How do we recognise, assess, and treat the neuropsychiatric symptoms that so often define life with dementia? In this episode, Professor Clive Ballard joins Dr John Harrison to discuss the management of neuropsychiatric symptoms, including depression, agitation, apathy, anxiety, and psychosis, across Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

They explore:

• How common these symptoms really are, and why they are so often missed
• The real‑world consequences and long‑term outcomes of these symptoms for patients and caregivers
• Practical, first-line non‑pharmacological strategies clinicians and caregivers can use today
• When (and when not) to reach for medications, including antidepressants and antipsychotics
• Special challenges in dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal, and vascular dementia
• Why the UK and other health systems risk falling behind on emerging treatments

Rich with case examples and clear, actionable advice, this conversation reframes neuropsychiatric symptoms as a core treatment priority in dementia care.

Guest: Professor Clive Ballard

Professor Clive Ballard is a psychiatrist and Professor of Age-Related Diseases at the University of Exeter. Professor Ballard previously held directorship roles at King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry and at the Alzheimer’s Society. He is an advocate of implementing effective non-pharmacological interventions and better prescribing and treatment pathways to improve outcomes for individuals with dementia.

Host: Dr John Harrison

Dr John Harrison is a chartered psychologist at Metis Cognition, where he advises drug developers and institutions on cognitive testing in therapeutic development programmes. He is an Associate Professor at the Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam, where he validates new cognitive testing paradigms for use with individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

For more independent educational resources from PanaCME, visit: www.panacme.education.

In this episode of PanaCME Perspectives: Clinical conversations in Alzheimer’s disease, Professor Dennis Chan joins Dr John Harrison to discuss how we should be measuring cognition in both research and clinical settings. They explore the limits of traditional tests, why navigation and spatial memory may be among the earliest and most meaningful indicators of cognitive impairment, and how poorly designed outcome measures can undermine even the best drugs. Professor Chan argues for ecologically valid, neuroscience-informed assessments, and explains why better test design is critical for both clinical trials and clinical practice.

Guest: Professor Dennis Chan

Professor Denis Chan is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, and a consultant neurologist at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. In 2014, Professor Chan and his team pioneered the use of virtual reality and other emerging technologies to improve the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. At present, he is one of the leads in the Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Disease (EDoN) initiative.

Host: Dr John Harrison

Dr John Harrison is a chartered psychologist at Metis Cognition, where he advises drug developers and institutions on cognitive testing in therapeutic development programmes. He is an Associate Professor at the Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam, where he validates new cognitive testing paradigms for use with individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

To watch the full video episode, and for more independent educational resources from PanaCME, visit: www.panacme.education.

“What’s good for your heart is good for your head.”

In this episode of PanaCME Perspectives: Clinical conversations in Alzheimer’s disease, Dr Jill Rasmussen (Clinical Representative for Dementia at the Royal College of General Practitioners), joins Dr John Harrison to explore what clinicians can do beyond medication to protect brain health. They discuss why brain health should be treated like cardiac health, how lifestyle, vascular risk control, and social connection can reduce the risk or slow progression of dementia, and what a personalised brain health plan can look like. Drawing on evidence from major studies, such as FINGER and MIND-AD, this conversation offers practical, evidence-based insights for clinicians who want to support healthy ageing and brain resilience across the lifespan.

Guest: Dr Jill Rasmussen

Dr Jill Rasmussen is the Clinical Representative for Dementia, Royal College of General Practitioners. In the NHS, she has experience as a GP with Special Interest in Mental Health, Dementia and Learning Disability, as a commissioner and as representative for mental health and dementia for NHS England Team South East Region. She combines part-time clinical practice with her own independent research consultancy, where she specialises in drugs in CNS indications.

Host: Dr John Harrison

Dr John Harrison is a chartered psychologist at Metis Cognition, where he advises drug developers and institutions on cognitive testing in therapeutic development programmes. He is an Associate Professor at the Alzheimer’s Center Amsterdam, where he validates new cognitive testing paradigms for use with individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

To watch the full video episode, and for more independent educational resources from PanaCME, visit: www.panacme.education.