In this episode of the Optispan Podcast, host Matt welcomes Dr. Christin Glorioso, neuroscientist, physician, and founder of NeuroAge Therapeutics, for an in-depth discussion on brain aging, dementia prevention, and the future of cognitive health testing. Dr. Glorioso introduces NeuroAge, a platform designed to assess brain age and future risk of Alzheimer’s using a multifaceted approach that integrates MRI, blood biomarkers, genetic analysis, and cognitive performance games. The company aims to empower individuals with actionable insights and personalized recommendations to slow brain aging and preserve cognitive function.

Dr. Glorioso explains the components of the NeuroAge score, including a polygenic risk score for Alzheimer’s disease, transcriptomic analysis of blood to infer brain gene expression, structural brain MRI to assess regional brain volume, and cognitive function tests. These measurements combine to provide an overall biological brain age and risk profile. She emphasizes that approximately 40% of brain aging is modifiable through lifestyle, including sleep, exercise, diet, social connection, and cognitive engagement. The podcast also touches on early signs of neurodegenerative changes and how these tools may offer a window of opportunity for proactive prevention.

Matt shares his personal experience using the NeuroAge platform, including his genetic results, MRI brain age, transcriptomic profile, and cognitive test scores. Dr. Glorioso contextualizes his results and highlights how these types of tests can help individuals track progress over time and tailor their interventions. The conversation also addresses the distinctions between different types of biological age clocks and why NeuroAge takes a multimodal, systems biology approach rather than relying solely on epigenetic markers. Dr. Glorioso also discusses how the platform is being used to build a therapeutics pipeline and accelerate the development of new dementia treatments.

The episode dives into the role of pharmaceutical and lifestyle interventions for preventing Alzheimer’s and age-related cognitive decline. They explore recent data supporting lifestyle changes and medications such as anti-amyloid antibodies, GLP-1 receptor agonists, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Dr. Glorioso provides insight into the strengths and limitations of current and emerging Alzheimer’s drugs and outlines how early detection and personalized intervention could change the trajectory of brain health.

To close, Matt and Dr. Glorioso discuss the ethical and scientific challenges of direct-to-consumer testing, the limitations of current epigenetic age tests, and the importance of transparency, rigorous validation, and integration of multi-omic data. Dr. Glorioso shares her personal motivation for entering the field, her vision for the future of Alzheimer’s prevention, and why she believes knowledge is power when it comes to brain aging. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in cognitive health, aging biomarkers, and the science of dementia prevention.