May 29, 2025 • 30 mins
June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month. Manny Munoz discussed that and our nation’s gun violence epidemic with Dr. Cassandra Crifasi, co-director of the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at Johns Hopkins University
AND, some of the greatest in medical breakthroughs these days are being made in Alzheimer's Disease....but, those breakthroughs dont happen without research. I spoke with Dr. Doris Molina-Henry is an Assistant Professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute about the illness and her study.
AND, some of the greatest in medical breakthroughs these days are being made in Alzheimer's Disease....but, those breakthroughs dont happen without research. I spoke with Dr. Doris Molina-Henry is an Assistant Professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute about the illness and her study.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues in facting you this week.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Here's many Munios.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And welcome to another edition of Iheartradios Communities. As you heard,
I am Manny Muno's it's not an exaggeration to say
our nation has a gun violence epidemic, especially among our
nation's youth. Well, June happens to be National Gun Violence
Awareness Month, so we're lucky enough to be able to
(00:32):
discuss it now with doctor Cassandra Krafossi, co director of
the Center for Gun Violent Solutions at John Hopkins University.
Doctor Crafossi, I appreciate the.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Time, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I'm looking at through.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Some numbers here, and guns are the leading cause of
death among youth one ages one through seventeen in our country,
and an average of seven young people a day are
shot in the United States.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
How have we gotten to this point?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
It's a really great point. We have gotten to this
point in the US by having guns that are far
too accessible. We see guns as a leading cause of
death for kids and teens more than cars or cancer,
which is quite stark to sort of hear it put
that way, there are things that we can do though,
(01:27):
as gun owners, as people who choose to have guns
in the home, A really important way to reduce this
burden among kids and teens is say fun storage.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, and that's always one of the big dilemmas for
gun owners such as myself, is you want to make
sure that the gun is the weapon is accessible in
case you ever need to use it, but you also
need to make sure it is safely secured.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
How do we manage both of those things.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
It's a really great consideration. I personally am a gun owner.
I'm an active sports shooter, so it's important to me
that we are promoting practices that acknowledge and respect people's
right to own firearms but can also make us all safer.
The best practice when we're thinking about storing firearms is
to store them unloaded and locked up, preferably separate from ammunition.
(02:18):
But I also recognize that people own firearms for lots
of reasons, including home defense, and that means that we
may want our firearms a little bit more easily accessible,
and there I would encourage people to consider a quick
access safe, a safe that can be bolted to the bedside,
or a closet floor that can be quickly accessed via
(02:40):
a key code or biometrics that can allow you to
use your gun should you need it.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, and that's one of the most reasonable things I
think many of us have turned to. I think one
of the most worrisome problems with this issue of the
gun violence epidemic is that it doesn't seem to be
leveling off. It has I think, doubled in the last decade.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Is it not?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
It has doubled in the last decade. We are seeing
some promising trends when it comes to interpersonal violence. Gun
homicide is trending down slightly, though we are still much
higher than we were prior to the pandemic. Alarmingly, firearm
suicides continue to increase. In fact, the last year that
we have complete data, we saw the highest number and
(03:24):
highest rate of firearm suicides in the US ever recorded.
So we're going certainly in the wrong direction there, which
makes it much more important that we're thinking about how
we can minimize the harms of firearms if they're easily
accessible again, making sure guns are stored, unloaded and locked up,
every gun every time, acknowledging that we may use them
(03:48):
for home defense and want these quick access states, but
certainly thinking about how can we minimize the risks and
what are the responsibilities that come along with choosing to
exercise our rights to own firearms.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Part of your job is research. How does public health
research help us understand what some of the root causes
for the gun violence epidemic that we've seen in our country.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Sure, from a public health perspective, we're really thinking about
what are the various points of intervention and how can
we try to minimize the harms from whatever the exposure
might be. And here we're thinking about strategies like child
access prevention laws making sure that people who own firearms
(04:33):
are actively storing them in a way that make sure
kids and teens who can't legally buy guns aren't able
to gain access to them. We actually see in states
with these laws a fourteen percent reduction in child and
adolescent suicide. So a really important way to make our
community safer is by having these safe storage laws. And
(04:57):
we're also thinking about how are we regulating the sale
of firearms to make sure that they're only getting into
the hands of people who can legally buy them, making
sure we have these strong background check laws to identify
and screen out people who shouldn't be able to have them.
But then it also comes back to these behaviors that
(05:17):
we can engage in. Sets of guns from homes is
one of the leading sources of guns into an underground
gun market that might be used to harm kids or
other community members, and so safe storage is really important,
not just in the home, but to make our community safer,
and tied to that, storing guns safely in cars. As
(05:38):
we have more people carrying firearms out in public, it's
important that when we have them in our cars, we're
also storing them safely so the guns can't be stolen
and used to harm our communities.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Sadly, we can't mandate responsibility in our country. How do
you get the message to what seems like we have
way too many of in our country irresponsible adults when
it comes to their firearms.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
It's a really great point you raise. We try to
think about this from a couple of ways. One, as
we're doing here talking about what we do as responsible
gun owners, the steps we take to make sure our
guns aren't being accessed by people who shouldn't have them,
but there's an important role for people who also don't
(06:26):
own firearms, and that's again starting to help normalize the conversation.
