Can the Brain Change? Can Old Brain Cells Act Young Again?
For decades, doctors were taught that adult brain cells can't be renewed. New research says the brain's memory center keeps making new neurons, and that this slows in Alzheimer's. This week I talk with Dr. Sam Perli, PhD, who trained in the lab of a Nobel Prize winner, about what that means for you. There is hope.
"When I was in medical school, there were two things we were told you could never renew: heart cells and brain cells. You were born with what you had. That teaching is being rewritten.
This February, a study in Nature analyzed about 356,000 individual cells from 38 donated human brains. It added evidence that the adult hippocampus (the brain's memory center) keeps producing new neurons, and that this process is reduced in Alzheimer's.
That's why I wanted to talk with Dr. Sam Perli, PhD.
Sam's path is unusual. He studied electrical engineering in India, then earned a master's in computer science and a PhD at MIT, where he worked on engineering CRISPR tools. After his grandmother died suddenly, he turned his focus to human health and went on to a postdoctoral fellowship with Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka at Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco.
Yamanaka's discovery is the foundation of this field. His team started with thousands of proteins, narrowed them to 24, then found that just four could reset a mature cell's identity.
In my practice, the patients who do best don't rely on a single fix. They address several contributors at once. That's how people work to Get Your Brain Back." - Dr Josh
Dr Josh Helman and Dr Sam Perli talk about:
1. Cells can be made younger in the lab. Scientists are now working on "partial" approaches that make an older cell act younger without turning it into a different kind of cell. It's early, and work in the brain is still preclinical.
2. Amyloid isn't the whole story. Clearing amyloid alone hasn't delivered the results families hoped for. Inflammation, lost connections between neurons, and reduced neurogenesis all matter too.
3. You can support your brain today. Sam and I agreed on the basics: move your body (exercise raises BDNF, a brain growth factor), care for your gut with fermented, live-culture foods, keep learning new things, and work with a doctor on the root causes.
If you've ever wondered whether it's "too late" to do something about your brain health, this is the episode for you. The honest answer, more often than not, is no.
About Dr Josh Helman
Dr. Joshua Helman, MD is a Harvard-trained physician licensed in 14 states. He is an Alzheimer’s and dementia expert, holding two degrees in biochemistry, a bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude) from Harvard and a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge, UK. His medical degree is from Harvard Medical School and MIT.
He is board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. He is the former Medical Director at Hippocrates Health Institute, as well as Chief Medical Officer of 2 different Alzheimer’s Reversal Centers: BrainPower Clinics and Alzheimer’s Treatment Centers of America.
Dr. Helman, a plant-forward physician, has dedicated ten years to reversing and preventing Alzheimer’s disease in patients.
His areas of interest span longevity, regeneration, vitality, toxins, mold, Lyme disease, energy medicine and breathwork. With a passion for applying biochemical knowledge to real-world challenges, he embraces a holistic approach that emphasizes the importance of diet and lifestyle for optimal health.
He hosts the weekly podcast Alzheimer’s Breakthrough with Dr. Josh Helman, MD, writes on Substack, and just launched a brain-support-based supplement line, with a new book coming soon. Dr. Helman is inspired by people’s ability to change their bad habits and adopt a better lifestyle, in order to prevent, improve and reverse chronic diseases like Alzheimer’s. He dedicates his work to his grandmother, Iliene, who had Alzheimer’s.
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