Alzheimers
Link between Alzheimer’s and viruses questioned
Can Alzheimer’s be triggered by common viruses like shingles and chickenpox. Professor John Fraser, the Dean of Medical & Health Sciences at Auckland University talks to Jim. Audio
Research: Blood test for Alzheimers
New research brings the possibility of a simple blood test to detect Alzheimers early a step closer. Currently there's no easy way of catching the disease early. But the University of Otago's just… Audio, Gallery
How carrying a tune can lead to better health
We've all seen the incredibly positive social impacts of people taking to their balconies, windows, and rooftops to sing to one another during the pandemic. But there are health benefits to singing as… Audio
Can stimulating the sense of smell prevent Alzheimers?
Otago University researchers are undertaking international research whether a sense of smell can prevent Alzheimer's disease. Dr Yusuf Ozgur Cakmak from Otago's Department of Anatomy talks to Emile… Audio
The secret to living to well into your 90s (or older)
Dr Claudia Kawas is searching for the secrets to living a longer and healthier life. Kawas and her team have been running a major study of ageing California residents for more than two decades. She… Audio
Roy Phillips still going strong 50 years after 'Girlie'
Fifty years ago this week, British-born musician Roy Phillips and his band The Peddlers were on top of the New Zealand music charts with their smash hit, 'Girlie.' Video, Audio
Dr Lisa Mosconi: how menopause can lead to Alzheimer's
When neuroscientist Lisa Mosconi first started researching Alzheimer's risk and women's brains almost 20 years ago, she discovered two big misconceptions – that Alzheimer's is a disease of old age and… Video, Audio
A good blood supply is good for memory
Science commentator Malvindar Singh-Bains joins Kathryn to talk about how memory performance and other cognitive abilities benefit from a good blood supply to the brain. A recent study suggests that… Audio
Forget me not: The tangles of new love when your partner has dementia
Insight - What if your beloved has dementia and doesn't know who you are anymore? Is it all right to start a new relationship with someone else? Teresa Cowie explores the tangle of emotions, family… Audio
Many GPs failing those with dementia, patients say
New Zealanders with dementia want more respect, including from family doctors, and much more support generally.
Music and my dad's dementia
BBC Future's Melissa Hogenboom shares the story of how her Dad's love of music helped to slow his onset of dementia and the research behind music's effects on the brain. Audio
Alzheimers NZ responds to Dr Dale Bredesen
Yesterday we talked to neurologist Dr Dale Bredesen who has set up a programme for people with early stage alzheimers which he says is reversing the symptoms of the degenerative brain disease. We had… Audio
Alzheimer's and euthanasia
Former mayor of Wellington Kerry Prendergast is an ambassador of Alzheimer's NZ. She talks about today's dementia debate and the thorny topic of euthanasia and dementia sufferers. Audio
Professor Russell Snell - the hunt for autism genes
To mark Brain Day 2017* (and part of international Brain Awareness Week), Kim talks to Professor Russell Snell, a world-renowned geneticist based at the University of Auckland who has long studied… Audio
Episode 3 - Mind matters
How do our brains change as we get older? Noelle finds out, with the help of a neuroscientist, a centenarian, and a Poet Laureate. Video, Audio
Dementia vaccine may be just years away
A vaccine which would prevent and even reverse the early stages of Alzheimer's and dementia should be ready for human testing within the next two to three years. We talk to Maurice Curtis from the… Audio
Henry Brodaty: ageing and dementia
Kim Hill talks to Professor Henry Brodaty, Professor of Psychogeriatrics at the University of New South Wales, founding director of the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre and co-director of CHeBA… Audio
Gary Small: diabetes and Alzheimers
Jim Mora talks to the director of the UCLA Longevity Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and one of the world's leading innovators in science and technology. Audio
First Alzheimers dog being trained
Work is about to begin on training the first dog to help a person with Alzheimers Audio
Loneliness and the effect on ageing
Dr. Nancy Donovan is a geriatric psychiatrist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Some of her recent research has found than loneliness… Audio