So if I send my kids to a friend's house
to play, asking those parents do you have guns in
the home and are they safely stored? And if I'm
not comfortable with that answer, inviting people to my house instead,
or meeting at a public location like a park. Really
(06:47):
thinking about how can we make this a normal part
of any safety conversation. If your kid had a food allergy,
you wouldn't be shy about asking the friend's parents to
not feed your kid peanuts, for example, And so how
else can we have this come in talking about seat belts,
(07:07):
talking about bike helmets, Really making this a part of
everyday conversation because it doesn't have to be awkward. I
have these conversations all the time, and most people are
receptive of engaging in this way.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, and it's fascinating that you put it that way.
My wife has a saying, you don't get a do
over with your kids, so you got to get it
right the first time. And with guns being so prevalent
in our society, it's a little bit surprising people are
more hesitant, almost as if it were a taboo topic
to talk to other parents.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
About I agree. It really has been almost made to
feel that way, I think because it has become a
really political topic. But in my experience as a researcher
and as a gun owner, it doesn't have to be.
In fact, when you have these kinds of conversations, people
are very receptive. And one of the reasons we're so
(08:01):
focused on kids and teens is because anyone who has
kids or has been around kids know that one of
the greatest characteristics of kids is they are so curious.
They love to explore, they love to check things out.
They know where the cookies and snacks are hidden. They
usually know where the Christmas presents are hidden as well,
which means they're probably also able to find where you
(08:23):
may have put up your firearm. And we don't want
kids finding firearms that are unsecured and hopefully, you know,
having a bad outcome from that, avoiding a bad outcome
from that, and so we want to make sure that
we're minimizing that risk by having our gun stored, unloaded,
(08:43):
locked up every time.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
A few more minutes here with doctor Cassandra Canfossi, co
director of the Center for Gun Violent Solutions at John
Hopkins University. Back to the point we were talking about
a few minutes ago about getting the message through to
irresponsible gun owners. Unfortunately, it is a fact that we
have too many of them. We've seen in some of
the recent mass shootings where it was a parent who
(09:06):
allowed a medica mentally troubled teenager or even adult to
have access to their firearms.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
It's a really unfortunate circuit situation when someone who can
legally buy a firearm is getting it into the hands
of someone who shouldn't have it, either because they are
of a young age or they have some kind of
crisis or other sort of mental health condition. So it's
really important again that we are emphasizing the responsibilities that
(09:39):
come along with the rights of firearm ownership, and that
means making sure that we're doing the right things, storing
our guns safe and secure every time, making sure we're
not selling our firearms to people who can't legally have them,
and normalizing some of these conversations. Often we devolve a
conversation into the ski very phrase of gun control, what
(10:01):
does that mean? But when you get really specific, you
actually see really broad support. So, for example, we do
a public opinion poll every two years. It's a nationally
representative sample of US adults, and we ask them things like,
should someone who's buying a gun for the first time
be required to take a safety course? And it turns
(10:22):
out that's a really good idea of eighty four percent
of US adults, including eighty percent of gun owners, think
if you've never had a gun before, you should probably
take a safety course. And really leaning into these areas
of agreement, because when we get specific and we start
talking about what do we actually mean when we're talking
about safety, that's when we can have the most productive conversations.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
What do you think of the most common misconceptions about
gun violence that you encounter in your work.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I think there are two really pervasive misconceptions when it
comes to gun violence. One is that interpersonal violence or
homicide is the leading cause of death, when in fact,
firearm suicide is the leading cause of gun deaths. More
than half of all gun deaths in the US are
from suicide. And the other piece, which is related, is
(11:14):
that mass shootings or school shootings are the predominant form
of gun deaths that we need to be thinking about.
When it comes to school shootings, they are exceptionally rare.
They are terrible and tragic, and we should be focused
on preventing them. But schools continue to be one of
the safest places for our children, and so it's important
(11:35):
to be having these kinds of conversations to recognize one
firem suicide is the leading cause of death, and two
there are things that we can do to prevent multiple
forms of gun.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Violence along those lines. What role does mental health play
in the broader conversation about gun violence prevention.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
It's a really great question. So when we think about
gun violence overall, mental health or mental illness actually plays
a very small role. If we were to prevent all
interpersonal violence, so homicide and non fatal shooting that you
could attribute to people who have a mental illness, you
would prevent less than ten percent of all gun violence
(12:20):
in the US. There is a much stronger correlation with
mental health and risk of suicide, and that's where things
like LEFO means safety counseling, having firearms temporarily removed from
the home if it's a very severe incident, potentially separating
someone from their firearms through a court order where a
(12:43):
judge determines whether someone temporarily needs to have their firearms separated.
It isn't a really important point that drives the narrative.
But when we're thinking about preventing gun violence, whether it's
homicide or suicide, there are other facts like alcohol consumption,
history of prior violence, access to firearms during those times
(13:07):
of crisis that are far more important drivers.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
How can families, individuals participate in what I mentioned June
being Gun Violence Awareness Months? Are there activities? Are there
ways that you try to get the message out to
the public.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Absolutely so. In recognition of June being Gun Violence Awareness Months,
our website, we have a new landing page that's totally
dedicated to understanding safe storage. So we've got a great
website there. You can learn about how guns should be
stored right. We want them to be unloaded and locked
up for non gun owners, making sure that you're talking
(13:47):
with folks that you may know, other parents, etc. But
we've got some great toolkits, We've got some guidance language
for folks who may not know exactly how to initiate
some of these and really help us normalize these conversations
because there's no rewind button on a firearm, and unfortunately,
if guns fall into the hands of kids, and teens,
(14:08):
they may be used to harm themselves or others, and
we can't take that back.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
What is the website public health.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Dot jhu dot edu slash gun violence.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Excellent? Repeat that for me.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Yes, our website is public Health dot jhu dot edu
slash gun violence.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
And the last thing for you, doctor Crafaci, how do
you attempt to engage with gun owners in your research
and your outreach efforts? Because you mentioned a couple of
minutes ago, I thought something that is absolutely true. Anytime
we talk about gun violence gun owners, many gun owners
minds immediately turns to gun control, and that's not what
you're talking about here.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
As a gun owner myself, it's important to me that
we are part of the solution, and that's the framing
that I bring when I'm doing my research, translation, activities,
whatever it might be. And so I make a concerted
effort to talk with gun owners what are the things
they're doing, what are the things they would like to
(15:15):
learn about or to hear people talk about. Because we
have more guns than people in the US, and we
have lots of people who own firearms, it's an important
part of my identity, other people's identity, and so it's
important that we are engaging and having these conversations. I
hope this opportunity to share with folks today a public
(15:35):
health researcher who's a gun owner, who is working to
reduce gun violence can sort of help change that narrative.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Let's hope I speak with you a year from now
and we've got positive trends downward trends to report in
terms of gun violence overall, especially among our nation's youth.
Doctor Cassandra Krefossi, Co director of the Center for Gun
Violent Solutions at John Hopkins University, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Be well, appreciate the time.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
It seems like every day we hear about breakthroughs and
the diagnosis and treatment.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Of all sorts of diseases. Some of the.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Greatest strides are being made in Alzheimer's disease. But those
breakthroughs don't happen without research. So let's take a look
at one of those projects right now. As where you
bring in Doctor Doris Molina Henry, Assistant Professor at the
USC CLEX School of Medicine, Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute. Doctor
Malina Henry, I appreciate the time.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Thank you so much, Manny, It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
So let me start off with this. What is Alzheimer's disease.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
So, when we think of Alzheimer's disease, it's a type
of dementia or a change in the brain that significantly
impairs or affects the individual's ability to function as they
normally would have functioned. It begins to impacting things like
your memory, your cognitive function, your ability to think and
(16:58):
process through things and events. Actually, a disease like Alzheimer's disease,
as it progresses, begins to affect your everyday life, your
ability to function in everyday space, your ability to move,
communicate and engage with others. And it can take an
incredibly debilitating role on the individual and ultimately on those
(17:18):
that surround them. And so when we think of Alzheimer's,
we think of a subclass of the dementias that is
typically thought as one of the most prevalent or most
commonly occurring.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
So all dementias are not Alzheimer's disease, but all Alzheimer's
disease are a form of dementia.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
That is exactly right, and what exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Is dementia, then specifically.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
It's a collection of symptoms that really are rooted in
changes in the brain. Typically, we would have thought, maybe
decades ago, that changes in the brain, your ability to remember,
your ability to function with age, should be changing dramatically,
and that these were things that when we saw them,
this collection of symptoms, when we saw them and saw
(18:03):
them happen in our loved ones, that this was just
a normal part of aging. And research has taught us
that that's not the case. That as we've learned more,
we understand that our brains don't have to be completely
impaired by the time that we reach our seventies and eighties,
that we can have very strong function a very strong
functioning brain. And so when we think about dementias, we
(18:26):
think about that collection of symptoms. Memory loss, changes in thinking,
changes in functioning, changes in your mood, changes in your
ability to connect, remembering individuals, remembering lists, remembering appointments. All
of those things are the early signs. And then even
more progressive science begin with aggression in some individuals, or
just ability the ability to communicate as well is lost
(18:50):
in a number of other things, ultimately getting to a
place where the individual can barely do their activities as
daily living.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Do we go from the point where me, for example,
getting older, walks into another room forget why I was
walking in there, or forgetting where I put my phone
or my keys, and the point where it begins to
become dementia.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Yes, that's an excellent question. So what we've learned is
that this is happening well before we begin to detect
these changes. Individuals that will have Alzheimer's disease typically show
a protein in their brain called the amyloid, and that
protein can begin to accumulate along with other pathological changes
(19:37):
even ten twenty years prior to an individual beginning to
show the early signs of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, and
typically we associate these proteins with Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, do
we know.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
What causes these proteins to increase in the brain.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
We don't know. Specifically. There could be a myriad of factors.
What we do is that there are certain genetic risk factors.
Some individuals may show up with a particular gene that
has a component that makes them more at risk. Some individuals,
when they have that may not progress into dimension and
others that accumulate amyloid may not even develop dementia. So
(20:21):
we are still learning. There's much to be learned. But
what we have understood is that when we begin to
see these individuals that present with this apoe for allio
that carry it, they tend to be at higher risk
of presenting with the disease. But we also understand that
there are other factors that may contribute to accelerating and
(20:42):
those may be really associated to modifiable factors such as
diabetes or uncontrolled glucose levels, uncontrolled blood pressure, and these
things seem to contribute to possibly the progression of Alzheimer's
disease and individuals that are at risk.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
To get into your specific research, what you're looking into,
and then end of the study, which is really really unique.
In a second here, it seems I mentioned breakthroughs.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
At the beginning.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
It seems like some of the greatest breakthroughs it right
now is not necessarily the treatment of Alzheimer's, but in
the diagnosis and the early detection.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Can can you talk to me about some of those.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I would say it's both. I think we're seeing incredible
breakthroughs in the treatment of a disease. That for decades
we have tried to treat and had barely stretched the surface,
and all of a sudden, now we have two therapies
that are available that are disease modifying, me that they
can delay that the accumulation or even eliminate some of
(21:44):
that accumulation of amyloid in individual's brains. We also have
the incredible resource now and tool of the blood tests
which were not in existence, and the fact that we
can now measure in someone's blood and we have approved
tests that will contribute to the timely diagnosis of Alzheimer's
disease really is a game changer because this all means
(22:06):
that it will allow individuals to know sooner where we
have much more, much stronger potential for effect as intervention.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Are there already guidelines for how, when, on whom these
blood tests for early detection can be used.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Yes, there are guidelines in place and these are being
communicated more in the clinical space. They have come from
a number of institutes and organizations. The Alzheimer's Association has
heavily involved the FDA, So there are guidances right now
for therapies. We know that these are only a pruce
for individuals with mild cognitive impairment. And I mentioned that
(22:45):
specifically because we hope that, based on the evidence that
we are seeing that even individuals that are the very
very early stage of mild cognitive impairment, which is almost
a prelude in some cases to dementia, these individual rules
may benefit even more from the therapies that are currently available.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
How far have you had to guess? Would you say
we are from a cure?
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Well, I think we are getting closer. It's very hard
to say how far we are from a cure. I
think what we're closer to is prevention and prevention strategy,
and the fact that we can detect these proteins well
before someone begins to experience symptoms may certainly be considered
a form of cure because they may never experience the
(23:30):
devastating and debilitating effects of Alzheimer's disease if we get
this right.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
And that's the perfect segue.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Here a few more minutes here with doctor Doris Molina Henry,
assistant professor at the USC Keech School of Medicine, Alzheimer's
Therapeutic Research Institute.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
So talk to me about this apt WEB study.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
Absolutely, and so when we think of all of what
we've just discussed and the important developments that are happening.
We have a program known as the APE Web Study,
which is a free, easy to access online study designed
to help researchers really understand how memory and thinking is
changing over time. It helps us also provide opportunities for
(24:12):
individuals who may be progressing or may show signs that
they could be qualified to participate in one of these
studies that is interventional where we are testing these treatments
to see if they can effectively reduce the progression of amyloid,
reduce the progression of some of these pathological factors that
contribute to symptoms in the long run, and so this
(24:34):
becomes the sort of a matching mechanism, but it also
allows individuals to follow and track their own memory over time,
whether they have concerns or not.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Prevention is the word that jumped out at me initially
when you mentioned it. Exactly who are you looking for
in terms of participants for the web study.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
We are typically looking for anyone at age and fifty
or older and who has access to internet and can
sign up, whether they have memory concerns or not. And
so these are individual individuals are welcome to just go
to the website at theww dot APT web Study dot
org and there there are very clear instructions on how
(25:15):
someone may sign up, but also has it gives you
an opportunity to view the information and understand what type
of study this is, and the ask is very minimal.
What participants are asked to do is simply complete a
cognitive assessment, a test that allows us to evaluate their
cognitive function, their their brain function at the time they're
taking it, and that is repeated every six months. And
(25:35):
then they complete also a questionnaire that allows us to
gauge how they're perceiving their memory at this time and
any changes that they are experiencing, and that happens every
three months. So with those two pieces of information, we
continually monitor and can provide that information back to participants
in individuals in the community.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Aptwebstudy dot org. Apt Webstudy dot Org is the website.
In terms of who Alzheimer's effects, is there a cultural component?
Have you found some sort of a socioeconomic component, because
I know you study both the biological and non biological
(26:14):
contributors to this disease.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Yeah, that's an excellent question. So we have known based
on prior evidence that there is a higher risk of
dementia in certain communities, in certain groups associated with social factors.
Social demographic factors, particularly individuals that may be from black
communities or from Hispanic communities, These tend to be much
(26:37):
more present with a higher risk of dementia. So we
always hope to engage these individuals because they're not traditionally
as present in our studies, but the doors are open
and the opportunities abound, and so we really hope that
individuals that are finding themselves at the higher risk of
the spectrum may be I'm willing to engage and participate.
(27:00):
We are starting to see relationships and other factors as well,
and I think that these have been described in the literature,
but we're starting to look at this also with blood
tests and looking at the biomarkers and looking at how
some of these social factors can affect the biology that
ultimately may contribute to increased risk and some individuals.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
What is the benefit I guess for the participants to
take part in this study, In other words, are you
offering anything for these people participating?
Speaker 4 (27:28):
Yes? So, I think the greatest benefit of this is
the ability to be proactive about your own thing this
web study of participates is now a part of this
web study community that receives information about their own brain, health,
your results or return to you, but also the ability
and the opportunity to engage further in research via participation
(27:50):
in blood assessments or participation in an interventional clinical trial,
receiving information about how things are changing in the field
and how you can best get involved. And I think
that that, especially as our population AGUS becomes much more important,
it gives them an opportunity to really be engaged when
(28:11):
there's time, to be able to make the adaptations and
changes that might provide them with a longer, healthier a
brain for a longer health longer time.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
What makes this web study so unique because it seems
like you're able because of the way you're conducting it.
You're able to not only get a lot more people
to participate, but do it in ways that I guess
other research hasn't looked at yet.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
It is our hope, and I think that there are
many other spaces where these things are being tried. But
one thing that I believe is unique about the app
web study is that it provides this information to participants
but also opens the door and the ability to match
for an interventional trial if this is something that the
individual is pre qualified for, and that I mean, we're
(28:58):
noticing changes in your brain. Now here's an opportunity get
in on the most breakthrough, latest potential interventions that might
change the course of the disease in the future.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Well, I'm over fifty.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
I'm going to go to APT webstudy dot org and
register for it myself. APT webstudy dot org. Doctor Doris
Malina Henry, I hope to follow up with you a
few months down the line, see what you've learned.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I appreciate the time.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
It's doctor Doris Malina Henry, assistant professor at the USC
Tech School of Medicine, Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute. Again, if
you're interested in joining the study, finding out more, or
for one of your loved ones, APT webstudy dot org.
