Nearly half (48.1%) of American adults have high blood pressure (HBP, or hypertension). However, many are unaware of the problem, which often causes no symptoms. This situation is very dangerous. HBP damages the heart and blood vessels and causes strokes. It’s a leading cause of kidney failure. Hypertension is even a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The combination of HBP and sleep apnea is particularly…READ MORE

Cognitive decline is multi-factorial but rarely treated as such due to clinical complexity of the process. Emerging data driven systems with assistive-AI enable physicians to deliver comprehensive and personalized care at scale. Vik's session introduces uMETHOD's RestoreU solution, a software based service which is helping transform care of cognitive decline and its costs to society. The solution is available nationwide through several diagnostic lab service providers. To view Vik's discussion…READ MORE

The US Senate passed the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act on August 2, 2022. The PACT healthcare bill is a positive step toward assisting the 3.5 million veterans affected by exposure to toxins during military service. The debate surrounding the PACT legislation drew attention to a stark fact: too many of America’s veterans live with ill health. In 2020, the Veterans Administration National Center for PTSD conducted a…READ MORE

The quality of the food we eat can have profound effects on our health. Researchers have identified many links between the consumption of Western-style diets and several chronic diseases: type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, several types of cancer, and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Someone with these eating habits tends to consume too much fast food, highly processed (or “junk”) foods, and sugary drinks, and does not eat enough…READ MORE

World Kidney Day has been observed in early March since 2006;  in the US, March is National Kidney Month. Efforts to increase awareness of kidney health are timely, as chronic kidney disease (CKD) affected an estimated 37 million Americans in 2021. Drugs prescribed for common illnesses can increase the risk or severity of CKD. This risk comes in addition to drug-to-drug interactions (DDIs) that might also exacerbate CKD. And unfortunately,…READ MORE

Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects two brain structures:  the frontal lobes and the temporal lobes. The location of damage is distinct from that of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), which is characterized by the degeneration of the brain structure known as the hippocampus. For each of these conditions, neurodegeneration can be readily quantified by the amount of shrinkage (loss of tissue) in these structures, which can be observed…READ MORE

Today’s standard of care for complex diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and related dementias fails to meet the needs of an aging patient population.  It falls short of providing adequate guidance for clinicians who bear the burden of this care gap. Complex diseases proceed from many contributing factors -- medical, genetic, and environmental -- that vary widely from person to person. Untangling the web of factors that contribute to neurodegeneration can…READ MORE

Despite our annual expressions of gratitude to our veterans for all they’ve sacrificed, we fall short when it comes to their health and well-being. In addition to cancer, diabetes, and mental-health disorders, veterans suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other forms of dementia at high rates. Veterans currently under a physician’s care need a comprehensive workup and a care plan that addresses the factors that drive the progression of AD.…READ MORE