The Peter Attia Drive

Podbit · The Peter Attia Drive

#399 ‒ The evolution of Alzheimer's disease and dementia care: how early detection, personalized treatment, new therapies, and a multimodal approach are changing the landscape | Gayatri Devi, M.D.

Explore episode Jul 13, 2026
Health & Fitness
Two Cases of Exceptional Alzheimer's Treatment Response

#399 ‒ The evolution of Alzheimer's disease and dementia ca… · Jul 13, 2026 Health & Fitness

One patient cleared her brain amyloid and then subsequently showed no tau on a tau PET scan — a response Gayatri Devi describes as so remarkable she 'refuses to believe' the pathology is gone. Another patient, an identical twin of a facility-dwelling Alzheimer's patient, did so well on monoclonal therapy despite having a mechanical heart valve and being on Coumadin.

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ARIA mechanisms and monitoring strategies

At 1:12:20 · chapter starts 1:03:30

The mechanism of ARIA becomes clinically concrete in this segment: anti-amyloid antibodies clear amyloid not just from brain parenchyma but also from the tunica media (walls) of small brain arteries. This removal disrupts vascular continuity, causing first fluid leakage (ARIA-E, edema) and then extravasation of actual blood (ARIA-H, hemorrhage); in severe cases with concurrent blood thinners, the result can be fatal. Gayatri Devi's response is systematic: all patients undergo regular MRI monitoring, and in over five years of practice she has only encountered one case of symptomatic ARIA — all other cases were detected on imaging alone. For patients with persistent ARIA-E, she preemedicates with steroids before each subsequent infusion, borrowing from the treatment approach for spontaneous cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related inflammation. One dramatic case — a APOE4 homozygous man who developed significant ARIA-E and microhemorrhages at month 18 without any symptoms — illustrates both the risk and the importance of radiographic surveillance.

Health & Fitness
How ARIA Actually Happens in the Brain

#399 ‒ The evolution of Alzheimer's disease and dementia ca… · Jul 13, 2026 Health & Fitness

Anti-amyloid antibodies clear amyloid not just from brain substrate but also from the walls of small brain arteries. This disrupts vascular integrity, causing fluid leakage (ARIA-E, edema) and then actual blood extravasation (ARIA-H, hemorrhage). In severe cases with blood thinners or large vessel disruption, it can be fatal.

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