Q & A | 05/12/2009 5:30 pm

Lesley Stahl Talks to Director of National Institute on Aging About HBO's 'The Alzheimer's Project,' Hope and More

As HBO’s ‘The Alzheimer’s Project’ airs, NIA Director Dr. Richard Hodes talks to wOw’s Lesley Stahl about this long-dreaded disease, the science behind it and the hope ahead.

By Lesley Stahl

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Dr. Richard Hodes/Image courtesy of NIH/NIA

DR. HODES: And the one other point to make is what do we do now, if we’re being so cautious about indicating that we can’t be 100 percent certain that increased social networks, or increased physical activity, or better control of blood pressure, or of blood sugar in diabetics – if we’re not 100 percent sure that these things will prevent Alzheimer’s disease, what do we say for the present? And I think a very reasonable perspective is that since we know with fair degree of scientific rigor that these very same lifestyle changes are helpful in improving a number of other aspects of health and in preventing a number of other diseases, that it ought to be quite straightforward – and is – to recommend that these be undertaken by the population at large. These are not high risk interventions of the sort that might be involved in medication.

LESLEY: Right.

DR. HODES: So while we in parallel do the best we can to provide the most rigorous evidence about what does and doesn’t work, there is a lot that people can do to improve the likelihood of their overall good health, their cardiovascular health and perhaps will also be decreasing their risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well.

LESLEY: Great. Thank you so much. So interesting. And this documentary is going to run now for the next couple of weeks, right?

DR. HODES: Yes. And we’re up to 18 supplementary videos online as well. [Click here for HBO’s supplementary videos.]

LESLEY: Great. Thank you so very, very much, Dr. Richard Hodes. We appreciate it.

DR. HODES: Thank you very much, again, for your interest.

Courtesy of HBO, watch a clip from "The Alzheimer’s Project":

Get the Flash Player to view this video.

"The Alzheimer’s Project" is a presentation of HBO Documentary Films and the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health in association with the Alzheimer’s Association®, Fidelity® Charitable Gift Fund and Geoffrey Beene Gives Back® Alzheimer’s Initiative. The series’ producer is John Hoffman; the executive producers are Sheila Nevins and Maria Shriver.

12 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

This is something that should be available on both Cable and the regular channels - I cannot see it since I don’t have HBO available in my channel line-up! I had a parent and grand parent and now a mother-in-law who have had, or have various forms of the disease and it would be great to get more information.

By Chris Broersma on 05/12/2009 10:53 pm

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My understanding is that it is also available to watch on hbo on the web. So we can tune in on internet. I think .com but cannot remember. Somebody else should know - or just try com or .org. hbo. whatever/alzehimers.

By Denise L on 05/12/2009 11:47 pm

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Being in the middle of it, I could not watch it even if I had HBO but my daughter did and told me "Mom, there was nothing new for you to learn so I did all the crying for you"

I am glad they did the show. I was called by someone and interviewed for it last year. Even if we had qualified I doubt I could have someone see my husband the way he is now,

It should be available to every one who do not have computers nor HBO.

By Jeannot Kensinger on 05/13/2009 7:07 am

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The shows are available on HBO On Demand and HBO.com for those of you who cannot catch the regular airings on HBO.

By Jaimie Flaherty on 05/13/2009 2:30 pm

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Thanks, Jaimie.

By Chris Broersma on 05/13/2009 8:39 pm

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My father died of Alzheimers in 1994. We had taken guardianship several years before that. One of the things I, in particular, felt was important was when I found out that the Aging center at our state college wanted to perform autopsies on as many Alzheimers victims as they could. Hence, we allowed them to perform an autopsy, and remove our father’s brain and spinal cord for their research. I was gratified to see that that decision seems to have helped find some of the answers, and I am proud that our decision helped to forward the progress science has made toward controlling and, ultimately, eliminating this dreadful disease.

