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A metabolic view of Alzheimer's disease & the recent discovery of compounds that reverse advanced disease symptoms in mouse models by restoring mitochondrial health.

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Classic Alzheimer’s pathology: amyloid plaques and tau tangles identified over 120 years ago, long assumed to drive irreversible neuron loss.
Limitations of amyloid focus: plaques appear in some cognitively normal brains; antibody therapies have shown limited clinical benefit.
Metabolic perspective: brain energy failure as a tipping point where repair mechanisms are overwhelmed, linking genetics, injury, and aging.
Neuroprotection via P7C3 compounds: discovered through hippocampal neurogenesis screen; preserves mitochondrial function and normalizes NAD/NADH ratio without elevating NAD excessively.
Recovery in models: treatment after symptom onset reversed cognitive deficits, blood-brain barrier damage, oxidative stress, and axon issues in amyloid and tau mouse models, despite persistent plaques.
Broader implications: energy restoration enables surviving neurons to function; similar protective effects seen in TBI and other organs under stress.

ABOUT THE GUEST: Andrew Pieper, MD, PhD, is a board-certified psychiatrist and neuroscientist, professor at Case Western Reserve University, and director of the Brain Health Medicines Center at the Harrington Discovery Institute. He directs a research group focused on neuroprotection after brain injury and neurodegenerative disease.

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Reversing Alzheimer's & Neurodegeneration: Latest Science | Andrew Pieper | Episode 290

Mind & Matter

Reversing Alzheimer's & Neurodegeneration: Latest Science | Andrew Pieper | Episode 290