July 23, 2025
Treating Alzheimer’s and dementia: What really works?
Hosts Ron Aaron and Dr. Rajay Seudath sit down with Dr. Tuan Trinh to explore what truly works in the treatment and management of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. From early signs and diagnosis to lifestyle changes and current treatment strategies, Dr. Trinh breaks down what patients and caregivers need to know. Whether you’re navigating these conditions personally or professionally, this conversation offers insight, clarity and hope.
Docs in a Pod focuses on health issues affecting adults. Clinicians and partners discuss stories, topics and tips to help you live healthier.
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Show transcript
Podcast transcript
INTRO
Welcome to Docs in a Pod presented by WellMed. Over the next half hour, Docs in a Pod will educate you about the health and wellness of adults everywhere. Co-hosts Dr. Rajay Seudath and award winning veteran broadcaster Ron Aaron will share information to improve your health and well-being. And now here are Ron Aaron and Dr. Rajay Seudath.
RON AARON
Hello everybody, and welcome to the award winning Docs in a Pod. I'm Ron Aaron, and we are so pleased to have you with us. Docs on a Pod podcast is available wherever you get your podcast. We're also on the radio in several cities in Texas and Florida as well. Our co-host is Dr. Rajay Seudath. Dr. Seudath is board certified in family medicine. He's a Tampa native and a current lead physician for Optum. He's at the University location in Tampa, Florida. He earned his medical degree from the University of South Florida Morasani College of Medicine. Dr. Seudath has a real passion for primary care. We're delighted to have you back with us, Rajay. How are you doing?
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Doing good. So happy to be here.
RON AARON
Well, as we take a look at the kinds of issues we have covered, we're going to take up one today that we probably should have talked more and more about. The whole question of dementia and Alzheimer's. As a kid who's 83, I think about it occasionally, like when I can't find my keys. Nobody wants dementia. Nobody wants to have it. And our guest today, Dr. Tuan Trinh, doctor of osteopathy, board certified in family medicine, is with us. He's at WellMed at Oak Cliff in Dallas. He earned his medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri. He completed his residency in family medicine at Dallas Southwest Medical Center. Dr. Trinh, when he's not playing doctor, loves the outdoors, loves heading to the mountains, and he's also an award winning pickleball player. Thanks for being with us.
DR. TUAN TRINH
Thank you, Ron. It's my pleasure being here with you guys.
RON AARON
When did you take up pickleball? We were talking off the air. My 13 year-old daughter, Reagan, believes only people over 80 play pickleball.
DR. TUAN TRINH
I started playing pickleball about two years ago. There was an article about how pickleball is rising in America, especially with older individuals. So, my wife and I started picking it up. It's something that we do together, so it's real fun.
RON AARON
Are you a good team?
DR. TUAN TRINH
Yes we are. We actually have a tournament tomorrow night. We're going to play at Picklr. It's an indoor pickleball facility here in Dallas.
RON AARON
Nice! Let's talk about what is the major concern, but not always voiced by folks who are in their 60s, 70s, 80s. And that's the whole question of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Can we prevent it?
DR. TUAN TRINH
Yeah, we can definitely do things to help prevent the early onset of dementia. There isn't anything proven yet, but there's a lot of encouraging data that shows that if you control your high blood pressure, your diabetes, maintain a good, healthy weight. Especially a healthy diet and exercise and also social interaction with others would definitely help you to delay the onset of dementia.
RON AARON
So, 99% of pickleball players who eat well don't get dementia.
DR. TUAN TRINH
Something like that. Yes, sir.
RON AARON
Now, when you say a healthy diet, we've talked about this from time to time, nobody really knows what that means.
DR. TUAN TRINH
There's actually one in particular that helps dementia, it's called a MIND diet. It actually stands for Mediterranean Dash Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. Mainly it's about eating a lot of green vegetables and also nuts and berries, particularly blueberries, which really, really help you.
