The End of Alzheimer's?

Cognoscopy? Have you heard this term before? Fortunately it does not involve having your brain invasively examined with a scope through your ear or nose, not that that is even possible. It is a term Dr. Dale Bredesen uses to describe a comprehensive evaluation of your brain function starting after the age of 45. It involves blood tests and genomic testing as well as physician evaluation to determine your current level of brain function and is a way to find any early signs of cognitive decline so that you can make lifestyle changes to reverse those areas of difficulty. www.mycognoscopy.com

Dr. Bredesen wrote a research based book called “The End of Alzheimer’s” in 2017. In this book he describes the different types of Alzheimer’s based on the causative factors and then describes the individual approach to treatment depending on the type. He has written a new book called “The End of Alzheimer’s Program” that is being released today, 8/18/2020. This book goes into more of the “how to” of implementing a program to reverse cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s. I’m excited to read it and looking forward to sharing more information with you on this blog!

So what is dementia anyway and why are there so many different names and types?

Dementia is a general term that describes a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities significantly enough that it interferes with your daily life. There are many causes of dementia and several different categories based on the underlying cause and presentation.

It used to be thought that the amyloid plaques and tau tangles are what caused Alzheimer’s disease, and so the treatment was focused on removing the tau and amyloid with a drug. This has not worked in multiple drug trials. The current thinking is that the amyloid and tau are a protective response of the brain to injury and inflammation. Which means that we need to look upstream at what is causing the inflammation and toxicity. Alzheimer’s results when the brain’s synapse making signals are outweighed by the synapse remodeling/destroying ones. 

The Alzheimer’s Association, https://Alzheimers.org, lists the most common types of dementia:

Alzheimer’s Disease- the most common type, distinguished by amyloid plaques and tau tangles on PET scans

Vascular dementia- also called multi-infarct dementia, or post stroke dementia, the second most common type

Lewy body dementia- the third most common, marked by protein deposits, called Lewy bodies, seen in nerve cells in the brain. ( This is the type of dementia that Robin Williams was diagnosed with. I heard there is a documentary coming out next month called Robin’s Wish, set to release on September 1 about his struggle with Lewy body dementia.) 

Frontotemporal dementia- less common, marked by more behavioral and emotional changes, memory can be preserved, also called Pick’s Disease

Mixed Dementia- features of more than one of the above

Parkinson’s dementia- associated with Parkinson’s disease. Not all those with Parkinson’s develop dementia

Huntington’s Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease-also called Mad Cow disease

I will be focusing on the types of Alzheimer’s disease described by Dr Bredesen in his first book. 

Type 1: Inflammatory or “hot”- more often these patients carry the gene ApoE4. If you have a single copy of ApoE4 your risk of Alzheimer’s is increased by 30%, and if you have two copies of ApoE4 your risk increases to 50%. ApoE3/3 people have a 9% risk. This type is marked by high crp (c reactive protein, an inflammatory marker), decreased albumin/globulin ratio, increased interleukin 6, increased tumor necrosis factor and insulin resistance. 

Type 1.5: Glycotoxic or “sweet”- marked by high blood glucose and insulin resistance

Type 2: Atrophic or “cold” more frequently seen in people who carry 1 or 2 copies of ApoE4, no evidence of inflammatory markers, the overall support for brain synapses has dried up; they may have suboptimal levels of thyroid, adrenal, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and pregnenolone, and reduced levels of Vitamin D, they may also have insulin resistance or elevated homocysteine 

Type 3: Toxic or “vile”- people who carry ApoE3, tends to occur at a younger age, may follow time of great stress, generalized brain atrophy on brain scan, low vitamin D, low zinc, high copper levels, may have mercury toxicity or mycotoxins

Dr. Bredesen developed the ReCODE program to help people reverse cognitive decline. His book coming out 8/18/2020,  will have updated and detailed information about how to make brain healthy choices and reverse degenerative changes that you may already be experiencing. There is no one magic fix for Alzheimer’s disease. It will take multiple therapeutic approaches and an individualized approach to start seeing a difference. As Dr. Bredesen says, patching one hole in a roof that has 36 holes is not going to stop the rood leak.

I hope you find this overview helpful! The information in this blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Stay well everyone! Check out “The End of Alzheimer’s Program” Available today!

Dr. Bredesen’s website: https://www.apollohealthco.com