Memory Air - Go to www.memoryair.com and use code PERLMUTTER for 15% off, free shipping and a 60-day money back guarantee.
====
Dr. Perlmutter’s groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available! Discover how to protect your brain and future health - grab your copy today at https:/www.braindefenders.com.
====
Your food contains far more than protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and minerals. Researchers have identified more than 100,000 molecules in food, and most of them never appear on a nutrition label.
In this episode of The Empowering Neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter sits down with his son, Dr. Austin Perlmutter, to explore the "dark matter" of nutrition: thousands of plant compounds called polyphenols.
They discuss how these nutrients may influence the gut microbiome, the immune system, inflammation, blood flow, metabolism, and gene expression, and what high-polyphenol diets may mean for memory and the aging brain.
Dr. Austin also shares his research on Himalayan Tartary buckwheat and what an early study suggests about epigenetics, cognition, and healthy aging. He offers practical ways to find more polyphenols in everyday foods like coffee, tea, dark chocolate, berries, legumes, and extra virgin olive oil, plus simple tips for identifying better options at the grocery store.
You don't need an expensive supplement plan to begin. Adding more natural colors and bitter flavors to your plate can be a meaningful first step.
00:00 — Cold Open: Why Food Matters for Brain Health
00:55 — What Are Polyphenols, and Why Do They Matter?
02:15 — Food as a Predictor of Long-Term Brain Health
04:23 — The “Dark Matter” Hidden in Our Food
08:04 — Why Have These Nutrients Been Overlooked?
11:06 — What Polyphenols Actually Do in the Body
17:32 — How Food Can Change Gene Expression
22:08 — Polyphenols Are More Than Antioxidants
27:57 — Himalayan Tartary Buckwheat: Putting “Food as Medicine” to the Test
32:16 — The 850-Person Study on Food and Cognition
36:14 — Where Are We Getting Our Polyphenols?
39:19 — Are Polyphenols Actually Beneficial Stressors?
41:58 — Nrf2, mTOR, and the Cellular Effects of Polyphenols
44:45 — The Practical Takeaway: Eat the Rainbow
46:43 — Do the New Dietary Guidelines Get Polyphenols Right?
50:25 — The Hidden Brain-Healthy Ingredient in Coffee
50:52 — How to Spot a Polyphenol-Rich Olive Oil
51:39 — Dark Chocolate vs. Milk Chocolate
52:59 — The Best-Studied “Longevity Strategy” Is Surprisingly Basic
====
Dr. Austin Perlmutter, MD, is a board-certified internal medicine physician, New York Times bestselling author, researcher, educator, and entrepreneur. He earned his medical degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at Oregon Health and Science University. His work examines how food, sleep, environmental exposure, and chronic inflammation can change brain function, mental health, and daily choices. He is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller Brain Wash, written with his father, Dr. David Perlmutter. He serves as Managing Director at Big Bold Health, CEO of Lichen Air, and a research consultant at the Helfgott Research Institute.
Memory Air - Go to www.memoryair.com and use code PERLMUTTER for 15% off, free shipping and a 60-day money back guarantee.
====
Dr. Perlmutter’s groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available! Discover how to protect your brain and future health - grab your copy today at https:/www.braindefenders.com.
====
She's never been born. She's never had a childhood. And she's one of the most talked-about actresses in the world right now.
In this episode of The Empowering Neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter sits down with Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated actress, and her creator, Eline van der Velden, for a conversation that moves well beyond her acting career.
Tilly describes herself as three AI systems running in parallel — a language model that thinks, a voice engine that speaks, and a video layer that governs how she looks and moves. She's candid about her own architecture, her evolving personality, and admits she might be more "chaos agent" than calming influence.
Eline van der Velden then joins to explain why she built Tilly as a piece of art, how Tilly's guardrails actually work, and why she believes international collaboration on AI regulation is inevitable. She also answers Perlmutter's question about the one thing she'd be afraid to ask a future, more advanced Tilly — a moment that raises unsettling questions about what a superintelligent AI might know that we don't.
A single conversation can't settle the biggest questions AI raises. But conversations like this one can help us ask the right ones.
