Explore every episode of the podcast PanaCME Perspectives: Clinical Conversations in Alzheimer’s Disease

How do we recognise, assess, and treat the neuropsychiatric symptoms that so often define life with dementia? In this episode, Professor Clive Ballard joins Dr John Harrison to discuss the management of neuropsychiatric symptoms, including depression, agitation, apathy, anxiety, and psychosis, across Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

They explore:

• How common these symptoms really are, and why they are so often missed
• The real‑world consequences and long‑term outcomes of these symptoms for patients and caregivers
• Practical, first-line non‑pharmacological strategies clinicians and caregivers can use today
• When (and when not) to reach for medications, including antidepressants and antipsychotics
• Special challenges in dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal, and vascular dementia
• Why the UK and other health systems risk falling behind on emerging treatments

Rich with case examples and clear, actionable advice, this conversation reframes neuropsychiatric symptoms as a core treatment priority in dementia care.

Guest: Professor Clive Ballard

Professor Clive Ballard is a psychiatrist and Professor of Age-Related Diseases at the University of Exeter. Professor Ballard previously held directorship roles at King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry and at the Alzheimer’s Society. He is an advocate of implementing effective non-pharmacological interventions and better prescribing and treatment pathways to improve outcomes for individuals with dementia.

Host: Dr John Harrison

Dr John Harrison is a chartered psychologist at Metis Cognition, where he advises drug developers and institutions on cognitive testing in therapeutic development programmes. He is an Associate Professor at the Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam, where he validates new cognitive testing paradigms for use with individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

For more independent educational resources from PanaCME, visit: www.panacme.education.

In this episode of PanaCME Perspectives: Clinical conversations in Alzheimer’s disease, Professor Dennis Chan joins Dr John Harrison to discuss how we should be measuring cognition in both research and clinical settings. They explore the limits of traditional tests, why navigation and spatial memory may be among the earliest and most meaningful indicators of cognitive impairment, and how poorly designed outcome measures can undermine even the best drugs. Professor Chan argues for ecologically valid, neuroscience-informed assessments, and explains why better test design is critical for both clinical trials and clinical practice.

Guest: Professor Dennis Chan

Professor Denis Chan is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, and a consultant neurologist at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. In 2014, Professor Chan and his team pioneered the use of virtual reality and other emerging technologies to improve the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. At present, he is one of the leads in the Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Disease (EDoN) initiative.

Host: Dr John Harrison

Dr John Harrison is a chartered psychologist at Metis Cognition, where he advises drug developers and institutions on cognitive testing in therapeutic development programmes. He is an Associate Professor at the Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam, where he validates new cognitive testing paradigms for use with individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

To watch the full video episode, and for more independent educational resources from PanaCME, visit: www.panacme.education.

“What’s good for your heart is good for your head.”

In this episode of PanaCME Perspectives: Clinical conversations in Alzheimer’s disease, Dr Jill Rasmussen (Clinical Representative for Dementia at the Royal College of General Practitioners), joins Dr John Harrison to explore what clinicians can do beyond medication to protect brain health. They discuss why brain health should be treated like cardiac health, how lifestyle, vascular risk control, and social connection can reduce the risk or slow progression of dementia, and what a personalised brain health plan can look like. Drawing on evidence from major studies, such as FINGER and MIND-AD, this conversation offers practical, evidence-based insights for clinicians who want to support healthy ageing and brain resilience across the lifespan.

Guest: Dr Jill Rasmussen

Dr Jill Rasmussen is the Clinical Representative for Dementia, Royal College of General Practitioners. In the NHS, she has experience as a GP with Special Interest in Mental Health, Dementia and Learning Disability, as a commissioner and as representative for mental health and dementia for NHS England Team South East Region. She combines part-time clinical practice with her own independent research consultancy, where she specialises in drugs in CNS indications. 

Host: Dr John Harrison

Dr John Harrison is a chartered psychologist at Metis Cognition, where he advises drug developers and institutions on cognitive testing in therapeutic development programmes. He is an Associate Professor at the Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam, where he validates new cognitive testing paradigms for use with individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

To watch the full video episode, and for more independent educational resources from PanaCME, visit: www.panacme.education.

“We should never underestimate the importance of an accurate diagnosis.”

In this episode of PanaCME Perspectives: Clinical conversations in Alzheimer’s disease, Prof. Jonathon Schott (UCL Dementia Research Center and Chief Medical Officer for Alzheimer’s Disease Research UK) joins Dr John Harrison to walk through a step-by-step guide to diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in 2026 and beyond. They explore:

• Why an accurate diagnosis matters, and why uncertainty is often worse than bad news.
• The new era of disease‑modifying treatments: what they actually do, who might benefit, and the current reality of access in the UK.
• Insights from the world’s longest‑running birth cohort study, on how lifestyle factors and genetics shape late‑life cognition
• Prevention and “brain health”: how up to 40% of dementia may be preventable, and what that really means for midlife lifestyle habits and risk communication
• The practical frontline challenge: what GPs can realistically do in a 10‑minute consult; when to refer, and why hearing from someone who knows the patient well is critical
• The role of MRI, CT, blood-based biomarkers, and digital tools
• How to talk to patients and caregivers about diagnosis, risk and prognosis in ways that support, rather than overwhelm, everyone involved

It’s a grounded but hopeful conversation that connects cutting‑edge science with everyday clinical reality; essential listening for anyone interested in brain health or involved in cognitive healthcare.

