Jun 7, 2021
Amanda Grant Smith is a geriatric psychiatrist with decades of
experience treating patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
In this episode, Amanda shares how she developed a passion for
geriatric psychiatry as a means to support dementia patients. She
explains how to recognize, define, and diagnose dementia—a process
that still remains somewhat elusive. They also talk about the
significance of ApoE genotype and compare the various forms of
dementia including differentiating between Alzheimer’s disease and
Lewy body dementia. They discuss the current landscape of clinical
trials, the drug pipeline, and talk about a very promising
monoclonal antibody directed at amyloid beta that has the potential
to be a disease-modifying drug. They conclude with a discussion
about how to define “healthy aging” and reflect on how
understanding dementia can shape one’s life
philosophy.
We discuss:
- How Amanda developed a passion for geriatric psychiatry [3:15];
- Defining and diagnosing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease [13:30];
- Medical tests for dementia and their relationship to clinical symptoms [22:45];
- The pathology of dementia, and the role of the tau and beta-amyloid protein in Alzheimer’s disease [33:15];
- The significance of ApoE genotype, and differentiating Alzheimer’s disease from Lewy body dementia [43:15];
- The evolution of Alzheimer’s disease prevention, care, and medications over the last 20 years [52:45];
- Psychiatric support for dementia patients (and caregivers) with depression and anxiety [1:02:45];
- Drug pipeline, clinical trials, and major challenges to overcome [1:13:45];
- Redefining Alzheimer’s disease and designing effective trials [1:23:00];
- The promise of monoclonal antibody treatments for Alzheimer’s disease [1:34:15];
- How we should measure outcomes in dementia trials and define “healthy aging” [1:42:30];
- How understanding dementia can reshape our life philosophy [1:53:45]; and
- More.
Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com/
Show notes page for this episode: https://peterattiamd.com/AmandaSmith
Subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only
content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/
Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/
Connect with Peter on Facebook |
Twitter |
Instagram.