And that'll do it for another edition of Iheartradios Communities.
(29:49):
I'm Mannie Muno's until next time.
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues in facting you this week.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Here's many Munios.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And welcome to another edition of Iheartradios Communities. As you heard,
I am Manny Muno's it's not an exaggeration to say
our nation has a gun violence epidemic, especially among our
nation's youth. Well, June happens to be National Gun Violence
Awareness Month, so we're lucky enough to be able to
(00:32):
discuss it now with doctor Cassandra Krafossi, co director of
the Center for Gun Violent Solutions at John Hopkins University.
Doctor Crafossi, I appreciate the.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Time, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I'm looking at through.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Some numbers here, and guns are the leading cause of
death among youth one ages one through seventeen in our country,
and an average of seven young people a day are
shot in the United States.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
How have we gotten to this point?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
It's a really great point. We have gotten to this
point in the US by having guns that are far
too accessible. We see guns as a leading cause of
death for kids and teens more than cars or cancer,
which is quite stark to sort of hear it put
that way, there are things that we can do though,
(01:27):
as gun owners, as people who choose to have guns
in the home, A really important way to reduce this
burden among kids and teens is say fun storage.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, and that's always one of the big dilemmas for
gun owners such as myself, is you want to make
sure that the gun is the weapon is accessible in
case you ever need to use it, but you also
need to make sure it is safely secured.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
How do we manage both of those things.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
It's a really great consideration. I personally am a gun owner.
I'm an active sports shooter, so it's important to me
that we are promoting practices that acknowledge and respect people's
right to own firearms but can also make us all safer.
The best practice when we're thinking about storing firearms is
to store them unloaded and locked up, preferably separate from ammunition.
(02:18):
But I also recognize that people own firearms for lots
of reasons, including home defense, and that means that we
may want our firearms a little bit more easily accessible,
and there I would encourage people to consider a quick
access safe, a safe that can be bolted to the bedside,
or a closet floor that can be quickly accessed via
(02:40):
a key code or biometrics that can allow you to
use your gun should you need it.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, and that's one of the most reasonable things I
think many of us have turned to. I think one
of the most worrisome problems with this issue of the
gun violence epidemic is that it doesn't seem to be
leveling off. It has I think, doubled in the last decade.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Is it not?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
It has doubled in the last decade. We are seeing
some promising trends when it comes to interpersonal violence. Gun
homicide is trending down slightly, though we are still much
higher than we were prior to the pandemic. Alarmingly, firearm
suicides continue to increase. In fact, the last year that
we have complete data, we saw the highest number and
(03:24):
highest rate of firearm suicides in the US ever recorded.
So we're going certainly in the wrong direction there, which
makes it much more important that we're thinking about how
we can minimize the harms of firearms if they're easily
accessible again, making sure guns are stored, unloaded and locked up,
every gun every time, acknowledging that we may use them
(03:48):
for home defense and want these quick access states, but
certainly thinking about how can we minimize the risks and
what are the responsibilities that come along with choosing to
exercise our rights to own firearms.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Part of your job is research. How does public health
research help us understand what some of the root causes
for the gun violence epidemic that we've seen in our country.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Sure, from a public health perspective, we're really thinking about
what are the various points of intervention and how can
we try to minimize the harms from whatever the exposure
might be. And here we're thinking about strategies like child
access prevention laws making sure that people who own firearms
(04:33):
are actively storing them in a way that make sure
kids and teens who can't legally buy guns aren't able
to gain access to them. We actually see in states
with these laws a fourteen percent reduction in child and
adolescent suicide. So a really important way to make our
community safer is by having these safe storage laws. And
(04:57):
we're also thinking about how are we regulating the sale
of firearms to make sure that they're only getting into
the hands of people who can legally buy them, making
sure we have these strong background check laws to identify
and screen out people who shouldn't be able to have them.
But then it also comes back to these behaviors that
(05:17):
we can engage in. Sets of guns from homes is
one of the leading sources of guns into an underground
gun market that might be used to harm kids or
other community members, and so safe storage is really important,
not just in the home, but to make our community safer,
and tied to that, storing guns safely in cars. As
(05:38):
we have more people carrying firearms out in public, it's
important that when we have them in our cars, we're
also storing them safely so the guns can't be stolen
and used to harm our communities.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Sadly, we can't mandate responsibility in our country. How do
you get the message to what seems like we have
way too many of in our country irresponsible adults when
it comes to their firearms.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
It's a really great point you raise. We try to
think about this from a couple of ways. One, as
we're doing here talking about what we do as responsible
gun owners, the steps we take to make sure our
guns aren't being accessed by people who shouldn't have them,
but there's an important role for people who also don't
(06:26):
own firearms, and that's again starting to help normalize the conversation.
So if I send my kids to a friend's house
to play, asking those parents do you have guns in
the home and are they safely stored? And if I'm
not comfortable with that answer, inviting people to my house instead,
or meeting at a public location like a park. Really
(06:47):
thinking about how can we make this a normal part
of any safety conversation. If your kid had a food allergy,
you wouldn't be shy about asking the friend's parents to
not feed your kid peanuts, for example, And so how
else can we have this come in talking about seat belts,
(07:07):
talking about bike helmets, Really making this a part of
everyday conversation because it doesn't have to be awkward. I
have these conversations all the time, and most people are
receptive of engaging in this way.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, and it's fascinating that you put it that way.
