TED Talk “The Coming Neurological Epidemic”: Speech Summary, Text, & Analysis

If you are looking for a speech summary, text, and analysis of the TED talk: “The Coming Neurological Epidemic” by Gregory Petsko, we have provided one for you. In Petsko’s 3-minute speech, he discusses a topic that is worrying many: the potential for an epidemic of neurological diseases.

TED Talk “The Coming Neurological Epidemic” Speech Summary

We analyzed Petsko’s TED talk using the free, AI-powered communication coach, Yoodli. Start with http://www.yoodli.ai and view the speech here.

• Over the next 40 years, the world is facing an epidemic of neurologic diseases on a global scale. This is due to the flattening out of the population’s age distribution.
• The average lifespan has more than doubled since 1840. It’s currently increasing at the rate of five hours per day.
• By 2050, 32 million people in the United States will be over the age of 80, and half of them are projected to have Alzheimer’s disease, and three million more, Parkinson’s disease.
• Current treatments for neurologic diseases cost a third of a trillion dollars a year, and it’s projected to be well over a trillion dollars by 2050.
• One possible approach to combat these diseases is to design drugs that will keep misfolded proteins from forming damaging tangles.
• People can also protect themselves against neurologic diseases by consuming caffeine, avoiding head injuries and the avian flu, and taking fish oil to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, as well as maintaining a healthy blood pressure and staying mentally stimulated.

TED Talk “The Evolution of the Human Eye” Speech Text

Using AI, the Yoodli speech coach platform provides this TED talk transcript for “The Coming Neurological Epidemic”:

"Unless we do something to prevent it, over the next 40 years we’re facing an epidemic of neurologic diseases on a global scale. A cheery thought.

On this map, every country that’s colored blue has more than 20 percent of its population over the age of 65. This is the world we live in. And this is the world your children will live in.

For 12,000 years, the distribution of ages in the human population has looked like a pyramid, with the oldest on top. It’s already flattening out. By 2050, it’s going to be a column and will start to invert. This is why it’s happening. The average lifespan’s more than doubled since 1840, and it’s increasing currently at the rate of about five hours every day. And this is why that’s not entirely a good thing: because over the age of 65, your risk of getting Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease will increase exponentially. By 2050, there’ll be about 32 million people in the United States over the age of 80, and unless we do something about it, half of them will have Alzheimer’s disease and three million more will have Parkinson’s disease.

Right now, those and other neurologic diseases — for which we have no cure or prevention — cost about a third of a trillion dollars a year. It will be well over a trillion dollars by 2050. Alzheimer’s disease starts when a protein that should be folded up properly misfolds into a kind of demented origami. So one approach we’re taking is to try to design drugs that function like molecular Scotch tape, to hold the protein into its proper shape. That would keep it from forming the tangles that seem to kill large sections of the brain when they do. Interestingly enough, other neurologic diseases which affect very different parts of the brain also show tangles of misfolded protein, which suggests that the approach might be a general one, and might be used to cure many neurologic diseases, not just Alzheimer’s disease.

There’s also a fascinating connection to cancer here, because people with neurologic diseases have a very low incidence of most cancers. And this is a connection that most people aren’t pursuing right now, but which we’re fascinated by. Most of the important and all of the creative work in this area is being funded by private philanthropies. And there’s tremendous scope for additional private help here, because the government has dropped the ball on much of this, I’m afraid.

In the meantime, while we’re waiting for all these things to happen, here’s what you can do for yourself. If you want to lower your risk of Parkinson’s disease, caffeine is protective to some extent; nobody knows why. Head injuries are bad for you. They lead to Parkinson’s disease. And the avian flu is also not a good idea. As far as protecting yourself against Alzheimer’s disease, well, it turns out that fish oil has the effect of reducing your risk for Alzheimer’s disease. You should also keep your blood pressure down, because chronic high blood pressure is the biggest single risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also the biggest risk factor for glaucoma, which is just Alzheimer’s disease of the eye. And of course, when it comes to cognitive effects, “use it or lose it” applies, so you want to stay mentally stimulated. But hey, you’re listening to me. So you’ve got that covered.

And one final thing. Wish people like me luck, okay? Because the clock is ticking for all of us. Thank you."

TED Talk “The Coming Neurological Epidemic” Speech Analysis

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Gregory Petsko’s Word Choice

Petsko’s word choice analytics were great. He avoided using filler words almost entirely and he didn’t have any non-inclusive language. Petsko’s talk was made up of around 2% of weak words. For reference, it’s normal for people to have about 4% of weak words.

Gregory Petsko’s Delivery

The delivery Petsko’s speech was also pretty impressive. He expertly used positive body language (like smiling and hand gestures) and natural pauses to help the audience better understand the talk.

He also maintained a pretty solid pace at around 177 words per minute, which is considered conversational and relaxed.

However, Yoodli flagged both his centering and eye contact for areas of improvement. We’ll have to take those recommendations with a grain of salt though, considering this may be more of a reflection of the recording than Petsko’s speech.

The Bottom Line

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