The Alzheimer’s Prevention Plan for Women: Hormones, Sleep, and Nutrition with Dr. Lisa Mosconi

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist and associate professor of neuroscience in neurology and radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Mosconi directs the Alzheimer's Prevention Program, including the NIH-funded Women's Brain Initiative and the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic, and was recently named director of the $50 million Program in Women's Health, Cutting Alzheimer's Risk Through Endocrinology. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Menopause Brain.

This conversation is about prevention. Dr. Mosconi has spent decades building the science that shows Alzheimer's risk in women is neither inevitable nor untreatable and that the choices women make in midlife around hormones, sleep, and nutrition have a direct, and measurable, impact on the brain's long-term health.  Together, they explore why two thirds of all Alzheimer's patients are women and what role menopause plays in that disparity. Dr. Mosconi explains the difference between the rare genetic mutations that directly cause Alzheimer's, found in roughly 2% of patients, and the risk factors that shape outcomes for the other 98%, including the distinction between early and late onset disease and between sporadic and familial Alzheimer's. Both share their own family histories with dementia and what that means for their personal risk.

Guest links:

Lisa Mosconi

Lisa Mosconi (Instagram)

Lisa Mosconi (Facebook)

Lisa Mosconi Bio (LEAP)

Books:

“The Menopause Brain: New Science Empowers Women to Navigate the Pivotal Transition with Knowledge and Confidence,” by Lisa Mosconi

“The XX Brain: The Groundbreaking Science Empowering Women to Maximize Cognitive Health and Prevent Alzheimer's Disease,” by Lisa Mosconi
“Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power,” by Lisa Mosconi

“The New Perimenopause,”⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver