WIRED TO WIN: Surviving the Tour de France

This is what Dennis Selkoe, a lead scientific advisor to Wired to Win, declared to his parents at age five in response to his own doctor's stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, and reflex hammer. At that tender age Dennis Selkoe wasn’t thinking much about the ways in which he might help people as a physician. He certainly had no inkling that he would grow up to help develop some of the most promising experimental drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Instead, Dennis was thinking about the cool toys his beloved pediatrician used. In fact, it wasn’t until sophomore year in high school, when he had to dissect a fetal pig, that Dennis began to appreciate that there was much more to medicine than shiny metal tools.

But even after his fetal pig taught him about the complexity and elegance of the living form, Dennis still envisioned himself taking on a role like that of his pediatrician. He’d see patients, show new generations of children the tools of medicine, and hand out necessary prescriptions. Then, in his first year in medical school, he began to recognize that it would be frustrating to diagnose and treat diseases over a long career without being able to do much about them.

Enter Dennis’ passion for biochemistry. As though medical school alone were not challenging enough, Dennis decided to combine his studies of medicine with a research project in biochemistry. If he could understand disease processes and look for ways of undermining their progress, at least he wouldn’t feel so powerless against them.

What he didn’t know was that the proteins he chose to study back then held the key to his future. “I chose purposely to work on Alzheimer’s disease,” says Dennis, “not because I have a connection with the disease or an affected family member, but because the proteins I was studying for other reasons appeared to be implicated in the disease.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Dennis has spent the last 25 years understanding the biochemical processes that drive Alzheimer’s disease and rooting out ways to interrupt them. He has scrupulously examined the brains of people who died of Alzheimer’s disease; he has created models of certain aspects of the disease out of just a few thousand cells growing in a petri dish; and he has even studied forgetful rats and helped restore their memory.

From all this, and more research, has come an experimental drug, an antibody that attacks a protein called beta amyloid. This abnormal protein normally forms hardened plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, so blocking it might stop the disease in its tracks. Clinical trials that will test whether the antibody is helpful in people are currently underway.

“Alzheimer’s disease affects some 30 million people worldwide,” says Dennis. “It is very gratifying to have contributed to ideas that may lead to treatment.”

And Now … Films!

While Dennis’ research focuses on diseased brains, the Wired to Win film celebrates normal, healthy brain function. As a result, serving as a scientific advisor to Wired to Win has been a nice change of pace for Dennis.

“My work has been primarily on how the brain doesn’t work,” says Dennis, “but you can’t understand how the brain doesn’t work if you don’t understand how it does work.”

All brain scientists have to first appreciate how the brain handles basic processes like vision, memory, and movement, before they can go on to unlock other secrets. And, according to Dennis, that is the essence of Wired to Win.

“It has been a pleasure and an honor to advise the many creative people involved,” recounts Dennis.

“I like very much translating complex science into words that everyone can understand,” he says, “and I firmly believe you don’t have to use multi-syllable words to explain how the brain works.”

Dennis commends the filmmakers on the important role they have played in educating the public about the intricacies of the brain. Still, he can’t help but admit that he’d like to see a film made about Alzheimer’s disease!

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