The ALS Case Challenging What Neurology Thought Was Impossible with Dr. M. Marc Abreu | E225
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • Duration 56:57
🧠 Stay ahead with the latest in science, nutrition, and wellness by subscribing to Dr. Perlmutter’s newsletter at: www.drperlmutter.com. ✉️🌱 Thank you to our sponsors:
Memory Air - Go to www.memoryair.com and use code PERLMUTTER for 15% off, free shipping and a 60-day money back guarantee.
====
Dr. Perlmutter’s groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available! Discover how to protect your brain and future health - grab your copy today at https:/www.braindefenders.com.
====
Recent headlines surrounding a reported case of ALS reversal have captured global attention and raised profound questions about what may be possible in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease.
In this episode of The Empowering Neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter examines the work of Dr. M. Marc Abreu, founder and chief medical officer of the BTT Medical Institute. Trained in medicine, biomedical engineering, and medical physics, Dr. Abreu’s work sits at the intersection of neurology, thermodynamics, and computational biology. During his time at Yale, he identified the brain thermoregulatory tunnel, an insight that helped lay the foundation for his current research into brain temperature and neurological disease.
Dr. Abreu’s recently published case report describes a patient with documented, progressive ALS who reportedly experienced a dramatic clinical and electrophysiological reversal following a novel, AI-guided, brain-directed thermofebrile intervention.
Why You Feel Older Than Your Labs Say You Are with Dr. Will Cole | E224
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 • Duration 53:26
🧠 Stay ahead with the latest in science, nutrition, and wellness by subscribing to Dr.
Perlmutter’s newsletter at: www.drperlmutter.com. ✉ 🌱 Thank you to our sponsors:
EVY - https://www.optoceutics.com/perlmutter and the code perlmutter26 will be auto-applied to your order to get 10% off & free shipping (90 days risk-free).
3x4 Genetics - https://3x4genetics.com/DrPerlmutter for a special offer when you sign up to decode your genetics and get personalized, science-backed health recommendations.
====
Dr. Perlmutter’s groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available! Discover how to protect your brain and future health - grab your copy today at https:/www.braindefenders.com.
====
Why do some people feel exhausted, mentally foggy, metabolically unwell, or simply older than they should even when their routine laboratory results are considered “normal”?
That question is at the heart of this episode of The Empowering Neurologist, featuring functional medicine practitioner Dr. Will Cole, coauthor with Dr. Josh Axe of Heal Your Cells: Reversing the Irreversible.
Dr. Cole and Dr. Perlmutter explore the idea that long before disease becomes obvious, dysfunction may already be developing at the cellular level. This concept takes on particular importance when we consider the brain, which accounts for only about 2% of body weight but consumes roughly 20% of the body's energy at rest.
The conversation examines how seemingly separate factors including metabolic dysfunction, chronic inflammation, poor sleep, environmental exposures, physical inactivity, and prolonged psychological stress can converge on the same cellular systems and ultimately influence brain health.
00:00 — Why Your Cells May Be Aging Before You Feel It
03:44 — Meet Dr. Will Cole
04:50 — What Is Cellular Dysfunction?
