Alzheimer's | Prof John Mamo & Dr Virginie Lam
Curtin researchers are trialling a medication that could help preserve the cognitive function of people with Alzheimer’s.
In this episode, Sarah Taillier is joined by Professor John Mamo and Dr Virginie Lam from the Curtin Health and Innovation Research Institute. They discuss how they’re trialling an existing drug that could be a game changer for people with Alzheimer’s by preventing the build-up of a protein called amyloid beta in the brain. They also explore some of the lifestyle factors that are likely to cause the disease.
- Amyloid beta and its link with Alzheimer’s [0:26]
- How the drug probucol works [5:47]
- Why is Alzheimer’s on the rise? [08:31]
- Current treatment options for Alzheimer’s [10:13]
- The problem with the drug Lacanemab [11:25]
- Simple lifestyle changes to help prevent Alzheimer’s [20:33]
- Should we do genetic testing for Alzheimer’s? [27:00]
- Listening to our bodies is key to good health [32:48]
Learn more
- A novel onset pathway for Alzheimer’s: A potential target for therapies
- New Curtin research identifies likely cause of Alzheimer’s disease
- Chris Hemsworth’s Alzheimer’s gene doesn’t guarantee he’ll develop dementia. Here’s what we can all do to reduce our risk.
Connect with our guests
Professor John Mamo
Professor Mamo is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor and Director of the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI). He leads a team of physiologists and vascular biologists in exploring cerebral capillary dysfunction in a range of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and in pain disorders.
John is the Principal Investigator of a nationally funded drug study in Alzheimer’s disease. He has published 200 peer reviewed publications and been cited on more than 6300 occasions.
Dr Virginie Lam
Dr Virginie Lam is an Early Career Research Fellow with preclinical and clinical expertise investigating the role of micro-nutrients in regulating brain capillaries and cognitive performance. Her research is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
She completed her PhD in 2016 and currently possesses authorship to more than 60 publications.
Virginie’s current line of research examines the interactive effects of vasoactive nutrients with lifestyle and pharmacological interventions that can restore vascular damage to improve cognitive health and halt the onset and progression of vascular-based neurodegenerative diseases.
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Transcript
Team
Host: Sarah Taillier
Content creator: Zoe Taylor
Producer and recordist: Emilia Jolakoska
First Nations Acknowledgement
Curtin University acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which Curtin Perth is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation, and on Curtin Kalgoorlie, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields; and the First Nations peoples on all Curtin locations.
Music
OKAY by 13ounce Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by Audio Library.
Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.
