Sunday Pick: The science on improving your brain health with Dr. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai

Elise Hu (0:03)

Happy Sunday, y'all. Elise Hu here. Today, we are bringing you a Sunday pick where we share an episode of another podcast from TED handpicked by us for you. When does normal aging end and something more concerning begin? To dig into this question, we are sharing a recent episode from TED Health, where host Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter invites neurologists, Ayesha and Dean Sherzai to discuss their studies on Alzheimer's and dementia. They debunk myths around Alzheimer's, discuss what a brain healthy way to eat looks like, and share why good sleep hygiene is more crucial for brain health than you think. Listen to TED Health wherever you get your podcasts. Learn about all TED's podcasts at podcasts.ted.com.

That's coming up right after a short break.

Shoshana Ungerleiter (1:00)

This is TED Health, a podcast from TED, and I'm your host, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter. I'm a board certified practicing internal medicine physician. And when I was training in medicine, we didn't talk much about preventing brain disease. We were trained to diagnose and manage it and then treat it.

And when it came to conditions like Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia, the focus was often on what to do after symptoms appeared. There was a quiet assumption that much of this was out of our hands. But over the last decade, that understanding has shifted in really meaningful ways. The science is still evolving and we're learning that many of the biggest drivers of brain health are connected to how we live our daily lives. Things like nutrition, physical activity, sleep, social connection and even how we manage stress. So today, I want to have a conversation that explores the science of some of these new developments. Doctors Dean and Ayesha Sherzai are neurologists and researchers at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, where Dean serves as executive director of clinical research and director of the community core of the Clinical and Translational Research Institute. And Ayesha leads the lifestyle program for the prevention of neurological diseases.

They've spent their careers studying how lifestyle shapes brain health, and they study ways to reduce the risk of cognitive decline before it begins.

This work is also deeply personal for them. Dean and Ayesha both watched their grandparents live with dementia, and early on, they made a commitment to focus on prevention, not just treatment. In our conversation, we talk about the medical findings that brought us to our newest understanding of the brain. We also shift from theory to action, digging into what's actually within our control, and how to translate that into small, meaningful choices in everyday life.

Now, I want to stress that the conversation that follows discusses a field of research that's still and rapidly emerging. We're not talking about guarantees. Dean and Ayesha's research points to risk reduction. The idea that certain patterns repeated over time may help lower the chances of cognitive decline, delay its onset, or support a healthier brain for longer. My hope is that this conversation helps us shift from a place of fear and inevitability to one of possibility and agency. Now, I want to welcome doctors Dean and Ayesha Sherzai to the show.

Ayesha Sherzai (3:23)

Well, thank you so much for having us. We're very happy and delighted to be here with you and with your wonderful audience.

Shoshana Ungerleiter (3:30)

You both do this work side by side as neurologists and as partners in life. So I want to start here. Did your work together come first or did your relationship?

Ayesha Sherzai (3:41)

I think our first conversation was around neurology and about brain health.

Dean Sherzai (3:46)

It was about 8,000 miles away. We are both very service oriented. I've traveled throughout the world all my life, even during medical school, doing palate surgery assistance for Operation Smile in China and different places as a neurologist.

And about 2003, we were both in Afghanistan right after the forces went to Afghanistan.

Ayesha Sherzai (4:08)

I used to volunteer as a medical student with Doctors Without Borders.

Shoshana Ungerleiter (4:11)

Amazing.

Ayesha Sherzai (4:12)

We were both there at that time.

Shoshana Ungerleiter (4:13)

Yeah.

Dean Sherzai (4:14)

We met in an expat party and we sat next to each other. Well, my story is she came and sat next to me.

And the first conversation was about the fact that our two amazing grandparents had passed away from Alzheimer's and dementia. And from a year later, we were married after many really unusual dates in a situation like that. And then we came back. And from the very first day, everything has been mission and vision driven.

Ayesha Sherzai (4:40)

And we always saw neuroscience from the lens of public health, because we were involved in public health even before we wanted to come into dementia and brain health. And once you see the impact of prevention and public health, you can't look the other way. So that's one of the reasons why we are in this field.