# Can Plasma Exchange Slow or Reverse Cognitive Decline? A Conversation With Dr. Brad Younggren Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/alzheimer-s-breakthrough-with-dr-josh-helman-md-7191947/can-plasma-exchange-slow-or-reverse-cognitive-decline-a-conversation-with-dr-brad-younggren Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/alzheimer-s-breakthrough-with-dr-josh-helman-md-7191947/can-plasma-exchange-slow-or-reverse-cognitive-decline-a-conversation-with-dr-brad-younggren.md Podcast: [Alzheimer’s Breakthrough with Dr. Josh Helman, MD](https://stenobird.com/podcast/alzheimer-s-breakthrough-with-dr-josh-helman-md-7191947) Published: 2026-01-29T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://drjosh.com/ Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/8e2a30a5-bee4-4ad0-b6a7-c4edf10fc75e.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/alzheimer-s-breakthrough-with-dr-josh-helman-md-7191947/episodes/can-plasma-exchange-slow-or-reverse-cognitive-decline-a-conversation-with-dr-brad-younggren Duration seconds: 3341 ## Resource Alzheimer’s doesn’t begin with sudden memory loss. It begins decades earlier with systemic breakdowns that modern medicine continues to miss. And by the time someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the damage seems full-blown. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Brad Younggren to discuss why Alzheimer’s is less a mystery of missing science and more a failure of how our healthcare system is designed. We explore therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and why removing harmful inflammatory proteins, immune antibodies, plastics, and toxic exposures from the bloodstream may represent a powerful new frontier in brain health, longevity, and chronic disease care. Dr. Younggren shares how this decades-old hospital procedure is being safely re-engineered for outpatient use and why it’s showing promise for dementia, autoimmune illness, and accelerated aging. We also discuss why the exposome, the total toxic burden from plastics, heavy metals, mold, and environmental chemicals, plays a far bigger role in cognitive decline than most people realize. From immune modulation to biological age reversal, this conversation challenges the idea that Alzheimer’s is inevitable or untreatable. If you care about preventing cognitive decline, extending brain healthspan, and understanding why the medical system often fails Alzheimer's patients, this episode opens your eyes to what’s possible. Interested in receiving TPE with Dr. Josh? Apply to work with him here: https://drjosh.com/work-with-dr-josh/ “If you reduce the toxic burden on the body, the brain has an incredible ability to heal itself.” ~ Dr. Brad Younggren In this Episode 00:00 - Introduction to Dr. Brad Younggren of Circulate Health 03:55 - A perspective on therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) 05:53 - What TPE really is, how it works, and some… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/alzheimer-s-breakthrough-with-dr-josh-helman-md-7191947/episodes/can-plasma-exchange-slow-or-reverse-cognitive-decline-a-conversation-with-dr-brad-younggren/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/alzheimer-s-breakthrough-with-dr-josh-helman-md-7191947/can-plasma-exchange-slow-or-reverse-cognitive-decline-a-conversation-with-dr-brad-younggren.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.