This week on The Drive, I sit down with Kellyann Niotis, M.D., to discuss Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.
In this episode, Kellyann explains how cognitive tests are used for diagnosis along with blood tests and specialized PET scans, the importance of sensory input for the brain, and strategies to reduce risk and delay the onset of disease.
We also discuss:
A primer on neurodegeneration: different types, prevalences, interventions, and more
Parkinson’s disease: early signs, diagnosis, genetics, causative triggers, and more
The challenge of standardizing early interventions for Parkinson’s disease without a clear biomarker
Alzheimer’s disease: pathophysiology and the role of the amyloid and tau proteins
Why cognitive testing is so difficult
The challenge of identifying the stage of the disease process and why drugs have had a lack of efficacy
The association between hearing loss and dementia
The relationship between oral health and neurodegenerative diseases
Genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease
The positive impact of exercise on brain health
High blood pressure as a risk factor
Why women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease
More
This week on The Drive, I sit down with Kellyann Niotis, M.D., to discuss Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.
Hey Mike, thank you for binging up this topic. I thought it was an excellent interview - even though some of it I knew and some of it is new to me. Refreshing, was Dr.Niotis comment that she didn't worry about ApoE4 that much (she worries more where she can't determine the etiology of the dementia) because she feels more confident that there is a lot they can do for an APo4 by optimizing their health.
But new to me was the other genes Dr.Niotis brought up as contributors in some ways to the ApoE4. If I am recalling correctly she bought up TOMMS44 and ApoC1. I looked in my Rhonda Fitzpatrick genetic report and I couldn't find anything on these genes.
Does anyone know about TOMMS44 or ApoC1 ? Are they genes like Klotho - that can't be determined from a 23 and me download?
Gail wrote: ↑Tue Jan 03, 2023 9:40 pm
Does anyone know about TOMMS44 or ApoC1 ? Are they genes like Klotho - that can't be determined from a 23 and me download?
1. Dr Niotis' comment about managing AD when ApoE4 status is known was not just she doesn't worry as much; she said, "easy peasy". That's a step-change difference in provider outlook compared with when Julie started this community in ~2013. Amazing.
2. Klotho was another gene mentioned as "protective", and Dr Attia referred to it as his "favorite gene". Klotho has been discussed at length in these forums.
I also want to dive into the ApoC1 topic. Nearly a decade ago, I noted some research from Dr Frank Sacks that concluded that the presence of ApoC3 on LDL explained the atherogenerity of LDL. ApoC3 is associated with MetS and an independent predictor of CVD. I don't know how closely ApoC1 and ApoC3 are related. I will do some research and post what I find here.
Gail wrote:Do you know if these additional snips are reported in 23 and Me?
I did not listen to the podcast, but here is a recent research article about those genes.
From: Definitive roles of TOMM40-APOE-APOC1 variants in the Alzheimer's risk (2022)
We report the remarkably high excesses of the AD risk for carriers of the ε4 allele who also carry minor alleles of rs2075650 (TOMM40) and rs12721046 (APOC1) polymorphisms compared to carriers of their major alleles.
thumperama wrote: ↑Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:01 am
1. Dr Niotis' comment about managing AD when ApoE4 status is known was not just she doesn't worry as much; she said, "easy peasy". That's a step-change difference in provider outlook compared with when Julie started this community in ~2013. Amazing.
I really enjoyed the overview this podcast presented, and this point stood out to me as well. If I recall correctly, I think she even made the comment with respect to 4/4. Maybe if someone else catches it they can confirm (or not).
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
adriana268 wrote:do you mean you saw a status if tomm40 on your old 23 and me report ?
It's not in any reports. You have to click the "Browse Raw Data" in the dropdown menu under your name. Then put rs2075650 in the search box and read the results. "G" is the minor allele.