Is dementia preventable? Acclaimed neurologist shares latest Alzheimer’s breakthroughs
Kristine Yaffe will discuss strategies for preventing dementia and cognitive aging in public lecture at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC on April 11.
Kristine Yaffe will present research on neurodegenerative conditions in the next Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture — What is Alzheimer’s Disease and Can We Prevent it? — at 5:30 p.m. April 11 at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke.
By 2050, it’s estimated that 153 million people will have a form of dementia, according to data published in The Lancet Public Health. However, new research suggests that healthy lifestyle interventions alone could significantly reduce dementia risk.
“If we could change people’s risk factors, whether it’s their high blood pressure, or their sleep, or exercise, diet, a number of things, then we could really move the needle on a population level,” Kristine Yaffe said in a recent interview with the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.
Yaffe is the Roy and Marie Scola Endowed Chair of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemiology and directs the Center for Population Brain Health at the University of California, San Francisco. She also serves as chief of neuropsychiatry and director of the Memory Evaluation Clinic at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, Yaffe will share insights from her research in the next Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture “What is Alzheimer’s Disease and Can We Prevent It?” at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke.
"This is a unique opportunity for the public to hear directly from one of the leading innovators in Alzheimer's research," said Michael Friedlander, Virginia Tech’s vice president for health sciences and technology and the executive director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. “Dr. Yaffe's research not only advances our scientific understanding, but also offers best scientifically informed practices and practical approaches to mitigatation of the risk of neurodegeneration, making her talk a must-attend for anyone concerned about brain health throughout the lifespan. Her lecture promises to illuminate the latest advances in our understanding of Alzheimer's and related dementias, offering hope and actionable strategies for prevention."
Friedlander said Yaffe’s research also aligns with the work of the institute's scientists working to understand Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative conditions, particularly in areas related to the regulation of cerebral cortical blood flow to the brain in John Chappell’s program and related to social cognition in a key area of the brain for memory formation – the hippocampus, often one of the first areas to show the manifestations of Alzheimer’s, studied in Shannon Farris’ laboratory.
Yaffe conducted the world’s first randomized clinical trial to evaluate how diet, exercise, sleep, and other lifestyle factors influence cognition in adults ages 70 to 89. The study followed 172 older adults with an elevated risk of dementia. Half of the participants received personalized health coaching, and the other half received education. After two years, the group that received customized interventions scored 74 percent better on cognitive tests than the control group. Results were published last year in JAMA Internal Medicine.
While this data shows the preventive power of lifestyle changes later in life, Yaffe said Alzheimer’s disease likely develops over decades.
“It’s never too late, and it’s never too early,” Yaffe said. “What you do over your whole life could influence your brain health. Don’t wait until you’re in your 80s or 90s.”
With over 1,500 peer-reviewed publications, Yaffe is one of her field's most highly cited researchers. She has five active research grants funded by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2014, Thomson Reuters named her among the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.
Her work has earned her numerous recognitions, including the 2021 Robert S. Gordon Jr. Award in Epidemiology from the National Institutes of Health. She was also awarded the 2017 Potamkin Prize for Dementia Research from the American Academy of Neurology, the 2015 Research Award in Geriatric Psychiatry from the American College of Psychiatrists, and the 2014 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Distinguished Scientist Award.
Yaffe studied psychology at Yale University and completed her medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. Her residency in neurology and psychiatry brought her to the University of California, San Francisco, where she completed fellowships in geriatric psychiatry and clinical epidemiology.
The lecture, part of the institute’s public lecture series supported by businessman and philanthropist Maury Strauss, aims to engage the community with cutting-edge research on some of the world's most significant health challenges.
Attendees are invited to a pre-lecture reception with refreshments at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, 4 Riverside Circle, in Roanoke. The event will also be livestreamed via Zoom and archived on the institute’s website.