RON AARON
I've started eating a lot of kiwi. I read somewhere that kiwi has got to be good for you.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Kiwi has some good vitamin C and other types of trace minerals in them. When we get into talking about dementia and things like that, it's really a lot of the antioxidants. So, dementia has a lot of different flavors, so to speak. There's a lot of different ways a person can develop dementia. Parkinson's, Lewy bodies dementia, Alzheimer's, vascular dementia. There's a lot of different things that can cause this umbrella of losing your memory. What we found in certain types of dementia, a lot of antioxidants in your diet can help to decrease the inflammation process that are happening in the brain. So, that's one of the reasons why this kind of Mediterranean diet is high in things with greens, berries. Those kinds of antioxidants help with that oxidative damage. So, they stop the inflammation that's going on in the brain.
RON AARON
Stay with us. We're going to pick that up in just a moment. But I want to let folks know who may have just joined us, you're listening to the award winning Docs in a Pod. I'm Ron Aaron, along with our very special guest today, Dr. Tuan Trinh, and our co-host is Dr. Rajay Seudath. We're talking about preventing dementia and Alzheimer's. Dr. Trinh, when you say that people's ears prick up and say, okay, I'm ready. Can we truly prevent it? And one of the foods you haven't mentioned is something I try to eat every day, and that's broccoli. I am hooked on broccoli. People tell me that if you eat about a pound of broccoli a day, not only will you smell bad breath, it really does help.
DR. TUAN TRINH
Yeah, that's what's funny. It does really help. Green leafy vegetables and of course, the nuts and the berries. Like Dr. Seudath was saying about the antioxidants, they did find that the blueberries had the highest amount of antioxidants in there. But we're really looking for green leafy vegetables. So, the spinach, the kale, things like that would also help you a lot.
RON AARON
The other thing that you mentioned was staying active. I guess, for those who are sworn couch potatoes, who simply haven't started exercising but really need to, if they're your patients and they look you in their beady brown eyes and say, I'm not doing anything yet. How do you get them going?
DR. TUAN TRINH
I like to tell them, just take little steps. When I say being active, I'm not asking them to go out there and run a marathon tomorrow. I'm just asking them to do a little bit more. Five, ten minutes walking, just doing a little bit more exercise every day. I was actually reading something recently, and they were saying if you do 1% change a day, it's a cumulative effect throughout the month or the year. So, if you do a 1% change, you're going to have a significant amount of a difference in a year's time.
RON AARON
So, start walking to the mailbox and then walk to the corner and then walk to the store.
DR. TUAN TRINH
Yeah, I usually tell my patients, walk around the park. Just take a little walk around your block, walk around the park, walk around the neighborhood. Things like that. Just little steps at a time.
RON AARON
Now, I heard about a competition. A good friend of mine since high school, his nephew competed in the World Marathon competition. Seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. He is 18 years old. He was the youngest ever to compete, and he did it. It's expensive because you're flying chartered jets from continent to continent. I'd never heard of it. Have you heard of that competition?
DR. TUAN TRINH
No, I have not. I've heard of people doing triathlons like that, though. But not seven marathons in seven days, no.
RON AARON
Wow. Seven marathons, seven days, seven continents, including Antarctica. Amazing. And somewhat crazy.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
I agree.
RON AARON
Now, that's more exercise, Dr. Seudath, than you really need, right?
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Yes. Again, the amount that we're looking for, like Dr. Trinh said, small steps, small steps. Even if it's too hot to go outside and walk around your neighborhood or your complex, you can still do inside exercise. You could do chair exercises. You could do living room exercise. Put on YouTube and find a 15 minute workout that's to your skill level, to your musculature level.
RON AARON
My folks used to do mall walking because they're air-conditioned.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
That's a great idea. That's actually wonderful. I have several patients who do that.
RON AARON
Yeah, the only way I could do that successfully is leave my credit cards at home because it becomes mall shopping.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Right. I agree. Working out your legs instead of your pocketbook.
