Examining Alzheimer’s disease: 'We try to find the black box'

The oncoming epidemic of Alzheimer's disease is staggering to consider. It will have an enormous impact on our personal lives, our communities, and our collective healthcare.

In his ongoing series of UCSD-TV interviews, titled “On Our Mind,” host Dr. William Mobley talks with experts about treatment options, innovations in research, and much more.

Here are two recent interviews:

Stem Cells and Alzheimer's Disease

Can stem cells be a weapon in the fight against Alzheimer's disease?

UC San Diego professor of cellular and molecular medicine Larry Goldstein, director of the stem cell program, joins Dr. Mobley to discuss how stem cells work and what possibilities they may unlock.

Quotable: “It’s a matter of using stem cells to tease out what I call the ‘black box’ of Alzheimer’s disease. What I mean is, when you see a plane crash, you see the pattern of wreckage on the ground. That has minor amounts of information.

“But what’s most important is what happened when the plane became committed to crash. To understand that, we try to find the black box, which tells us what went wrong in the cockpit before the crash. …

“In Alzheimer’s, the key is knowing what causes a brain cell to malfunction during the disease. ... That’s what we use the stem cells for.”

Neuroimaging Advances for Alzheimer's Disease

What insights into Alzheimer's disease can cutting edge imaging techniques reveal?

UC San Diego associate professor of radiology James Brewer, who directs the Imaging Core for the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study, joins Dr. Mobley to discuss the latest technologies to study the progression of the disease.

Quotable: “I’m much more optimistic. … We’re learning much more about the process of the disease. We’re learning so much more about the molecules that need to be targeted. We’re learning more about the genetics. ... We’re seeing the development of therapeutics that may actually help us start to slow this disease. This is a super-exciting time.”