Most of us intuitively understand that having positive social interactions is good for us. But when we ask deeper questions, the answers become more challenging to find. Should we tell people who are isolated that they are hurting themselves? And, even if being socially engaged is enjoyable and beneficial, could it really be good for your [...]
What is the goal of treating people with dementia? The FDA has understandably concluded that an effective treatment must show improvement in memory and other aspects of thinking. This makes sense to me. Some years ago, though, I concluded that non-curative therapies should do more. The benefits of FDA-approved drugs for the treatment Alzheimer disease are [...]
For more than a century, people, pundits, politicians, and scientists have debated whether success, health, and wealth are the result of genetic endowment (Nature: “They were born that way”) or environment/choice (Nurture: “They were raised that way” or “They chose to...”). Scientific advances over the past half century have resolved this contentious dilemma. Most of the [...]
I often hear people say that if they develop Alzheimer disease they would consider suicide. When asked why, people usually respond that “not knowing what is going on is the most demeaning experience I can think of.” Having cared for many people with dementia over a long career, I know that some individuals are very distressed [...]
Most people learned about genetics in middle or high school science. The basis of what we were taught were the discoveries of a Modolvian-Silesian monk, Gregor Mendel, who demonstrated in the 1860s that the action of dominant and recessive genes underlies the scientific basis of heredity. Many diseases, including cystic fibrosis and colon cancer due to [...]