My wife has a saying, you don't get a do
over with your kids, so you got to get it
right the first time. And with guns being so prevalent
in our society, it's a little bit surprising people are
more hesitant, almost as if it were a taboo topic
to talk to other parents.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
About I agree. It really has been almost made to
feel that way, I think because it has become a
really political topic. But in my experience as a researcher
and as a gun owner, it doesn't have to be.
In fact, when you have these kinds of conversations, people
are very receptive. And one of the reasons we're so
(08:01):
focused on kids and teens is because anyone who has
kids or has been around kids know that one of
the greatest characteristics of kids is they are so curious.
They love to explore, they love to check things out.
They know where the cookies and snacks are hidden. They
usually know where the Christmas presents are hidden as well,
which means they're probably also able to find where you
(08:23):
may have put up your firearm. And we don't want
kids finding firearms that are unsecured and hopefully, you know,
having a bad outcome from that, avoiding a bad outcome
from that, and so we want to make sure that
we're minimizing that risk by having our gun stored, unloaded,
(08:43):
locked up every time.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
A few more minutes here with doctor Cassandra Canfossi, co
director of the Center for Gun Violent Solutions at John
Hopkins University. Back to the point we were talking about
a few minutes ago about getting the message through to
irresponsible gun owners. Unfortunately, it is a fact that we
have too many of them. We've seen in some of
the recent mass shootings where it was a parent who
(09:06):
allowed a medica mentally troubled teenager or even adult to
have access to their firearms.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
It's a really unfortunate circuit situation when someone who can
legally buy a firearm is getting it into the hands
of someone who shouldn't have it, either because they are
of a young age or they have some kind of
crisis or other sort of mental health condition. So it's
really important again that we are emphasizing the responsibilities that
(09:39):
come along with the rights of firearm ownership, and that
means making sure that we're doing the right things, storing
our guns safe and secure every time, making sure we're
not selling our firearms to people who can't legally have them,
and normalizing some of these conversations. Often we devolve a
conversation into the ski very phrase of gun control, what
(10:01):
does that mean? But when you get really specific, you
actually see really broad support. So, for example, we do
a public opinion poll every two years. It's a nationally
representative sample of US adults, and we ask them things like,
should someone who's buying a gun for the first time
be required to take a safety course? And it turns
(10:22):
out that's a really good idea of eighty four percent
of US adults, including eighty percent of gun owners, think
if you've never had a gun before, you should probably
take a safety course. And really leaning into these areas
of agreement, because when we get specific and we start
talking about what do we actually mean when we're talking
about safety, that's when we can have the most productive conversations.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
What do you think of the most common misconceptions about
gun violence that you encounter in your work.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I think there are two really pervasive misconceptions when it
comes to gun violence. One is that interpersonal violence or
homicide is the leading cause of death, when in fact,
firearm suicide is the leading cause of gun deaths. More
than half of all gun deaths in the US are
from suicide. And the other piece, which is related, is
(11:14):
that mass shootings or school shootings are the predominant form
of gun deaths that we need to be thinking about.
When it comes to school shootings, they are exceptionally rare.
They are terrible and tragic, and we should be focused
on preventing them. But schools continue to be one of
the safest places for our children, and so it's important
(11:35):
to be having these kinds of conversations to recognize one
firem suicide is the leading cause of death, and two
there are things that we can do to prevent multiple
forms of gun.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Violence along those lines. What role does mental health play
in the broader conversation about gun violence prevention.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
It's a really great question. So when we think about
gun violence overall, mental health or mental illness actually plays
a very small role. If we were to prevent all
interpersonal violence, so homicide and non fatal shooting that you
could attribute to people who have a mental illness, you
would prevent less than ten percent of all gun violence
(12:20):
in the US. There is a much stronger correlation with
mental health and risk of suicide, and that's where things
like LEFO means safety counseling, having firearms temporarily removed from
the home if it's a very severe incident, potentially separating
someone from their firearms through a court order where a
(12:43):
judge determines whether someone temporarily needs to have their firearms separated.
It isn't a really important point that drives the narrative.
But when we're thinking about preventing gun violence, whether it's
homicide or suicide, there are other facts like alcohol consumption,
history of prior violence, access to firearms during those times
(13:07):
of crisis that are far more important drivers.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
How can families, individuals participate in what I mentioned June
being Gun Violence Awareness Months? Are there activities? Are there
ways that you try to get the message out to
the public.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Absolutely so. In recognition of June being Gun Violence Awareness Months,
our website, we have a new landing page that's totally
dedicated to understanding safe storage. So we've got a great
website there. You can learn about how guns should be
stored right. We want them to be unloaded and locked
up for non gun owners, making sure that you're talking
(13:47):
with folks that you may know, other parents, etc. But
we've got some great toolkits, We've got some guidance language
for folks who may not know exactly how to initiate
some of these and really help us normalize these conversations
because there's no rewind button on a firearm, and unfortunately,
if guns fall into the hands of kids, and teens,
(14:08):
they may be used to harm themselves or others, and
we can't take that back.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
What is the website public health.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Dot jhu dot edu slash gun violence.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Excellent? Repeat that for me.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Yes, our website is public Health dot jhu dot edu
slash gun violence.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
And the last thing for you, doctor Crafaci, how do
you attempt to engage with gun owners in your research
and your outreach efforts? Because you mentioned a couple of
minutes ago, I thought something that is absolutely true. Anytime
we talk about gun violence gun owners, many gun owners
minds immediately turns to gun control, and that's not what
you're talking about here.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
As a gun owner myself, it's important to me that
we are part of the solution, and that's the framing
that I bring when I'm doing my research, translation, activities,
whatever it might be. And so I make a concerted
effort to talk with gun owners what are the things
they're doing, what are the things they would like to
(15:15):
learn about or to hear people talk about. Because we
have more guns than people in the US, and we
have lots of people who own firearms, it's an important
part of my identity, other people's identity, and so it's
important that we are engaging and having these conversations. I
hope this opportunity to share with folks today a public
(15:35):
health researcher who's a gun owner, who is working to
reduce gun violence can sort of help change that narrative.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Let's hope I speak with you a year from now
and we've got positive trends downward trends to report in
terms of gun violence overall, especially among our nation's youth.