RON AARON
One of the challenges we face, Dr. Trinh, because the numbers are growing so quickly of people diagnosed with dementia, whether it's Lewy body or Alzheimer's or one of the other kinds, if you get it, everybody wants a cure. They want that magic pill. I know some research is ongoing. What have you learned about what's coming?
DR. TUAN TRINH
I know that a lot of the medications for Alzheimer's and for dementia pretty much try to maintain the cognition that you do have. It doesn't really cure you, but it just doesn't mean that you have progressive dementia. So, the research and the data shows that if we try to prevent it, it's better than trying to cure it. So, we're trying to really focus on the prevention and the slowing down of the dementia before we actually have to treat it.
RON AARON
He's Dr. Tuan Trinh, and you find him at WellMed at Oak Cliff in Dallas. Our co-host today is Dr. Seudath. You find him in Tampa, Florida. I'm Ron Aaron, and we're so pleased you are with us today on the award winning Docs in a Pod. Before we go to break Dr. Seudath, as you think about your patients who are developing dementia, are you able to tell when they come in that they're losing some of their ability, some of their memory, some of their faculties?
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Yes. There's a few things that we look at. Also, we do a two question screen about are you having difficulty remembering things? Are you having issues with paying bills? Those kinds of things. Listening to the collateral information. That information from friends and family who may come with the patient. All of those things give you a complete picture of what's going on with this person's mentality.
RON AARON
Having difficulty paying bills because you don't have enough money is not the clue here.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
No, it's, I keep missing that date. I can't deal with time. Any time they give me something that has to do with a time or a schedule, it just keeps slipping. So, that can kind of prompt us to do testing.
RON AARON
I know one of the many mental tests is to draw a clock and put a certain time in it, and before I go for my annual with my WellMed physician, I practice at home. I must have drawn 50 clocks. Let's see, 12, three, six, nine.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
That's right. I wonder when my kids are coming into the dementia ages of 60 to 70. They don't even know how to read a clock.
RON AARON
Itâs all digital.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Right. So, what are we going to use for these young people when they get to our age?
RON AARON
That is a really good point. All right, stay with us. We'll come right back. Our guest today is Dr. Tuan Trinh, a doctor of osteopathy at WellMed Clinic at Oak Cliff near Dallas. Our co-host is Dr. Rajay Seudath in Tampa, Florida. I'm Ron Aaron. You're listening to the award-winning Docs in a Pod.
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RON AARON
We're so pleased you're sticking with us right here on the award winning Docs in a Pod. I'm Ron Aaron, along with our co-host, Dr. Rajay Seudath. Our special guest is Dr. Tuan Trinh, doctor of osteopathy at WellMed Clinic at Oak Cliff near Dallas. We're talking about preventing dementia and Alzheimer's. What really works and what doesn't work? Of course, Dr. Trinh, folks often will ask you, is this hereditary? If my mom or grandparent had dementia, am I at higher risk?
DR. TUAN TRINH
Yeah, I think there is some data that shows that there is some higher risk with that. So, if your family does have dementia, I think early intervention may be good. So, just preventing things would really, really help you out.
RON AARON
What would early intervention look like?
DR. TUAN TRINH
For me, I would tell my patients to do the mind games. There's a lot of little games that you can play. Learning a new language, Just trying to use your cognition. There's an app that I use called Duolingo. I've just recently learned the language with that. Learning new things. Learning a new language. Picking up a new game like pickleball. Things like that would be like early intervention.
RON AARON
What language did you learn with Duolingo?
DR. TUAN TRINH
I actually was learning Japanese.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Cool!
RON AARON
All right. I have twin boys, Carter and Kennedy. They're now 12, and Carter uses Duolingo, and for a while he was trying to learn Russian and Japanese. He's in Spanish immersion in school, so he's pretty fluent now in Spanish as well. Multiple language facility, as I hear you, Dr. Trinh, has to be a benefit.
