The Alzheimer's Prevention Plan for Women: Hormones, Sleep, and Nutrition with Dr. Lisa Mosconi

unPAUSED with Dr. Mary Claire Haver

Mary Claire Media, LLC

Medicine, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist and associate professor of neuroscience in neurology and radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Mosconi directs the Alzheimer's Prevention Program, including the NIH-funded Women's Brain Initiative and the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic, and was recently named director of the $50 million Program in Women's Health, Cutting Alzheimer's Risk Through Endocrinology. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Menopause Brain. This conversation is about prevention. Dr. Mosconi has spent decades building the science that shows Alzheimer's risk in women is neither inevitable nor untreatable and that the choices women make in midlife around hormones, sleep, and nutrition have a direct, and measurable, impact on the brain's long-term health. Together, they explore why two thirds of all Alzheimer's patients are women and what role menopause plays in that disparity. Dr. Mosconi explains the difference between the rare genetic mutations that directly cause Alzheimer's, found in roughly 2% of patients, and the risk factors that shape outcomes for the other 98%, including the distinction between early and late onset disease and between sporadic and familial Alzheimer's. Both share their own family histories with dementia and what that means for their personal risk. Guest links: Lisa Mosconi Lisa Mosconi (Instagram) Lisa Mosconi (Facebook) Lisa Mosconi Bio (LEAP) Books: “The Menopause Brain: New Science Empowers Women to Navigate the Pivotal Transition with Knowledge and Confidence,” by Lisa Mosconi “The XX Brain: The Groundbreaking Science Empowering Women to Maximize Cognitive Health and Prevent Alzheimer's Disease,” by Lisa Mosconi“Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power,” by Lisa Mosconi “The New Perimenopause,”⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver ⁠"The New Menopause"⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver For full show notes, please click here. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What is brain fog? So let's clear it up. Like, what is brain fog? And when should someone be worried?
0:06.3	Yeah, it's one of the reasons that actually brain scientists started to look into menopause as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
0:17.4	And still today, the vast majority of patients who come to us at the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Walcott-Medicine, New York Presbyterian, which have run, come to us because of brain fog in midlife that can be so severe to really trigger concerns about early onset dementia.
0:38.2	So it's really important to clarify what is brain fog and what is Alzheimer's and how one thing
0:43.8	could lead to concerns about the others because it's really legitimate to be scared. The views and opinions expressed on unpaused are those of the talent and guests alone
1:04.0	and are provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.
1:08.2	No part of this podcast or any related materials are intended to be a substitute
1:12.5	for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. When I first heard Dr. Lisa Mosconi speak,
1:19.8	she showed brain imaging that followed a woman from premenopause into postmenopause. The changes
1:26.9	were distinct and undeniable.
1:29.3	We literally rewire our brains through menopause. I remember sitting there floored because in my
1:35.7	training and practice, no one had ever shown me this before. To see a woman's brain transition
1:42.0	captured on a scan was both validating and life-changing.
1:46.2	It was proof of what so many of my patients had told me over the years.
1:49.9	I just don't feel like myself anymore.
1:53.0	Dr. Moscone showed us that this isn't just a feeling.
1:56.3	It's biology, and it needs to be taken seriously.
1:59.8	And then I learned her personal story. She grew up watching
2:03.2	her grandmother and two great aunts all developed dementia while their brother did not. That
2:08.7	heartbreaking pattern became her life's work. She turned grief into purpose, asking the question
2:14.0	no one else was asking, why are two-thirds of all Alzheimer's patients women,
2:18.9	and what role does menopause play in that risk? What struck me the most is that Dr. Mascone
	...

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