How Culture, Society and Politics Shaped Alzheimer’s Disease Research

Dr. Jason Karlawish returns to the podcast to continue our discussion on his new book, The Problem of Alzheimer's: How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease Into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It. In this episode, Dr. Karlawish discusses pivotal cultural and political moments that influenced Alzheimer’s disease research, as well as the possibilities of drug treatments in the future. Guest: Jason Karlawish, MD, co-director, Penn Memory Center

Episode Topics:

• Who is the unwitting revolutionary? 1:11
• What happened to the early German scientists researching Alzheimer’s disease? 6:03
• What essay was released in 1976 and why was it pivotal to Alzheimer’s research? 7:25
•  How did the changes in psychiatry, geriatric care and gender roles affect Alzheimer’s disease research? 10:42
• What was the internal struggle over a name? 14:51
• What were key moments in U.S. political history that influenced Alzheimer’s disease? 18:19
• Where do you think the U.S. went wrong in approaching Alzheimer’s disease? 21:05
• How is Alzheimer’s disease a humanitarian crisis? 22:43
• What is your opinion on the drug approach for Alzheimer’s disease? 23:53
•  Do you have hope for a pill treatment in the future? 24:48

 

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