Doctor Cassandra Krefossi, Co director of the Center for Gun
Violent Solutions at John Hopkins University, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Be well, appreciate the time.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
It seems like every day we hear about breakthroughs and
the diagnosis and treatment.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Of all sorts of diseases. Some of the.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Greatest strides are being made in Alzheimer's disease. But those
breakthroughs don't happen without research. So let's take a look
at one of those projects right now. As where you
bring in Doctor Doris Molina Henry, Assistant Professor at the
USC CLEX School of Medicine, Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute. Doctor
Malina Henry, I appreciate the time.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Thank you so much, Manny, It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
So let me start off with this. What is Alzheimer's disease.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
So, when we think of Alzheimer's disease, it's a type
of dementia or a change in the brain that significantly
impairs or affects the individual's ability to function as they
normally would have functioned. It begins to impacting things like
your memory, your cognitive function, your ability to think and
(16:58):
process through things and events. Actually, a disease like Alzheimer's disease,
as it progresses, begins to affect your everyday life, your
ability to function in everyday space, your ability to move,
communicate and engage with others. And it can take an
incredibly debilitating role on the individual and ultimately on those
(17:18):
that surround them. And so when we think of Alzheimer's,
we think of a subclass of the dementias that is
typically thought as one of the most prevalent or most
commonly occurring.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
So all dementias are not Alzheimer's disease, but all Alzheimer's
disease are a form of dementia.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
That is exactly right, and what exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Is dementia, then specifically.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
It's a collection of symptoms that really are rooted in
changes in the brain. Typically, we would have thought, maybe
decades ago, that changes in the brain, your ability to remember,
your ability to function with age, should be changing dramatically,
and that these were things that when we saw them,
this collection of symptoms, when we saw them and saw
(18:03):
them happen in our loved ones, that this was just
a normal part of aging. And research has taught us
that that's not the case. That as we've learned more,
we understand that our brains don't have to be completely
impaired by the time that we reach our seventies and eighties,
that we can have very strong function a very strong
functioning brain. And so when we think about dementias, we
(18:26):
think about that collection of symptoms. Memory loss, changes in thinking,
changes in functioning, changes in your mood, changes in your
ability to connect, remembering individuals, remembering lists, remembering appointments. All
of those things are the early signs. And then even
more progressive science begin with aggression in some individuals, or
just ability the ability to communicate as well is lost
(18:50):
in a number of other things, ultimately getting to a
place where the individual can barely do their activities as
daily living.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Do we go from the point where me, for example,
getting older, walks into another room forget why I was
walking in there, or forgetting where I put my phone
or my keys, and the point where it begins to
become dementia.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Yes, that's an excellent question. So what we've learned is
that this is happening well before we begin to detect
these changes. Individuals that will have Alzheimer's disease typically show
a protein in their brain called the amyloid, and that
protein can begin to accumulate along with other pathological changes
(19:37):
even ten twenty years prior to an individual beginning to
show the early signs of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, and
typically we associate these proteins with Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, do
we know.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
What causes these proteins to increase in the brain.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
We don't know. Specifically. There could be a myriad of factors.
What we do is that there are certain genetic risk factors.
Some individuals may show up with a particular gene that
has a component that makes them more at risk. Some individuals,
when they have that may not progress into dimension and
others that accumulate amyloid may not even develop dementia. So
(20:21):
we are still learning. There's much to be learned. But
what we have understood is that when we begin to
see these individuals that present with this apoe for allio
that carry it, they tend to be at higher risk
of presenting with the disease. But we also understand that
there are other factors that may contribute to accelerating and
(20:42):
those may be really associated to modifiable factors such as
diabetes or uncontrolled glucose levels, uncontrolled blood pressure, and these
things seem to contribute to possibly the progression of Alzheimer's
disease and individuals that are at risk.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
To get into your specific research, what you're looking into,
and then end of the study, which is really really unique.
In a second here, it seems I mentioned breakthroughs.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
At the beginning.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
It seems like some of the greatest breakthroughs it right
now is not necessarily the treatment of Alzheimer's, but in
the diagnosis and the early detection.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Can can you talk to me about some of those.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I would say it's both. I think we're seeing incredible
breakthroughs in the treatment of a disease. That for decades
we have tried to treat and had barely stretched the surface,
and all of a sudden, now we have two therapies
that are available that are disease modifying, me that they
can delay that the accumulation or even eliminate some of
(21:44):
that accumulation of amyloid in individual's brains. We also have
the incredible resource now and tool of the blood tests
which were not in existence, and the fact that we
can now measure in someone's blood and we have approved
tests that will contribute to the timely diagnosis of Alzheimer's
disease really is a game changer because this all means
(22:06):
that it will allow individuals to know sooner where we
have much more, much stronger potential for effect as intervention.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Are there already guidelines for how, when, on whom these
blood tests for early detection can be used.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Yes, there are guidelines in place and these are being
communicated more in the clinical space. They have come from
a number of institutes and organizations. The Alzheimer's Association has
heavily involved the FDA, So there are guidances right now
for therapies. We know that these are only a pruce
for individuals with mild cognitive impairment. And I mentioned that
(22:45):
specifically because we hope that, based on the evidence that
we are seeing that even individuals that are the very
very early stage of mild cognitive impairment, which is almost
a prelude in some cases to dementia, these individual rules
may benefit even more from the therapies that are currently available.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
How far have you had to guess? Would you say
we are from a cure?