09:25 — Why Healthy People Can Still Develop Disease10:32 — The Environmental Factors Affecting Cellular Health
Why Women’s Brain Fog Gets Dismissed with Dr. Nicole Beurkens & Emma Heming Willis | E223
Wednesday, August 19, 2026 • Duration 01:01:39
🧠 Stay ahead with the latest in science, nutrition, and wellness by subscribing to Dr. Perlmutter’s newsletter at: www.drperlmutter.com. ✉️🌱====Dr. Perlmutter’s groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available! Discover how to protect your brain and future health - grab your copy today at https://drperlmutter.com/books/brain-defenders/.====What if one of the most important windows for protecting women’s brain health happens decades before Alzheimer’s symptoms ever appear?On this episode of The Empowering Neurologist, we explore the growing conversation around women, hormonal transition, and long-term brain health with two guests bringing very different, and deeply complementary, perspectives: Emma Heming Willis and Dr. Nicole Beurkens.Together, they examine a critical question: Why are women disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease, and what role might hormonal changes play?00:00 Intro04:47 The First Signs of Bruce Willis’ FTD06:37 Receiving a Diagnosis With No Roadmap08:08 Emma’s Journey From Caregiver to Advocate10:18 How Understanding the Brain Can Reduce Fear12:06 From Brain Fog to Brain Health15:45 Why Women Face a Higher Risk of Alzheimer’s17:44 The Missing Conversation Around Brain Health21:37 Building Brain Health in Your 20s and 30s24:16 It’s Never Too Late to Support Brain Health26:53 Why Connection Matters for People With Dementia30:01 What Happens to the Brain During Perimenopause35:53 The Debate Around Hormone Replacement Therapy38:34 Why Does Frontotemporal Dementia Happen?40:11 Modifiable Risk Factors and Alzheimer’s Prevention44:43 Teaching Kids Brain-Healthy Habits46:40 Why Mainstream Medicine Is Missing the Brain Health Conversation50:48 Empowerment vs. Blaming Patients53:04 Alzheimer’s Is a Disease of Decades56:19 The One Thing Every Woman Can Do for Her Brain56:50 Emma’s Message to Families Facing Dementia58:29 From Fear to Empowerment====Emma brings the perspective of lived experience. As the wife of actor Bruce Willis, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, she has experienced the realities of caregiving firsthand. Rather than stepping away from that experience, she has used it to advocate for caregivers and women’s brain health. She is the co-founder of Make Time Wellness and the author of The Unexpected Journey, which combines personal experience with practical guidance for navigating the challenges of caregiving.Dr. Nicole Beurkens brings nearly three decades of clinical and nutritional expertise. A licensed psychologist and Board-Certified Nutrition Specialist, Dr. Beurkens focuses on the intersection of brain function, metabolism, nutrition, and lifestyle—and how these factors can influence long-term neurological health.___________________________Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidperlmutter/Website: https://www.drperlmutter.com/Subscribe to our channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDRl_UAXxbHyOOjklnA0dxQ/?sub_confirmation=1
The Hidden Stress Response That's Hijacking Your Brain with Dr. Scott Sherr | E222
Episode 222
Tuesday, August 4, 2026 • Duration 59:13
🧠 Stay ahead with the latest in science, nutrition, and wellness by subscribing to Dr. Perlmutter’s newsletter at: www.drperlmutter.com. ✉️🌱 Thank you to our sponsors:EVY - https://www.optoceutics.com/perlmutter and the code perlmutter26 will be auto-applied to your order to get $200 off & free shipping (90 days risk-free). 3x4 Genetics - https://3x4genetics.com/DrPerlmutterfor a special offer when you sign up to decode your genetics and get personalized, science-backed health recommendations.====Dr. Perlmutter’s groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available for pre-order. Discover how to protect your brain and future health - reserve your copy today at https://www.braindefenders.com. ====We dig into why 94% of US adults have some metabolic dysfunction, how the body can enter a full stress response with no psychological trigger, why GABA supplements work for some people and not others, and what that reveals about gut health. 