June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. Women make up two-thirds of Alzheimer’s diagnoses, and the biological reasons why are only now being understood. What’s more, cognitive decline begins measurably decades before symptoms appear, and the biomarkers that reveal this trajectory are transforming preventive brain health.
This session covers brain health as an assessable, trackable system rather than a mystery you address only after cognitive symptoms appear. We’ll walk through what standard neurological screening currently offers, what emerging biomarkers can reveal about your brain trajectory, and the specific connections between hormone status, metabolic health, and cognitive risk. If you have a family history of Alzheimer’s or dementia, this session is particularly important.
Standard of care markers we’ll cover include standard cognitive screening (Mini-Mental State Exam, MoCA), thyroid panel, B12, vitamin D, and homocysteine as related to cognition. Emerging markers include APOE genotype (specifically for APOE4 carrier status), plasma p-tau 217 and other Alzheimer’s blood biomarkers now becoming available, GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein), advanced lipid markers as they connect to brain health, comprehensive hormone assessment as it relates to cognitive function, and MRI-based volumetric analysis when appropriate.
You’ll leave with understanding of brain health as a trackable system, clarity on which emerging tests are worth pursuing based on your family history and risk factors, and the framework for a preventive brain health conversation with your physician years before cognitive symptoms would appear.
