A real soft spot

Good morning Staker! Researchers launch global study for dementia prevention drug; time spent in nature makes us kinder; and how prolonged immersion in nature can make us kinder.

But first, our weekly poll!

Researchers at the NHS are launching a global study to assess whether or not an experimental drug is capable of not just delaying the symptoms of dementia, but preventing them.

Called the PrevenTRON study, it will track patients taking a drug called trontinemab. While other successfully-tested and now-approved drugs like lecanemab and donanemab slow the advancement of symptoms patients are already experiencing, trontinemab is intended for use by those with very early-stage dementia that are yet to display symptoms.

The drug has gone through two trials already, and phase three includes 1,600 participants across 18 countries between the ages of 55 and 80. They’ve demonstrated no symptoms, but blood tests have produced positive signs of p-tau217—a protein that predicts the onset of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline within 10 years at an accuracy of 95%.

Trontinemab, however, targets amyloid protein—the other telltale biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease that builds up in the brain and damages neural connectivity. Amyloid plaque tends to spawn earlier than tau, and clearing it can prevent symptoms from arising.

In phase two of the trial, the drug successfully cleared amyloid plaque within 28 weeks for 90 out of 100 participants, suggesting trontinemab may have a feature in actual preventive treatment for Alzheimer’s.

There’s something humbling about nature that can’t be properly summed up by talking or reading about it. It has to be experienced with all five senses, and then reflected upon to truly grasp.

That’s how Sean Burch sees it, and he’s an eight-time world-record-holding adventurer and author of real-world behavioral science books Hyperfitness and Sweatworkin.

Burch described nature as having another superpower: it makes him kinder. In a recent blog post, he described how immersing himself in something much bigger than he is that he can’t control, but that possesses infinite and intrinsic beauty, is a good way to alter one’s perspective of the mundane and innocuous annoyances of everyday life.

He noted he admittedly still gets annoyed and meditates daily. He’s not naive but said that it’s easier to let things in daily life slide away, given his regular encounters with the untamed wilderness, including wild grass, dense forests, and mountains that have stood for millions of years longer than any office building will.

There’s no such thing as a panacea, but making contact with nature for even 30 minutes a day could be the perspective shifter everyone needs. Maybe next time you’re walking through a relentless wind tunnel, flanked by skyscrapers and concrete, you’ll see it as mother nature reminding you she calls the shots, and you should come pay her a visit.

Aerosmith posted a teaser video the other day showing Steven Tyler setting up the marquee at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, with the letters spelling out “October 29” and “November 1.”

The next day, the band revealed they will indeed be returning for two special performances at the historic venue, bringing dozens of friends along with them.

The promotional poster initially included “Slash” and “Duff McKagen,” so with nearly half the work done already, the band decided to get Axl Rose and the rest of Guns ‘N Roses to come along, too.

GnR will now act as the direct support for the Boston legends, who were in the middle of their farewell tour in 2023 when they were forced to cancel the remaining dates due to Tyler sustaining serious vocal cord damage.

Kenny Aronoff, the Black Crowes, Jerry Cantrell, Sammy Hagar, Heart, Billy Idol, Tom Morello, Run-D.M.C., Chad Smith and Steve Stevens will also appear over the weekend, along with Nuno Bettencourt, Eric Church, Sully Erna, Audley Freed, Mike Inez, Marcus King, Pat Monahan, Adam Wakeman and Andrew Watt.

The band also indicated additional surprise guests will be announced soon. The artist presale will start today at 1pm EST, and the general public sale will open up tomorrow.

Quizmaster’s choice

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