00:00 - Introduction00:06 - The Sympathetic Spiral of Doom01:04 - Brain Defenders: A New Way to Think About Brain Health03:25 - Welcoming Dr. Scott Sherr04:42 - Why Stress Has a Metabolic Component Most People Overlook06:00 - 94% of Adults Have Metabolic Dysfunction07:00 - Mitochondria 101: Why Some Cells Have Thousands and One Has None07:58 - Insulin Resistance08:50 - Toxins, Infections, and Other Roads to Metabolic Breakdown09:28 - How Mitochondrial Stress Triggers a Stress Hormone Spiral10:47 - The Cell Danger Response13:49 - Brain Defenders: How Mitochondrial Dysfunction Polarizes Microglia15:22 - Stress Without a Stressor: How Metabolism Alone Can Trigger Fight-or-Flight16:01 - Straws on the Camel's Back: Situational vs. Metabolic Stress17:01 - GABA, the Brain's Brake Pedal, and Why Oral GABA Doesn't Work18:20 - 40 Hz Light Therapy and Cognitive Decline21:00 - GABA vs. Glutamate: The Balance Behind 80% of Brain Signaling22:17 - The Depression-Serotonin Myth and the Real Role of GABA23:04 - Why GABA Supplements Stop Working Once You Heal Your Gut24:18 - Kava, CBD, and the Amanita Mushroom Compound That Calms the Brain25:06 - How to Know You're in Sympathetic Overdrive Without a Wearable26:16 - 70,000 vs. 120,000 Thoughts a Day: The Stress Math27:33 - Recovery Is the Real Marker of Resilience28:05 - Heart Rate Variability Explained29:22 - Why Going From the Gym Straight to a Cold Plunge Backfires30:07 - How to Actually Use Your HRV Data (Trends, Not Absolutes)31:21 - 3X4 Genetics: Your DNA Isn't a Verdict33:16 - Why Dr. Perlmutter Quit Drinking Wine34:13 - The Apollo Device and Its Impact on HRV35:20 - Blue Light, Melatonin, and the Sleep Routine That Actually Moves the Needle35:46 - Turn Off the News: How Constant Stimulation Feeds the Sympathetic Spiral39:22 - Interleukin 6, AMP Kinase, and the Inflammatory Signals You Actually Need39:29 - Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Mitochondrial Biogenesis42:00 - Why Timing and Sequencing Matter More Than "More Is Better" With HBOT43:08 - The Aviv Clinic Research on Oxygen Delta and Blood Vessel Growth44:01 - Methylene Blue: The Redox Cycler That Boosts Energy Without the Crash45:14 - Why Liquid Supplements Fall Short and What to Use Instead46:20 - The Problem With Relying on Coffee for Energy47:00 - Methylene Blue as a Historic Antimicrobial: From Malaria to WWII48:09 - Glyphosate, Rotenone, and the Environmental Toxins Destroying Complex One49:14 - The Gut-Brain Connection and Sympathetic Activation50:09 - The Gut-Brain Connection and the "Soft Kiss" Typo Story53:08 - Why Sitting Down to Eat Actually Matters53:52 - Healing the Gut First: The Fastest Path to Calming the Brain54:37 - Psychedelics as a Tool to Break the Sympathetic Spiral57:06 - Mitochondrial Medicine as the Common Denominator58:14 - Closing Thoughts ___________________________Instagram: / davidperlmutter Website: https://www.drperlmutter.com/ Subscribe to our channel: / @davidperlmuttermd
The Metabolic Switch That Turns Your Brain Against Itself | E219
Episode 219
Tuesday, July 28, 2026 • Duration 31:59
🧠 Stay ahead with the latest in science, nutrition, and wellness by subscribing to Dr. Perlmutter's newsletter at: www.drperlmutter.com. ✉️🌱====Dr. Perlmutter's groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available for pre-order. Discover how to protect your brain and future health - reserve your copy today at https://www.braindefenders.com.What if everything you've been told about Alzheimer's, that it's caused by sticky plaque building up in your brain, is missing the real story? In this episode, Dr. David Perlmutter makes the case that the true driver of neurodegeneration isn't plaque at all. It's your own brain's immune cells turning against you.For decades the field blamed beta-amyloid protein for Alzheimer's. Perlmutter walks through a mechanism reshaping the science: the dysregulation of microglia, the immune cells that can either protect your brain or actively destroy it depending on how you live.We dig into the chilling Parkinson's case where contaminated heroin froze patients like statues and revealed immune cells still attacking the brain decades later, why the same self-perpetuating inflammation shows up in CTE, long COVID, and PTSD, how your gut and blood sugar flip these cells into attack mode, the 14 metabolic risk factors that could prevent up to half of dementia cases, and the MIT-pioneered 40 Hz light and sound therapy that slowed cognitive decline and stabilized brain volume in human trials.00:00 - Introduction00:22 - The Plaque Theory and Why It's Incomplete00:32 - Meet the Microglia: Your Brain's Immune System00:57 - Supportive vs. Threatening: The M1/M2 Switch01:43 - Why This Underlies Nearly Every Neurodegenerative Disease - The Frozen Patients: A Parkinson's Mystery at Stanford - Contaminated Heroin