Mind & Matter
Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it.
The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.
Not medical advice.
At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.
As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint.
My beliefs:
- Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
- All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.
- Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.
Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:
- “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)
- “Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)
- “Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)
Mind & Matter
Reversing Alzheimer's & Neurodegeneration: Latest Science | Andrew Pieper | Episode 290
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A metabolic view of Alzheimer's disease & the recent discovery of compounds that reverse advanced disease symptoms in mouse models by restoring mitochondrial health.
TOPICS DISCUSSED:
- Classic Alzheimer’s pathology: amyloid plaques and tau tangles identified over 120 years ago, long assumed to drive irreversible neuron loss.
- Limitations of amyloid focus: plaques appear in some cognitively normal brains; antibody therapies have shown limited clinical benefit.
- Metabolic perspective: brain energy failure as a tipping point where repair mechanisms are overwhelmed, linking genetics, injury, and aging.
- Neuroprotection via P7C3 compounds: discovered through hippocampal neurogenesis screen; preserves mitochondrial function and normalizes NAD/NADH ratio without elevating NAD excessively.
- Recovery in models: treatment after symptom onset reversed cognitive deficits, blood-brain barrier damage, oxidative stress, and axon issues in amyloid and tau mouse models, despite persistent plaques.
- Broader implications: energy restoration enables surviving neurons to function; similar protective effects seen in TBI and other organs under stress.
ABOUT THE GUEST: Andrew Pieper, MD, PhD, is a board-certified psychiatrist and neuroscientist, professor at Case Western Reserve University, and director of the Brain Health Medicines Center at the Harrington Discovery Institute. He directs a research group focused on neuroprotection after brain injury and neurodegenerative disease.
RELATED EPISODE:
- M&M 208: Glyphosate, Choline & Alzheimer’s: Toxins & Nutrition to Prevent Neurodegeneration | Ramon Velazquez
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