Your brain has about 400 miles of blood vessels running through it. Most of them are too small to see on any scan we have.
Dr. Jason Hinman is a professor of neurology and a vascular neurologist at UCLA, and those tiny vessels are what his lab studies. They feed the brain’s white matter, the wiring that connects one brain region to another. Damage to them shows up alongside Alzheimer’s disease in at least half of the people who have it.
We talked with Jason about new tests that can catch that damage years early, the signs standard memory tests miss, and what you can do about it, starting with blood pressure and exercise.
In this episode, we cover:
What the brain’s blood vessels do besides deliver oxygen
Why the tiny vessels are key to white matter health
Blood pressure control and the brain
Blood tests for brain health
New MRI methods that could spot changes years early
Early signs that standard memory tests miss
How much exercise the brain needs
Is hard exercise safe for the brain?
LDL cholesterol and the brain’s blood vessels
Metabolic syndrome, GLP-1 drugs, and the CRP test for inflammation
Lowering side-effect risk on the new anti-amyloid drugs for Alzheimer’s
and more!
Learn more about Jason’s work at the Hinman Lab: https://www.hinmanlabucla.org/
Subscribe to the Podcast
Want Better Brain Fitness on the go? Subscribe to our podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.