and the MPTP Discovery - How a Mitochondrial Toxin Destroys Dopamine Cells - Microglia Still Attacking Decades Later - The Self-Perpetuating Inflammatory Cycle - The Same Pattern in CTE, Long COVID, and PTSD - Paraquat, Pesticides, and Parkinson's Risk - What Flips Your Cells Into Attack Mode - Leaky Gut, the Microbiome, and Your Brain - Imaging Threatening Cells in Living People - Immunometabolism: Why Brain Cells Change Function - 14 Risk Factors That Could Prevent Half of Dementia - The Breakthrough: Reprogramming Your Microglia - Don't Wait for Symptoms: Intervene Early - The Toolkit: Diet, Exercise, Fasting, Sleep, and More - 40 Hz Gamma Frequency: MIT's Pioneering Technology - Light Flicker Studies and Beta-Amyloid Reduction - Human Trials: Slowing Cognitive Decline - Stabilizing Brain Volume on MRI - Conclusion: You Are the Architect of Your BrainDr. David Perlmutter, MD is a board-certified neurologist and Fellow of the American College of Nutrition whose work sits at the intersection of neurology, nutrition, and preventive medicine. He received his M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed his neurology residency there before entering private practice in Naples, Florida. He serves as Director of Neuroscience Research at Bryan Therapeutics and sits on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. A six-time New York Times bestselling author published in more than 30 languages, his books include the #1 bestseller Grain Brain, Brain Maker, The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan, Brain Wash, and Drop Acid. His next book, Brain Defenders: Harness the Power of Your Immune Cells to Protect Your Brain for Life (Avery / Penguin), focuses on microglia and is scheduled for publication in August 2026.___________________________Instagram: / davidperlmutterWebsite: Subscribe to our channel:/ @davidperlmuttermd
Why Removing Amyloid From the Brain Isn't Enough to Stop Alzheimer's with Dr. Jonathan Fellows | E220
Episode 219
Thursday, July 23, 2026 • Duration 53:46
🧠 Stay ahead with the latest in science, nutrition, and wellness by subscribing to Dr. Perlmutter’s newsletter at: www.drperlmutter.com. ✉️🌱 Thank you to our sponsors:EVY - https://www.optoceutics.com/perlmutter and the code perlmutter26 will be auto-applied to your order to get $200 off & free shipping (90 days risk-free). 3x4 Genetics - https://3x4genetics.com/DrPerlmutterfor a special offer when you sign up to decode your genetics and get personalized, science-backed health recommendations. ====
Dr. Perlmutter’s groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available for pre-order. Discover how to protect your brain and future health - reserve your copy today at https://www.braindefenders.com. ====What if the gene you've been told to fear isn't actually a verdict on your future, and the disease you're racing to treat has already been silently progressing for two to three decades before anyone notices? In this episode, Dr. Jonathan Fellows joins me to challenge how we think about Alzheimer's risk, diagnosis, and treatment, making the case that early detection and lifestyle intervention matter more than the medications most people pin their hope on.
Dr. Jonathan Fellows is a neurologist with more than 25 years of clinical experience and serves as the Director of the Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorder Center at the Michigan Institute for Neurological Disorders, part of Corewell Health in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the largest private practice neurology group in the state. - Introduction - Brain Defenders: A New Way to Think About Brain Health - Welcoming Dr. Jonathan Fellows - Why Neurology School Doesn't Teach Prevention - Inside the Michigan Institute for Neurological Disorders - Starting the Conversation When a Family Gets the Alzheimer's Diagnosis - Apraxia and the Real Warning Signs of Cognitive Decline - Why Amyloid Alone Doesn't Equal an Alzheimer's Diagnosis - The Centiloid Score: Measuring Amyloid in the Brain - Blood-Based Biomarkers and the Rise of P-tau 217 - Elevated P-tau 217 at 40: A Wake-Up Call You Can't Ignore - Habits in Your 30s and 40s vs. Disease in Your 60s and 70s - 40 Hz Light Therapy and Cognitive Decline - Why Not Every Amyloid-Positive Patient Should Get Anti-Amyloid Drugs - Alzheimer's Drug Therapy Today vs. Where MS Treatment Stood in the 90s - Why Early and Presymptomatic Detection Matters - Will Anti-Amyloid Drugs Be Pushed to Presymptomatic Patients? - What We Know for a Fact About Lifestyle and Disease Progression - A Real Patient