The truth about dementia.

Broadcaster Angela Rippon explores new scientific developments in dementia care and treatment, whilst undergoing a battery of tests to find out whether she carries the APOE gene and whether she is showing symptoms of the disease. She recounts her experiences caring for her mother, who developed dementia later in life. She then visits close friends, one of whom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his early eighties. Next, she visits a retirement community, where research into dementia is being conducted by Dr Jennifer Bute, who is a resident of the community and was diagnosed with dementia in her fifties. Bute recounts noticing the early signs of dementia, and talks Rippon through her coping strategies. Rippon visits Dr Claudia Wald, who conducts a cognitive test to find out if she is exhibiting symptoms of the disease. Clips of Rippon being examined in an MRI scanner are shown, from a programme she presented on aging. Rippon arranges for the scans to be sent for testing. She then visits Professor Janice Holton at Queen Square Brain Bank to explore what physically happens to the brain when it develops dementia. They compare a healthy brain and a brain exhibiting signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Holton explains the function of the protein amyloid beta. Next, Rippon visits Neurologist Dr Angus Kennedy who analyses her brain scans. She then travels to a sleep clinic, where Neuroscientist Dr Jeff Iliff is conducting studies into the role deep sleep plays in staving off dementia. She then consults Dr Richard Perry about undergoing an APOE blood test to find out if she has an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Rippon meets Chris Graham, whose family have an inherited faulty gene that brings about familial early onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Rippon visits Dr Catherine Mummery at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, who is conducting a trial involving families who hold this faulty gene. She then talks to Neuroscientist Dr Thomas Bak about the possibility that learning a second language might reduce the risk of developing dementia. She also visits Professor Claudia Kawas and one of her patients Mildred Patton. Kawas compares images of brain plaque in healthy and diseased brains. The show ends with Rippon discovering the results of her DNA test.