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 initial research paper can be downloaded from Research on cognitive decline and Alzheimers, update, 200328
By Peter Senior, 7 May 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 ample compelling evidence that CD and AD can, in certain individual situations, at least be delayed, and sometimes reversed, by applying appropriate remedial actions.
- Dr Bredesen’s protocol and life-style proposals demonstrate the most comprehensive and promising approach.
- 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.
- But it remains possible that an effective focused medication could be discovered, given the massive amount of research being undertaken as well as advancing technologies and knowledge of all types, even including spiritual.
- 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 of 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 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 book as treated successfully exhibited major issues. None of the cases involved only mild issues. It possible these mild cases would not exhibit the medical shortfalls revealed by Dr Bredesen’s ReCODE. Possibly this will be revealed in Dr Bredesen’s next book due later in 2020.
- 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 will emerge for CD and AD?
Further updates will be provided shortly.
Index of contents:
Page 2 – Dr Dale Bredesen: End of Alzheimer’s. Description of book, protocol and articles
Page 10 – Summary of key tests for ReCODE Protocol
Page 14 – Adam MacDougall, News.com (summary of Dr Bredesen’s work)
Page 18 – The Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Page 18 – MoCA brain test
Page 18 – Brian exercises
Page 18 – Souvenaid
Page 18 – MCT oil
Page 18 – Ashwagandha, an Indian herb
Page 18 – The APOE gene
Page 18 – Redimind mixture / tonic (Nutreance)
Page 20 – Mayo Clinic
Page 20 – Webmd.com
Page 20 – National Institute of Aging
Page 20 – Dementia.org
Page 21 – Alzheimer’s Natural Treatment Options, Dr Josh Axe
Page 22 – New Scientist article
Page 22 – UK National Health
Page 23 – UCLA research May 2017
Page 23 – Natural News article
Page 25 – ScienceAlert.com article
Page 26 – ScienceDaily.com (2 articles)
Page 26 – Harvard Medical School
Page 27 – NCBI National Centre for Biological Information
Page 28 – Medical News Today – article
Page 28 – TED video
Page 28 – Dietician Amylee Amos
Page 29 – 7th BioCeuticals Research Symposium, May 2019
Page 29 – YouTube TED talk, Oct 17, 2015:
Alzheimer’s Is Not Normal Aging — And We Can Cure It
Page 29 – Collective Evolution, 2018 article
Page 30 – The Neuro Development Centre, Providence, Rhone Island, USA
Page 32 – Life Extension
Page 35 – Alzheimers Association
Page 36 – UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Page 36 – World Health Organisation (WHO)
Page 36 – Emory University – ADRC Research Centre
Page 37 – Wikipedia
Page 38 – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, US Dept of Health
Page 38 – FamilyDoctor.org
Page 39 – Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (training for Dr Bredesen’s protocol)
Page 41 – SharpAgainNaturally
Page 42 – Healing Advocates
Page 42 – Curing Alzheimer’s with Science and Song, 25 min video
Page 43 – MCT and coconut oil
Page 43 Dementia is preventable through lifestyle. Start now
Page 44 – The latest news on Alzheimer’s disease and brain health research
Page 44 – Biogen Revives Aducanumab
Page 44 – MIT Scientists Reveal Brain Rhythm Role In Alzheimer’s Research
Page 45 – The End of Alzheimer’s, 67-minute interview, Dr Michael Fossel
Page 45 – Keto-nutrition, Dr Dominic D’Agostino
Page 46 – The link between diet, exercise and Alzheimer’s
Page 47 – Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease
Page 47 – What is Alzheimer disease? A simple explanation
Pages 47-49 Eight articles that explain how meditation can improve mental health
Page 49 – Cacao, a power drug for the brain
Page 50 – Harvard Medical School. Is my forgetfulness normal?
Page 52 – Analysis by Dr Joseph Mercola, 7 November 2019
Page 53 – Eat more citrus fruits & cucumbers, NaturalNews.com
Page 53 – Benefits of Ashwagandha
Page 53 – Distributed memory: the brain in the heart
Page 54 – Biogen aducanumab
Page 54 – Sound Therapy
Page 55 – Drugs That Quell Brain Inflammation Reverse Dementia
Page 55 – Another Alzheimer’s Vaccine Moves Closer to Human Trials
Page 56 – Biogen Plans to Buy Early-Stage Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Treatment From Pfizer
Page 57 – How Flavonols, Found in Fruit and Tea, Can Stave Off Alzheimer’s
Page 58 – A non-invasive ultrasound technology
Page 58 – The Neuroprotective Effects of Astaxanthin
(Analysis, Conclusions and Summary – to come)
Dr Dale Bredesen’s 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 main-stream 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 Bredesen – 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. Dr Bredesen suggests that, just as people are recommended to have a colonoscopy when they hit 50 or 60 years of age to check their colon, they also should check their brains with a 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 this research paper can be viewed at the link Research on cognitive decline and Alzheimers update,191124