Discovering Hope: Latest Advances in Alzheimer's Research and Treatment

Announcer: 0:00

Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute Radio Show hosted by Kevin Geddings of WSOS St. Augustine Radio and powered by ENCORE Research Group. Each Monday morning, Dr. Michael Koren calls in to bring you the latest medical updates with insightful discussions. Medevidence is where we help you navigate the real truth behind medical research, with both a clinical and research perspective. So sit back, relax and get ready to learn about the truth behind the data in medicine and healthcare. This is MedEvidence.

Kevin Geddings: 0:30

Dr. Michael Koren is with me live on the air and of course he joins us on Monday mornings. He's a medical doctor, cardiologist, research scientist. He's also, of course, with ENCORE Research Group, where they're doing leading-edge clinical research right here in St. John's County and St. Augustine that you can participate in, including in the area of Alzheimer's right, Dr. Koren.

Dr. Michael Koren: 0:51

Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. So I had an interesting experience this past week where we brought in a speaker who is an expert in Alzheimer's disease from North Carolina a fellow named Reza Bolouri and it got me realizing that I'm so fortunate to be able to bring these national experts in and actually learn incredible amounts from them. So we have always done memory research and neurological research. We have a team that does that work here in Northeast Florida research we have a team that does that work here in Northeast Florida. But to learn the latest and greatest about a disease such as Alzheimer's is just truly a gift for me, and I had a great opportunity this past week learning more about the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer's, which is this type of protein that folds improperly in the brain that causes the pathology of Alzheimer's dementia.

Dr. Michael Koren: 1:46

And then also learn about some of the genetic risk factors, such as high levels of tau protein, and with this greater understanding of how Alzheimer's disease affects people, we can help people in the community. We can help people by getting them screened earlier. We have that ability to do this and it's all performed free of charge at the research centers, and then if we do diagnose something that's treatable, then we can get people involved in a clinical research trial. So it's really gratifying to take something that was literally considered a death sentence and something that we didn't have really anything to offer for many, many years, and now actually offer things that will change the progression of the disease. So that was exciting and it was fun for me to be part of this discussion.

Kevin Geddings: 2:31

And Dr. Koren, if folks are listening and either they have received maybe an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's or forms of dementia or they have a loved one who is dealing with an Alzheimer's diagnosis, are there opportunities here locally for them to be involved in the kind of clinical trials you were just talking about?

Dr. Michael Koren: 2:49

Absolutely. Yeah, just give us a call and if you're just worried about your memory, we'll come and do a memory screen. And unfortunately this is one of the gaps in our healthcare system, because a doctor's office doesn't really get reimbursed adequately for memory screens. A lot of doctors just won't do it or they'd be reluctant to do it. It's just time-consuming and unfortunately just doesn't get reimbursed well, whereas in the research office we have a grant to cover all those expenses. So you will get a memory screen and then we'll dig into your family history. Alzheimer's is a disease that definitely has a genetic component and we'll look into that for you and then, if you look like you may be somebody that would be helped by research, we'll actually do a lot of very expensive scans on your brain to determine whether in fact you have the diagnosis and whether or not you would be a good person for possible treatment options.

Kevin Geddings: 3:45

Absolutely and I guess overall, just as a layman out here. I mean are we making any progress in the area of Alzheimer's? Obviously, you've been practicing medicine for a long time. I mean, do you sense that we are making progress?

Dr. Michael Koren: 3:57

Oh, totally, totally. You know we have some approved drugs in the market that are really the fruits of the research that we and other people have done around the country, so they're already products in the market. They tend to be expensive and unfortunately they're mostly used for people that are at the later stages of Alzheimer's dementia. So now the research is really turning to making a more quick and early diagnosis so that we can block the disease progression much earlier. So we're very, very hopeful that there'll be more breakthroughs in treating Alzheimer's dementia and also continuing our understanding of why this happens to some people. Yeah, absolutely.

Kevin Geddings: 4:36

Well, if you have a loved one or you have received an Alzheimer's diagnosis, we encourage you to reach out to ENCORE Research group, you know. Learn about what options are available to participate in leading edge, you know, clinical research. Learn more by going to EncoreDocs. com EncoreDocs. com, that's spelled E-N-C-O-R-E, and of course their offices are right here in St. John's County in the Whetstone Building near UF Flagler Hospital, so it's convenient for anyone within the sound of my voice. Also, punch this number into your cell phone 904-730-0166. That's 904-730-0166. That's 904-730-0166. And we should mention too, the conversation that you had with the expert in Alzheimer's from North Carolina will soon, in the next few days or so, be available on medevidence. com, right.

Dr. Michael Koren: 5:24

That's right. The truth behind the data oh my God, Kevin. There's so much information out there that is just not supported by any kind of scientific research. So the latest rumor you and I briefly talked about it last week that Tylenol causes autism is an example of these crazy things that are just not supported by any scientific information. So we try to help people really understand what we truly know about something, that we don't know about things, and how we learn about the stuff we don't know. So please look at MedEvidence as a credible source for information, rather than a lot of rumor mills, which is what the Internet has become.

Kevin Geddings: 6:03

Yeah, absolutely. Now you can trust MedEvidence such a better resource than TikTok or Snapchat or Instagram or all these other places where there's nothing filtered and there's no medical experts that are reviewing the data that's put out there. Medevidence. com, that's MedEvidence. com the truth behind the data. And, of course, to learn more about clinical trials you can participate in, not only in the area of Alzheimer's, but across all health statuses, we would encourage you to look at EncoreDocs. com. Encoredocs. com, Dr. Koren. Be safe out there and we'll talk with you again next week.

Dr. Michael Koren: 6:34

Sounds great, kevin, have a great week.

Announcer: 6:35

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