Ginger Campbell, MD hosts and produces two podcasts: Books and Ideas and the Brain Science Podcast. On Books and Ideas she explores a wide range of topics with a special focus on science and medicine. This blog contains the detailed show notes for the Books and Ideas podcast.
Brain Science Podcast 68 is an interview with Dr. Peter Whitehouse, co-author (with Daniel George) of The Myth of Alzheimer's: What You Aren't Being Told About Today's Most Dreaded Diagnosis. Alzheimer's Disease originally referred to a relatively rare form of premature dementia, but in recent decades the diagnosis has been expanded to include patients of all ages. This change is not based on science and in this interview we talk about why being labeled with with Alzheimer's may be doing older patients more harm than good.
Dr. Whitehouse is one of the pioneering researchers in this field, but advocates devoting resources to helping elders with with a wide range of age-related brain changes. This interview should be of interest to physicians, scientists, as well as patients and their families. I will be posting a supplemental interview with Daniel George, the co-author of The Myth of Alzheimer's later this month. (Learn more at /.)