NICHe Quarterly Newsletter

Updates

Climate change’s link to brain health is now mainstream

• World Stroke Organization - Policy Statement on Climate Change and Stroke
• Alzheimer’s Association Press Release - Exposure to Wildfire Smoke Greatly Raises Risk of Dementia Diagnosis
• 2024 Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care -  Infographic on modifiable dementia risk

NICHe News Articles

• Capitol Weekly - Why Californians need gas stove health warning labels 
• CNN Health - Extreme temperatures are tied to more than half a million stroke deaths a year

NICHe Interviews

• Medscape - Climate Change & Brain Health 
• VJ Neurology - Climate Change & Brain Health 
• Healio - Climate change, brain health inextricably linked

NICHe Recorded Webinars

• Citizen’s Climate Lobby - Food’s Role in Human and Planetary Health
• World Stroke Organization - How Does Climate Change Affect Stroke Risk
• University of Colorado Neuro Grand Rounds - Neurology and Climate Change

2024 Climate Neurology Publications

• Association of PM2.5 Exposure and Alzheimer Disease Pathology in Brain Bank Donors-Effect Modification by APOE Genotype. Neurology. 2024 Mar 12;102(5):e209162.
• Burden of Stroke Attributable to Nonoptimal Temperature in 204 Countries and Territories: A Population-Based Study, 1990-2019. Neurology. 2024 May 14;102(9):e209299.
• Climate Change and Stroke: A Topical Narrative Review. Stroke. 2024 Apr;55(4):1118-1128.
• Neurology and climate change. Lancet Neurol. 2024 Jun;23(6):552-553.
• Air Pollution and Parkinson Disease in a Population-Based Study. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Sep 3;7(9):e2433602.

New Climate Health Podcast

• Healthy Climate America Lisa Patel MD, Executive Director of MSCCH, interviews health professionals, policymakers, communicators, activists, and more who are addressing Climate Health

Ways To Get Involved

As a Citizen

• • Vote In this presidential election! These high-stakes ballots often contain state-specific propositions relating to health and sustainability .
  • Target the most impactful sustainability measures you can take at home using Project Drawdown’s table of solutions. Click “Scenario 1” to arrange interventions in order of gigatons of CO2 equivalents saved. You may be surprised by what interventions rank highest and how they relate directly to health.
  • As Professor Katherine Hayhoe recommends, talk about climate change and its health consequences (including those from air pollution) with your colleagues, family, and friends.

As a Clinician

• • For patients with stroke and dementia, consider measures to minimize particulate exposure, e.g. minimizing time on or near major roadways, avoiding wildfire smoke. Air pollution is now an established risk factor for both.
  • Assess whether your handicapped and elderly patients have the ability to protect themselves from extreme heat and other extreme weather events.
  • Join your state chapter (or start one) at the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health to engage clinicians in your area
  • Work within your health system to decrease its carbon footprint. In the US, healthcare accounts for 8.5% of greenhouse gas production.
  • Reach out to NICHe with ideas for collaboration, requests to publicize events you’re leading/participating in:  bretdandrews@gmail.com

Upcoming Events

• November 26, 2024 1PM PT
  • Climate Change and Brain Health - Neuro Grand Rounds, University of North Carolina
  • Link Pending
• January 29 2025 9AM PT
  • Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART) - Climate Change’s Impact on Alzheimer’s Disease Webinar
  • Register For Free
• April 7 2025 11AM PT
  • Course at AAN Annual Meeting 2025 - Climate Change and Brain Health: What Do We Know and What Can We Do?
  • Register for AAN 2025
• April 9 2025 Time TBD
  • 2025 Frontiers in Neuroscience Plenary Session at AAN Annual Meeting - Impact of Climate Change on Global Brain Health (Beth Malow, MD, FAAN)
  • Register for AAN 2025
• If you have an event that you would like us to feature, contact:     bretdandrews@gmail.com