In this episode of Bulletproof Radio, we’re honoring Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month with Dr. Rudolph Tanzi. He’s a renowned microbiologist who has researched, studied, and written about Alzheimer’s disease for nearly 40 years. Along the way, he’s discovered several Alzheimer’s disease genes, including all three early-onset familial Alzheimer’s genes.
He’s also developing therapies for treating and preventing Alzheimer’s disease using human mini-brain organoid models of the disease and working to identify novel genes associated with Alzheimer’s and autism spectrum disorders.
“You’re trying to put out a forest fire by blowing out the match,” Dr. Tanzi says. “The forest fire’s neuroinflammation. These early genes taught us about the triggers, the matches, the brush fires. It’s too late to stamp those out. But now, all the newest Alzheimer’s genes we’re finding, over a dozen of them, tell us how to stop neuroinflammation.”
Today you’re going to learn about brand new research that is upending what we think we know about Alzheimer’s and how we’ve been treating the symptoms of the disease for decades.
Enjoy the show! And get more resources at Dave.Asprey/podcasts.
Follow Along with the Transcript
Links/Resources
Website: mghmind.org/faculty/Tanzi
Facebook: facebook.com/RudyETanzi
Twitter: twitter.com/rudytanzi
Instagram: instagram.com/rudy_tanzi/
Key Notes
- How can you be a professor and head/chair/director of different geographic locations? – 4:10
- What has changed in the understanding of Alzheimer’s and Dementia? – 5:55
- How the brain deals with problems with nerves and infection – 8:11
- Heart disease vs brain diseases – 9:22
- Brain amyloids compared to ageing amyloids – 11:46
- Inflammation in the brain is different than in the body – 13:40
- Effects of sleep on keeping the brain healthy – 14:14
- Genes that switch the function of cells from housekeeping to killer – 15:40
- What can be used to reduce inflammation in the brain? – 16:31
- Things to do to reduce risk of brain diseases – 18:01
- Managing gut bacteria – 22:01
- Protecting the brain and lowering inflammation – 24:24
- Brain diseases correlated with inflammation – 27:23
- Using mini brains to test drugs – 28:56
- What will it be like to look back on current treatments for brain diseases? – 30:36
- What is the benefit of combining different forms of treatments to lessen brain inflammation? – 33:02
- Effects of nicotine? 34:58
- Cat’s claw (herb) and mushroom uses – 36:33
- What about circadian timing, fasting, and darkness on Alzheimer’s disease? -40:02
- What is possible for patients today and in the future? – 46:37
- Alzheimer’s in women compared to men – 52:54
Go check out my new book “Super Human: The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever“ and also “Game Changers“, “Headstrong” and “The Bulletproof Diet” on Amazon and consider leaving a review!
If you like today’s episode, check us out on Apple Podcasts at daveasprey.com/apple and leave us a 5-star rating and a creative review.
