This post presents the results of initial research into the possibilities of delaying or reversing the onset of cognitive decline that often leads onto Alzheimer’s and other dementia conditions.
If you have any comments that will enhance this initial research before conclusions are formed, please email them to petersenior42@gmail.com.
The complete initial research paper can be downloaded from Research on cognitive decline and Alzheimers, update, 200907
By Peter Senior, 8 September 2020
The objective: find out whether or not cognitive decline (CD), Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and related effects can be slowed, reversed and/or prevented.
Hypothesis: the standard medical view that CD and AD can at best be partly alleviated and that the is no way to reverse it may be false, depending on the individual.
This paper comprises an initial list of key overall findings followed by a chronological list of specific findings that appear to be significant.
The most promising finding to date is Dr Dale Bredesen’s protocol; the first listed, together with several details of Dr Bredesen’s ReCODE protocol. A 52-minute video interview with Dr Bredesen, 4 September 2019, provides a comprehensive introduction, including his comment: “We’ve never seen a case of cognitive decline where there are less than 10 primary causes.” https://www.beingpatient.com/dale-bredesen-lifestyle-changes-prevent-alzheimers/. Several other areas of research show considerable promise.
Key findings to date
- There is now ample compelling evidence that CD and AD can at least be delayed, sometimes reversed and often prevented by applying appropriate remedial actions.
- Dr Bredesen’s protocol, advice and lifestyle proposals demonstrate the most comprehensive and promising approach available at present.
- The sooner diagnosis and appropriate remedial actions are started, the sooner positive results will be achieved.
- Some of the largest organisations, including government and medical bodies, are the least optimistic, indicating little can be done to improve CD and AD. There is at least a suspicion that major organisations, including ‘Big Pharma’, are primarily interested in a single ‘magic pill’ that will greatly enhance their profits.
- If the causes of CD and AD are indeed multiple and personalized, as Dr Bredesen has demonstrated, the option of a universally effective single ‘magic pill’ would be excluded and could at best only be effective occasionally and randomly. Note: Dr Bredesen’s comment: “We’ve never seen a case of cognitive decline where there are less than 10 primary causes.”
- If there was such a treatment as the single cure-all ‘magic pill’, it surely would already have been discovered, developed, tested and widely marketed, most likely by one or more of the major international pharmaceutical companies.
- All significant official bodies and medical people and bodies associated with CD and AD recognise and warn about the massive dangers CD and AD presents for the future, including the current and fast-growing costs to countries for medical and care treatment.
- Several articles, videos etc. noted in this paper contain a few aspects that are covered in Dr Bredesen’s protocol and life-style approach, but with few additions. A few, such as the well-known Dr Mercola (page 50), include a reference to Dr Bredesen’s ReCODE protocol.
- Most of the single approach solutions offer minimal diagnosis or validation, but several indicate some significant successes in individual cases.
- All cases described by Dr Bredesen in his books as treated successfully exhibited major issues. None of the cases involved only mild issues. It is possible these mild cases would not exhibit the medical shortfalls revealed by Dr Bredesen’s ReCODE. However, the old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’ remains prescient.
- At this stage, no specialists have been identified in Australia that are able to, or wish to, fully apply the ReCODE protocol.
- Dr Bredesen’s ReCODE appears to parallel the stomach ulcer about-turn. In 1982 two Australian scientists upset medical dogma by proving a bacterium, helicobacter pylori, causes stomach inflammation, ulcers and cancer, and so won the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine yesterday. The findings went so against medical thinking that it took many years for an entrenched medical profession to accept it, even then, reluctantly. Possibly another such breakthrough is in the process of emerging for CD and AD?
- Dr Bredesen has released a new book now available on Amazon’s Kindle – the printed version will be available on 20 October 2020: The End of Alzheimer’s Programme: The Practical Plan to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline at Any Age.
- Dr Bredesen’s new book is another ‘must-read’. It is packed with practical approaches as well as explanations about how to treat CD and Alzheimers. As noted below, it would be wise for suffers and their carers to work with an empathetic doctor or another health professional in order to plan and apply a practical route through the very detailed and elaborate process recommended. But, again, Dr Bredesen’s approach is the only one available to date that is likely to treat CD and Alzheimers successfully.
- It is strongly recommended that all people interested in the subject should view the 84-minutes video Broken Brian, 20 August 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6pETdb6hKE
Further updates will be provided shortly.