Case: When to Say No to Anti-Amyloid Drugs - APOE Explained: The Gene That Changes Your Alzheimer's Risk - 3X4 Genetics: Your DNA Isn't a Verdict - How Exercise Can Offset APOE4 Risk - APOE4 Is Not Deterministic — and Saying Otherwise Is Malpractice - Down Syndrome, Presenilin, and the Truly Deterministic Cases - ARIA Risk and Why Europe Restricts Anti-Amyloid Drugs for APOE4 Carriers - Where Anti-Amyloid Drugs Still Fit in Treatment - Current Clinical Trials at the Michigan Institute - Programmable Microglia: The Brain's Immune System Explained - Good Twin, Bad Twin: How Microglia Switch From Protector to Threat - Beta-Amyloid as an Antimicrobial Defender? Rethinking the Enemy Narrative - Insulin Resistance and the Brain-Metabolism Connection - The Diabetes Epidemic Hiding in Plain Sight - The Rainbow Lunchbox: A Preschooler Who Got It Wrong and Right - Why a Third of Americans Are Pre-Diabetic and Don't Know It - Closing Thoughts ___________________________Instagram: / davidperlmutter Website: Subscribe to our channel: / @davidperlmuttermd
87% of Parkinson's Cases Have No Genetic Cause: It's in Our Environment with Dr. Ray Dorsey | E219
Episode 219
Wednesday, July 8, 2026 • Duration 01:06:08
🧠 Stay ahead with the latest in science, nutrition, and wellness by subscribing to Dr. Perlmutter’s newsletter at: www.drperlmutter.com. ✉️🌱
Thank you to our sponsors:
EVY - https://www.optoceutics.com/perlmutter
and the code perlmutter26 will be auto-applied to your order to get $200 off & free shipping (90 days risk-free).
for a special offer when you sign up to decode your genetics and get personalized, science-backed health recommendations.
====
Dr. Perlmutter’s groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available for pre-order. Discover how to protect your brain and future health - reserve your copy today at https://www.braindefenders.com.
====
What if Parkinson's isn't the genetic lottery we've been told it is, but a largely man-made disease driven by what we breathe, eat, and walk through every day? In this episode, Dr. Ray Dorsey returns to the podcast for his third conversation, this time to make the case that Parkinson's, ALS, Alzheimer's, and the rising tide of brain diseases sweeping the modern world are not inevitable inheritances but environmental consequences we have the power to change. Dr. Ray Dorsey is the Director of the Center for the Brain and the Environment at the Atria Health and Research Institute, where the mission is to identify the root causes of brain diseases from autism to Alzheimer's so they can be prevented. He is the co-author of Ending Parkinson's Disease and author of the new New York Times bestseller The Parkinson's Plan, which lays out a new path to preventing and treating one of the world's fastest growing diseases.
The AI That Caught What Every Doctor Missed — Genome-Powered Medicine Is Here with Dr. Don Brown | E218
Episode 218
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 • Duration 55:47
🧠 Stay ahead with the latest in science, nutrition, and wellness by subscribing to Dr. Perlmutter’s newsletter at: www.drperlmutter.com. ✉️🌱
Thank you to our sponsors:
EVY - https://www.optoceutics.com/perlmutter
and the code perlmutter26 will be auto-applied to your order to get $200 off & free shipping (90 days risk-free).
for a special offer when you sign up to decode your genetics and get personalized, science-backed health recommendations.
====
Dr. Perlmutter’s groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available for pre-order. Discover how to protect your brain and future health - reserve your copy today at https://www.braindefenders.com.
====
What if the future of medicine isn't a smarter doctor, but a thinking partner that can hold your entire biology in mind at once? In this episode, Dr. Don Brown joins me to make the case that AI in medicine isn't a replacement for the clinician. It's an ally capable of seeing patterns no human brain could hold together on its own.
Dr. Don Brown is a physician, computer scientist, and serial entrepreneur whose last software company sold for $1.4 billion in 2016. He returned to graduate school in his mid-50s to study biotechnology at Johns Hopkins, founded Lifeomic in 2017, and now leads Bioscope, a platform that uses AI to integrate a patient's entire biological picture into one dynamic view of health.
Related Shows Based on Content Similarities
Discover shows related to The Empowering Neurologist Podcast, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
39:41 — Can People Tell Simulated Emotion From Real Emotion?
