wbur.org
support wbur today!
Listen to this show
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 11:00 AM EDT
Alzheimer’s in the Family
photo

For a long time in life, Alzheimer’s seems like somebody else’s problem. An issue for the unfortunate old. A misty, separate continent of life.

And then, it can hit you. Your own parents, needing help. Losing their grip. Your own odds of following them into Alzheimer’s — higher than you’d ever wish.

One in 10 people get Alzheimer’s. New research suggests that if both your parents had it, your odds may be one in five. Now the Baby Boom generation and its children are lining up to learn their fate. And science is racing to intervene.

This hour, On Point: going after Alzheimer’s.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Reisa Sperling, neurologist and Alzheimer’s researcher at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston

Thomas Bird, Professor of Neurology, Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of Washington

Pierre Tariot, director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix

 

Tags: , , ,

 
 

Comments are closed.

Recent Shows
The Future of Aging
Thursday, November 5, 2009 image

A surge of new strategies to “manage” aging — from diets to testosterone. We’ll get the story.

Comments [31]
 
Climate, Congress & Copenhagen
Thursday, November 5, 2009 image

The Copenhagen climate conference is one month away. US climate action is going nowhere in Congress. We’ll look at the global implications of America’s domestic climate politics.

Comments [73]
On Point Blog
California, here we come! And we need your questions!

On Point is headed west!
No, no. Not for good. Only for one show. But it’s a very special show!  The NPR station in Thousand Oaks, California – KCLU – is celebrating their 15th anniversary. We’re lucky to have been on their airwaves for nearly seven years, and they invited us out west to host a live [...]

More » | Comments [7]
 
For Love of Science – or Money?

A new study supports the idea that U.S. dominance in engineering and science is threatened — but not for lack of training and education. It has more to do with a lack of social and economic incentives.

More » | Comments [5]
 
Matthew Hoh’s Resignation Letter

Matthew Hoh, a former Marine captain, became the first foreign service official to publicly resign in protest over the war in Afghanistan. The move has generated a lot of reaction. You can read Hoh’s resignation letter, posted by The Washington Post, which reported on it here.
It’s a topic for our news roundtable today. What [...]

More » | Comments [4]