Index of contents:
Index of contents:
Page 4 – Dr Dale Bredesen: End of Alzheimer’s. Description of book, protocol and articles
Page 12 – Summary of key tests for ReCODE Protocol
Page 16 – Adam MacDougall, News.com (summary of Dr Bredesen’s work)
Page 20 – The Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Page 20 – MoCA brain test
Page 20 – Brian exercises
Page 20 – Souvenaid
Page 20 – MCT oil
Page 20 – Ashwagandha, an Indian herb
Page 20 – The APOE gene
Page 20 – Redimind mixture / tonic (Nutreance)
Page 22 – Mayo Clinic
Page 22 – Webmd.com
Page 22 – National Institute of Aging
Page 22 – Dementia.org
Page 23 – Alzheimer’s Natural Treatment Options, Dr Josh Axe
Page 23 – New Scientist article
Page 23 – UK National Health
Page 25 – UCLA research May 2017
Page 25 – Natural News article
Page 27 – ScienceAlert.com article
Page 28 – ScienceDaily.com (2 articles)
Page 28 – Harvard Medical School
Page 29 – NCBI National Centre for Biological Information
Page 30 – Medical News Today – article
Page 30 – TED video
Page 30 – Dietician Amylee Amos
Page 31 – 7th BioCeuticals Research Symposium, May 2019
Page 31 – YouTube TED talk, Oct 17, 2015:
Alzheimer’s Is Not Normal Aging — And We Can Cure It
Page 31 – Collective Evolution, 2018 article
Page 32 – The Neuro Development Centre, Providence, Rhone Island, USA
Page 34 – Life Extension
Page 37 – Alzheimers Association
Page 38 – UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Page 38 – World Health Organisation (WHO)
Page 38 – Emory University – ADRC Research Centre
Page 39 – Wikipedia
Page 40 – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, US Dept of Health
Page 40 – FamilyDoctor.org
Page 41 – Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (training for Dr Bredesen’s protocol)
Page 43 – SharpAgainNaturally
Page 44 – Healing Advocates
Page 44 – Curing Alzheimer’s with Science and Song, 25 min video
Page 45 – MCT and coconut oil
Page 45 – Dementia is preventable through lifestyle. Start now
Page 46 – The latest news on Alzheimer’s disease and brain health research
Page 46 – Biogen Revives Aducanumab
Page 46 – MIT Scientists Reveal Brain Rhythm Role In Alzheimer’s Research
Page 47 – The End of Alzheimer’s, 67-minute interview, Dr Michael Fossel
Page 47 – Keto-nutrition, Dr Dominic D’Agostino
Page 48 – The link between diet, exercise and Alzheimer’s
Page 49 – Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease
Page 49 – What is Alzheimer disease? A simple explanation
Pages 49-51 Eight articles that explain how meditation can improve mental health
Page 51 – Cacao, a power drug for the brain
Page 52 – Harvard Medical School. Is my forgetfulness normal?
Page 54 – Analysis by Dr Joseph Mercola, 7 November 2019
Page 55 – Eat more citrus fruits & cucumbers, NaturalNews.com
Page 55 – Benefits of Ashwagandha
Page 55 – Distributed memory: the brain in the heart
Page 56 – Biogen aducanumab
Page 56 – Sound Therapy
Page 57 – Drugs That Quell Brain Inflammation Reverse Dementia
Page 57 – How to Slow Aging (and even reverse it)
Page 57 – Another Alzheimer’s Vaccine Moves Closer to Human Trials
Page 58 – Biogen Plans to Buy Early-Stage Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Treatment
Page 59 – How Flavonols, Found in Fruit and Tea, Can Stave Off Alzheimer’s
Page 60 – A non-invasive ultrasound technology
Page 60 – The Neuroprotective Effects of Astaxanthin
Page 561 – Viruses and Bacteria Change Our Brains. What Can That Teach Us About Alzheimer’s?
Page 62 – ‘Three little pigs’: Musk’s Neuralink puts computer chips in animal brains
Page 63 – User Reviews & Ratings – donepezil oral
Page 63 – Colloidal Silver as a cure for many diseases, possibly Alzheimers
(Analysis, Conclusions and Summary – to come)
It is strongly recommended that all people interested in the subject should view the 84-minutes video Broken Brian dated 20 August 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6pETdb6hKE
The video covers: How Alzheimer’s disease in the years to come will be a rare disease (3:09) – Why we need to change the way we think about medicine and health (10:15)
– Why amyloid plaque is not the cause of Alzheimer’s (13:37)
– Cognitive decline and nocturnal oxygen desaturation (16:59)
– The global statistics on Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline (18:39)
– How brain changes can be detected 20 years before Alzheimer’s symptoms are evident (22:38)
– How toxic exposure can lead to cognitive decline (44:26)
– What you can do today to prevent cognitive decline (54:43)
– How to assess your risk for neurodegenerative diseases (1:05:52) – The backlash Dr. Bredesen has faced for his work (1:13:48)
– Where to learn more about Dr. Bredesen (1:22:17)
Dr. Bredesen is on Instagram @drdalebredesen, on Facebook @drdalebredesen, on Twitter @drdalebredesen, and his website is https://www.apollohealthco.com. Also mentioned in this episode: – Cognoscopy – https://www.apollohealthco.com/soluti… – https://www.apoe4.info
Note: Dr Bredesen can be contacted at www.drbredesen.com . Re-CODE and related services can be viewed at www.mycognoscopy.com or www.apollohealthco.com
Dr Dale Bredesen’s second book:
THE END OF ALZHEIMER’S PROGRAMME The Practical Plan to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline at Any Age.
