The Podcast by KevinMD

@thepodcastbykevinmd · Podcast

Latest segments

• Alzheimer's drug pipeline, 2026-10-20
  Lists the early signs that should trigger a test
  MacSweeney lists the early signs that should trigger a biomarker test in primary care and warns that falsely reassuring a patient can delay diagnosis by a year and a half or more, past the treatment window.
• Alzheimer's drug pipeline, 2026-10-20
  Explains the biology behind the narrow window
  MacSweeney walks through the biology behind the narrow window: amyloid builds for about 20 years, triggers microgliosis, and tau then spreads exponentially, so the drugs must come before tau takes off. It explains the mechanism behind a claim already on the record rather than adding a development.
• Alzheimer's drug pipeline, 2026-10-20
  Finds the gap between the blood test and access
  Walks through the P-tau-217 result bands and finds a gap between the blood test and access: in the U.S. a PET scan or CSF is still required to qualify for the licensed drugs, while the U.K. treats on a high blood result alone.
• Alzheimer's drug pipeline, 2026-10-20
  Argues the blood test is the accessible route
  Walks through the three Alzheimer's biomarkers - amyloid PET, CSF from lumbar puncture, and the P-tau-217 blood test - and argues the blood test is the cheap, accessible route to the approved drugs. Adds a waiting-list figure: a year's delay costs eligibility for a quarter of MCI patients and half of mild AD dementia patients.
• Alzheimer's drug pipeline, 2026-10-20
  Retells the approved-drugs story with a patient anecdote
  A physician explains why early diagnosis matters now that two treatments can slow Alzheimer's, arguing biomarker testing is required and comparing Alzheimer's to cancer. It retells the approved-drugs story already on the record, adding only a patient anecdote.