Podcast: The Science of Detecting Alzheimer’s Disease Decades Earlier
Dr. Rosie Curiel Cid discusses how biomarkers can detect subtle deficits linked to preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.
Rosie Curiel Cid, Psy.D., a neuropsychologist whose research centers on the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases — particularly Alzheimer’s disease — joined the “Inside U Miami Medicine” podcast to discuss a growing challenge.
“Most people aren’t equipped to care for elderly family members with Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Curiel Cid, scientific director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “That’s one of many reasons why early detection and intervention are so critical.”
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease marked by a buildup of amyloid and tau proteins, and a cascade of neurotoxic events that can disrupt the brain structurally and functionally. But not everyone with amyloid buildup experiences cognitive decline and not everyone with cognitive impairment shows amyloid buildup.
Soon, and for the first time in human history, there will be more older people than children in this country. At the same time, rates of dementia are rising. Is our society ready?
Dr. Rosie Curiel Cid
Still, there is reason for optimism. Dr. Curiel Cid and her team developed a novel cognitive challenge test sensitive enough to detect subtle deficits linked to preclinical Alzheimer’s disease and closely correlated with biological markers of early pathology.
“Linking markers of brain disease with early cognitive change is essential for accurate and timely detection and prognostication,” said Dr. Curiel Cid.
Early diagnosis opens the door to new FDA-approved treatments that can slow the disease’s progression. That extends the time that patients stay in less impaired stages.
Dr. Curiel Cid dives deeper into this groundbreaking work and the future of brain health in the latest episode of “Inside U Miami Medicine.”
Tags: Alzheimer's disease, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, cognitive decline, Dean Henri Ford, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Inside U Miami Medicine, USNWR Geriatrics, USNWR Geriatrics 2026