This second book follows on and expands on Dr Bredesen’s first book discussed at length below. It both complements and provides considerable new material focused on practical ways to detect causative issues and how to treat them. The book is only available on Amazon Kindle until the printed version is available on October 20 2020.
Some reviews on Amazon provide valuable comment on this book that also reflect the conclusions of the writer of this research paper:
This is a comprehensive follow up to Dr Bredesen’s last book. It’s inspiring and concise, even if the list of different tests to take seems long. Another review suggests the book’s recommendations are too difficult to put into practice. I understand where he’s coming from, but it really is worth a go – you might notice quite big changes from smaller portions of meat, or more olive oil, or cutting the carbs, or mixing up your veg, or taking curcumin, or… the list goes on.
Dr Bredesen’s excellent new book follows on from his last book in cementing the fact that Alzheimer’s is treatable for most people, especially in the early stages. Dr Bredesen is leading the charge in a revolution that will save the lives of millions. Every person who has had an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in the family must read this book, their journey of despair will become a journey of hope and, if they act on the book’s recommendations, very likely a journey to success. Dr Bredesen has saved my wife’s life, what more can I say?
This book should be a required reading material for every single human being! If you haven’t read this book, buy it, read it, implement the suggestions, and then buy and gift the book to others. I own Dr Bredesen’s first book but this one is just amazing- a summary of everything one should do.
An important conclusion too is that the book has such a myriad of information – some simple, others very complex, that it is impossible to take in on first reading. To apply all recommendations would be a full-time job. It would be wise, as recommended in the book, to gain the confidence and assistance of a doctor who has an open mind and is keen to explore where the medical profession is mostly stuck in a negative rut – as described in the Key Findings to Date, above. This doctor, or knowledgeable medical person, should be able to help navigate the maze of information and organise a practical path for both the carer and person suffering from cognitive decline or Alzheimers. Or for the person who wants to apply practical preventative measures before the onset of cognitive decline or Alzheimers.
The Epilogue is copied in full at the end of this research paper. Some key points that should be carefully absorbed are:
- When I was taught medicine, we studied, we practised, and we taught end-stage medicine—we learned and looked for signs of cancer metastasis and heart failure and dementia that were years down the road from when we should be identifying and treating the associated conditions. As I look back on all of this, it is discomfiting to recall how bad it was.
- We need such a [new] movement now to effect a tectonic shift in health—the way we think about it, learn it, practise it, and benefit from it.
- The twenty-first century will see the virtual end to the scourges of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Lewy body disease, multiple sclerosis, autism, schizophrenia, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ulcerative colitis, and other complex chronic illnesses.
- Thus the road map is clear. We know what to look for in each person, we know how to identify the contributors, we know how to deal with each one. Now we need to enact it, perfect it, and scale it.
- Fixing cognition will become as routine as straightening teeth
- Each one of us is a unique, N-of-1 experiment. May your experiment be successful, fulfilling, joyous, and lasting.
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Dr Dale Bredesen’s first book: End of Alzheimer’s
https://www.apoe4.info/wiki/Bredesen_Protocol :
Dr. Dale Bredesen has created the ReCODE protocol that involves multiple strategies to address specific health issues that contribute to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The results of each strategy are measured by using blood tests, cognitive evaluations, and other markers of overall health improvements. Actions are tweaked over time to aim for optimal lab and evaluation results. His analogy is to think of AD as a leaky roof – there are as many as 36 leaks in the AD roof that need to be addressed to stop the problem. Not every patient will have the same leaks, and the protocol is customized based on the patient’s genetics, current health, and lifestyle.
In 2014, his first published paper on the protocol, Reversal of Cognitive Decline, highlighted 10 case studies. Of those 10 people, nine showed enough improvement to return to normal life activities. Several hundred people with cognitive impairment have since followed the protocol, and most have seen a reversal of cognitive impairment. He published results of reversing various levels of cognitive decline in Reversal of Cognitive Decline: 100 patients, published October 2018. His book The End of Alzheimer’s, published August 2017 discusses his protocol and explains many of the mechanisms of Alzheimer’s.
