Ground-breaking reversal of Alzheimers disease

Posted on Fri, 12 Dec 14

Cognitive decline is an inevitable, irreversible part of aging, right? Wrong. A new program shows it is possible to reverse cognitive aging using nutritional and lifestyle medicine.

Cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease are generally considered irreversible once they start to develop and there are no successful drug therapies. One of the reasons there are no successful treatments, argues Dale Bredesen, from the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, Department of Neurology, UCLA, is that single target drug therapies are the wrong approach.

Dr Bredesen has developed a therapeutic system that utilizes several personalized lifestyle and nutritional therapies to target the multiple disease networks involved in cognitive decline.

“…genetic and biochemical research have revealed an extensive network of molecular interactions involved in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis, suggesting that a network-based therapeutics approach, rather than a single target-based approach, may be feasible and potentially more effective for the treatment of cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s disease,” comments Dr Bredesen.

Applying his therapeutic program to 10 patients Dr Bredesen has reported a significant reversal of cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease. The benefits are striking, for example “6 of the 10 patients had had to discontinue working or were struggling with their jobs at the time of presentation, and all were able to return to work or continue working with improved performance.”

Examples of treatments utilized include:

• Optimize diet: minimize simple carbohydrates, minimize inflammation.

• Fast 12 hr each night, including 3 hr prior to bedtime.

• Reduce stress; Personalized—yoga or meditation or music, etc.

• Optimize sleep; 8 hr sleep per night

• Exercise 30-60 minutes per day, 4-6 days/wk

• Gastrointestinal health repair; prebiotics and probiotics

• Reduce brain plaque; Curcumin, Ashwagandha

• Optimize mitochondrial function

• Exclude heavy metal toxicity

With Alzheimer’s disease one of the leading causes of health care expenditure, human suffering, and premature death this groundbreaking report paves the way for a new treatment approach grounded in personalized dietary and lifestyle medicine and deserves more attention.

Read the full report for free here

Reference:

Bredesen DE. Reversal of cognitive decline: A novel therapeutic program. Aging (Albany NY). 2014 Sep;6(9):707-17.