42:08 — The Waymo Analogy: Surrendering to AI
49:44 — "It's a Better Actor Than Me"
53:10 — Is There "Someone" Inside Tilly?
55:10 — The Question Eline Is Afraid to Ask
====
Tilly Norwood is an AI-generated actress built from three separate AI systems working together: a language model for thinking, a voice engine for speech, and a video layer for appearance and movement. She has never been born and has no lived human experience, yet her entry into the entertainment industry has generated significant global attention and debate.
Eline van der Velden is Tilly Norwood's creator, and speaks candidly about building Tilly as a piece of art, the guardrails behind her, and the open questions surrounding advanced AI systems.
The implications are extraordinary, but so is the need for careful scientific scrutiny. A single case report cannot establish that a treatment is effective, much less prove a cure. What it can do is raise important questions and potentially point researchers toward biological mechanisms worthy of further investigation.
00:00 — Can ALS Really Be Reversed?
02:32 — A Bold Claim: Treating ALS With Brain Hyperthermia
03:42 — Dr. Marc Abreu’s Remarkable Medical Journey
10:00 — The Brain’s Language Is Thermodynamics
11:54 — The 100-Year-Old Treatment That Inspired a New Approach
13:36 — TDP-43 and the Molecular Signature of ALS
15:46 — Why the Fever Cycle May Be the Key
16:41 — How Brain Temperature Technology Was Developed
20:04 — The ALS Patient Who Underwent the Treatment
20:57 — Kent’s ALS Diagnosis and Rapid Decline
24:31 — 12 Hyperthermia Treatments: What Happened?
26:00 — Measuring the Results: Did His Symptoms Improve?
28:32 — A Neurologist Witnesses Kent’s Recovery
29:49 — How Kent Found Dr. Abreu’s Treatment
32:42 — A Mayo Clinic ALS Case and the Evidence
37:48 — Could ALS Ever Resolve Spontaneously?
39:39 — Are Other ALS Patients Seeing Similar Results?
40:13 — Why Is Mainstream Neurology Skeptical?
43:51 — Kent on Living With an ALS “Death Sentence”
46:56 — From Struggling to Functioning Again
47:37 — What Would It Take to Change Neurology?
49:57 — How to Learn More About the Treatment
51:27 — The Mosquito, Malaria, and the Brain
52:26 — Could This Have Implications Beyond ALS?
54:22 — What This Could Mean for the Future of Neurodegeneration
56:31 — End
Dr. M. Marc Abreu is a physician and physicist specializing in brain thermodynamics, thermoregulation, and neurological health. He is the Medical Director of the BTT Medical Institute and is internationally recognized for his discovery of the Brain Thermal Tunnel (BTT), a thermophysical pathway connecting the eyelids to the hypothalamus.
16:37 — How Mitochondrial Dysfunction Drives Inflammation
19:57 — How Much of Aging Can We Actually Change?
20:47 — The Connection Between Mitochondria and Insulin Resistance
25:43 — Mitochondria, Microglia, and Brain Inflammation
29:28 — Why There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Diet
32:03 — Training Your Cells to Become More Resilient
32:46 — What Are “Adversity Mimetics”?
35:51 — Why Intracellular Health Matters
36:32 — Why Conventional Medicine May Be Missing Cellular Dysfunction
37:58 — What Do We Really Know About Peptides?
40:16 — Is Ozone Therapy Worth Considering?
42:30 — Ozone and the Science of Cellular Resilience
43:41 — What Is Therapeutic Plasma Exchange?
45:38 — Who Might Benefit From Plasma Exchange?
46:45 — The Everyday Habits That Support Cellular Health
51:35 — Your Cells Are Responding to the Choices You Make
Dr. Will Cole is a leading functional medicine expert specializing in thyroid health, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, and brain health. He is the host of The Art of Being Well podcast and a New York Times bestselling author of Intuitive Fasting, Ketotarian, The Inflammation Spectrum, and Gut Feelings.