Bredesen’s protocol has not been tested as a preventative, however in a May 2019 podcast interview, Dr Bredesen did say that he’s never had someone at risk come in for prevention and develop even mild cognitive impairment. Research has shown that amyloid-? is deposited in E4 carriers as early as their thirties, so addressing components prior to experiencing cognitive impairment symptoms will likely lead to better health and cognition in aging. Members on the APOE4.Info forum who follow the protocol report improvements not only in health but also in cognition, even if they do not have an SCI or MCI diagnosis.
Although Bredesen does not see private patients, he has made his protocol available to those seeking doctor assistance through AHNP: Precision Health. MPI Cognition, his previous affiliation, was acquired by AHNP and his prior affiliation with Muses Labs has ended.
Dr Dale Bredeson End of Alzheimer’s book: AUD4.99 on Kindle. He has been researching Alzheimers with a highly qualified team for 25 years. Their view is that what is measured, in particular plaques and tangles (all explained in the book) are only the indirect cause of brain cells being killed deliberately. The real cause, he explains, is that the brain has a natural defence mechanism that tries to stop the plaques and tangles forming and, if these build up too much, it goes haywire and starts killing too many brain cells. The trick is to stop the mechanisms that cause the plaque and tangle growth. They have identified 36 so far (see below) and expect just a few more to be found. These come in categories of inflammatory, toxic and nutrients. Their programme is to identify which are the major causes for each individual – it varies it seems – and tackle each one starting with the most prominent. Their program is called ReCODE, and they are training numerous nurses and doctors to apply it. The reason ReCODE hasn’t made the mainstream is they are not allowed to carry out formal test approval programs, as required for all approved medical drugs. Big Pharma only want to sell huge numbers of pills. Problem is, it isn’t a matter of one super pill as each person’s needs vary as which of the 36+ are the major causes, so testing just one would be a waste of time and only appear to prove the treatment doesn’t work. Ie stop the plaques and tangles forming and the brain’s defence mechanism reckons all is now well, stops killing cells and shuts down until needed. But the official approval mechanism only allows one factor at a time to be tested, so the approval mechanism for multiple factors has not been approved. They have had many successes when doctors who knew of this program sent their patients to Dr Bredersen – with amazing full recoveries. The list below links to summaries of why each strategy is important, what you can do, and a selection of research references. NB: Cognoscopy, chapter 7
Diet Strategies
Enhance autophagy and ketogenesis
Lifestyle Strategies
Optimize mitochondrial function
Lab Tests to Track and Treat
Insulin sensitivity (insulin and blood glucose)
Brain Strategies
Provide synaptic structural components
Inhalational Alzheimer’s (editing note: update to types of AD)
Resources
The latest news on Alzheimer’s disease and brain health research, interview, see page 40
52-minute video interview with Dr Bredesen, 4 September 2019. https://www.beingpatient.com/dale-bredesen-lifestyle-changes-prevent-alzheimers/
“We’ve never seen a case of cognitive decline where there are less than 10 primary causes”.
Dr. Dale Bredesen on Preventing and Reversing Alzheimer’s Disease
68-minute video interview, 1 Oct 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq7uVZ_0D3U&t=472s
Dr Dale Bredesen discusses the metabolic factors underlying Alzheimer’s Disease
86-minute video, 2 June 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS7VZydS8HI
Dr. Dale Bredesen, Changing the world of Alzheimer’s Disease Research https://www.apollohealthco.com/dr-bredesen/
Dr. Mark Hyman Interviews Dr. Dale Bredesen on Cognitive Decline
19-minute video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up8cGbUKS_c
The Bredesen protocol’s “Ketoflex” approach to diet and eating for Alzheimer’s disease.
5-minute video interview, 29 January 2019 video interview, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgi9IgdXr40
Presentation: Dementogens, Exposome, and Alzheimer’s: The Hidden Epidemic
36-minutes presentation, 2 Oct 2018, Dale Bredesen, MD, UCSF and UCLA, discusses how environmental toxins may lead to Alzheimers disease. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM8ouHPnQLI
Video Presentation: “The End of Alzheimer’s: The First Survivors”
Dale E. Bredesen, M.D., UCLA and Buck Institute | Professor of Neurology, Easton Laboratories for Neurodegenerative Disease Research | David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 6 Sept 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSmIqeZvKpQ
The remainder of the initial research paper can be downloaded from Research on cognitive decline and Alzheimers, update, 200907