Guest: Professor Jonathon Schott

Professor Jonathon Schott is Professor of Neurology at UCL’s Dementia Research Centre, an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and the Chief Medical Officer for Alzheimer’s Research UK. His clinical practice and research are centred on dementia, with a focus on early accurate diagnosis, detection of pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease, and promoting healthy cognitive ageing

Host: Dr John Harrison

Dr John Harrison is a chartered psychologist at Metis Cognition, where he advises drug developers and institutions on cognitive testing in therapeutic development programmes. He is an Associate Professor at the Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam, where he validates new cognitive testing paradigms for use with individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

To watch the full video episode, and for more independent educational resources from PanaCME, visit: www.panacme.education.

In this episode of PanaCME Perspectives: Clinical conversations in Alzheimer’s disease, Dr Ishtar Govia joins Professor John Harrison to discuss what equitable dementia care really means in practice. Drawing on her work across the Caribbean, the UK, and global initiatives, Dr Govia explores:

• How inequities stack to create distance from the resources patients need
• Why early detection is core to good, holistic care
• The deep cultural and linguistic bias built into many cognitive tests, and what more inclusive assessment could look like
• How to engage with local communities, using faith spaces and local leaders as partners
• The importance of using culturally appropriate communication and signposting to culturally appropriate resources
• The promise and peril of digital tools for dementia, especially when the data isn’t representative
• Why fixing dementia care means investing in the care workforce and task shifting to move from crisis-driven hospital care to proactive, community-based support

Grounded in personal experiences and concrete successes from the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative project in Jamaica, this conversation offers practical steps for clinicians, policymakers, and innovators who want dementia pathways that genuinely work for everyone.

Guest: Dr Ishtar Govia

Dr Ishtar Govia is a psychologist, award-winning researcher, and the founder and CEO of Amagi Health, a company that builds coordination tools with the aim of fixing the fragmented dementia care pathway across the UK. Before founding Amagi Health, Dr Govia spent 15 years in dementia research across underserved populations (Jamaica, other Caribbean countries, and other Low- and Middle-Income Countries). She is also a former World Health Organisation consultant, a World Dementia Council-nominated member, and a Jamaica Principal Investigator on several key studies, including the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative flagship project on timely detection and STRiDE (Strengthening Responses to Dementia in Developing Countries). She has also authored over 70 publications. 

Host: Dr John Harrison

Dr John Harrison is a chartered psychologist at Metis Cognition, where he advises drug developers and institutions on cognitive testing in therapeutic development programmes. He is an Associate Professor at the Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam, where he validates new cognitive testing paradigms for use with individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

To watch the full video episode, and for more independent educational resources from PanaCME, visit: www.panacme.education.

In this episode of PanaCME Perspectives: Clinical conversations in Alzheimer’s disease, Dr Harrison is joined by Professor Craig Ritchie and Dr Amanda Heselgrave to discuss one of the most exciting yet misunderstood areas in Alzheimer’s disease today: blood-based biomarkers.

They explore:

• What available blood tests, such as p-tau217 and p-tau181, can actually tell us, and what they can’t
• How these tests could transform patient pathways, triage, and waiting lists
• Real‑world case scenarios showing when and how blood biomarkers should be used, and how they should be interpreted

Along the way, they tackle overhype, the limits of current therapies, brain health and Alzheimer’s disease prevention, and why we may need a completely new medical specialty.

Guests:

Professor Craig Ritchie: Professor Ritchie is the Professor of Brain Health and Neurodegenerative Medicine at the University of St Andrews and is the Founder and CEO of Scottish Brain Sciences, which aims to accelerate the development of diagnostics and therapeutics for early-stage neurodegenerative disease. One of his key research interests is the interface between clinical trials and translational epidemiology, and some of his recent work has focused on implementation strategies for AD blood-based biomarkers.

Dr Amanda Heslegrave: Dr Heslegrave is Principal Research Fellow at the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, where she co-leads the fluid biomarker (Zetterberg) laboratory and the UK Dementia Research Institute Biomarker Factory, which aims to transform the early detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of dementia by facilitating the development of fluid biomarkers.

Host: Dr John Harrison

Dr John Harrison is a chartered psychologist at Metis Cognition, where he advises drug developers and institutions on cognitive testing in therapeutic development programmes. He is an Associate Professor at the Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam, where he validates new cognitive testing paradigms for use with individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

To watch the full video episode, and for more independent educational resources from PanaCME, visit: www.panacme.education.