Tetsumori Yamashima

Tetsumori Yamashima MD, PhD is a consultant neurosurgeon specialized in neuroscience. In 1975, he graduated from Kanazawa University Faculty of Medicine. In 1979, he completed his research diploma in the Kanazawa University Graduate School Medical Research Course (Doctor of Medicine). He then studied abroad in Germany and Sweden, including neuropathology and brain science. He became Chief of Medical Staff at Kanazawa University Hospital, Associate Professor of Kanazawa University Medical Faculty, and Director of Restorative Neurosurgery at Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science. At present, he is CEO of the Arimatsu Medical and Dental Clinic in Kanazawa city, works at this clinic (Tuesday to Saturday), and at Minami-gaoka Hospital (consultant neurosurgeon: Monday mornings). At Kanazawa University Hospital (part-time lecturer: Monday afternoons), he heads a special “higher brain dysfunction” outpatient clinic. He is acknowledged for using the RBANS (Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status), MRI and PET scans for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, even a few years before dementia appears, allowing preventive treatment to be carried out. In 1998, he proposed the “calpain-cathepsin hypothesis” as a mechanism of neuronal cell death. He also discovered that the causative agent responsible for Alzheimer’s disease is not amyloid β, but hydroxynonenal derived from “cooking oil”. He is the author of 200 published scientific papers in English, and 75 papers and 15 books in Japanese.