DR. TUAN TRINH
Yes, it's a lot of benefit. Just learning new things and using your cognition. The other thing that would be very beneficial is social interaction. I think, being with family or friends. I always encourage my patients to join a senior center or community center where they're interacting with other individuals on a daily basis.
RON AARON
We know that there are a lot of lonely people, Dr. Seudath.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Absolutely. That social interaction is one of the things that kind of ties your brain together. I belong to this group. I have this interaction. That creates changes in the brain, and those changes kind of help to maintain memory. Another one of the things is a schedule. Every day, if you're worried, oh, I might get dementia. Make looking at a calendar and making a schedule part of your routine.
RON AARON
Why?
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Oftentimes when people retire, they can say, well, Sunday could fall on a Monday. As your brain stops processing time, just like any of your other senses, when you stop processing time, you kind of lose that ability. And if we think about a memory test, the first three questions are what's the year, what's the season, what's the day of the week? There's only 30 points. That's 10% of the test.
RON AARON
Wow.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
So, that's one of the things that even people who already have the signs of dementia say every day, you need to look at a calendar. You need to go through what's the date, what's the day of the week and kind of retrain your brain to have that mastery of time.
RON AARON
So, before my annual doctor's appointment, instead of drawing 50 different clocks, I should memorize what day and month it is.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Or at least review it before you leave the door.
RON AARON
Exactly. Dr. Trinh, when you think about dementia, a broad term for all the various types of dementia, are your patients worried about it? Do they ask you about it?
DR. TUAN TRINH
Yeah, they are worried. But, you know who really is worried is their family members. So, when I get approached by the patient, it's usually when there's a son or daughter that actually accompanies them and then says, oh, my mom or my dad is starting to forget things. Should we be worried about dementia? So, it's not just the patient sometimes, but it's actually their family members that bring it up.
RON AARON
When you say you forget things, you lose things. I've got a good friend, a Dr. Harry Croft, a psychiatrist who says that if I lose my keys and find them and know what to do with them, I'm okay.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Yes, I think that's pretty good.
RON AARON
If you find him and don't know what to do with them, Dr. Seudath, then there's a problem.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
That's a problem. If you're not able to use the things that you should be able to use and you can't remember those kinds of things. Remember, dementia, loss of memory, it's not just your old memories or just your new memories, it can be like you said, how do you use something? What is this for? Your memory can be impacted in many different ways. That's part of what cognitive testing is for. To see where you are having the problems?
RON AARON
So, executive functions.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Right. Executive functions, concentration, working with numbers, recall. All of those things are in that quick, mini mental status exam. That can give us an idea of where your problems are.
RON AARON
We seem, in this day and age, to be more aware and more worried about dementia and Alzheimer's. You go back 20, 30 years ago, I'm sure the disease was there, but we were dying younger, so maybe we didn't have a chance to get it.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Absolutely.
RON AARON
Interesting.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
As populations are growing older, there's more of that chance for that oxidative stress on the brain, for a person to have more time with blood pressures that are unhealthy, more times to have sugars that are high or low. All of those things that we talk about preventing for your regular health impacts your brain.
RON AARON
You mentioned doing creative kinds of work, what about reading the daily newspaper? Although not a lot of people do that anymore. Dr. Trinh, can that be helpful?
DR. TUAN TRINH
Yeah. Beyond just reading, I think doing little crossword puzzles or the daily Sudoko, things like that that actually push and challenge your mind. Definitely, reading would be really good. But doing also, games and kind of like a mathematical problem figuring out the solutions, things like that would really help.
RON AARON
As you think about what are the major concerns your patients have, heart disease, diabetes, would dementia be at the top of that list?
DR. TUAN TRINH
It's not really. Actually, my patients really worry more about diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol. Dementia to them is probably lower on the list. They don't really think about it too often. You're right, though. They should actually be thinking about it a little bit more.
RON AARON
When you think about it, and for those who may have just joined us, what are the signs that you should be aware of or a loved one should be aware of that there may be a problem with your mental faculties?
