wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

I am interested in cross-cultural studies on Alz. dementia. I have lived and worked as a physician in rural Africa and southeast Asia where diabetes is rare and I do not recall seeing demented elderly sub-population. Could this disease be related to western culture (diet and lifestyle) as well as predisposition (genetics)?

What about niacin ?

What about tumeric?

Question: What is the blood/brain barrier [or whatever it is called] and how does that affect brain research?

How come things I had to learn early in school (ie.e 1-2 grades) I still remember so well, while stuff that I had to learn in college I barely remember?

Since I had a hysterectomy last October, my memory and concentration are totally messed up. I forget what I got up to get before I even am completely out of the chair. Although I am on hormone replacement therapy, I think that my memory issues are from distrubtions in my body chemistry

isn't there a urine test dev'p by a woman Israeli scientist that detects CJ molecules in urine by removing a protein that causes them to unfold?
The significance here is that it picks up the presence of CJ/Alz before it's noticeable in the behavior of an individual.

Can your guest clear up--Can our blood than be tested for its level of the beta amyloid protein as a risk indicator for Alzheimmer's (dementia)?

I'm curious if the author also did research into what seems to be the opposite of memory loss - the inability to forget. A recent "Talk of the Nation" broadcast featured an interview with Jill Price, a woman who can remember every detail of the last thirty years of her life, despite the fact that she'd prefer to forget. Also interviewed was a doctor who was working with her, James McGaugh.

Can you ask her about the low numbers of Alzheimers in India?

Leonard,
Thanks for referencing that yogurt commercial from the 80's. Now I can finally understand the equally ancient New Yorker cartoon that showed the image you described, except the old man is dying in bed in an unstated Eastern European village with his babushka'd wife at his side, with the line:
"To hell... with... YOGURT!"
My parents put the picture on the fridge of our house when we were kids, and I never "got" it.
From the big to the small, your show is a veritable treasure trove of STUFF.

RE: rosie's question--From personal experienc, I can say that Mary Jane certainly impairs memory during the time you are smoking it, but you recover after you stop--it takes a month or so to completely clear out though.

Question for the guest--can one affect the onset of Alzheimer's through performing complex mental tasks throughout one's life (learning new languages, learning to play a musical instrument, learning how to program computers, etc) ? An earlier comment by Ms. Halpern made it seem as though it might lead to increased memory loss.

I've read that heavy smokers and heavy drinkers have a higher risk of getting Alzheimers and/or Parkinson's disease.

Yes I also want to know if smoking marijuana really impairs memory as is often joked about?

any connect between drug use and Memory