By Hillary Culver on 05/13/2009 3:49 pm

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If you get only one thing out of what Dr. Hodes said, it should be that there’s a definitely correlation between obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol and Alzheimers. In short, he’s talking about metabolic syndrome. So get out and exercise, get the cholesterol down, and watch the carbs.

By Andrea Brandon on 05/14/2009 1:10 am

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I have not seen it yet, but my father was progressing with Alzheimers until his death for unrelated things. He was not over weight, did not have diabetes or high cholesterol. He was as healthy as a hourse until he got an infection that in turn took him from us.

By Carol LeMasters on 05/15/2009 2:33 pm

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I’m sorry to hear that, Carol.

Just to clarify for everyone:

~ Not all Alzheimers patients have Metabolic Syndrome.

~ Not all people with Metabolic Syndrome will develop Alzheimers

~ People with Metabolic Syndrome are more likely to develop cognitive deficits [e.g., Alzheimers] than not.

It’s estimated that about 2/3 of all women with Metabolic Symdrome will go on to develop cognitive impairment.

By Andrea Brandon on 05/15/2009 4:07 pm

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I’m working with the ICARA Study, and had a chance to see the HBO special, which was great. It really showed why clinical studies are so important. Current Alzheimer’s therapies treat the symptoms associated with the disease, not the disease itself. There is a new study that explores if Bapineuzumab (Bapi), an investigational drug mentioned in the HBO special, can help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Patients and families affected by Alzheimer’s can visit www.icarastudy.com to see if they might be eligible to enroll.

By Karen Halsey on 05/19/2009 12:00 am

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I was a caregiver for two Alzheimer’s loved ones and it was one of the most dificlut times of my life anything and everything we can share regarding this disease is going to help research and the potential cure. My worst fear at age 63 (in july) is that I’ll get it after seeing what it does to the caregiver so thank you Leslie for your committment to this problem more as more people will face these issues as we live longer.

Dorothy from grammology

grammology.com

By Dorothy Stahlnecker on 05/25/2009 11:04 am

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My MIL has the disease and I’ve been caring for women with ALZ since the late 90’s.

There are many words thrown around (the old one dementia)-fear, confusion, judgement, shame…so much. I have been with healthy & skinny, overweight, average intelligence, genius, happy and angry (prior to) people. In every case-my experience bears out that this insidious disease can be dealt with in 2 ways-acceptance and love with expert assist (yes, often costly), or staying in denial with sad consequences.

We are all declining and will die one day. When Mom or gramps or auntie begin to show the sign of memory loss and confusion, it’s best to address it (not easy) and keep things in the light with lots of love. Being playful and childlike covers a multitude of sins. Getting in the sandbox with one’s loved one. I go into a home where sometimes there’s been biting, pinching, shouting, domestic violence all the way around…..and it goes on more than people admit.

Beginning to laugh more, play music get some direction & help and set boundaries can be a start. Caregiving families will lose it if they don’t get a lot of breaks and TLC from all the frustration and suffering that occurs with a loved one in this condition. I also have found something miraculous. I keep soft hymns and the clients favorite style of music on & playing through out the day. My background as an art and music teacher, plus my own head injury prepared me well to shift to this career. The whole temperment of the home changes with the right music. Also-even if in a wheelchair-I take the client for numerous strolls rather than hiding in the bedroom (mall, beach, parks etc). I sometimes re-color women’s hair, do their make up, and cutesie them all up with their jewelry and bright colors-along with encouragement, hugs and kisses. With women, I give them back their purse with a comb, dollar or two & coins, lipstick and a tissue. Being confused but still IN LIFE with dignity-not hidden away in a dark room.

Just a few nuggets to anyone battling with this difficulty. There is hope with the right help. One note: beware of caregiving cons-I’ve had my share of a few. Do good background checks with at least 3-4 references from employers over the last 10 yrs.

By Mary Courtney on 06/19/2009 11:11 am