DR. TUAN TRINH
Like you mentioned before, I think if they are forgetting things. Forgetting the days of the week, the time, forgetting their car keys, forgetting names. Things like that. You just look for signs like that.
RON AARON
Should you bring that up with your PCP? Your primary care physician?
DR. TUAN TRINH
Oh, definitely. Like I said, that's when usually I'm approached by their sons or their daughters that actually bring that up. The patients don't usually bring that up. Maybe they're embarrassed to bring those things up. But usually it's a family member.
RON AARON
A friend of mine who's a physician says that the most important facts in a visit often come on as the patient is leaving the exam room and says, oh, by the way.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Yeah, that's very true.
RON AARON
Oh, by the time I wake up with a crushing chest pain.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Oftentimes you'll hear family members bring it up and say, I know this is going to make you mad, but I've got to tell the doctor. And then it's, he's forgetting to put his clothes on correctly. He's forgetting to eat breakfast. He's losing so much weight. They're not recognizing that they've lived in this house for 40 years, and now they're getting angry, saying, whose house is this? As we see that progression, the memory losses and the things that they're not remembering are getting larger and larger, more and more significant. And that's definitely when we need to make some interventions.
RON AARON
Before we run out of time, you mentioned just in passing, Dr. Trinh, that there are some medications that can at least slow the process of memory loss. How effective are they?
DR. TUAN TRINH
In my experience, they are pretty effective. Now, most of our patients, I refer to neurology for that. But, once they get on the medication, sometimes they would have to try one or a second medication, but they are pretty effective in maintaining your cognition.
RON AARON
How quickly would you know that they are working?
DR. TUAN TRINH
We usually bring them back in 3 to 6 months, and then we actually ask them and also ask the family members, have they noticed a difference? And that's how we really know.
RON AARON
Wow. It's a lot to worry about, Dr. Seudath.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Yes, it is. It's part of the reason why early detection and prevention are important. Trying to keep your blood pressures under control. Trying to eat that healthy diet. Trying to get that exercise in to prevent the problem as much as possible, especially if you know, hey, this runs in my family. My great grandmother had it. My grandfather had it. My mom had it. I know it's coming for me. That's the person you want to be very controlled with their sugars, very controlled with their blood pressures, and making sure they're already eating that Mediterranean Dash diet.
RON AARON
It's interesting. My dad, who was a pharmacist who developed dementia, my mom would try to get him to the doctor, and he didn't want to go. Before he really lost his memory, he would say, all they're going to do is find something wrong. I'm fine. I don't need to go. And I suspect that's a pretty typical response, Dr. Trinh.
DR. TUAN TRINH
Yeah, I find that very typical. I think most of the patients that do have some kind of dementia really try to deny that and try to say I'm fine. I don't need to go to the doctor. I don't need to take any medication. Again, like I said, it's mainly their caretakers or their family members that actually push them to take medication for this.
RON AARON
And by the time they realize they have a problem, Dr. Seudath, it's too late.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Yes, that is correct.
RON AARON
Well, before we say goodbye to both of you, I want to thank you, Dr. Trinh, very much for joining us. For those who want to learn more, what would you recommend they do?
DR. TUAN TRINH
I found great information with the National Institute of Health and the aging websites on dementia and prevention with diet and exercise. So, there's a lot of good tips there.
RON AARON
Perfect. Go to the internet. Thank you, Dr. Tuan Trinh and our co-host, Dr. Rajay Seudath. I'm Ron Aaron. Thanks for joining us on the award winning Docs in a Pod.
OUTRO
Executive producer for Docs in a Pod is Dan Calderon. The producer is Cherese Pendleton. Thank you for listening to Docs in a Pod presented by WellMed. Be sure and listen next week to Docs in a Pod presented by WellMed.
DISCLAIMER
This transcript is generated using a podcast editing tool; there may be small differences between this transcript and the recorded audio content.
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