Erik Gunther's guest appearances

Erik Gunther

Finding Genius Podcast

FutureTech Podcast

Arvind Gupta

Daniel Gartenberg

Brianna Stubbs

Michael Breus

Billy Price

Seema Khosla

Emeran Mayer

Jason Wolfe

Denis Noble

Mark Russell

Ben Atkinson

Troy Hickerson

Stuart Williams

Humphrey Bacchus

Stephen Allen

OwlTail

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and statistics suggest that an individual has a 50% chance of developing the disease after age 85. Approximately 150 drug trials for Alzheimer’s have failed, but the efforts continue nonetheless. Erik Gunther, Ph.D., is an associate research scientist at the Strittmatter Lab at Yale University School of Medicine, and he is working on the development of a new drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s—one that operates under the compelling hypothesis that the buildup of beta-amyloid proteins or “plaque” in the brain is what causes Alzheimer’s. Rather than follow the lead of what’s already failed—which are drugs that remove plaque once it’s already accumulated in the brain—they ’re working on a drug that will prevent the buildup of plaque in the first place. It’s a novel approach to a long-standing problem, and it could change everything for current and future generations. In addition to explaining exactly how the drug interacts with neurons in the brain and what they’ve discovered from trials with laboratory mice, Dr. Gunther discusses a range of other topics, including the genetic contribution of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and how it bolsters the beta-amyloid hypothesis, what occurs during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and how it ultimately causes death, how an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is reached (and the problem of misdiagnosis), insulin resistance of the brain and the possible connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and how the brain’s immune system works. Press play to hear all the details of these topics and more, and visit https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/strittmatter/ to stay current on the latest research. 

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and statistics suggest that an individual has a 50% chance of developing the disease after age 85. Approximately 150 drug trials for Alzheimer’s have failed, but the efforts continue nonetheless. Erik Gunther, Ph.D., is an associate research scientist at the Strittmatter Lab at Yale University School of Medicine, and he is working on the development of a new drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s—one that operates under the compelling hypothesis that the buildup of beta-amyloid proteins or “plaque” in the brain is what causes Alzheimer’s. Rather than follow the lead of what’s already failed—which are drugs that remove plaque once it’s already accumulated in the brain—they ’re working on a drug that will prevent the buildup of plaque in the first place. It’s a novel approach to a long-standing problem, and it could change everything for current and future generations. In addition to explaining exactly how the drug interacts with neurons in the brain and what they’ve discovered from trials with laboratory mice, Dr. Gunther discusses a range of other topics, including the genetic contribution of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and how it bolsters the beta-amyloid hypothesis, what occurs during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and how it ultimately causes death, how an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is reached (and the problem of misdiagnosis), insulin resistance of the brain and the possible connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and how the brain’s immune system works. Press play to hear all the details of these topics and more, and visit <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/strittmatter/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/strittmatter/ </a>to stay current on the latest research.

Exploring a Novel Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease—Erik Gunther, PhD—Yale School of Medicine

The search for a drug that can effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease remains ongoing and has been difficult to say the least—about 150 different drug trials for Alzheimer’s have already failed. But why? And what can be done about it? Erik Gunther, Ph.D. is an associate research scientist at Yale University who is asking the same questions. He joins the podcast to give his opinion on why the search for an effective drug has failed up to this point, which leads to a discussion that touches on a host of other topics, including the beta-amyloid or plaque buildup hypothesis for what causes Alzheimer’s, what happens as the disease progresses, the role of glial cells in the clearance of plaque, the distinctly unique nature of the brain’s immune system, how the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier leads to hemorrhage and death in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, the role of sleep in the clearance of plaque in the brain, the way in which Alzheimer’s disturbs sleep patterns, and diabetes as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Dr. Gunther also discusses his current research, which has led to the identification of a neuron receptor on which the beta-amyloid protein binds, allowing for the eventual build-up of the plaque that’s hypothesized to cause Alzheimer’s. By developing a drug that also binds to this receptor, his team has found a way to block the interaction between the brain’s neurons and these toxic proteins, thereby preventing the buildup of plaque. It’s a novel approach to a long-standing problem, and he discusses how and why it could change things moving forward. Tune in for all the details and visit https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/strittmatter/ to learn more.

The search for a drug that can effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease remains ongoing and has been difficult to say the least—about 150 different drug trials for Alzheimer’s have already failed. But why? And what can be done about it? Erik Gunther, Ph.D. is an associate research scientist at Yale University who is asking the same questions. He joins the podcast to give his opinion on why the search for an effective drug has failed up to this point, which leads to a discussion that touches on a host of other topics, including the beta-amyloid or plaque buildup hypothesis for what causes Alzheimer’s, what happens as the disease progresses, the role of glial cells in the clearance of plaque, the distinctly unique nature of the brain’s immune system, how the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier leads to hemorrhage and death in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, the role of sleep in the clearance of plaque in the brain, the way in which Alzheimer’s disturbs sleep patterns, and diabetes as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Dr. Gunther also discusses his current research, which has led to the identification of a neuron receptor on which the beta-amyloid protein binds, allowing for the eventual build-up of the plaque that’s hypothesized to cause Alzheimer’s. By developing a drug that also binds to this receptor, his team has found a way to block the interaction between the brain’s neurons and these toxic proteins, thereby preventing the buildup of plaque. It’s a novel approach to a long-standing problem, and he discusses how and why it could change things moving forward. Tune in for all the details and visit <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/strittmatter/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/strittmatter/</a> to learn more.

Investigating the Complexities of Alzheimer ’s Disease and Searching for an Effective Treatment—Erik Gunther, PhD—Yale School of Medicine