

What you will learn in this episode: 

• How neurons regenerate lost information after damage from a neurodegenerative disease
• The importance of lifestyle for promoting brain health 
• How we are inducing neurogenesis in mice, and what it means for us 
• The supplements that seem to mimic the benefits of exercise to improve brain function
• What supplements Dr. Tanzi takes and why
• What we are learning from Dr. Tanzi’s Alzheimer’s-in-a-Dish research
• How we may be able to detect declining brain health before it leads to neurodegenerative diseases
• The danger of loneliness and lack of social interaction
• What to eat for gut health and how your gut health impacts your brain health
• How Dr. Tanzi is using glasses with light and sound therapy to promote deeper sleep

“If you’re going to take fish oil for omega-3s, make sure you’re paying a lot of money for it and it’s triple distilled, just to get those metals out.”

“I feel like I’m firing out all cylinders. It not only helps with brain health but a healthy brain helps with mental vitality, as well. 

“That’s how we are going to stop Alzheimer’s disease. Early detection, early intervention.”

“The brain suffers from not being social and from not having social interaction. Loneliness, meaning being alone, and stress about it, increases risk for Alzheimer’s two fold.”

“The brain actually depends on the gut and the bacteria there and the metabolites they make from your food to control everything from mood, to the amount of amyloid you make or break or get rid of, to neuro-inflammation.” 

Donate to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund to help support research: https://curealz.org
Check out Dr. Tanzi's music: https://www.n1m.com/rudytanzi
Dr. Tanzi's list of brain supporting supplements

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