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Well, I think we are getting closer. It's very hard
to say how far we are from a cure. I
think what we're closer to is prevention and prevention strategy,
and the fact that we can detect these proteins well
before someone begins to experience symptoms may certainly be considered
a form of cure because they may never experience the
(23:30):
devastating and debilitating effects of Alzheimer's disease if we get
this right.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
And that's the perfect segue.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Here a few more minutes here with doctor Doris Molina Henry,
assistant professor at the USC Keech School of Medicine, Alzheimer's
Therapeutic Research Institute.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
So talk to me about this apt WEB study.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
Absolutely, and so when we think of all of what
we've just discussed and the important developments that are happening.
We have a program known as the APE Web Study,
which is a free, easy to access online study designed
to help researchers really understand how memory and thinking is
changing over time. It helps us also provide opportunities for
(24:12):
individuals who may be progressing or may show signs that
they could be qualified to participate in one of these
studies that is interventional where we are testing these treatments
to see if they can effectively reduce the progression of amyloid,
reduce the progression of some of these pathological factors that
contribute to symptoms in the long run, and so this
(24:34):
becomes the sort of a matching mechanism, but it also
allows individuals to follow and track their own memory over time,
whether they have concerns or not.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Prevention is the word that jumped out at me initially
when you mentioned it. Exactly who are you looking for
in terms of participants for the web study.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
We are typically looking for anyone at age and fifty
or older and who has access to internet and can
sign up, whether they have memory concerns or not. And
so these are individual individuals are welcome to just go
to the website at theww dot APT web Study dot
org and there there are very clear instructions on how
(25:15):
someone may sign up, but also has it gives you
an opportunity to view the information and understand what type
of study this is, and the ask is very minimal.
What participants are asked to do is simply complete a
cognitive assessment, a test that allows us to evaluate their
cognitive function, their their brain function at the time they're
taking it, and that is repeated every six months. And
(25:35):
then they complete also a questionnaire that allows us to
gauge how they're perceiving their memory at this time and
any changes that they are experiencing, and that happens every
three months. So with those two pieces of information, we
continually monitor and can provide that information back to participants
in individuals in the community.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Aptwebstudy dot org. Apt Webstudy dot Org is the website.
In terms of who Alzheimer's effects, is there a cultural component?
Have you found some sort of a socioeconomic component, because
I know you study both the biological and non biological
(26:14):
contributors to this disease.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Yeah, that's an excellent question. So we have known based
on prior evidence that there is a higher risk of
dementia in certain communities, in certain groups associated with social factors.
Social demographic factors, particularly individuals that may be from black
communities or from Hispanic communities, These tend to be much
(26:37):
more present with a higher risk of dementia. So we
always hope to engage these individuals because they're not traditionally
as present in our studies, but the doors are open
and the opportunities abound, and so we really hope that
individuals that are finding themselves at the higher risk of
the spectrum may be I'm willing to engage and participate.
(27:00):
We are starting to see relationships and other factors as well,
and I think that these have been described in the literature,
but we're starting to look at this also with blood
tests and looking at the biomarkers and looking at how
some of these social factors can affect the biology that
ultimately may contribute to increased risk and some individuals.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
What is the benefit I guess for the participants to
take part in this study, In other words, are you
offering anything for these people participating?
Speaker 4 (27:28):
Yes? So, I think the greatest benefit of this is
the ability to be proactive about your own thing this
web study of participates is now a part of this
web study community that receives information about their own brain, health,
your results or return to you, but also the ability
and the opportunity to engage further in research via participation
(27:50):
in blood assessments or participation in an interventional clinical trial,
receiving information about how things are changing in the field
and how you can best get involved. And I think
that that, especially as our population AGUS becomes much more important,
it gives them an opportunity to really be engaged when
(28:11):
there's time, to be able to make the adaptations and
changes that might provide them with a longer, healthier a
brain for a longer health longer time.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
What makes this web study so unique because it seems
like you're able because of the way you're conducting it.
You're able to not only get a lot more people
to participate, but do it in ways that I guess
other research hasn't looked at yet.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
It is our hope, and I think that there are
many other spaces where these things are being tried. But
one thing that I believe is unique about the app
web study is that it provides this information to participants
but also opens the door and the ability to match
for an interventional trial if this is something that the
individual is pre qualified for, and that I mean, we're
(28:58):
noticing changes in your brain. Now here's an opportunity get
in on the most breakthrough, latest potential interventions that might
change the course of the disease in the future.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Well, I'm over fifty.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
I'm going to go to APT webstudy dot org and
register for it myself. APT webstudy dot org. Doctor Doris
Malina Henry, I hope to follow up with you a
few months down the line, see what you've learned.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I appreciate the time.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
It's doctor Doris Malina Henry, assistant professor at the USC
Tech School of Medicine, Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute. Again, if
you're interested in joining the study, finding out more, or
for one of your loved ones, APT webstudy dot org.
And that'll do it for another edition of Iheartradios Communities.
(29:49):
I'm Mannie Muno's until next time.
Host
Manny Munoz
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