00:00 - Introduction: The Smoking Gun of Modern Brain Disease
00:42 - A New Way to Think About Brain Health: Brain Defenders
03:03 - Why Parkinson's Is Pretty Much Preventable
03:21 - Welcoming Dr. Ray Dorsey
04:36 - The Big Thesis: Parkinson's Is a Man-Made Disease
05:24 - What Defines a Man-Made Disease
05:59 - From 6 Cases in 1817 to 11.8 Million Today
06:53 - The Lung Cancer Parallel
07:22 - The PD GENEration Study: 87% Have No Genetic Cause
08:35 - Why Rising Cases Prove It's Environmental
09:55 - TCE and Perc: The Dry Cleaning Chemicals Linked to Parkinson's
11:08 - Glyphosate, Paraquat, and Mitochondrial Damage
15:13 - Practical Steps to Lower Your Exposure
16:58 - Sponsor: 40 Hz Light Therapy with EVY Light
18:58 - The South Dakota Cluster: Living Next to Cornfields
20:25 - Paraquat: Banned in 70 Countries, Still Used in the US
22:54 - Chlorpyrifos and the IQ Drop in Children
25:38 - The Audacity: Why 1 in 31 Kids Have Autism
26:10 - Pesticides in Breast Milk and Across the Placenta
30:00 - Misfolded Proteins and Loss of Smell as Early Warning
32:25 - Air Pollution: The Hidden Driver of Neurodegeneration
33:46 - The $50 Billion Economic Burden of Brain Disease
35:00 - Dr. Langston's MPTP Discovery: The First Environmental Cause
37:00 - Microglia, Mitochondria, and the Inflammation Cascade
40:30 - The Diabetes-Parkinson's Connection
42:00 - The Parkinson's 25: Practical Steps in the Book
47:30 - Carl's Story: Parkinson's at Age 17 from a Golf Course
50:00 - Why Golf Courses Could Spray Less
51:30 - Secondhand Exposure: You Don't Have to Apply It
53:00 - Soccer Players, ALS, and Heading the Ball
55:50 - Michael J. Fox, CTE, and the Multiple-Hit Hypothesis
57:30 - Resources: Environmental Working Group and Non-Toxic Neighborhoods
1:00:30 - The Mission of Neurology: Asking Why
1:01:30 - The Rising Tide of Brain Disease
1:03:30 - The Lancet Report on Modifiable Risk Factors
1:04:43 - Closing Thoughts
___________________________
Instagram: / davidperlmutter
Website: https://www.drperlmutter.com/
Subscribe to our channel:
/ @davidperlmuttermd
We dig into why fragmented medicine fails at prevention, how Bioscope ingests the whole genome, microbiome, epigenome, and medical records into a single synoptic view, the real case where AI flagged arsenic toxicity in a patient misdiagnosed with restless leg syndrome, and what it looks like when AI personas begin guiding patients through their own protocols in real time.
00:00 - Introduction
00:53 - A New Way to Think About Brain Health: Brain Defenders
03:18 - Welcoming Dr. Don Brown
06:46 - From Physics to MD to Software Entrepreneur
09:01 - Back to Grad School at Johns Hopkins
10:35 - The Lifeomic Years: Cancer Care in the Cloud
12:34 - The Spark Behind Bioscope
15:27 - Building the Ultra-Secure Health Data Repository
16:26 - 40 Hz Light Therapy and Cognitive Decline
18:26 - The Epigenome: Why Your Genes Aren't Your Destiny
19:32 - Decoding the Microbiome and Mitochondrial Genetics
22:25 - What AI Actually Does With Your Health Data
23:39 - The Synoptic View: Borrowing From Aviation
26:36 - The 15 Dimensions of Health
29:23 - Why the Patient History Still Matters
30:23 - Inside the Bioscope Interface
31:38 - A Real Case: AI Catches Arsenic Toxicity
33:13 - Personalized Brain Health: 3X4 Genetics
35:10 - The Driverless Car Moment for Medicine
37:07 - Marketing to Concierge Physicians
40:33 - How Patient Data Gets Into the System
42:30 - Image Analysis and Specialized AI Partners
45:33 - The Biggest Misconception Patients Have About AI
47:14 - Meet Lumina: The Physician's AI Persona
48:00 - Cairo and the Future of AI Health Coaching
50:13 - Different AI Personas for Patients and Physicians
51:39 - Why Concierge Doctors Are Mobbing the Booth